No baja la carne

So what else is new? This was the headline on the news at 7 this morning. (The price of meat is not lower) Of course meat is not going down. Neither is anything else, except the temperature, and that is because it is winter. Every trip to the grocery store brings a new surprise. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have the memory I do for worthless bits of information, like prices in the grocery store.

When the farmers were staging their protests prices were skyrocketing. Milk, cheese, produce, along with meat and poultry were rising. Bread went from 3- 4 pesos a kilo to 8 - 10 pesos a kilo. Flour was almost non-existent. That is a big deal in a country where pizza and empanadas are the mainstays of a diet after meat. Our government of course like all governments everywhere promised us that prices would be lower once the strike ended.

I walk the aisles of my favorite Chinese supermarket. They are called Chinese supermarkets because the Chinese own them, not because they have Chinese products. The Chinese supermarkets are cheaper than the chain markets like Disco (Chilean owned) or Carrefour (French owned) or Coto. Maybe to the foreigners who shop in the markets here the few centavos are not worth shopping in the sort of dingy and often times campy markets. They would rather shop in the modern bright Discos or Jumbos that remind them of Safeway or Ralphs.

The cost of food is on everyone’s mind these days. Maybe because food is something we all have to have. My favorite yogurt. Last year I paid $1.69 for a carton. In the Chinese supermarket I pay $2.10 and in Disco it is $2.30. My favorite queso blanco just hit 5 pesos for a 310 gram carton. I remember when it was $2.95 and that was not much more than a year ago.

Two blocks from me is my favorite take out place. I used to be able to get a chicken breast and a small salad for 5 pesos. OK, that was 2 years ago. The price is now 11 pesos. It has more than doubled. I was looking at a flyer for the pizza place a block a way. 2 years ago a small mozarella pizza was 5 pesos, now it is 10. Disco used to deliver for free, now they charge 3 pesos.

Good morning Buenos Aires, it is not cheap to live here any more. Well maybe it is if you are going to live in a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 economy. But if you live in pesos, it is not cheap. If anything Buenos Aires is getting expensive again.

I remember when I first came here in 2000. It was as expensive as San Francisco. Nothing was cheaper here. That was rather strange for a country in Latin America. Theater tickets, taxis, clothing, were all the same price. This was when the peso was pegged to the dollar.

It still is in a way. Argentina is keeping the peso artificially low in order to export. This is a problem. Our inflation is crazy. Every day prices go higher and higher. The first waves of people who came here because it was cheap are now leaving. It takes more than a cheap lifestyle to call a place home. That is the big difference between an ex-pat and an immigrant. An immigrant calls their new country home and tries to integrate, the ex-pat lives in a bubble.

The bubble burst. Medialunas are now 8 pesos a dozen. In 2002 they were 2 pesos. The milongas in 2002 cost 6 pesos to enter sometimes 8. Today they are mostly 14 pesos. The peso is still 3 to 1. So the 6 peso milonga that was about $2 USD now costs almost $5USD. You can’t can’t do much with $5 in the U.S. So 3 to 1 is still a bargain if that is how you are living. For those of us that live in pesos, it is a disaster.

Last week I went to the movies on a weekend at the Village in Recoleta. The entrada was 20 pesos each....without popcorn. I don’t like the popcorn here. They put sugar on it. Probably a good thing. The sticker shock would probably kill me. Sometimes I can see the same movie during the week for 12 pesos at a different movie theatre. OR when I get my gas bill they give me coupons. I always seem to lose these coupons. Then I find them when the date has expired.

Roxie’s dog food. When we came here 4 years ago I was paying 85 pesos for a 40 lb bag. Last week it was 150 pesos. I almost died. My very expensive dog. She lives on. Her doggie baths were 12 pesos last year. This year they are 18 pesos. I suppose I could bathe her myself. If they get much higher I will. I’ll buy that darn doggie perfume and spray it all over her myself.

What about Roxie? She is the miracle dog to be sure. Her vet says every day of her life is "sobre vida." He continues to be amazed by her. She continues to walk 4 - 5 hours a day with Juan. She has a will to live. Must be the air. It certainly is not the cost of meat.

43 Things Tags: Living in Buenos Aires as an Ex-Pat, Tango
43 Things Tags: Living in Buenos Aires as an Ex-Pat, Tango

Comments

[jamie]

I think to be an immigrate and/or expat in Argentina, it is wise to try an earn dollars/euros/pounds but pay in pesos. That is the ultimate leverage.

[suzy vegas]

How many of us are writing about tango and BsAs - I thought mine was unique at www.lasttangoinbuenosaires.com. We should all meet for coffee on Plaza Serrano

[Alex]

Things are getting outrageous here too, now that I am poor. When I was living the high life of poverty in Aspen, I never looked at prices. I didn't flinch at a $60 dinner out - by myself. Filet mignon, one glass of pinot noir, one salad, tip - easily $60-70 bucks.

Now, I shop for bargains and specials and even buy the "off" brands. I often put back on the shelf, things I want, but can't afford. I never eat out anymore, even where I live now, where it's super cheap.

And a movie!? Ticket, medium popcorn, medium coke - call it $25 bucks - for one lonely man.

I'm thinking of bagging my cell phone and internet connection. For what I would save in a year's time, I could have a really nice trip to Buenos Aires and points beyond - $2400.

[Quickroute]

I too get a shock every time I go to the supermarket. My 1 litre of beer (Stella) used to coast $2.90pesos now cost $4.40 pesos! - Ouch!

[Jose Chung]

When I come to Buenos Aires I spend like a drunken sailor. I would be embarrassed to tell you how much money I've spent in some of those bars on Reconquista.

I will say, sin embargo, that 20 pesos for a movie sounds pretty steep. And hold the sugar.

[Jose Chung]

When I come to Buenos Aires I spend like a drunken sailor. I would be embarrassed to tell you how much money I've spent in some of those bars on Reconquista.

I will say, sin embargo, that 20 pesos for a movie sounds pretty steep. And hold the sugar.

[Economist]

I understand your anger - but at least you should mention that salaries are increasing about 20-30 percent per year and that the Euro is now close to 5:1 as compared to 4:1 a little over a year ago. So both for locals as for tourists the situation is not as bad as it seems at first sight. Except for tourists from the US, due to the recent decline of the dollar.