How much are you allowed to bring into Argentina (Goods allowance) for Tourist and Resident?

[Oatmeal]

Agree with @Betsy Ross, January and February can be hot and humid here. My family usually leaves during January as do many. This past year with the poor economy it seems like less people traveled but many do leave.

What are some of the places people leave to?

 

[James Bond]

What are some of the places people leave to?

I just moved to Spain after living in BA for many years. We finally threw in the towel as we could see prices were drastically going up. We just looked now and our monthly condo fees are 2.5x the price as December 2023. Utility bills jumped up too. Still not too bad but they will go up more. Still like BA and will go back as my girlfriend is from there and has family but the move to Spain was a good one. We know many people that also moved here. Come to Malaga and you will see it is full of Argentines.

 

[Vince]

What are some of the places people leave to?

I am moving back to the USA. Aging and sick parents so heading back to take care of them. Several of our friends moved to Spain. 2 of them moved back to the States for one reason or another.

 

[Oatmeal]

I just moved to Spain after living in BA for many years. We finally threw in the towel as we could see prices were drastically going up. We just looked now and our monthly condo fees are 2.5x the price as December 2023. Utility bills jumped up too. Still not too bad but they will go up more. Still like BA and will go back as my girlfriend is from there and has family but the move to Spain was a good one. We know many people that also moved here. Come to Malaga and you will see it is full of Argentines.

Interesting. We notice the cost has gone up so much in just this past year. Do you own any property in Argentina? I was told cost for housing in Spain (rental) is very high and cost of living is the same if not more. Am I wrong?

 

[Oatmeal]

I am moving back to the USA. Aging and sick parents so heading back to take care of them. Several of our friends moved to Spain. 2 of them moved back to the States for one reason or another.

Makes sense. This is something we might have to do in the future as well.

 

[Vince]

Interesting. We notice the cost has gone up so much in just this past year. Do you own any property in Argentina? I was told cost for housing in Spain (rental) is very high and cost of living is the same if not more. Am I wrong?

So much can change from one year to the next here in Argentina. And who knows. In 2025 it could swing back the other way again. That is the way of this country. Up and down. Housing and rentals in Spain are more expensive than in Argentina based on what friends that have moved there have told us. But if you go further outside of touristy areas, you can get some decent deals. Some friends that moved out to there have told us that they spend less in Spain on groceries than they did in Buenos Aires and better quality items.

Makes sense. This is something we might have to do in the future as well.

I love Buenos Aires but my parents likely only have a few years left so going to help them and be with them for a while and then might move back to BA.

 

[James Bond]

Interesting. We notice the cost has gone up so much in just this past year. Do you own any property in Argentina? I was told cost for housing in Spain (rental) is very high and cost of living is the same if not more. Am I wrong?

Yes, costs have skyrocketed up. I do own an apartment in Palermo but I am subletting it out. I was going to sell it but prices are finally rebounding so I will wait to sell it while prices go up. Fortunately I just signed a 2 year lease on it to a Russian family. They are paying the increasingly high monthly condo fees and the utility bills which keep going up too.

We are renting in Spain and prices depend on where you are renting. You can go off the beaten path a bit and get decent rentals. Not as cheap as Argentina but much better quality of life without constant price swings. Cost of living is actually lower on some items here in Malaga.

Plus the weather is better and we have the beach here.

 

[Larry]

We notice the cost has gone up so much in just this past year.

Everyone is suffering with these price increases. Especially the poor and middle classes who are being forced to deal with these price increases the most. Food, groceries, medications, health insurance, utility bills, transportation costs, home insurance, gasoline, car insurance, clothing. You name it. Just about anything that can go up has gone up and prices are very dear now.

 

[Oatmeal]

So much can change from one year to the next here in Argentina. And who knows. In 2025 it could swing back the other way again. That is the way of this country. Up and down. Housing and rentals in Spain are more expensive than in Argentina based on what friends that have moved there have told us. But if you go further outside of touristy areas, you can get some decent deals. Some friends that moved out to there have told us that they spend less in Spain on groceries than they did in Buenos Aires and better quality items.

I have a friend that moved to Valencia and likes it there. They moved about a year ago and finding temporary place to stay was extremely stressful and challenging. They literally said book your AirBnB a year out.. Getting long term was also difficult but they had some friends there to help. Another friend of mine was there about 2 months ago and told me is was super expensive even for a studio apartment on AirBnb. He stayed in Madrid. I believe $700/week. He ended up traveling to another country in EU and now in Bali. This cost of food and things definitely cost way more than justified in my opinion. No Amazon kinda sucks as well. I was looking at a cooler by Coleman (100qt). Here it is $1.080.000 and on Amazon USA $95, Amazon ES (Spain) $229 Euro. Absolutely ridiculous or I need to find better stores. I'm wondering in hindsight maybe Spain might be better at a day to day level?

 

[Oatmeal]

We are renting in Spain and prices depend on where you are renting. You can go off the beaten path a bit and get decent rentals. Not as cheap as Argentina but much better quality of life without constant price swings. Cost of living is actually lower on some items here in Malaga.

Plus the weather is better and we have the beach here.

That's great. How are the people and culture? Any cons compared to BA? We plan on traveling so might do some research as an option B in the future.

 

[FuturoBA]

Yes, costs have skyrocketed up. I do own an apartment in Palermo but I am subletting it out. I was going to sell it but prices are finally rebounding so I will wait to sell it while prices go up. Fortunately I just signed a 2 year lease on it to a Russian family. They are paying the increasingly high monthly condo fees and the utility bills which keep going up too.

We are renting in Spain and prices depend on where you are renting. You can go off the beaten path a bit and get decent rentals. Not as cheap as Argentina but much better quality of life without constant price swings. Cost of living is actually lower on some items here in Malaga.

Plus the weather is better and we have the beach here.

How are the taxes in Spain? Or is it one of those don't ask don't tell circumventing official taxes.

 

[James Bond]

I have a friend that moved to Valencia and likes it there. They moved about a year ago and finding temporary place to stay was extremely stressful and challenging. They literally said book your AirBnB a year out.. Getting long term was also difficult but they had some friends there to help. Another friend of mine was there about 2 months ago and told me is was super expensive even for a studio apartment on AirBnb. He stayed in Madrid. I believe $700/week. He ended up traveling to another country in EU and now in Bali. This cost of food and things definitely cost way more than justified in my opinion. No Amazon kinda sucks as well. I was looking at a cooler by Coleman (100qt). Here it is $1.080.000 and on Amazon USA $95, Amazon ES (Spain) $229 Euro. Absolutely ridiculous or I need to find better stores. I'm wondering in hindsight maybe Spain might be better at a day to day level?

Valencia is nice. I'm not sure about rentals there. Airbnb is expensive and geared towards tourists mostly. We got lucky as my girlfriend has a lot of friends here and one of them was moving to Australia so we leased directly from her. But check out some of the Facebook apartment pages for each city. I think there is one for most cities in Spain. Madrid and Barcelona are very expensive for rentals because a lot of tourists there.

I'm not sure where you are looking at Coleman coolers for $1080? That is too expensive. You can go on Mercado Libre and find some 100 qt coolers for 553,000 pesos.

Mercado Libre

www.mercadolibre.com.ar

That's great. How are the people and culture? Any cons compared to BA? We plan on traveling so might do some research as an option B in the future.

People and culture are excellent. Safe too. No cons at all so far. Some cities have some anti-tourist sentiment but it is only a few people that are causing issues.

How are the taxes in Spain? Or is it one of those don't ask don't tell circumventing official taxes.

You can get a digital nomad visa here and pay 15% reduced taxes. I haven't had to file taxes yet. I work remote so I need to see what the cheapest option is but my accountant before moving here told me applying for a digital nomad visa and paying 15% would be the most efficient. My girlfriend has a Spanish passport. She works online but she works under the don't ask don't tell when it comes to taxes. In Argentina she was working remote and was declaring a small portion of it.

 

[illegal alien]

I have a friend that moved to Valencia and likes it there. They moved about a year ago and finding temporary place to stay was extremely stressful and challenging. They literally said book your AirBnB a year out.. Getting long term was also difficult but they had some friends there to help. Another friend of mine was there about 2 months ago and told me is was super expensive even for a studio apartment on AirBnb. He stayed in Madrid. I believe $700/week. He ended up traveling to another country in EU and now in Bali. This cost of food and things definitely cost way more than justified in my opinion. No Amazon kinda sucks as well. I was looking at a cooler by Coleman (100qt). Here it is $1.080.000 and on Amazon USA $95, Amazon ES (Spain) $229 Euro. Absolutely ridiculous or I need to find better stores. I'm wondering in hindsight maybe Spain might be better at a day to day level?

Some of the prices on things are crazy in Argentina. @Oatmeal not sure if you have tried Grabr but you should try it. I have purchased several things from Amazon that way and people brought them to BA. Much cheaper than buying stuff here.

Shop Overseas Products with International P2P Delivery | Grabr

grabr.io

 

[Larry]

Some of the prices on things are crazy in Argentina. @Oatmeal not sure if you have tried Grabr but you should try it. I have purchased several things from Amazon that way and people brought them to BA. Much cheaper than buying stuff here.

Shop Overseas Products with International P2P Delivery | Grabr

grabr.io

GRABR works great. Mentioned it in another post.

Ordering stuff from abroad

Hello! There's another BA expats forum, an older one, it seems. I posted these questions there too, I hope I am not breaking any rules. I did a search before posting this question, but found nothing current and things have changed quite a bit since last December. Do you order things from...

www.expatsba.com

 

[Oatmeal]

Valencia is nice. I'm not sure about rentals there. Airbnb is expensive and geared towards tourists mostly. We got lucky as my girlfriend has a lot of friends here and one of them was moving to Australia so we leased directly from her. But check out some of the Facebook apartment pages for each city. I think there is one for most cities in Spain. Madrid and Barcelona are very expensive for rentals because a lot of tourists there.

I'm not sure where you are looking at Coleman coolers for $1080? That is too expensive. You can go on Mercado Libre and find some 100 qt coolers for 553,000 pesos.

Mercado Libre

www.mercadolibre.com.ar

People and culture are excellent. Safe too. No cons at all so far. Some cities have some anti-tourist sentiment but it is only a few people that are causing issues.


You can get a digital nomad visa here and pay 15% reduced taxes. I haven't had to file taxes yet. I work remote so I need to see what the cheapest option is but my accountant before moving here told me applying for a digital nomad visa and paying 15% would be the most efficient. My girlfriend has a Spanish passport. She works online but she works under the don't ask don't tell when it comes to taxes. In Argentina she was working remote and was declaring a small portion of it.

Ahh yah that's for the link. I find Mercardo Libre a wash sometimes with prices but half from the retail store is huge. Thank you. FYI not sure if you are aware, my friend applied for a DM visa in Spain while she was in Spain. She was approved for 3 years. From what she told me, you get a much longer period if you are within Spain.

 

[Oatmeal]

GRABR works great. Mentioned it in another post.

Ordering stuff from abroad

Hello! There's another BA expats forum, an older one, it seems. I posted these questions there too, I hope I am not breaking any rules. I did a search before posting this question, but found nothing current and things have changed quite a bit since last December. Do you order things from...

www.expatsba.com

Thanks for the info. Yes I tried Grabr its great, I think this is the default app to use for most use cases. I think I will go this route from now.

 

[Oatmeal]

Some of the prices on things are crazy in Argentina. @Oatmeal not sure if you have tried Grabr but you should try it. I have purchased several things from Amazon that way and people brought them to BA. Much cheaper than buying stuff here.

Shop Overseas Products with International P2P Delivery | Grabr

grabr.io

yes I am aware and have used it a few times, but now I think I have no choice but to use it all the time jaja. Thanks for the info,.

 

[Uncle Wong]

Ahh yah that's for the link. I find Mercardo Libre a wash sometimes with prices but half from the retail store is huge. Thank you. FYI not sure if you are aware, my friend applied for a DM visa in Spain while she was in Spain. She was approved for 3 years. From what she told me, you get a much longer period if you are within Spain.

Same as a friend that recently applied for a digital nomad visa. He also got 3 years. He said it was a bit of paperwork but managed. When I was in BA I looked on Mercado Libre for certain items. There was a huge range what some people were selling the same item. Sometimes as much as 100% difference.

yes I am aware and have used it a few times, but now I think I have no choice but to use it all the time jaja. Thanks for the info,.

I used Grabr several times while I was in BA. I was amazed how quickly sometimes it would work. I talked to a few people that said a lot of flight attendants are the ones that bring the most stuff. I ordered some clothes and indeed it was a pilot that was the one that brought me my items. He said he does it each time he comes to EZE and was a good side hustle.

 

[Finance Prof]

yes I am aware and have used it a few times, but now I think I have no choice but to use it all the time jaja. Thanks for the info,.

Same as a friend that recently applied for a digital nomad visa. He also got 3 years. He said it was a bit of paperwork but managed. When I was in BA I looked on Mercado Libre for certain items. There was a huge range what some people were selling the same item. Sometimes as much as 100% difference.


I used Grabr several times while I was in BA. I was amazed how quickly sometimes it would work. I talked to a few people that said a lot of flight attendants are the ones that bring the most stuff. I ordered some clothes and indeed it was a pilot that was the one that brought me my items. He said he does it each time he comes to EZE and was a good side hustle.

This must be true because the last 3 times I have used Grabr and met up with the person delivering my items, it was flight attendants. That must be a great way for them to make money each time they come to EZE!