Cool, count me in. I just got here yesterday, so figured it would be good to meet some new peeps...and try some new resto's.

Cheers,

Cory

I won't make it the next three weeks to the dinner cz I have a friend visiting me and we will be travelling a bit. After that you can count on me regularly.

Whats the name on the dinner rez's? I'm sure that it's pretty easy to find the group speaking english, but just in case there are a handful of them there...

I talked to a porteno yesterday who now lives in the US but was over in BA for a little while recently. She made a point to tell me about the crime there and to be vigilant, not to walk around at night, etc, etc.

From everything else I've read it seems crime isn't that big of a deal, just use Radio Taxis and don't be an idiot... was she just being overly dramatic?

FWIW she also said it was really expensive. I asked if she meant compared to how it was when she grew up there or just expensive compared to the US, and she said expensive compared to the US. That's definitely not what I've heard for the most part either. Was this lady nuts or have things changed very recently?

she sounds like she has no clue whats going on

Everything is expensive if you earn pesos. If you earn dollars, everything is super cheap.

As to crime...I'd recommend reading this thread. I doubt anyone of us have ever felt unsafe.

Yeah I read this thread, the other thread, and a few other forums and everyone seems to think it's just like any big city, with maybe a few extra things to worry about if you're overtly an idiot tourist.

Maybe her perception is skewed growing up there or she makes very little money in the US.

Hey guys,

This is Ian (on Noahs account). I'm heading out today- just wanted to say thanks and bye to everyone i don't get to catch before i leave.

I was def. impressed with how cool/ fun the 2p2 community was here. If you want to keep in touch send me a pm, and we can exchange emails etc.

Ian

Chau Ian, get my MSN/Email off one of the guys, enjoy the rest of your trip

Anyone here in Bsas have the Mathematics of Poker by Bill Chen that I can borrow to avoid me having to order it and wait weeks?

I'm probably heading to this event at club europa tonight if anyone wants to join.

I've been to the last few clubeuropas. It's a pretty big party, kinda a crazy location right now.

found someone who has it, never mind, thanks.

Agree 100%

I didnt have time to read this entire thread, I just got back from BA a month ago, and feel I might have some helpful insight to some peoples questions.

I was on south america tour, not for poker, just for fun and went knowing ZERO spanish. After about a month and a half of immersion (IE, staying away from touristy places, leading out in faulty speech first, answering questions,asking questions pretending like I didnt speak english):

#1 LEARN SPANISH IN SOME WAY. take spanish classes, or force yourself to practice daily, at the store, on the street, etc etc...If I could do one thing different, it would be to be at the level of spanish i was when I left south america, when i arrived. Dunno if classes actually would have helped, but immersion sure did! If you live somewhere with a hispanic pop., practice with them!

#2 DONT WORRY ABOUT HOUSING. I went there for literally 3 days with no plans (stayed in a hostel $8usd a night) and was in an apt on the 3rd day. A huge beautiful sunny studio apt (w. wireless high speed access) that was $150 a week. (Def would have been cheaper if I had stayed a month or more). From the perusing we did on craigslist (by far the best source) we found a number of pretty epic places for well under $500 USD a month. Settled on this one as it was in Recoletta (pretty central to where we wanted to be) ALSO REMEMBER EVERYTHING INCL. HOUSING IS NEGOTIABLE!!!!!!!! we ended up getting our place for a total of 16 days for $274USD, and he wanted $150 a week. Just talk it out. knowing spanish will help a ton here as well...

#3 GET A GUIA T. This guide is a must have. The locals use it and everything. Literally the most useful item you can have. Will get you anywhere you want to go, super easy to use. Ride the busses, do the metro, easier than NYC. get it at any corner newstand. Ask for it ...sometimes behind counter.

#4 SHOPPING IN THE GROCERY STORE IS CHEAP AS ****...nuff said. stay in, cook it up. At the same treat yourself to at lease a couple nights out at a rest. each week WITH FRIENDS!

#5 Drinking and going out is WEIRD. Pre BA, all we heard about was the legendary Argintine nightlife. Granted it is pretty epic, go out at 2am, stay out till dawn, but the drinking aspect is way different. While I could not be caught dead in a nightclub without a beer/drink attached to my hand, in BA, going out on the town was not all about getting sloppy (allthough one night, we hung with locals and got hammered until 2am, then went out, they all stopped drinking heavily at the club, we did not...) Perhaps this is more an indicator of my excess, just seems that in the states if you go OUT, it means you are drinking heavily, while in BA, going out could literally mean, "to go out and hang out at a club and not drink like a fish) weird.

Any qs feel free to message me, I was actually only there for 2o days, but feel like I did A LOT!

Is anyone else amused that PokerStars has become a sponsor of River Plate at the worst moment in River's history? I've seen a few ads in newspapers and newspaper websites.

stars runs bad

Might need to stop playing on Stars after this development.

I'm going to expand.

Learning the basics of spanish is a very good idea, its not quite as english centric as europe, and if you're here for more than 2 months, I think you have to take lessons because eventually you'll need fluency at some point. But you can scrape by with english and minimal spanish. So if you're only staying a month, take a week long course or something, unless you want to learn for fun.

Housing, well, you can find places, but on the other hand there's a lot of variance involved. If you don't know spanish, I'd 100% get something booked before you come. Worry about that stuff later. Also, staying in a hostel, with computer gear? Come on. Get a place booked for a month in a random palermo/recolleta location and then decide what to do.

Yes, getting a guide to a city is useful, this is the same everywhere.

Yes, it is cheap here. Some meats, some raw products are pretty cheap. But there's huge variance in prices, for example a duct tape roll is like 15 peso or something at my supermarket. Also yes, cooking saves money, and eating out is cheap too probably in the same proportion as America cooking vs eating out.

Yes, if you are a college frat boy type who likes chugging as many cans as possible, its different. People don't binge drink here, they sip slowly for what is a very long night, rather than starting at 10pm ala USA and trying to pile it all in 4 hours. But this isn't weird, its like this pretty much everywhere in Europe and most other countries. So you won't hear any cries of 'chug' but everyone has a good time and is pretty relaxed, with most guys attempting the argie version of speed dating.

Im pretty much the exact opposite of a college frat boy. Im 27, an auditor and live in a ski town and snowboard every day. I go to bed around 9-10, so I can wake up early in the morning to rip. If I do go to a club out late, I am drinking like a madman, the Brits and Swedes we were with the couple of nights we went to a nightclub in BA were super super weirded out as well. Not sure where in the world you can go to a packed nightclub and over 80% of the people are not drinking, but out till 6am on zero drugs, so I think it was pretty weird. Not weird in a bad way, just different, after they all talk it up so much about how hard they party...also, the Guia T is unlike any guide I have ever seen, not a standard "city map"

guia t is the bus guide with a bunch of maps basically, right. I've never really needed it cos i don't get the buses that often, and when i do its one of the well known ones like the 152 or the 60 or something. anyway its definitely handy to have for poor people.

Lol. You clearly missed the people snorting coke in the middle of the dance floor. It's fairly common. Also, the party habits of BAers aren't so different than most central and southern europeans. I'd say Northern Europeans do drink a bit more so that explains Brits and Swedes finding it odd too.

Eh, it's a bus schedule and a map. Doesn't seem all that strange though I can't say for certain something like it exists elsewhere but I'd be surprised if it didn't.

Mmm, pretentious much? I hated the buses too and stopped taking them after a few months, but a Guia T is pretty useful as a map if you are out on the town and want to see where a street is you haven't heard of before. Also, sometimes the buses are way quicker/easier than taxis/subte especially after certain sporting events/concerts.

adam--really? went to Crobar, the living, and a huge Medical School party 1000+ college students, like an underground rave style, saw a lot of people dinking early (1-2am), then stop, start drinking energy drinks around 3, stay out till 6-8am. No drugs. Got the impression from a few people we knew there that drugs were a no no. Compared to Peru, this was extremely different. Not saying Im an expert by any means on the social night out scene in Arg., just found it extremely different from home, actually quite enjoyed it. Wanted to provide personal insight to BA, gave my opinion, two people got pretty "holier than thou" about it, got called a fratboy, made fun of re: Guia T, (all I was saying about the Guia T is that it wasnt just a standard city map, as one person said)...it was sweet.

Ironic much?