Most interesting expat you have ever met ?

[BikeEnthusiast]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

 

[Wally]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

Yikes! a bottle of vodka a day? Rough stuff. I used to meet up with expats when I first moved here but stopped as I didn't have much in common with them. Many didn't make any effort to learn Spanish. Also, I am on more of a limited budget and they were always dining out more. Most don't last too long here.

The most interesting person was from several years ago. I met him through another friend and invited him to a dinner we were having as my friend said he had never been to an asado. Nice enough guy but then after dinner he started acting strange. I assumed he was doing some drugs as his mood totally changed. Sure enough later that night my wife went into the bathroom and found a small bag of drugs that he had dropped. She was very angry at inviting him over to our place. Turns out my friend didn't know the guy too well either.

Long story short the guy was on an FBI Most Wanted List. After that I really didn't have too much interest in meeting up with people. Another friend that went to an Expat meet up at a bar had his place robbed that same night. I doubt it was coincidence on the timing. He said there was a strange expat at the cafe they met at and he saw him again a few blocks away after leaving. After he got robbed I decided there is little upside and many downsides to meeting up with strangers some of whom have escaped life back home for whatever reason.

 

[Vince]

I heard about that incident you're talking about @Wally. Was that back in 2018 or so? I remember hearing about that. I can't remember if it was on a forum or a Facebook group where someone warned about that. I have 2 kids so I am on the cautious side. My wife's family has many family members here so there is no shortage of things to do and people to see.

I did meet an Expat a few times. Very nice guy and I rented an apartment from him on Airbnb when my sister and her friends came down. I went to go see it before she committed and we hit it off and met up several times. My sister rented it and had no issues at all. We were friends for a few years and would go out to dinner. We had a few things in common as he was also married to an Argentine. We even went out to dinner with our wives several times.

He was a great guy. Successful too as he had several properties here in CABA that he rented out. I would always recommend him to people coming down and not one of them ever had a problem. But @BikeEnthusiast like the person you met. This guy started drinking more and more. Each time I would see him he would drink more. He would always have an alcohol smell. It got to the point where he had a problem and I told him he needed to get help.

He was always nice to me but he was always drunk. I stopped meeting up with him. Shortly after that I saw in the news that there was an arrest warrant for him and that he kidnapped his child. I reached out to his wife and she confirmed that they separated and were getting a divorce and she talked about his drug and alcohol problem. If you search on some of the forums you can probably read about this expat. He was originally from Australia.

Similar to Wally, not much upside to me to meet up with strangers. I have two kids living with me and have no need for more drama in my life.

 

[Betsy Ross]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

Very sad about this expat @BikeEnthusiast. I hope you talked to him about AA programs. For some reason, many expats here seem to have drug or alcohol issues. I have a few friends and they also dealt with alcohol problems. I think for many people they are escaping issues wherever they are from.

Yikes! a bottle of vodka a day? Rough stuff. I used to meet up with expats when I first moved here but stopped as I didn't have much in common with them. Many didn't make any effort to learn Spanish. Also, I am on more of a limited budget and they were always dining out more. Most don't last too long here.

The most interesting person was from several years ago. I met him through another friend and invited him to a dinner we were having as my friend said he had never been to an asado. Nice enough guy but then after dinner he started acting strange. I assumed he was doing some drugs as his mood totally changed. Sure enough later that night my wife went into the bathroom and found a small bag of drugs that he had dropped. She was very angry at inviting him over to our place. Turns out my friend didn't know the guy too well either.

Long story short the guy was on an FBI Most Wanted List. After that I really didn't have too much interest in meeting up with people. Another friend that went to an Expat meet up at a bar had his place robbed that same night. I doubt it was coincidence on the timing. He said there was a strange expat at the cafe they met at and he saw him again a few blocks away after leaving. After he got robbed I decided there is little upside and many downsides to meeting up with strangers some of whom have escaped life back home for whatever reason.

I read about that expat that got robbed after the meet up. I have met up with one or two people but unless someone I know and trust 100% in person recommends someone they know and trust 100% I don't meet up with strangers. I'm sure I'm missing out on some great experiences. I'm sure I'm avoiding drama and problems too.

I haven't met anyone particularly interesting. I have a boring life, however.

I just don't think people think things through. There are expats that meet up very often. They even post online the time, location and day they will meet up. This is idiotic to me. A few years ago an expat got robbed after one of these meet ups. I'm not sure if it's the same person as you are describing Vince. But a friend told me about that. He must have been followed back to his place. He got all his money and laptop and phone stolen that night.

 

[earlyretirement]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

Having lived and worked in Buenos Aires since 2002, I've met a ton of interesting expats over the past 2 decades. These are some interesting stories and through it's a small world, I actually know your ex-friend @Vince! Very very nice guy. You're right. He was one of the nicest guys in the world. I had already moved out of Buenos Aires when I heard the news about him kidnapping his son. I was shocked by it! I couldn't believe it when I saw it in the news.

It's interesting that so many expats here in Buenos Aires have drug or alcohol issues but I've also noticed that. I was probably on the boring side in BA besides a glass of wine or so never drank alcohol or did any drugs. But I did notice that many expats here have issues. This friend of yours Vince I would also consider him a friend up until that incident. Never talked to him again after he kidnapped his son and never knew what ever happened to him. I assume he went back to Australia.

I will meet up with expats on occasion but I don't really seek it out. I did meet a few people on this forum. I had a great chat and lunch with @GlasgowJohn and enjoyed that. We were connected on LinkedIn and I could see his background so I didn't have any reason not to meet up with him. A few others are clients/friends of mine are on this forum. Lately, I probably tend to shy away from meeting up with random strangers.

I have a ton of interesting expat stories over the years. When I moved down to Buenos Aires I was still fairly young not yet 30 years old. I had a very successful career building up a business and then moved here to start a start-up. When I moved down here, there was no one investing down here. It was shortly after the corralito and Argentina was in the gutter. I started up a company for foreigners to invest here and I came across a lot of interesting expats.

I remember one guy was also fairly young. He was probably the same age or a few years older He might have been in his early 30's. He did a consultation with me and I explained how to buy real estate here, how to legally move in money, etc. I already had purchased several properties and he wanted to do the same thing. He was in investments/finance industry. We would go head to head on some buildings and I remember thinking to myself I wonder where he got all the money as he said he was buying for himself. Not some investment group.

I didn't talk to him again and a few years after that he bought a large building and was building a hotel. Then I see in the newspaper that he was wanted by the US government and SEC for fraud. He ending up marrying an Argentine actress here. I think he ended up settling with the SEC. But I just laughed because I thought to myself something was strange.

Another expat I met was crazy interesting. He started the first strip club in Australia. The guy was mega-wealthy. We became friends and I even visited him in Australia. There are a lot of interesting characters and expats here in Buenos Aires.

 

[Spend Thrift]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

@BikeEnthusiast I hope your friend is going to AA if he is drinking a bottle of vodka a day. He will end up killing himself. A shame in this day and age a family wouldn't accept that their child is gay. I came out of the closet but my folks were already deceased. It probably would have killed them so I know what he is going through.

Can't say I have met any interesting expats. Most seem to be here only temporarily or been here forever. I hope I meet some interesting expats.

Shocking to hear all the stories and small world!

 

[Digital Nomad]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

Very interesting @BikeEnthusiast how did you meet this guy? I have just met up with a few people but mostly spend time with my girlfriend and her friends. Many of the expats here want to party and booze all the time. I don't have any interest in that. Lots of the expats here are pathetic and don't want to learn any Spanish. I met a girl living here for almost 2 years and she didn't even know agua. Some influencer or something. I asked her why she wouldn't at least try to learn the basics and she thought everyone should learn English. Horrible attitude!

I heard about that incident you're talking about @Wally. Was that back in 2018 or so? I remember hearing about that. I can't remember if it was on a forum or a Facebook group where someone warned about that. I have 2 kids so I am on the cautious side. My wife's family has many family members here so there is no shortage of things to do and people to see.

I did meet an Expat a few times. Very nice guy and I rented an apartment from him on Airbnb when my sister and her friends came down. I went to go see it before she committed and we hit it off and met up several times. My sister rented it and had no issues at all. We were friends for a few years and would go out to dinner. We had a few things in common as he was also married to an Argentine. We even went out to dinner with our wives several times.

He was a great guy. Successful too as he had several properties here in CABA that he rented out. I would always recommend him to people coming down and not one of them ever had a problem. But @BikeEnthusiast like the person you met. This guy started drinking more and more. Each time I would see him he would drink more. He would always have an alcohol smell. It got to the point where he had a problem and I told him he needed to get help.

He was always nice to me but he was always drunk. I stopped meeting up with him. Shortly after that I saw in the news that there was an arrest warrant for him and that he kidnapped his child. I reached out to his wife and she confirmed that they separated and were getting a divorce and she talked about his drug and alcohol problem. If you search on some of the forums you can probably read about this expat. He was originally from Australia.

Similar to Wally, not much upside to me to meet up with strangers. I have two kids living with me and have no need for more drama in my life.

That is SO crazy @Vince! Alcohol makes good people do bad things. I have a few former friends and we ended the friendship due to their issues with alcohol.

Having lived and worked in Buenos Aires since 2002, I've met a ton of interesting expats over the past 2 decades. These are some interesting stories and through it's a small world, I actually know your ex-friend @Vince! Very very nice guy. You're right. He was one of the nicest guys in the world. I had already moved out of Buenos Aires when I heard the news about him kidnapping his son. I was shocked by it! I couldn't believe it when I saw it in the news.

It's interesting that so many expats here in Buenos Aires have drug or alcohol issues but I've also noticed that. I was probably on the boring side in BA besides a glass of wine or so never drank alcohol or did any drugs. But I did notice that many expats here have issues. This friend of yours Vince I would also consider him a friend up until that incident. Never talked to him again after he kidnapped his son and never knew what ever happened to him. I assume he went back to Australia.

I will meet up with expats on occasion but I don't really seek it out. I did meet a few people on this forum. I had a great chat and lunch with @GlasgowJohn and enjoyed that. We were connected on LinkedIn and I could see his background so I didn't have any reason not to meet up with him. A few others are clients/friends of mine are on this forum. Lately, I probably tend to shy away from meeting up with random strangers.

I have a ton of interesting expat stories over the years. When I moved down to Buenos Aires I was still fairly young not yet 30 years old. I had a very successful career building up a business and then moved here to start a start-up. When I moved down here, there was no one investing down here. It was shortly after the corralito and Argentina was in the gutter. I started up a company for foreigners to invest here and I came across a lot of interesting expats.

I remember one guy was also fairly young. He was probably the same age or a few years older He might have been in his early 30's. He did a consultation with me and I explained how to buy real estate here, how to legally move in money, etc. I already had purchased several properties and he wanted to do the same thing. He was in investments/finance industry. We would go head to head on some buildings and I remember thinking to myself I wonder where he got all the money as he said he was buying for himself. Not some investment group.

I didn't talk to him again and a few years after that he bought a large building and was building a hotel. Then I see in the newspaper that he was wanted by the US government and SEC for fraud. He ending up marrying an Argentine actress here. I think he ended up settling with the SEC. But I just laughed because I thought to myself something was strange.

Another expat I met was crazy interesting. He started the first strip club in Australia. The guy was mega-wealthy. We became friends and I even visited him in Australia. There are a lot of interesting characters and expats here in Buenos Aires.

CRAZY that you guys had the same friend. Probably with some things here it's a small world. How shocking to hear about this.

I haven't met anyone interesting but I've read a few sad stories. On another expat forum I read a story about a guy that had his wife die and he said he came here to drink himself to death. I got so sad reading that and I was surprised because not too many of the posters was too shocked by it. After reading a few posts it sounds like this is an issue here.

Here is the post in case anyone was interested.

Most saddest thread ever (trigger warning)

I came to Argentina 6 months ago because my wife and infant daughter died intending to drink a bottle of vodka a day until it was over Amy Winehouse style 6 months later I am still alive but I gained 50 pounds I came here with 2 pairs of jeans, one stopped fitting me about 20 pounds ago. The...

baexpats.org

 

[Vero]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

How sad about your friend. You should have him go to an AA meeting.

English AA Buenos Aires – English Speaking AA Buenos Aires

englishaabuenosaires.com

 

[import export]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

Met a lot of expats over the years. None remarkable. Lots of degenerates here in Brazil.

 

[Opera Fan]

I once met Roberto Duvall the actor and his wife, Luciana at an event at the Teatro Colon. They were sitting next to me. Very nice people.

 

[Calgary Foodie]

I've met a few expats here. Nothing special. Just escaping the cold winters like me. Sad to hear about your new friend. I hope he gets the help he needs. He should talk to a therapist. BA has plenty of them.

 

[Bob]

Very interesting @BikeEnthusiast how did you meet this guy? I have just met up with a few people but mostly spend time with my girlfriend and her friends. Many of the expats here want to party and booze all the time. I don't have any interest in that. Lots of the expats here are pathetic and don't want to learn any Spanish. I met a girl living here for almost 2 years and she didn't even know agua. Some influencer or something. I asked her why she wouldn't at least try to learn the basics and she thought everyone should learn English. Horrible attitude!


That is SO crazy @Vince! Alcohol makes good people do bad things. I have a few former friends and we ended the friendship due to their issues with alcohol.


CRAZY that you guys had the same friend. Probably with some things here it's a small world. How shocking to hear about this.

I haven't met anyone interesting but I've read a few sad stories. On another expat forum I read a story about a guy that had his wife die and he said he came here to drink himself to death. I got so sad reading that and I was surprised because not too many of the posters was too shocked by it. After reading a few posts it sounds like this is an issue here.

Here is the post in case anyone was interested.

Most saddest thread ever (trigger warning)

I came to Argentina 6 months ago because my wife and infant daughter died intending to drink a bottle of vodka a day until it was over Amy Winehouse style 6 months later I am still alive but I gained 50 pounds I came here with 2 pairs of jeans, one stopped fitting me about 20 pounds ago. The...

baexpats.org

Just read that thread. Some of those people are cold-hearted! Damn.

 

[lemonade]

The most interesting person I met was a Russian couple that recently moved to BA. I went to an Argentine Experience Asado and they were there and I got to talk to them. Nice couple. Very good English. They were telling me how the husband was forced to fight in Ukraine. After a year fighting he fled here with their young child. It made me realize how lucky we are not to have to deal with that kind of conflict. We complain a lot but after hearing their story I feel fortunate.

 

[Soytoy]

We all know digital nomads but have you ever met an expat in BA for some interesting reason? Any stories to tell?

My one story would be an American I met here. He was gay and from an extremely wealthy but conservative and bigoted family. His family basically told him we will give you millions of dollars if you disappear and never contact us again or tell anyone you are related to us.

He was living in a whole floor penthouse in Belgrano and drinking a bottle of vodka a day I guess from the sadness of his situation. But he was a great person

That is a very sad story. He is better off without his family if they feel like that. Never met any exciting expats.

 

[Nasdaq]

I heard about that incident you're talking about @Wally. Was that back in 2018 or so? I remember hearing about that. I can't remember if it was on a forum or a Facebook group where someone warned about that. I have 2 kids so I am on the cautious side. My wife's family has many family members here so there is no shortage of things to do and people to see.

I did meet an Expat a few times. Very nice guy and I rented an apartment from him on Airbnb when my sister and her friends came down. I went to go see it before she committed and we hit it off and met up several times. My sister rented it and had no issues at all. We were friends for a few years and would go out to dinner. We had a few things in common as he was also married to an Argentine. We even went out to dinner with our wives several times.

He was a great guy. Successful too as he had several properties here in CABA that he rented out. I would always recommend him to people coming down and not one of them ever had a problem. But @BikeEnthusiast like the person you met. This guy started drinking more and more. Each time I would see him he would drink more. He would always have an alcohol smell. It got to the point where he had a problem and I told him he needed to get help.

He was always nice to me but he was always drunk. I stopped meeting up with him. Shortly after that I saw in the news that there was an arrest warrant for him and that he kidnapped his child. I reached out to his wife and she confirmed that they separated and were getting a divorce and she talked about his drug and alcohol problem. If you search on some of the forums you can probably read about this expat. He was originally from Australia.

Similar to Wally, not much upside to me to meet up with strangers. I have two kids living with me and have no need for more drama in my life.

I have similar incidents @Vince where I had to cut off friendships due to alcohol abuse. It was no fun to be around.

Very sad about this expat @BikeEnthusiast. I hope you talked to him about AA programs. For some reason, many expats here seem to have drug or alcohol issues. I have a few friends and they also dealt with alcohol problems. I think for many people they are escaping issues wherever they are from.


I read about that expat that got robbed after the meet up. I have met up with one or two people but unless someone I know and trust 100% in person recommends someone they know and trust 100% I don't meet up with strangers. I'm sure I'm missing out on some great experiences. I'm sure I'm avoiding drama and problems too.

I haven't met anyone particularly interesting. I have a boring life, however.

I just don't think people think things through. There are expats that meet up very often. They even post online the time, location and day they will meet up. This is idiotic to me. A few years ago an expat got robbed after one of these meet ups. I'm not sure if it's the same person as you are describing Vince. But a friend told me about that. He must have been followed back to his place. He got all his money and laptop and phone stolen that night.

I often wondered about these meet-ups. Never understood people announcing the day and time they are going to be somewhere in Latin America. Does not seem wise but to each his own.

Met several expats but nothing out of the ordinary. Argentina does have a history of attracting people wanting to hide out. This was a good reach on Butch Cassidy hiding out in Argentina.

The Secret Story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Last Tango

For six years they managed to elude the most powerful detectives on the planet and outrun their past across the wilds of South America.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[VINO]

I met an American here a few years ago that left behind a successful live in the States. He was dating one of my local friends. He worked on Wall Street and mentioned he had a nervous breakdown during the US finance crises when Lehman Brothers collapsed. He almost took his life do to depression. He still had tens of millions of dollars but because he lost the bulk of his savings he thought life was over.

Remarkable listening to his story. He came to Argentina as he always had a love of wine. He ended up learning how to make wine and has his own grapes.

 

[BikeEnthusiast]

Do AA meetings exist in BA ?

 

[VINO]

Do AA meetings exist in BA ?

It looks like they do. Vero just posted a link above.

English AA Buenos Aires – English Speaking AA Buenos Aires

englishaabuenosaires.com

 

[Johnny]

@BikeEnthusiast that is terrible about your new friend. He sounds like a nice person. He should talk to a therapist. AA sounds like a good idea as well. It looks like from that link they have Zoom meetings if he doesn't want to go in person.

I met up with a few expats during my visit to BA last November. Interesting people but nothing extraordinary. The ones I met were dating people there in Buenos Aires and what kept them there. I can't wait to get back to BA.

 

[LongIslander]

I once met Roberto Duvall the actor and his wife, Luciana at an event at the Teatro Colon. They were sitting next to me. Very nice people.

Cool about meeting Robert Duvall. I read that he married an Argentine so cool that you got to meet both of them. I've never met anyone interesting there.