Tell me about Argentina please. (ski resorts, gated, to live)

[Alaskan_Adventurer]

Has anyone been or lived in Argentina? I plan on traveling there soon, and would like people's opinions. Thanks in advance.

[macmeal]

I've been there, not recently. Was once a Merchant Seaman. Pretty much a white, European population, Italian, Spanish, German, British, and various European groups, a few middle easterners. Probably some more "recent" groups since I left.

Varied climate. Hot, humid and oppressive in extreme north interior. Dry, warm desert in NW (with irrigated vineyards). Most people live in "humid Pampa" in the North and east. Flat, rich farmland, like US Midwest "corn belt".
Farther south is dryer, emptier plains. Very arid, lonely and windy, often quite cold. There's a long-lost colony of Welsh descendants near the town of Madryn, where Welsh is spoken by some.
Far south in Tierra del Fuego is an eerie atmosphere a little like Alaska, perhaps. Lots of rough, "temporary","frontier" atmosphere, and an oil industry. Very few people (many are Yugoslavian), increasing immigrants from Northern Argentina. Quite barren, cold, EXTREMELY windy, treeless mostly. Real "Big Sky Country" for sure.. (unlike nearby S. Chile, which is EXTREMELY rainy and cloudy).

Entire western border is high mountains. Some ski resorts, many run by German-Argentines. The Spanish spoken in Argentina has a noticeable Italian accent. (Somewhat the way the English in New Jersey sometimes does).

Interesting place--Buenos Aires HUGE and very European--sidewalk cafes, etc. Huge silos and grain-loading facilities reminiscent of the American midwest.

Nearby Uruguay is quite similar in scenery and demographics, just a "miniature" version of the Pampas. Quite different from their "neighbor" countries.

Very interesting--have a good trip--hope this helps...

[recycled]

Macmeal, very good description of Argentina, especially considering you visited as a merchant seaman and did not live there.
My favorite place in Argentina is in the central part of the country, near Cordoba. This area has a mild climate, not so humid as the lowland pampas but with just enough rain most of the year to keep it green. Nice terrain also, combination of several small mountain ranges, lakes, forest and many nice towns surrounding the city of Cordoba.
Argentina is a big country (8th largest in the world, bigger than Mexico) so it can take a long time to get from place to place by land. They have a great bus system, very comfortable, safe and relatively inexpensive. You can get a bus from Buenos Aires to almost anywhere in the country. Get a guide book like Lonely Plant to help you narrow down what to see and do, otherwise it's too big of a place to tackle without knowing more.

[fierrito]

Originally Posted by Alaskan_Adventurer

Has anyone been or lived in Argentina? I plan on traveling there soon, and would like people's opinions. Thanks in advance.

Hi there i used to live en argentina, i do recomended to travel ,to many places to see ,Bariloche ,Perito moreno the only glaciar in the world who still groing or so ,and of course buenos aires ,city the best food and wine you ever gonna see ,,,,,good luck any question ill be more happy thje tell you..

[starbucks]

Originally Posted by macmeal

Entire western border is high mountains. Some ski resorts, many run by German-Argentines. The Spanish spoken in Argentina has a noticeable Italian accent. (Somewhat the way the English in New Jersey sometimes does).

Nearby Uruguay is quite similar in scenery and demographics, just a "miniature" version of the Pampas. Quite different from their "neighbor" countries.

Very interesting--have a good trip--hope this helps...

"Italian accent" uh? spanish spoken with Italian accent mmm...

Be on the look-out for exagerations, Argentinians love to make believe they are something they are not. For starters they'll tell you they are mostly of european descent, and if you only go to large cities you'll believe it. However, it is a large and beautiful country, just be aware of the people.

[recycled]

Originally Posted by starbucks

"Italian accent" uh? spanish spoken with Italian accent mmm...

It sounds like you are doubting this? Anybody who speaks Spanish and who has visited or lived in Argentina or even watched a movie made in Argentina knows about the unique accent that people use there. They speak Spanish with a very distinct pronunciation that mimics Italian. I have overheard people speaking Spanish with an Argentine accent many times, and later chatted with them about where they were from in Argentina. It is one of the most distinct accents to pick out of any Spanish speaking country, an instant giveaway to where the person is from. Several of my coworkers are from Argentina, and I chat with them quite often in Spanish. Many of my other coworkers who don't speak Spanish have even asked me why the Argentines speak Spanish with such an Italian accent.

[starbucks]

Originally Posted by recycled

It sounds like you are doubting this? Anybody who speaks Spanish and who has visited or lived in Argentina or even watched a movie made in Argentina knows about the unique accent that people use there. They speak Spanish with a very distinct pronunciation that mimics Italian.

Yes on both counts. Visited Argentina and I am fluent in spanish. ( Si gustas le seguimos en espanol). No doubt I can spot an Argentinian speaking a mile away, however, I can do that with Chileans, Peruvians, Mexicans, Colombians... etc. Most countries do have a unique accent easily recognizable to people who are fluent in spanish, but what is an Italian accent?. That is like saying that southeners here speak with a french accent, southern accent has nothing to do with the french language.

[rosaura]

hi! im from argentina, i was born in the south, where the glaciars and beautiful landscapes are. I also lived for 4 years in buenos aires, capitol city, and if u are planning to go there, u will not regret is a beautiful country!!!!!!

[rosaura]

Originally Posted by starbucks

"Italian accent" uh? spanish spoken with Italian accent mmm...

Be on the look-out for exagerations, Argentinians love to make believe they are something they are not. For starters they'll tell you they are mostly of european descent, and if you only go to large cities you'll believe it. However, it is a large and beautiful country, just be aware of the people.

Just for the record, im from argentina, my family is a european descendent, and is not true that european descendent are from large cities, im actually from rio gallegos santa cruz, wich is the capitol city of the state with only 80.000 people population, just for u to know most of the european descendants like me are from small states..next time, do a little research, argentina population is from european descendant in a 80%, europeans almost build my country, in thw 1800 we wore an spanish colony, and the we achieve uor independece, but thanks to the world wars europeans move to argentina.

[rosaura]

Originally Posted by recycled

It sounds like you are doubting this? Anybody who speaks Spanish and who has visited or lived in Argentina or even watched a movie made in Argentina knows about the unique accent that people use there. They speak Spanish with a very distinct pronunciation that mimics Italian. I have overheard people speaking Spanish with an Argentine accent many times, and later chatted with them about where they were from in Argentina. It is one of the most distinct accents to pick out of any Spanish speaking country, an instant giveaway to where the person is from. Several of my coworkers are from Argentina, and I chat with them quite often in Spanish. Many of my other coworkers who don't speak Spanish have even asked me why the Argentines speak Spanish with such an Italian accent.

hi im from argentina actually, and u're right, we have an unique accent because all the spanish and italian influece, if someone cheks our language they note that we have a lot of italian, spanish, french and eve english words, u're right we have kind of a italian accent