Is Villa Crespo a safe place to stay if we are walking back from restaurants at night? I hear Palermo Soho and Hollywood mentioned quite a bit online but I don't hear too much about Villa Crespo too much. Prices on Airbnb are cheaper than those areas. Is it safe? I'd appreciate any locals opinions on that area. Any parts of Villa Crespo to avoid? Pros/cons?
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Newcomer Is Villa Crespo a safe area to stay in?
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Darksider415
Well-known member
My wife and I just moved to Recoleta from Villa Crespo, and it was pretty tranquilo, other than some noise whenever Atlanta is playing. Our old apartment was about 80m from the train station and about 180m or so from Estación Dorrego on line B, and it was a pretty good area. I didn't have any fears walking around at night, and it's a decent area.
Our church is also in Villa Crespo (corner of Jufre and Scalabrini Ortiz) and I've walked the 800m or so from church to the Subte many times, or from church up to restaurants in Palermo without issues.
Not quite as many restaurants and touristy things in Villa Crespo, but it's a good area.
Our church is also in Villa Crespo (corner of Jufre and Scalabrini Ortiz) and I've walked the 800m or so from church to the Subte many times, or from church up to restaurants in Palermo without issues.
Not quite as many restaurants and touristy things in Villa Crespo, but it's a good area.
Thank you Che Vos! It's good to hear it's so close to everything.
Thanks to you too Darksider415!
What is Atlanta? Is that a club? Great to hear no fear walking at night. Which area do you like better? Recoleta or Villa Crespo? I also was considering staying in Recoleta. I see some nice Airbnb's by the Recoleta Village area which looks very central to everything. I plan to visit San Telmo and also Puerto Madero and downtown area as well. Recoleta seems very central but I don't know commute times between areas.
StatusNomadicus
Well-known member
i'm in Crespo right now, headed to Monserrat, then Recoleta, then Barrio Norte. i don't enjoy the touristy areas of Palermo, personally (Gringo Tax and just overall super high prices)
Crespo has a restaurant called La Dignidad where you can get a huge plate for $5 USD, no "Cubierto" scam added, nice people, no beggars bothering you during your meal. Palermo will be 4x as expensive as other non-tourist areas. another place in Crespo is "Imperial Pizza" chain where you can get a slice of deep-dish pizza for around 900-1200 Pesos depending on the toppings. Prices are a little higher here on PedidosYa than in-person, but here's an example: https://www.pedidosya.com.ar/restaurantes/buenos-aires/el-imperio-de-la-pizza-villa-crespo-menu
...whereas a plate at 1516 Brewery in Palermo is 4600 Pesos: https://pedir.tucan.la/menu/1516cerveceria/Salón/MILANESA C/ FIDEOS
Here's a really packed place in Crespo for Italian food: https://www.datalive.com.ar/menu/cartadigital?e=134&s=291 (with actual prices on the menu, which is rare in BsAs due to inflation changes)
...which you can compare to an Italian place in Palermo where the reviews show it is 20,000 Pesos per person: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7NB6fEz1AhqBJwdZA
Crespo has a restaurant called La Dignidad where you can get a huge plate for $5 USD, no "Cubierto" scam added, nice people, no beggars bothering you during your meal. Palermo will be 4x as expensive as other non-tourist areas. another place in Crespo is "Imperial Pizza" chain where you can get a slice of deep-dish pizza for around 900-1200 Pesos depending on the toppings. Prices are a little higher here on PedidosYa than in-person, but here's an example: https://www.pedidosya.com.ar/restaurantes/buenos-aires/el-imperio-de-la-pizza-villa-crespo-menu
...whereas a plate at 1516 Brewery in Palermo is 4600 Pesos: https://pedir.tucan.la/menu/1516cerveceria/Salón/MILANESA C/ FIDEOS
Here's a really packed place in Crespo for Italian food: https://www.datalive.com.ar/menu/cartadigital?e=134&s=291 (with actual prices on the menu, which is rare in BsAs due to inflation changes)
...which you can compare to an Italian place in Palermo where the reviews show it is 20,000 Pesos per person: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7NB6fEz1AhqBJwdZA
Shoemaker
Active member
Thank you so much StatusNomadicus for those great recommendations. I love deep-dish pizza. Is it like Chicago style? I had read that Buenos Aires doesn't have good pizza places or it tasted different than USA type pizza and they put too much cheese. How do you like the flavor there of the pizza?
Darksider415
Well-known member
I’d argue better than Chicago style, or really any U.S. style pizza, but I’m biased. Güerrín is my personal favorite, though Imperial and Bar Roma are also favorites of mine.
The pizza is amazing, ignore the haters.
Shoemaker
Active member
Thank you @Darksider415 ! You guys should post some food reviews in the food section! I loved the other reviews but too rich for my blood! But a good pizza I'd love to see photos and reviews on this forum! I will check out those pizza places! Thanks again.
Nomadoggo
Member
Staying in Villa Crespo now and I would definitely say it is safe. I have never felt weird or like anyone was overly staring as I am walking around, even at 10-11pm. Some of the streets you walk down have a more noticeable amount of graffiti and trash on the streets, but overall that is the "worst" I have seen so far. Even with that, I have never felt unsafe.
It seems the area between Thames and Scalabrini Ortiz and Cordoba and Corrientes is an up and coming area. There is lots of shopping on Aguirre, along with some bars/restaurants/breweries. I tried Che Bonche and Saibhir yesterday, great beers, decent prices ($2000ARS per beer), good food, and very dog friendly. Another super neat place is the Mercat on Thames. It is an old factory that they turned into almost like a food court in a way. There are tons of places to eat (asian, crepes, burgers, Jewish Sandwiches, tea shops, cervezarias) and its all inside, so it's perfect on those rainy days.
It seems the area between Thames and Scalabrini Ortiz and Cordoba and Corrientes is an up and coming area. There is lots of shopping on Aguirre, along with some bars/restaurants/breweries. I tried Che Bonche and Saibhir yesterday, great beers, decent prices ($2000ARS per beer), good food, and very dog friendly. Another super neat place is the Mercat on Thames. It is an old factory that they turned into almost like a food court in a way. There are tons of places to eat (asian, crepes, burgers, Jewish Sandwiches, tea shops, cervezarias) and its all inside, so it's perfect on those rainy days.
Thank you everyone! This is a wonderful forum. I'm very glad I found this forum by chance on Twitter! All of the info is helpful. I arrived a few days ago and I have been walking all over this beautiful city. I like Recoleta the most. It is very upscale and most importantly clean! Barely any vandalism anywhere. It feels very residential. I ate near Palermo Soho and while touristy I went for ice cream at night and many places have vandalism everywhere. I walked around Villa Crespo quite a bit and although I feel safe as you all mentioned, I don't really like the vibe much.
I saw a lot of vandalism and spray paint on buildings. I also noticed more trash in the street. Although there are large dumpsters it looks like on every block or two, I noticed more trash in the street in Villa Crespo. It's not nearly as neat and clean as Recoleta. I walked by the Alvear Palace hotel and the park near the cemetery and it is very nice but almost too nice for my tastes.
I walked down Junin Street past the busy street and many nice areas. I walked all the way down and around and that area is lovely. Not as many restaurants all concentrated like Soho but I think I like it better like that. Thank you @StatusNomadicus and @Darksider415 for your Pizza reviews! It was fabulous! I forgot to take some photos to do a food review but I may go back. I am here 10 days and I live this city already.
This was an exploratory trip to possibly move down here. I am American and I can't afford to retire in the USA. I'm selling my small home and fortunately with that income I can pay off my mortgage balance and buy a small apartment in Buenos Aires and live frugally and then my social security payment will kick in place within 3 years. By all accounts, I can afford to live in Buenos Aires once I own a place on less than $2,500 USD per month.
I like to cook and groceries are very very cheap here. Even if they went up 300% it's still much less than in the USA where I live.
I saw a lot of vandalism and spray paint on buildings. I also noticed more trash in the street. Although there are large dumpsters it looks like on every block or two, I noticed more trash in the street in Villa Crespo. It's not nearly as neat and clean as Recoleta. I walked by the Alvear Palace hotel and the park near the cemetery and it is very nice but almost too nice for my tastes.
I walked down Junin Street past the busy street and many nice areas. I walked all the way down and around and that area is lovely. Not as many restaurants all concentrated like Soho but I think I like it better like that. Thank you @StatusNomadicus and @Darksider415 for your Pizza reviews! It was fabulous! I forgot to take some photos to do a food review but I may go back. I am here 10 days and I live this city already.
This was an exploratory trip to possibly move down here. I am American and I can't afford to retire in the USA. I'm selling my small home and fortunately with that income I can pay off my mortgage balance and buy a small apartment in Buenos Aires and live frugally and then my social security payment will kick in place within 3 years. By all accounts, I can afford to live in Buenos Aires once I own a place on less than $2,500 USD per month.
I like to cook and groceries are very very cheap here. Even if they went up 300% it's still much less than in the USA where I live.
@Bob You sound like me, I went for an exploratory trip earlier this year and been doing research on how to move down here. Looking to buy an apt here and when selling my current home should have a pretty good runway and either do part time or find supplemental income. Here, with the biggest recurring payment(housing) paid off, I'll be able to live off 500-1k per month.
LongIslander
Active member
I totally agree with you. I think a lot of us are in the same boat. I am tired of the rat race of the USA. I am not wealthy. Far from it. I am lucky that I owned a modest place that wasn't too expensive in Long Island many years ago when I first bought it. Now it's worth a small fortune. I do have a mortgage on it but I have a lot of equity in it.
I already have an offer to purchase it and should close on it within a few weeks. Had I not purchased that apartment I would be screwed! I didn't save enough when I was younger and now it's tough to find a job at my age. I'm 58 years old. I do a little online marketing and make a little income. From what I'm researching, I can't easily get a job in Buenos Aires and salaries are very low.
What I learned is that owning real estate is the most important thing no matter where you live. ALL my friends that I know would be in serious financial difficulties if they were renting their entire lives. But more so, the equity in their real estate is their nest egg for when they retire. Most of them do NOT have any significant retirement savings. It's mostly all in their equity from their property. I'm in that boat and will admit it. I just got lucky.
Like you @FuturoBA I won't have much income each month but fortunately I can afford to buy an apartment in Buenos Aires. I have been watching prices the past few years and the apartments I'm looking at have fallen about 40% the past few years. I am eying a 2 bedroom apartment in Palermo and it's slightly over $200,000 USD. It's not cheap by any means but this same thing in NYC would be 8X it it more. It's painful having to pay it all off but at least I won't have a mortgage and the HOA is only around $125 USD per month. I figure with inflation this might double or even triple over the next several years but I will still have $300,000 USD in equity from my apartment even after paying for the apartment.
One thing I was surprised at is the closing costs and fees in Buenos Aires. I am going to hire an expert to make sure I don't screw this up as it's all cash so no room for mistakes. @FuturoBA what part are you looking to buy in?
Thank you @FuturoBA! I think a lot of Americans are looking for greener pastures now that it's so crazy expensive to live in the USA. People underestimate how expensive the USA is now. I was reading another thread and some locals think everyone in the USA is rich and life is easy here. They don't realize how ridiculous it is now in most major metro cities in the USA.
From all the research I am doing, it seems like now is a great time to buy in Argentina. Of course, there could be more problems and I'm not sure if the new president is good or bad for Argentina. I don't know enough about local politics but it seems like a HUGE change for Argentina when researching their history. It sounds like the status quo hasn't worked for them. So I don't think this new guy can be all bad and it sounds like most of what he promised he can't deliver on anyway.
But I am reading all the reports on https://buysellba.com/news-/-media and its truly scary to be dependent on finding long-term rentals in the future. I reached out to a large realtor and they admitted that it's very difficult and they said I needed to pay 2 years up front! Is this normal??? That alone gave me pause. Plus many don't have furniture on long term rentals so by the time I paid for furniture it seems risky to have to move every few years not knowing the situation.
The place I looked at online in the area I wanted it doesn't make sense to rent long term vs. just buying a decent place. I saw a one-bedroom in a nice part of Palermo for $150,000 US dollars. It is in a new building and has a nice balcony and nice view. That seems like a no brainer if you have the cash. Am I missing something? Property prices seem like they have fallen a lot over the past few years.
Cali Baby
Member
@Darksider415 I second Guerrin! It's an experience and I always get the same waiter there. Ask for Diego! Bar Roma is also totally decent pizza.
I don't really like near Scalabrini Ortiz in that area. Sometimes at night it can still get sketchy in that area. I've never had issues but one night I was walking home from a friend's apartment right near that area and I witnessed someone mugging someone and stealing their phone. It was a tourist. I tried to help them and they didn't speak Spanish. To be fair it seemed like they were totally drunk. People have to keep their wits about them while in a foreign country.
I don't really like Villa Crespo much. I agree Soho is totally over saturated with tourists. I much prefer Palermo Hollywood. Even though there are tourists it seems like any given night there are more locals at places vs. tourists and it's much nicer with hardly any vandalism compared to Soho and Villa Crespo. Plus I hate that there is dog poop all over in the Villa Crespo area and agree more trash in the street.
Other neighborhoods are much nicer in Palermo and Recoleta. But they are more expensive.
StatusNomadicus
Well-known member
the line last night was the longest line i've seen in BsAs for 2 weeks. their Google reviews have 95,000+ :O
Betsy Ross
Well-known member
Yes, I always bring my book when I go there or I listen to my audio book on my phone with headphones so I'm not wasting time. I still don't like the pizza in Argentina as well as back home.
Calgary Foodie
Member
I am curious as I read about Villa Crespo as an alternative to Palermo Soho. I read this on Trip Advisor a few times. What is the attraction other than proximity and it being cheaper? There is no draw to that area other than location? No? I'm just trying to understand if there is anything at all special in that area? From all the posts it does NOT sound like it. People are just there for lower price? It doesn't sound like an outstanding area?
@Darksider415 what attracted you to that area?
@Darksider415 what attracted you to that area?
Agree about the power of RE especially in the long term. Many of my friends thought I was crazy for buying a home when I did because I was single and rent was so cheap at the time. Now same friends are complaining of rent prices and at the same time they've been priced out of buying.
I've always tried to live below my means: cars paid in cash, not into fancy restaurants, nor the latest tech gear, and live a simple life. And soon I can semi-retire and work towards something I'm more passionate about and young enough where I'm still in good health.
I'm looking in the Palermo area as well, something close enough to the all the parks and far enough away from the noise.
It's amazing how in a world class city in some of the best neighborhoods you can get a place for 150k (and I've seen listings down to almost half that) where as in many places that same 150k wouldn't be enough to buy a dump house in a crappy neighborhood. I think most people are risk adverse, although prices are a great deal it's still a large sum for most people.
I spent only a limited time in Villa Crespo and I didn't care for it too much either. Maybe it was just me but the streets seemed wider which allowed for cars to drive just a little faster and things seemed a little further sprawled out. Also compared to Palermo restaurants didn't seem to have as much outdoor patio seating (which now that I think about it, relates to narrowing the width of the streets) and VC felt less established with the trees much younger and shorter.
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