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There's no way BA is 97% white. Maybe 60%-80%, but not 97%. There are a lot of mestizo/Indian immigrants/migrants from various parts of South America as well as notable Middle Eastern/Armenian/Jewish communities, a Chinatown and a Japanese community. There aren't a lot of black folks down that way though. BA is still a diverse city.
The culture is overwhelmingly European though - there's pretty much no indigenous influence.
As far as safety goes, I'd imagine BA is safer than Caracas, Rio or Bogota. You're probably more likely to get robbed or swindled in BA than in a North American city but violent crime is less prevalent.
Montevideo is very safe, but it's so tranquil it's almost eerie - it feels sketchy because it seems like everyone is stirring and just watching you. There are some bad neighborhoods though with some of the same tell-tale signs as a North American city. Some of it is just run-down and sketchy looking but otherwise safe. You're probably more likely to get robbed in MVD than if a city in the US though. Uruguay is a nice country with a relatively high level of development but there are some third world-esque slums within MVD.
I didn't make it to San Jose....but heard quite a bit of crime in the capital, and from what I've heard, quite a few Americans there too, which might even attract a bit more opportunity.
Montevideo...this might be close to Santiago Chile. I skipped Uruguay, but heard a lot of good things about it.
My Central America travel guide has spelled it out quite well on the lack of safety in San Jose.
I've made 5 trips to CA but never had much interest in Panama/Costa Rica, and never felt any fears walking around San Salvador, Guatamala City or Tegucigalpa.
I'm now sketching a fast, intense trip to get a peak, a sense, of the two countries I missed. I also missed Colombia in SA.
In Dec. I may either do a quickie "reconaisance" trip to Colombia or I'll merely take a night flight to Panama City, take an early morning bus to David (no Panama City at all), bus up to Costa Rica and stay in a small town outside San Jose, and fly back from Liberia. A total of 3-4 days, unless I tack on Managua.
A "feet-wetting" or "wine-tasting" trip, if you want to call it that. I'll probably kick myself if I discover an idyllic spot on that trip and not have more time to spend there, but so be it, it'll give me an excuse to return there one day.
Stop lying. BA has tons of "villeros", Paraguayans, Bolivians, Peruvians, Armenians, Jews, Africans in Once, Dominican prostitutes in Constitución, Chinese people near Belgrano, blah blah, etc. Only a shameless booster, who cannot see BA for what it is, would say that it is 97% "unmixed" (lol, yeah, right..lest we forget many Italians - the main group porteños are descended from - were only recently considered to be "white") white. BA is, at best, 70-75% white (and falling).
This might surprise some people but I have found Bogota and Cartagena to be pretty safe since there are so many cops there that are actually willing to help out tourists instead of just wanting or expecting a bribe plus Guerilla/Paramilitary activity has decreased since Uribe took over. Buenos Aires I thought was pretty safe as well along with alot of cities in Argentina considering the last time I went there they just went through a major economic collapse.
Really the trick to keeping you safe no matter what country or city is to dress conservatively (ie no cell phones, ipods, watches, jewelry) and keeping a minimal amount of cash in your pocket while hiding the rest somewhere hard to reach (ie inside your shoe for example) along with your credit/debit card. Of course doing stupid stuff such as selling/buying drugs, and wandering around dark alleys/streets is guaranteed to get you in trouble as well.
To be honest I have found myself in more shady situations in the U.S. than any Latin American country I have been in so far.
Last edited by diablo234; 08-15-2010 at 09:36 PM..
I totally agree. I just came back from Cartagena, and I am actually still in Bogota. No problems whatsoever! Though, all of my Bogotano friends say that the bad areas are in the South, and insist that I avoid those, even in the day time. Using common sense/street smarts, and not dressing extravagantly goes a long ways in these parts (and anywhere, really). Looking like a local, and speaking Spanish obviously helps alot, too, but is not completely necessary.
I'm going to have to third Bogota... I've never been to other cities in South America but I always felt safe there. There are a lot of police and security guards, and they seemed to be doing their jobs! Haha. Seriously, I loved it there.
As far as flashy dressing goes, there seemed to be a lot of flashy Colombians dressed veeery nicely! But of course it's easy to discern locals from tourists.
It really helped me that I was staying with Colombian friends.
I've made 5 trips to CA but never had much interest in Panama/Costa Rica, and never felt any fears walking around San Salvador, Guatamala City or Tegucigalpa.
Sorry I have travelled on several occasions to El Salvador's capital and never felt safe. Gangs seem to dominate the city and there is really nothing that should attract tourists ( museums, bohemian neighborhoods nor local culture).
Buenos Aires has a lot of crime. Definetely not the safest. It might be one of the whitest though, but not the safest.
I imagine probably Montevideo, Uruguay is safer, and i have yet to met the stats of other LatinAmerican countries, but i DO know BA is safer than most places (this said by latinamericans living here -btw, there are a TON, specially the last few years). Im a woman, i live alone in Buenos aires and i WALK (dont own a car) at any hour at any time withouth having any problem ever (i walk by my neighbourhood returning from a part at 4am and dont feel unsafe at all). Being such a walkabe city and so touristic and full of people i found it to be very safe, cause you are always surrounded by people. Of course crime exist like in every big city, but i dont think BA is a particullary unsafe city, specially compared to the rest of LA.
Stop lying. BA has tons of "villeros", Paraguayans, Bolivians, Peruvians, Armenians, Jews, Africans in Once, Dominican prostitutes in Constitución, Chinese people near Belgrano, blah blah, etc. Only a shameless booster, who cannot see BA for what it is, would say that it is 97% "unmixed" (lol, yeah, right..lest we forget many Italians - the main group porteños are descended from - were only recently considered to be "white") white. BA is, at best, 70-75% white (and falling).
Not africans, no, but its true in the last years the bolivian, paraguayan, peruvian population have increased A LOT, cause BA have been doing very well economically and those countries not so they all come to the big city to work. Nothing wrong with that, and its true BA is not as white as it was, cause its full of inmigrants. Lately, i ve been seeing a lot of inmigrants from USA and Spain as well.
Its also full of asians (chinese, coreans, mostly) and we also have the Barrio Chino and the chinese supermarkets in every corner. Very very big asian population in BA, but i guess asians are everywhere, right? (i mean in every big metropolis).
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