Best Things About Living in Buenos Aires
Are you planning to move to Buenos Aires? Are you wondering what to expect while living there? Then this post is for you. I’m sharing all my favorite things about living in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
After living there for 3 years, I can confidently say I loved living in Buenos Aires. Now, that doesn’t mean every minute was easy. Actually, far from it. I went through a lot of rough patches living in Buenos Aires as an expat however the good times far outweighed the hard times. That seemed to be a theme with my expat life in both Angola and Argentina.
I’ve written a few other blog posts about my time living in Buenos Aires. This one talks about some pros and cons and this post shares only the negatives I found living in Buenos Aires. But I want to be sure and share both sides of the conversation so today I’m keeping it positive with all my favorite things about living in Buenos Aires.
Prefer watching to reading? Check out my YouTube video on this topic! —>
Moving to or visiting Buenos Aires? Be sure to check out this activity list I created with over 50 things you have to do when you’re in Buenos Aires!
My Favorite Things About Living in Buenos Aires
Walking Places
Before moving to Buenos Aires, I had never lived in a “walkable city”. Houston, Texas requires a car to get everywhere and in Luanda, Angola we lived in the suburbs which required a car to get places.
But living in Buenos Aires, I really enjoyed not depending on a car to get places. Of course, it was easier to take an Uber or taxi to get to other neighborhoods to go to restaurants, malls, etc. but for the most part, I could access everything I needed in my own neighborhood, Recoleta. We tended to save the venturing out for weekends when there was less traffic and more time to explore.
The Food
We really enjoyed the food scene in Buenos Aires because the food in Angola wasn’t too impressive (sorry Angola!). You’ve heard me rave about Argentine food on this site multiple times so you already know about the delicious food. But there were multiple restaurants and cafes on every street in Buenos Aires. Honestly, even 3 years wasn’t enough time to try them all!
Argentina is known for their meats and malbec however the food culture in Buenos Aires is very large and you’ll find everything you could want from American food to asian food to amazing bakeries.
When you move to Buenos Aires, you won’t go hungry! In fact, you’ll spend much of your time trying all the different foods they have to offer.
People Watching
Maybe it’s the introvert in me, but I love people watching. Buenos Aires is a great city for sitting down somewhere and watching the world go by. I was lucky that I lived near parks when I was in Buenos Aires and anyplace in a park is a great place to start people watching. There are also numerous cafes along the streets. Order a drink and watch everyone going about their lives.
For me, it’s really fascinating to watch people and create stories in my head about where they’re off to or what they’re talking about on their cell phone. My love for people watching also came in handy when I had to take my dogs to the park 3x a day for their restroom breaks.
If you also enjoy people watching then you’ll love living in Buenos Aires. In a large city like Buenos Aires you never know what you’ll see. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, you’ll see something new that will surprise you!
Always Something To Do
Futbol matches, operas, shows, cinemas and countless restaurants. You don’t have to worry about getting bored when you live in Buenos Aires - there’s always something to do. When you’re living in Buenos Aires it’s a great city to tour slowly. When I lived there, there was always a museum or famous street that needed visiting. That was the best part of living in a tourist destination - we could take our time really becoming immersed in those touristy areas because we could go back again and again.
Also, just walking around your neighborhood on a Sunday with Freddo’s ice cream was a totally acceptable activity (and very common). You don’t have to be in a museum to absorb Argentine culture. You’ll get it just walking down the street. If you're looking for an active lifestyle or a place with a lot of culture, then you’re going to love living in Buenos Aires.
Travel Within Argentina
There are countless beautiful places you can travel to that are all within Argentina’s borders and only a three hour flight from Buenos Aires. The airport that serves most domestic flights is right in the heart of Buenos Aires which makes it super convenient to travel outside of Buenos Aires on the weekends.
We took many weekend trips while we lived in Buenos Aires. We would leave Thursday night and fly back to Buenos Aires on Sunday afternoon. It was a great way to escape the crowded city for a few days, enjoy the gorgeous Argentine scenery, explore a new place and learn more about the Argentine culture.
Much like your own country, Argentina is vastly different depending on where you are in the country. The climate, people and geography can be completely different depending on where you are in Argentina. So getting out of Buenos Aires and exploring the country is crucial to really understanding the Argentine culture.
Passionate People
Porteños are passionate people. They don’t mess around when it comes to talking about politics, futbol teams or the economy. If you plan to enter a conversation about these topics then you better be prepared. And there’s no right “side” to be on. You just have to be extremely passionate about the side you choose!
I experienced their passion for wines when I visited the most famous wine region - Mendoza, Argentina. And I witnessed the passion when I was down south in Ushuaia when it came to Las Malvinas. When you move to Argentina, do not call them “Falklands Islands”. That is one thing the entire country passionately agrees on - those islands are rightfully Argentine and the British stole them.
At times their passion can be a little overwhelming (like when you’re flipping through the TV channels and there are 20+ news/opinion stations). But I grew to love how Porteños were such passionate people.
Internet
Maybe being american I should have expected this. But since I arrived in Buenos Aires from Luanda, Angola, I was pleasantly surprised with not only the speed of the internet but the price as well. We found the internet very strong and reliable.
Of course it would go out at times, but very rarely. I’m pretty sure my Spectrum internet here in Texas goes out more often. I’ve thought to myself many times over the past 4 months that I miss my internet in Buenos Aires.
If you’re planning to work remotely while living in Buenos Aires, then you’ll be happy with the internet there. We had an internet + cable package through Fibertel and Cablevision and the cost was about $80-$100/month, depending on the exchange rate at the time.
Speaking of exchange rate….
USD
Getting paid in USD meant that everything in Argentina was significantly cheaper for us. Since we were buying Argentine pesos with dollars every week, we would receive the most recent rate for our US dollars. Unfortunately for Argentina, they have been in a downward economic cycle since we moved there in February 2018. This meant the amount of pesos our US Dollars would buy grew larger each week.
On the flip side, the cost of goods dramatically increased and got more expensive. However those costs could not keep up with the amount of Argentine pesos our US Dollars could buy. Check out this post to learn how we exchanged currency while living abroad.
Overall, having US Dollars meant things were much cheaper for us.
The economic situation is so incredibly unfortunate for Argentines and anyone without access to a stable currency. I would gladly trade my ability to get things cheaper for the economic situation to be better there.
Well, there you have it. My favorite things about living in Buenos Aires, Argentina as an expat.
If you’re considering moving to Buenos Aires for a few years then I say you should go for it! If you feel like it’s not a good match when you arrive, give it some time. It took 16 months for Buenos Aires to grow on me and now it’s one of my favorite places on earth. And it will forever be one of my homes.
Move there and make it yours too! You’ll always have something to do, new places to visit, amazing food to eat, and great internet access. What else can you ask for when moving abroad?
Ready to move to Buenos Aires? Be sure to get my moving checklist so you don’t forget anything you need to make your new country a home.
