Rambles and Riff Raff about all this and that

I might need to flee this City

Published by Esteban Glas on January 24th, 2007 | This post lacks all category except for: Argentina, personal

Lately Buenos Aires has become more savage than it used to be. And it’s already starting to bother me.

I moved to Buenos Aires area ten years ago, because I wanted to attend University. After that I started working & studying, met my wife, got hooked up by her, then got hooked up by Lenovo. But, the truth is I was never too fond of Buenos Aires. And I guess I’ll never be.
I grant it has great things, culturally speaking it can’t be beaten; there’s usually too much going on and there’s no shortage on alternatives. It has beautiful places, sights, and “promenades”. There are also plenty job opportunities, learning opportunities and other interesting things to do. That’s not the issue

The thing is, people are a little bit more aggressive and crazy each new day. In my same block 2 people have been hit by cars in a single week (in Argentina 20 people die every day for traffic accidents; I think we’re the third worst ranked in terms of deaths / total population).

Add to that the increase (real or media-boosted) in crime. You keep hearing this stories of people being robbed on the bus / strain / tube every day, news are filled up with car thefts or kidnapping or breaking and entering which, quite usually end up with someone dead.

Other factors come in play for being über frustrated about Buenos Aires are the lack of mountains, the impossibility to perform many of the sports I enjoy (Mountain Biking, Snowboarding, and so on), and more on the long term that, having being raised in “the wild” and having experienced youth in the city as well, I’d really wouldn’t like my kids (none in the way so far… but it will happen in some time) to grow up in such an environment…

I really don’t know how to solve this, since I really like my job, but it would be pretty much incompatible to move; more thought on this on the time to come.



  • Been there, ain't that the place where a well known computer manufacturer has established it's Headquarters?
  • Ever been to Carolina del Norte? :-)
  • Actually I'm argentinian, and born and raised in Bariloche, who would of guessed?! I do agree on Bariloche City, although it's surroundings are breathtaking.
    I also agree on the superficial part, although I have always been able to meet "the right people" wherever I've been.
    I've really thought on moving near Esquel, but I'd have to find something to do there first.
  • Brooks
    I can relate to your frustration as I have lived in BA about as long as you have and feel its limitrations more and more. I find the people aggressive, rather superficial and hard to make friends with. Some people who have stayed a short time may disagree but my experience is that a kiss on the cheek and the use of the word "un beso" doesn't mean much. You seem mostly concerned about crime and the lack of accessible nature. If you can't return to Germany (is this your country?) you should consider moving somewhere else in Argentina - somewhere in the south (not Bariloche - it's an uninspiring city with its own problems). I'd like to discuss this further but not on the web. Maybe you could send me a personal email.
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