I wrote this up over the weekend for MiniHostels, but I think it’s great stuff to have for anyone looking to live as an expat in Buenos Aires. Some of these are specific to here, but anyone looking to travel long term can take advantage of resources like Wikitravel or Craigslist. Without further ado, my top 10 expat / Buenos Aires resources:
1. BA Expats
BA Expats is a great resource. It’s a forum run by expats, for expats. You can get all of your questions answered here by people who have been living in Buenos Aires for years. BA Expats was the first site I found when I started doing research on living down here, and I still use it daily to organize meet ups and ask questions that pop up from time to time. There are lots of great people that will be more than happy to help you with your transition.
2. Expat Connection
Expat Connection is similar to BA Expats, but organizes more events and meet ups. They have a calendar where they post things ranging from group trips to medical insurance information sessions. Their forum is not nearly as active as BA Expats. Combine Expat Connection with BA Expats and you’ll be very plugged into what’s happening here in Buenos Aires for foreigners.
3. Craigslist
Craigslist is the best of the best for finding apartments and work in Buenos Aires. Craigslist is constantly updated with room shares and a huge range of apartments fitting any price range, sure to fit the needs of anyone that needs a place to stay. They also usually beat the prices of securing a room from abroad by a fair margin. It’s also the best resource for finding a job in the city. The job board is updated with many jobs daily, and if you pay attention over the course of a week or two you’re sure to find something that suits you. You can also use it to find odds and ends like a bike or cheap electronics. Can you tell I’m a fan?
4. The Guia T
The Guia T is the single most useful tool for getting around the city of Buenos Aires. It can be bought at any newsstand in the Microcentro, for just 5 or 6 pesos. More than worth the price tag. It’s features include an index of every street in greater Buenos Aires corresponding to a numbered grid mapping system, a map of the subway system, and every single bus line that runs within the city. Using the grids, you can look up which buses stop in that area, and by looking up the specific bus line in the index, you can also tell where they go on their route. Once you learn to navigate the Guia T effectively, getting around the city becomes a breeze.
5. The Argentimes
The Argentimes is a bi-weekly newspaper dedicated to the younger crowd of English-speakers in Buenos Aires. It covers topics including culture, economics, politics, the environment, and the social life of Argentines. Written by young people for young people, it’s a great way to plug into Argentine youth culture. And the best part? It’s free! Check their website for their distribution points or just download the .pdf file of each edition.
6. Buenos Aires Herald
The Buenos Aires Herald can fulfill your normal newspaper needs. It covers all sections that you’d expect to find in any major city publication, covering Argentine issues and newsworthy events with quality English writing. Make sure you take advantage of the Sunday edition, which contains articles from the New York Times and an excellent job classifieds section specifically targeted to English speakers. Use it in conjunction with Craigslist to optimize your job search! You can find the Herald at most newsstands in the Microcentro, but try to buy your paper early because they often don’t keep more than 4 or 5 copies stocked.
7. What’s Up Buenos Aires
What’s Up Buenos Aires (WUBA) is a one-stop spot for all sorts of nightlife and cultural events taking place in the city. They cover music, art, theater, restaurants, and bars, plus they offer tours and excursions with their own staff leading. Their articles range from gallery openings, artist interviews, and concert coverage to restaurant ratings, photography, and cultural articles. Run by Americans, the site is a gold mine for those wanting to experience the amazing nightlife Buenos Aires offers.
8. SaltShaker
SaltShaker is a food and restaurant blog run an expat American chef and sommelier. The guy has reviewed an impressive number of restaurants around town, complete with photos of his favorite dishes. He’s also been so kind as to organize them into genre, so to speak (Italian, Asian Fusion, Argentine, etc.). He also does top ten lists for various types of food. If you’re looking for an English language guide to the amazing cuisine Buenos Aires has to offer, you can’t go wrong with SaltShaker.
9. Guia Oleo
Guia Oleo is similar to SaltShaker, but is more comprehensive and organized. A button at the bottom of the page allows you to switch to English. If you’ve ever used Yelp back in the US, Guia Oleo has a very similar feature set (just limited to restaurants). The site allows you to rate your dining experience at restaurants, so you can see reviews from tourists and porteños alike at any restaurant you can think of. They keep a top ten list organized by these ratings, so you can also find the top ten restaurants in the city as chosen by the people.
10. Wikitravel
Anyone that has come to Buenos Aires as an expat probably loves to travel, and will want to see as much of Argentina and South America as possible. I’m a research nerd; I love to study things to death before actually traveling there. Being that I’m obsessed with travel, I tend to map out lots of itineraries based out of Buenos Aires. I use Wikitravel for most of my travel research needs. Anytime I’m taking a trip, it’s the first place I look for information. Wikitravel is a user-generated resource in the vein of Wikipedia, so it’s constantly updated with the newest information available.
Conclusion
If you take advantage of all the sites I listed above, I guarantee that your transition to the life of a porteño will be much easier. Also, if you liked that list, I wrote about some of my favorite general travel resources in this post. ¡Suerte!
