Buenos Aires Travel Forum

I am thinking of taking a year and living in Buenos Aires or Montevideo, but visiting first.

1. To live there, what is the rent in a nice area cost ?
2. What are utilities, internet etc cost ?
3. Where is cheaper to live, BA or Monte-V ?

Please advise about anything and everything, thanks so much. Larry

I will answer for Buenos Aires only, but so many variables to your question. Firstly, the reasonable prices are usually not easily available for extranjeros (foreigners) (which is why the expensive furnished apartments do such a good business here) because strictly you need what is called a “garantia” to be able to rent. This would be a person that owns property in Argentina that can sign for you as a guarantee on the contract, to safeguard against you running out or damaging the apartment! Also, you are almost always expected to sign an agreement for 2 years, although it is not always strictly enforced if you want to move on early. A garantia is not always required. Sometimes you might speak to the owner (dueno) and try to reach an agreement, might involve you paying a large deposit, or paying a lot of the rent up front (maybe 6 months or even the entire year) plus even paying a little over the asked rental rate. A lot of owners will not want to do this, but it is worth asking…then you will need furnishings which are not always so cheap or quickly available.

TV's, stereo's, a good bed, etc are not so cheap here. Other furniture can be purchased at auction houses or you can buy the kits and make your own. Dishes, kitchen stuff, linens etc which will add up to a pretty good sum. Then getting the utilities turned on, cable, electric, telephone, internet, etc. There are other expenses that you might have to pay as well, such as garbage/building services etc.

There are furnished apartments available from agencies and for a one year rental you should be able to get a nice place in the Recoleta with all utilities and maybe a weekly maid too for under $800 US. These would normally rent for $1100 or more monthly but for a longer term you should be able to get a good deal. Would be much easier for you going this way than trying to deal with renting a cheaper place unfurnished and doing that all on your own. You might be able to find a share on Craig's list as well. I would suggest you make some contacts here and arrive with an apartment or hostel/hotel booked and make your final decision once you have arrived. A year is a long time to be locked into a place you find out is in bad shape, lots of noise, crappy building, no services near by etc.

As mentioned, the Recoleta is one of the nicest areas. If you want something more trendy then Palermo SoHo might be of interest to you. And yes much like SoHo used to be in NYC. Nice boutiques, good restaurants, hot clubs etc.

Message me if you would like recommendations on rental agents here.

Suerte
SAM

Thanks, great tips and thoughts

Hi Larry, Buenos Aires is a great place to visit and to live there to.
When I went to Buenos Aires I stayed in a hostel really great in the heart of San Telmo it was the Garden House Art Factory and there its a great place to star your trip and see if you like there and if not in the hostel they recommended me a daytour to Colonia in Uruguay , such a nice place, and near Montevideo, and maeby you can go there and check if you like it more than Buenos Aires!
Hope to help you!
Julia.

Thank you Julie, keep the ideas coming

my money is on Buenos Aires, the city is just bustling with energy compare to Montevideo.....I have stayed here for about 18months..i first rented a fantastic place for 800usd(700rent+ 100 bills) in Recoletta (1 bedroom flat duplex) through an agency that didnt required "garantia" because i paid 6months rent the first day so if you have the money to pay the 6 months rent in advance, many agencies can forget about the guarantia then you will be able to find wonderful places to live in...just bring a local friend with you when you sign in "just in case"...evenas low as 3 months in advance can do the deal. Rental prices are going through the roof at the moment!!!!
There are hundreds and hundreds of local rental agencies here that charges half the price of what you will pay in the "tourist" orientated rental agencies. After 6 months and a lot of local knowledge,i am now paying 550usd for a place similar (not as fantastic as the first one but way cheaper and exactly the same size) all bills included internet, building fund, tel(local calls), electricity etc.
MAN, its not difficult to see the difference, you can walk to any local rental agencies and look at the prices and you will be shocked to see how cheaper they are than ANY of the agencies you find online for tourist.
as for Montevideo, i have only been there a couple of time and i would say that the nightlife in BA is 3 times better.....but thats just me...better clubs, better dining, better people(chicas) and its only 3 hrs by boat from Montevideo anyway.