Made it to Buenos Aires
Well, I made it! After probably the worst flight of my life (there was a crying and screaming baby the whole way, I got no sleep) I actually made it to Buenos Aires.
Sailed Through Customs
Luckily, I made it through customs with all my electronics and wasn't taxed a penny. In fact, I wasn't searched at all. They have a new system at customs now -- a red light/green light system. As you approach customs, they press a button which randomly either turns red or green. If you get the green, you walk right through without getting searched. If you get red, you go wait in line and they x-ray your bags. After that horrible flight, it seems I was owed some good karma and it was a green light for me. So, I made it through with all my stuff.
Getting Settled In
Since getting here, I've been focusing on a lot of the little things -- finding the nearest grocery store, dry cleaners, and restaurants to my apartment. Since I made sure to bring electronics that functioned on 220 power, I was pleased to find that they sold power strips here that took the USA, European, and Australia style plugs -- meaning I didn't have to buy a thousand little adapter plugs (phew, I hate clutter).
Sorry I don't have anything really exciting to report yet. I'm still in the process of getting settled and unpacked. I'll start my search for a new apartment to buy in a week or two and I'll make sure to cover that entire process for all of you looking to buy property.
Until next time... adios from Buenos Aires.
Labels: Buenos Aires, Transition Phase
posted by SoyYo at 5/17/2005 12:20:00 AM
8 Comments:
Are these power strips easy to find? I will be leaving for BA to live tomorrow and need something for all my electronics. Can you tell me where you found the powerstrip?
Hey! Felicidades! Glad you made it safely. I have been checking your post daily since Saturday, wondering how long I will have to wait before you would post again. Please write about your travel from the airport (WHICH ONE?) to your temporary location. And let me know the process of finding a place to permenantly stay. I am worrying about whether I should search online (real expensive places only listed) or just arrive and find some place when I get there.(?) I will be arriving in January, 06 and staying till mid-April.
Thanks! Glad you made it!!
~Tony
Yes, the power strips were easy to find and should be carried by any corner electronics shop. We found them in a little place right by our office. I don't think you will have any problem finding them. They seem pretty common.
Glad you made it in safely El Expatriado. Those power strips are great with the USA/Argentina plugs. They come in 4 and 6 which makes it convenient if you are like me and you have a printer, Ipod, laptop, scanner, etc.
Just make sure all of you read your tags to make sure that your electronics can accept 110-240 v. If it doesn't accept 220 then you need to plug it into a transformer.
Something that all of you that move here might want to note is that transformers can be purchased with up to 3 plug ins so it makes it great if you are like me and brought your Vonage, Laser printer and other things that need to be converted to 220v.
A GREAT store that sells all of these things is in Recoleta. It's called El Faro. It's at the corner of Ayacucho and Las Heras just one block from the cemetery. The owner Sergio is a good and honest man (which is rare here in Argentina). He is a great electrician as well.
Tell him Mike sent you. His business is family owned with his daughters working in the store all day.
Good luck.
How much did the plugs set you back?I understand that Australia's plug looks the same but has reverse wires or something?Does it work?
I really like your blog señor and I will be adding a link to my blog.I´m going to Buenos Aires to study for 13 months, starting on June 19 so some of your posts are very helpful.
I´m not sure if you know about these sites, or if your readers do ... but I have been looking at properties and have found some Web sites much cheaper than others.
Here are a few that seemed to have the most well-layed out pages and the most reasonable prices.In English nonetheless!
http://www.homes.com.ar/index.php
http://www.argenprop.com.ar/index.asp?eng=S
With regards to the power strips, they are really common in Buenos Aires. You can find them in Kiosks, Supermarkets, Hardware Shops, etc. Nearly all of them will connect the American plug plus the Australian and the Argentinian plugs. Here is a link to one of them in an Argentinian online auction site (owned by eBay as there is no eBay in Argentina):
http://www.mercadolibre.com.ar/jm/item?site=MLA&id=16364048
With regards to the customs green/red light at the Buenos Aires Airport is has been there for ages, eg it is not new. Sometimes they just don't use it. They use to check all US flights' passangers, knowing that people use to bring electronics from USA. But sometimes they still use the red/green light.
Hola, Welcome to Buenos Aires, from one expat to another. You have a great blog! Looking forward to reading more....
When I moved here I got the red light in the customs line at the airport. I had three huge suitcases full of stuff. I started to put the suitcases on the xray conveyor belt when the customs officer looked at me and asked if they were all my bags. I said yes. He looked at me this doubtful look but then just waved me on through. I got the impression that he really didn't want to bother with going through it all.
Hello! Good to see another expat to Buenos Aires. My fiance and I are thinking of relocating to Buenos Aires, I was wondering if you could give me a link to, or provide me with, a cost calculator for living moderately/well in Buenos Aires for five to ten years. We need to escape. Can you help us? Thanks!
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