Finding an Apartment in Buenos Aires
The magic site. Listing upon listing of Argentines eager to share their apartments with you. For the worried house hunter, it is a gold mine. And for the traveler used to American major city rents, from New York to San Francisco to Washington, DC, these prices will make your jaw drop. $400 a month for a bedroom in an apartment downtown; $300 a month for a bedroom in a big house in adorable Montserrat; $250 a week for a sunny, chic studio apartment in upscale Palermo. The sites are accompanied with pictures showing the windows that brighten up the space, the kitchen adorned with modern appliances, the bedroom with the full-sized bed and comfy bedding. And the best news, the icing on the cake: these prices include all utilities, usually Wireless Internet, and most of the time a weekly or bi-weekly cleaning service. In addition, your bedding, towels, and kitchen utensils will also be provided within these fees, and it goes without saying that the apartments are all fully furnished. What you see really is what you get, no surprisingly sky-rocketing electric bills or mounting receipts from house-hold items.
Here is the downside: Americans are over-charged. Plain and simple. These prices on Craigslist are truly inflated, and as an American renter in Buenos Aires, you will probably end up footing the whole of the rent, while your Argentine roommate or landlord is turning a sweet profit. Yes, it is frustrating, without a doubt, but it is the way things are done here. Truly, if you are not fluent in Spanish and do not know friends on the inside in Buenos Aires, there is no other way. And let’s face it: it is hassle free and a package deal. You take the good with the bad; you get ripped off, but you pay less than you would in the US, and everything is included. My advice to you is to rent a shared apartment with an Argentine, as renting a room is far cheaper than renting your own studio or one-bedroom apartment. Also, if watching your pennies, stay away from Recoletta, Barrio Norte, Puerto Madero, and even Palermo SoHo. I recommend researching Palermo Viejo, Palermo Hollywood, Caballito, Flores, San Telmo, San Cristobal, and Montserrat. Out of those more affordable barrios, Caballito and Flores are probably the safest neighborhoods, though a little removed from the hub of the rest of the city. Once again, these living decisions in Buenos Aires are a balancing act, and you must weigh the decisions.
When weighing these decisions, I recommend renting an apartment in a very safe neighborhood for one month, while deciding on a more long-term decision. If you pay a little more the first month, it will be a wise investment, as it will buy you time to search high and low for an affordable, secure, and comfortable living situation. A big plus side to these Buenos Aires renting shenanigans is that Argentines rarely ask you to sign a lease or an agreement to stay beyond one month, sometimes even one week. The apartment-renting scene is based on verbal agreements and Argentines have come to expect the comings and goings of travelers. Therefore, it would be rare to find yourself stuck in a living situation not suitable for your tastes or finances.
To give you some idea of the renting scene, let me tell you about my apartment. I live in San Telmo, a quaint neighborhood that my boyfriend and I love because of its cafes and community atmosphere. It is very affordable: together we pay $550 a month for a bedroom in a spacious apartment that is covered in windows and is flooded with light on sunny days. We are a 10 minute walk to a subway station and two blocks from 9 de Julio, the widest boulevard in the world, which is needless to say, littered with cabs and bus stops. However, with the affordability and accessibility come certain prices—it is not quite as safe as some of the Palermo neighborhoods or Flores or Caballito. We are aware of this, and take great care to avoid walking alone at night, and we keep English speaking on the street after dark to a minimum, as English conveys American tourism which signals dollars. We won’t stay in San Telmo forever, but for our first apartment in Buenos Aires, it is perfect, as it allows us to truly taste some of the Buenos Aires flavor and culture, and also to learn some of the ways in which the city moves. Here are some pictures of our place so you can see what you can get for this price:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Some apartments are overpriced however there is a reason for the higher short term rental prices: leases in Argentina are for two years. They require guarantors. The guarantor signs a notarized document assuming all responsibility if the renter does not pay. In the event of any problem, the guarantor will go after both the tenant and the guarantor. Few foreigners have close Argentine friends who will sign as guarantors and most foreigners don’t even want a two year lease. As a result a short term rental market has emerged. It is reasonable that the rents should be higher.