Home Away from Home

Millions of people raved about Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ok, I don’t even know thousands of people. Armed with such genuine reviews, we reckoned ten nights in “the Paris of South America” was justified. Spending over a week in a hostel gets cumbersome, so an apartment search was launched.

Hopping from city to city, dormitory to dormitory, and bus to bus can leave any traveler wary. Anyone can relate. You have been there no doubt. Craving your own bed. Desiring the familiarities of your neighborhood. Needing your own comfy couch and television remote that has molded to your hand. Count us among those masses. Though we have been on the road for only seven weeks, we wanted a familiar place to rest our eyes and stretch our legs.

   

Our friends Ryan and Laura Keller (www.roundwego.com) domiciled in BsAs for six months a few years back and had some great suggestions in terms of desired location. So we honed in on the Recoleta and Palermo Viejo barrios. After four weeks of canvassing various apartment websites, we pulled the trigger on a loft in Soho (4227 Soler), a distinct area within Palermo Viejo. What a charming place to call home.

Our quaint loft has all the essentials: hot tub, wine cellar, and a baday. Well maybe not all that. But our temporary pad of 540 square feet does have all the comforts of home. Ash and I are enjoying WiFi, a fully functional kitchen, cable television (10+ channels in English), our own bathroom, etc. Located on the top floor of a beautiful structure dating from the 1800′s, the apartment has fifteen foot ceilings, wood floors, and exposed brick walls. Additionally, a bright glass roofed patio with a breakfast nook acts as additional hallway. As if the place didn’t have enough charm already, the furniture and art pieces raise the bar a further notch. Buenos Aires’ slick subway is only five blocks away and we are surrounded by sidewalk coffee houses, beef serving restaurants, and eclectic bars. Oh, and Ash can’t get enough of the unique shops offering one of a kind clothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the veteran BsAs inhabitants, Ryan and Laura, came over on Saturday night to imbibe on some of Argentina’s finest malbec before a midnight meal, they were blown away by the place. We were too! Our impression of Buenos Aires has been greatly defined by our home away from home.

- Greg

If you are interested in renting this apartment, the owner is quite responsive and speaks/writes well in English.

mariuseligra@hotmail.com - Maria Eugenia Seligra

Tips

1. If your itinerary calls for 7+ days in a city, compare prices between a decent hostel and a livable apartment. For example, a private room at a respectable hostel in a good location would have cost us about $40 in Buenos Aires. After email negotiations, we agreed to pay $36 per night for our Palermo Soho apartment. Note: the longer your stay, the lower the per night cost.

2. When looking for budget apartments in Buenos Aires, check out ByT Argentina: http://www.bytargentina.com/ and Craigslist: http://buenosaires.en.craigslist.org/. The downside of the numerous apartment websites is that the rate is hard to negotiate and the broker takes a commission. Craigslist will take you more time to find a suitable place, but you can negotiate the rate directly with the owner.

3. Prepare your finances to withdraw lots of cash. Landlords will only accept hard currency and prefer US Dollars. Don’t be surprised if you must handover a substantial damage deposit upfront.