Banking Credit Card real-world rate "MEP" transaction repo (Dec2023)

[StatusNomadicus]

You can get some great values once you get out of CABA.
Tough finding a bigger property here in desirable hoods of BA without spending a ton of $$$.

hi Wally! i was chatting with an Airbnb Host who has a huge "villa" for 3500 USD monthly or 816 USD for a weekend/four nights:

Villa in Capital · ★4.81 · 4 bedrooms · 8 beds · 3 baths

Fancy house with mini pool and garden.

www.airbnb.com

...and this Host said the entire property was about 400,000 USD i sold my house around the Phoenix metro area for over 500,000 USD and it was just a typical suburb 2,000-sqft home with a small backyard. crazy how much prices differ, as earlyretirement and you guys have noted.

I live in Los Angeles

broooooo, you gotta get out! i grew-up in Orange County and there are some super nice areas...but damn, so many State taxes and crazy regulations. ever consider joining half of your statesmen and moving to AZ? there were billboards a few years ago in Phoenix saying "Don't California My Arizona" ahahahahahahha.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655248190923317249

i totally understand the conveniences. i also liked cities when i was in my 20s, and i like visiting places like Prague, Berlin, etc. but as i'm planning on where to do some off-the-grid stuff in a few years, i don't want to be bothered by transients/bums/beggars daily...and i know Californians know about 'homeless' tents/encampments :/

Mendocinan

Wikipedia says a person from Mendoza is "Demonym: Mendozan (Mendocino/-a Spanish)"
(demonym is one of those words from linguistics that you learn, then forgot wtf it means the next day hahaha)

this is like the common argument about "Argentine" versus "Argentinian" - i think the best way to describe a person is "Argentine" from argentino/a and things from Argentina like wine are Argentinian. so, i think Mendozan would be correct, although the spell-check on this forum says it's not a word! language is super interesting

and unrelated, but regarding updates on crypto/Bitcoin/etc. here is 19Jun2024 Milei's tweet:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803462625893704118

 

[Vince]

hi Wally! i was chatting with an Airbnb Host who has a huge "villa" for 3500 USD monthly or 816 USD for a weekend/four nights:

Villa in Capital · ★4.81 · 4 bedrooms · 8 beds · 3 baths

Fancy house with mini pool and garden.

www.airbnb.com

...and this Host said the entire property was about 400,000 USD i sold my house around the Phoenix metro area for over 500,000 USD and it was just a typical suburb 2,000-sqft home with a small backyard. crazy how much prices differ, as earlyretirement and you guys have noted.


broooooo, you gotta get out! i grew-up in Orange County and there are some super nice areas...but damn, so many State taxes and crazy regulations. ever consider joining half of your statesmen and moving to AZ? there were billboards a few years ago in Phoenix saying "Don't California My Arizona" ahahahahahahha.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655248190923317249

i totally understand the conveniences. i also liked cities when i was in my 20s, and i like visiting places like Prague, Berlin, etc. but as i'm planning on where to do some off-the-grid stuff in a few years, i don't want to be bothered by transients/bums/beggars daily...and i know Californians know about 'homeless' tents/encampments :/


Wikipedia says a person from Mendoza is "Demonym: Mendozan (Mendocino/-a Spanish)"
(demonym is one of those words from linguistics that you learn, then forgot wtf it means the next day hahaha)

this is like the common argument about "Argentine" versus "Argentinian" - i think the best way to describe a person is "Argentine" from argentino/a and things from Argentina like wine are Argentinian. so, i think Mendozan would be correct, although the spell-check on this forum says it's not a word! language is super interesting

and unrelated, but regarding updates on crypto/Bitcoin/etc. here is 19Jun2024 Milei's tweet:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803462625893704118

Those larger properties in CABA on Airbnb can make a lot of money. Most of Airbnb are small properties as that is all the locals can afford. Many Argentines like to rent big properties for the weekends with their families. Those that have $$$ of course have their own properties as weekend homes. My wife's family owns a few houses like this. I ask them why they don't Airbnb them but they wouldn't dream of it.

 

[Wally]

hi Wally! i was chatting with an Airbnb Host who has a huge "villa" for 3500 USD monthly or 816 USD for a weekend/four nights:

Villa in Capital · ★4.81 · 4 bedrooms · 8 beds · 3 baths

Fancy house with mini pool and garden.

www.airbnb.com

...and this Host said the entire property was about 400,000 USD i sold my house around the Phoenix metro area for over 500,000 USD and it was just a typical suburb 2,000-sqft home with a small backyard. crazy how much prices differ, as earlyretirement and you guys have noted.


broooooo, you gotta get out! i grew-up in Orange County and there are some super nice areas...but damn, so many State taxes and crazy regulations. ever consider joining half of your statesmen and moving to AZ? there were billboards a few years ago in Phoenix saying "Don't California My Arizona" ahahahahahahha.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655248190923317249

i totally understand the conveniences. i also liked cities when i was in my 20s, and i like visiting places like Prague, Berlin, etc. but as i'm planning on where to do some off-the-grid stuff in a few years, i don't want to be bothered by transients/bums/beggars daily...and i know Californians know about 'homeless' tents/encampments :/


Wikipedia says a person from Mendoza is "Demonym: Mendozan (Mendocino/-a Spanish)"
(demonym is one of those words from linguistics that you learn, then forgot wtf it means the next day hahaha)

this is like the common argument about "Argentine" versus "Argentinian" - i think the best way to describe a person is "Argentine" from argentino/a and things from Argentina like wine are Argentinian. so, i think Mendozan would be correct, although the spell-check on this forum says it's not a word! language is super interesting

and unrelated, but regarding updates on crypto/Bitcoin/etc. here is 19Jun2024 Milei's tweet:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803462625893704118

@StatusNomadicus those kind of listings always make me laugh. Cheap no frills furniture and nothing too special but like you mentioned charging about $1,000 for a long weekend. I don't know what occupancy are like but I do have friends that will rent houses like that for weekends and do asados. They just split the fee amongst them and only pay about $200 each.

My sister lives in Huntington Beach and loves it there. I doubt she will ever move unless something happens to her husband's job. It is expensive there but if you can afford it, life is good. Every time we visit her my kids want to move there.

I like AZ to visit but it's too damn hot there!

 

[Larry]

@StatusNomadicus those kind of listings always make me laugh. Cheap no frills furniture and nothing too special but like you mentioned charging about $1,000 for a long weekend. I don't know what occupancy are like but I do have friends that will rent houses like that for weekends and do asados. They just split the fee amongst them and only pay about $200 each.

My sister lives in Huntington Beach and loves it there. I doubt she will ever move unless something happens to her husband's job. It is expensive there but if you can afford it, life is good. Every time we visit her my kids want to move there.

I like AZ to visit but it's too damn hot there!

I have rented large properties like this on Airbnb when my friends come in town. Like Wally mentioned we just all share the cost and it is not so dear that way.

 

[Spend Thrift]

hi Wally! i was chatting with an Airbnb Host who has a huge "villa" for 3500 USD monthly or 816 USD for a weekend/four nights:

Villa in Capital · ★4.81 · 4 bedrooms · 8 beds · 3 baths

Fancy house with mini pool and garden.

www.airbnb.com

...and this Host said the entire property was about 400,000 USD i sold my house around the Phoenix metro area for over 500,000 USD and it was just a typical suburb 2,000-sqft home with a small backyard. crazy how much prices differ, as earlyretirement and you guys have noted.

That doesn't look like any "villa" to me!

Great if they can get it but something tells me they probably only rent out a weekend or two per month. Real estate prices in the States have gotten crazy. I sold at a great price but prices seem like they aren't going down.

 

[JonJLA]

hi Wally! i was chatting with an Airbnb Host who has a huge "villa" for 3500 USD monthly or 816 USD for a weekend/four nights:

Villa in Capital · ★4.81 · 4 bedrooms · 8 beds · 3 baths

Fancy house with mini pool and garden.

www.airbnb.com

...and this Host said the entire property was about 400,000 USD i sold my house around the Phoenix metro area for over 500,000 USD and it was just a typical suburb 2,000-sqft home with a small backyard. crazy how much prices differ, as earlyretirement and you guys have noted.


broooooo, you gotta get out! i grew-up in Orange County and there are some super nice areas...but damn, so many State taxes and crazy regulations. ever consider joining half of your statesmen and moving to AZ? there were billboards a few years ago in Phoenix saying "Don't California My Arizona" ahahahahahahha.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655248190923317249

i totally understand the conveniences. i also liked cities when i was in my 20s, and i like visiting places like Prague, Berlin, etc. but as i'm planning on where to do some off-the-grid stuff in a few years, i don't want to be bothered by transients/bums/beggars daily...and i know Californians know about 'homeless' tents/encampments :/


Wikipedia says a person from Mendoza is "Demonym: Mendozan (Mendocino/-a Spanish)"
(demonym is one of those words from linguistics that you learn, then forgot wtf it means the next day hahaha)

this is like the common argument about "Argentine" versus "Argentinian" - i think the best way to describe a person is "Argentine" from argentino/a and things from Argentina like wine are Argentinian. so, i think Mendozan would be correct, although the spell-check on this forum says it's not a word! language is super interesting

and unrelated, but regarding updates on crypto/Bitcoin/etc. here is 19Jun2024 Milei's tweet:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803462625893704118

There are many Argentines that live off rental income from properties they own. I have several friends from Buenos Aires that inherited several properties and they just rent them out. I own a small studio apartment in Palermo in a skyscraper that I was fortunate enough to buy many years ago. Almost the entire building is owned by mostly locals that rent out on Airbnb on or long term rentals. I'm not sure how busy those big houses are but I have friends that tried to sell big properties like that and they are literally for sale for 4 years or more.

@StatusNomadicus I actually enjoy California minus the taxes. I bought my house 23 years ago. I may move out someday but maybe not because I live a few blocks from the beach. I could never live in Arizona. The heat would kill me. It is expensive here but the weather is unbeatable and my quality of life is great. I couldn't afford my house if I were go buy today but life is still great here. Orange County is also a wonderful area and I have many friends there that also probably will never leave.

 

[crypto]

There are many Argentines that live off rental income from properties they own. I have several friends from Buenos Aires that inherited several properties and they just rent them out. I own a small studio apartment in Palermo in a skyscraper that I was fortunate enough to buy many years ago. Almost the entire building is owned by mostly locals that rent out on Airbnb on or long term rentals. I'm not sure how busy those big houses are but I have friends that tried to sell big properties like that and they are literally for sale for 4 years or more.

@StatusNomadicus I actually enjoy California minus the taxes. I bought my house 23 years ago. I may move out someday but maybe not because I live a few blocks from the beach. I could never live in Arizona. The heat would kill me. It is expensive here but the weather is unbeatable and my quality of life is great. I couldn't afford my house if I were go buy today but life is still great here. Orange County is also a wonderful area and I have many friends there that also probably will never leave.

My uncle lives in the OC. One of the most beautiful spots in the US. If I could afford it I would definitely live there but no way I could ever afford it. Rents and properties to buy are obscenely high. Now that bitcoin is crashing again I'm not even rich on paper.

 

[earlyretirement]

hi Wally! i was chatting with an Airbnb Host who has a huge "villa" for 3500 USD monthly or 816 USD for a weekend/four nights:

Villa in Capital · ★4.81 · 4 bedrooms · 8 beds · 3 baths

Fancy house with mini pool and garden.

www.airbnb.com

...and this Host said the entire property was about 400,000 USD i sold my house around the Phoenix metro area for over 500,000 USD and it was just a typical suburb 2,000-sqft home with a small backyard. crazy how much prices differ, as earlyretirement and you guys have noted.


broooooo, you gotta get out! i grew-up in Orange County and there are some super nice areas...but damn, so many State taxes and crazy regulations. ever consider joining half of your statesmen and moving to AZ? there were billboards a few years ago in Phoenix saying "Don't California My Arizona" ahahahahahahha.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655248190923317249

i totally understand the conveniences. i also liked cities when i was in my 20s, and i like visiting places like Prague, Berlin, etc. but as i'm planning on where to do some off-the-grid stuff in a few years, i don't want to be bothered by transients/bums/beggars daily...and i know Californians know about 'homeless' tents/encampments :/


Wikipedia says a person from Mendoza is "Demonym: Mendozan (Mendocino/-a Spanish)"
(demonym is one of those words from linguistics that you learn, then forgot wtf it means the next day hahaha)

this is like the common argument about "Argentine" versus "Argentinian" - i think the best way to describe a person is "Argentine" from argentino/a and things from Argentina like wine are Argentinian. so, i think Mendozan would be correct, although the spell-check on this forum says it's not a word! language is super interesting

and unrelated, but regarding updates on crypto/Bitcoin/etc. here is 19Jun2024 Milei's tweet:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803462625893704118

I'm glad you're enjoying Mendoza @StatusNomadicus. I don't know the areas too well but enjoyed my visits each time I went out there. Those bigger Airbnb properties can make a lot of net income. I was one of the first investors that were building larger houses and listing them first on my own website and then Luxury Retreats bought my company and then Airbnb bought them. The ROI can be huge on them.

California IS very expensive but if you can afford it, I still say it's one of the most desirable places to live, especially if you're raising kids. I live in South California and it's as good as it gets raising kids. The city is safe, really beautiful beaches, very safe, beautiful scenery, and proximity to Mexico are all great. The only downside is it's expensive.

For those that can afford it, it's an amazing place to live.

 

[Betsy Ross]

I'm glad you're enjoying Mendoza @StatusNomadicus. I don't know the areas too well but enjoyed my visits each time I went out there. Those bigger Airbnb properties can make a lot of net income. I was one of the first investors that were building larger houses and listing them first on my own website and then Luxury Retreats bought my company and then Airbnb bought them. The ROI can be huge on them.

California IS very expensive but if you can afford it, I still say it's one of the most desirable places to live, especially if you're raising kids. I live in South California and it's as good as it gets raising kids. The city is safe, really beautiful beaches, very safe, beautiful scenery, and proximity to Mexico are all great. The only downside is it's expensive.

For those that can afford it, it's an amazing place to live.

My sister lives in Southern California and loves it. But she complains about cost of living all the time. She lives up near Santa Barbara. Every time I visit her I'm surprised how great the weather is there. There is no way I could afford to live there.

 

[Uncle Wong]

My sister lives in Southern California and loves it. But she complains about cost of living all the time. She lives up near Santa Barbara. Every time I visit her I'm surprised how great the weather is there. There is no way I could afford to live there.

Beautiful area but cost of living there is sky high. I have an uncle that lives not too far from there and he is complaining as insurance companies are pulling out of California so not only is cost of real estate crazy high there but insurance prices are skyrocketing. I think the same thing is happening on parts of Florida too.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

thanks for all the anecdotes and well-wishes, it's slightly more chilly here (-4 to 14 C this week) compared to CABA (2 to 16 C), but it's been fantastically sunny. at night the air seems dirtier, likely because poor folks are burning things for warmth in this working-class neighborhood i'm in, but i suspect that will change once i'm downtown in Mendoza.

MEP still going strong just now with Visa, 1309! make those big card purchases now...who knows if we'll hit 1500, or if it will go back to 1000 as the US economy continues in its recession (will Argentina be buoyed by an influx of new companies, post-Ley-Bases?). we live in very uncertain times

https://twitter.com/x/status/1810431707755204935

 

[Wally]

thanks for all the anecdotes and well-wishes, it's slightly more chilly here (-4 to 14 C this week) compared to CABA (2 to 16 C), but it's been fantastically sunny. at night the air seems dirtier, likely because poor folks are burning things for warmth in this working-class neighborhood i'm in, but i suspect that will change once i'm downtown in Mendoza.

MEP still going strong just now with Visa, 1309! make those big card purchases now...who knows if we'll hit 1500, or if it will go back to 1000 as the US economy continues in its recession (will Argentina be buoyed by an influx of new companies, post-Ley-Bases?). we live in very uncertain times

https://twitter.com/x/status/1810431707755204935

Stay warm! Loving these MEP rates. Hit 1450 at one point today.

 

[import export]

Stay warm! Loving these MEP rates. Hit 1450 at one point today.

My amiga told me it hit 1475 today downtown at one casa de cambio. MEP jumped up to almost 1,400 too. It will be interesting to see where things shake up in another month. Once it hits 1,500 there will probably be a lot of psychological decisions to pile into the dollar. No telling where this could go but even though the government says they won't devalue again it will be difficult not to.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Once it hits 1,500 there will probably be a lot of psychological decisions to pile into the dollar. No telling where this could go but even though the government says they won't devalue again it will be difficult not to.

prediction complete, BlueDollar at 1500 pesos right now as of 13:00 on 12Jul2024...enjoy your great spends this weekend!

Cotización del dólar hoy, dólar blue | Ámbito

Cotización y el precio del dólar hoy. Seguí la información sobre el dólar, el dólar blue, dólar MEP, dólar CCL, dólar ahorro, dólar turista, el dólar Banco Nación, y el dólar mayorista minuto a minuto.

www.ambito.com

 

[Vince]

prediction complete, BlueDollar at 1500 pesos right now as of 13:00 on 12Jul2024...enjoy your great spends this weekend!

Cotización del dólar hoy, dólar blue | Ámbito

Cotización y el precio del dólar hoy. Seguí la información sobre el dólar, el dólar blue, dólar MEP, dólar CCL, dólar ahorro, dólar turista, el dólar Banco Nación, y el dólar mayorista minuto a minuto.

www.ambito.com

Yep. 1500 came faster than I thought it would. The past few days you also see many locals now panic buying dollars. It was fairly stable the past few months and made people forget the importance of always holding USD vs. pesos. Some property owners were even getting a bit nuts. A friend of mine was renting a long term rental and the owner wanted to lock it in pesos vs. dollars. I thought that was crazy. There was an inflation adjustment but USD is always better over the long haul.

 

[Digital Nomad]

prediction complete, BlueDollar at 1500 pesos right now as of 13:00 on 12Jul2024...enjoy your great spends this weekend!

Cotización del dólar hoy, dólar blue | Ámbito

Cotización y el precio del dólar hoy. Seguí la información sobre el dólar, el dólar blue, dólar MEP, dólar CCL, dólar ahorro, dólar turista, el dólar Banco Nación, y el dólar mayorista minuto a minuto.

www.ambito.com

I am LOVING this high blue rate. Makes it so much cheaper compared to a few months ago at 1000 to $1 ! The higher the better as far as I'm concerned. MEP rate is great!

 

[import export]

I am LOVING this high blue rate. Makes it so much cheaper compared to a few months ago at 1000 to $1 ! The higher the better as far as I'm concerned. MEP rate is great!

Yes nice to have things back to how it was last year. Enjoying these higher rates. I'd like the best of both worlds with high blue dollar and things improving there. That is ideal scenario for me.

 

[earlyretirement]

prediction complete, BlueDollar at 1500 pesos right now as of 13:00 on 12Jul2024...enjoy your great spends this weekend!

Cotización del dólar hoy, dólar blue | Ámbito

Cotización y el precio del dólar hoy. Seguí la información sobre el dólar, el dólar blue, dólar MEP, dólar CCL, dólar ahorro, dólar turista, el dólar Banco Nación, y el dólar mayorista minuto a minuto.

www.ambito.com

I told you @StatusNomadicus the rate was heading up. I knew it would hit 1,500 but just not sure how quickly it will accelerate. It becomes mental and also fear kicks in when you hit these big hurdles. Some in the know are saying next stop is 2,000.

 

[crypto]

2,000 would be terrific! Steaks in some places are back to $11 bucks! Argentina is safe enough that expats for the most part would rather be selfish and care about cost of living vs. macro economic details of the country. For most of us cost of living trumps everything except safety.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

AmericanExpress update from this week: i have never used an AmEx in Argentina because i heard it was terrible here (but maybe posts the correct MEP amount after a long delay?), but a family member visiting me used an AmEx credit card with no foreign transaction fees (Gold Delta American Express) and the rate it gave was 923 when it should be around 1212! (basically everything is 25% more expensive)

anyone know the current situation on AmEx credit cards in July 2024...anything changed? still advisable to just use Visa/MasterCard?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814801638932017663