Newcomer Las Heras Park area

[jennym]

Hello,
Could you provide information about the Palermo area around Parque Las Heras? Is it considered safe with a lot to explore? I'm considering an Airbnb in that vicinity, approximately 5 blocks from Alto Palermo shopping center. I'm in my 30s, traveling with my husband, and we appreciate a vibrant atmosphere. How does this area compare to Palermo Chico?

 

[StatusNomadicus]

i just walked Las Heras yesterday. ton of schools nearby with little kids walking home with their parents (or getting picked-up for the rich folks), dogs playing, not much trash, only 1 bum, hustling and bustling for sure!

 

[martii]

Hi jennynm,

-Very nice area but not ON the center of nightlife

-Either way is safe

Palermo Chico is completely residential and is now called Barrio Parque.

You might be talking about Palermo Soho and Hollywood which have a much better life at night especially Soho.

You’ll enjoy no matter where you go!

 

[Ricrado]

Hello,
If you're located just a short distance from Alto Palermo Shopping, such as in the Parque Las Heras area, it's a predominantly residential but secure neighborhood. While it may not offer an abundance of nightlife, Palermo Soho is merely a 5-10 minute cab/Uber ride away, where you'll find an extensive array of bars, restaurants, and more.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

especially Soho.

eh, Soho has such higher prices and not really great service, in my past 2 weeks

 

[Vince]

I LOVE that area near there. My close friend lives right near there with her kids and she loves it. I visit her all the time and it's nice. That shopping mall is nice and there is a food court upstairs which is nice if you want a snack. The last time I was in town it was raining hard and they have a nice American-style Cinemark theatre there where I watched the Barbie movie in English.

Just about every bus line can be reached in that area. It feels very residential on those side streets. I actually don't like staying in Soho as it's too congested and too many tourists and prices are extremely elevated for the same things in this area. It is ok for a few nights but I would never live in Soho long-term.

You just get treated like Joe Shmoe Tourist in Palermo Soho vs. a local. I can walk in Recoleta or this part of Palermo and I feel like a local vs. a gringo. Palermo Chico for sure is a very high end area and very close. But there are a lot of neighborhoods around Alto Palermo or a short walk that are very residential and quiet.

I am considering a move to Buenos Aires in the next year. I just placed my apartment for sale in Seattle and I may relocate for a few months. I read it's easy to just take the ferry over to Uruguay every few months.

 

[earlyretirement]

I completely agree with all of your posts. I LOVE this area. I used to own several properties in this area and managed many more. The occupancy rates were always very high. After the financial crash in 2002, I was buying up real estate all over Buenos Aires for myself and for my investors.

It was all chronicled here - https://buysellba.com/news-/-media?blogcategory=ApartmentsBA

So I have the unique experience of knowing almost every block of Recoleta and Palermo. We were buying everywhere! We always bought more properties based on the occupancy rates of previous properties. EVERYONE loved that area.

In the early days, I built up and bought up most of Palermo Soho. I didn't like Palermo Hollywood as much as it was not zoned and not as charming as Soho. Soho was mostly all zoned for lower-floor buildings so what I figured out quickly was that those bottom levels would be storefronts or restaurants. I knew that area would be transformed and I posted about it in many old articles - https://buysellba.com/news-/-media/f/property-investor-news-magazine---uk?blogcategory=ApartmentsBA. (I believe I first talked to this reporter at the end of 2005, but I already spent a few years quietly buying up most of those lower floor units in what you see Palermo Soho today).

I used to be proud of being the person probably most responsible for developing Palermo Soho. Now I just feel almost ashamed most days that it's turned into "Palermo Disneyland". It's too touristic. Sure, there are nice shops and restaurants but no way in hell I'd want to live there long-term. Sure, for tourists staying 5-7 nights it's fine but just beware you're going to overpay on EVERYTHING around there. It's still cheap compared to the USA or first-world cities. But I have apartments that I purchased for clients that we're charging $500 per NIGHT and easily getting it.

Don't get me wrong. It would have happened with or without me. Because of the density and the zoning with lower floors, I knew it would happen. But what I did was accelerate that growth by many years. After the crash, almost no one was buying. People were scared to invest in Argentina. But once they say this crazy young American was fearless and buying up all of Recoleta and Palermo, they figured they should get in on the action too.

Remember back then there was NO Airbnb. I started 6 YEARS before them. So everyone was watching what I was doing and once they saw the rates I was charging and occupancy rates, they started buying too. My company and I caused a snowball affect the likes of which Buenos Aires hadn't seen before. I'm writing about it in my autobiography, "3 Years to Live" - www.3yearstolive.com (sign up now to get free copies of some chapters). And Netflix has already reached out to buy the worldwide streaming rights to my book.

I LOVE the area around Alto Palermo and Parque Las Heras. But honestly, all of that area is good. I prefer more authentic and quieter streets in Palermo vs. heart of Soho or even Hollywood. My accountant and the Godmother to my kids lives on French Street right around the corner from Alto Palermo and she loves that area. She owns a PH that she gutted and has a rooftop terrace with BBQ area and huge rooftop. 3 levels. She bought it when real estate prices were super cheap.

Now I'm buying up almost all of a building not too far from this area. About 15 minutes walking in a quiet residential area with not too many tall buildings around it. Great views, quiet street and that area will grow too but not like Soho. We are finding that digital expats want more authentic areas, quieter streets, lots of sunlight, some outdoor spaces, fast wi-fi, smart TV's, access to public transportation and grocery stores, no frills/hassles check-in, ability to have guests over without a hassle, smart locks so they don't have to carry a key to a building or the apartment. And safe along with a GREAT mattress and very clean. You provide those things and really anywhere in Recoleta or Palermo is a winner!

However, just make sure 100% that if you buy an apartment (new or pre-existing) that you CAN do Airbnb's in them. Almost all buildings have a clause in the HOA rules that say "anything that prohibits the tranquility of the residents" will be banned and residents always use that clause to prohibit short-term rentals. The newer buildings are zoned and set up so nothing can prohibit short-term rentals. Such is NOT the case in the vast majority of buildings and even newer towers are banning Airbnb rentals now.

So don't be an idiot and know that going into a purchase. We have done 3 consultations this week where expats bought apartments planning to make cash flow via Airbnb's and now they can't. We warned them. But they didn't listen. The BIG ROI is in Airbnb short-term rentals. Not to say you can't rent out long-term and make decent money. You can. But many of these expats want to be able to come down to BA and use their apartment when it's not booked and in many apartments the realtor and NO ONE will tell you that they can ban Airbnb pretty easily. And nothing you can do about it.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

American-style Cinemark theatre

Alto Palermo isn't dog-friendly for me, so i haven't been inside, but the security guards said they'd let in small dogs (Argentines love tiny <20# dogs) or service animals...but mine is almost 100 pounds, so he gets looked at a lot!

the theater looks nice and the inside seemed immaculate, and there is a chain Megatlon gym inside that looks massive!

lots of beggars in that area, and the occasional bum sleeping on the ground, but overall trash on the ground was minimal.

and echoing what @Vince said, i feel a noticeable difference in Palermo SoHo/Hollywood with locals looking at me and treating me differently. living in Villa Crespo for a couple weeks, no one seems to notice me until i talk with my accent. people often approach me and try to speak really quickly, and then they realize i'm an Expat with bad Spanish. i got asked if i was Brazilian a few days ago, which has never happened in my life. but SoHo just seems like there are a bunch of people talking English to other tourists, there are 'fancy' clubs and restaurants with high prices, and you aren't going to fit-in. 2 nights ago in SoHo there were bouncers/security guards at the entrances of the resto-bars, i think because it was a holiday, but they weren't letting some people in, and it just wasn't my type of scene. that being said, it's not bad if you do! if you like Scottsdale AZ's scene of nightclubs and being seen, status symbol, $40 USD cover charge to wait in line, and $15 USD beers, you'll like SoHo. if you want to be treated more like a local, Villa Crespo has been easy to just live a normal life!

i'll report back on Monserrat in 2 weeks, but so far the walk on Av. Corrientes by the Obelisk was crazy at night, like downtown Mexico City or Times Square in NYC! the Monserrat area has a lot more piss smell on the sidewalks, lots more trash than Crespo or Palermo, and i walked by some obviously-drugged-up nasty-looking folks on some streets like Talcahuano that made me decide i'd never live or invest around there. i haven't seen stuff like that in my 2 weeks so far.

 

[earlyretirement]

Alto Palermo isn't dog-friendly for me, so i haven't been inside, but the security guards said they'd let in small dogs (Argentines love tiny <20# dogs) or service animals...but mine is almost 100 pounds, so he gets looked at a lot!

the theater looks nice and the inside seemed immaculate, and there is a chain Megatlon gym inside that looks massive!

lots of beggars in that area, and the occasional bum sleeping on the ground, but overall trash on the ground was minimal.

and echoing what @Vince said, i feel a noticeable difference in Palermo SoHo/Hollywood with locals looking at me and treating me differently. living in Villa Crespo for a couple weeks, no one seems to notice me until i talk with my accent. people often approach me and try to speak really quickly, and then they realize i'm an Expat with bad Spanish. i got asked if i was Brazilian a few days ago, which has never happened in my life. but SoHo just seems like there are a bunch of people talking English to other tourists, there are 'fancy' clubs and restaurants with high prices, and you aren't going to fit-in. 2 nights ago in SoHo there were bouncers/security guards at the entrances of the resto-bars, i think because it was a holiday, but they weren't letting some people in, and it just wasn't my type of scene. that being said, it's not bad if you do! if you like Scottsdale AZ's scene of nightclubs and being seen, status symbol, $40 USD cover charge to wait in line, and $15 USD beers, you'll like SoHo. if you want to be treated more like a local, Villa Crespo has been easy to just live a normal life!

i'll report back on Monserrat in 2 weeks, but so far the walk on Av. Corrientes by the Obelisk was crazy at night, like downtown Mexico City or Times Square in NYC! the Monserrat area has a lot more piss smell on the sidewalks, lots more trash than Crespo or Palermo, and i walked by some obviously-drugged-up nasty-looking folks on some streets like Talcahuano that made me decide i'd never live or invest around there. i haven't seen stuff like that in my 2 weeks so far.

Yes, exactly but I HAVE seen dogs before in Alto Palermo. Even bigger dogs as my best friend that I mentioned that lives in that area has a big Lab and I've been in there before with her but I guess it depends if there is a security guard there at the door that stops you but typically probably even that with a $1,000 or $2,000 peso bill will let you go in. You will find although there might be rules, a quick propina will work. I'm not saying that it's right or wrong. I'm not a dog person and never have been but lots of people in Buenos Aires are including those security guys at the front. I've entered before and seen her give them 1,000 pesos or so and got in. Maybe try it and report back if it worked!

Yes, that Cinemark is really nice. It's upstairs and big. I've been there many times with my wife and then with our kids once we had kids. Honestly, many theatres are nice. We go to the one at Recoleta Village quite a bit too. They have movies both in English and Spanish but mostly English with subtitles. Even locals that don't speak English tell me they like in English better and reading subtitles.

I wouldn't focus too much about beggars. The economy is really really bad and you will see them in more areas. Previouysly I NEVER saw any where I lived on Avenida Alvear but I even see some there and it breaks my heart. I was walking near a hotel that I built in Recoleta near Montevideo Street and Avenida Alvear and I saw a family begging for money to buy food outside a nice bakery. No one was giving them anything. I literally gave them every single peso I had in my wallet. They didn't even have shoes on.

Soho and Hollywood ARE nice and wherever I have friends I take them to visit but even they get tired after a few hours/days. And they are shocked when we go at night, they see all the nice stores with the security gates that come down and even they are ALL vandalized. You don't really see that in Palermo Hollywood as most of those new buildings all have security guards at the entrance. So people are more vigilant there.

I just don't like Soho that much anymore. Villa Crespo does NOTHING for me. And people that are living in San Telmo are sick of the gentrification as well. I got offered a plot of land that I could make a LOT of money. There are limited buyers now. But I refuse to take on that project as I just don't want to see San Telmo turn into "Disneyland" which is already happening. They are a few years from that too.

NO way in hell you should buy in Monserrat or anywhere near the Centro. Yuck. Remember some day you will sell that property and the 3 most important things in real estate are 1) location, 2) location and 3) location. Both for rentals as well as future sales. That's a dumpy area. Yes, MUCH cheaper but you get what you pay for.

I'd concentrate your search on Recoleta or Palermo. NO other areas for cash flow via rentals or future capital appreciation.