I'm hunting for a new apartment yet again. I've lived in Barrio Norte, Recoleta, and Palermo so far. They're all along the Libertador Corridor, a broad band of neighborhoods through which Avenida del Libertador passes, adjacent to the Rio de la Plata river. They're considered the most desirable areas of the city and the only one I haven't lived in yet is Belgrano. There's one other ritzy area, Puerto Madero, but it's downtown and essentially reclaimed docklands so there's not a developed infrastructure of shops, pedestrian life, and such, so it doesn't really appeal to me. My search now is for a nice place in Belgrano
So far, I must say I'm not impressed with the quality of service from the temp rental agencies. The one I'm renting from now has been great but they don't have anything suitable at the moment in Belgrano. I've been searching other temp agencies online and they're not exactly customer-oriented. One displayed prices in their ads, listed as all-inclusive, but when I phoned, the price suddenly jumped up 20% or more. When I completed an online form to inquire about another apartment, that company sent back a reply that simply said it wasn't available. You'd think they would at least suggest I look at another similar listing or two, right? Or at least say when it would be available in case I want to rent it in the future? Other companies have simply failed to respond at all to my inquiries. Argentina definitely has a lot to learn about successful business practices.
On the other hand, I needed a document translated recently and it had to be an official certified translation. On an expatriate forum, I found a referral and phoned the translator. She's pregnant and expecting any minute so she passed me on to one of her colleagues, Brenda. I met with Brenda on Sunday evening and by Tuesday she had the translation ready for me and did it at a very reasonable cost. So I know it's not a complete cultural mindset, people here can get things done, can do their best to create goodwill which will bring them more business. It's just sadly not very common.
OK, shameless plug for Luciano. He's kind of a fanatic about business, really wants to work hard to be successful and build his enterprise. I told him about my blog and that he was featured in it and the first thing he said was "Did you put a link to my store in it?" And I'd been worried he might object to even being discussed in a public forum! So here it is, if you're looking for an amiable guy who will sell you vitamins, nutritional supplements, apparel, and other sports related items, visit his website or store, Mercado Sports. Plus you get the bonus of a very cute guy assisting you with your purchases.
That's it for the moment. It's a three-day holiday weekend here and we're heading off to La Pampa (the part of Argentina where real gauchos are) soon. We decided to take a spur of the moment trip somewhere and originally planned to go to Rosario. Then he got inspired about the idea of visiting La Pampa and did a 180. He began extolling the virtues of La Pampa so ecstatically that I almost believe we'll be greeted by a receiving line of handsome gauchos (cowboys) on horseback and a bevy of wholesome fresh-faced maidens who will strew our path with flowers. Two hours earlier, he was just as rapturous about Rosario but after La Pampa popped into his fertile brain, Rosario became an evil corrupt city filled with liars, thieves, and cheats and only the fresh innocence and natural beauty of Argentine's plains would do! His tongue-in-cheek slandering of Rosario was truly funny and I'll remind him of what he said in the future when he suggests Rosario for another weekend outing.
I'll try to post a full accounting of our trip to the countryside on Tuesday after we return.
So far, I must say I'm not impressed with the quality of service from the temp rental agencies. The one I'm renting from now has been great but they don't have anything suitable at the moment in Belgrano. I've been searching other temp agencies online and they're not exactly customer-oriented. One displayed prices in their ads, listed as all-inclusive, but when I phoned, the price suddenly jumped up 20% or more. When I completed an online form to inquire about another apartment, that company sent back a reply that simply said it wasn't available. You'd think they would at least suggest I look at another similar listing or two, right? Or at least say when it would be available in case I want to rent it in the future? Other companies have simply failed to respond at all to my inquiries. Argentina definitely has a lot to learn about successful business practices.
On the other hand, I needed a document translated recently and it had to be an official certified translation. On an expatriate forum, I found a referral and phoned the translator. She's pregnant and expecting any minute so she passed me on to one of her colleagues, Brenda. I met with Brenda on Sunday evening and by Tuesday she had the translation ready for me and did it at a very reasonable cost. So I know it's not a complete cultural mindset, people here can get things done, can do their best to create goodwill which will bring them more business. It's just sadly not very common.
OK, shameless plug for Luciano. He's kind of a fanatic about business, really wants to work hard to be successful and build his enterprise. I told him about my blog and that he was featured in it and the first thing he said was "Did you put a link to my store in it?" And I'd been worried he might object to even being discussed in a public forum! So here it is, if you're looking for an amiable guy who will sell you vitamins, nutritional supplements, apparel, and other sports related items, visit his website or store, Mercado Sports. Plus you get the bonus of a very cute guy assisting you with your purchases.That's it for the moment. It's a three-day holiday weekend here and we're heading off to La Pampa (the part of Argentina where real gauchos are) soon. We decided to take a spur of the moment trip somewhere and originally planned to go to Rosario. Then he got inspired about the idea of visiting La Pampa and did a 180. He began extolling the virtues of La Pampa so ecstatically that I almost believe we'll be greeted by a receiving line of handsome gauchos (cowboys) on horseback and a bevy of wholesome fresh-faced maidens who will strew our path with flowers. Two hours earlier, he was just as rapturous about Rosario but after La Pampa popped into his fertile brain, Rosario became an evil corrupt city filled with liars, thieves, and cheats and only the fresh innocence and natural beauty of Argentine's plains would do! His tongue-in-cheek slandering of Rosario was truly funny and I'll remind him of what he said in the future when he suggests Rosario for another weekend outing.
I'll try to post a full accounting of our trip to the countryside on Tuesday after we return.
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