Buenos Aires for Digital Nomads
Photo by: Milosh Zorica
Milosh Zorica is an old friend of NuNomad. We have featured him in one of our Meet the Nomads interviews here on the blog and have received guest contributions from him including, “You Know You’re a Third Culture Kid When…” . Milosh is a graphic designer by trade and has lived a location independent lifestyle for many years now. Here he shares his thoughts and information accumulated during his recent stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Milosh is not one to hold back his opinion of a place. You may or may not agree with some of it but we thought the abundance of great tips makes the piece worth bringing to you.
by Milosh Zorica
Renowned for its unique mixture of European and North American influences while being true to it’s South American heritage, Buenos Aires is 1st world cosmopolitan. With amazing cultural offerings, Buenos Aires makes an excellent choice for a NuNomad to spend some time or even make it home base, though there are few down sides.
Excellent infrastructure, a friendly environment, open-minded people, vibrant atmosphere and a great lifestyle at a fraction of the price found in similar North American or European cities are among reasons why some NuNomads opt for Buenos Aires.
Even though mentioned everywhere, low cost of living is not the main advantage of Buenos Aires. Yes, it’s still cheap, even though not as it used to be just a few years ago. Your Euros, Quids or Bucks will certainly go a lot farther than in London, Paris or New York. What makes Buenos Aires stand out from the crowd among low-cost cities is its truly 1st world cosmopolitan status. It’s not a kind of place where locals will see you as a tourist even after living in the town for 15 years and speaking the local language fluently, as in Bangkok, for example. Nothing against Bangkok, really. Actually, Bangkok is one of my favorite cities, where I’ve spent a lot of time and keep returning any time an opportunity arises. Providing you speak Spanish and are an easy-going open-minded person, immersion into local society here in Buenos Aires is fairly easy, even though Argentines and Porteños (Buenos Aires locals) are not famous for being the friendliest South Americans. I mean, they are great people and they are mostly friendly and easygoing. But, definitely don’t expect the open-armed warmth of Mexico, Brazil or Colombia.
1st World Culture
When it comes to the culture Buenos Aires has much more to offer than Tango. Yes, you can see Tango dancers everywhere, especially in San Telmo (Tango’s place of birth and one of BsAs’ nightlife and arts hotspots) as well as neighboring Boca and Boedo or even Almagro and Abasto (Carlos Gardel‘s native neighbourhood). Museums are also numerous and mainly of great quality. Should you be living in Recoleta (the area popular among expats and well to do locals), Museum of Latinoamerican Arts Buenos Aires (MALBA) makes a great place to pop by! Besides great, regularly held exhibitions, the place has got a great cafeteria with free wifi included!
Corrientes Avenue (between 9 de Julio Avenue and Obelisco) is equivalent to London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. You will find equally great plays, concerts and places to dine out at a fraction of what it would cost in either other city. The cafeterias Los Inmortales and La Paz are among those traditional porteño places where you can feel the city’s soul. They serve decent coffee (except for Starbucks and a few other cafeterias, finding a coffee we Europeans and Yanks are used to is a sort of difficult task in Argentina. Unlike their northern neighbors, they don’t seem to drink a lot of coffee. They prefer coffee-like sugared water) and have free wifi.
Connectivity
Working from cafes is not yet popular in Argentina. Many places offer wifi hotspots, but don’t expect to find available power outlets. And although you may see an occasional outlet, don’t be surprised if you’re told it is not for customer use. Argentines could use some work on their service skills. It could be irritating if you also happen to roam around Asia a lot, where the service is mostly great.
In your home, getting 3G connectivity if you don’t have a DNI (Argentine ID card) can be pricey and difficult. Both Claro and Movistar seem to offer Pay-as-You-Go 3G Internet with a reasonably priced 3G modems. Getting Claro 3G Internet to work on the devices other than a modem they provide might be difficult. Movistar is similar. Though I have managed to get certain devices working, more often than not, the experience is nothing to write home about. Cable, ADSL, Wi-Fi connectivity without a DNI is something you can forget about unless already provided at the place where you live. McDonald’s seems to be a decent place to get online. The one in front of Obelisco is my favorite. They have more than one power outlet, the connection seems to be fine and they do really serve coffee. Normally, I’m definitely not one of those that look out for a McDonald’s while abroad. However, while getting a wifi hotspot doesn’t seem to be difficult, finding a place where you can actually work from can be tricky.
Accommodations
Even though rental prices seem to be attractive and it seems there are plenty of rental places, getting a place to live and not be charged an arm and a leg is definitely not an easy task. Gringo tax included places are mostly what you find. Even the most basic places could be as high as US$ 1500 a month, 4 times what locals pay. There are ways around. You can either live in a hotel or find someone renting to the gringos at local rates. Hotels are numerous, in just about every part of the city. From 30 peso a night dumps to the major chains, charging like their counterparts elsewhere. Hoteles familiares rent rooms on a monthly basis. But pay attention to their location and who you are going to live with. Many are in dodgy areas and residents are mostly immigrants from the other Latin nations. Shared apartments are another option. The local classified websites such as olx.com.ar are a place to start. Craigslist Argentina might be an option too. But, it’s a lot of hit and miss thing. I have seen prices as ridiculous as US$600 a month for a tiny room. Should you decide to stay in a hotel, some decent, or better said, half decent places to be found are in San Telmo as well as in the Congreso area, actually Alsina street. Real Estate agencies are to be avoided with a few exceptions. One of them is Erika Meurer. Her contact phone is +54 11 48144205 – Ext. 110. She is a nice person and doesn’t charge the Gringo rates. The flats are mostly around AR$ 1500 a month for a studio or one bedroom place. If you are able to pay 6 months up front or can get a garantia (guarantee on someone’s property), then there are the landlords willing to negotiate. Buying a garantia is not as difficult as it might seem. The guys from www.garantiasparaalquilar.com.ar are selling them at reasonable rates. Expat community websites like www.baexpats.org, www.goodmorningba.com and www.expat-connection.com are worth trying as well, not only for rentals. Martin of Expat Connection and Sam of Good Morning Buenos Aires, who is also internations.org Buenos Aires Ambassador are well-known characters to the local expat scene and both of them are friendly and resourceful guys. The online expat scene is fairly limited, especially when compared to Bangkok.
Transportation
Traffic seems to be chaotic, though not asmuch as in Lima, Hanoi or Cairo. The public transit system is decent. It’s probably the best in South America, after Santiago de Chile. The buses (colectivos) operate 24h a day. The subway system (subte) closes at 10:45 pm mostly and strikes are common. Buses are a lot slower, but offer greater coverage and operate 24/7/365. The colectiveros (bus drivers) drive like maniacs and traffic jams could make your journey a lot longer. Public transport is generally on time, safe and cheap. Buenos Aires Subte seems to be a lot more reliable than the London Underground. Don’t mind the strikes, but in Buenos Aires a “minor delay” doesn’t mean you have to wait for 20min. or more like you do in London. Buenos Aires’ metropolitan area is covered by trains, buses and shared minivan taxi service, similar to Dolmus in Istanbul, the service is the most widely used. Most stop around Obelisco.
Safety
Petty crime in Buenos Aires is rampant. Luckily, violent crime is at a fairly low level. Of course, there are kidnappings and murders. But, it’s more likely you’ll get stabbed in London or shot in Los Angeles than in Buenos Aires. Mugging and pick-pocketing are the most common petty crime forms. Kidnappings are usually very organized and the victim is well known. They don’t kidnap gringos randomly. Never flash off your belongings. Avoid carrying gold and expensive watches. Buenos Aires is not Caracas, where they might cut your hand to take a Rolex off, but it’s better to keep a low profile. Take care of your backpack/bag/briefcase in public places, streets included.
Buenos Aires has got a lot to offer for a few months stay to a NuNomad and certainly is worth checking out. But its geographic location doesn’t make a great travel hub. Plane tickets are too pricey. However, long distance buses are really comfortable and reasonably priced. They make a great way to explore Argentina and neighboring countries. Nevertheless, overall Buenos Aires is a great place if you are location-independent.
You can connect with Milosh at any of the following places:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/miloshzorica
Milosh is a Co-Founder of Loana Technology, a media streaming and digital assets protection startup
