Pros and Cons of Living in Buenos Aires, Argentina

[tinytiger956]

Pros of Living in Buenos Aires

Pretty safe

Lots of fun stuff to do

Warm in the spring

Perfect humidity now

Good air quality on average

Nomad List members liked going here

Many Nomad List members here all year round

Spacious and not crowded

Very easy to make friends

High quality of education

Great hospitals

Roads are pretty safe

Freedom of speech

Democratic

Safe for women

Family friendly

Very friendly to LGBTQ+

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Cons of Living in Buenos Aires

Very slow internet

Cold now

Gets cold in the summer

Difficult to do business

People don't speak English well

Many people smoke tobacco

[organictiger969]

Buenos Aires has everything nightlife (excellent bars and clubs), culture, art, running places, etc. Though insecurity could be an issue, it is not as high as it may seem; if you know how to get around, nothing will happen to you. It is also quite diverse in terms of LGBTTQQIAAP and there's plenty of offer to be entertained. I see that hospitals are badly ranked in the Nomad ranking but I'd like to make a point here: public hospitals are free to use by anyone (no matter nationality nor residency status) and they are collapsed. Normally, people pay (the ones that can) around 100/110usd per month (the same way you pay in the majority of the countries) for a private health system which is excellent. So, that is not an issue at all.

[sadtiger438]

As everyone says don't use cards / electronic payments. Make sure you use cash USD specifically. They also have a very different style of Spanish, so they can be very hard to understand even with a good level of Spanish. AreaTres is the big coworking there in Palermo. Have to stay in Palermo, as this is the main spot for foreigners and digital nomads. Good food and steak at a very affordable levels. Social scene, I was not a huge fan of as language barrier, the guys are aggressive and the women are more standoffish because of the aggressive guys. Good time zone with USA. Overall: Not for me, with language barriers, people a bit more standoffish, and brain drain there as well. I think would prefer Spain or Portugal over Argentina in the long run.

[brownzebra122]

I just want to clarify that if you have residence in Argentina you have to pay taxes in Argentina. These are not high but you are forced to send your income to a national bank, where it's converted into ARS (pesos) and if you want to buy dollars again you have a recharge of 30%.

[redfish107]

i stayed in BA for a few months and it firmly wasn't for me. It's a beautiful city and comically cheap for the quality of food / goods / services. People are rude and accomodation is pretty bad. Plus with the inflation of the dollar to peso (3x the buying power for foreigners) it was getting dangerous when I left. (I think someone tried to kill the vice president last week) Excellent to visit not great to live.

[yellowcat832]

Been living here in Buenos Aires for almost three years. Right now it's (relatively) cheap. I mean, it isn't for the people who currently lives here but it's if you're a foreign, as the inflation keeps going on the peso isn't that worthy now. But, as I'm saying, if you come with dollars is going to make a huge difference. (3 years ago: 20 pesos= 1 USD. June 2020: 95 pesos= 1 USD. and if you're selling dollars in the informal market they will pay you $124. and with that you can buy two small doritos or 12 eggs. Which is a pretty good deal) There's a lot to explain, and as usual, you gotta be careful because as the situation is getting bad the security is too. It's just about being careful and trying not to be walking on every street with your phone on your hands and that kind of stuff. The rest of it, it's just joy and fun.

[silvergorilla641]

One of my favourite cities to live in. I highly recommend living in Palermo especially if it’s your first time in the city. There are a lot of amazing coworking spaces, I decided to work at Area3 which is a really big space with all the top tech companies. The city is amazing in the summer. I really enjoyed being there January - March. It was hot but I never found it incredibly humid, though that changes by the year. Apartment prices can vary significantly. If you want the best deal I recommend searching through facebook and going to visit the apartment in person. If you don’t mind the premium Airbnb is good. Food is incredible and they are even getting more diverse vegetarian options as well as gluten free options in the city. Highly recommend downing the app Rappi - it’s like Uber for everything. You can sign up for unlimited deliveries for like something crazy like $5 a month. They can grocery shop for you, bring you cash from the ATM - it’s amazing. Lastly for you non-European people I get my money via World Remit. It’s like western union but way less sketchy and also better rates. ATM are crazy there so you don’t want to be taking out cash from the machines often.

[brownlion377]

Love this place. relatively cheap big city with something for everyone. Except beach people. Bariloche is worth a visit, we were there in winter and loved every minute. Late eating, later partying, all the amenities of a modern city with nice oldish feel in certain neighborhoods. Eay to get around, buses and trains are pretty good, Uber is not legal but available (although they prefer cash and will cancel about 2/3 trips). Would def go back.

[purplerabbit983]

I don't understand people who says Buenos aires is not suppose to be in the top 5 cities around the world. Its definitely a cosmopolitan city such as new york located in Latin america providing a unique sense of familiarity among local people. I recognize that the economic situation and inflation is not the best. But so is in the rest of the top 5 cities, if you want to go to an organize city where everything works perfect you can visit Switzerland. You go to buenos Aires for the adventure, the sense of discovery, to meet incredible people, to taste the food and its nightlife. None of the great things Buenos aires has would be posible if not for the passionate people living there. why do you think futbol is an incredible show over there!!! For me Buenos Aires is the best city in South America to be in.

[redfish107]

I just want to clarify that if you have residence in Argentina you have to pay taxes in Argentina. These are not high but you are forced to send your income to a national bank, where it's converted into ARS (pesos) and if you want to buy dollars again you have a recharge of 30%.

[angrypanda814]

This post is deleted!

[heavybutterfly809]

I have no idea how this place is ranked #1. I have been 3 or 4 times. Nothing works.... shops close half the day for siesta if they're not on strike. Buenos Aires was once a beautiful city to be certain but I have zero desire to return and there are so many incredible places in Latin America that are so much better.

[lazycat857]

Was here for January 2022. It was very nice. It's a very European city with South American vibes. Due to high inflation it's cheap. The steak is the best I've ever eaten. Go to AreaTres for coworking. Bring cash (EUR or USD) in large bills. Otherwise, you'll have to pay by card and get the official exchange rate, which is 50% of what you get on the black ("blue") market. There are many places to exchange cash. As an alternative to cash, I've also heard that people like to send themselves money with Western Union. I have no experiences with that. The population are poor, and locals will tell you how everything is going downhill. Supposedly it's really common that mobile phones get stolen, so you should not use them while on the street. Other than that, it was a very pleasant experience.

[heavymouse448]

I lived in Buenos Aires in 2018 and I loved it. I highly recommend living/staying in the Palermo SoHo neighborhood. It’s full of energy life, excellent cafes, co-working spaces, pubs, nightlife, etc. Also Palermo has the lakes and incredible rose gardens for hiking and enjoying Yerba mate. I also recommend hiking at the ecological reserve “reserva ecológica” The public underground metro called SUBTE is very efficient. The city has been adding bike paths. The locals were very friendly, outgoing, and easy to meet. They seemed interested in meeting people from other countries. I recommend trying to speak Spanish and they appreciate the effort. The women are also gorgeous and friendly to foreigners. Inflation is really making it hard for local people. Also as with most major cities, keep your cell phone and wallet in your front pocket and don’t be flashy with new iPhones. Using basic street smarts and simply staying alert at night, I had no issues. The Palermo and Belgrano neighborhoods seemed to be the safest and most relaxed. Make sure you try local foods, drink Yerba Mate with locals, take a weekend trip via a short train ride to “Tigre” where you can rent an affordable cabin and spend the weekend on the water, kayaking, fishing, drinking mate, etc. Argentina is really nice! Enjoy!

[sadgorilla128]

Highly recommend BA. Avoid in Dec/Jan/Feb. It's super hot and humid. Try to stay in Palermo. Honestly it's so much different from the rest of the city. This is where you find good cafes, coworking spaces, parks. If possible stay on the Hollywood side (Palermo Soho is too touristy). Belgrano is also nice . Internet in cafes, coworking spaces is good for video calls and stuff. Also the wifi in apartments is solid. Prices for a studio or room in Palermo range from 450 USD to 600 USD. If you are from Europe use Azimo to transfer money (2€ fee but much better rate than in exchange places). Withdrawing from ATMs is extremely expensive here. Enjoy!

[discussplaces-staff]

Whoa really? I have absolutely no idea how BsAs can rank so high. It used to be a nice city 10 years ago - nowadays it's decadent. Thousands of people living on the streets inflation makes things extremely expensive (for Latin America), and locals are just tired and sad. I've been there 4 times in the last decade and could witness the decay of their once beautiful city. Definitely not on my top 100 list.