My name’s Dave and I’m a New York City transplant who decided to make a lifestyle change and move to Buenos Aires for a year or two (UPDATE: now semi-permanent!). My goal was to really experience a new culture and lifestyle, learn Spanish, explore South America and meet new people. So far, the move has been everything I expected and more.
I was born in Michigan and moved to New York immediately after college. I loved NYC, but realized that the city can really burn you out. So, I sold/donated most of my belongings, took advantage of some savings and the fact that a lot of my work could be done over the Internet, and decided to make a change. This blog details my new experiences for friends, family and anyone else who may be interested. Hopefully it proves useful to you!
Feel free to ask me any questions. You can also find me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter as well!
Hi Dave, can you give me your email please? Thank you!
You can email me at: dave [AT] discoverbuenosaires.com.
Thanks!
I was pissed about being unable to use HotSpot Shield to view Hulu when one of the Google results led me to your page/blog. I'm a Porteño, and I found your views and experiences very intersting.
It's intriguing to know how a complete foreigner sees your city and it's ways, you've found yourself a new reader!
Pablo – thanks for the comments and stopping by. I've learned a lot about the city and people in the last 6+ months. Definitely a fan of Buenos Aires and porteños.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the blog. I'm actually in a similar situation and looking to move to Buenos Aires for a year and really see for myself.
How long did it take you to learn spanish? Any good methods? How did you start? Did you pick a place first? You should start a forum on this site
Hey Aaron,
I'd recommend it if you can! I am still learning Spanish, but to be honest, I took a break after 6 months of it when I really should have kept it up. I had a great Spanish tutor in Buenos Aires and also took "Spanish for Foreigners" at the University of Buenos Aires (I have 2 posts on the site about this).
Check out http://www.baexpats.org for a good forum on BA. It helped me a lot.
Best of luck!
I saw your request for a US power strip with a US 3-prong plug on an expat sight, I am not a member and could not respond to your request there. I have three of them, two still in the Ace Hardware package. My email address is merrittblog at gmail
Hey Sandra,
Finding work here is pretty difficult. You are not legally allowed to work on a tourist visa, so that leaves few options. One of those options is teaching English, but that work calls for long hours and pays relatively little. The people who have the most flexibility are the ones who can earn in dollars and spend in pesos (Internet and remote work).
Hey Dave! I lived for 18 years in Michigan, near Ann Arbor in Plymouth. A2 is my fav town in the state and NYC is my favorite city in USA. Interesting! Hope you are enjoying life in BsAs. My trip had a lot of bad, but a lot of good too. I hope to come back to Buenos Aires one day and give it a second chance.
Hey Kirsten, sorry to hear that you had a lot of bad on the trip, but I guess it's the good that is making you think about a second trip. I grew up in Michigan too, and A2 is definitely my fav too. Have a safe trip!
Hola! Sorry, I don't mean to butt in on your conversation! The 'I grew up in Michigan' caught my eye! I grew up in Michigan too. I am living in Arizona now, but I will return home one day!! Something I am really looking forward to! I happened upon your blog as I was searching for a way to uninstall Microsoft Word 2000 Starter. Somewhere in here, I saw that I can download it without the click-to-run program. The post mentioned having to have a key number and password? Neither of which I have. How do I do this???
I am not the smartest pea in the pod when it comes to these fandangled computers so this whole search and rescue mission has been really frustrating!! Any info you can give me, possibly in plain english, would be much appreciated!
I don't know where you grew up in Michigan, but there is a Facebook group called 'I grew up in Roseville Michigan' that is like a blog. If you're from anywhere around there and you ever get homesick, it's a funny place to visit! TTYS.
Julie,
I grew up in Roseville too.
Small world…
Dave,
I have two income sources, which totals to about $ 2,900/mo….( Rent and social security).
Can a couple live in Buenos Aires from this income? I am talking about a modest peaceful life.. I will keep my income property just in case.
Hi Dave!
I found your posts very interesting. Being in the reverse situation you’re in (moved from Buenos Aires to North America), it’s very neat to see what it’s like the other way around. I don’t think any of my local friends here truly understand how bad bureaucratic red tape can be, how smoothly things work here…
Experiencing such contrasting cultures can give us a unique and humbling appreciation for what we have.
I was wondering though, what made you choose Buenos Aires?
And you write that you left New York because it can burn you out. How is Buenos Aires any different in that respect? (I have never been to New York, so I wouldn’t know).
Oh, and don’t keep the new car too shiny…
Greaaaaat blog! I'm going to France to do the same thing as you did there for 8 months and when I come back (I'm from Brazil) I want to go to Buenos Aires for a while too! Very helpful and interesting. Thanks!
Do you have any suggestion for the Spanish course? I appreciate it.