Hello Everyone...I'm new and ready for my initiation!

Oh and I found out on my own that living in BA does not offer any surf...so we can take that out of the equation. The surf towns that I checked out don't seem as appealing to me personally. I lived in Europe for awhile and I am missing the wonderful public transportation, architecture, dining, cafes...BA looks like it is probably the place to be.

I mostly need to know what is necessary for an American to live in Argentina longer than 90 days. The rest I can probably figure out, unless you have any helpful info for me regarding great places to rent, etc...I will gladly take it!

Yes I am aware I am talking to myself : )

New Plan since it seems it will be very difficult for my friends and I to live together and still be in the city near public transportation etc. Is it possible for my family to live in a "hip/trendy" area like Palermo in a 2 bedroom around $700 USD or less a month, utilities included? Or is this a pipe dream? We like clean, modern, trendy or hip and historic with exposed brick walls etc...Small and unconventional is great...this is how my little family defines "home". We want to be able to walk (safely) out the front door to get coffee, dine, shop, go to parks. Tips? Good Rental Sources for these types of places?

Again most important thing I need to know is...what is necessary for US citizens to live in Argentina longer than 90 days? We do not need work permits.

Welcome to the forum BootsRemsberg

Woow, very detailed introduction! Hope other members will bring their contributions to your specific queries soon!

Regards

Welcome to the forum boots.  You will have no problem finding large accomodations here such as that which you require.  If for some reason you find yourself having difficulty send me a private email here and I will make some introductions for you. 

As to the visa issue, a lot of people have that confused here for some reason.  There is no requirement for a tourist visa here.  Persons from the USA are allowed to stay here for up to 90 days simply on their entry stamp in their passport.  All that is required to stay legitimate is to take that visit to Uruguay every 90 days as you mentioned and every other time (meaning every 180 days) you have the option of going to the immigrations office and paying a fee and having them restamp your passport for another 90 days. 

If your experience is anything like my own you will find not being fluent in Spanish is not a big deal.  Anyone who has a university or college education was required to receive his or her first certificate in English to graduate which requires 4 years of instruction and passing a test.  Also, a lot of people here learn English growing up. 

I am a bit confused about your problems with finding housing near public transportation since there is transportation in every part of Greater Buenos Aires, and in fact the entire country.  If you could elaborate a bit maybe I could offer some assistance, but I cannot offer anything with the information at hand.

We have lived here 4 years now and we arrived not fluent at all in Spanish and it was difficult at times. You need to understand what people are saying to you and there are many times when you will need to be able to talk to people.
When renting an apartment, you will need to be able to understand the leasing etc.
So learning Spanish should be one of your first goals.
If you plan to live here and do not want to drag the babies with you to Uruguay on a ferry that is not that cheap  every 3 months, you might want to see about getting a Visa.
There are various types, the one that is "tourist" as mentioned, a stamp in your Passport good for 3 months or student visas or working etc.
Do some homework on that, look at the US Embassy website, they are helpful.
If you are good at riding a bus or the Subte , you will be fine with public transportation, I am good at Taxis
Neighborhoods to look at .. Palermo Botanico, Barrio Norte, Recoleta, Belgrano is lovely.. Look in San Telmo, you can sometimes find a house there for not a terrible amount of rent.
Rental agencies that I know of:
ByTArgentina
BuenosAiresHabitat
Reynolds Properties
You might also check with ReMax, there are agents who speak English and work with rental properties.
Non-tourist rentals are generally 2 year leases. I am not sure what kind of documents you need, if your Passport is all you need. You will have a lot of homework to do
It is worth it though. We have been very happy here and while things can get on your nerves and crime is a concern, it is still a great place to live.
Good luck on your planning, I hope it all works out for you .

I hate to nitpick, but there is no such thing as a tourist visa here.  You simply get your passport stamped and the entry stamp is good for 90 days, it is not a visa. 

We all have different experiences, but I too have lived here for 4 years and have had no trouble whatsoever with not knowing Spanish when I arrived. All of the apartment rental agencies listed in the above post specialize in English speaking tourists and are more than capable of explaining the rental process to you and you are entitled to have a copy of the contract in your native language upon request. 

Non-tourist rentals are not "generally" 2 year leases, by law they are required to be 2 year leases and 2 years only.  The only lawful exclusions are for tourists and for persons working at embassies and consulates - there are no other exceptions. 

As to agencies, they are a dime a dozen here and all of the ones noted above are okay.  Personally, I would skip ReMax as their speciality is in sales and not rentals.  If you want a list of some other agencies and in particular ones who offer discounts through some of my associations with expat groups here in town, just send me a personal email as I try not to promote a specific agency over another one. 

As to neighborhoods, personally I would avoid Palermo Botanico, Barrio Norte, Recoleta and Belgrano unless you want to spend additional money on inflated prices there.  All those neighborhoods are touristic and prices tend to run about 30% higher (or more) than in adjacent areas which are quite nice, particularly if you do not stray too far from Av. Cordoba.  I would strongly encourage anyone with children to avoid San Telmo as it is run down and dimly lit in many areas and known as a drug neighborhood with all the associated petty crime.  Every single person I know who lives there has either been robbed, had their apartment broken into, or have had one or the other attempted.  Even my porteno friends who are much better suited for dicier neighborhoods are moving away from that part of town.

In closing, I would say that I have loved living here the past 4+ years.  I am in my 4th apartment here in my 4th barrio (I am actually slightly outside CapFed now in Vicente Lopez) and have had a wonderful experience in all of my places.  As noted above, there are some things that get on my nerves at times, but that was always true back in the USA and Europe as well.  Crime has never been a concern of mine here other than taking the usual precautions that come with living in one of the world's largest cities.

Hi Bootsremsberg,

I am an expat, whoa has been living in Buenos Aires for the past 3 years. I can tell you if you want to stay in Argntina longer than 90 days it is very easy. You just go to the immigration department and ask for a temporary residency that will be for a year. It will be giving to you in about 2 to 3 weeks and will cost you less than 100 US dollars. This paper will allow you to stay for one year and also will allow you to work if you want to do so. After that year if you want to stay longer, you just renew and change the temprary residency for a permanent one with just a little fee.
Regarding the price for a two bedrooms apartment in Palermo, probably will cost you above 900 US dollars a month for a furnished apartment, including all the utilities.
I hope my information will be usuful for you.

Good luck

Rogelio

Thanks for the feedback Rogelio.  As to the rates you quoted, that is why I always advise people to move to adjacent barrios such as Villa Crespo, Almagro or Abasto as the rates can be 30% cheaper or more.  I also advise to keep close to Av. Cordoba if moving to those barrios as they all tend to get run down rather quickly the further you get away from Cordoba.