There are many reasons why Coog finds it ideal living in Buenos Aires, Argentina: the laid-back attitude of the people and the weather are just two of them. This German expat shares her thoughts about expat life in general (such as the importance of learning the local language) and some of her early experiences as an expat in Argentina (including some of her interactions with the locals and favorite things to do in the city).

Coog

-Where were you born?
Frankfurt/Main, Germany

-In which country and city are you living now?
I live now in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before that I lived for 3 years in Dublin, Ireland.

-Are you living alone or with your family?
Alone

-How long have you been living in Argentina?
I only moved over 2 weeks ago.

-What is your age?
32

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Argentina?
I wanted to live here since I spent 3 months here about a year and a half ago, I just liked it. I am not very rooted in my home country, nor have I been in Ireland and I don’t have family; I like the idea of being able to live where I want to.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
I don’t have one. For people like me it’s almost impossible to get one – "like me" means someone without a company contract beforehand and not bringing a good amount of money and a business plan into the country. I’m here on a 3-month tourist visa for now. That was definitely the easier part about living in Dublin, since I’m an EU citizen.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
I don’t have medical insurance. I didn’t have one for most of the time when I was in Dublin either. I know people think that’s risky and crazy, but you have to see that many people around the world live in a system that does not include insurance. It’s kinda hard to find somebody to insure you when you move around so much. Normally, if I go to the doctor I pay cash. If there’s an emergency you get treatment here in the hospitals. As soon as I have income I will check out the other options.

-How do you make your living in Argentina? Do you have any type of income generated?
In Dublin I went looking for a job and it took me a month to find one. I was basically on the internet every single day, sending out my CV. Once I tried an agency but I didn’t find them helpful. I found it quite stressful altogether because I didn’t have any more savings. I then worked as a QA tester for 3 years altogether.

In Buenos Aires I’m taking a TEFL course; they usually help out afterwards with the job search. I will see how that goes, but in the end I’m open to take on any other job if I have to. So far, I’ve always been able to support myself. I still have enough savings to pay my rent for a while, so I don’t have to have full income straight away.

-Do you speak Spanish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I do speak the language. There’s a lot of room for improvement so I study daily. I don’t see how it works for people to live in another country and not speak the language. To me it’s absolutely essential. Not only will one hardly be able to socialise with the locals, they will also miss a great deal of the culture and life there in general. I can’t imagine how somebody could want that. I guess if one retires and sees his expat life as some sort of extended holiday, it works.

Of course, it’s important to respect and observe local customs. You don’t necessarily have to like them or make them part of your daily routine but you might in the end. It might enrich your life. And if not at least you will grow into a better understanding of how people work. Things are always different in different countries and there’s nothing worse than expats who complain day and night about how much better everything is in their country.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
I don’t have family but I do miss my friends. But then nowadays people are moving and travelling so much, it’s not unusual to have friends abroad and restrict the communication to internet and an occasional phone call.

Here in my free time I do the same things I used to do in Germany or Ireland. Reading, watching movies, communicating with friends, going out, strolling in the city – just here I stroll in the city more because the weather is better than in Ireland and going out is a bit more excessive than in Germany.

The only thing I do now that I haven’t done before is working on my BsAs-blog, obviously.

-Do you have other plans for the future?
I’m not done with travelling but I hope I am done with the moving. To me BsAs is an ideal place to live for several reasons.

I do have some ideas concerning business but I think I won’t take a close look at my opportunities there before I haven’t even had a steady job for a while.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
I’m renting a furnished room in someone’s apartment. I live on the upper floor, have my own bathroom and a balcony which is fantastic. We have WiFi, that’s a big advantage. My flatmate (and landlord) is nice, we get along really well.

I pay 200 USD a month. The subte is around the corner and so is the supermarket and everything else you need. It’s 15 minutes to the center on the subte. I think it’s a good deal and I got it because I want to stay long-term. For foreigners it’s not that easy renting a place here, let alone for local prices. I think I saved myself a lot of trouble going for this place – we got in contact online, btw.

-What is the cost of living in Argentina?
Like most things, that depends. Speaking for myself, I pay 600 Pesos rent, food (supermarket and self-cooking) is about 200 a month. Going out, eating out, public transport, smoking habit…I can live ok off 1500 Pesos a month I think, that’s 500 USD. But that’s different for everybody, really.

-What do you think about the Argentine people?
I love the locals. Seriously I do. Apart from some immensely sweet individuals I have met here I just like that smoothness about them. It’s not like they don’t have problems or a bad day but the overall impression is that people are just trying to relax and have fun anyways. They don’t really seem to give a s*** about a lot of things. I don’t know how many people here die of heart attacks but I can’t imagine it being one of the major causes of death.

They usually treat us nicely enough. Of course some more and some less and sometimes people can get very rude to a foreigner or impatient but many times you find people who are patient and interested and that balances it out. I must say, I experienced and heard of a lot more racist attacks in Dublin. Sure, I only just moved here, but altogether I spent 6 months in Argentina and I would still rate it as friendly when it comes to foreigners.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Argentina?
I can’t really tell, I don’t have a list, I guess it’s very much about personal preferences. Like to me the weather alone is a good reason to live here. Other people might be more interested in the economy (which is not stable but apparently there is a good market for business) or in the house prices.

Personally, I feel very well here, I like the city, I like the people, and if I want my peace and quiet I get it. To me the structure of being makes more sense to me here than in my hometown and in Dublin. I think it’s because here it’s just part of everyday life if things are old or don’t work and it doesn’t really matter. People don’t run around grumpy and complain all day because things don’t work.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Argentina?
I suppose that readers would rather be from Europe, the US, New Zealand than Perú, Bolivia and Uganda, so…if you want to come over so you can soon brag with a lifestyle that you couldn’t afford back home, don’t expect anybody here to love you for it.

I’d recommend learning the language and being respectful. That goes pretty much for every expat in any country. Things work differently here.
For example, I had a 3-hour conversation with an Argentine that I had met for the first time last night and not once did either one of us ask ‘So what do you do for a living?’ I couldn’t imagine that happening in Dublin or Germany, that no one asks that question within the first 10 minutes, because people define themselves much more over their work. Different things matter in different places, that is.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Germany?
My blog is Coogling Buenos Aires, where I write about my everyday life and experiences in BsAs. There’s a Linklist with my favourite blogs. Check out Rob’s and Diva’s blog. Rob is a US American who recently moved to BsAs and lives there with his German girlfriend. Diva is a porteña and frequently writes about everything you always wanted to know about BsAs-and a few things you didn’t want to know. Very funny, both of them.