Studying Spanish in Buenos Aires was one of the best decisions I made in my entire life. Here is my list of The 10 best things about BsAs. And just to be sure to be objective, I also made my list of “10 worst things” about “the city of the cities”:

1. Food – The beef here is amazing! Never pay more than 30 pesos for a bife de lomo, which is the best cut of meat they serve. Chicken is never disappointing either. Anything that’s cooked on the parrilla is always a good idea. Try the ice cream too. Freddo and Persico are the two most popular ice cream shops. My personal favorite: frutos del bosque.
2. Public transportation – Buy a Guia-T from a street vendor, and you’re worry free. The tiny little book contains a map of the entire city on 30 little pages and gives you the routs of every bus and train. Prices are very cheap, and even a taxi won’t burn a hole in your pocket.


3. Cost of living – Anything made in Argentina is guaranteed to be cheap. Expect everything to be about a third of the US price. Fruits and veggies are practically free!.
4. Ferias – Every weekend, every neighborhood has a big open air market. The ones in Recoleta and San Telmo are the largest and most popular. There are always tons of street performers and good live music. The food is good and cheap too. Try the fresh-squeezed juices.
5. Tango – Milongas (dancing) and tango (music) shows are very easy to come by. Lessons are also available all over town and are very reasonably priced. Learn the history and the art behind this magical dance.
6. Shopping – Any store you could possibly need is just around the corner. Enough said.
7. Bars/nightclubs – The party never stops in Buenos Aires. Good bars can be found in Palermo in Plaza Serano and Plaza Armenia. The large nightclubs are all over town. A group of American boys run a bar crawl called Buenos Aires Pub Crawl. It’s a full night of fun for very little money and a great way to meet other ex pats.
8. Location – Buenos Aires is the hub for all South American travel. Flights from here are relatively cheap and buses go everywhere and at any hour.
9. Fútbol – The passion for futbol here is unmatched by another other city. The two rival teams might as well be the Montagues and the Capulets. It’s both exciting and entertaining to attend a local game… a must do!
10. The People – Everyone is very friendly and always happy to help. Never hestitate to ask a local for directions or recommendations. They are very proud of their city and love to help you explore it.

The 10 worst things about BsAs:

1. The food – While the beef is amazing, it can get quite monotonous. Also, if you like pastries that aren’t filled with Dulce de Leche, you’re basically out of luck.
2. Public transportation – Always crowded, you can get on a bus at 2 in the morning and still not find a seat. The subte seems to always be uncomfortably warm, expect an armpit to be somewhere you might not want it to be.
3. The cost of living – Many people charge American prices for Americans. That’s the same for basically all nationalities outside of Argentina. Be wary of being charged in dollars and searching only on sites like craigslist.org.
4. Ferias – You can find basically anything you need here, but be careful of buying complete junk. Many people set up booths that look more like a desperation garage sales than anything anyone would want to buy. Also, the quality may leave something to be desired.


5. Tango – Hard to learn and even harder to make look good. So many people here are incredible at the dance and can almost do it in their sleep. Quite a couple notches above the Electric Slide.
6. Shopping – The downfall is that there are too many options. Everyone seems to be having a ‘discount’ or ‘liquidation’ sale and you can never quite tell where to find the best deal. Basically shopping takes time.
7. Bars/nightclubs – Some clubs can be really pricey and super packed. Sometimes you actually have to pay to get into a bar (most of the time you get ‘bar dollars’ which you just have to spend at the bar). Cover charges can be pretty steep for the clubs, and girls need to watch out for the creepy predator type men.
8. Location – The city is far away from almost all the other touristy cities in Argentina. Expect long bus rides (on comfortable buses) just to begin your journey.
9. Fútbol – People take it seriously, but sometimes it’s way overboard. It’s not uncommon for fights to break out or severe insults thrown on visiting fans. Boca is known for having some of t worst fans (the visitors sit underneath the home team’s bleachers, subjecting them to just about anything. I’ve been told that quite a few people actually bring umbrellas).
10. The People – Are sometimes very hard to understand and incorporate many words not used in other Spanish dialects. Be sure to take a course at AMAUTA to get a solid base in porteño Spanish.