if you speak fluent spanish I would recommend you to go directly to the real estate agencies (there are lots in palermo soho/palermo hollywood). when we got here, we found the same apt in the internet and in an agency - but in the internet it was offered for over 200bucks more. just watch out when it gets to the commision, more than 20% of one month of rent is def. 2 much.

Good to see this thread resurrected. I've been to BA several times and I love the city.

Although I'm curious if anyone lives in other S.A. cities? Namely Rio de Janeiro? I've been here for several weeks and plan to stay for a while. Good beaches, food, women, etc. If anyone has any questions about Rio, let me know.

does eeryone there play soccer? how many professional and semi professinal leagues do they hvae where the players are paid? how long do the soccer leagues last there, through what months (what is the soccer season in BA)? thanks

yes, more or less everyone plays soccer. in Buenos Aires, they don't really play fullfield 11 on 11 very often. It's usually futbol5. 5 on 5 small hard court (with out of bounds) and if you think about Maradona and Messi then you will understand a little bit more about how futbol 5 plays.

I'm not sure as to your motivation for asking...do you want to go try and catch on with one of the 4th division teams?

I couldn't tell you how far down the players get paid, but I'd imagine that after the first division, they aren't making that much. Riquelme does make something like $4M US though, if I recall correctly. I imagine there are clubs in the first division that have payrolls less than that for the entire team.

Can't really imagine why a foreigner would want to watch something outside of the 1st division.

There are 2 domestic league championships every year: the Apertura (Aug-Dec) and the Clausura (Feb-June). There are some middling summer cups inbetween the two in Jan and Feb. During the Clausura, Copa Libertadores (Latin American version of Champions League) runs through almost mid-July, I believe.

You should definitely go to a Boca game -- it's quite an experience. Recent history has Boca winning the Apertura a fair amount of the time, and since River never has a chance of winning Libertadores, they sometimes win the Clausura while Boca wins Libertadores.

Kinda not true. Here in centro there's no room to play 11v11 obviously, but 30-45 minute bus rides or 15-20 by car will get you to tons of fields.
All argies that are even semi serious about futbol play 11 aside at least on the weekends.

I play futbol5 2-3 times a week and then full field on Saturdays.
The place where I play has 4 rec divisions(A,B,C,D) with 13-15 teams in each division. My team is one of the bottom tier A teams. I'm 28, and my glory days have passed me, but the competition is excellent even at the rec level, and rec league argies take their games as seriously as 1st division teams.

Bruiser, you're looking to play 2nd or 3rd division here? I think 2nd division here is probably right on par with MLS to give you a comparison. Maybe better.

Messi is from Rosario.

yeah i want to play in the 2nd or 3rd division. but it sounds like the season started in febuary so the best time to join a team is in december or january? just like here in bolivia...

my guess would be that the winter (June-August) would actually be the best time to join a team. that strikes me as more the offseason than January.

all my friends that played in the lower levels of Europe knew somebody (friend of their coach, or something like that), so i don't know how that goes here, but it sounds like you already did it in Bolivia.

Boquense, I guess we have different definitions of "semi serious about futbol." I know people who live in the suburbs, play futbol5 3 or 4 times a week yet only play normal soccer a few times a year. Also, are you suggesting that they don't play futbol5 much in Rosario?

Others may have different opinions, but I'd generally say that the Argentine first division is a very technical game. Don't know how lower plays.

I meant people who had aspirations of competing at a higher level and training with a team. There are futbol5 campeonatos as well but they're usually guys who happen to always play at a certain complex and just whimsically decide to join that particular complex's anual tournament. And no, compared to centro, they don't play much futbol5 in Rosario, its not even close.

I will agree that the futbol5 style of play has greatly influenced Argentine futbol, just as futsal greatly influenced the Brazilian style.

Messi definitely has tremendous ability in close spaces, which does point to futbol5 style and influence, but a. Messi has been predominantly an 11 aside player and in the better 11 aside programs since he was a youngling, and he also moved to Barca when he was 12 I think?

Bruiser- I don't see why you would wait for a new season to start. You should contact teams/scouts as early as possible. Are you in Argentina yet?

hi there,

someone interested going out 2night? want to go to club lost (http://www.buenosairesnightguide.com...px?idPlace=140) but my roommate is kind of unmotivated...pls let me know! will review 2+2 at 10pm.

cheers!

hey. i see argentina soccer starts in february. so preseason would be in january. right now they are in the middle of a season. so it would be hard for me to join a team in the middle of a season when the teams are full of people who have worked together for months.

hey this is the thread i started regarding the questions i asked here. whatever feedback people have is appreciated. tansk, http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/46...l-help-479414/

That place is a sauna (or at least it was in summer months). Great music, but its just too hot.

I always find places on craigslist. Last time I was there I stayed at this one for 2 weeks (http://www.apartmentsbatoday.com/htm...honduras2.html). It was right in the heart of Plaza Serrano (Palermo). Small, but nicely done. Then, because he didn't have it available for the last 2 he let me stay in the loft (http://www.apartmentsbatoday.com/htm...ceto_vega.html) which was really sick. That was $1000.

Its now lower season though so you may be able to get a better rate. Check craigslist though as there are tons of good finds. If you can, spend more on the appartment. A couple hundred more per month will make a much bigger difference.

Dinner at Bereber tonight at 9pm. It's a recent repeat but I liked the food. Drinks after.

PM me if you're going.

I'm having a very hard time finding useful information about tennis. I see that getting a court for an hour at Club de Amigos is AR$44 (plus $3 to enter apparently) but I can't find anything about the other courts nearby. My future roommate is not thrilled with the concept of having to pay for a court, so we're hoping for some cheaper options nearby. Either that or some people to play doubles with I guess. =p

And it's official now that we're moving. Will arrive August 7.

I'm a pretty avid player down here. I have actually never gone to Club de Amigos bc it is not really close to me, so I would have to cab it there. There are three pay-by-the-hour tennis clubs near me in Palermo Hollywood. Average price is around $60Arg an hour. For about six months I would hit with a pro once or twice a week at this indoor tennis complex in Palermo Soho. That is a rather pricey $120/hour.

I've played at some of the private clubs, which are quite nice, but very expensive. If I had a use for the social networking that came along with club membership, I might consider joining one. At the nicest one (that you can actually buy your way into without having a certain last name) the one time initiation fee was over $10kArg.

If you think you are going to be playing a decent amount, I would recommend splurging for a building that has a court(s). I think that would be amazing to be able to walk downstairs and hit without going through the normal BS involved in doing anything here.

Now that the Citibank Mastercard ATM of 3k peso withdrawals don't seem to be working anymore (haven't for the last week), what's the next best withdrawal limit?

I got out 2500 from a Citibank on sante Fe on Wednesday

Yah, I got 3k pesos yesterday from the Citi on Cabildo....right after the maintanence guy tweaked the ATM.

Maybe I just run that bad, because I've tried 5 times in the last 8 days, but not Wednesday or Thursday.

So I´m in Córdoba right now, coming to Buenos Aires in a week or so. Anyone wanna host me for a few days, maybe a weekend? I´ll give you some poker lessons or cook for you (though I´m vegetarian) or something.

Anyone have any good recommendations for places to meet attractive ladies (preferably non-pros) or listening to some good tunes tonight (Saturday)? Also, if anyone cares to join me in my quest, I welcome the company. First beer is on me.

Hey guys,

I will re-spam this since I got around to taking some pics.

I will be leaving BA from June 19th to September 9th, so if anyone in town already or visiting during that period would like to rent my apartment, it will be available.

I will offer it for a very low price. I am not advertising it on craigslist or anywhere else, basically I want someone I can trust (most poker players) to take care of my place and pay my bills. It is a one bedroom duplex loft in palermo hollywood. There are tons of good bars and restaurants around. It is near a lot of transportation options as well. I just finished remodeling it, so it is pretty nice.

amenities include:
TV with cable
DVD
Broadband (1 Mg i think )
WiFi
20" and 24" monitors (with external video card usb adapter so you can run both on an average laptop)
Printer/scanner
Remote Controlled Blackout curtain covering the large two-story window that overlooks the street
Queen size bed

I am asking $400US + bills (not to exceed $150US). This is about a third of what I would charge on craigslist. I might ask to meet you/get references.

I would require a deposit of $2000. And I would prefer all transactions done through poker transfers.



Home office



Bed and closet



Downstairs



During the day, the curtain is up, providing a lot of light.



Stocked kitchen.

It's a bit of taxi ride and not that cheap, but for just a one off thing you can try parque norte over by UBA. http://www.parquenorte.com/home.htm

Last year when I was there, I joined G.E.B.A. on Figueroa Alcorta for a month and it cost around $100US for the month...not sure of the prices now. It was a marked up extranjero rate that they would allow you to buy for just a month at a time. Just make sure you bring your passport and a couple photocopies of it the first time you go (they didn't have a xerox there and made me go get a photocopy before they would give me my membership)...and a lot of patience. Also note that they didn't speak any english, so if your spanish isn't that good, take someone with you that is fluent. It was a nice facility with lots of courts, I/O swimming pools, gym, bball court, a few small golf holes, etc.. They also have a downtown location, but I never went so don't have anything to say about it, but I don't think that one has tennis courts. http://www.geba.org.ar/index.php?opt...tpage&Itemid=1

Thanks for all the info... it's a bit of an adjustment to realize that there won't be any public courts available at all, but oh well.