the goose

It has been just over a month since we arrived in Buenos Aires.  While steak, wine and weather had a definite impact on our decision to move – the cost of living, in general, is what swung it.  Simply put our goal is to earn more than we spend without selling our time.

We have developed a modest cashflow mainly via our Piehole website but pumping it up to the level required to support the two of us in Dublin was daunting.  Instead we reduced the cost of our lifestyle by shipping out.  Our biggest worry was that life down here really wouldn’t be as cheap as expected and we’d end up crawling back to Dublin looking for jobs somewhere.  Now the numbers are in and I’m pretty happy with the story so far.

The figures are counted in Euro.  So what exactly has all this bought us?

Accomodation: Well it includes accommodation in a pretty upmarket part of the city (think Portabello with more restaurants). We have a 2 bed place, newly refurbished with high ceilings etc.  It is hard to equate it to Dublin but I’d estimate something similar would come in around the €1,600 a month mark.  The only other difference would be that the place is furnished to a much higher standard than I’ve seen in the Dublin rental market and includes all bills.

Eating out: We’ve had a total of 46 meals out over that time including brekkies, lunches and dinners.  Your typical brekky will cost about €4 for two people including coffee, fresh orange juice and croissants (or medialuna as they call them here).  Lunch normally comes in around €12 for two for a pretty standard Jamon + Queso (ham and cheese sandwich with drinks etc).  The dinners are where it gets pretty good value for money.  €20 will buy you all the cow you can eat along with some decent wine and a desert or two per couple.  There are of course places you can spend more but the most we have managed to spend (and we try, believe me) is €30 for a meal for two.  I had heard that the food was bland here but I really have no complaints.  Finding a decent salad is a little difficult but carnivores are in some kind of meat filled heaven.

Wine: There of course really decent wine deals to be had.  Something better than your standard Spar bought €12 bottle of Concaha y Torro will come in about €4.  The most expensive bottle I’ve seen in an upscale wine shop here goes for €40.

Clothes: We haven’t bought a hell of a lot of stuff here but the quality seems excellent.  Priscilla found some very funky dress jewelry and there are a tonne quality clothes shops.  The quality of design in BA is excellent and this shines through in the clothes selection available.

Groceries: We only really did one big shop which bought about 18 meals.  If you want to – you can eat very cheaply but fruit and veg is still a little pricey.

Spanish + Travel: Included in our budget is a private Spanish tutor three times a week as well as internal flights to the other side of the country.  The flights cost about what you might be happy to pay for in Europe, mile for mile, but there of course cheaper ways to get around.

All of that might not mean a lot.  In summary though – I’m more than happy with progress so far.  As a rule of thumb I’d say its about a third as expensive to live down here as in Dublin.  I do feel as though we have managed to free our time and the sensation is fantastic.  Of course, the question now becomes – what next …