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Did many expats move out of Buenos Aires due to the higher cost of living?

Mike runs Buysellba and has been buying properties here in BA for over 23 years. He's also the moderator here and posts under the handle @earlyretirement . Definitely the person you want to contact for all things real estate. An all around awesome guy and you will see how much he loves BA and how generous of a person he as. Yes read some of the old posts, stick around, and ask questions and you'll see why.

Condo fees are across the board, the most important thing is probably how they're ran. Pools, doorman, security will increase it, but I've heard even in some buildings without them fees can still be pretty high. Others will have more info than I do.

Welcome to the forum, when I purchased the community here was instrumental in helping me in the process and likewise fell in love with the city when I visited.
Anyone surviving Argentina so long obviously is doing something right! Seems like most of the companies go out of business fairly quickly! No common sense pricing there. I saw stuff priced higher than anywhere in the world and the costs must be cheap in BA as real estate is so cheap there compared to the USA. It seems like companies would rather go bankrupt vs. price fair and make money. It sounds like a wave of bankruptcies are coming in BA.
 
Anyone surviving Argentina so long obviously is doing something right! Seems like most of the companies go out of business fairly quickly! No common sense pricing there. I saw stuff priced higher than anywhere in the world and the costs must be cheap in BA as real estate is so cheap there compared to the USA. It seems like companies would rather go bankrupt vs. price fair and make money. It sounds like a wave of bankruptcies are coming in BA.
Saw this on X. It sounds like it's already started.

 
Anyone surviving Argentina so long obviously is doing something right! Seems like most of the companies go out of business fairly quickly! No common sense pricing there. I saw stuff priced higher than anywhere in the world and the costs must be cheap in BA as real estate is so cheap there compared to the USA. It seems like companies would rather go bankrupt vs. price fair and make money. It sounds like a wave of bankruptcies are coming in BA.
No common sense. I saw this online. Someone should make a Seinfeld show teaching Argentines how to do business!

 
Can’t help but grin reading this. All that gushy praise and undying love for Argentina—poof! Gone. Now it’s all complaints, disdain, and dramatic exit plans. Good riddance, honestly. Guess that ‘loyalty’ only lasted as long as the good times, huh?

But oh, how shocking! You’re finally feeling what an actual Argentine feels, and suddenly it’s ‘Chau.’ What a pity party. And let’s be real: you people lived in CABA, playing porteños—the very bunch we out here in the real country know as the absolute scum of Argentina.

So go ahead, porteños. Hit the road. You were never in it for this. Rootless city slickers, the lot of you.

Me? I’m tied to the land. I didn’t move here to be some expat soaking up a temporarily strong dollar. I came for a new life. Imagine that.
 
Mike runs Buysellba and has been buying properties here in BA for over 23 years. He's also the moderator here and posts under the handle @earlyretirement . Definitely the person you want to contact for all things real estate. An all around awesome guy and you will see how much he loves BA and how generous of a person he as. Yes read some of the old posts, stick around, and ask questions and you'll see why.

Condo fees are across the board, the most important thing is probably how they're ran. Pools, doorman, security will increase it, but I've heard even in some buildings without them fees can still be pretty high. Others will have more info than I do.

Welcome to the forum, when I purchased the community here was instrumental in helping me in the process and likewise fell in love with the city when I visited.
He is a stand up guy. He brought a few items I needed to Buenos Aires on his last trip. Things I couldn't have afforded to get shipped to me. He did this for me even though I have never met him and only shared a few DM's. To further show how decent of a guy he is. I had my maid move to CABA and I was sad to see her go. She had no job lined up. I asked Mike if he knew of anyone that was looking and he immediately hired her on the spot. The only bad thing is she will never come back to me as he is paying her 3X more than what I was paying her. Class act gentleman.
 
Welcome to the forum, when I purchased the community here was instrumental in helping me in the process and likewise fell in love with the city when I visited.
Just goes to show you the power of these forums.
Saw this on X. It sounds like it's already started.


I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out things won't end up well. 🙁
 
Welcome to the forum, when I purchased the community here was instrumental in helping me in the process and likewise fell in love with the city when I visited.
Just goes to show you the power of these forums. I got a lot of information from various forums online. This ExpatsBA site is quickly becoming the most important resource on all things Buenos Aires. The search function is so powerful. I love it. I will move back to Buenos Aires this year.
 
Can’t help but grin reading this. All that gushy praise and undying love for Argentina—poof! Gone. Now it’s all complaints, disdain, and dramatic exit plans. Good riddance, honestly. Guess that ‘loyalty’ only lasted as long as the good times, huh?
I think you are way off base Rick!

I know many that aren't cheapos. I personally know some other people that left Buenos Aires. Some moved to other places in Argentina but others went back to their home countries to live with family members. Many people locals and foreigners alike are finding it difficult to survive. I wouldn't be so quick to jump on them. Lots of us came because we love Argentina but to pretend like costs haven't jumped up is way off base, IMHO.
 
Many of us post on both forums the old and this new one. Most of us have a different screen name on this forum. Some of us have the same name.

You can read about how this forum got started here.

I have been on the old forum since its earliest days. Igor is a strange one. It started out normal but then just over moderation of them deleting posts and editing comments without telling people. That was probably the beginning of the end once he started doing that. I went to a meet up and actually met the guy. Not a bad guy but just strange with the moderation.

This forum is great. We only had one trouble maker and fortunately he got kicked off the forum. Since then the forum is wonderful.

Mike runs Buysellba and has been buying properties here in BA for over 23 years. He's also the moderator here and posts under the handle @earlyretirement . Definitely the person you want to contact for all things real estate. An all around awesome guy and you will see how much he loves BA and how generous of a person he as. Yes read some of the old posts, stick around, and ask questions and you'll see why.

Condo fees are across the board, the most important thing is probably how they're ran. Pools, doorman, security will increase it, but I've heard even in some buildings without them fees can still be pretty high. Others will have more info than I do.

Welcome to the forum, when I purchased the community here was instrumental in helping me in the process and likewise fell in love with the city when I visited.
ANYONE that has survived 20 years in Argentina knows what they are doing. This is a crazy country. Most companies here end up failing. I would argue that many companies here are terrible and end up pricing themselves into bankruptcy. The prices here are very dear! They are more expensive than in Europe or the States for many things. They refuse to be competitive and there is zero innovation in companies here. So anyone or company that has been around this long in Argentina knows what they are doing.

@FuturoBA you make a great point.
I think you are way off base Rick!

I know many that aren't cheapos. I personally know some other people that left Buenos Aires. Some moved to other places in Argentina but others went back to their home countries to live with family members. Many people locals and foreigners alike are finding it difficult to survive. I wouldn't be so quick to jump on them. Lots of us came because we love Argentina but to pretend like costs haven't jumped up is way off base, IMHO.
Correct!! Costs have skyrocketed here! Prices are out of line and very dear here in BA, Bariloche and much of the country. Try going out for a nice dinner. Before it was possible but now you will spend a lot of money. Food is some of the most expensive in the world even though many of the things are from Argentina. It defies logic or common sense!

I am lucky I own my place but monthly condo fees keep going up. Utilities have jumped up but still less than other countries. So is rent but that is changing too. Many friends are forced out of their apartments as their lease ended and rates jumped up! Most of us that are on this forum love Argentina. Difficult to fault anyone a local or foreigner for complaining about the rising costs here.
 
Ha. I posted on a few of his posts on X that I thought were wrong or corrected him. I've come across many of such expats over the past 23 years in Buenos Aires. I did a post on this on X but most of these types leave a first world country like USA, Australia, UK to move to Argentina as they think it will be super easy living a cheap life but what they don't figure out is that it's very difficult to make money in Argentina for these types.

Mostly they are wasting their youth and the most important prime years to make money. You will never get this time back and the power of compound interest is powerful. Probably why he is trying to make a living getting subscriptions to his blog, pitching penny stocks and posting selfies of himself drinking milk. I'm not sure when grown men thought it would be a good idea posting selfies of themselves all the time. Oh well, I guess different times. LOL.

I posted how most of these expats will end up in retirement broke and I got blocked which is funny. The amount of guys trying to sell Plan B residencies to crappy countries like Paraguay is comical. But I guess when you leave a first world country and trying to get by in South America you are reduced to these types of things.

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Wait the guy blocked you on X because you corrected him? That is funny! At least he stopped posting photos of himself drinking milk!
 
I have been on the old forum since its earliest days. Igor is a strange one. It started out normal but then just over moderation of them deleting posts and editing comments without telling people. That was probably the beginning of the end once he started doing that. I went to a meet up and actually met the guy. Not a bad guy but just strange with the moderation.

This forum is great. We only had one trouble maker and fortunately he got kicked off the forum. Since then the forum is wonderful.


ANYONE that has survived 20 years in Argentina knows what they are doing. This is a crazy country. Most companies here end up failing. I would argue that many companies here are terrible and end up pricing themselves into bankruptcy. The prices here are very dear! They are more expensive than in Europe or the States for many things. They refuse to be competitive and there is zero innovation in companies here. So anyone or company that has been around this long in Argentina knows what they are doing.

@FuturoBA you make a great point.

Correct!! Costs have skyrocketed here! Prices are out of line and very dear here in BA, Bariloche and much of the country. Try going out for a nice dinner. Before it was possible but now you will spend a lot of money. Food is some of the most expensive in the world even though many of the things are from Argentina. It defies logic or common sense!

I am lucky I own my place but monthly condo fees keep going up. Utilities have jumped up but still less than other countries. So is rent but that is changing too. Many friends are forced out of their apartments as their lease ended and rates jumped up! Most of us that are on this forum love Argentina. Difficult to fault anyone a local or foreigner for complaining about the rising costs here.
Agree with Larry. Many people are struggling here! My family has cut back going out to eat. We are fortunate we all own our own properties. My parents own their home for many years. All my family all own their own apartment.

I think all you foreigner people have much more than we from local have it. Many foreigner people get stuck here. Even I try to get my ex boyfriend leave to Spain with me for more opportunity but he stuck with his family. Same thing happen with other locals. I think all you foreigner and expat are lucky to have dollars or Euros. You dont know how tough it is for local people. We were always struggling but now it more expensive. They say inflation slow down but prices more expensive than ever.
 
I think you are way off base Rick!

I know many that aren't cheapos. I personally know some other people that left Buenos Aires. Some moved to other places in Argentina but others went back to their home countries to live with family members. Many people locals and foreigners alike are finding it difficult to survive. I wouldn't be so quick to jump on them. Lots of us came because we love Argentina but to pretend like costs haven't jumped up is way off base, IMHO.
Everyone has their reasons for coming and leaving, everyone should do what's best for their situation. I do have more sympathy for the locals who don't have as many options to choose. Most foreigners can either return and/or move on to the next place.
I have been on the old forum since its earliest days. Igor is a strange one. It started out normal but then just over moderation of them deleting posts and editing comments without telling people. That was probably the beginning of the end once he started doing that. I went to a meet up and actually met the guy. Not a bad guy but just strange with the moderation.

This forum is great. We only had one trouble maker and fortunately he got kicked off the forum. Since then the forum is wonderful.


ANYONE that has survived 20 years in Argentina knows what they are doing. This is a crazy country. Most companies here end up failing. I would argue that many companies here are terrible and end up pricing themselves into bankruptcy. The prices here are very dear! They are more expensive than in Europe or the States for many things. They refuse to be competitive and there is zero innovation in companies here. So anyone or company that has been around this long in Argentina knows what they are doing.

@FuturoBA you make a great point.

Correct!! Costs have skyrocketed here! Prices are out of line and very dear here in BA, Bariloche and much of the country. Try going out for a nice dinner. Before it was possible but now you will spend a lot of money. Food is some of the most expensive in the world even though many of the things are from Argentina. It defies logic or common sense!

I am lucky I own my place but monthly condo fees keep going up. Utilities have jumped up but still less than other countries. So is rent but that is changing too. Many friends are forced out of their apartments as their lease ended and rates jumped up! Most of us that are on this forum love Argentina. Difficult to fault anyone a local or foreigner for complaining about the rising costs here.
Below is a parody account, but sometimes I think companies here are taking this guy's advice seriously.


🙂
 
Below is a parody account, but sometimes I think companies here are taking this guy's advice seriously.
Funny. Argentine businesses are terrible. I am not sure what this stems from. But I have watched many companies go out of business here during my 17 years here. Terrible customer service, they don't have websites, their Google Maps hours are always wrong.
 
Funny. Argentine businesses are terrible. I am not sure what this stems from. But I have watched many companies go out of business here during my 17 years here. Terrible customer service, they don't have websites, their Google Maps hours are always wrong.
Totally agree. I would get frustrated with Google Maps as sometimes the restaurants said permanently closed and it was open and sometimes it said it was open and it was closed. Never been to a country that had such terrible customer service and no one has websites. I saw a lot of companies still had Facebook pages for their website. NO ONE uses FB!
 
Totally agree. I would get frustrated with Google Maps as sometimes the restaurants said permanently closed and it was open and sometimes it said it was open and it was closed. Never been to a country that had such terrible customer service and no one has websites. I saw a lot of companies still had Facebook pages for their website. NO ONE uses FB!
Yes. BA restaurants and companies have never been good at this. It costs very little to have a website but most still don't even have a simple website. It's 2025. I don't understand this. Just goes to show you how much most are struggling and can't even afford that basic cost. Many only have a IG page now. Even some large restaurants and bars.
 
Just a gentle reminder that Argentina doesn’t begin and end with Buenos Aires. There are plenty of other places where one can live quite affordably—Córdoba, Mendoza, Salta, Posadas, to name a few significant ones.

Look at places like Mendoza, and my cousin there told me they have been seeing a steady influx of “financial refugees” from the United States, Europe, and Canada—mostly retirees and young professionals working remotely.

My cousin bought a few Airbnb's in Mendoza and there’s an endless stream of Airbnb listings here with empty calendars, priced at three times what they should be. He is priced reasonably and turning people away because he is fully booked.

Yes, the cost of food has gone up, but everyday expenses remain remarkably low. A bus ride costs under $1. My gas bill averages around $15, and electricity runs about $30 in the winter. My cell phone plan is $10 per month, doctor visits range from $25 to $40, and a dental cleaning is about $45. You’d be hard-pressed to find prices like these anywhere in the U.S., Canada, or the U.K. So perhaps those lamenting the cost of living in CABA should consider exploring the rest of the country? Just saying.

I know CABA can be expensive. And for context—Mendoza is considered one of the more expensive provinces. Córdoba and Salta are significantly cheaper.
Great post. Many more affordable cities outside of CABA. Argentina is a huge country. BA and Bariloche are very expensive now but there are rural areas and smaller towns that are very affordable.
 
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