Newcomer My wife (Argentinian) claims you can live "well" on $1500 a month in Argentina. True?

[Vince]

Yes, the nice neighborhoods that are safe, beautiful and typically have high quality of life are Recoleta, Palermo, Barrio Norte, Belgrano, and the one close to the water that you're referring to is called Puerto Madero but that's an expensive area and not too convenient as it's not central.

Yeah, your budget for rental sounds doable. And you're right, BA is a relatively safe city. Like any big city you have to take precautions but mostly small scams (pick pocketing, stealing cellphones, etc) vs. violet crime here. I also own an apartment in Rio and spend time there and it's much more dangerous as you mentioned. The problem there is there are favelas and really poor right next to nice neigborhoods.

As you mentioned, you don't qualify for free healthcare but even if you did the public hospitals aren't nice, especially in the event of an emergency or serious health issue. Private insurance as you mentioned isn't cheap. Are you saying you'd roll the dice and not have any health insurance??

Do this exercise. Add up all of the things you would spend on a monthly basis. Be realistic with yourself. What do you come up with at the end of the month? Also, are you just not going to save anything for retirement? Many people that say, "oh i can live for $X a month" don't factor in having to save for the future. I've always found it's totally unrealistic to not save anything for the future. Especially if you're going to have a child. Kids simply are not cheap. Groceries in Buenos Aires simply are not cheap.

In my experience, people always underestimate what they will spend vs. overestimate.

-Mortgage or Rent (if you don't own outright)
- Property taxes if you own
-Phone (Land line and Cell phone)
- Utilities (gas, water, electricity, cable, internet, etc)
- HOA fees/expensas each month
- Maintenance and repairs (if you own a property)
- Car payments
- Car insurance
- Auto Fuel each month for each car
- Registration fees for your car each year
- Maintenance on your car to include car washes and oil changes
-Parking (various times when you're out and about plus if you don't have a garage in your apartment and have to rent one)
- Home/rental insurance for your property
- Life insurance
- Health insurance premiums
- Dental insurance premiums
- Medical/Dental expenses (what insurance won't cover)
- Prescription medications
- School expenses for kids (tuition, stuff for school, ballet classes, etc)
- Babysitter expenses
- Annual fee for Credit Cards
- Clothes for kids and yourself
- Toys for kids
- Dry Cleaning
- Health club / gym
- Taxi/Uber fares which are inevitable.
- Beauty (hair salon for hair cuts, color, nails, make up, etc)
- Extracurricular activities dues/fees
- Entertainment (movies, theatre, plays, Zoo, concerts, sporting events, etc --)
- Magazine/newspaper/Ipad subscriptions
- Dining out at restaurants
- Grocery budget
- Retirement savings contributions
- Kids college fund savings contributions
- Charity/donations
- Travel / vacation expenses
- Federal/State/local income taxes
- Any revolving debt payments you might have
- Bad habit type stuff (alcohol, smoking, etc)
- Emergency savings fund for any major health issues
- Non reimbursed office/work expenses and supplies

Wow this is probably the most detailed list I have seen. @MarriedWithChildren I answered your other post but you will be fine here on USD salary. With spouse and 2 adult kids I would say a budget of $5,000 USD per month would be living large. You can do it for less but you can also spend more. Dining out can add up especially for 4 people. I always joke you can do BA affordably but going out to eat 2-3 times a day can add up for 4 people. I have an expat friend with his family and just dining out they spend about $3,000 USD per month but they are doing at least 2 meals out every day.

You can also spend quite a bit of money if you are traveling around inside Argentina. My friend also spends a significant amount of money on Ubers/taxis. He and his family rarely walk if If it's more than 10 blocks where locals would just walk. It is not easy for someone to tell you how much you will spend. If you're going out to dine out a lot back in USA you are spending a fortune. Here prices are cheaper but still can add up. Most locals don't dine out every day. Your company will probably rent a large property for you and you can get a live in maid or have one come every day for very little money. She can make meals for you.

 

[Used]

The number wasn't $1,500 a few years ago and it certainly is NOT $1,500 now. BA has gotten more expensive. No one is living well here on $1,500 per month.