New York to Buenos Aires - Expat Interview With Candice

Candice along with her husband and the family dog, decided that visiting other countries/cultures was great but living in them is better. So after a short visit, a short time spent deciding if they were crazy or could this actually be doable, they packed up their belongings, dog toys and all and moved to Buenos Aires. Where they live in a 100 year old French style building, close to parks and Museums and the sound of Tango wherever they go. Candice's expat blog is a daily account of their expat adventures and is called Notes From A Broad (see listing here)

Here's the interview with Candice...

Where are you originally from?
New York, USA

In which country and city are you living now?
Buenos Aires, Argentina

How long have you lived here and how long are you planning to stay?
We have lived here for almost 6 years and we are not sure how long we plan to stay.

Why did you move and what do you do?
My husband and I decided that traveling was great, staying a longer time in each place was great but to live somewhere for a while would be wonderful. We visited Buenos Aires and decided that this was the city we would like to live in, we moved here 5 months after the visit.

Did you bring family with you?
Our family at the time of our move was the two of us and our Standard Poodle, Tate. We were our own little family unit, arriving in Argentina.

How did you find the transition to living in a foreign country?
Meeting a wonderful real estate agent and having Tate, the dog with us, made our entry into the community here very easy. Also, we think that the people here make it very easy, they are very warm and friendly and want to be helpful.

Was it easy making friends and meeting people; do you mainly socialise with other expats?
We really do not socialise with other expats at all. We have met a few but our friends here are Argentine. They are friendly here, they are curious about why we wanted to live here, we are the only "foreigners" in our building. They treat us like family.

What are the best things to do in the area; anything to recommend to future expats?
Argentina is so immense and so beautiful and has so many different climates and amazing sights to see! You can live in the city and be a city person, which has a strong flavor of Paris and an Italian city. Or you can live in mountains, wine regions, you choose! I think it is all beautiful. In our area, you can do whatever you would do in any major city in the world, shop, eat, sightsee, boating, swimming, tennis, horseback riding, horse races, Polo, and take a train to the Delta, to San Isidro, a very beautiful town north of BA or fly to Bariloche, take a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. The possibilities are endless.

What do you enjoy most about living here?
The people above all else, the weather is fabulous too.

How does the cost of living compare to home?
Compared to NYC, it was very nice. We got much more for our money. Things have changed but it is still easy to live here.

What negatives, if any, are there to living here?
As in any South American city/ culture, I think they have this attitude of not hurrying. Coming from NYC, this can be frustrating. There are strikes and things break down and take forever to be fixed and it does take a while to just sit back and relax and go with the flow. It is a cafe society, they all sit and have cafe con leche and discuss politics. Reminding me of Italy. That is about as negative as I can get ~

If you could pick one piece of advice to anyone moving here, what would it be?
Be patient. Don't expect things to work or be done "the way they do it at home" .. when things bother you, remember how nice everyone is and follow their example. Be polite. They are very polite here.

What has been the hardest aspect to your expat experience so far?
Only missing family. It is a long way for people to travel to visit , but the visits are wonderful for them, there is no end to things to do when you have company staying with you. Learn to speak the language right away and read up on politics in Argentina. Know what to expect.

When you finally return home, how do you think you'll cope with repatriation?
I have no idea. I imagine all the things I might do or eat that I miss but I have no idea how it will really be when/if it happens.

What are your top 5 expat tips for anyone following in your footsteps?

1. Learn the language.
2. Stop thinking in terms of How they do things where you are from.
3. Meet the locals, don't stick with only other expats.
4. Educate yourself on the way the government works, politics are usually very influential for expats.
5. Try not to go home often in the first year or so, total immersion is the best way.

Tell us a bit about your own expat blog.
Friends were telling me , from reading my emails, how entertaining my stories were, that I should write a book. I figured I might have a blog in me right now, maybe a book someday. Notes from ABroad is just that, daily/weekly happenings
in the life of an expat.

How can you be contacted for further advice to future expats coming to your area?
Via my blog.

Candice blogs at http://notes-fromabroad.blogspot.com/ which we recommend a quick visit if you haven't been already. Notes From A Broad has an ExpatsBlog.com listing here so add a review if you like! If you appreciated this interview with Candice, please also drop her a quick comment below.

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