Newcomer A Large Percentage of Argentinians Want to Be Digital Nomads: A Growing Trend!

[Uncle Wong]

I mentioned a few months ago that my partner's police officer sister was robbed at gunpoint and her car was taken. Guess what? Last month, the same thing happened to my partner's brother in law while he was driving Didi. People don't rob your car like that where I come from. And here two people in my family got their cars robbed within the span of 3 months like it's normal. It's so true about what you mentioned about what happened in Miami during the ball game 🤣🤣🤣

Yikes! That is terrible. But while I was in BA a friend of a friend said their car was also recently stolen. He said a lot of them make their way across the border but not sure if they are sold or used for parts. I didn't see that many police at all around. For such a big city I thought there would be more police officers.

The furthest I went out was Ramos Mejia which wasn't too bad but I heard it could get very sketchy past that. I just looked on a map where Isidro Casanova was and it looks to be a ways from that. Zone of the "walking dead" does not sound nice! Is that where your partner lives? @Jakoval, Why stay in Argentina? Was there any thought to living in Thailand instead with your partner?

I have been to Thailand several times. Things work well there. My friend fell and broke his leg and we had to go to the hospital and I was amazed how friendly, efficient and affordable it was. I like Buenos Aires but I am not sure if I would like living in the zone of the walking dead.

Funny what you mentioned about 7-11 opening here! I thought the same thing. Although I guess with all the import restrictions a slurpee would be $10 USD here.

 

[Uncle Wong]

With the new dollar rate in Argentina now Colombia is cheaper in most areas and tax-friendlier. For example I'm travelling to Europe in a couple of months and the tickets are half price compared to Argentina. Food is now cheaper or about the same, clothing and technology much cheaper. None of this will improve in Argentina until the 'CEPO' is removed...

There are some argentinean steak houses where you can eat real argentinian meet, there's a place near Zona T called 'La Brasserie' that sells argentinean rib-eye.

Zona T, Parque de la 93 are pretty safe areas, up north Bella Suiza / Usaquen and Cedritos are good neighborhoods. I've been here for about 3 years (on and off) and never been robed (I'm not a late party kind of person though). Overall in the upscale areas I feel safer here than in BA.

I don't find Colombia to be that cheap. I pay electricity bill for one of my amigas there and I am surprised how expensive electricity is there. I guess in Bogota you don't have to use AC as much. Traffic is chaotic there. I really need to be in a walkable city and Bogota was one of the worst in that regard. @enbits I bet you miss Buenos Aires. I have some friends that moved to Spain from Argentina and they like it there.

I am still trying to decide where to settle down. I could definitely live in BA. The banking system is frustrating there but between credit cards, Western Union and cuevas it is manageable. I would rather pay the 8% more to live in Buenos Aires vs. Bogota. Sure less taxes but Bogota is no BA.

 

[Jakoval]

Yikes! That is terrible. But while I was in BA a friend of a friend said their car was also recently stolen. He said a lot of them make their way across the border but not sure if they are sold or used for parts. I didn't see that many police at all around. For such a big city I thought there would be more police officers.

The furthest I went out was Ramos Mejia which wasn't too bad but I heard it could get very sketchy past that. I just looked on a map where Isidro Casanova was and it looks to be a ways from that. Zone of the "walking dead" does not sound nice! Is that where your partner lives? @Jakoval, Why stay in Argentina? Was there any thought to living in Thailand instead with your partner?

I have been to Thailand several times. Things work well there. My friend fell and broke his leg and we had to go to the hospital and I was amazed how friendly, efficient and affordable it was. I like Buenos Aires but I am not sure if I would like living in the zone of the walking dead.

Funny what you mentioned about 7-11 opening here! I thought the same thing. Although I guess with all the import restrictions a slurpee would be $10 USD here.

We live in CABA, aka the bubble. But the rest of my partner's family lives out there in the 'jungle'. My staying here is a bit complicated. Is it alright? Yeah, I am used to it. I've been coming here for the past 15 years, so I'm used to it to a certain extent, but would life be more fun and easier back home? Absolutely. But it is OK for now.

You know they've increased quite a lot more police presence on the streets, and you see them everywhere walking around, but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if they could really help you if something happened. Some of them are just a pair of 20something girls walking. Just a thought.

 

[Jakoval]

It is good to hear about these experiences outside of touristy areas. I met a few people who worked in restaurants or bars and I was surprised how many commute in from outside of the city. I met several who lived in Quilmes which is a hike outside of the city. I didn't see much crime at all but I read something like 10,000 cellphones per day get stolen. Never heard that type of statistic before!

@Jakoval did your friends like their trip? I posted a few posts about some things being overrated. The city is nice enough but I would go crazy living here I think. Chinatown is crazy busy on the weekends. I went there a few times while I was in town but the lines were too long at restaurants. I didn't think the food was all that good there either. BA is a beautiful city so I will give it that.

Sorry to hear about the stolen cars. That is wild about two family members both getting their cars stolen. I guess BA isn't as safe as I thought.

My friends were in Rio prior to coming to CABA. They were not impressed with Cristo Rendentor (for having the status of the 7 Wonders of the New World).
They said they liked Buenos Aires especially asado and wine but found the city in general quite expensive. I made a mistake by bringing them to San Telmo on Sunday. It was great to walk along the street market from Casa Rosada to San Telmo but it was a mistake to have lunch there. It was too crowded and not enough seats. We also went to Barrio Chino, and one of my friends, who is Taiwanese, wasn't too impressed with the food. He said they made everything in the Taiwanese style, but the flavors weren't quite there.

 

[Betsy Ross]

We live in CABA, aka the bubble. But the rest of my partner's family lives out there in the 'jungle'. My staying here is a bit complicated. Is it alright? Yeah, I am used to it. I've been coming here for the past 15 years, so I'm used to it to a certain extent, but would life be more fun and easier back home? Absolutely. But it is OK for now.

You know they've increased quite a lot more police presence on the streets, and you see them everywhere walking around, but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if they could really help you if something happened. Some of them are just a pair of 20something girls walking. Just a thought.

Yes it is true that parts of CABA are a bubble from real life an real crime that go on in other areas. We don't have to put up with some of the things in the outer areas. Wow @Jakoval you have been coming to BA for a long time. You have seen many changes too then.

I wonder the same thing about the police in the event of a more serious incident but they call it in and a bigger squad of police quickly come to help. Watching the female Secret Service agents reminded me of some of these younger female police officers. Seems like a big push in many Latin American countries to have female officers. I don't know if this is to try to deescalate situations?

 

[Betsy Ross]

My friends were in Rio prior to coming to CABA. They were not impressed with Cristo Rendentor (for having the status of the 7 Wonders of the New World).
They said they liked Buenos Aires especially asado and wine but found the city in general quite expensive. I made a mistake by bringing them to San Telmo on Sunday. It was great to walk along the street market from Casa Rosada to San Telmo but it was a mistake to have lunch there. It was too crowded and not enough seats. We also went to Barrio Chino, and one of my friends, who is Taiwanese, wasn't too impressed with the food. He said they made everything in the Taiwanese style, but the flavors weren't quite there.

The view from Christo Rey is quite a sight to see. I wonder if they got a cloudy day? They would have been more impressed with Iguazu Falls so not sure if they got to see that 7 Natural Wonder of the World? Some people love Rio and some aren't too impressed. A lot of slums next to nice areas.

There are much more expensive cities than BA but I think people hear about all the problems with the economy and they are shocked to find prices like they are. It is relatively expensive by most people's standards. Especially if the exchange rate back then was only 1k to $1 US. I don't blame you for taking them to San Telmo on a Sunday as that is the best day to see it all. But agree with you @Jakoval it is not ideal to eat there as it is too busy now. I will usually take friends there on Sunday but we will go eat in Puerto Madero or Retiro area instead.

I wondered what Asians would think of our Chinatown. My friend from China that I brought there was more amused than anything. She was happy to see other Asians as she didn't see too many around the city besides Chinatown. She wasn't a fan of the food however.

 

[Vero]

We live in CABA, aka the bubble. But the rest of my partner's family lives out there in the 'jungle'. My staying here is a bit complicated. Is it alright? Yeah, I am used to it. I've been coming here for the past 15 years, so I'm used to it to a certain extent, but would life be more fun and easier back home? Absolutely. But it is OK for now.

You know they've increased quite a lot more police presence on the streets, and you see them everywhere walking around, but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if they could really help you if something happened. Some of them are just a pair of 20something girls walking. Just a thought.

In many Latin American countries they try to get female police officers because in many countries it is believed that women are less corrupt than males so these governments want them on the front line and face for the community. I can't say if females or less corrupt than male police officers.

 

[enbits]

I don't find Colombia to be that cheap. I pay electricity bill for one of my amigas there and I am surprised how expensive electricity is there. I guess in Bogota you don't have to use AC as much. Traffic is chaotic there. I really need to be in a walkable city and Bogota was one of the worst in that regard. @enbits I bet you miss Buenos Aires. I have some friends that moved to Spain from Argentina and they like it there.

I am still trying to decide where to settle down. I could definitely live in BA. The banking system is frustrating there but between credit cards, Western Union and cuevas it is manageable. I would rather pay the 8% more to live in Buenos Aires vs. Bogota. Sure less taxes but Bogota is no BA.

Bills depend on the area 'Estrato' you are living: I'm in Estrato 5 (6 is the maximum) and I pay around 40 US$ for electricity / 20 US$ for water, gas is virtually free. Lower 'estratos' pay less than that.

My decisions are money / investment related: it's easier to invest and expand my business here. In the future I see myseflt travelling between Colombia and Argentina but more settled in the latter one.

 

[Digital Nomad]

Bills depend on the area 'Estrato' you are living: I'm in Estrato 5 (6 is the maximum) and I pay around 40 US$ for electricity / 20 US$ for water, gas is virtually free. Lower 'estratos' pay less than that.

My decisions are money / investment related: it's easier to invest and expand my business here. In the future I see myseflt travelling between Colombia and Argentina but more settled in the latter one.

I heard Bogota is not too hot so you probably don't use too much AC. Cost per kWh is probably much higher in Colombia vs. Argentina. They went up here quite a bit but prices are still low here compared to other countries.

@enbits you sound like you have a good setup and that tax rate is very low! Which city is it better to date in? Judging by what my friends tell me, Colombia would win that. I joke with my Porteña girlfriend all the time that girls here are kind of a pain in the ass.

 

[Jeb Spencer]

There are a lot of software developers, graphic designers, recruiters among other professions that work remotely for US companies. I'm one of those doing it since 2015 and I'm a sort of slow-digital-nomad. I have colleagues that got digital nomad visas from Europe, another one went to live to Vietnam and another one is nomading all over the world. There are remote workers from Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico... you name it. We are not a majority but not a minority neither.

I just saw this. Milei said there are tons. But he knows many aren't paying any taxes on it. I thought the government really wanted to get everyone to declare all income. But in this interview he seems to say he doesn't care or will look for these people??

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814639538288963820

 

[oil rush]

I just saw this. Milei said there are tons. But he knows many aren't paying any taxes on it. I thought the government really wanted to get everyone to declare all income. But in this interview he seems to say he doesn't care or will look for these people??

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814639538288963820

I doubt this is the case. I have been sending in payments to my amiga to BA via Western Union and also some payments to her bank account and I can tell you that AFIP definitely is clamping down on undeclared income. Never had any issues before this year and all of a sudden tons of issues now. This is probably a case for Milei saying one thing but not reality.

 

[enbits]

I just saw this. Milei said there are tons. But he knows many aren't paying any taxes on it. I thought the government really wanted to get everyone to declare all income. But in this interview he seems to say he doesn't care or will look for these people??

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814639538288963820

I'm one of those, but not young and outside the country XD. Don't believe what you see on the news there are a bunch of fake news about Milei.

 

[GraceH]

I'm one of those, but not young and outside the country XD. Don't believe what you see on the news there are a bunch of fake news about Milei.

This is true. My friends that do consulting work and on monitributo tell me that they are getting scrutinized a lot on how they are paying for things.

Anyone that is trying to say the government doesn’t care about undeclared income is wrong. Government is desperate for tax revenue.

 

[enbits]

I doubt this is the case. I have been sending in payments to my amiga to BA via Western Union and also some payments to her bank account and I can tell you that AFIP definitely is clamping down on undeclared income. Never had any issues before this year and all of a sudden tons of issues now. This is probably a case for Milei saying one thing but not reality.

This is true. My friends that do consulting work and on monitributo tell me that they are getting scrutinized a lot on how they are paying for things.

Anyone that is trying to say the government doesn’t care about undeclared income is wrong. Government is desperate for tax revenue.

Well, there has to be a legal framework even on a libertarian government. I've been doing this for around 10 years and I always invoiced whatever money I got into my bank account.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Well, there has to be a legal framework even on a libertarian government. I've been doing this for around 10 years and I always invoiced whatever money I got into my bank account.

Are you the norm @enbits? Do most people that are doing remote work all declaring all their income do you think?

 

[Flamingo]

I mentioned a few months ago that my partner's police officer sister was robbed at gunpoint and her car was taken. Guess what? Last month, the same thing happened to my partner's brother in law while he was driving Didi. People don't rob your car like that where I come from. And here two people in my family got their cars robbed within the span of 3 months like it's normal. It's so true about what you mentioned about what happened in Miami during the ball game 🤣🤣🤣

It's not just you @Jakoval. Car thefts are definitely on the rise. My friend just got her car stolen too. It's happening all over the city. Here you can see they are doing it right in the middle of the day now.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814854111847718937

 

[Piranha]

It's not just you @Jakoval. Car thefts are definitely on the rise. My friend just got her car stolen too. It's happening all over the city. Here you can see they are doing it right in the middle of the day now.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814854111847718937

At least his neighbors helped out to stop them from robbing his car. Just terrible.

 

[enbits]

Are you the norm @enbits? Do most people that are doing remote work all declaring all their income do you think?

Not the whole income but whatever is transfered from abroad to a local bank account. E.g: you transfer from Wise to a local bank account then you need to invoice that otherwise you may be on AFIP's eyes. Declaring the whole income is virtually impossible unless you want to pay around 70% taxes... this should be fixed once the CEPO is removed.

 

[Vince]

Not the whole income but whatever is transfered from abroad to a local bank account. E.g: you transfer from Wise to a local bank account then you need to invoice that otherwise you may be on AFIP's eyes. Declaring the whole income is virtually impossible unless you want to pay around 70% taxes... this should be fixed once the CEPO is removed.

The million dollar question is when the CEPO will be removed.

 

[Wally]

At least his neighbors helped out to stop them from robbing his car. Just terrible.

In some neighborhoods are all banding together to stop these thieves or if they notice the same thief coming back they are punishing them. See these neighbors in Corrientes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815389468720808017