Argentina

seachto7

Howdee,

How popular would Argentina be as a travel destination? Most people, who are travelling far, seem to go to Aus / NZ and/or combine that with Asia. I never read of anyone on here heading to Argentina to travel or even for work.
I would imagine wages are a lot lower than here, so it would be more for the "experience", condescending towards the locals as that sounds.

Only for I had a wedding in NZ last year, I would have used the funds for an Argentinian trip. I know only of a few of my mates who went there, and all rated it very highly on the their trips abroad.

I would imagine it would have a continental European feel to it, but as a country Argentina is so vast, you could pack in the same types of activities as you would in Australia or New Zealand.

Anyone ever lived there, or travelled there? It's definitely top of my next "long haul" trip if I can at all afford to do it.

rusheen

Ya I often thought of travelling to Argentina at some stage . The weather would be nice for a start. Id reckon its rich in culture due to European influences.

Theres a history of Irish immigration there going back to 1800s and they left their mark . William Browne a Mayo man is a national hero there . Lots of places and sporting clubs named after him . A Irishman founded Boca Juniors football club in buenos Aires, Boca are one of the biggest clubs in South America and the world .

Apparently 500000 to 1million Argentine people claim Irish descent. Theres a hurling club in buenos Aires,Irish dancing and Irish music have active members there.

I recall reading somewhere a while back a Irish speaking , Irish music playing passionate 4th generation Irish Argentine family with a name something like O Shaughnessy wanted to move to Ireland to live and work as the land of their ancestors , but they couldnt as our government dont have any visas in place for such a move . So we have a situation in this country where an African with no links or connection can move here relatively freely and become a citizen. Buts that the way it is

I know USIT offer a 6 month working holiday visa for there . Id imagine its very expensive there and hard to find work the country goes into a deep recession every few years IMF bailouts etc , maybe thats why not many people go there .

But if your looking for somewhere different and with a bit of culture Argentina it is .

You wont find any culture in Australia , beach beer BBQs is their idea of culture !

seachto7

Well, I would think Argentina is a different kind of a trip than Aus alright! Well at least being Irish I would have something in common with them, what with the IMF bailout!
It's something I am going to save and plan for as I imagine the flights are not cheap, and you would want a few weeks, but I know next to nothing about people's experiences first hand of travelling around Argentina. All I was told was the women are stunning lol!!
Well, I'm 35, so hopefully before I hit 40 I can do the trip........

HalloweenJack

I just came to Brazil a few days ago and I've a brother who lives in Chile.

South America is very different from Europe. I've found Brazilians to be really relaxed and friendly and the idea that it's a dangerous place to over-exaggerated. Sure, there are dangerous places here but just don't go near them and you'll be fine. My brother has said similar things about Chile.

From what I understand, bureaucracy can be a nightmare and not for the faint-hearted.

Even though Brazil is a rapidly growing country and is cited as one of the future superpowers, it's cheaper than Ireland. It's a bit more expensive than the Czech Republic and probably comparable to Spain. Rent is expensive (but I'm told this is just in Rio) but if you look around, you can find some cheapish places in decent locations. Most other things are the same as the two countries I mentioned above.

I don't know much about Argentina but my Brazilian friends have told me that it has a more European feel than Brazil. This is largely owing to the higher proportion of people of Italian, Spanish and German descent and lower one of people descended from slaves, Amerindians, Asians and people from the Middle East than Brazil has.

Also, Spanish is an easy language to learn. Economy-wise, I don' know.

I think Argentina would definitely be a place to consider, if you can get the money together.

Also, FWIW, Boca Juniors were founded by a group of Italian-Argentinians.

rusheen

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Also, FWIW, Boca Juniors were founded by a group of Italian-Argentinians.

Well for what its worth , according to a lot of sources, most notablely " the worlds game: a history of soccer By Bill Murray, William J. Murray Boca Juniors was founded by an Irishman Patrick McCarthy in 1905 but made famous by Italian immigrants .


Patrick McCarthy is widely known for being involved in Bocas founding .

From Bocas offical website its lists the Italians as the founders but McCarthy was involved ,

I was merely making a point of Irish connection with Argentina

pickarooney

It's a beautiful country with fantastic people, food, wine, sport and music. I was only there for a few weeks but of all the places I've been it's the only one I'd seriously consider moving to permanently. I know it's easy to say that when you've only experienced the good, but it has so much to offer.

I am pie

Emigrating in 2 months, through marriage.

Some notes of caution to consider !

1. Petty crime is an issue in Buenos Aires, murder rates are very low but robbery and street crime is an escalating problem.

2. Bureaucracy is unbelievably frustrating

3. Economically the country typically goes through 10 year cycle of boom to bust, has been that way for years. Currently there are restrictions around buying dollars inside the country and there is rampant (20% to 25% - ignore the govt figures) inflation. Corruption is a problem also.

Plus sides are of course, the weather, the food (although not for veggies or lovers of spicey food ...or fish fans!) , the people are very friendly, and the night life is top class. Culturally there is always something on offer. Football is interesting too, but there are the usual South American problems with hooligans !

I can't wait to go, but i know what i'm getting myself into. You can't wander about with expensive watches, use ipads on the trains etc. You need to change your mentality to be more conscious of your own personal safety and not flaunt your wealth. There is still (although less than neighbouring countries) poverty and that contributes to the pettty crime rates.

It is a much safer country than Brazil believe it or not, with Sao Paolo and Rio being some of the most dangerous S.American countries in terms of murder rates.

Outside of BA there is an awesome amount of things to do, you can ski, go see penguins, whales and glaciers in the south, go to the lakes, the mountains, iguazu falls in the nort. try the wine from the vineyards. Mountain biking and outdoor pursuits are a big tourist growth area. Trains are non-existant and internal flights can be prices....fancy coaches are your friend for getting about internally.

Hope that's useful to anyone thinking about a trip. I'll be posting from the other side once we get there, feel free to ask me any questions you want.

seachto7

I think I should have started this thread in the travel forum as opposed to the living abroad forum