10 Stereotypes About Living in Buenos Aires
Are you thinking about or planning to move to Buenos Aires? Do you have any stereotypes about what it’s like to live in Buenos Aires?
What have you heard about Porteños (people living in Ciudad de Buenos Aires)?
I lived in Buenos Aires for 3 years as an American expat and today I’m sharing my thoughts on all the stereotypes I’ve heard about living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Read on to see if the stereotypes you’ve heard are true or false!
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Stereotypes I’ve heard about living in Buenos Aires:
Porteños are argumentative
True. They like to argue about any and everything from what I experienced. Andrew experienced this in the office a lot as well. They will pick a side and argue for hours. Sometimes it won’t even make sense but they will stick with it!
Porteños are futbol lovers
True. Just about everybody watches futbol and roots for a team of their choice. When certain matches are on you can expect to hear your neighbors cheering through the walls! And you’ll hear lots of car horns honking if the right team scores! Get this jersey so you’ll fit in when you get to Buenos Aires!
This may be normal for most of you but Americans are not used to watching that much futbol. When I lived overseas I noticed there were constant matches on t.v. you could watch.
Porteños are neat dressers
True. I found this to be true in Buenos Aires. It seemed like the people on the streets were always dressed smartly. Now I did live in Recoleta and Puerto Madero (more upscale neighborhoods) so that may have had something to do with it. But overall, Americans dress much more casually. In Buenos Aires, I rarely saw people wearing yoga leggings out unless they were actually going to exercise.
Argentine food is spicy
False. I found Argentine food not spicy at all. In fact, we usually had to add some seasoning or pepper to pump up the flavor a little. In many restaurants, they will have salt at the table but not pepper because not as many people use it. If you’re living there and don’t see black pepper, just ask for it!
Note: Just because Argentine food isn’t spicy doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious! I did an entire blog on my favorite Argentine foods that is sure to make your mouth water!
Argentine’s eat dinner late
True. Many restaurants in Buenos Aires don’t open until 8pm. There are some that open earlier but don’t be surprised if you’re the only one eating before 9pm.
On a regular basis, Andrew and I would go to dinner at 6 or 7pm and the porteños were still taking their happy hour!
The longer we lived in Buenos Aires, we began to get to know which restaurants opened earlier than 8 so we could eat earlier on weekdays. But even then, we were mostly eating with other expats! For the life of me, I don’t know how they ate a steak and went to bed two hours later!
Porteños like to smoke
True. I noticed many people smoked when we lived in Buenos Aires. It was hard to walk around sometimes because there were always people smoking on the sidewalks. And there was no clearance between the building entrance and the smokers. So as soon as you walk out of a building be prepared to get smoke blown in your face.
I seemed to perfect the art of holding my breath when I passed a person smoking. Or, if possible, I would breathe a long breath out to avoid inhaling. Coming from America, I was not used to being around that many smokers.
Argentines eat steak all the time
False. It’s true that steak is synonymous with Argentina however Buenos Aires has a lot more to offer than just steak.
In fact, Andrew and I were vegetarians for the majority of the time we lived in Buenos Aires and we got on just fine. I’m planning to do a video about being vegetarian in Buenos Aires so be sure to subscribe to get notified when that video comes out.
Argentina has delicious empanadas, pastas, milanesas and so many more dishes that aren’t steak. But don’t worry if you enjoy steak. You can find it on nearly every menu! And P.S - They almost eat steak all the time lol.
Argentines aren’t political people
False. Argentine’s love to talk about politics - All. The. Time.
More than talking about politics they enjoy arguing their position and will argue to the death. And given their long eventful history and economic issues it’s no wonder they all have a position they enjoy “discussing”. If you bring up politics, be prepared for a long conversation!
Porteños all have a European background
True. This is probably true for the most part but not for everyone. Most Porteños will tell you they are “Italian” or “Spanish” not Argentine. Because their family (grandparents) are from that country. They take great pride in where their family is originally from, which could be why the Italian food is so good in Buenos Aires!
The most important people are Maradonna and Lionel Messi
Probably true, lol. When I lived in Buenos Aires, I cannot tell you how big the news of Maradonna passing was. They had a full day “in waiting” where his body was laying in the Casa Rosada for thousands to walk by and throw their roses and jerseys on the casket. Even the President spent time saying goodbye.
And whenever Messi is playing, they root hard for him. He is the biggest global star on their national team. When driving around, you’ll see Messi all over the place, from billboard ads to chip bags.
I mentioned it earlier, but Argentina loves their futbol and Maradonna and Messi are futbol gods in Argentina.
Despite all the stereotypes I found the people of Buenos Aires to be very nice and welcoming. I enjoyed my time living in Buenos Aires and nothing about these stereotypes made it difficult to live there. In fact, you can read about my favorite things about living in Buenos Aires.
Have you been to Buenos Aires? What do you think about the stereotypes? Do your experiences match mine? Let me know in the comments!
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