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Is living in Argentina safer than we think?

Radd

Member
I was looking at this global safety map the other day and was kinda surprised: Argentina apparently ranks as a low security risk compared to a lot of other countries. 🤔

Honestly, I know we all hear about robberies and pickpockets, but when you see the map, we’re nowhere near the highest-risk countries.

What do you guys think? Do you feel safe here? Have you ever experienced any serious security issues living in Argentina? Or do you think the media/social media makes it seem worse than it is?

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I’ve been here for 4 years and honestly I feel safer here than in many U.S. cities. Yeah, you have to be careful with your phone in public and not flash cash, but I walk around at night in my neighborhood and it’s fine.
 
I wish I could agree, but I was mugged twice in the first year. Nothing violent, but they did take my bag once and my phone the other time. I guess it depends on the area and how ‘obvious’ you look as a foreigner.
 
I think Argentina’s bad rep is a bit exaggerated. If you’ve lived in big cities in Latin America (or even in parts of the U.S.), you know things can get way worse. Here it’s mostly petty crime, not the extreme stuff.
 
I actually think Argentina is safer than people give it credit for. Sure, it’s not Finland, but it’s also not that different from the U.S. in many ways. Like someone said earlier, there are entire U.S. cities where you feel way more at risk. And let’s not even talk about the random armed lunatics who go on killing sprees there, if you didn’t know, that’s one of the things we’re ‘famous’ for abroad 🙄. Yeah, it might be the first world, but they really should fix a lot of their gun laws before pointing fingers. At least here I don’t live with that constant fear of someone walking into a café with an AR-15 just because they felt like it.
 
I don’t think all of Argentina is the same. In CABA (the city), you generally see more police presence and basic stuff like patrol cars, cameras, etc. Once you cross into the conurbano (Lanús, Avellaneda, Quilmes, the southern suburbs, etc.), it’s a whole different story. Authorities are different and honestly you can feel it, there’s way less investment in security, even in basics like patrol cars. I have friends in the south of BA, and they definitely feel less protected. That said… those towns are gorgeous and full of life, just a bit rougher security-wise. Most foreigners only ever get to know CABA, so I think that skews perceptions a bit.
 
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