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Expat Life: Are We Moving to Buenos Aires?

Edd:  We’re not usually fans of repeat experiences, but after visiting eight years ago we’ve been back in Buenos Aires for the past two months.

Cynthia:  That’s true. But the deal you found on flights, and the fact that the whole country is on sale for Americans at half price, made the trip an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.

E:  Plus, we escaped the worst months of another North American winter. Overall the weather in Buenos Aires (BA to locals) was fabulous. It was weird to wear shorts every day in January and February. We should explain that “half-price sale” comment you made.

C:  Not that we exactly understand it ourselves, but there’s an official currency exchange rate and what’s called a blue market here. For instance, say the official currency exchange for US$1 is 180 Argentine pesos. The blue market rate would be almost twice that amount. 

E:  Crisp $100 bills get the maximum value, so we showed up with a stack of them that we exchanged slowly because the market can suddenly fluctuate. By doing this we ended up bringing back more money than we ever anticipated.

C:  Yeah, we enjoyed a nice lifestyle under budget. Dinner of filet mignon and multiple glasses of Malbec was around $20 total. Seven dollars worth of produce from a corner market fills a big bag. You went to see Avatar in 4D for around $4, and often paid even less than that for bottles of terrific wine.

E:  It’s a big change paying cash for everything again after exclusively using credit cards to accumulate miles and points for the past few years. Thinking we would most likely never return, on our previous visit we ran ourselves ragged going to most of BA’s tourist attractions. So there was no need to repeat those experiences.

C:  Our “main event” this time was a bucket list destination we missed before—Iguazú Falls. Wow, what an exceptional experience! So glad we got to celebrate your birthday there.

E:  That doesn’t mean we were sitting home doing nothing the rest of the time. We went to the San Telmo Sunday Market,

walked all over town admiring the stunning architecture,

shopped in fabulous malls,

went on a street art tour in Palermo Soho,

and visited El Ateneo, the largest bookstore in South America.

C:  When we found out the Argentina Open tennis tournament was in town, we decided to spend an afternoon there watching the quarter-finals.

And we hopped on the ferry for a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1680 by the Portuguese.

E:  Since we hardly cooked at all, of course we ate a lot of great food.

No surprise that steak and Malbec are the star attractions in Buenos Aires, and we had more than our share.

But we also feasted on wonderful Peruvian, Korean, and Italian cuisine.

C:  Gotta mention the sweets. Boy, do the people in BA love their pastries and desserts! I think we overindulged a bit too.

E:  So the big question everyone asks wherever we go—are we moving to Buenos Aires?

C:  I say “no.” The city is HUGE—almost twice the population of New York City. Our apartment was quiet and everything we needed for daily life was within a 15-minute walk. I’m really glad we returned for two months, but the noise, smells, traffic, and overall busyness are not what we would want  long term.

E:  If we lived there, a lot more of our meals would be prepared at home from what’s on hand in the supermarkets. The meat and chicken looked fine. Fruit was abundant and delicious. But the selection of vegetables was really disappointing. We saw asparagus for sale in a little market once. Romaine lettuce—totally MIA.

C:  You and the romaine lettuce. You complained about the lack of that one item the entire time.

E:  Caesar salad is on almost every menu, but always with the wrong lettuce. C’mon, Caesar salad is made with romaine, period. Sounds like I’m being a food snob, but it’s at the top of a long list of almost impossible to find veggies that are usually readily available. And other common ones, like broccoli and corn, consistently looked too terrible to even consider buying.

C:  I agree, but enough about groceries. Food and nutrition are important to us both, and we wouldn’t choose to live somewhere that required downgrading our diet. Especially when we know from our travels that other countries offer much more variety.

E:  All of this is just our opinion. We met lots of expats who are happy as clams in BA. That’s the beauty of living abroad—there’s literally a whole world of options waiting to be discovered. And if the first place you try doesn’t work out, nothing is stopping you from moving on to experience another place.

C:  Speaking of moving on, we’ve got some surprising news about our own upcoming travels. Details still need to be worked out, so we’ll share next time.


Note ~ Our Resources page continues to expand. Along with an entire section spotlighting Credit Card recommendations for earning miles and points, Cynthia’s added some of her favorite footwear and personal care products. Be sure to stop by for a visit!

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