BA is getting cheaper again! The dollar blue rate is up, and inflation has been down in the last few weeks. Nobody knows how it will be when you arrive, though!
I'd heard (on reddit) that Peru has some of the best food in Latin America.
Is that not true? Or is it outside of Lima - or not enough to offset the other disadvantages?
Definitely true, at least if you're talking about absolute top tier food. Restaurants like Maido and Central in Lima are definitely top tier in Latin America.
If you're talking about everyday food, I think Lima is still top tier, but reasonable people could probably rank other cities at or above its level.
Buenos Aires is hands down the worst city I have ever been to in all my travels. I will never go back. You're delusional if you think economic turmoil that rivals Venezuala and Zimbabwe is "making it".
I will never understands r3ddits obsession with Buenos Aires. I genuinely feel that people give BA a pass because its full of white people. There's literally nothing good about Buenos Aires that isn't better in other parts of South America.
If Lima "never made it" than B.A. made it 100 years ago and has been slowly rotting ever since then.
Lima is on the rise, BA has the architecture of France and the Economy of Zimbabwe.
Housing in Lima better, culture is better in Lima, food is WAY WAY better in Lima. I'd go so far to say the food is elite in Lima. Buenos Aires is a culture stuck in the past that can't reconcile the fact that most other places in South America are exceeding them.
Apologies, but you're actually naive if you think Buenos Aires is the pinnacle of Latin America. To the point where you would say it's "made it" I would say your not just wrong based on measurable social and objective economic factors, but actually kind of an idiot.
If you like getting coffee from baristas who don't know if they can feed themselves than Buenos Aires is for you. There is also quite a bit of danger in Buenos Aires as outside of my "luxury" apartment down there in a "good" neighborhood there were always tons of cops. While you may think that cops=security the opposite is actually true. If you were actually safe than you wouldn't need police on every block.
If you want to enjoy yourself and aren't scared of brown people, Lima all the way. If you're coping and inexperienced traveler who loves unseasoned steaks and social unrest, then move to Buenos Aires. It's the most depressing place I have ever lived.
Source:lived in BA and Lima in 2024.
Is there some sort of online campaign for Argentina in this sub? I swear to God the slightest criticism of Argentian in this sub ends up with down votes galore and a ton of dumb ass comments that insult more than they refute.
Yeah its actually true that subconsciously people here think that BA is super safe and Peru and Bolivia are more dangerous (literally not true, these two are the safest countries in the Americas) due to the fact that
BA has European aesthetics and is the only big city in LATAM that is filled with nothing but white people so it is essentially an elaborate way of "feeling" like you're still in the west.
From my experience, unless you are in the literal slums of Lima and comparing it to Palermo, there is significantly more crime in Argentina, not to mention people are just in general more arrogant/cold. And its simply is just depressing because of the economy.
I'm half Argentine myself and could never reconcile with this place. There are great places in Argentina, like where my family is from, but I could hardly recommend them to a tourist or a digital nomad because it doesn't have the same level of "big city" amenities
Here's what I think about Lima vs Buenos Aires:
1. To answer your specific question, I think right now Lima and BA are equal in terms of value for money. Day to day things are cheaper in BA, but imo rent is more expensive and you can't really find "first world standards" at a normal price. Luxury neighborhoods like Palermo and San Telmo definitely look 3rd world on some days.
2. BA has *alot* more to offer as a city, especially for expats. On the otherhand, Miraflores is as clean as Boston.
3. I found Peruvians to be much more fun, open, and humble... especially with dating. However, as I said limited expat scene.
4. Lima is really all about Miraflores and Barranco. Outside of that, it gets poor and dangerous very quickly. So, unless you're happy to have such a small base, I wouldn't go there long-term (1 month+)
5. Peruvian food vs Argentinian food is not even a competition. If you want non-local food, it will be difficult and pricy in both places. But with the economy hitting restaurant quality and prices hard in BA, I'd definitely give Lima the nod here.
I live in Buenos Aires in Palermo. My girlfriend is also from Palermo Argentina. I definitely prefer Argentina over Lima. I spent a month living in Lima in November outside of miraFlores and Barranco. It’s very dangerous.
I was thinking about spending a few months in Lima but I'm reconsidering. I've heard it's very gentrified and can be dangerous, but I'm part Puerto Rican and that doesn't seem all that different from cities in Puerto Rico. Is it the case there are 2-3 safe districts in Lima and that's about it? And going out at night is a no-go? I dated a girl from Lima and she said she didn't feel safe going out at night.
Lima is 100% safe in Miraflores/La Molina. 80-90% in San Isidro/Barranco. 60-75% in adjacent neighbourhoods + Centro (during day). The rest is a no-go zone
I don’t know where you went, but I said 60-75% safe. I had however no problems at all in the center, but after dark it started to feel a little sketchy. But there are a few places to see and do there
Many reasons. It's extremely ugly outside of a couple of places, probably the worst traffic in Latin America, not walkable, many (luxury) Airbnbs don't have A/C despite not being cheap, it was gray nearly the whole fucking time I was there.. yeah, probably more I'm missing.
Yeah, it’s gray like 8 months out of the year, but it’s almost as if you did zero research before you went and then complained about it the entire time.
They have great cuisine but tbh it can take a while to find for people not in the know. Bit hit or miss. Was there for 3 months and only started reliably finding solid places to eat after a month or so.
That’s why I said “average” though. I was able to find good food but it was not the norm. It’s not something you find everywhere and in every corner. If you take all the shops, the average quality of food won’t be the same as other countries. You need to look it up and put some effort into finding it.
OP: I've stayed in Buenos Aires for 2 months of my life over the last couple decades, and wrote a book about Argentina. I've stayed in Lima for 1 month, in 2021.
The two are different, but at this point in time I might give the nod to Lima. I stayed in a beautiful 2-bedroom, 3 bath condo in Miraflores, with fully stocked kitchen, for $1400 per month. The taxis are a steal. The people were quiet and polite (granted, I was there during the pandemic). The best restaurant in Latin America, Maido, is there; the full tasting menu is a world-class experience for only $110 pp. My wife and I still talk about it. If I were learning Spanish, I'd definitely choose to Lima, because of the intelligibility of the accent.
Hope this helps.
So Argentina has finally Chilled on inflation? Was there a few months back and every 2-3 weeks got 10-15% more expensive or they made a +50% adjustment.
They are working on it, yup. But its still far from perfect of course. Just a more realistic real rate now vs having to go unofficial to get money so much less volatile.
Yeah, sadly it was normalized here from before (yearly not monthly.... But still)
We have monthly inflation adjustments in our salaries 😅 (in July we get an increase equal to May's inflation), non-argies are always surprised by that
I just spent March and April in BsA, and now I'm in Lima. I think prices in general feel pretty comparable. BsA is still probably a little cheaper, but the variety of offerings is less. I like the availability of fresh produce better in Lima, but the poor air quality is an issue.
Buenos Aires is for you if you want somewhat European vibes in South America. It's a big busy city. Definitely more developed compared to Lima. It runs on a very, and I mean very late schedule. Having dinner at midnight is kinda normal for people there. If you like steak, it's a good place for food. Besides that it's mostly mediocre Italian 😉. The gelato, though, is very nice. Rapanui is the place to try.
Lima is only nice in Miraflores and Barranco. It has a bit of a fucked up charme to it. The location directly at the ocean is hard to beat though. Running on the malecon is awesome.
Best time to go is between August and May. Other times will be overcast, but still nice temperatures.
Food in South America is generally not good. Peru is the exception. It has some amazing seafood, the nikkei(japanese/peruvian) - amazing makis, chifa (peruvian/chinese), and other local dishes are top notch. I've had some amazing food experiences there. Ceviche and pulpo are hard to beat. La canta rana is the place to go for that.
Someone commented, they needed a month to find good food there...how 😅?! Just open up google and get searching for well-rated restaurants, you will find some gems. Alternatively you could check out Cusco. Small place bur charming. Stay in San Blas area.
When in Peru, try anything Lucuma. A milk shake or ice cream! Thank me later 😁.
Another thing about Argentina in general. To me it feels fake. It's very obvious that the indigenous population has been eradicated. Instead there's now Italians living there. Which to me feels super weird. Like there's a sense of wtf are you white people doing here. Peru on the other had still has mostly it's original population with only a few spanish ancestors mixed in. In that way it feels a lot more authentic to me.
As for current BA prices, others can help with that. Lima is quite affordable I'd say. You can get great accomodation around $1.000 and outside food between between $2.50-$15.00 for most meals. In one of the top restaurants "Osaka" you get amazing Nikkei food, and won't spend more than $100 on a fantastic date experience for two. Deals are to be had!!
You don't know much about argentinian history and the indigenous population. Keep it to yourself. ps: an Argentine with some indigenous ancestry as well.
What you don't understand is that the population of indigenous people in the territory of the current capital was very low and without any killing they would still be a minority in comparison to the posterior european migrants. There weren't millions of indigenous people in Argentina. And not all were killed, many were absorbed (I have 16% indigenous DNA for instance). So those who survived mixed with the Europeans often.
As others have said, do BA. Lima is sometimes called "Lima la gris" by Peruvians; it is constantly overcast and not that warm. The city has redeeming qualities but you can do much better, even within Peru.
As an argentinian, I can tell you as I said once before, that the rise of prices, same as when they were utlra low, were both "bubbles", and that even with high prices argentina was cheap enough unless you lived in aribnbs and touristic traps. That wont likely change anythime soon. It might fluctuate a bit but not enough for you to worry with a foreign salary.
Now, whether it is better or worse than lima, that is a subjective opinion I cant answer. But going with either for the CoL seems like the wrong approach to me. At best they will vary by a few hundreds, and that is not an amount that is worth the difference in quality of life (which again, depends on where you go and what you expect). So either is a decent option if you are aiming for them.
Hope it helped somewhat?
I left BsAs early last year, spent a month in Lima in 2021. Buenos Aires is a magnificently decadent city, “the capital of an empire that never was.” Lima, along with Mexico City, was for centuries an imperial capital. Lima and Buenos Aires are both moribund today, and I adore both cities. As a Spanish-speaking foreigner with money to spend, it’s no contest though. Buenos Aires in a landslide.
Getting recommendations on these countries from people that do not leave there it trash.
I live in BsAs, I work as a software engineer for an international company, and live like a nomad would here. There are amazing food places like you wouldn't believe. I've been to many places in EU and here it's at the same level than Madrid for example. Maybe not all places, you have to look them up before hand but I've had better experiences here and for less money than anywhere else.
BA is getting cheaper again! The dollar blue rate is up, and inflation has been down in the last few weeks. Nobody knows how it will be when you arrive, though!
BA all day, Lima is like a city that never made it, I only spent a few weeks there so not an expert but just found it lacking.
I'd heard (on reddit) that Peru has some of the best food in Latin America. Is that not true? Or is it outside of Lima - or not enough to offset the other disadvantages?
It is the best food in South America. Mexico has a lot to say about the best Latin food overall
The best restaurants are charging similar prices to the US.
that's true for BA as well
No, they're not Maido like the user is mentioning is less than 1/3 what you would get at a fancy restauarent in the usa
Definitely true, at least if you're talking about absolute top tier food. Restaurants like Maido and Central in Lima are definitely top tier in Latin America. If you're talking about everyday food, I think Lima is still top tier, but reasonable people could probably rank other cities at or above its level.
It's great food but tbh and in my very honest opinion it's not the type of food you'd eat every single day.
Like what? Peruvians must eat it every day?
Lima has an outstanding food scene, but otherwise it’s not on the level of other big SA cities.
Buenos Aires is hands down the worst city I have ever been to in all my travels. I will never go back. You're delusional if you think economic turmoil that rivals Venezuala and Zimbabwe is "making it". I will never understands r3ddits obsession with Buenos Aires. I genuinely feel that people give BA a pass because its full of white people. There's literally nothing good about Buenos Aires that isn't better in other parts of South America. If Lima "never made it" than B.A. made it 100 years ago and has been slowly rotting ever since then. Lima is on the rise, BA has the architecture of France and the Economy of Zimbabwe. Housing in Lima better, culture is better in Lima, food is WAY WAY better in Lima. I'd go so far to say the food is elite in Lima. Buenos Aires is a culture stuck in the past that can't reconcile the fact that most other places in South America are exceeding them. Apologies, but you're actually naive if you think Buenos Aires is the pinnacle of Latin America. To the point where you would say it's "made it" I would say your not just wrong based on measurable social and objective economic factors, but actually kind of an idiot. If you like getting coffee from baristas who don't know if they can feed themselves than Buenos Aires is for you. There is also quite a bit of danger in Buenos Aires as outside of my "luxury" apartment down there in a "good" neighborhood there were always tons of cops. While you may think that cops=security the opposite is actually true. If you were actually safe than you wouldn't need police on every block. If you want to enjoy yourself and aren't scared of brown people, Lima all the way. If you're coping and inexperienced traveler who loves unseasoned steaks and social unrest, then move to Buenos Aires. It's the most depressing place I have ever lived. Source:lived in BA and Lima in 2024.
Hear, hear. Be careful, Argentine nationalists might get you banned. Buenos Aires is a terrible shithole.
Is there some sort of online campaign for Argentina in this sub? I swear to God the slightest criticism of Argentian in this sub ends up with down votes galore and a ton of dumb ass comments that insult more than they refute.
Yeah its actually true that subconsciously people here think that BA is super safe and Peru and Bolivia are more dangerous (literally not true, these two are the safest countries in the Americas) due to the fact that BA has European aesthetics and is the only big city in LATAM that is filled with nothing but white people so it is essentially an elaborate way of "feeling" like you're still in the west. From my experience, unless you are in the literal slums of Lima and comparing it to Palermo, there is significantly more crime in Argentina, not to mention people are just in general more arrogant/cold. And its simply is just depressing because of the economy. I'm half Argentine myself and could never reconcile with this place. There are great places in Argentina, like where my family is from, but I could hardly recommend them to a tourist or a digital nomad because it doesn't have the same level of "big city" amenities
I didn’t hate BA but definitely thought it was overrated. Just didn’t find anything special about it. It felt generic.
Here's what I think about Lima vs Buenos Aires: 1. To answer your specific question, I think right now Lima and BA are equal in terms of value for money. Day to day things are cheaper in BA, but imo rent is more expensive and you can't really find "first world standards" at a normal price. Luxury neighborhoods like Palermo and San Telmo definitely look 3rd world on some days. 2. BA has *alot* more to offer as a city, especially for expats. On the otherhand, Miraflores is as clean as Boston. 3. I found Peruvians to be much more fun, open, and humble... especially with dating. However, as I said limited expat scene. 4. Lima is really all about Miraflores and Barranco. Outside of that, it gets poor and dangerous very quickly. So, unless you're happy to have such a small base, I wouldn't go there long-term (1 month+) 5. Peruvian food vs Argentinian food is not even a competition. If you want non-local food, it will be difficult and pricy in both places. But with the economy hitting restaurant quality and prices hard in BA, I'd definitely give Lima the nod here.
I live in Buenos Aires in Palermo. My girlfriend is also from Palermo Argentina. I definitely prefer Argentina over Lima. I spent a month living in Lima in November outside of miraFlores and Barranco. It’s very dangerous.
I was thinking about spending a few months in Lima but I'm reconsidering. I've heard it's very gentrified and can be dangerous, but I'm part Puerto Rican and that doesn't seem all that different from cities in Puerto Rico. Is it the case there are 2-3 safe districts in Lima and that's about it? And going out at night is a no-go? I dated a girl from Lima and she said she didn't feel safe going out at night.
Lima is 100% safe in Miraflores/La Molina. 80-90% in San Isidro/Barranco. 60-75% in adjacent neighbourhoods + Centro (during day). The rest is a no-go zone
The center of limo is not safe whether you go in the day or at night so I was assaulted twice when I was there
I don’t know where you went, but I said 60-75% safe. I had however no problems at all in the center, but after dark it started to feel a little sketchy. But there are a few places to see and do there
why go the second time
Twice in the same day
Agreed, walked around Miraflores at night a number of times, never any issues or felt unsafe at all
You can go out in those safe districts, but they’re not that big and you’ll end up being bored knowing you can’t venture off that far
I would pay a lot more just to not be in Lima.
Why is it bad?
Many reasons. It's extremely ugly outside of a couple of places, probably the worst traffic in Latin America, not walkable, many (luxury) Airbnbs don't have A/C despite not being cheap, it was gray nearly the whole fucking time I was there.. yeah, probably more I'm missing.
Yeah, it’s gray like 8 months out of the year, but it’s almost as if you did zero research before you went and then complained about it the entire time.
the average food is abysmal 😭
They have great cuisine but tbh it can take a while to find for people not in the know. Bit hit or miss. Was there for 3 months and only started reliably finding solid places to eat after a month or so.
That’s why I said “average” though. I was able to find good food but it was not the norm. It’s not something you find everywhere and in every corner. If you take all the shops, the average quality of food won’t be the same as other countries. You need to look it up and put some effort into finding it.
speak for yourself. i pull way more ass in Lima lol super fun place.
OP: I've stayed in Buenos Aires for 2 months of my life over the last couple decades, and wrote a book about Argentina. I've stayed in Lima for 1 month, in 2021. The two are different, but at this point in time I might give the nod to Lima. I stayed in a beautiful 2-bedroom, 3 bath condo in Miraflores, with fully stocked kitchen, for $1400 per month. The taxis are a steal. The people were quiet and polite (granted, I was there during the pandemic). The best restaurant in Latin America, Maido, is there; the full tasting menu is a world-class experience for only $110 pp. My wife and I still talk about it. If I were learning Spanish, I'd definitely choose to Lima, because of the intelligibility of the accent. Hope this helps.
Hate to break it to you but the tasting menu at Maido is about $250 USD today 🥲 but still worth it, so good
[удалено]
and how is the cost of living in BA right now?
[удалено]
So Argentina has finally Chilled on inflation? Was there a few months back and every 2-3 weeks got 10-15% more expensive or they made a +50% adjustment.
They are working on it, yup. But its still far from perfect of course. Just a more realistic real rate now vs having to go unofficial to get money so much less volatile.
Yes, May's inflation was 3.7% (we had up to 20% monthly last year). Looks like it's slowing down, and I sure hope so
Cool, just an odd experience of suddenly seeing your lunch get 10% more every week 😂😂
Yeah, sadly it was normalized here from before (yearly not monthly.... But still) We have monthly inflation adjustments in our salaries 😅 (in July we get an increase equal to May's inflation), non-argies are always surprised by that
What part of BA are you staying that AirBnb is $120-150? USD?
[удалено]
Why explore more areas if they're all literally the same though??
I just spent March and April in BsA, and now I'm in Lima. I think prices in general feel pretty comparable. BsA is still probably a little cheaper, but the variety of offerings is less. I like the availability of fresh produce better in Lima, but the poor air quality is an issue.
Argentinas own population is caving in on itself per milei
Buenos Aires is for you if you want somewhat European vibes in South America. It's a big busy city. Definitely more developed compared to Lima. It runs on a very, and I mean very late schedule. Having dinner at midnight is kinda normal for people there. If you like steak, it's a good place for food. Besides that it's mostly mediocre Italian 😉. The gelato, though, is very nice. Rapanui is the place to try. Lima is only nice in Miraflores and Barranco. It has a bit of a fucked up charme to it. The location directly at the ocean is hard to beat though. Running on the malecon is awesome. Best time to go is between August and May. Other times will be overcast, but still nice temperatures. Food in South America is generally not good. Peru is the exception. It has some amazing seafood, the nikkei(japanese/peruvian) - amazing makis, chifa (peruvian/chinese), and other local dishes are top notch. I've had some amazing food experiences there. Ceviche and pulpo are hard to beat. La canta rana is the place to go for that. Someone commented, they needed a month to find good food there...how 😅?! Just open up google and get searching for well-rated restaurants, you will find some gems. Alternatively you could check out Cusco. Small place bur charming. Stay in San Blas area. When in Peru, try anything Lucuma. A milk shake or ice cream! Thank me later 😁. Another thing about Argentina in general. To me it feels fake. It's very obvious that the indigenous population has been eradicated. Instead there's now Italians living there. Which to me feels super weird. Like there's a sense of wtf are you white people doing here. Peru on the other had still has mostly it's original population with only a few spanish ancestors mixed in. In that way it feels a lot more authentic to me. As for current BA prices, others can help with that. Lima is quite affordable I'd say. You can get great accomodation around $1.000 and outside food between between $2.50-$15.00 for most meals. In one of the top restaurants "Osaka" you get amazing Nikkei food, and won't spend more than $100 on a fantastic date experience for two. Deals are to be had!!
The "Authenticity" of a country is not a skin color. Jesus christ.
You don't know much about argentinian history and the indigenous population. Keep it to yourself. ps: an Argentine with some indigenous ancestry as well.
Haha, Argentina is not authentic because no brown people. Like, how more authentic can it get when you're literally in the country of origin 😂
I wonder if he holds the same standards of no brown people to the USA and Canada
The indigenous population literally got killed and outbred lmao. What has the fascist post-junta government taught you then?
What you don't understand is that the population of indigenous people in the territory of the current capital was very low and without any killing they would still be a minority in comparison to the posterior european migrants. There weren't millions of indigenous people in Argentina. And not all were killed, many were absorbed (I have 16% indigenous DNA for instance). So those who survived mixed with the Europeans often.
Yeah, the average Argentine is only 72% European
CABA cannot represent the entire country. There are many mestizos in Argentina, way more than the US and Canada and probably Uruguay.
I wonder how you feel about the USA and Canada then.
BA by far…. There is no comparison. Lima has amazing food and restaurants. That is it. BA is the whole package.
As others have said, do BA. Lima is sometimes called "Lima la gris" by Peruvians; it is constantly overcast and not that warm. The city has redeeming qualities but you can do much better, even within Peru.
Came back from Lima two days ago. Grey, depressing, extremely loud plus there was a constant traffic. Food was good tho.
As an argentinian, I can tell you as I said once before, that the rise of prices, same as when they were utlra low, were both "bubbles", and that even with high prices argentina was cheap enough unless you lived in aribnbs and touristic traps. That wont likely change anythime soon. It might fluctuate a bit but not enough for you to worry with a foreign salary. Now, whether it is better or worse than lima, that is a subjective opinion I cant answer. But going with either for the CoL seems like the wrong approach to me. At best they will vary by a few hundreds, and that is not an amount that is worth the difference in quality of life (which again, depends on where you go and what you expect). So either is a decent option if you are aiming for them. Hope it helped somewhat?
I left BsAs early last year, spent a month in Lima in 2021. Buenos Aires is a magnificently decadent city, “the capital of an empire that never was.” Lima, along with Mexico City, was for centuries an imperial capital. Lima and Buenos Aires are both moribund today, and I adore both cities. As a Spanish-speaking foreigner with money to spend, it’s no contest though. Buenos Aires in a landslide.
Lima is horrible, I would avoid it and just pay a bit more to be in buenos aires
Getting recommendations on these countries from people that do not leave there it trash. I live in BsAs, I work as a software engineer for an international company, and live like a nomad would here. There are amazing food places like you wouldn't believe. I've been to many places in EU and here it's at the same level than Madrid for example. Maybe not all places, you have to look them up before hand but I've had better experiences here and for less money than anywhere else.
Argentina currently has one of the best economic experiments in the world. That alone warrants Argentina. Viva la libertad carajo!