Life in Argentina My First 6 Months As an Expat

Gracias por toda la ayuda amor!

     April 18th, 2026 was a day that will forever change my life. It was the day I moved to Argentina. I left the United States behind—for a few months, or maybe a few years. I wasn't sure then how long and I’m still not sure. But it was something I had wanted to do for a long time. You could say that ever since I started writing this blog, I’ve wanted to live overseas. I love America, I have visited all 50 states, and loved every one of them in a way, but I also had this dream to live abroad... After visiting approximately 77 countries across all seven continents, I decided to make Argentina my first home abroad.

     You watch 1,000 YouTube videos, read 1,000 blogs like this one, talk to people on forums, friends that maybe did it, but nothing will fully prepare you until you are there. I compare it to the gym. It's great to watch YouTube videos or read a book about workouts, diet, etc. But until you go to the gym, you really haven't started. The videos helped, the reading helped, my girlfriend here helped a ton, but until I got here, I hadn't entered the gym yet.

      The first two months, flew by quick. I am retired so I thought time would be on my side. Things took a lot longer than I would have liked. Finding an apartment, furnishing it, immigration, and balancing life in the USA. USA is still my financial center of interest, that's probably a whole other article, but since it is, every business day I am doing a little work with accounts there, or on my Airbnb there. The first two months a lot of time was dedicated to finding the right gym, opening a bank account, and learning the neighborhood. I'm happy now to have it down pretty good in month 6. I know some of the locals and laugh a bit when I can show my girlfriend who grew up here a store or cafe she didn't know about. But it definitely took a lot more time than I thought it would. Like many expats my money goes a lot further here than the USA so some of that time flying was being too picky with apartments. I was looking for something fitting of Bruce Wayne but it turns out in a middle class 3rd world country, there aren't too many Wayne Manors in the area. But of course now I am happy with my place. At one point between Airbnb checkout and check in, I was technically homeless. This is where I lightened my load of luggage, left stuff at my girl's place and got to business. All that being said, the apartment hunt was way more complicated than I ever thought it would be.

    So was the bank account. I didn’t have an Argentine bank account at the time. Credit cards are widely accepted, which is great—but there’s often a 10% surcharge, and I didn’t want to deal with that forever either. Withdrawing cash can also be a hassle. Argentina has very high ATM fees. I do get reimbursed through Schwab, but that’s not something I want to rely on. And of course, you still need cash for things like tips and small everyday expenses. I have been a customer of Chase Bank for over 20 years. I have been a customer of Galicia bank here for 4 months. I probably spent more time in the Galicia branch here opening an account in the four months, than I spent in Chase in the 20 years. Every thing finance has been a learning curve. But now that I got it down, I'm comfortable... Relatively.

Bariloche

     I went back to the USA right when I got my apartment in month 3, I had some work on my rental to do there. So I left for 3 weeks. I told my girlfriend it was as if we go to the movies, we order popcorn, a soda, we take our seats, the coming attractions finish, and as the main movie comes on I say, "Ok, I gotta go!" My life was ready to begin, but work called. But after those three weeks I came back, and have been here since.

                    

     These two photos above describe better than I ever could "life abroad". I'll probably say it often in my blog, but my favorite short way to explain it, "Some days you are living the dream, and some days you are at Home Depot or Costco." I love waking up in a different country, speaking a different language every day, immersing myself in a new world from everything I knew! But some days, you are also at Home Depot or Costco, the toilet has something wrong with it, you need to buy gas for the grill, buy chicken, veggies, etc. You go to the gym and workout, you read on your balcony, you play guitar in your jam area... Sometimes life is the same, and always will be. That's in part why it's so important to be happy with your daily routine more than anything else. I don't go to Mendoza wine tastings every weekend, I don't visit Palacio Barolo daily, or snow mobile in Bariloche, I still haven't been to Iguazu falls, it's the day to day life that makes or breaks you.

Trelew

    It became pretty clear after my 3rd or 4th trip to immigration a lot of influencer type people who say they are living in a country, probably only came for the duration of a tourist visa stay, that's not to say they lied, especially if they don't have a home base anywhere else, but to actually live long term was a big curve that I think now after month 6 I finally adjusted to. I spoke fluent Spanish before I got here but I got used to the accents finally after 6 months. I grew up taking every train in NYC but had a curve to get used to La Roca and the Subte train here. I drove police and fire trucks lights and sirens to "life and death emergencies" but I'm still getting used to driving here to a corner store, which at times also seems like a "life or death emergency!" But overall I feel like my feet are wet. 

A bit of daily life

Wine tour, not daily life

     I started waking up when I wanted to, and without an alarm for the first time in my life, 7-8ish (except those damn days at immigration!). I sleep with my phone in an entirely different room. I enjoy my morning coffee at home but sometimes the second coffee down on the corner where the barista makes jokes about the streets we live on. I buy my produce from the vegetable store, my wines from 2 or 3 different places, my chicken always from my friend on the other corner. My gym friends know me as the American guy. I have dinner with my girlfriend and her family 2-4 times a month. It took me a solid 3 months to get used to her brother's accent and fully understand what he was saying, but now I got it down. Hopefully he's not reading this now! Anyway, life has become good. The Malbec flows, eating steak here is cheaper than eating a burger in the USA, we go to the city center once or twice a month for fun or my girlfriends business. We have been traveling a lot in the country. This is one of the biggest things I want to take advantage of while I'm here. Southern Hemisphere travel.

                  

   The places that would have been super far before this are now weekend trips, we just got back from Mendoza. Before that we visited Puerto Madryn to swim with sea lions and see the Southern whales up close and personal. Before that in August we stayed at Llao Llao in Bariloche, one of the most famous resorts in the country. We enjoyed snow in August, hiking, snowmobiles, and sleighs. We are set to go back to Brazil for a concert in March, I want to visit Easter Island in Chile, return to Uruguay for more than a day trip, and of course I am super excited to be going back to Antarctica next month! All of these places were a world away, now most are a 2 hour flight. And living down here with a flexible schedule makes those travel costs even easier. 



      All in all, it's been an incredible 6 months. It has been way more complicated than I thought it would be, but alas, if it was easy, everyone would do it, and it just wouldn't be as good. You think every day is going to be a new adventure, and in a way it is... But sometimes that adventure is just Costco or opening a bank account. But hey, it's still been fun in a way. I'm looking forward to more adventures down here and seeing where life in South America brings me. I grew up in a basement in Brooklyn, in a house with 10 people, and never thought I'd travel further than Florida, hell at some points maybe even New Jersey, and now I've traveled to all 7 continents and I am retired living in Argentina... Life is good.

                  

MORE ARGENTINA EXPAT ARTICLES

Choose the continent!!!!

Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Antarctica

OR...

Travel and Money Saving Tips

Support This Site By Purchasing Your Travel Needs

Why I Chose Argentina To Be Home

Palacio Barolo Argentina

    77 Countries.... I have now visited 77 countries. I think... Everyone always asks, what is your favorite country you visited? And I think I've talked about it here. I say, picking your favorite country is like comparing your favorite pizza, to your favorite football team. Each country has it's own unique flavor, the purpose of that trip, what that trip meant to you the year you did it vs what it means to you now 10 years later. And one man's trash is another man's treasure, things I loved about some countries could be something others hated about it, and vice versa. But that being said, I always loved my trips to South America, countless visits now, to every country here except Venezuela (hopefully one day!). I also loved Italy, which I've visited now at least 7x, and have visited every region. After all the trips combined when it was time to go Nomadic and leave the USA behind for a few months, or perhaps years... I decided on Argentina because for me, it is the crossroads of South America and Europe, specifically Italy. 

     A large portion of Italians immigrated here, so you have the Italian influence along with the flavors, architecture, and many other things I love about Italy. But it's not Italy. You also have a lot of the things I love about South America, food, language, cost of living, but it's also not quite like everywhere in South America. For me it was the perfect blend and crossroads between Italy and South America. But it wasn't that simple. I had a lot of vacation leave to burn at work before I retired from my career in the fire department. I decided to take advantage of this and do a few trial visits/trial living. I must have deep down known South America would win because I called them Juicos instead of trials... Which is grammatically incorrect (pruebas), but whatever, for the blog we shall say the trial visits.

     That's the short summary, writing this article I thought would be more the novel format than the checklist format, but as I reviewed why I moved here, I think it serves better to show the process rather than romanticize it. I retired in July of this year and had narrowed down stop one of the retirement life to Colombia, Italy, or Argentina. For each trial visit trip I journaled the trip itself, random thoughts, diaryish, but more logical. Then I factored heavy logic elements... I'll go over these now...

Immigration: I wanted to live in another country but I also wanted to be free to travel around easily leaving or re-entering the country. Italy wins by a landslide here. With my Italian passport I have never waited on lines or even talked to a customs official entering the country. Colombia the wait was insanely long. Argentina, it's been average getting in. Getting out is pretty instant.

Language: I speak the languages of all 3 countries so this wasn't such a big deal, it is worth noting that for me personally I don't want to live long term anywhere that I can't speak the language, too many hurdles that I don't want to rely on google translate for.

Cost of Living:all 3 would be way cheaper than what I was paying in Scottsdale, AZ. Colombia was the most affordable, Italy was the most expensive, Argentina was the middle ground.

Coffee at home: This one Argentina is definitely the worst. Coffee is a big part of my life, so far my experience with coffee at home, while not terrible, certainly doesn't compete with Italy, or Colombia. Colombia won here.

Coffee at a cafe: This one is a bit more complicated. Italy has the best cafes, but the culture of sitting down to work on your laptop/blog isn't as dominant. The coffee in a cafe in Argentina tastes better than home. Colombia overall was probably the best for the lounging around aspect along with delicious coffee.

Protein: This is one that if you are just visiting you may never even notice. I always try to workout and be in the best shape possible... You know besides those cheat days.... And after extensive travel in Italy it became more and more noticeable a lot of the meals revolved more around a carb than a protein, I admit I don't like seafood, so I kind of screwed myself there with Italy. But that being said, Argentina dominated this category. Now that I am living here I've discovered even more. We have stores that only sell chicken. We have stores that sell only beef. We have a store in my neighborhood that sells only eggs. If that's not enough, there's literally a guy that rides a bike around my neighborhood sometimes that sells his farm fresh eggs from his bicycle. You hear the music from the balcony, it reminds me of the days of the 1980s Ice Cream Trucks in Brooklyn, but it's protein instead of sugar!

Super Markets: Here's another one you don't care about when only visiting a place.For the overall super market like what I was used to in the USA, Argentina may be the best for the big box supermarkets, food quality overall Italy dominates. Colombia has Carullo's which is one of the best supermarkets I visited in my life, but they are not abundant there. I made it my mission to visit as many as possible and walk the aisles in the day of my diets. Living here now the only thing I lack are certain cheeses. And needless to say the smaller butcher shops, bread bakery's, or cold cut places have better products than the big box stores.

Gym and Gym Culture: Minus John Reed Fitness in Trieste, Italy, one of the best gyms I train at in my life, Italy lacks big in gym culture. The gyms are smaller, they are clean, but too clean! You have to change your shoes when you come in, so you can't jog to the gym on a nice day unless you bring other sneakers. The dumbbells don't tend to go to heavy, and people in general just aren't training the same. Colombia had a solid gym culture, but Argentina took the crown here. One of the gyms I trained at in Recoletta even had posters of Gold's Gym Venice, and LA Fitness, two of my former gyms I trained in. It was a sign.

    

Walkability: Italy and Argentina were great here. Colombia not so much, besides safety issues, there's too many times you need to cross the street and it's going to be an adventure just to cross.

Safety: This one is easy, Italy safest, Colombia least safe. Argentina scored in the middle.

Beaches:Here's another one Italy dominates. I thought however that Argentina with all that ocean front would have some great beach towns... I was disappointed, but it's in the works to find more!

Puerto Madryn, the first good beach town I found.
Italy I don't know if I ever saw a bad one!

Airport Proximity: Argentina wins big here, bonus we have two airports, and I've used both in the 6 months I've been here.

My former employment

Public Transport: Colombia loses big here, Italy wins big. Everything from Lime Scooters to nice intercity trains. Argentina luckily has a pretty decent system with buses, trains, and subway.

Not public transport!

Taxis: all 3 were great with Uber, so no issues there.

Taxes: The other "tax" word.... Italy's taxes are a complete nightmare. I do hope to one day live in Italy, but for now, this was one of the biggest things that pushed it to the "just not yet" category.

Guitar/music:I wanted to continue playing wherever I lived, Argentina won big here as there is an entire large city block dedicated to the sale of instruements. The choice has continued to do well here as I've seen bands both large and small down here since I've moved. I like the music scene, not as good as the states, but definitely enjoying it. And of course I was able to set up my little studio area to play and sing at my leisure. 

Upcale Dining: here really all 3 options have great upscale, but of course Italy overall.

Average Dining: Italy got eliminated here due to the protein as mentioned earlier

Fast food: Argentina! The empanadas!!! Though honorable mention to Arancini in Italy.

Also love the diverse climates here

Dive Bars:I love a good dive bar once in a while! Outside of USA and a few other countries the dive bar culture doesn't really exist. That being said, all 3 had something, it was a tie.

                                              

Wine: Speaking of alcohol, Argentina won before the trial began, but this was biased because Malbec has always been my favorite wine.

Immigration logistics: Italy took the cake here because I have an Italian passport. I ended up finally getting my Rentista Visa this month in Argentina, but it was a ride!

I didn't mention dating, but my girlfriend is Argentinian,
so you can figure out who won there!

So Argentina won for my first destination, I'm happy to be here now for a few months, maybe a few years, maybe forever. But of course Italy or Colombia will always be there. Argentina isn't the BEST country, but it's the best for me and what I am looking for at this time:

• training and protein
• having a good gym
• walking around your neighborhood
• inexpensive everyday life
• eating out regularly
• coffee
• music/guitar
• having your own space
• easy airport access
• being able to travel
• avoiding excessive taxation
• not needing everything to be perfectly polished
• and having enough disposable income to actually enjoy yourself

   I was so glad to have the opportunity to do the trial runs, they changed my views on all 3 countries. I've already written more specifically about Why I Chose Not To Live In Colombia, and I'm working on the same article for Italy. This week is marks my first 6 months in Argentina, and I'm of course thrilled to be here, living this life, and of course writing this blog when I can. Hope you enjoyed this article. Below I will post a blank version of my personal check list to cut and paste if that helps anyone out there.

MORE ARGENTINA EXPAT ARTICLES

Choose the continent!!!!

Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Antarctica

OR...

Travel and Money Saving Tips

Support This Site By Purchasing Your Travel Needs

WORK SHEET:

Cut and paste and edit to your personal preference :)

Immigration:
Language:
Cost of Living:
Coffee at Home:
Coffee at a Cafe:
Protein:
Supermarkets:
Gym and Gym Culture:
Walkability:
Safety:
Beaches:
Airport Proximity:
Public Transport:
Taxis:
Taxes:
Guitar/Music:
Upscale Dining:
Average Dining:
Fast Food:
Dive Bars:
Wine:
Immigration Logistics:
Dating/social circles:

My Path, Process, and Cost for Argentina Residency

This all started in 2022 when I first visited Argentina, that's a longer story why I chose Argentina, so I will get into the meat and potatoes of obtaining my Rentista Visa.

The first of many days on immigration lines

Summary of cost: $3,490

Lawyer consult fees (2 appointments): $300
FBI Background check and Fingerprints: $70
Lawyer Process Fee:$2,300
Translation fees: $400 (doesn't matter if you speak Spanish, you have to use official translators)
Apostilles and notary Arizona: $105
Apostille FBI attempt 1: $20
Apostille FBI attempt 2: $145 with FedEx delivery
Accountant letter: $150

Early days in Online Forums September 2025-January 2026

    One of the first things I noticed, just being honest, is many expats living in Buenos Aires don't go through the immigration process. They overstay the visas and pay the fines, or they cross the border every 3 months in Uruguay for the day, sort of illegal, but I have not heard a single story of it being enforced (Oct 2026). And a lot of people on expat forums are also only staying for the 3 months that most passports allow. I decided I wanted more out of this country so I decided to go through the process for the rentista visa. 

    This wouldn't be my first time working with another government for long term residency as I have an Italian passport I received over 10 years ago (recently renewed!). In those days I was much more of a budget traveler, living with roommates, working 2-3 jobs, so I decided to do it all on my own. Even though I speak fluent Spanish and was confident to DIY, I have a bit more money now, and hired a lawyer ($2,300) for this process, advice from the forums when I finally found the right people that were doing the full Rentista Visa. 

Work in the United States January 2026-April 2026

    My time before Argentina was dedicated to getting all the documents needed, some of it I was familiar with from the Italian process, Apostilles, an international certification was needed for my financial statements and FBI background check. The financial stuff was fairly easy, I went down to the Secretary of State in Arizona a few times with bank statements, my house deed, signed some paperwork, paid some fees, easy. FBI took a bit more time, the background check itself was almost instant, but the apostille was not. I had only 3 weeks or so until my flight and the $20 check wasn't cashed yet, so I hired an apostille company, they got it back to me fairly quickly for around $145. Then of course a few days later I received the $20 one as well, oh well, now I had two copies.

         

    I had a final call with my lawyers the week of my flight. They sent me some paperwork for immigration, and I was told to make sure I said on entry into the country I was not here for tourism. 

Boots on The Ground/First Immigration Meeting April 2026

     On arrival as instructed I told the immigrations officer why I was here, I also provided documentation from the lawyers, I added that I still had a return flight in June for work anyway, which probably sped things up. My lawyers told me to relax the first week, I didn't quite relax as there was a lot to do with the move, but the immigration part was on pause.

Precaria Meeting April 2026

    The next step was the Precaria Meeting, I now have had 5 and still can't exactly explain what a Precaria is, I guess a document that says the process is in the works, I also was able to open a bank account with it along with a CUIL, money in Argentina is a whole other blog post! I got two days notice for the Precaria meeting from my lawyers which was fine since I wasn't working down here. I showed up early and still had a significant line for my meeting. I dressed formally, some people were there more or less in pajamas. I recommend at least a nice shirt and shoes, it goes a long way if you have extra questions on top of the meeting. It was awkward at first because they asked me for a Certificado de Domicillio, I tried to get it at the police station which was no longer possible. They want to see you are living here and not visiting, this is super odd for me, as you need a DNI to do a lot in Argentina and can't get that DNI until the wheels are in motion. They asked for a utility bill like gas or electric, I had just arrived in the country 7 days ago! Of course I'm also a bit nervous here! The lawyers said I could sign a declaration which I asked about then they accepted. 

     There weren't really questions beyond that, just clarification of what translation went with what document. They took my finger prints, took my photo (another good reason to dress formal), and told me they would contact me if anything else was needed. I received the precaria via whatsapp from the law team the same day. It would expire in 3 months, I had to be present for the expiration, very important.

Yet another day on the immigration line

     I thought from there it would be easy, perhaps one more renewal, like all things Argentina, I was very wrong. My next precaria renewal was only for a month, I had to go back 5 or 6 times. This became complicated when it tied in with other trips because you need to go to the renewal up to 10 days before it expires, so if you have a two week trip planned, you might be getting into some trouble. Every trip for the renewal was the same, I'd wake up early, get there 30-60 minutes before they opened, and still be on a line to wait for 2-3 hours. And every single time when my number came, the appointment was about 2 minutes on average. Why this could not be done online is beyond me to this day. It says you can renew online, but it never worked for me personally. 

       I tried to do the process from the USA before I left, it's crazy to me, and still doesn't make sense to do it in Argentina. You literally pack your belongings, leave everything behind, and come here with the chance that you may have to just go back. I called every Argentina consulate in the US, and they all told me they do not do Rentista and I would have to do it here in Argentina. I went to the immigration office every time. Which was a lot more than I thought, the first Rentista was 3 months. After that it was only one month. So I had to go back four times, & once for the certifcado domicilio, which was also an odd day of visiting 3 or so offices. 

     Finally this month (October) I went to renew my Precaria yet again. I was just going in for the renewal, but also had some upcoming travel, so I brought flight receipts as the expiration date would have been an issue with the travel. While I was waiting, I was called up to a different counter than normal. Hmm... I had also brought a thumb drive at the request of my lawyers to see where the case was at. The woman informed me that my Visa had been approved for the first year, and I was free to travel in and out of the country. CHA CHING!!!! She mentioned there was no need to put the information on the thumb drive since I had been approved. I started April this year. To date it was almost exactly 6 months, but finally I had my official permission to stay. The Visa is good for a year, with an option to renew for another year there afterwards. After that I can apply for long term residency or even citizenship. That's two years away, so for now, I am just happy to have the Visa. Needless to say a nice cup of Malbec was poured when I got home.

Here's a good list of items to keep in mind or prepare during the process:

Rent / AirBNBs
-I am not in CABA. I live in Monte Grande. So the Airbnb bubble was not even an option for me. I would have liked to and it would have made life simpler, but the Airbnb options here are few and far between. And surprisingly, pretty costly. It's more expensive for an Airbnb in an okay apartment in Monte Grande then a really nice apartment in Palermo. For renting my apartment that was a bit of a pain in the ass as well, a few places rejected me with no DNI, even when I offered the complete contract up front. Luckily they didn't accept that, because when you have little problems with your apartment here and there, it will suck even more that you paid everything up front. So I personally wouldn't do it now that I've learned a little bit more, maybe offer 3 months up front. I had one apartment that I almost signed the contract, but I read the fine print, they wanted me to bring the rent in cash, to a different city every month. From there on, I was very adamant about agreeing to transfers before even visiting an apartment. I also was a bit overpicky, my area is not a luxurious area, my money does go further here, I was looking to live like Bruce Wayne. But it turns out in a lower middle class neighborhood, there are not too many Wayne Manor options available. But I am happy with my apartment.

Tips & Mindsets
-I speak Spanish and Italian fluently. I received my Italian passport/Italian citizenship about 10 years ago. I did the whole process on my own without lawyers. It was easier to get and understand the Italian citizenship process than it was to do the Rentista Visa! Italian citizenship was literally all done by mail in the USA for documents and one trip to Los Angeles, two if you count the passport appointment. I think this visa was 9 or so trips in 6 months, and 10 will be my DNI. Every trip to immigration was exactly the same, I waited 2-3 hours, and whatever I came in for would take 2-3 minutes. Get there early. If you are working that day, plan on starting late. Oh, and use the bathroom before you leave the house!

Language
-If you don't speak Spanish go with someone who does, if you do speak Spanish but are not a native speaker and learned in a different country, be ready for a bit of a curve, I have worked jobs completely in Spanish and had LTRs with a few Mexican gals, it was still a big adjustment here to the accents! Try to start watching Netflix or YouTube specifically shot in Argentina.

Banking
-Each month I had to send in my financial statements from my bank. I learned the hard way that for my particular visa, it had to be a bank to bank transfer. Western Union transfers were cheaper, but when they told me that I did bank to bank, which means a fee on both ends of the transfer.

Travel during the process
-If you have travel plans during the expiration which at the time of writing is up to 10 days before the date, I was told to bring the receipts before the trip or during renewal. For example my final appointment I would have been traveling November 4-15th, my exp was the 15th, 10 days before I would still be traveling. I brought flight receipts and a business format letter of the trip plans, I highlighted the dates on the flight receipts, but I was also approved that day, so it wasn't necessary but that was what I was explained to do from the officials there on the prior visa appointment. Also if your travel does not interfere with the process bring your precaria for when you re-enter the country. You are not a prisoner here, but it is recommended to keep international travel limited before you are approved. I left once to the USA for work, and this month would have been the 2nd international. In the country can be travel galore as long as you are good on the renewal days.

Wardrobe
-I didn't wear a suit but I always showed up in a nice shirt & shoes, to my knowledge there's no check box for wardrobe, but in my opinion it will give you a slightly better edge for questions when your turn comes up.

Holidays/Scheduling
-If you like to cut things close, watch out for Holidays, you don't want to arrive for renewal the last day and it's a Feriado. There seems to be a lot of those days here!

Time Elapsed
-I started in April, I was approved today for 12 months, and basically was explained I could renew in one year for another full year, so although it was frustrating going so often, essentially the 2 year visa can be 2.5 years in the country because of the process.

    So now the fun can really start, although the process was a little fun, I won't miss waiting on the lines for 3 hours anymore. I've got 1-2 years now to make Argentina a bigger part of my life, or South America in general. From my first trip here in 2010 to today, it's always been an amazing place for me. I am trying to take advantage now of my position here with all the places nearby that before were 18 hour flights/transit time. I've already bounced around a few places in Argentina, next up is a return to Antarctica, a trip back to Brazil in the works, as well as Easter Island in Chile, all in good time. It's time to roll down the windows and let the ride begin.

MORE ARGENTINA EXPAT ARTICLES

Choose the continent!!!!

Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Antarctica

OR...

Travel and Money Saving Tips

Support This Site By Purchasing Your Travel Needs

How To Pay For Things When You Live In Argentina

If you are just visiting, TLDR, bring $1,000 USD or so cash, make sure they are not charging you extra if you pay with credit card, make bank withdrawal's with western union or a bank that doesn't charge ATM fees, the days of the blue rate, are relatively gone.

     I never thought this article would be necessary, and with the ever changing economy here, maybe it's pointless to write, but as of now October 2026, after living in Argentina for 6 months, here's how I structure my payments, and how things have changed since I moved here...

Argentina Pesos: I pay with cash/effective/pesos now pretty much how I paid in USA, smaller purchases like coffee, or an empanada, and tips. Luckily bigger places like restaurants that in the past only took cash, now seem to widely accept at least debit or transfers. Transfers was a new thing for me to pay with for something like dinner...

Transfers: I will use my Galicia bank account to pay for services like my gas, as mentioned above some restaurants or bars, my rent, and friends the way we did with Venmo in the USA (no fees Argentina bank to Argentina bank). If you are lucky enough to have a landlord with a bank account in America its great to be able to pay US bank to US bank for an American based salary.

US Dollars: When I first got here, dollars were a part of my life, I paid for some things in dollars, and extended my Airbnb reservation in dollars, I also tipped a bit in dollars. If you are visiting you'll probably do the same. Living here, I have some dollars, not the $10,000 max that some expats bring because I grew up in Brooklyn and even though I'm in a safe neighborhood, the idea of my apartment being robbed is a possibility, but I keep a few dollars for emergencies, or for international trips out of Argentina, we are going to Antarctica next month, and Asia for New Year's, for both destinations I'll bring my dollars for tips, or currency exchange. USA is my financial center of interest, I will go back twice this year, and that's the plan from here on, so I can always reload on trips back.

Debit Card: I use my Argentina Debit card WAY more than I ever used a debit card in the USA that was virtually never aside from cash withdrawals. I pay for dining, clothes, a lot of shopping, mainly because a lot of places charge 10-20% if I use credit card. Note I also never keep too much in my debit account because the risk of less coverage of a credit card if it's lost or stolen. Now that I have an account here, I have not used my US debit card at all.

Credit Card: As someone who loves travel, free travel on points, or business class upgrades, I sure as hell miss paying for everything with credit card. My credit spending has been reduced by about 30%, so I still can use it a lot, but not as often, too many times there's a fee for credit cards. But if there isn't, it sure as hell is a place I will shop at or eat at again. And needless to say I only use credit cards that don't charge a foreign transaction fee. All travel is still booked on credit cards, no extra fees... for now!

Argentina Credit Card: I do not have one, but I should note, many establishments will do the opposite here of the US credit card extra charge and offer a discount when you pay with an Argentina credit card.

Western Union: Before I had a bank account here I had to use Western Union for cash, having to pay 30,000 pesos to withdraw 100,000 pesos at a normal ATM didn't make sense, so I did withdrawals from Western Union which was a pain in the ass. One time I needed about $500 USD in pesos, and I had to sit in the office for 2 hours while the companies did security checks. I still use Western Union now, but not the physical office, I transfer from my US debit card to my Argentina account, this is about 5-10% cheaper than a bank to bank transfer, because bank to bank charges transaction fees on both ends.

   There's other ways to pay for things, like Crypto, apps, P2P, but the above is all I use. It's been a ride learning, and the inflation here is always more of a ride. But that's my go to methods for everything here in my 6 months. Hope this article helps you!

MORE ARGENTINA EXPAT ARTICLES

Choose the continent!!!!

Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Antarctica

OR...

Travel and Money Saving Tips

Support This Site By Purchasing Your Travel Needs

Argentina! Where Are Your Beaches!?

September 27th, 2026

    I've never done this before with articles, but since this blog doesn't get too much traffic I wont offend too many people. I'm going to start here, a published, YET unfinished article.... I will add as I learn more to this article.

     Argentina is the 8th largest country in the world, and has more coastline than most of the 195 countries in the world. I didn't even think about the beach before I got here to live 6 months ago, with such vast coast line, I figured I'd find my Miami Beach, my Bondi Beach, or my Florianopolis when I got there... It turns out a lot of Argentines go to Miami, Bondi, or of course Florianopolis for their beaches. It's not Alaska or Russia beaches, but for the overall size, the options are way more limited than you would think. Buenos Aires itself sits on the ocean along Rio De Plata, except it doesn't flow Plata, it flows mud, so it's okay to go fishing or even sailing, but don't think you'll be jumping in the waters soon. A lot of the coastline is muddy, rocky, or just too damn cold to swim. I'm not a fan of just the ocean view, I like the immersion. This working article is my journey to find great beaches to hang out, swim, and immerse be it through kayak, scuba, swim, etc. Enjoy!

Puerto Madryn Septemer 2026

Swim: sort of... Summer time

Scuba: year round with great wild life!

Beach front: Excellent, bars, dining, etc Scenic boardwalk

Ocean Activities: All the standards minus surfing, limited, but kite surfing possible

    We woke up to a beautiful sunrise in our ocean front Airbnb, an early morning to swim with the sea lions,a truly unforgettable experience. As we stepped foot onto the beautiful sands of the beautiful beaches of Puerto Madryn it occurred to me that I have been living on the ocean now for 6 months after living in the desert in Arizona for almost 20 years and this is my first time actually in the ocean since moving here!

     The sea life is unlike anything I ever experienced where you can actually swim, we swam with the sea lions, but we had up close and personal interactions with the whales and dolphins of the Atlantic down here as well boating. Come summer it's totally penguin season, we missed that but I'm sure we will catch them in November in Antarctica. Puerto Madryn gets a very high beach score. The water is definitely cold, when we swam my girlfriend went full dry suit, I went wet suit. The water was cold but bearable, however once we were swimming with the sea lions I had so much fun the water didn't bother me at all. This was early spring, the locals do swim a lot in the summer sans wet or dry suit, but the somewhat cold waters are more to cool down rather than relax. Either way Puerto Madryn was the first excellent beach getaway we found. The ball was starting to roll!

What beaches have you been actually in Argentina to add to this list???? 

MORE ARGENTINA EXPAT ARTICLES

Choose the continent!!!!

Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Antarctica

OR...

Travel and Money Saving Tips

Support This Site By Purchasing Your Travel Needs

Why I Decided NOT To Live In Colombia

At least not yet, writing from my apartment in Argentina....

2010, 29 years old, my first trip to Colombia and South America!

      2010: My first trip to Colombia, the first time I ever set foot in South America, and the trip that made this blog titled "6 of the 7 continents". Colombia was number 6! I never thought I'd reach Antarctica for continent number 7, but life blessed me New Year's 2023, and I may even be going back this year, but that's another article. I landed in Cartagena and it was 8 days that changed my life in a way forever. I loved it, I loved South America, I loved the culture, the people, the food, the rhythm... Everything. I had a feeling I would be back, to Colombia, or another country in South America? Maybe both. That feeling was correct. I have been to Colombia now 4 times. I have visited every country in South America except Venezuela, it's on the list, and I am now living in Argentina. It all began with that fateful trip 16 years ago.

      My second trip to Colombia was a bit more special. Medellin in 2015ish... This time I was a much more seasoned traveler, spoke better Spanish, and my eyes were not just opening to the world outside USA, they were consuming, processing, and calculating my future somewhere else one day. In those days, I highly considered Colombia to live. Especially that trip. Medellin was new, fresh, safe (ish), economic, and so different from where I lived. I spend the next 11 years working in the USA and of course traveling. I wanted to see and do everything and maybe one day, leave the USA to live abroad... Colombia was high on the list! So high I decided to make a trial run, it would be one of three trial runs of where my next long term stay would be, Italy was the other, and you guessed the third where I live now, Argentina. So why did Colombia not become home?

Medellin cable car

Immigration:

      So this was trip three of four. I landed in Medellin in February of 2025. I was excited to visit not as a tourist, but as someone who was doing moving research. I would visit there and three other cities over the month. The rule was simple, keep tourism minimal, try to live the daily life there and figure out the logistics of living there. I should probably write another article on that! Anyway I landed in Medellin, and the problems started as soon as I got off the plane... Customs and passport control was EXTREMELY long. 2 hours. When I got to the end of the line they asked me a few basic questions, I don't know if they are understaffed, or over visited.. But where ever I would choose to be home base was going to be just that, home base, I don't plan on stopping travel anytime soon. The idea of 2 hours for immigration every time I come back home was not too appealing, factoring in the same year I got global entry and it hasn't taken me more than 2 minutes to re-enter the USA since I got it. The airport is not close to the city either, about 40 minutes. So I could take a short flight to Panama City, Peru, etc, and the customs and taxi to get home would be longer than the flights!

Medellin Changed, & I Changed

Medellin 2015

     I got to my Airbnb late after that 2 hour wait, breathed in the jungle air, it was good to be back, and I didn't want to sleep just yet. There were lots of bars and restaurants on my block, I decided to go out for a walk, and maybe a drink or two. As I walked the street I wasn't greeted to the sounds of Colombia, I heard English being spoken EVERYWHERE, the same music I was listening to in Scottsdale before I left, seemingly even the same restaurants... The city changed. When I first came here it was a bit touristic, now it was Disney World. The little Colombian restaurants had all turned into giant Cheeseburger chain restaurants, not the big one, McDonalds, but it lost flavor both in a culinary and cultural way. I was in the touristic center, so I thought, I should get around and see more... It didn't work. The problem when I visited the other neighborhoods was it was nothing, things closed at 7pm, or the streets were barren from the get go. Plus the gyms in those neighborhoods kind of sucked. The gyms in the center were great, better than my first time here, grocery stores were also top notch, but with the good, comes the bad. 

   I changed. Saturday night it was time to party! I made some friends and even had a random run in with a friend from Phoenix for the first time in my travel life, so I wasn't going to go out alone. We headed downtown.... The drink prices were damn near equal to Scottsdale, the places were too crowded, the music was too loud, there were too many hookers! Ok I sound like my Dad now... Maybe not quite with the hooker part, but the point is the party scene is great when you are in your 20's or maybe even my 30s, but now at 45... It didn't feel quite like something I wanted every weekend. We had a blast that night, drank till 3am or 4am, met cool people, danced, etc. But it's not something I have any desire to do on a regular basis anymore at age 45.

Trying to blend in like a local

    Then of course the night life, or really any life in other areas I checked out, was pretty non-existent. Laureles was ok... But the problem was off the main strip safety was a big issue. It was on to Cali next.

Cali: No... At Least For Now

                              

     This wasn't as easy to write off, and to be honest, I would still give it a little chance. It was like stepping back into the early 2000s Medellin as far as culture. It felt a lot more Colombian and a lot less corporate. The gyms weren't quite as good as Medellin, but they had what I needed. Grocery was the same, not top notch, but I'm mainly a man of chicken and vegetables when I cook at home... Although Argentina has added a lot more steak! The weather was the heat I enjoyed, the food, the vibe, the downtown area, it was all excellent. Some of the areas I really loved. On one night in a bar on a side street in Granada on a Friday night, I was enjoying a beer, and truly living in the moment, and I thought... This is it... This is my next home. The street was safe, there were lots of people out, great party vibe, but not too much, great restaurants, cafes, extremely safe, police everywhere, people seemed very chill, and polite... I felt great!

Overlooking the beautiful landscape from Cali

     I headed back to the same area that next day, during the day I discovered even more that I loved about the Granada area. I was practically signing an apartment lease... I needed more! Then I headed back of course for dinner that night, it wasn't the weekend, Monday or maybe Tuesday now... Shit changed... Big time. I used to be a cop a long time ago in the NYPD. We had to go to the jails regularly to drop people off or pick people up, I would feel a hell of a lot safer in the jails in the Brooklyn South Precinct without my gun than I felt in the streets that night in Granada. The place was night and day difference from weekend, to weekday. The other areas I checked out were safer, but virtually not much to do. I really loved Cali, and maybe one day I will live there but for now and at that time Granada was out, Cali was out.

Bogota: Last Chance At The Capital

                          

    Ahhh Bogota, an old friend.... I also hit Barranquilla during the trip, but that was solely for Carnival! Bogota was more to visit friends than anything else, it's a beautiful city, but I also knew going in that the weather is not my scene, and it has too much of a big city vibe. I still wanted to give it a chance, but things just didn't fit, like Cali, my favorite neighborhood La Candelaria is great by day but questionable at night. The traffic, the volume of people, the city air, not quite my scene. Chapinero is a nice area, but again, it just didn't feel right.

           

     It was great to see friends there, and those friends walked me through everything I would need to live there. The cities have all the modern city things that I would like that go beyond tourism, think things like door dash, amazon, uber, autopay for your gas/electric bill, the modern luxuries or the Colombian equivalents. But the negatives kind of outweighed the positives. Throughout the whole trip I also of course was reviewing my options to legally stay there. For my other choices, Italy, I have an Italian Passport and Argentina I had an American friend that bought a place down there and already walked me through the basics of legally living there. The Nomad Visas, Rentista Visas, or Pensionado Visa all seemed a lot more complicated than moving to Europe with citizenship or the Argentina citizenship process, now that I am living in Argentina I may have been wrong about that last part, the visa process here has been a ride through hell! But too late now for the Visa pros and cons!

    So at that point, I was also journaling the whole process, categories, tracking daily spending, some boring stuff, some interesting stuff that shows up on this blog. And when I got back I read through the notes, already kind of knowing, I wasn't going to live there. I cannot stress how much I loved Cali, and how I am missing it now just writing about it, but it wasn't going to be my home. At least for now, who knows what the future holds. I know however that I love this country, and will always come back to it.

                      

Lessons Learned

• Lessons, don't plan 10 years in advance, maybe even 5 is too much. Cities change, countries change, and of course, you change. The 5 year plan is probably reasonable but have a back up plan.
• Visit as a person living there, not as a tourist, I did this extremely well I think, rather than the Pablo Escobar tour, or visiting the Salt Mines, think about what you will do almost daily there. For me the important things were gyms, nightlife, cafes, music stores, live music scene, and supermarkets.
• Healthcare: I don't have any health problems, but it would be naive not to factor this in. And I will say here Argentina where I live now is certainly not as good as my other option Italy, or of course my home country the USA.
• Taxes.... Yep, do the homework here to on liabilities, etc. It sucks! But it's something you will need to factor in.
• Budget: Don't go with chatgpt, or forums, crunch your own numbers, when I was analyzing everything in day to day spending, it was cheaper than Scottsdale, but not by much. Rent was easily a big savings compared to rent in the USA, but you gotta eat, you gotta have internet, gas, electric, etc.
• If you can, by all means do the trial dip before you jump in. I am so grateful that I had the chance to visit all 3 countries for more than a month in "life mode" rather than "tourist mode". It greatly helped with my decision, and my life now.

      6 of the 7 continents, 2010 that dream was complete, and of course as stated, it's now all 7. I thought when I hit 6, life would slow down, travel would slow down, but it's been quite the opposite. A lot of my life revolves now around travel, the trips to Colombia forever shaped who I am today. I love it, and I want to be a part of it, but living is just not right for me, at least for now. Like all places I have been to, I am grateful for everything it gave me. I am now living in a small town outside of Buenos Aires as my expat life in Argentina began in April of 2026. I'm loving life, loving South America, loving what the world gave me, exploring what I can give back, and always thinking about where the world will take me next. I never could have done any of this, without Colombia.

29 years old in Cartagena, it seems now like a lifetime ago

Choose the continent!!!!

Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Antarctica

OR...

Travel and Money Saving Tips

Support This Site By Purchasing Your Travel Needs