Most expats who live in Argentina are on tourist visas, which are only valid for 90 days.  The tourist visa may be renewed at Migraciones for an additional 90 days, after which time you must leave the country.  This has lead many to do the “expat shuffle” – taking the morning Buquebus ferry ride to Colonia, Uruguay and returning to Buenos Aires that evening. This technically fulfills the requirement of leaving the country and gets you another  90 day visa stamp. This practice has been “tolerated” by Argentine immigration, even though several people reported being questioned about the number of tourist stamps in their passport. Once again, one never knows when they might change their policies and disallow this.

Other expats simply overstay their tourist visa and pay the relatively small AR $300 penalty when leaving the country. There have never been any problems with doing this and re-entering the country at a later point. I personally know several people who were here for many years on an expired tourist visa.

For those who are looking to be here on a more permanent basis and would like to have a long-term legal visa and DNI (the Argentine equivalent of a social security and national ID card), there are few options: marry an Argentine, have a baby here, or get a visa.  Unfortunately, the visa options are limited – you cannot simply get one because you “want to live in Argentina.” The main types of visas are student visas, work visas, rentista visas, and investment visas. (Other types also exist, but these are the most common. Consult an Argentina immigration attorney for other options.)

Student visas only apply to students, work visas require your company to provide one for you, and investment visas require a minimum investment of AR $1,500,000 plus approval of the Argentine Ministerio de Industria for your project. That pretty much left the rentista visa as one of the few viable alternatives and now it has become more limited.  The new requirement to prove and bring AR $8000 per month in passive income into the country will leave many people scrambling for alternatives as it applies to both new and renewal visa applications. (Rentista visas are granted for 1 year at a time and must be renewed for 3 years before one can apply for permanent residency.)

So, does this affect you?  Let us know in the comments.

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Argentine Peso Gets Lift From Record Soy Harvest as Volatility Gauge Sinks [Bloomberg]
Argentine currency traders are reducing expectations for peso fluctuations to the lowest since March as a record soybean harvest swells export revenue in South America’s second-biggest economy. Economists predict it will weaken to 4.2 per dollar by year-end, according to the median of 13 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The consensus forecast was 4.5 per dollar a year ago.

Buenos Aires on a leash [The Christian Science Monitor]
Argentine dogs live a life of pampered sophistication in this elegant city as dog walkers can earn more than teachers here.

Debate over legalising abortion intensifies in Argentina [BBC]
After the recent vote by the Argentine Congress to legalize same-sex marriage, the legalization of abortion seems set to be the next big debate in the country.

American, JetBlue partner on select flights at JFK [Crains]
JetBlue, light on overseas options, links passengers to Europe, South America and Japan via American flights, while American sends domestic passengers to 18 new cities via JetBlue.

BA Construction Activity Rises 10% [InvestBA]
Recent headlines regarding Buenos Aires real estate sales activity have been improving steadily this year, and La Nación says builders are starting to feel equally optimistic. During the first five months of 2010, the construction industry posted a 10% increase in new projects under development, while the sale of condominiums and single-family homes advanced 7.1%, according to the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE).

Lower Congress Approves Glacier Protection Law [The Argentina Independent]
After 12 hours of debate, Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved a law that would limit mining and oil drilling activity in the country’s Andean ice fields on Thursday morning. The legislation’s provisions are similar to a glacier protection law that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner controversially vetoed in 2008.

Maradona to continue as Argentina coach [AP]
Diego Maradona will reportedly remain as coach of Argentina’s national team, a decision he is expected to announce next week after meeting with Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona.

What’s the deal with Buenos Aires? [NY Post]
Argentina’s capital is overhyped, overcrowded and terrifically annoying. It also might be one of the best places you’ll ever visit.

Private Parking Lots Forced To Offer Space For Bikes In Buenos Aires [TreeHugger]
In a city where bike theft is a very good reason to make you doubt about riding somewhere, providing parking facilities is almost as important as creating new bike paths. This is the case in Buenos Aires (and many cities around the world), and the reason why it’s so good to hear that the government has pushed a new law to provide several bike-parking facilities, including spaces inside private parking lots at lower rates. If you ride in Buenos Aires or are thinking about doing it, you need to read this.

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What this means is that you can now run Skype in the background on your iPhone, and receive calls as well as place them.  Before iOS 4, the only way to receive calls would have been to have the Skype application running in the foreground which was not very practical.  Now, just run Skype in the background and people in the States can ring your Argentine cell phone just by placing a local call. And all you need is a cheap 3G connection (Movistar charges $9 pesos for 2GB to use over 2 days).

You’ll still need to pay for a SkypeIn number if you want people on non-Skype phone lines to reach you, but luckily this service is only $18 for three months or $60 for a year. Plus, they have local numbers available in 25 different countries.

In other good news, Skype also dropped plans to charge extra for 3G calling.  Both Wifi and 3G calls are free to Skype numbers, though you’ll need Skype credit to make outbound calls to non-Skype numbers, but that is relatively inexpensive as well.

Now all we need is the jailbreak for iOS 4 on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, which is supposed to be coming in the next few days! (I installed iOS 4.0 on my iPhone 3G and it slowed to a crawl.  I had to downgrade to 3.1.3 to make my phone usable again, so I’d advise against doing that.)

So, with a jailbroken and unlocked iPhone 3GS, iOS 4.0.1, Movistar 3G service and Skype, I should have a cheap calling solution anywhere in Buenos Aires.

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With today’s announcement, they have reduced the per-minute rate from U$S 0.17 to U$S 0.06 for calls to Argentine cell phones. (They have also reduced the rate for mobile calls to Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.)   This now means that calls to Argentine mobile phones from my Vonage line are significantly cheaper than calling with my local Movistar pre-paid cell phone. And yes, that is a bit crazy.

What makes this especially attractive is that you can now call forward your US Vonage number to your Argentine cell phone and receive calls from the States when you are not at home for only $0.06 per minute. This is great for people who conduct business with the States and need to be available when they are out.

Vonage also offers a mobile app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry that could prove to be the cheapest way to make calls while overseas. For $24.99/month you get unlimited calling plus the new low rates. Skype currently charges $0.021/minute for landlines and $0.204/minute for mobile phones.

Way to go Vonage! It’s always nice to see prices actually decrease every once in awhile.

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Argentina legalizes gay marriage [Los Angeles Times]
Argentina on Thursday became the first nation in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, turning aside protests from the Roman Catholic Church to give gay couples the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.

Doctor: Maradona OK and mulling choices [USA Today]
Maradona’s doctor said Monday the Argentina coach was doing well and had not slipped back into using drugs and alcohol since his team was eliminated from the World Cup with a 4-0 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals. (whew!).

Garbage Disposal an Overpowering Problem in Buenos Aires [Latin American Herald Tribune]
Buenos Aires has no idea what to do with its garbage – at least that seems to be the gist of the current controversy about what to do with all the trash in the Argentine capital, whose city dumps could collapse in two years from the increasing amount of waste it churns out.

Argentine ‘dirty war’ general gets life sentence [Associated Press]
Some of the most notorious figures of Argentina’s “dirty war” were convicted Thursday of kidnapping, torturing and murdering 22 people at the beginning of the 1976-1983 military dictatorship when the country cracked down on leftist dissent.

Argentina gay marriage row serves broader government aim [Washington Post]
Argentina’s government is fighting to get a gay marriage bill through Congress to shore up its leftist credentials ahead of a 2011 vote and to steal the limelight from opposition-led proposals.

Argentina Government Increases Minimum Income Tax Threshold By 20% [FOX Business]
Argentina’s government has increased the minimum threshold for paying income tax by 20%, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said Thursday.

How to spot a fake $100 peso bill [La Nacion]
This is a good video on how to spot a fake bill. This can especially be a problem for tourists and new expats.

Lawmaker proposes Maradona monument [AP]
An Argentine legislator has proposed building a monument to honor Diego Maradona, whose future as coach of the national soccer team has been uncertain since it was eliminated in the World Cup quarterfinals by Germany.

Adoption Scandal: Argentina Hounds a High-Profile Mom [Time]
This is the tale of the enmity of three women: the first is perhaps the richest in Argentina; the second is the President of the country; the third, a grandmother in search of the children of desaparecidos,” the 30,000 or so mostly young people who disappeared in the military junta’s death camps from 1976 to 1983. The object of their contention are two adopted children, a brother and a sister, who stand to inherit an immense fortune — or see it shrink if their genes betray a past that might help dramatically diminish their mother’s business empire.

Argentina claims victory on bond deal [Inquirer.net]
More than two-thirds of Argentina’s creditors have accepted a deal with Buenos Aires ending their long-running debt dispute, the Economy Ministry said Monday.

Argentina’s Government Vows To Maintain Stakes In Companies [Fox Business]
Argentina’s government says it has no plans to sell the stakes in local companies that it inherited when it nationalized private-sector pension funds in late 2008, as it would damage the interests of both the state and the companies.

Honda to start making automobiles in Argentina in 2011 [More Tech News]
Honda will start manufacturing automobiles in Argentina in 2011, when the Japanese automaker”s plant opens in Campana, a city on the outskirts of Argentine capital Buenos Aires, company executives said.

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This time around, I checked out three different gyms in my area. Two of them, Megatlon and Sport Club, are chains that have numerous locations throughout the city. The third, Balance Health Club, only has one location.

Once again, Megatlon Belgrano was by far the nicest, most expensive and pretentious of the three. I still think a lot of people just go there to be seen.  They have the most, newest and highest quality machines and equipment.  They were also the busiest of the gyms I looked at.

Their month-to-month price is a shocking AR $370, which compares to many NYC health clubs.  Prices get a bit cheaper if you sign up for their 6 month package at AR $1830 or their 12 month package at AR $2640.  Personal training sessions are around AR $50 per hour.  If you join Megatlon, you’re also able to use all their other locations provided that are at the same or lower level than the one you joined.  They currently have four levels of clubs: VIP, VIP Plus, Platino and Platino Plus.

The 6 month membership cost at Megatlon represents a 28% increase over their 2008 prices, however the original price I found was for Megatlon Alto Palermo, a Platino Plus club, while the Belgrano club is only a Platino level.  I’m sure that the Alto Palermo price has increased even more.

Sport Club Cabildo was also nice with a wide-range of equipment and classes. Like Megatlon, if you join one location, you can also use their other locations at the same or lower level than yours.  Their month-to-month price in cash is AR $350, however if you choose the auto-debit plan on your credit card, the price goes down to only AR $175 per month. You must complete 8 months at this price though or you’ll be charged an additional month if you cancel.  They do not offer personal trainers, but have gym trainers who can put together a routine for you.

Balance Health Club was pretty basic compared to the other two but did offer a good range of classes.  Their price was AR $100/month if you only wanted to use the machines and AR $140/month for both the machines and classes.

These second-tier clubs often have less and older equipment as well as fewer classes, but usually meet ones basic needs.  Since they did not have any membership commitment, I decided to join for a month and see whether it worked for me. Although I will say, walking into Megatlon definitely makes you want to be there…

Some things to note about all the clubs:

• They will all charge you a one-time fee for your membership card.  This price was AR $30 at each place.
• You will need a medical exam shortly after joining.  You can get this from your own doctor or use one of the gym’s doctors who schedule an exam for around AR $40.
• None of the gyms are open on Sundays. A strange phenomenon compared to the US, but perfectly normal here.

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Yep, as of last week, I am officially no longer a resident of Palermo Soho (also known as “The Bubble” for its large concentration of expats). I am now a resident of the lovely neighborhood of Belgrano. And, as you can see from the map of Buenos Aires to the right, while it wasn’t a huge geographical move, it was a big one in terms of neighborhood differences.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Palermo Soho.  It’s a great neighborhood to be in when you first get to Buenos Aires. It offers a ton of things to do – restaurants, bars, clubs, shops and services.  And, if your Spanish is a bit weak, you can pretty easily get by with English.

However, those things come at a price.  Palermo Soho tends to be one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city.  By making the move to Belgrano, we were able to get an amazing apartment at a price that we never could have gotten in Palermo Soho, plus it is considerably larger and higher (see the photo) than most Palermo Soho options.

The area of Belgrano that I’m in is filled with high-rise apartment buildings in what tends to be an upper middle-class family neighborhood. The main avenue of Cabildo is a few blocks away and features tons of shopping as well as the “D” subway line which makes it easy to get around. I’m also close to Buenos Aires’ Barrio Chino (“Chinatown”) which is an added perk for both speciality grocery shopping and restaurants.

So, in my short time in Belgrano, what are some of the differences I’ve noticed? Well…

• I now have four ATMs within a 2 block radius. I was so used to walking numerous blocks in Palermo to an ATM, and then having to walk a few blocks more when that one was out of order or simply out of cash.
• Unfortunately, there is not a Romario Pizza that delivers here. There is a new Almacen de Pizzas which is fair, but not as good as Romario. I’ll have to continue to explore my options. Palermo Soho definitely has a higher density of restaurants.
• You do not hear English as much here.  When you walk down the street in Palermo Soho and you’ll hear as much English as you do Spanish. That is not the case in Belgrano.
• I miss knowing my way around.  After a year and a half in Palermo Soho, I pretty much knew all the streets and where everything I needed was.  I’m still pretty confused with the layout here, but I’m sure that will come with time.
• I have yet to hear drunk people screaming on the streets at 6am as they leave the bars and clubs.  This was a pretty common occurrence in Palermo Soho, but I think Belgrano is missing out on this.

So, those are my first impressions. I’m sure I’ll be posting more as I find my way around and get to know my new barrio.

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Groupon

Groupon is one of the hottest new startups in recent years and offers specials and discounts based on a certain number of people collectively buying the “deal of the day.”

Here’s how it works: each day Groupon offers one special local promotion. If a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then everyone gets the deal. If the minimum number of people is not met, no one gets the deal that day. Groupon makes money by getting a percentage from the retailers. The retailers make out because it brings business and not everyone will redeem the offer they purchased.

Here are some of the recent offers they have had for Buenos Aires since launching on June 24, 2010:

• Pay $50 and get $100 of food at Kansas restaurant
• Get a massage for two at Experiencia Nirvana for $100, a 50% discount
• Two golf classes at the  Costanera Golf Driving Range for $1
• Pay $50 and get $100 of food at Donde restaurant on Gorritti

It’s a strong business model that has seen them generate significant revenue as well as venture capital in the US.  The interesting thing for the Buenos Aires site will be the reluctance of many Argentines to shop with credit cards online.  There is a very low percentage of e-commerce transactions across Argentina,with people preferring to pay in cash or at RapiPago.  Still, if the offers are compelling enough, they may be able to entice people to buy online.

Sign up for their daily email and take advantage of some of these discounts now. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they will have.

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This lack of speed has been especially apparent when I am on my Vonage phone. People often complain about the call being choppy and I am often forced to stop all my downloading or even turn off my laptop wireless in order to have a clear call. This never happened in the States.

The real problem is that truly high-speed Internet connections are not as cheaply available in Buenos Aires as they are in the States.  Our current package from Fibertel, provides 3 Mbps download and only 512 Kbps upload speed for about $85 pesos per month. As you go above this 3 Mbps consumer limit, prices rise rapidly.  Want 5 Mbps download and 512 Kbps upload? $300 pesos per month.  10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload? $500 pesos per month.  15 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload? $600 pesos per month.  And that is pretty much the limit to the speed.  By comparison, in the States I have 20 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload for U$S 49.95/month ($196 pesos).

Since my work revolves around being online and having high speed access is critical for a lot of things that I do, I finally had enough and decided to take as many steps as possible to increase my network performance while still keeping my costs low. I started researching anything I could do to squeeze as much performance as possible out of the connections here.  Hopefully these tips will help you as well.

1. Check your Internet speed.

The first thing you should do is check your Internet speed using the tests at SpeedTest.net. To get the most accurate results, choose a server near you and make sure you have closed any programs that may be using the Internet.  While you will never get the actual speeds that you are paying for, your results should be pretty close.  Run the test several times, using different servers to be sure.  If the speeds are not close, call your ISP and ask them about the difference.

2. Change the wireless channel that your router broadcasts on.

By default, most routers broadcast on Channel 6 and since you’re in Buenos Aires, you probably have a lot of neighbors whose routers are on the same channel as yours.  As more routers broadcast on the same channel as yours, your router’s performance greatly decreases.

You can use the WiFi Stumbler web tool to determine what wireless networks are around you and what channels they broadcast on. Then, simply login to your router and change the wireless broadcast to one of the less used channels. (Please note that Channels 1, 6 and 11 are the best options as these channels do not overlap with the others.)  You can find some more detailed instructions on this at How-To Geek.

I changed my router from Channel 6, which had thirteen other routers, to Channel 11, which only had two other routers.  This gave me a slightly better signal and better speeds.

3. Update Your Router to DD-WRT or Tomato.

One of the best performance options you can make is to find out of your wireless router supports running an open-source router firmware like DD-WRT or Tomato.  As Lifehacker points out, this “turns your $60 router into a $600 router.”  If your router supports this (check your router here), install it and you’ll have a lot of new options. Luckily, my router supported it.

4. Increase the signal strength of your wireless signal.

Once I upgraded the router to the DD-WRT firmware, I immediately increased the signal strength of my wireless signal.  This increased the range and connectivity of my wireless network. It now hit all areas of my apartment with no problems.

You could also try creating your own WiFi extender with some tinfoil, but that was a bit overkill for my needs.

5. Set up QoS settings on your router.

Another feature of the DD-WRT software is the ability to set up Quality of Service (QoS). This feature allows you to prioritize traffic going through the router, which means that I can set my Vonage service to high priority and my BitTorrent downloads and other traffic to low priority.

To do this, I simply followed the instructions here and set it for my own Vonage router.  Now, my voice calls have priority over other traffic and they are clear without me having to turn off my laptop wireless.

6. Change your DNS server settings to use Google’s DNS rather than the default Internet provider’s settings.

We had previously covered switching to Google DNS as a way of increasing Internet performance, but wanted to point it out again here.  I’ve been using it for months and it has been great.

7. Add a second Internet connection.

While the options above may help improve performance, none of them actually increase the speed of your Internet connection.  Buying a second Internet connection will do that, as well as give you additional reliability.

While looking at the prices of Internet connections, I realized that I can get two 3 Mbps connections, one from Fibertel and one from Arnet, for less than the cost of the 5 Mbps connection alone from either of them. So, when I was in the States, I picked up a Cisco RV042 dual-wan router.  What this router does is allow you to bond two different Internet connections into one, thus sharing the bandwidth and also making sure that you have Internet access even if one of the connections goes down.

I just ordered the second Internet connection this week, so as soon as I have it all up and running, I’ll be sure to update the blog with my results.

Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other tips to add.

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Pepsi To Go Naked If Argentina Wins The World Cup [AdAge]
In a brilliant bit of marketing, Pepsi has announced that it too will “go naked” as Argentine coach Diego Maradona promised, if Argentina wins the World Cup. Pepsi announced that the company’s soft drink bottles will be sold for a week in Argentina with no label if that country wins the soccer tournament.

Is it madness to love Diego Maradona? [MailOnline]
He bounces up and down on the touchline with that silver beard and bottle-black hair… Wild-eyed with rage and waving imaginary cards in one moment, kissing and hugging his players in happy tears the next, the madness of Diego Maradona is there for all to see… But there’s no taking your eyes off him. And the craziest thing of all is that it actually seems to be working.

These walls can speak [Sydney Morning Herald]
If you believe everything you read, Buenos Aires is a city of sexy, pouting Latinos who dance the tango on every street corner, eat steak morning and night and are born with a football attached to their toes. I’m hoping to experience something far from the cliches and sign up for a Graffiti Mundo tour to explore the street art of the city’s northern suburbs.

Argentine rights leader defends DNA database [AP]
Argentina’s leading newspaper publisher must pay the consequences if genetic tests show the children she adopted three decades ago were stolen from prisoners of the dictatorship, a leading human rights activist says.

Fernandez ‘Unpredictability’ Repels Investors After Argentina’s Debt Swap [Bloomberg]
Argentina may fail to revive interest from companies even after concluding an $18.3 billion debt restructuring offer. The government lacks “prudent and predictable” policies…

Remodeling Project of La Bombonera Stadium Buenos Aires [GreatFI]
I haven’t seen this article anywhere else, but it states that the Boca Juniors football club plans to renovate its stadium in advance of the Argentina Copa America 2011. The pictures look impressive.

Amnesty International Expresses Concern over Women’s Rights in Argentina [The Argentimes]
Expressing concern over the death of Miriam Flores, a migrant worker from Paraguay, Amnesty International Argentina announced in a press release its continued support of the enforcement of Law 26.485, and demanded that President Christina Fernández “assume as a priority the situation of violence against women” in Argentina.

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