Thread: Living in Argentina
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12-24-04 15:33 #496
Dickhead
Dick,
How did you get on last nochie !!!!, we dragged dos out of the same place ( good value )
We tagged teamed them.
I like these smaller places and there are some gems there.
All the best, if your not at the Mansion Christmas barbie, all the best for christmas dias.
Aussie Greg.
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12-24-04 02:48 #495Saint:
Originally Posted by Saint
Every other week there are stories about tourists who disappear or get in trouble. In this week's Clarin newspaper, it was mentioned the missing of a Swiss woman, I guess at Mendoza. My take is that these cases are rare and do not follow the typical kidnapping pattern of weeks of intelligence data gathering.
Your case is borderline, since you are a semi-foreigner, semi-local, as an expat manager form a multinational company, with the advantage (or disadvantage) that nobody may be a good reference to pay ransom for you. You may ask an expat manager to know how he/she deals with that.
I didn't mean that your customers are those wealthy Argentinians. I just meant that these people buy the class of property that you sell. As far as I know, your niche is the foreigner who wants a high quality service and top property. As you pointed out, many local people is untrustworthy, so it is a smart move to focus on foreigners.
Andres
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12-24-04 02:42 #494
As long as they do the dishes. "Cocino yo pero lavan UDS." And don't put the empty condom wrappers back in the drawer, por favor.
Hey, that even rhymes!
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12-24-04 02:34 #493I guess that your risk is being kidnapped by a pack of hungry gatas who already know your cooking skills. The ransom would be cooking for all of them for a whole month and having sex afterwards with ALL of them. Originally Posted by Dickhead
Andres
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12-24-04 02:25 #492
All good points. Andres, can you tell us though how many foreigners have been kidnapped over the years? I haven't read anything about foreigners/tourists getting kidnapped but mostly locals. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd really like to get statistics.
As far as the guys buying properties. Ironically, they aren't "really wealthy guys" but just hardworking folks that really love the city and want a good return on an investment.
As far as the business climate here, it's really corrupt. It's no wonder that people prefer doing business with an American rather than a local. The #1 reason why I'm getting new clients is because people do NOT want to work with a local. I've never had a more difficult time dealing with people that change the price at the last minute (even after you have agreed on a price), changing the terms or changing conditions. I don't trust the locals at all as far as business goes other than the small circle of professionals I have come to trust.
I'm being more careful now and Andres made some good points. I don't meet up with new people and I have a close circle of friends I go out with. I don't meet up with many WSG guys and prefer not to. Those of you moving down here, just be careful. It's still a beautiful city that I really love but make no mistake that you're in South America. The level of corruption here is unbelievable.
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12-24-04 02:17 #491
So I guess my risk of being kidnapped is a little lower than Saint's? BTW all you kidnappers out there, I always eat breakfast at La Biela and dinner at Cabaņa Las Lilas. At night you can usually find me at Black and in the afternoons look for me at Patio Bullrich. If you want to kidnap me on the weekends, I'll be at the polo matches. Also I jog regularly in Puerto Madero. Unfortunately I am leaving tomorrow for a month's vacation in Punta del Este but you could probably kidnap me in the private Mercedes Benz limo I am taking to the airport, if you act fast.
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12-24-04 01:26 #490
Security - Kidnappings
I didn't want to talk about that issue since is repelling for many (especially coming from a local who knows better), but the real danger to well dressed, well groomed, foreign visitors is kidnappings: Physical abuse (no food for 1-2 weeks, torture, even finger maiming in order to get info), psychological sequels, etc.
Be aware and, as Thomaso276 said, don't mention many Dollar figures in this public board (or any other indicator of wealth). I KNOW that local mongers read it (they told me). If possible, don't follow an easily traceable schedule (like always taking breakfast at the same nice coffee shop or visiting the same restaurant every Thursday).
As strange as it may sound, the most important kidnappers are VERY wealthy people, the kind of guys who would buy Saint-class properties. For instance, "El Negro Sombra" was a famous gang boss who owned more than 100 homes at different country clubs. So, if you mingle with wealthy Argentinians, pay double attention. They are wealthy for several reasons, among which could be "fast fundraising".
I guess that the AmCham (American Argentine Trade Chamber) provides leaflets of how to take basic precautions. Call the Embassy and find there the AMCham number.
I feel that I have to express my sorrow for having to talk about such nasty issue in this board.
Hope this helps,
Andres
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12-24-04 00:05 #489
Security
As long as we are talking security issues let me put my two cents in. Many other people can read this board, possibly including more sophisticaded thieves, or worse. I think it might be a good idea not to let others know how much money you may or may not control. Some numbers mentioned herein are just about ransom level and would certainly raise the interest level of those looking for targets. This is kidnap country boys. If you get my drift.
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12-23-04 16:39 #488
Custer
Actually, Custer's last words were: "Where did all these fucking Indians come from?"
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12-23-04 16:05 #487
Good thoughts Moondog
I agree that these thieves are like magicians. It's good that so many posts are posted as follow up comments. I hope it causes all of you to keep your guard up. As far as my client being involved. No way possible. This is not only a client but also a friend. I know this guy well and have known him for a few years. He is one of the good guys. We still are baffled how they got it.
Yes, I was busy on the cell phone (as always) and searching through my Palm Pilot scheduling appointments. Anyway, like I said... it won't happen again. Just stay on your guard and watch your things. If you are carrying bags, watch them like a hawk.
Happy Holidays all.
Saint
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12-23-04 07:01 #486
A Tip Against Restaurant/Cafe Thefts
When living in BA my wife and other women would do the following. Put the leg of your chair or table through the strap of your handbag or computer case. It will complicate the snatch and make them look for other targets.
Theives in Buenos Aires are among the best. You know that park in front of tha Marriott Hotel in Microcentro? I was there one afternoon during a photo display an Argentine had his expensive watch pulled off his wrist, the thief was out of the park and on the back of his partner's motorbike and off in a cloud of dust, all in under 30 seconds.
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12-23-04 05:03 #485
Memory Lane
Wow, what a trip Moondog! That's the exact analogy I thought of when I read about Saint's laptop. I lost $10 or $20 on the shell game near Broadway and 52nd in the '70s. Now I finally know how it was done; I've wondered all these years! (I also lost my favorite sunglasses sitting with friends at an outdoor table in a cafe in Old Havana; somehow the thief took them right off the middle of the table before all our very eyes!) We all have stories... Originally Posted by MoonDog
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12-23-04 04:27 #484
The hand is quicker than the eye.
On the streets of NY some years back, I was fascinated by the old street hussle shell game. The hustlers would set up a cardboard box, and start to shuffle around three playing cards, two black cards and a red card. They would have a partner play to start things off, always winning or course, to draw in the unsuspecting tourist. The idea was to have the player guess the location of the red card, and the bet was usually twenty dollars. Originally Posted by Saint
I would watch as the tourists would lose over and over again, thinking "how could they possibly lose?", as I knew the correct location every time. That was the rub though, as I was not playing, only watching, and did not realize how much of a disadvantage the tourist was playing with until I tried it myself.
Within about 30 seconds, I was down $40. I pulled away and watched from the side, and saw how they did it. The cards were shuffled continuously, with the red card being turned over from time to time. When a tourist would say that he could locate it, the dealers said, "Give me $20." As the tourist handed the dealer $20, at the very instant the money touched the dealer's hand, his other hand switched one of the black cards with the red card. It was done so fast, the human eye being focused on the actual money transfer, did not see it.
Being on your phone and going through your Palm put you at a very large disadvantage, as you were focused not on your case, but on other things. Magicians have used slight of hand for years to entertain us, but it can also be used against us.
No offense against your client, but could he have been the competition in disguise, getting you to relax your guard, while others did the deed? Just a thought.
Moondog
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12-23-04 02:15 #483
Difficult finding taxi's this week downtown
It's amazing how difficult it is to flag down a taxi this time of year around downtown. The past few days when I leave my office I've had to walk around a good 15 minutes to try to find a taxi. They are all full around downtown during the day. I've been told it's this time of year more and more of them are full as people are using them more.
Today I was in a hurry and had to meet a client and had to walk around 20 minutes or so looking for one. Sucks.
Lexton,
Regarding your post, I did select a seat just as you mentioned. It was against a wall and I thought this would be the perfect place to sit. I had my computer pushed in against me and my client against the wall. I didn't notice big groups of people walking by. Hell, we weren't even distracted by hot girls. We still can't figure out how they got it as we didn't notice any young kids around and my client was facing me. I was on the cell phone quite a bit during the lunch and looking through my Palm Pilot (thank God I pulled it out at some point during the lunch). But still, my client was facing me and the computer case.
I would give anything to see how they managed to get it. These thieves are good. I mean really good. I'll never forget this incident and you can bet that it won't happen again like this. Maybe I'll get robbed at gunpoint or knife point but my bag will never mysteriously disappear again. I've been damn lucky traveling around the world the past several years with no incidents whatsoever. I was due for something like this I guess.
It's been hell trying to reconstruct all my business stuff as I had my whole life on that thing. A good lesson. ALWAYS back up your files.
The weather has been perfect the past week or so. I guess things could be worse so I can't complain. I bought another apartment in my A1 building (for a client) which will be totally posh with possibly even nicer furniture than A1. Demand is still very high for higher end luxury apartments and hotel rooms and I don't see any sign of a slowdown anytime soon. I'm trying to buy a smaller petite hotel for a client so I hope it goes down in 2005. I'll be damn proud if it comes together as I put the whole thing together and have invested some money hiring architects and designers to go through the building. It will be awesome! Happy holidays all.
Saint
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12-22-04 21:27 #482
Restaurant Theft
Saint, sorry about your loss. My guess is that it was NOT an inside job. It was much more probably done by a group of 2, 3 or 4 people. You won't remember it, but at some time there were probably 1, 2 or 3 people who passed by you that were interesting for some reason. While you and others watched them, someone else walked by and took your computer. It could also have been, for example, 2 in front and one behind about 10 feet. Or 2 on one side and the thief on the other.
I had my pocket picked on a bus in San Jose, Costa Rica by a group of 3 people. One created a diversion by dropping his "glasses" on the floor in front of me as we exited, another behind me blocked me from backing away and further diverted my sensitivity to touch by pressing against me, and the third from the seat beside me picked my front pocket as I was standing in the aisle trying to exit the bus. These people have the patience of a spider to ride the bus all day and wait for just the right opportunities.
The great danger of eating outside is that there is a far greater opportunity for thieves to case the tables of the diners, and pass thru the dining area without raising the suspicion of the staff. I don't remember the restaurant where this happened, but most of the outside tables are fairly accessible to casual passers-by. Obviously, if one has a choice, always try to select a table in a inaccessible area near a wall or other obstruction that limits interaction with passers-by.
You have to realize that if you look at all like a gringo tourist or rich person, you are being watched constantly by people who are looking for the right opportunity. I had $60 stolen from my parked car in a supermarket parking lot in Puerto Rico because I had the stupidity to take money from my hiding place behind the visor JUST AFTER I PARKED THE CAR IN THE LOT. Obviously, someone was watching. They opened the door, took the money, and re-locked the door.
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