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Likewise I live on the lean/modest side. Biggest expense would be location, and as long as things work, size nor newest things need not apply. I'm comfortable using a hammock or one of those roll up mattresses or hell even my couch. Did it for years, despite making ok money. Casual, local restaurants are my go to, and with youtube never been easier to learn how to cook.

I have trouble spending $4k here in the US and that was when I was making regular outings to the strip clubs :) and for those spending that in BA more power to yall.
Smart doing this early in life as it sets the tone and gets you used to living like this when you are older. Most of my friends all live in the USA. All my family does and some spend more than $4k a month simply on rentals. In BA once you own a place you don't have to worry about frustrations of moving around or finding a rental and expenses aren't high in USD terms. My local expat friends vary on how much they spend on rentals. Most of them are around $1,600 USD a month but they all live in Palermo, Belgrano or Recoleta and have a decent sized place.

My friends visiting me take multiple Ubers but once they move here they walk more. People say how cheap Ubers are but they really do add up if you take them many times per day. Nothing you can do if you have mobility issues with legs/knees.
 
He used to post regularly on the old forum and the FB forum. I doubt there's a refund, and heard it could take 30 mos to another poster stating 5 yrs. IIRC he once posted if one wants to pay fee after gaining citizenship it would be 3x more.
Thank you for taking time to respond. Yes I read old posts but he doesn't seem to post much at all. Too bad Argentina does not make it easier to get permanent residency. Seems like a complicated mess even under the best of circumstances.
 
this lawyer give you any refund
ask him! he's pretty responsive on WhatsApp. i started my initial request for info on: https://www.rubilarcitizenship.com/citizenship
(Contact page in the site banner)

and invite him to this forum :) maybe if enough of us ask, he'll spend time here like he did on the old forum. although some of his responses are pretty rambling and terse, for someone who claims to be educated and to be the most innovative lawyer in BsAs for unique citizenship approaches.
and heard it could take 30 mos
he quoted me 24-30 months from my first day in BsAs, 7 months a year in Argentina, $6500 USD plus about $500 USD expenses, cash, half up-front.

What do you get for that $3,500 fee?
well, it's $3500 now and 3500 later, and i suspect it doesn't include paying hundreds of dollars to get documents Apostilled and sent via FedEx/DHL $$$$$

it's a process for temporary residence, then permanent residence or citizenship. my goal is an Argentine passport so i can travel to Russia someday. other people want to be able to come and go freely, without fear of being deported/denied. other people want a DNI # so they can have bank accounts, use MercadoLibre/MercadoPago, etc.

Can you come and go from Argentina during the process?
yep once you have residency, just like any other country, you should be able to come and go. Rubilar and other lawyers recommend ~7 months inside Argentina per calendar year, to show commitment for citizenship/permanent residency.
Living beneath your means is a great method to retire early. Good on you for doing that. Strip clubs can get expensive. Decades ago before I figured out I was gay I spent a lot on strip clubs. My downfall is dining out but I don't like to cook. But I am gearing away from touristy places and more local places and that is better for my budget.
but if we go into WW3 and all of us get nuked, none of the frugality will matter! : P

i've followed Ron Paul's politics for about 15 years now, so my goal is mostly to work around the fact that Social Security won't exist, government-backed retirements like Roth/401k/etc. are too easily nationalized, and i truly believe the stock market is rigged for the elites...so i don't play. i probably won't 'retire' ever because i just want to work in areas i'm interested in. but yes, i'd like to keep saving and living sustainably so i can perma-travel. right now, i have enough money in my savings account to live for about 30 months if nothing else changes. but i keep finding new ways to spend Cryptocurrency, so it will likely make my Dollars go much longer than that.

i also don't like to cook, i feel ya! but i've started doing it more in BsAs because i'd overall give the food a 6/10 compared to the big cities in the USA. and they cook with Sunflower Oil and other crap that is known to be cancerous when under high heat/skillets.

In BA once you own a place
and in the US you need 55k-100k to put down on a 20% downpayment for a house, so not too far-fetched right now to snag a 100k apartment and never have to pay rent here again. and rent it out if you're the 20% type that likes to hustle on Airbnb

Most of them are around $1,600 USD a month
i've never understood this, because a lot of these people are out and about all the time. why pay double for a place you just sleep in and sit on your phone inside?

$475 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/808079257430051647
$514 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/784862470412478590
$573 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/935759243453201506
$508 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/863768067224017097
$540 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/815139370772446364

these are half or one-third of that price almost! i would love having your friends as Guests when i get an Airbnb rental :p

Too bad Argentina does not make it easier to get permanent residency. Seems like a complicated mess even under the best of circumstances.
i was just chatting with Agustin Beaudean the lawyer about this. if you want to overstay for 5 years, you'll probably not get caught unless arrested. but if you're honest and want to follow the law and put roots down, Migraciones glares at you with suspicion :p

hopefully Milei's cabinet directs the immigration leaders to stop adding extra sh*t to the requirements. every category i've investigated has some sort of mystery to it. Rentista? just show 5x the minimum Argentine wage, and you're good! 'oh well, it might need to be 2000 USD per month. and it might need to have 4k of it deposited into a local Pesos account. and it might need to sit there for an unknown amount of time. and you might need to have a CPA swear that your income is fixed in a notarized letter. and you might need to show a 1-year lease on your rental property' - etc. etc.

if they would just follow the law as it's written, it would be cake. but they add stuff on, unwritten rules, forcing you to try on your own or just give-up and pay a lawyer
 
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ask him! he's pretty responsive on WhatsApp. i started my initial request for info on: https://www.rubilarcitizenship.com/citizenship
(Contact page in the site banner)

and invite him to this forum :) maybe if enough of us ask, he'll spend time here like he did on the old forum. although some of his responses are pretty rambling and terse, for someone who claims to be educated and to be the most innovative lawyer in BsAs for unique citizenship approaches.

he quoted me 24-30 months from my first day in BsAs, 7 months a year in Argentina, $6500 USD plus about $500 USD expenses, cash, half up-front.


well, it's $3500 now and 3500 later, and i suspect it doesn't include paying hundreds of dollars to get documents Apostilled and sent via FedEx/DHL $$$$$

it's a process for temporary residence, then permanent residence or citizenship. my goal is an Argentine passport so i can travel to Russia someday. other people want to be able to come and go freely, without fear of being deported/denied. other people want a DNI # so they can have bank accounts, use MercadoLibre/MercadoPago, etc.


yep once you have residency, just like any other country, you should be able to come and go. Rubilar and other lawyers recommend ~7 months inside Argentina per calendar year, to show commitment for citizenship/permanent residency.

but if we go into WW3 and all of us get nuked, none of the frugality will matter! : P

i've followed Ron Paul's politics for about 15 years now, so my goal is mostly to work around the fact that Social Security won't exist, government-backed retirements like Roth/401k/etc. are too easily nationalized, and i truly believe the stock market is rigged for the elites...so i don't play. i probably won't 'retire' ever because i just want to work in areas i'm interested in. but yes, i'd like to keep saving and living sustainably so i can perma-travel. right now, i have enough money in my savings account to live for about 30 months if nothing else changes. but i keep finding new ways to spend Cryptocurrency, so it will likely make my Dollars go much longer than that.

i also don't like to cook, i feel ya! but i've started doing it more in BsAs because i'd overall give the food a 6/10 compared to the big cities in the USA. and they cook with Sunflower Oil and other crap that is known to be cancerous when under high heat/skillets.


and in the US you need 55k-100k to put down on a 20% downpayment for a house, so not too far-fetched right now to snag a 100k apartment and never have to pay rent here again. and rent it out if you're the 20% type that likes to hustle on Airbnb


i've never understood this, because a lot of these people are out and about all the time. why pay double for a place you just sleep in and sit on your phone inside?

$475 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/808079257430051647
$514 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/784862470412478590
$573 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/935759243453201506
$508 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/863768067224017097
$540 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/815139370772446364

these are half or one-third of that price almost! i would love having your friends as Guests when i get an Airbnb rental :p


i was just chatting with Agustin Beaudean the lawyer about this. if you want to overstay for 5 years, you'll probably not get caught unless arrested. but if you're honest and want to follow the law and put roots down, Migraciones glares at you with suspicion :p

hopefully Milei's cabinet directs the immigration leaders to stop adding extra sh*t to the requirements. every category i've investigated has some sort of mystery to it. Rentista? just show 5x the minimum Argentine wage, and you're good! 'oh well, it might need to be 2000 USD per month. and it might need to have 4k of it deposited into a local Pesos account. and it might need to sit there for an unknown amount of time. and you might need to have a CPA swear that your income is fixed in a notarized letter. and you might need to show a 1-year lease on your rental property' - etc. etc.

if they would just follow the law as it's written, it would be cake. but they add stuff on, unwritten rules, forcing you to try on your own or just give-up and pay a lawyer
Thank you for posting this helpful information. Even though you call me an idiot, I appreciate your posts. FYI how do you know that they cook with Sunflower Oil? Do you ask them? I was curious about this.
 
i've never understood this, because a lot of these people are out and about all the time. why pay double for a place you just sleep in and sit on your phone inside?

$475 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/808079257430051647
$514 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/784862470412478590
$573 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/935759243453201506
$508 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/863768067224017097
$540 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/815139370772446364

these are half or one-third of that price almost! i would love having your friends as Guests when i get an Airbnb rental :p


i was just chatting with Agustin Beaudean the lawyer about this. if you want to overstay for 5 years, you'll probably not get caught unless arrested. but if you're honest and want to follow the law and put roots down, Migraciones glares at you with suspicion :p

hopefully Milei's cabinet directs the immigration leaders to stop adding extra sh*t to the requirements. every category i've investigated has some sort of mystery to it. Rentista? just show 5x the minimum Argentine wage, and you're good! 'oh well, it might need to be 2000 USD per month. and it might need to have 4k of it deposited into a local Pesos account. and it might need to sit there for an unknown amount of time. and you might need to have a CPA swear that your income is fixed in a notarized letter. and you might need to show a 1-year lease on your rental property' - etc. etc.

if they would just follow the law as it's written, it would be cake. but they add stuff on, unwritten rules, forcing you to try on your own or just give-up and pay a lawyer
Thanks kid for posting these but they look smaller than a coffin to me. To each his own on size. One likes what they like. Everything is relative in life. Even the apartment I am renting now is a serious downgrade in size and comfort for me compared to what I lived in most of my life so I am already downgrading. You make a good point of course if you just need a sofa bed or a small apartment then you can find it in BA. Those apartments look ordinary and some only have a sofa bed. Some expats just need more space.

Argentina seems easy enough to stay forever if you wanted but many of us need to come and go to back home to United States. The more I am reading the more I am comfortable with just taking normal trips every 90 days in and out of Argentina and playing the legitimate tourist. No one can call me a fake tourist if I am actually traveling around South America.

Rentista visa seems like the easiest option for an old fart like me. I can quality with my social security payment.
 
Thanks kid
is this like a way of asserting dominance or something? i'm around 40 and you keep calling me "kid" but you do this to no one else i've noticed; this appears disrespectful, like you have some sort of issue. what's the deal?

they look smaller than a coffin to me
they aren't, and i already addressed these points when i wrote that the majority of people in BsAs are living just fine in regular apartments with Queen-sized beds. like i said, i would love to have you as a customer/Guest in my airbnb, because making $2,500 USD monthly when normal apartments are sub-800 would be killer! and i think earlyretirement has capitalized well on this niche.

To each his own on size. One likes what they like. Everything is relative in life.
sure, which i already agreed with you on. you're free to spend 10,000 USD per month on housing, if you want to rent a castle. my point is that in this Expat forum, people are probably not looking to spend the same rent they are already paying in the USA - but your posts make it seem like the 4 apartments i've lived in for the past 3 months are somehow inadequate, and this is going to mislead people like me planning trips to BsAs. $700 USD is a good goal right now to rent a normal apartment with a private washing machine and a normal balcony and a Queen bed. life is good!

You make a good point of course if you just need a sofa bed or a small apartment then you can find it in BA. Those apartments look ordinary and some only have a sofa bed.
it's not a small apartment, that's the entire point of my criticism of your post; these are normal apartments that over half of Buenos Aires folks live in, and thrive in, just fine. i don't often need to do sprints in my apartment, so having a 1-bedroom or a studio suits me and most people just fine. if you want to pay for 50-100 square meters, you're free to, but 30 meters is pretty big if you're just sleeping there! i live in a 1-bed apartment in Belgrano right now with a nice terrace and 2 air conditioners and a kitchen and washing machine, for under $800 USD on airbnb with a credit card. i have a girlfriend and a 90-pound dog, and we fit just fine. when we need space, we go to the nearby parks or walk around and eat...just like everyone else :) i am certainly not squeezed in a tiny space, nor am i sleeping on a sofa bed. i don't remember posting a link with only a sofa bed; are you sure you didn't just see one photo and close the tab? these 1-bedrooms usually have a sleeper couch in the main room and a double/queen bed in the bedroom. i actually have a full King 3m/3m right now and it is absolutely huge, where i can sprawl-out and not touch my girlfriend whatsoever

No one can call me a fake tourist if I am actually traveling around South America.
sure, the entire point of the Residency discussion is only when you need to be in Argentina for over 6 months a year. otherwise, just renew your Tourist Visa or overstay at your own risk tolerance. if you're a tourist, you're a tourist; the rest of us are trying to Expatriate - that's the definition of an Expat: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/expatriate

this is something very specific to leaving one's country and living abroad, permanently or in long stays. if you want to go to other countries and be a Tourist, you can do that anywhere from Thailand to Switzerland for 90 days at a time. if you want to see new places and hookup with new people and live a life of luxury, it's more of a scenario of being a wealthy retired tourist than it is being an Expat. this is why entire blogs like @BowTiedMara exist, to show how to "live where you're treated best" and how to best protect your family and assets, long-term:


Rentista visa seems like the easiest option for an old fart like me. I can quality with my social security payment.
you would be seeking the Pensionista Residency (not a Visa; it's granted through RADEX when you're already here in Argentina)


(Rentista means Rentier or someone who gets rental property income from outside of Argentina)
 
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is this like a way of asserting dominance or something? i'm around 40 and you keep calling me "kid" but you do this to no one else i've noticed; this appears disrespectful, like you have some sort of issue. what's the deal?


they aren't, and i already addressed these points when i wrote that the majority of people in BsAs are living just fine in regular apartments with Queen-sized beds. like i said, i would love to have you as a customer/Guest in my airbnb, because making $2,500 USD monthly when normal apartments are sub-800 would be killer! and i think earlyretirement has capitalized well on this niche.


sure, which i already agreed with you on. you're free to spend 10,000 USD per month on housing, if you want to rent a castle. my point is that in this Expat forum, people are probably not looking to spend the same rent they are already paying in the USA - but your posts make it seem like the 4 apartments i've lived in for the past 3 months are somehow inadequate, and this is going to mislead people like me planning trips to BsAs. $700 USD is a good goal right now to rent a normal apartment with a private washing machine and a normal balcony and a Queen bed. life is good!


it's not a small apartment, that's the entire point of my criticism of your post; these are normal apartments that over half of Buenos Aires folks live in, and thrive in, just fine. i don't often need to do sprints in my apartment, so having a 1-bedroom or a studio suits me and most people just fine. if you want to pay for 50-100 square meters, you're free to, but 30 meters is pretty big if you're just sleeping there! i live in a 1-bed apartment in Belgrano right now with a nice terrace and 2 air conditioners and a kitchen and washing machine, for under $800 USD on airbnb with a credit card. i have a girlfriend and a 90-pound dog, and we fit just fine. when we need space, we go to the nearby parks or walk around and eat...just like everyone else :) i am certainly not squeezed in a tiny space, nor am i sleeping on a sofa bed. i don't remember posting a link with only a sofa bed; are you sure you didn't just see one photo and close the tab? these 1-bedrooms usually have a sleeper couch in the main room and a double/queen bed in the bedroom. i actually have a full King 3m/3m right now and it is absolutely huge, where i can sprawl-out and not touch my girlfriend whatsoever


sure, the entire point of the Residency discussion is only when you need to be in Argentina for over 6 months a year. otherwise, just renew your Tourist Visa or overstay at your own risk tolerance. if you're a tourist, you're a tourist; the rest of us are trying to Expatriate - that's the definition of an Expat: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/expatriate

this is something very specific to leaving one's country and living abroad, permanently or in long stays. if you want to go to other countries and be a Tourist, you can do that anywhere from Thailand to Switzerland for 90 days at a time. if you want to see new places and hookup with new people and live a life of luxury, it's more of a scenario of being a wealthy retired tourist than it is being an Expat. this is why entire blogs like @BowTiedMara exist, to show how to "live where you're treated best" and how to best protect your family and assets, long-term:



you would be seeking the Pensionista Residency (not a Visa; it's granted through RADEX when you're already here in Argentina)


(Rentista means Rentier or someone who gets rental property income from outside of Argentina)
I'm sorry. No disrespect was intended. I am an old fart. I call everyone a kid compared to me but I won't call you that again and didn't know that bothers you. Thank you sir. You make some good points in your posts.
 
I am an old fart.
is @old fart also your account?

I call everyone a kid compared to me but I won't call you that again
well that's the point - i've never seen you call anyone else kid, so i was asking if it was some sort of debate technique.

didn't know that bothers you
no apology needed, and i didn't lose sleep about it, but i perceived it to be a conversational way of dismissing what i'm discussing by implying that our age means you would always be correct, in a conflict. you can call me whatever you want, it was just strange that several times you have rejected my links/posts and used "kid" but never to anyone else. it seemed like instead of addressing my claims or conversing about the subject, the responses were in essence: 'you're young, i'm wiser, thanks for trying, kid, but nothing you say is going to make a difference to my decision' - which doesn't really help the conversation for other people.

i agree you should have more life experience than someone younger, but then again someone who is 100 who has been a trust-fund baby and has been lounging for decades is certainly not going to be a village elder...but someone who is 25-50 who has excelled in a field, written a book, won a local election, mentored youth, and runs a small company surely will be better suited for everyday life than just the other person who is simply older, right?

(not speaking of myself, just in generalities)

like i said, i think we're saying the same thing, that you're free to spend 10,000 USD a month wherever you are, and both of us want you to be happy. but you seem to have a personal reaction to me giving perspective for other people, and when i'm offering an alternative to spending 2500 USD on rent in an affordable city like CABA, it feels like you take it personally...i'm not criticizing your life, just simply letting would-be Expats know that these words like "small coffin" etc. are just subjective. and i'm for sure living in a bigger place right now in Belgrano than i have all over Europe, and my last apartment when i was in the USA. that's all :) i feel it's pretty unremarkable to state that most people live in a 1-bed or Studio apartment here, and use a Double/Queen bed, and they are paying under 800 bucks monthly, so if those things aren't important to you, but traveling longer is, there are more options. that being said, i was looking at prices in Budapest and Prague this week, and it looks like 1300 USD is about the lowest cost of apartments monthyl! :O my lifestyle goes 2-4x longer here in Argentina, so i might be putting my Balkans/Central/Eastern Europe plans on hold until this recession smooths-out. although Albania has some stuff around the 550 USD range if you don't mind a long-stay hotel setup: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/985603211299123923
 
Even though you call me an idiot
have you stopped to ponder why? or still just continuing on with your strange behavior?

how do you know that they cook with Sunflower Oil? Do you ask them?
basically in poorer areas around the world, they will cook with whatever is cheapest. when i was working alongside USAID in Iraq, the food packages were flour, salt, sugar, and 'seed oils' because they can be stored easily and offer a way to cook/fry/bake/etc. - Page 9 here for Fortified Vegetable Oil: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-08/FY23_Commodity_Catalog.pdf

it's just cheap and easy to store and transport. and there's a huge history of the "Health Experts" promoting Margarine/Crisco/etc. for decades...we humans for 99% of existence used to cook with animal fats, then the FDA and some big companies pushed Margarine, Shortening, etc. - here's a preview of an article about the history of the 1900s: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/when-trans-fats-were-healthy/281274/

for BsAs i'm assuming based on the previous 50% poverty level, and also because in grocery stores you have something like 40 bottles of olive oil displayed, with an entire section of hundreds of bottles/huge jugs of Sunflower Oil (aceite de Girasol). basically, if a restaurant's menu doesn't specify Olive Oil or Avocado Oil or Beef Tallow or Pork Fat or Ghee, assume you're getting a cancerous Vegetable/Seed Oils (not just in Argentina, but USA also). these oils are some of the most harmful things to health, but organizations like the FDA push the use of them just like they pushed the erroneous Food Pyramid, rather than a better alternative like the Mediterranean Diet.

overview of bad Seed/Vegetable Oils:

basically, we were lied to about Saturated Fats, and now the federal government still says things are safe **cough cough mRNA COVID shots** probably due to lobbying of massive corporations. in the end, common sense prevails: eat as much raw/whole foods as you can, avoid processing/laboratory stuff, and get sunshine, exercise, and good sleep, with moderation as your mindset. @sophos can probably expound on most of this better than i can, but a simple google search is a good start. here's the second result of my last search:

The idea that saturated fats cause heart disease, called the diet-heart hypothesis, was introduced in the 1950s, based on weak, associational evidence. Subsequent clinical trials attempting to substantiate this hypothesis could never establish a causal link. However, these clinical-trial data were largely ignored for decades, until journalists brought them to light about a decade ago. Subsequent reexaminations of this evidence by nutrition experts have now been published in >20 review papers, which have largely concluded that saturated fats have no effect on cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality or total mortality. The current challenge is for this new consensus on saturated fats to be recognized by policy makers, who, in the United States, have shown marked resistance to the introduction of the new evidence. In the case of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines, experts have been found even to deny their own evidence. The global re-evaluation of saturated fats that has occurred over the past decade implies that caps on these fats are not warranted and should no longer be part of national dietary guidelines. Conflicts of interest and longstanding biases stand in the way of updating dietary policy to reflect the current evidence.

contrast this with my entire life being lied-to about Saturated Fats (i was told issues came from red meat/animal products) when every label said "diets low in saturated fats and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease" https://faculty.washington.edu/farkas/HCDE510-Fall2012/FrontEndNutritionRatingSystems-II.pdf

...and anyone else remember the gov't claiming that eating dietary cholesterol (like in egg yolks, which they convinced us were unhealthy!!! wtf) would lead to increased blood cholesterol levels...with no evidence? i do. but:
Dietary cholesterol intake has very little impact on blood cholesterol levels. The liver tightly regulates the production of cholesterol in the body. If you were to eat no dietary cholesterol whatsoever, your liver would ramp up production to meet demand (cholesterol is needed to make hormones, bile, and cell membranes).

the Redditor nutritionist continues with a great summary: "All of this is to say, focus on the quality of your fat source: fresh, high-quality oils, not from a deep fryer, nuts, avocados, fish, seeds, grass-fed butter, organic cheeses, yogurts, milks, and grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken, you get the drift. Avoid hyperprocessed products with corn oil, palm oil, sunflower oil etc. Managing blood sugar, weight, high blood pressure, exercising, not drinking or smoking, and eating a variety of fiber, vegetables and fruits is the best thing you can do to prevent disease."

so, why has the FDA been claiming stuff like, "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease" exactly? https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Food-Labeling-Guide-(PDF).pdf

i'll leave this here:
 
There is only one @old fart. Although there are other old farts out there which others on this board also sound like they are in my age range. I am sorry as I think I called you kid once as well. It's a generational thing. I won't do it again.
 
@old fart i'm not worried about it, just was asking because his use seemed like a debate technique (age meaning he was correct) - i didn't remember anything you said being offensive, so no apology needed from anyone!

regarding your work search from the other thread, have you found-out if you can even get a job in Argentina? i can't actually find any information if USA folks can get a work visa. i asked a resort in Salta and they said they never hire Expats because Non-MERCOSUR is too expensive and difficult, so they just hire locals, even if they can't quite get the skills they need for the jobs.

could you translate English/Spanish, if paid? here's a similar situation for a Japanese-American dad:
i was looking at some "WWOOF" or Farm-Stays when i was first researching my travel for 2024. ever consider one of those?
 
@old fart i'm not worried about it, just was asking because his use seemed like a debate technique (age meaning he was correct) - i didn't remember anything you said being offensive, so no apology needed from anyone!

regarding your work search from the other thread, have you found-out if you can even get a job in Argentina? i can't actually find any information if USA folks can get a work visa. i asked a resort in Salta and they said they never hire Expats because Non-MERCOSUR is too expensive and difficult, so they just hire locals, even if they can't quite get the skills they need for the jobs.

could you translate English/Spanish, if paid? here's a similar situation for a Japanese-American dad:
i was looking at some "WWOOF" or Farm-Stays when i was first researching my travel for 2024. ever consider one of those?
It just seems like the local companies will only pay local wages which is almost nothing. I tried finding some gigs online from the USA but there were some online testing of how quickly I can type or respond and I guess I wasn't fast enough. I'm just getting by on my social security payments now.
 
I'm just getting by on my social security payments now.
roger! if you find out if a Work Visa for someone from the USA is even possible, let me know! i'm sure we aren't the only ones looking for similar info. it's actually surprising that i can't find anything, but it suggests there's no real chance of getting one (or this would be a great way to get residency and citizenship). but with the new laws this year, maybe local companies will actually be able to hire USA peeps?

the past MEP spends from 07-18Feb2024 below:



 



and sorry to everyone that this last post will likely cause Larry to do his usual sky-is-falling nonsense, and Avocado will probably do the 'THIS IS MILEI'S FAULT, I TOLD YOU STUPID ESTADOUNIDENSES NOT TO VOTE FOR HIM!!!!! ENJOY BEING POOR LIKE US PIQUETEROS!!!!111111ONEONEONE'

should be interesting to see now that the holiday spree is over, what tomorrow/Monday will bring since it looks like the exponential Peso devaluation peaked on 21Jan and could decline a lot, which means prices in Pesos will probably decline at the same rate. @earlyretirement your prediction? @Betsy Ross what are the people saying??

if you can use Western Union with no fee, right now it is just over 1100 Pesos and it's a steal, versus credit cards (especially if you're getting 5-30% discounts for efectivo)
 



and sorry to everyone that this last post will likely cause Larry to do his usual sky-is-falling nonsense, and Avocado will probably do the 'THIS IS MILEI'S FAULT, I TOLD YOU STUPID ESTADOUNIDENSES NOT TO VOTE FOR HIM!!!!! ENJOY BEING POOR LIKE US PIQUETEROS!!!!111111ONEONEONE'

should be interesting to see now that the holiday spree is over, what tomorrow/Monday will bring since it looks like the exponential Peso devaluation peaked on 21Jan and could decline a lot, which means prices in Pesos will probably decline at the same rate. @earlyretirement your prediction? @Betsy Ross what are the people saying??

if you can use Western Union with no fee, right now it is just over 1100 Pesos and it's a steal, versus credit cards (especially if you're getting 5-30% discounts for efectivo)
I never said the sky is falling but I keep saying how expensive things are getting and your posts are proving it so thanks for sharing your information. Blue rate is going down. Everything is getting more expensive here.
 



and sorry to everyone that this last post will likely cause Larry to do his usual sky-is-falling nonsense, and Avocado will probably do the 'THIS IS MILEI'S FAULT, I TOLD YOU STUPID ESTADOUNIDENSES NOT TO VOTE FOR HIM!!!!! ENJOY BEING POOR LIKE US PIQUETEROS!!!!111111ONEONEONE'

should be interesting to see now that the holiday spree is over, what tomorrow/Monday will bring since it looks like the exponential Peso devaluation peaked on 21Jan and could decline a lot, which means prices in Pesos will probably decline at the same rate. @earlyretirement your prediction? @Betsy Ross what are the people saying??

if you can use Western Union with no fee, right now it is just over 1100 Pesos and it's a steal, versus credit cards (especially if you're getting 5-30% discounts for efectivo)
No one really knows what will happen. Hopefully the blue rate gets better. Dollar has been weak lately. Even Milei says the next 2 months will be really really ugly.
 
I never said the sky is falling
  1. "I know I may be considered doom and gloom and I know I keep saying Argentina is horrible and too expensive but this time I really really mean it. I can't help but feel a sense of dread about the state of the financial system in Argentina – it's on the brink of collapse, and us expats are caught..."
  2. "Now the prices are crazy high like many other restaurants in BA. It's not just the touristy places that are expensive now. I find it hard to get a meal in BA for less than $20 USD in many places now. With the crazy inflation under Milei, I worry and wonder..."
  3. "Many restaurants are all tourists only. My local friends stopped eating out now."
  4. "I just hit up the supermarket, and prices basically doubled in a week. Now they're almost on par with USA prices! Veggies and fruits are even crazier expensive."
  5. "OK this time I super duper really double fingers cross mean it. BA is getting very pricey. I think I will finally throw in the towel. Milei is ruining this country and making it impossible to live. I know in my heart Massa would have done better. My #1 pick is Arequipa, Peru."
  6. "I'm genuinely worried about the cost of living in Argentina right now. In my opinion, it's never been this expensive ever! I've been keeping tabs on prices since 2002, and the numbers for food in dollars are just off the charts. It's kind of scary – in just six months, they might double"
  7. "Look online at some grocery store websites and you will see prices are crazy. A can of coke is almost $2 bucks. Milk is almost same price as USA at over $3 bucks. Fruits are all expensive as well. I bought some strawberries and they were the same as the USA. I blame all of this on Milei!"
  8. "In 8 months, tourism will drop, making Argentina too expensive for foreigners, and with fewer attractions, it won't be as appealing"
  9. "This is going to be painful for the elderly. Many people I know will need to cancel their medical plans now. These rates are expensive now. Especially for American senior citizens living in Argentina."
  10. "As everyone knows, Milei is making life more difficult for the everyday Argentines. Life is very expensive now"
  11. " it is certainly not cheap any more. Those days are gone."
  12. "cost of decent parillas has skyrocketed to a minimum of US $20 per person,"
  13. "Go to most cities around the world for a similar type of real in a similar restaurant in BA and you can probably get a cheaper meal there vs. BA now. I am not just talking about touristy places either. You can eat in many places in many cities for less than BA now. "
  14. "restaurant prices are approaching European levels, and the cost of high-quality supermarket food is rising faster than currency devaluations. In my opinion, in two years, it will be as expensive as in the USA."
  15. "Here is a Tik Tok I watched in 2022. You can see the prices in US Dollars for a meal for 2 people. Look now what the same meal is. Here it was only $6 USD."
  16. "Rental prices are insanely expensive on luxury or higher end apartments"
  17. "The only thing now is the prices are as expensive as the USA now there"
  18. "Massa would have been better. Milei will destroy Argentina. It's already becoming as expensive as the USA with meals."
  19. "Peru boasts numerous fantastic cities that are half the cost of Buenos Aires, such as Arequipa, Iquitos, Tarapoto, Trujillo, and many others. Additionally, the food in these cities is not only superior in quality but also more affordable."
  20. "Everything is getting more expensive here."
f*ck you, liar. @Larry, you lie, then lie about lying. this forum would be better off for everyone if you logged-off and left us alone, so we wouldn't have to see your idiotic rambling and lies.

for all the regular people (not Peronist pieces of sh*t like Larry) who are researching being an Expat in Buenos Aires today Feb2024, i can assure you the prices in Pesos have been going up for years, but the price to live here with Dollars has largely remained the same. a pack of Garlic is fifty cents, milk is $2.50 USD per gallon equivalent, gas has been just under 3 USD per gallon equivalent, nice beef steaks are 5500 Pesos per kilogram or $2.40 USD per pound of something like Bife Ancho which is like a t-bone, craft beer at hipster joints is $2-3 USD per pint (sometimes a bit better amount, like 500mL), a really nice burger/fries at a tourist place is 6000-9000 Pesos depending on the area or like $6.60 USD for a big meal eating out with an optional 10% tip included, transit is extremely cheap with a regular Uber drive across the city being $5 USD, tasty fresh hot empanadas were fifty cents and still are 50 cents for a medium-sized one, wine is $2-3 per bottle of local okay Malbec, and a normal apartment on Airbnb is easily available for $750 USD per month.

price of:
guess what these cost where i used to live in Arizona? spoiler alert, not even close to USA! don't listen to the Commies like Larry. there are several fake profiles from local Peronists brigading this new Expat forum. just come here and see how safe and cheap it is:
again, i know i repeat myself here, but i don't see much push-back other than a couple people here...but @Larry quite literally has no idea what he's talking about. in fact, he might not even be a male, he might be one of Avocado's accounts, or a Local here in BsAs who hasn't even been to the USA. Larry might not have been to the USA since before the COVID lockdowns, yet he is claiming he has any clue of prices in Europe, USA, etc. relative to Buenos Aires.

i love buying groceries even in "expensive" areas like here in Belgrano! my entire grocery bill is most often under $20 USD whereas that's like 4 items in the USA. rest assured that if you're an Expat that has any common sense whatsoever, Argentina will cost you a QUARTER of a comparable life in the USA (right now estimated 999 Pesos per Dollar with a USA Visa/MasterCard credit card)

Coke 758 Pesos per Liter: https://www.cotodigital3.com.ar/sit...abor-original--2-lt/_/A-00189596-00189596-200

Milk 648 Pesos per Liter: https://www.cotodigital3.com.ar/sit...era-coto-sachet-1-l/_/A-00010226-00010226-200

Parilla a Vacío steak at this parilla here is 8600 Pesos or $8.60 USD - that's quite a deal! of course you can find places to sell tourists $20-120 USD steaks, but local parillas have great cuts of meat and a whole meal for under $10 USD per person easily. and if you want to just buy 4 empanadas for 500 Pesos each, thats $2 USD for a full serving of bread/meat/veggies that you can pick-up quicker than a Little Caesar pizza! https://www.tupe.com.ar/web/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/menu_febrero.pdf

Meal how about this black-beer-braised Bondiola specialty here for 7100 Pesos or $7 USD? yum: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NidVavUxkshq5oCglWxIT0yeagEJBEik

Apartment here's a quick search, Recoleta, $617 USD on airbnb with a USA credit card for a month/30 nights: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/731547944393252893

Arequipa Peru - anyone able to find an apartment in Arequipa with the basics (A/C, WiFi, and a Washing Machine, "entire place" filter of course) for anything affordable? here's a search of Feb/Mar/Apr monthly flexible stay, $700 USD and under, with those filters, all of the city center, and there are zero apartments. guess this is more fake news from Larry, as usual:
there are 973 places in Buenos Aires around Recoleta/Palermo/Belgrano/VillaCrespo that match these filters:
Expats: i've been on the ground for almost exactly 3 months now, have documented prices here: www.x.com/ArgentinaMEP, and have recently extended my tourist visa another 90 days. so, once again, i think Larry is an absolutely horrible person for lying and deceiving newbies here, and i suspect their are so ulterior political motives at play, but if anyone wants to know actual info, i'd love to snap photos or look-up prices for ya : )


Dollar has been weak lately.
yes, MEP has been going down for me from a high of just over 1200 ARS/USD to about 1000 now, but have you also noticed that prices were going up in Pesos every week, but for the past ~3 weeks things have sort of stayed frozen?

for me, fresh milk for 999 Pesos, Bife Ancho at 5500 Pesos, and Empanadas at 400-500 Pesos haven't moved since i've been in Belgrano for about a month. @Betsy Ross have you seen Peso-price stability?
 
  1. "I know I may be considered doom and gloom and I know I keep saying Argentina is horrible and too expensive but this time I really really mean it. I can't help but feel a sense of dread about the state of the financial system in Argentina – it's on the brink of collapse, and us expats are caught..."
  2. "Now the prices are crazy high like many other restaurants in BA. It's not just the touristy places that are expensive now. I find it hard to get a meal in BA for less than $20 USD in many places now. With the crazy inflation under Milei, I worry and wonder..."
  3. "Many restaurants are all tourists only. My local friends stopped eating out now."
  4. "I just hit up the supermarket, and prices basically doubled in a week. Now they're almost on par with USA prices! Veggies and fruits are even crazier expensive."
  5. "OK this time I super duper really double fingers cross mean it. BA is getting very pricey. I think I will finally throw in the towel. Milei is ruining this country and making it impossible to live. I know in my heart Massa would have done better. My #1 pick is Arequipa, Peru."
  6. "I'm genuinely worried about the cost of living in Argentina right now. In my opinion, it's never been this expensive ever! I've been keeping tabs on prices since 2002, and the numbers for food in dollars are just off the charts. It's kind of scary – in just six months, they might double"
  7. "Look online at some grocery store websites and you will see prices are crazy. A can of coke is almost $2 bucks. Milk is almost same price as USA at over $3 bucks. Fruits are all expensive as well. I bought some strawberries and they were the same as the USA. I blame all of this on Milei!"
  8. "In 8 months, tourism will drop, making Argentina too expensive for foreigners, and with fewer attractions, it won't be as appealing"
  9. "This is going to be painful for the elderly. Many people I know will need to cancel their medical plans now. These rates are expensive now. Especially for American senior citizens living in Argentina."
  10. "As everyone knows, Milei is making life more difficult for the everyday Argentines. Life is very expensive now"
  11. " it is certainly not cheap any more. Those days are gone."
  12. "cost of decent parillas has skyrocketed to a minimum of US $20 per person,"
  13. "Go to most cities around the world for a similar type of real in a similar restaurant in BA and you can probably get a cheaper meal there vs. BA now. I am not just talking about touristy places either. You can eat in many places in many cities for less than BA now. "
  14. "restaurant prices are approaching European levels, and the cost of high-quality supermarket food is rising faster than currency devaluations. In my opinion, in two years, it will be as expensive as in the USA."
  15. "Here is a Tik Tok I watched in 2022. You can see the prices in US Dollars for a meal for 2 people. Look now what the same meal is. Here it was only $6 USD."
  16. "Rental prices are insanely expensive on luxury or higher end apartments"
  17. "The only thing now is the prices are as expensive as the USA now there"
  18. "Massa would have been better. Milei will destroy Argentina. It's already becoming as expensive as the USA with meals."
  19. "Peru boasts numerous fantastic cities that are half the cost of Buenos Aires, such as Arequipa, Iquitos, Tarapoto, Trujillo, and many others. Additionally, the food in these cities is not only superior in quality but also more affordable."
  20. "Everything is getting more expensive here."
f*ck you, liar. @Larry, you lie, then lie about lying. this forum would be better off for everyone if you logged-off and left us alone, so we wouldn't have to see your idiotic rambling and lies.

for all the regular people (not Peronist pieces of sh*t like Larry) who are researching being an Expat in Buenos Aires today Feb2024, i can assure you the prices in Pesos have been going up for years, but the price to live here with Dollars has largely remained the same. a pack of Garlic is fifty cents, milk is $2.50 USD per gallon equivalent, gas has been just under 3 USD per gallon equivalent, nice beef steaks are 5500 Pesos per kilogram or $2.40 USD per pound of something like Bife Ancho which is like a t-bone, craft beer at hipster joints is $2-3 USD per pint (sometimes a bit better amount, like 500mL), a really nice burger/fries at a tourist place is 6000-9000 Pesos depending on the area or like $6.60 USD for a big meal eating out with an optional 10% tip included, transit is extremely cheap with a regular Uber drive across the city being $5 USD, tasty fresh hot empanadas were fifty cents and still are 50 cents for a medium-sized one, wine is $2-3 per bottle of local okay Malbec, and a normal apartment on Airbnb is easily available for $750 USD per month.

price of:
guess what these cost where i used to live in Arizona? spoiler alert, not even close to USA! don't listen to the Commies like Larry. there are several fake profiles from local Peronists brigading this new Expat forum. just come here and see how safe and cheap it is:
again, i know i repeat myself here, but i don't see much push-back other than a couple people here...but @Larry quite literally has no idea what he's talking about. in fact, he might not even be a male, he might be one of Avocado's accounts, or a Local here in BsAs who hasn't even been to the USA. Larry might not have been to the USA since before the COVID lockdowns, yet he is claiming he has any clue of prices in Europe, USA, etc. relative to Buenos Aires.

i love buying groceries even in "expensive" areas like here in Belgrano! my entire grocery bill is most often under $20 USD whereas that's like 4 items in the USA. rest assured that if you're an Expat that has any common sense whatsoever, Argentina will cost you a QUARTER of a comparable life in the USA (right now estimated 999 Pesos per Dollar with a USA Visa/MasterCard credit card)

Coke 758 Pesos per Liter: https://www.cotodigital3.com.ar/sit...abor-original--2-lt/_/A-00189596-00189596-200

Milk 648 Pesos per Liter: https://www.cotodigital3.com.ar/sit...era-coto-sachet-1-l/_/A-00010226-00010226-200

Parilla a Vacío steak at this parilla here is 8600 Pesos or $8.60 USD - that's quite a deal! of course you can find places to sell tourists $20-120 USD steaks, but local parillas have great cuts of meat and a whole meal for under $10 USD per person easily. and if you want to just buy 4 empanadas for 500 Pesos each, thats $2 USD for a full serving of bread/meat/veggies that you can pick-up quicker than a Little Caesar pizza! https://www.tupe.com.ar/web/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/menu_febrero.pdf

Meal how about this black-beer-braised Bondiola specialty here for 7100 Pesos or $7 USD? yum: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NidVavUxkshq5oCglWxIT0yeagEJBEik

Apartment here's a quick search, Recoleta, $617 USD on airbnb with a USA credit card for a month/30 nights: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/731547944393252893

Arequipa Peru - anyone able to find an apartment in Arequipa with the basics (A/C, WiFi, and a Washing Machine, "entire place" filter of course) for anything affordable? here's a search of Feb/Mar/Apr monthly flexible stay, $700 USD and under, with those filters, all of the city center, and there are zero apartments. guess this is more fake news from Larry, as usual:
there are 973 places in Buenos Aires around Recoleta/Palermo/Belgrano/VillaCrespo that match these filters:
Expats: i've been on the ground for almost exactly 3 months now, have documented prices here: www.x.com/ArgentinaMEP, and have recently extended my tourist visa another 90 days. so, once again, i think Larry is an absolutely horrible person for lying and deceiving newbies here, and i suspect their are so ulterior political motives at play, but if anyone wants to know actual info, i'd love to snap photos or look-up prices for ya : )



yes, MEP has been going down for me from a high of just over 1200 ARS/USD to about 1000 now, but have you also noticed that prices were going up in Pesos every week, but for the past ~3 weeks things have sort of stayed frozen?

for me, fresh milk for 999 Pesos, Bife Ancho at 5500 Pesos, and Empanadas at 400-500 Pesos haven't moved since i've been in Belgrano for about a month. @Betsy Ross have you seen Peso-price stability?
Definitely, I think people that say prices are the same price in Argentina haven't visited the USA in some time. People talk about the inflation in BA but the inflation in the US is crazy high too. Nothing like the government is saying it is. My folks live in New York and I spent a few weeks there and dining out is just crazy there. Same with groceries.
 
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