This is
exactly the type of article that gets me in trouble and makes me quit my job: waxing on about the next expat dive where
rent is $250 a month, food is cheap, culture is thriving, and leisurely days are spent hanging out in cafes, sipping
drinks, and reading the paper.
According to The
Washington Post, all this and more awaits disillusioned souls who want to ditch the working world and
disappear into the next expat Nirvana—Buenos Aires.
Cities come and go on the expat radar (I myself fell for the allure of Prague just before it got hot in the early
90s) but today, Buenos Aires is it. Thanks to an economic collapse in 2002, the city is extraordinarily
inexpensive, which means artists and writers can flock there to do their thing without being quite so starving.
Others show up to start businesses, or just to drink and lounge about (every cheap city seems to have its share of lazy
expats).
The curse of any great expat city, however, is often the expats themselves. I cringed when I read about the
Young Expatriates Society of Buenos Aires. Prague had such organizations and before I left, 25,000 Americans had
invaded the city and nearly ruined the place. Is Buenos Aires next? Judging by the impressive, in-depth
Washington Post article, I can only guess that the onslaught has already begun.