Safe city to move with a family

My wife and I have been in Argentina for over a month. As a retired grandfather of 3,  I would recommend Argentina over most countries. The quality of life, culture, moderate climate, architecture. Also affordable if you're paid in dollars or euros. I've traveled through the United States, Europe, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The people are warm and passionate and the country has much to offer.

@ppy5

I say this as a US expat of 20 years in Argentina. Please believe me when I tell you that I say this with the best intentions, the desire for honesty, and the desire that you find the best for you and your family in life. Safe city with a family in Argentina? There is NO SUCH THING!! I'm quite sure that this is not what you want to hear, but it's what you NEED to hear. Don't make the mistake of relying upon official statistical data. A HUGE portion of crime, even VIOLENT crime is not reported by victims in Argentina because the average person has NO confidence that anything will be done about the crime of which they are the victim, especially considering the corruption of the police in Argentina, and they actually fear retribution for reporting the crime. I don't want to crash your party. I just care about you and your family. I could write a novel on what has happened to me and my wife in Argentina in the last 20 years. I believe that my wife being alive in spite of crazy criminals is truly a miracle of God. LONG, LONG story short, there were two bullets striking the street next to my wife's head in the street where she had been thrown. That is only one of several traumatic experiences of my wife. I have been robbed at knife point where I worked. We have a house alarm, community alarm, private security, two German Shepherds trained in personal defense, 360% camaras around out house with 15 foot concrete walls and other measures which I can't mention here for legal reasons. We still can't sleep at peace at night in our own home. We are currently working on plans to move back to the US.

PLEASE.... for your sake, trust me my friend.... if safety is of your utmost concern.... Argentina is the LAST PLACE you want to live. Don't even get me started on the laws about justified self-defense. If you shoot someone that has broken into your home.... just plan on spending the rest of your life in prison.

I know this post is VERY pessimistic. BUT, it's with love. I hope it's helpful to you.

@encore118

How can you in good conscience recommend Argentina at this point? It is EXTREMELY dangerous, and the situation of inflation in comparison to the exchange rate is an outrage.

@samwdavis

Just a quick update from the last couple of months.... the crime situation has only gotten worse. I have made a LOT of friends and acquaintances in the 20 years that I have lived in Argentina. If I suggest something like, it's IMPOSSIBLE to live here because of the crime and the economy, I don't think a single one would respond differently than to agree with me. It's truly horrible. The crime is worse than ever. The current inflation rate is about 270% while the conversion rate from dollar to Argentine peso has only increased about 145%. When I moved here in 2006, the crime situation was bad but it was not 10% as bad as it is now. Economically, it was a paradise for someone whose capital or income was in US dollars. Those days are LONG GONE!!! To be fair, there are still a couple of economic advantages: 1) Medical care is good quality and MUCH cheaper than the US. 2) Even though the cost of  non-professional labor has increased a LOT, it is still MUCH cheaper than the US. Some good examples are.... to hire a house cleaner will cost you approximately 2 dollars an hour. To have a professionally trained podiatrist come to your house to give you a pedicure will cost approximately 6 dollars. There used to be similar advantages in energy, rent, groceries, etc., but those days are LONG GONE. When you look at the small percentage of your budget that goes to non-professional labor and you try to compensate for that with the CRAZY CRIMINAL THREAT that you face here every day..... it's just not worth the price that you pay.... unfortunately. I would give anything to go back to the Argentina of the early 2000s.

I asked basically the same question on the new commers forum on baexpats (dot-org) and got very different answers from what I see here. I'm not saying this is wrong - what do I know - I am preparing to go to Argentia, but haven't been yet. Just saying I got no responses as alarming as these. And I am listening. But I see there is not a consensus on this.

For what it's worth...

Some neighboorhoods are much safer than others. Living in a building with 24 security you are less likely to have a break in than in a house. I would think the only place it's safe to allow a 7 and 10 year old to get around by themselves is in a gated community, but maybe in smaller towns somewhere? IDK, I'm a city person. And coming form the U.S. I suppose it's normal to me that there are areas you shouldn't go and you should keep a tight hold on your phone and wallet.

@bensteinwand

If you're living in a building with 24x7 security or in a gated community with security, it's certainly better, but I remember one case where the thieves broke through the community wall, broke into a house and kept the family hostage and terrorized them including pulling out fingernails to force them to tell them where the money was in the house. Then, even if you're safe in your house, you have to leave your neighborhood, and in the city, it's a free-for-all.

May be I'm living in different place !! Argentina is an average safe place  , but if you want you can go to Tandil, very low crime rate, no homeless , good services and a little bit cheaper than Buenos Aires,  350km south of the metro area !!

I read a  lot of commentaries, they don't like Milei and then they say a lot of stupid things .. read the news, read the statitics ..