Patience is wearing down with President Milei

[Jenn]

Let's see how things go once those $20 billion come into Argentina. That will buy some time.

But will they just go back to doing the same thing? That doesn't sound like it's working out well. If they get that money will they just continue to prop up the peso?

Here in Europe we are seeing more and more articles saying the tide has turned on his approval ratings.

Argentine poll suggests 57% don’t trust President Milei after LIBRA scandal

Nearly 58% of Argentines said they don’t trust President Javier Milei following the Libra scandal, according to a recent poll.

cointelegraph.com

 

[jupiter]

It’s no surprise Milei’s popularity is taking a hit right now. The Bahía Blanca tragedy was a huge blow, and the IMF negotiations are just adding fuel to the fire. People are frustrated, and it feels like the promises are not being met. It’s tough to keep people on your side when things are going wrong on so many fronts. Let’s see how he handles it, but right now, it looks like he's losing some trust.

Milei’s popularity slumps amid Bahía Blanca tragedy and IMF negotiations - Buenos Aires Herald

New polling indicates Argentines’ disapproval of the government’s performance has climbed above 50% in recent months

buenosairesherald.com

 

[StatusNomadicus]

56% believe that the situation in the country will not improve during Javier Milei's mandate, while 54% consider that Argentina's course is not the right one.

how much of the 56% is because everyone knows we're at the start of a global recession that is going to be worse than 2008? what a shitty time it was to try the first Libertarian president in history, at the peak of Peronist destruction, and onset of global crash...

inflation isn't also affecting you there in Mendoza

subsidies are making utilities a bit more expensive, but they were basically free before. and of course Peso prices have gone up for some things, but overall spending in Dollars has been quite consistent for me for 9 months now.

Are you going out to eat much?

when i can find a deal, sure, but during peak season (it was just Vendimia here) there's no way i'm going to the touristy areas to spend 15 USD per person meals, when i can find cheaper restaurants or cook for a few months.

There is a guy on the old board that only spends about $400 a month. He doesn't do anything and barely leaves his house.

eh, i've met a lot of superficial people who only care about how they appear to be living on TikTok; i don't know this guy, but just because someone (not you) might view my life as boring/don't do anything/never leaving the house doesn't mean it's reality; actually, those people probably have petty drama, shitty relationships, and overall are miserable as they chase approval from strangers. in contrast, i might only leave my house once a day for 3 hours, but i sleep well at night knowing that i eat clean, exercise daily, my dog has an amazing life and is fantastically-behaved, i have close local friends that i see regularly, i contribute to my community and patronize good businesses nearby, have strong relationships and my USA people have come to see me multiple times already, and i get to spend my time reading Great Books and expanding my skillsets in a beautiful walkable city. some 20-year-olds might find my life boring, but my contrasting opinion is that they are vapid and uninteresting on any level. but for sure $400 would be impossible for me, unless you were gifted a property and had a ton of capital to start with.

that being said, i met a Dutch expat as well as a Canadian expat last night at an event, and i got to hear what they enjoy about Argentina. the Canadian spoke no Spanish and couldn't even pronounce Buenos Aires correctly, but she was over 50 years old and quite seasoned at being a digital nomad, with multiple trips to Argentina. i'm sure she's spending at least twice what i'm spending, but she enjoys clubs and dating and going to formal events. the Dutch one spoke more Spanish, and they both were paying Airbnb prices to live near where my house is, and going out to eat every meal, and buying wine at restaurants, etc. - living a luxurious lifestyle costs luxurious prices...been there, done that, not fulfilling for me

come to BA and you will be shocked how much restaurants are here.

let's re-check at the end of April and see if there was just more seasonal summer pricing. but still, you know as well as i do that there are cheaper restaurants to be found, or meals can be cooked when prices spike-up temporarily. all these are choices (i feel like i'm on repeat-mode with this phrase)

I don't doubt that YOUR expenses haven't gone up much if you don't do much but are you reading all of the posts on prices going up and people complaining?? Do you think everyone is making that stuff up? Article after article in many reputable magazines and look at the Big Mac index. Just because your cost of living hasn't gone up that much doesn't mean that it hasn't for most people.

but look at the reasoning here: i make smarter choices and can still live cheaply, so with say 50k USD my small family can live here and not have to 'work' for 5 years. so how is Argentina expensive, then? if i CHOOSE to buy Big Mac burgers and go to Starbucks, and eat $120 USD steaks, sure my 'cost of living' would go up, but in that case we need to define cost of living. most people are very stupid about finances; what % of the USA doesn't have $500 for a small emergency? i don't care what most people do because many of those most are smokers, or pay for alcohol at expensive restaurants, or live so carelessly that they spend 5x doing the same activities that i do. for instance, the "VIP gym" on the touristy street is like $75 USD per month, yet my pool costs 20,000 Pesos or $18 USD a month, and my gf's crossfit gym costs 32,000 Pesos or about $29/month for the same type of training. if someone goes to the 'trendy' gym and complains that their cost of living is too high, my stance is that they are choosing to pay for luxury. tuition, medical insurance, and vacations/activities shouldn't be factored-into this...that's been my stance ever since i got to this forum. and i think it's pretty reasonable.

if an Argentine goes to the USA and lives in Phoenix AZ for a year, they could do the same:

Option A: exercise with running and swimming and Planet Fitness for $15/month. buy groceries from Wal-Mart or Food City and eat lean meat, affordable veggies, rice/beans, using a crockpot to make badass meals while at work for cheap, say $250/month. use free activities like certificates from KhanAcademy and Coursera to learn and improve, work side-hustles like Uber or Rover, and join various Expat groups or walking tours to learn local history and meet real people.

Option B: go to LifeTime Fitness for $120/month and attend a pilates club for $80 and a yoga studio for $120 and a jiu jitsu class for $100. get GrubHub food or eat at restaurants every meal and tip 20% to spend $1,500/month on food. go to clubs and bars daily, sleeping like sh*t and spending over $100/night on booze and processed bar food, having multiple prescriptions for preventable diseases, always seeking some 'status' type event like a wine-tasting at a botanical garden or going to the latest Woke movie for $30 after ticket and popcorn.

if someone did Option B and said cost of living was high in Phoenix, they would be lying for political or stupidity reasons

Many, many expats are moving there.

if the people who like cheap Thailand etc. and Argentina when it was the 'cheap steaks, bro!' days, then sure Spain could be short-term appealing. but i'm allergic to communism and the fact that it has the highest unemployment in the EU, is close to Islamist 'immigration', high public debt, 12% of GDP is ñoqui pensions, wealth taxes, VAT, and what seems like constant leftist protests for more free sh*t....i loved northern Spain, but would only visit for a month, not live there half+ of the year 🙂 we want a full trip report from you please!!!

milk and some other things what else has stayed the same?

beef, flour, sugar, tea, instant non-torrado coffee, fruit, veggies, beans, rice, noodles, spices/herbs, beer liters, wine 1L TetraPaks (judge me all you want lol, i'm not paying $5 USD for a bottle of wine here, if i can pay $4 USD at Trader Joe's in the USA for decent wine), organs and meaty bones for my dog, Uber, bus/SUBE card, gas bill, water bill, property tax, cost of home-buying, basically everything other than fancy restaurants and my electric bill.

it is just an undeniable fact of life that the cost of living has gone up

for sure, which is why i always try to emphasize that it is in Pesos, and it runs parallel to the overall cost of living increase around the entire world (likely due to Dollar inflation during COVID nonsense).

I'd be surprised if many restaurants in Mendoza aren't much higher than last year.

i will find some cheap ones in April/May to see if tourist prices go back down. for now:

6,200 ($4.85 USD) custom sandwich

or an 88,900 Peso Tomahawk 1.5kg here ahahahhaha 😛

I literally don't know any expats in Argentina that try to argue that prices are the same in USD vs. you. It may come down to your lifestyle and activities that you do. But I know tons and tons of people in Buenos Aires from 23 years of living and working there. Most of them are married but even my single friends are all complaining about cost of living.

well at least you have one! happy to help anyone actually struggling to live cheaply with the lifehacks i've been taught by those who helped me along the way 🙂 i would challenge any of them that i could watch them for 24 hours and find ways to cut their expenses in half...i'm okay with being the only one who can achieve a cheap life in Argentina in 2023 and 2024 and 2025 - being the outsider was fun in a world where people tried to force me to inject an mRNA experimental 'vaccine' to save me from the sniffles. i was against the 60% sheeple then, and i don't mind doing it again; i quite like arguing the opposite 'side', and i'm open to changing my views

I see no way corruption helping people. It's an evil in any society.

agreed, short-term "win" for individuals, but overall a cancer for society. obviously; look at how shitty Argentina was for so many decades. and how Venezuela managed to be broke while sitting on billions of dollars of oil

you are literally the only person I know that thinks prices are the same from over a year ago in USD.

not sure how else i can prove it...i've posted receipts, links to menus, carrefour/COTO item prices, gym costs, pool costs, utilities, appliances. my LG split that i just bought yesterday was $725 USD, and the same one is over 2k in the USA. it has WiFi and dual inverter. i already have one, and i'll soon have 2. under a million Pesos for a top of the line Split that some people might walk to the nearest store and pay 1.5 million pesos for....stupidity is costly, and "it's expensive being poor"

i already asked @Uncle Wong to do some normal shopping and send me a receipt - how else do you guys want to see what prices are?

 

[earlyretirement]

how much of the 56% is because everyone knows we're at the start of a global recession that is going to be worse than 2008? what a shitty time it was to try the first Libertarian president in history, at the peak of Peronist destruction, and onset of global crash...


subsidies are making utilities a bit more expensive, but they were basically free before. and of course Peso prices have gone up for some things, but overall spending in Dollars has been quite consistent for me for 9 months now.


when i can find a deal, sure, but during peak season (it was just Vendimia here) there's no way i'm going to the touristy areas to spend 15 USD per person meals, when i can find cheaper restaurants or cook for a few months.


eh, i've met a lot of superficial people who only care about how they appear to be living on TikTok; i don't know this guy, but just because someone (not you) might view my life as boring/don't do anything/never leaving the house doesn't mean it's reality; actually, those people probably have petty drama, shitty relationships, and overall are miserable as they chase approval from strangers. in contrast, i might only leave my house once a day for 3 hours, but i sleep well at night knowing that i eat clean, exercise daily, my dog has an amazing life and is fantastically-behaved, i have close local friends that i see regularly, i contribute to my community and patronize good businesses nearby, have strong relationships and my USA people have come to see me multiple times already, and i get to spend my time reading Great Books and expanding my skillsets in a beautiful walkable city. some 20-year-olds might find my life boring, but my contrasting opinion is that they are vapid and uninteresting on any level. but for sure $400 would be impossible for me, unless you were gifted a property and had a ton of capital to start with.

that being said, i met a Dutch expat as well as a Canadian expat last night at an event, and i got to hear what they enjoy about Argentina. the Canadian spoke no Spanish and couldn't even pronounce Buenos Aires correctly, but she was over 50 years old and quite seasoned at being a digital nomad, with multiple trips to Argentina. i'm sure she's spending at least twice what i'm spending, but she enjoys clubs and dating and going to formal events. the Dutch one spoke more Spanish, and they both were paying Airbnb prices to live near where my house is, and going out to eat every meal, and buying wine at restaurants, etc. - living a luxurious lifestyle costs luxurious prices...been there, done that, not fulfilling for me


let's re-check at the end of April and see if there was just more seasonal summer pricing. but still, you know as well as i do that there are cheaper restaurants to be found, or meals can be cooked when prices spike-up temporarily. all these are choices (i feel like i'm on repeat-mode with this phrase)


but look at the reasoning here: i make smarter choices and can still live cheaply, so with say 50k USD my small family can live here and not have to 'work' for 5 years. so how is Argentina expensive, then? if i CHOOSE to buy Big Mac burgers and go to Starbucks, and eat $120 USD steaks, sure my 'cost of living' would go up, but in that case we need to define cost of living. most people are very stupid about finances; what % of the USA doesn't have $500 for a small emergency? i don't care what most people do because many of those most are smokers, or pay for alcohol at expensive restaurants, or live so carelessly that they spend 5x doing the same activities that i do. for instance, the "VIP gym" on the touristy street is like $75 USD per month, yet my pool costs 20,000 Pesos or $18 USD a month, and my gf's crossfit gym costs 32,000 Pesos or about $29/month for the same type of training. if someone goes to the 'trendy' gym and complains that their cost of living is too high, my stance is that they are choosing to pay for luxury. tuition, medical insurance, and vacations/activities shouldn't be factored-into this...that's been my stance ever since i got to this forum. and i think it's pretty reasonable.

if an Argentine goes to the USA and lives in Phoenix AZ for a year, they could do the same:

Option A: exercise with running and swimming and Planet Fitness for $15/month. buy groceries from Wal-Mart or Food City and eat lean meat, affordable veggies, rice/beans, using a crockpot to make badass meals while at work for cheap, say $250/month. use free activities like certificates from KhanAcademy and Coursera to learn and improve, work side-hustles like Uber or Rover, and join various Expat groups or walking tours to learn local history and meet real people.

Option B: go to LifeTime Fitness for $120/month and attend a pilates club for $80 and a yoga studio for $120 and a jiu jitsu class for $100. get GrubHub food or eat at restaurants every meal and tip 20% to spend $1,500/month on food. go to clubs and bars daily, sleeping like sh*t and spending over $100/night on booze and processed bar food, having multiple prescriptions for preventable diseases, always seeking some 'status' type event like a wine-tasting at a botanical garden or going to the latest Woke movie for $30 after ticket and popcorn.

if someone did Option B and said cost of living was high in Phoenix, they would be lying for political or stupidity reasons


if the people who like cheap Thailand etc. and Argentina when it was the 'cheap steaks, bro!' days, then sure Spain could be short-term appealing. but i'm allergic to communism and the fact that it has the highest unemployment in the EU, is close to Islamist 'immigration', high public debt, 12% of GDP is ñoqui pensions, wealth taxes, VAT, and what seems like constant leftist protests for more free sh*t....i loved northern Spain, but would only visit for a month, not live there half+ of the year 🙂 we want a full trip report from you please!!!


beef, flour, sugar, tea, instant non-torrado coffee, fruit, veggies, beans, rice, noodles, spices/herbs, beer liters, wine 1L TetraPaks (judge me all you want lol, i'm not paying $5 USD for a bottle of wine here, if i can pay $4 USD at Trader Joe's in the USA for decent wine), organs and meaty bones for my dog, Uber, bus/SUBE card, gas bill, water bill, property tax, cost of home-buying, basically everything other than fancy restaurants and my electric bill.


for sure, which is why i always try to emphasize that it is in Pesos, and it runs parallel to the overall cost of living increase around the entire world (likely due to Dollar inflation during COVID nonsense).

i will find some cheap ones in April/May to see if tourist prices go back down. for now:

6,200 ($4.85 USD) custom sandwich

or an 88,900 Peso Tomahawk 1.5kg here ahahahhaha 😛


well at least you have one! happy to help anyone actually struggling to live cheaply with the lifehacks i've been taught by those who helped me along the way 🙂 i would challenge any of them that i could watch them for 24 hours and find ways to cut their expenses in half...i'm okay with being the only one who can achieve a cheap life in Argentina in 2023 and 2024 and 2025 - being the outsider was fun in a world where people tried to force me to inject an mRNA experimental 'vaccine' to save me from the sniffles. i was against the 60% sheeple then, and i don't mind doing it again; i quite like arguing the opposite 'side', and i'm open to changing my views


agreed, short-term "win" for individuals, but overall a cancer for society. obviously; look at how shitty Argentina was for so many decades. and how Venezuela managed to be broke while sitting on billions of dollars of oil


not sure how else i can prove it...i've posted receipts, links to menus, carrefour/COTO item prices, gym costs, pool costs, utilities, appliances. my LG split that i just bought yesterday was $725 USD, and the same one is over 2k in the USA. it has WiFi and dual inverter. i already have one, and i'll soon have 2. under a million Pesos for a top of the line Split that some people might walk to the nearest store and pay 1.5 million pesos for....stupidity is costly, and "it's expensive being poor"

i already asked @Uncle Wong to do some normal shopping and send me a receipt - how else do you guys want to see what prices are?

I think it's great that your costs are the same from last year. Now I can say I have one person that is spending the same as last year in Argentina.

I think it's great that different people have different tastes, quality of life, etc. I've always said the world would be a very boring place if everyone wanted to do the same things and lived life the same way.

I think the biggest problem many expats have is they always say it costs X to live in X country and locals only make $X. The biggest problem I've seen is that most expats simply can't live like a local but I think it's great for those that can.

I read an excellent blog the other day. It talked about how most expats end up broke. That matches my experience but the ones that can truely live like locals and own their own places always tend to do well so I think you should be applauded @StatusNomadicus. I hope we can synch up in person in BA or Mendoza sometime.

Cheers.

 

[Wally]

et's re-check at the end of April and see if there was just more seasonal summer pricing. but still, you know as well as i do that there are cheaper restaurants to be found, or meals can be cooked when prices spike-up temporarily. all these are choices (i feel like i'm on repeat-mode with this phrase

In Argentina the concept of seasonal prices isn't really a thing. Prices dont go up in BA from high season to the next. Problem is once prices go up they usually do not come down. Agree with you cooking at home is a huge money saver. We have a family of 4 and going out to eat in Buenos Aires now costs a lot of money compared to last year.

how much of the 56% is because everyone knows we're at the start of a global recession that is going to be worse than 2008? what a shitty time it was to try the first Libertarian president in history, at the peak of Peronist destruction, and onset of global crash...

Agree. Buffett sold for a reason. Sitting on a mountain of cash. My financial planner is saying that this recession and the trends are going to be very very bad. I have sold out of many of my stocks and going to wait for the crash. Trump also does not seem to care and going to crash the markets.

Milei won't probably be successful during a global crash. Argentina will not fare well in the event of a global meltdown. It already looks like things are unraveling. Desperate to get these IMF funds.

 

[MikeRoss]

how much of the 56% is because everyone knows we're at the start of a global recession that is going to be worse than 2008? what a shitty time it was to try the first Libertarian president in history, at the peak of Peronist destruction, and onset of global crash...

Well a big part of this seems to be Trump not really caring about inflation and all of these import taxes. Milei needs to give him a good lesson how communist import taxes simply do not work to lower prices.

or an 88,900 Peso Tomahawk 1.5kg here ahahahhaha

That looks like BA prices. I can honestly get a steak $70 dollar steak in the USA that is much better than Argentina. I don't get what all the fuss is about steak in Argentina. For the most part I feel like I can get better tasting and quality steak in the States. @StatusNomadicus what is your opinion on this? Although it sounds like you aren't going to too many steak houses these days.

And it seems like the beef quality keeps going lower at most of the restaurants.

 

[Jenn]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

This is a good time line on Milei's gaffes and goof ups. Here in Spain many people used to praise him but even here a few Argentines I know in Malaga say that the tide is turning.

Portrait of a Weakened Milei - Left Voice

Far-right president of Argentina, Javier Milei is undergoing a major political crisis. This has created space for the revolutionary Left to organize a resistance, with lessons for the United States.

www.leftvoice.org

 

[Wally]

This is a good time line on Milei's gaffes and goof ups. Here in Spain many people used to praise him but even here a few Argentines I know in Malaga say that the tide is turning.

Portrait of a Weakened Milei - Left Voice

Far-right president of Argentina, Javier Milei is undergoing a major political crisis. This has created space for the revolutionary Left to organize a resistance, with lessons for the United States.

www.leftvoice.org

Tide definitely is turning as some of you mentioned. Just this weekend at an asado with my wife's family most of them were die hard pro Milei. They like some of his policies. But the half of my wife's family that think he is a con had argument after argument and the others had to reluctantly agree Milei is probably in over his head. His sister is universally disliked by people on both sides.

The problem is people can't deny facts now with Milei being part of the caste. I think it is fair to say that some are getting impatient. I still think he is the only shot we have. But disagree with them just burning their precious reserves propping up the peso. That never works.

 

[Darksider415]

I think it's great that your costs are the same from last year. Now I can say I have one person that is spending the same as last year in Argentina.

I think it's great that different people have different tastes, quality of life, etc. I've always said the world would be a very boring place if everyone wanted to do the same things and lived life the same way.

I think the biggest problem many expats have is they always say it costs X to live in X country and locals only make $X. The biggest problem I've seen is that most expats simply can't live like a local but I think it's great for those that can.

I won't say my costs are the same as last year, but they aren't far off. About this time last year, a week's worth of groceries was setting us back around 80k pesos and now I'm looking roughly 100-110k for a similar trip.

In a couple of cases, prices are lower now than they were last year. For example, we like the Citric orange juice and it was setting us back around 3k/liter last year, while we're paying around 2.5k/liter this year. Butter has gone up, milk is roughly the same, eggs are pretty close (6100 at Carrefour for a 30-pack)... Meat is pretty similar.

I also live a fairly local-like lifestyle fwiw. Not a lot of dining out, lots of cooking at home and all that. We're pretty much at the point where our biggest expenses are paying the cuotas for our appliances, since we took advantage of a 12 month sin interes deal combined with a work discount from Samsung last year.

 

[earlyretirement]

I won't say my costs are the same as last year, but they aren't far off. About this time last year, a week's worth of groceries was setting us back around 80k pesos and now I'm looking roughly 100-110k for a similar trip.

In a couple of cases, prices are lower now than they were last year. For example, we like the Citric orange juice and it was setting us back around 3k/liter last year, while we're paying around 2.5k/liter this year. Butter has gone up, milk is roughly the same, eggs are pretty close (6100 at Carrefour for a 30-pack)... Meat is pretty similar.

I also live a fairly local-like lifestyle fwiw. Not a lot of dining out, lots of cooking at home and all that. We're pretty much at the point where our biggest expenses are paying the cuotas for our appliances, since we took advantage of a 12 month sin interes deal combined with a work discount from Samsung last year.

Thanks for data point. Definitely I think if you aren't eating out too much it definitely helps the budget. I am the type that doesn't like to cook and always goes out to eat but my local friends probably are the same way going out to eat a few times a week. I also think where it hurts the most is people that have kids. Because all of my friends with kids have private schools that have jumped up.

What I noticed that was really expensive @Darksider415 was cleaning supplies and stuff like that. I bought and furnished like 5 units so I went out and bought that myself and was surprised how expensive it got. Also, things like laundry have skyrocketed up. With the amount of volume we do renting out (often times for only a few nights) we have to send laundry out to cleaners and it has really jumped up at laundromats. Some 1 bedroom units it's as much as 17,000 pesos for bedding, towels, etc. On 2 bedroom units as much as 25,000 pesos which is steep increase.

 

[Betsy Ross]

I won't say my costs are the same as last year, but they aren't far off. About this time last year, a week's worth of groceries was setting us back around 80k pesos and now I'm looking roughly 100-110k for a similar trip.

In a couple of cases, prices are lower now than they were last year. For example, we like the Citric orange juice and it was setting us back around 3k/liter last year, while we're paying around 2.5k/liter this year. Butter has gone up, milk is roughly the same, eggs are pretty close (6100 at Carrefour for a 30-pack)... Meat is pretty similar.

I also live a fairly local-like lifestyle fwiw. Not a lot of dining out, lots of cooking at home and all that. We're pretty much at the point where our biggest expenses are paying the cuotas for our appliances, since we took advantage of a 12 month sin interes deal combined with a work discount from Samsung last year.

Cutting back on going out to eat really helps the budget. That is where things have jumped up the most. I formally ate out more but in the past year I have cut back and cook more now. There are still some affordable places but I am in the habit now of not going out as much mostly because my local friends that I went with do not have the budget to dine out so more home meals. I could afford the meals out but feel bad when with my local friends so invite them over for dinner more.

 

[Uncle Wong]

I won't say my costs are the same as last year, but they aren't far off. About this time last year, a week's worth of groceries was setting us back around 80k pesos and now I'm looking roughly 100-110k for a similar trip.

In a couple of cases, prices are lower now than they were last year. For example, we like the Citric orange juice and it was setting us back around 3k/liter last year, while we're paying around 2.5k/liter this year. Butter has gone up, milk is roughly the same, eggs are pretty close (6100 at Carrefour for a 30-pack)... Meat is pretty similar.

I also live a fairly local-like lifestyle fwiw. Not a lot of dining out, lots of cooking at home and all that. We're pretty much at the point where our biggest expenses are paying the cuotas for our appliances, since we took advantage of a 12 month sin interes deal combined with a work discount from Samsung last year.

Thanks @Darksider415!

This is what I figured out that if I don't eat out much than I can live a very low cost lifestyle there. I plan to buy an apartment so I don't have to worry about jumping around from place to place. I have been to BA now a few times and love the city. Expenses sound like they have stopped going up on HOA bills.

Have you noticed with the blue dollar jumping up this past few weeks prices jumping up more?

Thanks for data point. Definitely I think if you aren't eating out too much it definitely helps the budget. I am the type that doesn't like to cook and always goes out to eat but my local friends probably are the same way going out to eat a few times a week. I also think where it hurts the most is people that have kids. Because all of my friends with kids have private schools that have jumped up.

What I noticed that was really expensive @Darksider415 was cleaning supplies and stuff like that. I bought and furnished like 5 units so I went out and bought that myself and was surprised how expensive it got. Also, things like laundry have skyrocketed up. With the amount of volume we do renting out (often times for only a few nights) we have to send laundry out to cleaners and it has really jumped up at laundromats. Some 1 bedroom units it's as much as 17,000 pesos for bedding, towels, etc. On 2 bedroom units as much as 25,000 pesos which is steep increase.

Wow that is a lot to spend on laundry. How do the locals do it? I guess they don't send stuff out as much and just hand wash it? I stayed in several Airbnbs but most of them do NOT have washing machines or dryers in them. Now I filter Airbnb searches by if they have a washing machine or dryer. Even if not in the actual apartment in the building. Those tokens seem to be less than $1 a load to wash and $1 to dry. Not sure what the going rate on those tokens are? @earlyretirement do you know? The Airbnb just got the tokens for me and said they were $1 dollar each.

Dining out seems to be the big killer there. I read one an X post today someone saying they spent 34,000 pesos for a ramen! That is much more than anywhere in the USA.

 

[Darksider415]

Yeah, I wouldn't spend 34k on a ramen lol...

As for the bit about not getting 1300 yet... I got 1320 yesterday when I transferred some funds in from Uruguay using CCL

 

[Blockchain]

Yeah, I wouldn't spend 34k on a ramen lol...

As for the bit about not getting 1300 yet... I got 1320 yesterday when I transferred some funds in from Uruguay using CCL

Can that be correct about pricing or is that guy lying? I can't believe that something like Ramen would be that expensive. What the hell? How do locals pay that? My friend in town now said it's totally dead in BA with tourists now. How are locals paying that? And why are they paying that??? If they stopped paying it the places I would think would stop charging so much.

How much profit is made charging that? I don't understand some things about BA. I know rents there are much cheaper than here in the US. Salaries are a fraction of the US. So I would think the profit margins are sky high! $26 bowl ramens are just crazy.

 

[Darksider415]

Can that be correct about pricing or is that guy lying? I can't believe that something like Ramen would be that expensive. What the hell? How do locals pay that? My friend in town now said it's totally dead in BA with tourists now. How are locals paying that? And why are they paying that??? If they stopped paying it the places I would think would stop charging so much.

How much profit is made charging that? I don't understand some things about BA. I know rents there are much cheaper than here in the US. Salaries are a fraction of the US. So I would think the profit margins are sky high! $26 bowl ramens are just crazy.

If it's the ramen place I'm thinking of, they absolutely do charge that.

Remember, there are four types of economies in the world. Capitalist, Communist, Argentina and Japan.

 

[earlyretirement]

If it's the ramen place I'm thinking of, they absolutely do charge that.

Remember, there are four types of economies in the world. Capitalist, Communist, Argentina and Japan.

Yes there are many places in Buenos Aires where the prices for food is the same or even more than anywhere in the USA or Europe. I dine out a LOT when I'm in Buenos Aires and prices still keep going up. As @Darksider415 mentioned if you don't dine out much you can get by for a reasonable amount. But still, lots of things are whacky on pricing like good quality toilet paper, paper towels, etc. I can't stand the cheap toilet paper and I always laugh when I see the price of quality toilet paper.

There are still reasonable priced places compared to the USA but expensive for local standards. I'm heading back down to BA later this month so will check out current prices. I do plan to eat out 3 x a day as usual. A bunch of places I went with my wife we easily spent the same as we would spend here in San Diego.