Living

Bureaucracy in Argentina

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This video pretty much sums up many of our experiences dealing with Argentine bureaucracy (even though the video is from Spain). I cannot begin to tell you how many trips it takes to get anything done here – usually because some little piece of paperwork is missing.

Here’s some recent examples:
  • It took us 7 trips to the motor vehicles office in order to trade in our car
  • After supposedly getting my DNI within 45 days, I was called back down to the immigration offices because they had misplaced my fingerprints and photos. When I got there (not close, by the way), they told me that they had everything and didn’t need me. They said my DNI would be there within two weeks. Two weeks later, and no DNI, I found out they really were missing my photos and fingerprints and needed me to go again!
  • Getting our marriage license took no less than four trips downtown to present all the paperwork
This is one of the disadvantages of giving up that tourist visa for a more full-time experience here!
– Thanks to Madeline for passing on this video.

Random Observations

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When I started this blog, a lot of my initial posts were focused on all the differences I experienced in Buenos Aires vs living in the States for my whole life. Well, after 2+ years and now making this my semi-permanent home, these little differences have pretty much disappeared as I settled in from being … Read more

Baseball in Buenos Aires

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The Shankees is Buenos Aires’ own expat baseball team, and they’re closing out their season at the newly restored Shankee Stadium this Saturday, May 14, 2011. You can win tickets and transportation to the game by heading over to Yanqui Mike’s blog. If you’re interested in joining the team, head over to their website. The … Read more

Buenos Aires to Clean Up Dog Poop on City Streets

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In what is sure to be good news to many expat ears, the mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, today announced a comprehensive plan to eliminate dog poop from city sidewalks. While this may be nothing more than an election year maneuver to appease the many voters who have had to clean out the crevices … Read more

Daily Deal Overload

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I am was a huge fan of the daily deal sites, and was especially happy when Groupon came to Buenos Aires last July. However, there are now at least 18 20 daily deal sites operating in Buenos Aires, and keeping up with that many emails on a daily basis is just a chore and no longer … Read more

Argentina Holidays

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Keeping up with the holidays in Argentina is a difficult task. First, as a foreigner, you’re already at a disadvantage because you did not grow up knowing what days are holidays. Second, they seem to have a lot of holidays (17 now). And third, they keep adding more! In fact, last year Argentina added five … Read more

Buying a Car in Argentina: Part I

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We are now the proud new owners of a Chery Tiggo! And yes, I am the first of my friends anyone I know to own a Chinese-made car. How did we made the decision to buy a Chinese car, you ask? To get to the answer requires a deeper understanding of the Argentine car market. … Read more