Policy- It's possible to live cheaply in Buenos Aires, Argentina despite the country's high inflation.
- The low cost of living is part of the reason Christine Gilberts has lived there for six years.
I didn't move to Buenos Aires from China six years ago for the lower cost of living, but it's part of why I've stayed here for so long.
It's possible to live here for the equivalent of $1,000, or 141,000 Argentine pesos, or less a month. Many people do, as the average monthly salary here is 52,000 pesos.
My situation is different from that of the locals because I'm from the United States and typically earn my money in US dollars and British pounds from freelance-writing work and teaching yoga online.
If I were to pull money out of an ATM, change cash in an official exchange house, or use my US debit card, I would use the rate of $1 to about 140 pesos. But last week, I sent myself money with Western Union from my US bank account at a rate of $1 to 270 pesos.
This method means I can use the Western Union exchange rate, one of several unofficial rates that have sprung up to help Argentines save in US dollars amid the country's economic turbulence.
I go to a branch location, wait in line, and take a stack of pesos home.
I pay for everything in cash, but it's worth it for the better rate
Argentina's inflation rate is extraordinarily high — about 70%. But because the unofficial rate changes to reflect inflation, I sometimes pay less for things in dollar amounts than I did the month before. For example, I was taking a private circus class for 2,000 pesos.
In June, I got 238 pesos to the dollar, but in July, I got 322 pesos to the dollar when inflation shot up. Since the class stayed the same price, I ended up paying less; in June I paid $8.70 for the class, and in July I paid $6.21.
I only change about $200 to $300 at a time because taking out more would run the risk of the money losing value amid the inflation.
In the last two weeks, I've spent the equivalent of $476 and exchanged money two more times when the Western Union rates were 275 and 279 pesos to the dollar. About 30% of that — 38,090 pesos — I used on eating out, which I did for nearly 40% of my meals.
Groceries cost 18,454 pesos and transport costs are low as I work from home, but I spent 2,395 pesos on taxis and the subway. I spent 4,420 pesos on toiletries and beauty products.
My two other large expenses were 8,520 pesos on coffees and coffee beans and 26,800 pesos renting another apartment that I'll start using later this month as an office space, which is about 40 minutes away by bus.
These lower costs enable me to have a much better work-life balance than I did when I lived in China
There, I would work at least five days a week, sometimes more. The year before I moved here, I was so stressed from work that I got shingles when I was writing a guide to the city's restaurants even though I was only 26.
An apartment rental in New York is, on average, $2,632 a month in Brooklyn. My rent here in the neighborhood of San Telmo is $250 — our contract stipulates we pay the peso-equivalent of this — while the monthly electric bill is 1,931 pesos. My husband and I split costs, meaning my share for our one-bedroom apartment is only $128.57 a month.
A big reason I moved here was to pursue circus arts, and a lot of my time and budget goes into training on aerial apparatuses. Argentina has a long history of circus and Buenos Aires has more than 30 circus schools.
Whereas in the US a one-hour, drop-in class at a circus school would cost me $30 to $40, here I'm paying a monthly rate of 6,500 pesos for classes of two to two-and-½ hours twice a week.
I also take semi-private classes once or twice a week for 2,500 pesos per class, a fraction of the $90 this would cost me in the US.
While circus classes might not be the norm for people who move here, group-exercise classes are at most half of the price for comparable classes in the US, if not far less.
My only other monthly expense is paying a cleaner who comes to our apartment every other week, my half of which costs about 3,675 pesos monthly.
I have a SIM card here, but I haven't put credit on my pay-as-you-go phone in two years. It helps me avoid checking emails too much. I can still receive calls, and if I need to call or text someone, I connect to WiFi and use WhatsApp or FaceTime audio. If I did have a phone bill, I think my usage would be about 2,000 pesos or less a month.
I spend a little on entertainment and miscellaneous things as well, but I mostly go to free or cheap events, like circus-variety shows — which are typically 400 to 700 pesos — or friends' concerts.
If there's a higher-cost event, I can afford it, but most of what I want to do — attending food festivals, going to parties at cultural centers, visiting museums, and seeing movies — isn't expensive. The city government also hosts many free events like the Night of Bookstores, music weeks, and cultural festivals, so there's usually something fun each weekend.
The cost of living here allows me to work fewer hours a week to cover my expenses, or a lot if I want to make money to save
It gives me the ability to decide how much I want to work and how I want to structure my day around my interests, including spending time with my husband and friends.
That is what makes me really appreciate living here.