Looking for an Apartment or Room Share in Buenos Aires

So, about a week or so ago, the hostel kindly informed me that, after 7 months of faithful and reliable service, they didn't need my skills as a breakfast-maker any longer.  They haven't told me why, and gave me a week.  I'm kind of relieved, actually, and a little amused.  The manager is pretty new, and she doesn't realize that it's kind of hard to find someone to take over breakfast long term.  I believe the scientific term is "Neener Neener."

The plusses:
       I am not working 24 hours a week for the hostel (for a value of $3.70 an hour...)
     I will be able to sleep late and stay out late tango dancing!
The minuses: I will have to pay for housing.

The purpose of that trite and slightly bitter personal anecdote is that it quickly got me online looking for housing that was NOT a hostel.


THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT ROOMS/APARTMENTS:

You can opt for fully furnished apartments.  Or move in with a family.  This means you don't have to buy cooking supplies, sheets, pay for the WiFi, pay the bills, etc.

If you move in with an Argentinian family or find Spanish-speaking roommates, you can practice your Spanish, and you'll be able to fulfill that lifelong dream you've had since you were 3 and a half years old of being fluent in a foreign tongue.

The benefit of getting a room as opposed to splitting the cost of an apartment/house with people is that if they bail, you're not stuck paying their share of the rent/the bills, or forced to move out.

You meet people and have a social life as opposed to living cold and alone.

You are not in a hostel, and can feel like an adult.

And for $300 a month, living in an apartment is cheaper than living in an average hostel's 6 person dorm ($315 a month) with the card discount.

LOOKING FOR AN APARTMENT:

If price is not an issue, there are a gazillion and a half websites for apartments and room shares in Buenos Aires, and many of them are in English.  Just google "Apartment, Buenos Aires," or "roomshare, Buenos Aires," or the like, and you will get site after blessed site.  (I wasn't able to find much under $450 on the fancy-looking, easy to navigate sites.)

I got the cheapest results from the Buenos Aires Craigslist.

Yes, there is a Craigslist in Buenos Aires!  However, it's a little more limited than the US Craigslist.  Here, it's pretty much only good for looking at listings for severely underpaid jobs at horrible hours or jobs that require specific experience, getting a good laugh at personal ads, (which mainly features desperate Americans looking for desperate Argentine women to be their wives and those with odd sexual inclinations looking for their soul mates), and searching for housing opportunities: (the diamond in the rough).

On Craigslist, (like many other housing websites,) most of the ads are listed by "rent per week," and in $USD.  The monthly price is cheaper, and buried further down the ad.

So I sent out a whole bunch of emails to people asking for more details.  I sent inquiries for rented rooms, apartments, houses, basically anything I could find that I might be able to afford.  I knew what neighborhoods I wanted to live in, and what my price range was, which helped narrow down the search.  That day and the next day, the emails came pouring in, and I set up a couple days to visit the places that looked like they might appeal to me.  I found two places I easily could have gone with.

WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU ON A HOUSING SEARCH:

Come with a list of questions to make it seem like you have options:

• Does it have heat?
• Is it in a safe neighborhood?
• What is the noise level/how is the traffic?
• What are the rules on guests (can they sleep over)?
• Is there a curfew (mostly with families)?
• Are there "no-noise" hours?
• Can I have parties?
• How good is the WiFi?
• Can I do my wash in-house?
• Are sheets/towels provided?
• Is there maid service?
• Are water/electricity/other costs included in rent?
• How is the transportation?*
• Is there a reduced price if I pay more than 1 month in advance?**

Take notes.  You will forget if you look at more than one apartment.

What you need to go around the city by bus:

1. Lots of monedas (coins), 
2. a Guiat, (bus guide).
   
   
   
   
   
3. A notebook and pen (with the addresses you're going to listed.  It's annoying when you realize you've forgotten the address.)
4. A cell phone.  (Get the #s of the people you are meeting.  You will probably use at least 1/2 of them, because you will be late to appointments.)
5. Also, something to do on inevitably really long bus rides.  Like a book or a music-playing device.

BRAGGING ABOUT MY OWN GOOD FIND:

I'm now living in a very cushy house (pool, air conditioning and heat, a huge kitchen space, a separate room outside for eating/asado, a bar area, and huge tvs, good WiFi, maid service, cable, dance floor space, musical instruments...) all for $300 a month.  The family is Argentinian - An older couple and their two grown daughters, plus 7 guests from all over the world.  The tiniest catch: I'm sharing a room with one person.  This, however doesn't bother me, as I'm 23, the room is big, and I'm not looking for anyone to make out, (etc.) with.

WARNINGS ABOUT RENTING:

Several of my acquaintances have arranged with people to move into an apartment, only to find that when they show up at the door with all their stuff, they are told the room has already been rented.  So make sure you speak to the owner, have a contract written up and if you make a deposit, get a receipt. (Sometimes people haven't gotten their deposits back.)

TRANSPORTATION:

You are going to want an apartment that is near many bus lines and probably by a subway station.  Unless you are WAY too poor, and have to live well outside the central city.  Or unless you're rich, and can afford the taxis.

PRICE GRADATION:

The longer you stay, the cheaper you can get the rent.  Per week is more expensive than per month.  So I figured, why not check to see if they had a "per 3-month price!"  With every place I checked with, I asked if I could get a discount if I payed 3 months in advance.  Every single place knocked off a significant amount.  (Both $300 a month places said that for three months, the rent would be $800 - ($100 off every 3 months.)  The $350 a month place knocked off $50 a month.)

I still haven't moved in to the place I rented, so I hope I'm not going to regret living there - otherwise, I'm stuck having paid 3 months!

Visas and Shots

This post is for people who are planning on traveling in South America, and want to check visa accessibility, cost, shot requirements, and want to know how to skip out of the normal visa requirements in Argentina.  The Argentina stuff, especially, is from experience.


FREE YELLOW FEAVER SHOT in BUENOS AIRES:


You don't need a yellow fever shot to get into Argentina, but it is necessary for Venezuela and Bolivia, and it is recommended to have for other South American countries. You need to have had it 10 days before you get to the border.


When I told my friends about the free shot, they all smacked their foreheads and exclaimed about the exorbitant prices they paid in their country of origin. (Forehead smakers from the UK said it costs upwards of 90 pounds there.  And $80 in the US.)

The Public Health Office:
Av. Ingeniero Huergo 690, (The corner of Huergo and Chile).
Monday to Friday, 10 am - 3 pm.

Just bring your passport in, give it to the Man, who tells you to sit down. 10 minutes later, he calls you into a room, gives you the shot, gives you a yellow piece of paper (cute! color coordination!) and sends you on your way.

I felt a bit wonky and tired for a couple days following the shot, but nothing unreasonable. The shot lasts 10 years, so you may as well get it for free, and save yourself the trouble later.  (Like learning Spanish when you're younger.  You don't think you need it until you do.)

VISAS:

OK - As far as I know, the most recent information on Visas as of May, 2010

ARGENTINA:

You get a 90 day tourist visa on entry of the country. There's now a new fee for those flying into the main Buenos Aires airport:

"U.S. citizens coming to Argentina for tourism and business travel through Ezeiza International Airport [EZE, Buenos Aires] must pay a reciprocal entry fee of $131.00 dollars.  Currently, the fee is only charged at Ezeiza airport.  It can be paid in dollars, by credit card, or with travelers checks, and is valid for ten years and multiple entries." (US Department of State Website)

It's still free with entry into other airports and by bus/boat/car/bike etc.

When your visa is expired, you have several options:

1. Don't do anything. If you're planning on staying for a long time, this is definitely a feasible option. Stick around until you decide you want to leave. The fee for violating your 90 day visa stay is 300 pesos ($81 USD). I had stayed an extra 2-3 months beyond my visa, and last month, I traveled to Chile. When they looked at my passport stamp, and said, "This was from October." I said, "Yes." They said, "300 pesos." I paid, they gave me a receipt, and on I went. Very simple. A friend of mine did the crossing, and apparently they were so busy, they didn't check the visa stamp, and didn't charge him the fee. Apparently this is very "done" here.

2. Go to Retiro (a major bus/train station in Buenos Aires):

Someone's blog told me that "it is much closer and cheaper to go to the immigration office in Retiro and request a "prorroga", or extension, of your visa. For $100 pesos, and less than 2 hours, you are granted 90 more days in Argentina.... [but] you can only do it once. The second extension is for 30 days."

3. Go to Uruguay
A nice-ish vacation from your vacation, take a day or two trip to Uruguay. It's a 2-3 hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires to Colonia or Montevideo.  Buquebus

The ferry trip to Colonia is 3 hours on the slow ferry and costs around 250-300 pesos round trip.
To Montevideo, the slow boat is 6 hour and 250-300 pesos as well.

You probably want to book ahead.

And if you're not really keen on going to Uruguay but are keen on not being illegal, you can try "tipping" the guy who stamps passports at the ferry office 50 pesos or something to get him to stamp your passport. It's Argentina... you're not going to get busted for bribing officials. That's how things are DONE here.

For Argentina, they required no information on any shots/vaccinations I'd had. (Which I didn't have.)

There are also study visas and work visas, and residency cards, which I have no experience with. Although I did go to the Embassy to ask:
"How long does it take to get a work visa?" I asked the man at the window.
"A long time." he answered. "And it's very time consuming. One of the steps, for instance, is sending your fingerprints to the F.B.I. so they can tell you you're not a criminal. That takes about four months," he raised his eyebrow, a seasoned veteran of the Argentine system.
"Ah..." I answered again.

So, basically, getting a work visa takes forever. You can try working for a company that will sponsor you, but usually you have to do your time with that company. I almost worked for a US real estate agency that called people in the states that said they'd sponsor me after I worked for them for 9 months.

Apparently, if you talk to local Argentines, they might be able to find a way of bribing an official to expedite your residency, work/study visa, or even Argentine citizenship. Haven't really pursued this option yet.

BOLIVIA:

To get into the country, you need a couple things. As a U.S. citizen, the reciprocity thingy (we charge them so they charge us) means that we have to pay $135 USD. Cash is easiest.

I didn't have that when I arrived in the border city, Vicunia/La Quiaca, by bus, so I ended up leaving my bags and passport at the border with my friend, walking 10 blocks on the Bolivian side (very illegally), getting money out of an ATM, and walking back.

You need a 4x4 color photograph. (May as well carry a couple of these around with you if you're planning to country hop. Never know when these come in handy.)

You'll need to fill out a form when you get there.

You obviously need a passport. The Gov website says that you need "evidence of a hotel reservation or a letter of invitation in Spanish, proof of economic solvency (credit card, cash or a current bank statement)," but I don't remember needing that. Plus, I didn't have any reservation anywhere.

You need an International Vaccination Certificate for yellow fever.

The border town is terrible, (we couldn't even find orange juice) so make sure you figure out the days the train leaves.

The Bolivian visa is good for "five years from the date of issuance and allow the bearer to enter the country three times in a year for a cumulative stay of not more than ninety days."

You must pay airport/bus tax when leaving an airport. Bus tax is cheap. I think airport tax is between $10-35 USD, but I can't remember.

Apparently the visa is cheaper if you work it out ahead of time, but don't ask me how.  (US Department of State Website)


URUGUAY:

Free, easy, no shots required. Great for day trips.

You just get on a ferry boat and get your passport stamped.

CHILE:

Entry by bus is free. Or, it was when I went March, 2010. Didn't need any proof of shots.

By airplane, the .gov site says there is a "reciprocity fee at the port of entry," but this might be just from flying in.

BRAZIL:

I didn't really research Brazil, so when I got to Iguazu falls and found out that it requires foresight to get your Brazilian visa, and that it costs $130 USD to get in, I decided to skip the Brazilian side. $130 is exactly what the US charges Brazilians to get into the US. Reciprocity. Hooray.

I've heard it takes a week or more to get your Brazilian visa, which you can do at a Brazilian consulate/embassy. You can probably do it online if you have an address to which it can be mailed. You pay, do paperwork, add a passport photos, and write an essay called "Why you want to go to Brazil."

OTHER MAJOR COUNTRIES about which I have NO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: (unfair exclusion of Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, French Guiana, Falkland Islands, and other islands because I haven't heard anyone who has actually gone to these places on their South American tour.)

PERU:

Free, recommends (doesn't require) vaccination against Yellow Fever.

VENEZUELA:

Required to have current Yellow Fever vaccinatin certificate.

An exit tax and airport fee must be paid when departing Venezuela by airline. for updated info, check the gov website.

PARAGUAY:

You need to apply for your visa before hitting the border. You can do so at your nearest Paraguayan consulate. ($45 USD estimate as of info from 2009).

Departure tax on airlines is possible.

ECUADOR

US citizens don't need a visa if staying less than 90 days. You need to get a visa beforehand if you're planning to stay longer. Unlike Argentina, if you overstay 90 days, there's a huge fine, and you can't come back for the next nine months. As a tourist, you can't stay more than 90 days anyhow.

Airport exit tax.

COLOMBIA:

For a tourist stay of less than 60 days, a visa is not necessary.

Apparently, "Travelers arriving by bus should ensure, prior to boarding, that their bus will cross the border at an official entry point." There is the possibility of fines or prison if you are caught without proper documents. Also fines if you overstay your visa.

"Any traveler possessing a Colombian visa with more than three months’ validity must register the visa at a DAS immigration office within 15 days of arrival in Colombia or face fines."

Buenos Aires Hostel Reviews

I've stayed in 3 HI hostels in Buenos Aires:

All included a locked Luggage Storage room from which I've never had anything stolen, computers with internet (usually Windows 98 and functional enough to check email and facebook, pretty OK WiFi, included breakfast, and a kitchen.

Tango City Inn in San Telmo $10 USD a night (dorm price)
Piedras 680

The Gringa is in town! When my plane landed in Buenos Aires September 9, 2009, I slept a couple hours in the airport, then headed to my pre-booked hostel. Although check-in wasn't until 2pm, they let me go to an empty bed at 8 in the morning, where I face planted until a much more reasonable hour.



With adorable little rooms, lovely staff, and a downstairs chill-out area with a pool table, bar, and air conditioning, I quite enjoyed my stay here.

Although I love San Telmo, it wouldn't be my first choice as a place to live. But then again, I'm deeply in love with Palermo.

Tango Backpackers in Palermo (prices listed above) $13 USD a night (dorm price)
4601 Paraguay

Prices in a chart on my next blog

As I have been living in Tango Backpackers so long (there have been 3 managers), the review for this hostel is much more well-rounded, giving the good, the bad, and the ugly.

When I returned from Bolivia, I stayed with a friend for a little bit, but I wasn't really meeting people, so I moved into a hostel in Palermo. And I have been living here for 6 months now.

The staff here are awesome. If they seem a little tired, it's probably because some old lady named Grisella kept complaining about every tiny little detail. (GO TO A HOTEL!)

The hostel is made up of several connected buildings, and is twisty-cool. The lobby has couches and tables, a bar, and is a great place to meet people. There is an awesome rooftop terrace with chairs and tables. The downside to this hostel is that it's noisy. It's a little bit more of a party hostel, and the traffic is very... trafficy. I was a little overwhelmed on arrival (after having lived on the 12th floor of a nice apartment in relative silence), so after a week, I decided to move to the quieter hostel (Palermo Suites) 4 or 5 blocks away. But when they offered me the breakfast job at Tango Backpacker's, I came back. I've definitely gotten used to the noise.

The hostel is also under new management, and things are improving drastically.

The kitchen is on the roof, and a little bit grungy. It is getting more utensils/pots/pans, and is now much more cook-friendly, although I despised it for the longest time, as it only had one pot, and no knives. Arg.

Tiny problem: this hostel has has a couple cases of bed bugs. Nothing in the last month or so, though. And I only got a couple bites in... what was it... December? They left a happy face and a frowny face on my leg. But in the summer, it's either mosquitos or bed bugs. It's hard to escape being bitten here. (No mosquito diseases in this part of the continent!)

I met some awesome people here, including a group I ended up calling "my family," my two best friends, as well as my rock band.

The best part about this hostel (and Palermo Suites) is location. I. Love. Palermo. It's about 3 blocks from a subte (subway) station, and right by where about a gazillion busses stop, close to about 3 supermarkets, and there are restaurants/take out places galore. I'm going to dedicate a whole blog entry to Palermo, later on.

And the best thing of all: if you get up between 8-10am, I have breakfast waiting for you! And I give beginning tango lessons here in the hostel...

Palermo Suites in..., well... Palermo $13.50 USD a night (dorm price)
Charcas 4752

I stayed here a couple days. Quiet, clean, with a fairly decent kitchen. I probably would have stayed here if I hadn't scored the Tango Backpackers job. A little more subdued with smaller, separate common rooms for studying/reading. Also very close to another subte station, and lots of busses.

HOSTELS I KNOW ABOUT BUT DIDN'T STAY IN:

Millhouse - central downtown $12 USD a night (dorm price)
Hipolito Yrigoyen 959

I have heard that this hostel is basically "The Party Hostel," and it has been described as the hostel where the teenagers and early twenty-somethings come to get drunk or laid or both. People of this ilk recommend this hostel to their friends with a "You HAVE to stay here." I have no desire to visit, thank you.

Florida Suites - central downtown $11.50 a night (dorm price)
Florida 328

Although I haven't stayed here, I have visited, and seen the facilities. I was impressed. My "Traveling British Friend Emma" has said this is the best hostel she has stayed in in her life, including Europe. Centrally located on a pedestrian street full of shopping and restaurants, hostel has a large travel agency, a number of computers, lovely rooms, and feels very clean.

So - Non-HI Hostel Reviews (updated a bit after the rest of the post)

Pax Hostel

Salta 990, San Telmo.
http://www.paxhostel.com/

There's also a hostel called Pax that I've been to, but not slept in.
40 pesos ($10.50) a person for a dorm, 60 (15.75) for a private.

The kitchen blows, but the bar downstairs is really nice - very social, with bean bags and such.  The rooms are fairly decent as well, and it's right near the Independencia subte station.


OK

Well, I think that about does it. I'll update if I think of anything else. I would love to get reviews of other hostels in the B.A. area, if you've got any!

Hostelling International

THE HOSTELLING INTERNATIONAL CLUB:

hihostels.com
Kind of a plug, but only because they deserve it. (I'm not getting paid to advertise for them.)

Hostelling International is a sort of community of hostels that adhere to certain standards; they give discounts and benefits (such as a travel agencies) to their members. (Hooray!)

If you're going to be traveling in South America for an extended period of time and living in hostels, you will want the Hostelling International card. It pays for itself:

To get the Hostelling International card:
The card can be bought at any HI hostel when you arrive for 60 Argentine pesos. ($16 USD) Or if you like planning ahead, you can buy it online, and have it shipped to you. (Keep in mind, shipping times apply, so plan ahead!) Go here: http://www.hihostels.com/web/membership.en.htm
Of course, hostelling International over-advertises, and says there are a whole lot of great benefits, but in reality, it's mostly just cheaper hostel stays and event/tourist discounts. There are HI hostels all over South America.

They've had a free travel agency in all the HI hostels I've been in, and they have significant discounts on some bookings. (Keep in mind, the travel agents get a cut of the price. But the price is usually exactly the same price you would get elsewhere.) All in all, you get pretty darned good deals with the card, and the activities are pretty fun, too. (Pub crawls, full moon parties, tango shows, sky diving, etc.)
The free travel agency (free whether or not you have an HI card) can book HI hostels for you all over South America, bus/plane tickets, as well as activities/parties within the city. Again, you're getting quality (but touristy, naturally) activities at the same price you would be getting if you bought a ticket at the door, but there are probably cheaper options that can't afford to pay HI to advertise for them. The HI card can discount activities by 5-15%.

If you're traveling with a friend, you can most likely get away with buying one card for the both of you.

All the HI hostels I've stayed at (saving one in Bolivia sans hot water in the morning, but which gave me a lovely electrical shock when attempting to turn on the water heater) have been pretty darned decent. (Why anyone would put anything electric in a shower defies logic.

Each hostel has a different vibe, and you can check individual hostel benefits and pictures on the website.

Here is the current Tango Backpacker's HI Hostel Price Chart in Argentine Pesos (divide by 3.7 to get USD) - (Tango Backpackers is reviewed in my previous blog


......................Non-Memebers....HI Weekend....HI Weekday
DORM (4-6 beds).....49.....................43..................41
SINGLE .................110....................94..................90
DOUBLE.................170....................145...............141
TRIPLE...................225....................192...............189

The current promo is: Pay 4 nights, get the 5th free. (as of April/May 2010)

You can pay in pesos or USD. You get a better deal paying in Pesos, because they give you a lower exchange rates than exchanging money in the banks.

Because these hostels are often fully booked, I would recommend, especially during high season, (Sept/Oct until March/April), booking your hostel in advance online, and paying the teensy-tinsy fee, then paying in full when you get to reception. It's worth it to have a place to crash when you get into a new city. Also, if you're planning on staying in a nicer hostel for a while, make sure you've booked a bed at LEAST 3-4 nights in advance. A lot of people have forgotten to extend their stay, and then have had to move hostels, because their bed has been spoken for. When I was still paying to stay in the hostel I'm in, I would make sure my reservation stretched one week ahead of me.

HOSTEL REVIEWS:

I've stayed in 3 HI hostels in Buenos Aires:

All included a locked Luggage Storage room from which I've never had anything stolen, computers with internet (usually Windows 98 and functional enough to check email and facebook, pretty OK WiFi, included breakfast, and a kitchen.

Tango City Inn in San Telmo $10 USD a night (dorm price)
Piedras 680

The Gringa is in town! When my plane landed in Buenos Aires September 9, 2009, I slept a couple hours in the airport, then headed to my pre-booked hostel. Although check-in wasn't until 2pm, they let me go to an empty bed at 8 in the morning, where I face planted until a much more reasonable hour.



With adorable little rooms, lovely staff, and a downstairs chill-out area with a pool table, bar, and air conditioning, I quite enjoyed my stay here.

Although I love San Telmo, it wouldn't be my first choice as a place to live. But then again, I'm deeply in love with Palermo.

Tango Backpackers in Palermo (prices listed above) $13 USD a night (dorm price)
4601 Paraguay

As I have been living in Tango Backpackers so long (there have been 3 managers), the review for this hostel is much more well-rounded, giving the good, the bad, and the ugly.

When I returned from Bolivia, I stayed with a friend for a little bit, but I wasn't really meeting people, so I moved into a hostel in Palermo. And I have been living here for 6 months now.

The staff here are awesome. If they seem a little tired, it's probably because some old lady named Grisella kept complaining about every tiny little detail. (GO TO A HOTEL!)

The hostel is made up of several connected buildings, and is twisty-cool. The lobby has couches and tables, a bar, and is a great place to meet people. There is an awesome rooftop terrace with chairs and tables. The downside to this hostel is that it's noisy. It's a little bit more of a party hostel, and the traffic is very... trafficy. I was a little overwhelmed on arrival (after having lived on the 12th floor of a nice apartment in relative silence), so after a week, I decided to move to the quieter hostel (Palermo Suites) 4 or 5 blocks away. But when they offered me the breakfast job at Tango Backpacker's, I came back. I've definitely gotten used to the noise.

The hostel is also under new management, and things are improving drastically.

The kitchen is on the roof, and a little bit grungy. It is getting more utensils/pots/pans, and is now much more cook-friendly, although I despised it for the longest time, as it only had one pot, and no knives. Arg.

Tiny problem: this hostel has has a couple cases of bed bugs. Nothing in the last month or so, though. And I only got a couple bites in... what was it... December? They left a happy face and a frowny face on my leg. But in the summer, it's either mosquitos or bed bugs. It's hard to escape being bitten here. (No mosquito diseases in this part of the continent!)

I met some awesome people here, including a group I ended up calling "my family," my two best friends, as well as my rock band.

The best part about this hostel (and Palermo Suites) is location. I. Love. Palermo. It's about 3 blocks from a subte (subway) station, and right by where about a gazillion busses stop, close to about 3 supermarkets, and there are restaurants/take out places galore. I'm going to dedicate a whole blog entry to Palermo, later on.

And the best thing of all: if you get up between 8-10am, I have breakfast waiting for you! And I give beginning tango lessons here in the hostel...

Palermo Suites in..., well... Palermo $13.50 USD a night (dorm price)
Charcas 4752

I stayed here a couple days. Quiet, clean, with a fairly decent kitchen. I probably would have stayed here if I hadn't scored the Tango Backpackers job. A little more subdued with smaller, separate common rooms for studying/reading. Also very close to another subte station, and lots of busses.

HOSTELS I KNOW ABOUT BUT DIDN'T STAY IN:

Millhouse - central downtown $12 USD a night (dorm price)
Hipolito Yrigoyen 959

I have heard that this hostel is basically "The Party Hostel," and it has been described as the hostel where the teenagers and early twenty-somethings come to get drunk or laid or both. People of this ilk recommend this hostel to their friends with a "You HAVE to stay here." I have no desire to visit, thank you.

Florida Suites - central downtown $11.50 a night (dorm price)
Florida 328

Although I haven't stayed here, I have visited, and seen the facilities. I was impressed. My "Traveling British Friend Emma" has said this is the best hostel she has stayed in in her life, including Europe. Centrally located on a pedestrian street full of shopping and restaurants, hostel has a large travel agency, a number of computers, lovely rooms, and feels very clean.

OK

Well, I think that about does it. I'll update if I think of anything else. I would love to get reviews of other hostels in the B.A. area, if you've got any!

Hostel, Sweet Hostel: Tips & Etiquette

I have been the proud occupant of the loft above Room 36 in Tango Backpacker's for almost 6 solid months now. Rufus (the afro wig who lives atop my hatrack who wears aviators and a clown nose) scares the crazy cakes out of me every morning before my glasses make my face. (He often pretends to be a real boy.) My mediocre art adorns the walls, home-made pillow cases made from old t-shirts and a big blanket made out of two fuzzy fleece airplane blankets are tossed haphazardly on the bed, and several shelves made from wooden crates which people leave all over the roads here line the walls. Life is good, and it kind of feels like home, in a weird, friendly but hostelly way.

RUFUS


So here are some things I've learned about B.A. hostels from 6 months of living here (and general info from 2 or 3 more months wandering about South America.)

HOSTEL ETIQUETTE & COMMON...STUFF

"You may very well be well bred
Lots ot etiquette in your head" - "Peter Pan"

Be nice to the staff, and they will be nice to you. (Your mommy should have taught you this when you were three.)

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR - Do not complain about the crappiness of the coffee. If you feel you must, "politely suggest": leave a polite note, make a polite comment to the manager, or GO TO A HOTEL.

The way you lay claim to a bed in a room with several beds (if they aren't already assigned) is by putting something of yours on it. This is a pretty recognized "marking of the territory," if you will. You keep the same sheets until you are ready to check out, at which time you take the sheets off your bed, and take them to reception, and hand back the key. This is the way you say "I'm done!" And the cleaning lady knows which bed to make up for the next person, so that when they arrive, exhausted from a 24 hour bust trip from Iguazu, they don't have to be told their bed isn't ready.

You don't take other people's stuff. It's part of the "Backpacker's code." (It's also part of the "Great Code of Life," but I'm going to try to steer away from sweeping ethics.)

Don't leave your valuables in plain view. Lock them up. There is always someone who has no compunction about snagging that laptop you left on top of your bed.

Each bed generally has a locker assigned to it, which varies in size. Bring a fairly sizable, unique padlock with you so that yours doesn't look like the easiest to pick. Do not bring a combination lock. These can be picked. Halfway through my trip, I found out that the diary-lock I had bought in a crappy market could be opened by several independent sets of tiny keys I happened to have with me (i.e. the free locks/keys that come attached to your luggage. Luckily, I wasn't robbed. Because of a faulty lock, at least.)

When you store your food in the fridge, put it in opaque plastic bags, and PUT YOUR NAME AND THE DATE ON THEM. People eat food in fridges if it isn't labeled, because it becomes unclaimed "free game."

Wash your own dishes. You're a grownup. Unless someone specifically tells you otherwise.

Many hostels have a book-trading shelf. You turn in your old book, and get a new one. In Argentine hostels, it's free. In Bolivia, you often had to pay 5 bolivianos (around $1 USD) to trade a book.

Most hostels have a laundry service for an average of $10 ($3 USD) per grocery-sized bag. Some hostels charge per kilo. Don't bring laundry detergent, and don't buy it, because I haven't ever seen a self-service laundromat. You usually turn your laundry it into reception sometime before 11am and get it back sometime after 7:30pm. But not on weekends or holidays, so make sure time your clean undies count with your departures. There are also laundromats (lavandarias) all over the city, but they end up being a little more expensive because the hostels usually get a deal.

You can rent towels at reception for a pretty standard price of $5 pesos. (A little less than $2 USD)

Introduction to my Travel Blog about Buenos Aires and Beyond

OK, Blog. I think it's high time to write you.

As I've now decided to live in Buenos Aires, and now have what is called "experience" in certain circles, I've been getting more and more questions from friends and friends of friends about "what to do" in Buenos Aires: where to live, where to eat, where to tango, what to see...

So...

Instead of typing up the same email to a whole bunch of people, (this writer hates "copy paste" letters) I want to write a Very Useful Blog in which I can give an exhaustive account of what I have learned here, to save people the headache of looking for a diaspora of information.

This blog is intended to help travelers bound to South American (and specifically Buenos Aires) get information about the city of Buenos Aires, and more generally, South America. I've only been to South South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay. (Listed in both alphabetical order, and conveniently, in my order of favoriteness.)

Current Articles:
Hostels:
Hostel Reviews
Hostelling International
Hostel Tips & Etiquette

Visas/Shots

The agenda of future blog articles is:

Looking for an Apartment/House/Roomshare

What the heck I'm doing here, and why I'm staying

Food
Tango
Money, converting money, false money, and small money.
Tourist attractions in B.A.: what to see while you're here
....(ie. San Telmo Market, Museums, The Big Metal Flower, Bike Tour, Ricoletta Cemetery)
Working as a visaless ex-pat in BA
Party/night life
Castillano/Lunfando (Argentine Spanish and Argentine Slang)
Neighborhoods in Buenos Aires
Plugs, Phones, (how the #s work) Technologies, internet cafes, and Computers: what to bring, what to buy
Helpful Things to bring
Hints for living cheaply
Spanish schools: learn fast, cheap, and well.
Flights
Latin Men/Women
Transportation: The Subte, Busses, Taxis, and the Guia
Safety, security, theft, robbing of things
Medical Information
Couch Surfing, WOOFing
Helpful websites


And don't miss out on:
Bolivia
Uruguay
Chile
Argentina outside of Buenos Aires

I only really resolved to start this blog yesterday, so this list is only a beginning. To all my as-of-yet-non-existant readers: any suggestions as to what to add? Any pre-emptive questions?

A few disclaimers: I am putting up Google ads on my blog because I want to get a little cash out of this deal. In all honesty, I'm not expecting friends and family to keep up with this blog, because most of them probably won't come here. So, basically, I'm hoping to be useful, give free advice, and to have big companies pay me for being useful. If I link to amazon, I get a 15% of the proceeds. If you click on the adds, a dime in my pocket. Such is life. I hope the ads aren't too annoying.

T minus 5

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” - John Steinbeck

I often imagine myself in the small group of people who are all thinking about all the other people imagining that small group. Now I'm part of a secret club that I can join or leave as I choose. I'll elect myself treasurer, because no one else is voicing opposition to my posting. Any donations? The Treasurer does none of the work, but gets all the glory.

Hmm... money. I'll make that on the street! With untried optimism and sweet, wide-eyed innocence, I'll throw myself into street performance and will find myself either flat on my face, or floating through the smiling sunshine of success. I really want to see if I can live simply from doing improvisational music and theater in the way I love best. I don't think it's fair to myself anymore to go through the misery of endless retail or hacking away at data to make cash. I do music, I do theater, I more than enjoyed playing clown in Arcata - so why not do what I love instead of living a half-life working at a job I hate? Right? Here's hoping for dreams sustained.

I'm buying a tiny guitar from Ian that looks like I could chop tiny people's heads off. Or maybe only the head off a chipmunk. Or I could break this chocolate chip cookie in two pieces: half for you and half for me. I was going to get a guitar over in Argentina, but now it looks like I'm too afraid of not finding an inexpensive guitar once I'm over there. So tiny-axe guitar it is! Ooooh! (pitch of voice raises two octaves) Maybe I can paint it! There's acrylic paint in the garage...

I'm in L.A. now - got a surprise ride back from Ian, who is going up to Seattle. Thanks inexhaustible universe of handiness.

Five days until Argentina! I think I'm finally starting to feel it's closeness. Weeks of agonizing about how much I can avoid packing aside, I probably won't really believe I'm there until I can't understand people speaking Spanish.

OK, I'm going to have to make this blog more like a thingy that people will read as opposed to whatever nonsense it is now, written to please myself. No viewers yet! Still safe from prying eyes.

Ok: events of the last few days. Disneyland yesterday with Abby, Chris, Ian and Jack, (listed alphabetically) to great success. Today, celebrated Margo's birthday part two with Dan, Emma (and Margo, of course), again, to great success. Heard Juliette Lewis, Cat Power, and the Pretenders, who, incidentally, I thought were going to be the band "The Proclaimers." I'm glad I didn't lean over to someone and demand to know why the singer wasn't a man with a Scottish accent.

The fires were clearly visible one night - shooting up on the ridge of the hills like the mane of a hyena who has been spray painted orange.