Day 397: Buenos Aires, Argentina
So I hit the one year mark in style and still love Latin America as much as the first day when I arrived in Mexico but one thing has been nagging at me.
I’m tired.
I’m tired of packing up my backpack. I’m tired of researching buses to the next city. I’m tired of hostels.
I have arrived in Buenos Aires with 5 weeks before returning to Canada for the Summer and I still have so much to see.
I’m ready for familiarity.
Rather than push through the last five weeks with a marathon of traveling through the rest of Argentina I have decided to settle down.
I’ve moved into an apartment with Stephanie from The Travel Chica. I met her two weeks ago and liked her immediately.
She also traveled through Central America and Ecuador and wanted to settle down for a bit. She is currently going through a nightmare situation with an insane landlady and needed to get out fast.
Normal is neat-o!
It is so thrilling to hang clothes in a closet, not worrying about dormmates snoring, not needing to strategize when is the best time to have a shower or breakfast.
We have a living room. We can actually have people over! No longer being in a dorm means that I can invite people over for a drink and to hang out. What a novelty.
Our tiny kitchen! I cannot wait to go grocery shopping and cook for the next month.
Eating steak and pasta is great but not totally healthy. I will be stocking up on veggies!
Seems strange that instead of climbing UNESCO sites and eating crazy food I’m now excited about having a “normal” life but I think this is going to be a really great month.
I am excited to get to know Buenos Aires as a resident and perhaps make it my future home.
Um, added bonus of living 4 blocks from me? Come on! I love that you guys live here now, it makes my life better. I’m already devastated by your upcoming departure and thrilled at your imminent return. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, really.
And then when I told you I would be staying longer, the roller coaster soared again 🙂
Ayngelina,
I’m with you. Getting settled in my apartment in Bamako at the moment 🙂 Seems like you’ve really fallen for Buenos Aires. After reading some of your posts, can’t say I blame you!
Take care,
Phil
Yeah it’s a really wonderful place to settle even if just for a month.
Oh yeah, that’s my favorite way to travel! Have a base and then sloe-explore. How did you find the apartment?
Stephanie found it through an agency, which made it expensive but we were just dying to settle down than search for a week to save a few bucks.
This post made me smile because as someone who travels with kids, I *have* to find this normalcy for things to work. We pretty much always rent an apartment if we’re going somewhere for more than a couple of days! Congrats on having a nice place to hang your hat for a while – I hope you enjoy it and emerge refreshed and raring to go.
I admire you for traveling with the boys. A kitchen and a fridge can change your travels.
Enjoy the “normal” life, and what better city than BA! Very soon we are again going to be giving up our ‘normal’ life before hitting the road, so we’ll enjoy it while we can 😉
I think the key is to have a mix of the two. I really with there were house sitting opportunities in South America but there doesn’t appear to be.
We had an apartment in BsAs for 10 short days and loved it!! It’s an amazing way to see the city and enjoy being ‘home’ for a short time. Enjoy!!
It’s definitely been fun so far, there are so many young expats here that are so open to meeting travelers.
Travel, as great as it seems, can become tiring after a while so I totally understand where you are coming from. Besides, Buenos Aires is a great place to hang out for a few weeks.
Saludos
Rob
It’s been great. I think when I come to Santiago I may also look for a short term rental so I can enjoy things a bit more.
Ayngelina, love your new digs! I’m sure it must be nice to have a place to call “home” for now. I was traveling a bit this past week and couldn’t wait to get back into my bed!
Just being able to put my iPod down wherever I want and not worrying about someone stealing it has been wonderful.
Although I haven’t done any long term traveling I would totally need a break after a year. I plan on traveling pretty slow but I’m sure even that can get old.
I travel pretty slow but was just getting tired of my backpack. Hanging clothes up instead of rummaging through packing cubes has been so fantastic.
How fun! I love living vicariously through you. ; )
Just like with business travelers who live out of a suitcase, sometimes, you just need to slow it down for a bit.
Glad you found someone to share a place with and looking forward to what Ms. Ayngelina blogs about when she ISNT on the move all the time 😉
I know such pressure, the posts could get boring as I write about doing laundry and grocery shopping 😉
Please make it your home!!!
Completely understand. Enjoy your time in Buenos Aires before heading home 🙂
I think every long-term traveler can relate to the being tired of packing/unpacking, travel days, shared bathrooms & showers, etc… Every time we have the opportunity to stay in an apartment for a while, we jump on it! Your apartment looks really nice, I hope we find something similar when we get to Buenos Aires.
Sooo expensive, start saving your pennies!
Sounds perfect! That’s a great way to do it in BsAs. The first time we were there long term, we lived in two apartments. They were both the noisiest places EVAH. Since we don’t go to bed at, oh, 2AM like the locals, it was rough. But we love that city big time.
I can stay out late, IF I have a 3 hour nap first!
It is great that you can enjoy argentina almost like a local. Great idea.
I still plan to do all the touristy things first, but then hope to just chill out and make friends.
I wouldn’t exactly call the lifestyle in Buenos Aires normal. But I do love our apartment! So nice to have a place to call home.
P.S. Glad you managed to get some of our extensive wine collection in the photo.
I know and Eugenie caught the Fernet, she has eyes like a hawk!
We are just starting our apartment hunt in Phnom Penh this week! Funny how excited I am about being able to hang my meager clothing in a closet, and buy groceries…
Wow Phenom Penh, I’m really curious to see how you like living there. I had a really bad experience (bed bugs, prostitutes, magic pizza…) and had to leave.
I hear ya sista.
Although Adrian and I didn’t rent an apartment, we did become residents of a BA hostel for almost a month. Being a city girl it was the perfect place to play house in the midst of our trip. And the hostel was small and homey enough to make it feel like we had our own apartment.
If I could rent a room in a hostel it would have sufficed. It was part of the reason I stayed in Cuenca so long, they gave me such a great rate on a room and had an amazing kitchen.
Wow, I was just thinking this same thing the other day…how tired I’ll be keeping up with travel for an entire year…and it’s only been a little less than 2 months for us! As exciting as doing something different every single day can be, it’s also nice sometimes to wake up to a routine and not have to think/figure things out.
You will find that you start to slow down more and more. I had a lot of downtime already but now feel ready to make the transition from traveling to living.
I see a bottle of Fernet, do you like it? haha
I think I’d get tired of traveling a lot sooner than you!
Ha, a friend gave that to us, it is still unopened!
Oh, you haven’t tried it yet? (if you don’t know how to drink it: You have to mix it with cold coca and ice-cubes)
It’s practically the only thing youth drinks here (wine is to expensive except for the one in a box).
Usually people or like it very much or don’t like it at all. I’m in the last group
I am with you in that group. I tried a sip of a friend’s drink and was happy I hadn’t ordered my own.
It will likely go unopened and I’ll bring it back as a present for someone.
I hate Fernet. A guy at a tango place offered to buy me and a friend a drink, and he came back with Fernet and Coke. I choked it down because I felt bad, but that will be my last.
If it were a late night and that was all we had to drink, I would try it again 🙂
Opposite experiences are what make life interesting. I’m not surprised that you have hit a patch of travel fatgue, enjoy ‘normal’, you’ll want to be on the roll soon enough.
Yes monotony will set in and I’ll crave adventure, I hope!
Oh I definitely get this. When we arrived in Buenos Aires in late 2009, we were at the same point – craving some stability and a place where I could finally unpack, make my own coffee in the morning, hang out in a living room of our own and cook whatever we want.
We’re got one stretch of travel ahead of us now, but then we’re looking to stay put for at least three months. Whatever you do regularly becomes “routine”, even if it may be hopping chicken buses and eating street food. Then you want something different.
It will be nice to settle in Canada for a month or so. I figure by then I’ll be antsy to get back out on the road.
Oh and I envy you being here in 2009 with all the low prices, since then everything has doubled!
Where in BsAs are you (which barrio)? Having been to BA for several long term visits (where we rented a condo) I can totally get how happy you must be to settle down for a bit. BsAs is amazing and a place we will probably call home someday ourselves.
I’m in Palermo now. I was in San Telmo but everyone is over here and I kept taking too many late night cabs, now I can walk home!
Sounds like fun. To everything there is a season, a time to travel and a time to nest a bit! Enjoy!
I like that idea Linda, it’s getting cold in Buenos Aires so definitely a time to nest!
Yay! I know this is making Rease so freaking happy 🙂
I love having her only a few blocks from me.
Congrats! That’s great news. I know what you mean about routine. I’m craving an apartment too, although for a different reason – namely that I’m currently living with my boyfriend’s family after living on my own or with friends for the last 10 years…
It’s so hard to live in someone else’s home, sometimes you just need something to call your own.
Congrats on the apartment!! It looks so lovely 😀
I’m sure it will feel even better to spend some time at home soon too :]
Although I haven’t lived in Nova Scotia for over ten years I am really looking forward to just hanging out with my family for the Summer.
What a great place to settle down for a while!
You know, one thing I really love about our travel style is that we do it slowly. We stay at least a week everywhere we go, and often longer. Tomorrow we will be in Edinburgh, where we have rented a flat for a month. It makes a huge difference in long-term travel if you can have some sense of normalcy, buy your own groceries and make your own coffee. It becomes less of a trip and mre of a sustainable lifestyle.
Enjoy your time in BA, and if you decide to stay longer let me know. A friend has a condo in a great area that might be available for long-term rental. 🙂
I’m headed back to Canada for the Summer but my plans are to slow it down when I come back in the Fall. Agree that slower is so much better and hangers are a nice luxury!
It’s funny that with your lifestlye now, “taking a break” means settling down and having a routine. It sounds like a great set-up though.
Do you know yet how long you’ll be in Canada and what your plan is for after that?
I’ll be in Canada just for the Summer and then come back to Buenos Aires – need to escape the cold weather!
I know the feeling. I don’t think I’m cut out to do backpacking trips for months at a time. I like to establish a base of operations.
I was traveling pretty slow, 2 months in Colombia, 3 in Ecuador, 2.5 in Peru but I just couldn’t bear having to rush through Argentina.
I LOOOOVED your “little” apartment and soo enjoyed meeting you, Stephanie, Chase and Rease! I hope the rest of your time as a resident of BsAs is AMAZING and I can’t wait to see you again at TBEX.
Looking forward to TBEX and your workshop!
That better be a Canada shirt under that sweater sistah friend!
You know it!
Here I was visualizing you in a tiny little casa with no room to move…not sitting on a leather couch with your wine cellar above your head!!! It does look a lot like TO……so when Ryan and I come in the summer of 2012, we will have a chance to really get to know a place! You look well rested in the photos….
Well we’re not throwing grand parties here, we had 4 people over and that was all we could fit!
That is totally normal! It’s hard to live out of a backpack for months on end. Sometimes you need a break to relax and enjoy the comforts of home. Glad you like Buenos Aires. It’s a fun city!
Such a fun city and so much to do it can be exhausting!
Completely understand your need to stop for a bit! Sometimes I find schedules exhausting just reading them much less experiencing it. Plus you are in a city and room mate you like. Sounds like it was meant to be 🙂
I was so fortunate to find Stephanie, finding an apartment on your own can be expensive but sharing is a bit more manageable.
I can really relate (even if I haven’t been traveling as much as you have!). But after a while, all this change is tiring…!! I’m glad you’re taking the chance to discover Buenos Aires with time… its a city I’m sure its worth all 5 weeks 🙂
And about knowing if you want to live there afterwards… I might be biased, but for me, Buenos Aires is nr.1 city to live!
It is very tempting to live in a city that has many modern conveniences yet so close to all the South America countries I love so much.
Only downside, the sushi is terrible 🙁
I don’t think I’m cut out for traveling non stop. I will definitely need to rent an apartment here and there.
I was doing pretty good for a year but I think because I stopped in Ecuador for a month and then worked in Cusco for a month. I’ll be looking to rent more often moving forward.
I know the feeling exactly. Sometimes you just need a break! I had times where I slowed down and stayed in the one place for up to two weeks, but never rented an apartment – oh how I wish I could have!
I stayed with a friend in the UK over Christmas for a couple of weeks and I loved getting back into a routine and cooking and doing normal person things.
Of course now I’m back in Sydney to normal life I’m tired of it and the cycle continues!
I love to cook, I find it really relaxing so I’m looking forward to chopping veggies!
definitely can feel you on this decision. apartment looks pretty schmick too! especially the abundance of red!
No Buenos Aires apartment would be complete without just a little red 🙂
I ended up hanging up my walking boots for 18 months in BA. You picked a great city
I know, I am already sad to leave it!
Right now I’m so new at all this that I am loving the crazy hectic daily routine, but I know sometimes I get tired of it so I just make sure I leave days where I do nothing in cities or extend my stays in some. I know for sure the city I am looking forward to settling down in is Cairo once I get there!
I loved the day to day craziness in the beginning too, but now I’m looking for some monotony 🙂
I know what you mean. Familiarity is needed sometimes. We’re only human, and need some things that make us feel like we’re at “home.”
It’s like walking into my grandmother’s home. I feel comfy there. Almost as if everything is right in the world – and I can’t be harmed. I love that feeling.
Yep the only thing familiar to me was my green backpack – which I think may be starting to mold, gross I know!
awesome what you are doing now, having an apartment and putting your foot to a short rest! 🙂 enjoy every single minute of it!
Have fun babe!
Oh I will!
Living like a local in Buenos Aires — how cool is that! Your place looks nice and comfy. Relax and enjoy.
As soon as we stepped into it I knew we should stop looking. It’s pricey as hell but so worth it.
I get what you mean! I’m staying in a rented place now and going to move out to a place I bought with my hubby. The feeling is SO liberating! 🙂
Look at you, queen of the castle! Happiness is a big couch. I remember getting my first apartment after living a nomadic ocean life for two years. Absolute bliss! Hot water! Flushing toilet! Electricity!
This sounds great- and you have a roommate you like, who is a travel blogger- that is awesome!
Can’t wait to meet up at TBEX, really looking forward to putting all the stories to a person. Have fun living the “normal” life!!
One of the first things I am going to do is find a taco place – I will be thinking of you!
I felt the same way when I was backpacking Taiwan. I had to settle down in one city for a while … I was tired to constantly calling up hostels and seeing if something was available. 🙂 But then that only lasted 5 days before I just needed to get a move on again.
I felt the same way when I was backpacking Taiwan. I had to settle down in one city for a while … I was tired to constantly calling up hostels and seeing if something was available. 🙂 But then that only lasted 5 days before I just needed to get a move on again ….
Wow 5 days at a time, that would be exhausting.
Awesome Ayngelina! Make sure you eat some of that steak and dulce de leche ice cream for me!
Oh lord I cannot eat any more steak!
Sweet apartment! That’s what we like about our 91 Days, staying in one place and feeling like home.
Turns out for Bolivia we are doing the opposite. We are not staying in Sucre as planned for 91 Days buy instead split up our time between locations. That means tons of traveling, planning, etc.
We can do that now, since our doggy is now with my mom in Germany until we are back in Europe in mid August
I think you have it right, although I am already making friends that will be tough to leave in a month. Where are you splitting your time in Bolivia?
I wonder if I’ll ever get that feeling. I plan on a few months of backpacking but in reality I want to hop from country to country in a slow travel way. Find a job work there for 3, 6, or 12 months then move on. But who knows what the future holds.
I would think it delays the feeling for something more permanent. I stayed 2-3 months in each country but really missed just settling down. When I come back in the Fall I will do the same, rent an apartment for 2-3 months at a time and then move on. Although at the 3 month mark you have friends and familiarity that you have to leave.
Hi Ayngelina, but that is the beauty of this life style. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Enjoy entertaining in your lounge and cooking in your little kitchen. Life is about now so enjoy your now (and your vegetables!)
Hugs
Colleen
Your new apartment looks lovely. Did you feel tired of traveling before the year mark came around? Do you feel that the travel bug will bite you again after staying in BsAs for awhile?
I want to be able to travel indefinitely, but I don’t take enough time to consider what to do when I just get worn out. I think you had a great idea to just relax and enjoy yourself in one set location, but for how long?
You certainly hit walls. I hit one at 6 months (post here) but I had slowed down quite a bit and was spending 2-3 months in each country and often a month in a city. I am heading back to Canada for the summer but my plan is to return in the Fall and rent apartments 2-3 months at a time.
It’s hard to say how long to stay in one place, it is different for everyone and at different stages in travel. That’s why I am adamant about not making plans or schedules or booking things in advance because it never works out.
On my year long circuit of South America I put it all on hold for 4 weeks after reaching BA. We rented an apartment and just relaxed with wine, empanadas and steak for a month.
Try La Cabrera in Palermo for steak with the most amazing side dishes.
I ate my way through the San Telmo Steakhouses and now La Cabrera is on my list!
That is so awesome, Aynge. Whether it’s temporary or permanent, living like a resident in BA is one of the things I’d love to do. And I think that living among the locals will give you an amazing experience. Rather than sift through the towns, you’ll get to discover how the Argentinian city folk really live. 😀
Well let’s hope I still have interesting things to write about!
I totally understand the need to hang your hat some where for awhile. Enjoy BsAs, I was there for 7 months and loved every bit of it. Sure some days became routine but I would just find a new barrio to explore. If you decide to stay after your trip home..ask around, you can find good affordable apartments that don’t break the bank. Disfruta!!!!
When I come back I’m definitely taking a bit longer to look around, we paid a lot but for one month it’s not so bad. Any longer and I’d want something different.
I can see how settling in would be a nice change after being on the road for a year. Good for you that you aren’t pushing yourself to see everything and staying in one place for a while instead. How fun that you have another travel blogger roommate as well.
Yes and Rease from Travelated is just down the street!
That is an excellent idea for traveling. We have yet to give it a try I have to admit, but we always plan on it. I think it is important to settle down and enjoy a place like the locals. What a great apartment you have too!
It’s been nice, especially in a place like Buenos Aires where it’s harder to meet locals.
I think we all crave that familiarity after awhile. 🙂 It’s nice to just have a place for your stuff without living out of a suitcase, eh? No matter if I do become a gal like you who travels for an extended amount of time, I always want a house to come back to.
I have no house to go back to!
Fun! that place looks really great 🙂 See you in a couple weeks!
I would actually argue the opposite. You really don’t get to know a place by constantly moving around. You’re more limited in your experiences to other travelers and it’s difficult to sniff out the cool people, experiences and events when there for the very short term.
Plus, for larger world class cities, like Paris, Buenos Aires, NYC or Tokyo, you’ll need like a month anyway just to simply explore the vastness of it all.
So you’re doing the right thing!
I think we are arguing the same 😉
I can’t say I blame you. This seems like a great option so you can enjoy a little of home on the road. As someone who likes routine, it is something I would definitely want as well after traveling for so long. All the research and new places to stay can be fun but after a year of it has to get old. Good luck to you and Stephanie as you enjoy some comforts of home. And try not to get Rease into any more trouble! 🙂
So nice! I think Buenos Aires is a good place to settle down and call home for a while. It will definitely be a different experience form your previous year. So cool you and Stephanie found a nice spot in the city (and that Rease is nearby too!)
Traveling can indeed be too intense at times. I’m starting to hate unpacking only to have to pack in less than 5 days. Those long bus rides are also starting to get to us. But not enough to deter us from nonstop traveling yet. Love the apartment! And the couch!
You know what is weird, I have started to like 20 hour bus rides because I can’t do anything but just sit and do nothing!
I wish I would have done that when I got Travel Fatigue. I totally know what you were going through and am so glad you rented a place!! It looks like fun!
It helps so much, I’m starting to get to know the city much better and the expat community here isn’t old creepy men but a lot of young writers who are so happy to meet new people.
Wow. You lasted a year! Ive been moving every 3-4 days for a month-and-a-half, and Im ready to stay in one place for a few weeks already.
So much planning and research when you’re always on the move. I hate it =D
You will slow down much more. When I first started it was every 2 days then every 4 days then a week then a month! To go long-term you just take more time and have more down days
That’s a sweet little apt! I just bet you may be tempted to stay a little longer….?
If I didn’t have a plane ticket and TBEX I would definitely stay longer.
I can totally relate – packing and re-packing can get so frustrating. It’s nice to settle down for a bit. Best way to really experience a city and its culture (and you picked a great city to do this!)
Yes but it is just so tempting to stay…
Isn’t it usually true though that we crave the things (or the lifestyle) that we don’t currently have? The grass is always greener…
It’s great that you’re changing things up a bit and settling down for a few weeks. I’m sure it’s also nice to sleep in the same bed night after night!!
Sounds to me like there will be exciting new posts to read about. 🙂 Congrats on your new living situation, I can’t wait to read more about Argentina from a resident’s point of view. 😉
Well I hope I can deliver 😉
I can totally understand that! Cute place, by the way =) Since we saw you awhile ago now, you don’t have much time left there, then?
Yep I’m on the other end now, sad to go home!
I totally get this. I’ve never traveled for months at a time, but my most recent big trip to India was kinda crazy, so this summer, all I wanted to do was return to somewhere I know and love – Mexico. I’ll definitely be staying in hostels, visiting a few new place, but I am so excited for the familiarity aspect of things and “wasting time” in places I’ve already wasted time in!
I”d love to go back and rent an apartment in Oaxaca, I just didn’t eat enough!
I definitely understand the desire to slow down a bit and develop some sort of routine! When Kali and I head abroad we’re really going to try to find furnished short-term apartments. So instead of whizzing through a city in a few days, we want to spend a month or two (with more traditional travel in between). We hope it helps address the feeling or burnout! 🙂
Also, just curious, but how did you find your current place? Is the price reasonable?
We got it through an agency and in Buenos Aires apartments go for the same price (600-800) but sharing it with Stephanie makes it manageable. Other countries are much better, in Ecuador you can live really well for $300.
Aw, you look so cute with your cooking utensils. I’ve discovered I’ve become a slow traveler and like to settle for a while to explore rather than rush, rush. That might be staying at a place for 2 to 3 weeks or at least a month.
One thing I hate these days is rushing. That’s all I did before, so traveling slower works and yeah, agree, a combo of both can be a good thing!
I know a month used to seem like an eternity to stay in one place but when I come back I think I need atleast 2-3 months.
like you i also have decided to stay for one month for every place i go to… not sure if this is just a phase but id like to just laze around and do nothing for the moment… and luang prabang seemed to be the perfect place to do that… take care in buenos aires 🙂 lovely place by the way… and with your own kitchen too!!! 🙂
Lovely article! I’ve been there – it’s interesting that sometimes a good grocery trip sounds more appealing than a UNESCO site. After doing Napa wine country in California with my sister, we walked into a Target and sighed with relief – it felt familiar.
When I first moved to an apartment, it used to be messy. I cleaned it up and tidied it to perfection. But due to work schedules, I hardly had time to tidy things up especially my room. So I hire a cleaner. But it is good to clean it yourself than go pay someone else to do it.