Yeah this is what I've heard as well. Seems really odd. What if I never intend to sell the place? Also curious if the price of property taxes are reassessed on some sort of schedule or only when the place is sold.

Oh, and one thing for anyone considering actual residency. Apparently there is a 1% asset tax on your worldwide assets. It's possible you are taxed on worldwide income as well. Not sure if this is can be written off against US taxes, but it seems likely.

isn't it stupidly easy to become a citizen?

Is anything stupidly easy in Argentina?!

Temporary residence (1 year visa) is attainable - as a student, if you have a work contract here, if you are retired, or if you have money to invest. This way you can obtain a DNI in 3 months so I'm lead to believe. Permenant residence takes 3 years of 1yr visas last I checked.

IIRC they automatiaclly assume a 5% growth in property value every year.

Reading around if you don't pay the property tax when it's time to sell you'll be hit with a fine + interest (+ all the taxes you missed).

lol, very true.

Last time I renewed my DNI it took 11 months to arrive so if it takes 3 months for you it's basically a miracle (or you brought a dozen of medialunas to the registro civil)

Just booked my flight back to the US for the 10th.

I have a 30" Dell down here. You'd almost assuredly need a desktop to run it, but if anyone is interested pm me as I'd just assume not take another flight with it.

The property tax issue is still pretty unclear to me. I have heard that if your place is worth < $100K it does not apply. Then again, I don't know how they determine 'worth'. I personally have never paid it. The 5% growth thing is pretty good news though... my place has nearly doubled in price over the last 3 years I have owned it. I don't see myself selling it so maybe I will just keep my head in the sand.

Unrelated note: someone write up a review of Thymus, I am curious to what yalll think. I got the 5 course menu last time I went and thought it was awesome. Be sure to get the ice cream tasting plate for dessert.

Even if it is, I hear they make you pay taxes on everything you own no matter where it is or what other country you paid taxes too.

Naw they don't make you, they basically leave the door open to any sucker who would report it and pay it. As far as becoming a citizen goes, taxes shouldn't be the deterrent.

this.

(Disclaimer: don't read it you are way too honest and ethical)

It's Argentina, how will the AFIP know you have a property in the US? It's not like we have a CIA-like agency that tracks who owns what in every other country.

This got missed. Whats the deal? If you donate are you allowed to specifically say " I want that my blood goes to this persoon?" Furthermore, I don't think it would be a bad idea if you spammed a little and gave more specifics in the thread about giving blood in general just in case anyone on any given day just wakes up and feels like doing something good.

no, it's sort of a trade. You give blood of any type (they save it) and they give the patient the type of blood he needs. This way the hospital doesn't run out of blood.

This thread makes me excited for Argentina.

Ok this week we're going to head up to Constanera Norte.

Morena, Tuesday at 9. Rafael Obligado, 4899

If you're not planning to make it, let me know.

I know we're rich and all, but I don't really feel like paying 300 for a meal like you guys did last Tuesday unless its really amazing. Is this place like like that?

Dude its not 300, you divide it by 3, its about 100 for americans and even less for europeans, like 75 or something.

This place is not as expensive as Thymus. We all chose to get the 6 course menu at Thymus, plus a few bottles of expensive wine. That's why it ran to 300 pesos.

Even at Thymus, you could have easily paid just 80 pesos for an excellent meal. This place is less expensive.

I arrived in my apartment in Palermo today, so put me on the list!

Looking forward to meeting you all

So I am a college student that is looking to get away next summer (2009). One of my top choices is BsAs for obvious reasons. I was thinking about just couchsurfing (see HERE) around for a month or two, but I may just stay in one place for the entire summer (~2.5 months). First of all, do you think I'd be better off getting an apt or just staying in hostels? Are hostels readily available? Also I would be coming May-July (Winter in BsAs), so how is the weather during this time? I will be more interested in exploring the city and seeing the sites, but is the internet reliable enough to get some hands in here and there?

The internet may not be quite as reliable as US standards -- and definitely max speeds are lower -- but it's pretty good.

Personally I'd go the apartment route, but staying at hostels has advantages -- a built-in social circle of foreigners who are all new and looking to go out. There are tons of hostels around BA. You could also stay in a hostel for part of your time here and get an apartment for the rest of the time.

Cant answer about where you will be better off. Depends on you personally. There are seemingly dozens of hostels here. Just googling should help you find a bunch. Weather during that time is cold. Not necessarily freezing, however 2 winters ago it did snow one day here. I think that the fact that there is a community of online poker players here should tell you that the internet is reliable enough to get hands in here.

I have the following for sale:

30" Dell Monitor

Dell Desktop with quadcore processor, 4gb of RAM, 250gb 7200 rpm hard drive, and an upgraded graphics card that can power two 30" monitors.

Both items are about 6 months old and in perfect working condition. You need to purchase them by Sunday because that's when I leave. I'll accept Stars or USD (or pesos assuming you pay the USD conversion). PM me for more info.

Oh I also have a JBL iPod dock/speakers thing I bought like 2 months ago for $150.

For the monitor/computer around replacement cost in the USA seems right. I'd take $100 for the JBL iPod dock. If I don't sell it here, I'll just sell it back in the USA, but I figured I'd give you guys who have a harder time getting electronics into the country a shot at some stuff I already brought here.

I originally planned to leave it all here for when I moved here, but I'm realizing that I'll be doing a lot more traveling than I originally planned next year and it just isn't feasible to have to worry about all this crap. So I'm pruning my personal possessions down to just a laptop, one 30" monitor, and a backpack with my clothes. I liked it more when I was more mobile.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a Boca socio should let me or Luis know. Unless plans change, we're going to go on Monday to become socios.