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11. Moving to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires at a Glance

Moving to Buenos Aires

Latin America's second largest metropolitan region has attracted foreigners for centuries.

Located near the Río de la Plata, the bay of the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers, and surrounded by fertile plains, Buenos Aires was founded in the early 16^th century and was under Spanish rule until 1816, when Argentina managed to declare its independence without falling into royalist hands again.

Thousands of people began moving to Buenos Aires when the city, as the center of the young Argentine nation, opened up to large-scale immigration in the 1850s. Moving to Buenos Aires, those immigrants from Spain, Italy, and other European countries transformed the new capital into a wealthy and sophisticated metropolis.

Moving to Buenos Aires: The 20^th and 21^st Centuries

In the later 20^th century, however, moving to Buenos Aires lost its past glamour. Even after the admirable re-democratization of the country, moving to Buenos Aires didn’t seem all that attractive. The Argentine capital recently suffered from a serious economic crisis and socio-political unrest among the impoverished population.

However, after Argentina’s bicentennial celebrations in 2010, moving to Buenos Aires has been getting some of its popularity back. The city is as vibrant and bohemian as ever: Not only has its reputation among international tourists reached new heights, but many foreigners are currently moving to Buenos Aires for work.

Move to Buenos Aires: Greater Buenos Aires

When moving to Buenos Aires, you will, of course, need a place to live. Among expatriates, the choice of residence is influenced by such factors as proximity to work, transport, and international schools. Nonetheless, it helps to know a little about the various neighborhoods and suburbs before moving to Buenos Aires.

The city consists of 48 different quarters. These neighborhoods, from Agronomía to Villa Urquiza, only form the capital itself, though. The autonomous federal district is surrounded by the Buenos Aires Province. Outside the official city limits, between 24 and 30 municipalities belong to the urban sprawl of Greater Buenos Aires.

Moving to Buenos Aires: Population

According to the 2010 census, the capital itself only has 2.8 million inhabitants. It suffers neither from rapid demographic growth nor overpopulation. The Gran Buenos Aires region is turning into one enormous conurbation. Today, over 12 million people live there.

In the 48 neighborhoods of Buenos Aires City, you’ll find an interesting demographic mix of ethnicities and nationalities. A small number of porteños – i.e. probably less than 10% of the total population – are mestizos (mixed-raced descendants of Amerindians and European colonists) or Afro-Argentines. Most other Buenos Aires natives can trace their ancestry back to the immigration waves from Europe, East Asia and the Middle East, and other Latin American nations.

Move to Buenos Aires: Ethnic Groups

In addition to the immigrants from Italy and Spain, numerous Germans, Irish, Portuguese, French, English, Welsh, Scandinavians, and Russians wanted to try their luck in Argentina’s capital, especially in the late 19^th century. Among these, there was also a considerable number of European Jews: Buenos Aires still boasts Latin America’s largest Jewish community today. Its heritage can be seen throughout the city in traditionally Jewish neighborhoods like Villa Crespo.

In the early 1900s, Syrians, Lebanese, and Armenians began to arrive, but after World War II, the migration shifted to new arrivals from other South American countries, mainly Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, and Paraguay, and the emergence of several East Asian communities. After a brief wave of Romanians and Ukrainians making their way to Argentina in the 1990s, contemporary Buenos Aires has become a favorite among expatriates (and immigrants) from Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and other European countries again.

Moving to Buenos Aires: Residential Areas for Expats

Today’s expat residential areas are a far cry from the historical immigrant quarters in Buenos Aires. As mentioned above, most expatriates choose their home in close proximity to their workplace, a public transport node, or their children’s school(s). Nonetheless, there are some neighborhoods which are especially popular among foreign executives moving to Buenos Aires and the well-to-do expat population, and we will introduce them on the following page.