Episode 15: What does BA have that the UK does not? Part two: the bad

Following on from the last post about the 5 best things Buenos Aires has to offer, i'll now take a look at 5 things that might not make life seem so rosy:

1) Currency   ★

There is so little confidence in the Argentinian peso (ARG$) that almost everyone resorts to changing their savings money into other currencies. Whilst this is brilliant for tourists in the know (you can pick up a cool 40% on top of the official exchange rate), its not exactly great for people working and earning pesos like me. Definitely will be glad to move back to the trusty Pound.



2) The weather ★ or ★★★★

This is a tough one, and it depends on your preferences I guess. Whilst I would love to be at the beach taking in the sun, actually working and living everyday life in such humidity (the 30/35° heat isnt the problem) isnt pleasant.  The question you have to ask yourself is - would you rather be inside looking out at the rain and glad you´re inside, or looking out at the sun and wishing you were outside in your shorts? Or else, if you´re cold you can always put on a jumper - but if its ridiculously hot in the office then i wouldn't recommend you go taking off your shirt. Travel to/from work is an especially 'sticky' situation - although having said that, chilling by the pool looking up at the blue sky on a sunday afternoon makes up for it slightly.

3) The crime ★★

Crime obviously exists in some shape or form in every city, but here its not really so much house robbery you should be afraid of - its more street crime. I've had two friends here who have been mugged already, and heard many stories of creepy men shouting things at female friends. Not cool...although you´re still not likely to meet Bane.


4)Cost of living/wage ★★★

Compared to london, for example, my wage at the company i work for is 3 or 4 times less. Thats not really a massive issue, though, as long as the cost of living were at a similar discount to maintain purchasing power - but it isnt. Given, things are cheaper - but definitely not 3 times so. This is, though, partially made up for by ultra cheap taxis and the public transport system, which are (I estimate) around 10 times less than back home. On the other hand, some electronic goods are so expensive that it'd be cheaper to fly to the states, buy it there and come back - ever wondered why so many hispanics live in Miami...?


5) Roads ★★

Having been to Cuba, I could never give this 1 star in comparison - but the roads here are a pretty bad 'quilombo' (mess). Firstly, there are always roadworks on major roads so you normally find traffic and disorganisation, with buses and cars more up and down than the stock of Arsene Wenger as they try and navigate the uneven surfaces. Second, the streets are crappy - literally, as people just dump their binbags at the roadside (anyone who mass produces the dumpster over here would make a fortune) and theres always a vague smell of the collective neighbourhood dinner from the previous night.

Notable exceptions:

The language

I guess that seeing as the only reason I came here was to learn the language, I can´t really complain that its more difficult here than it would have been in spain (or indeed the rest of south america or even the rest of argentina!). The amount of street slang (which I am now getting to grips with and will be covered in next blog), dropped letters and different accent will cause some serious sighing by Uni professors all round when i return, methinks.



Nota: para los argentinos que ya quieren matarme, en realidad te mando fruta ;)