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I think of this as a good followup to the existing Sao Paulo vs Mexico City thread, but with metros a step down in size and perhaps a step up in international name recognition.
Between Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, which one would you prefer to live in? How about to visit?
Having been to both, Buenos Aires to live beyond any shadow of a doubt, and quite possibly Buenos Aires to visit also. The one caveat in that, is that Rio has more things I didn't get to do on my first visit that I would like to see at some point (hiking through the landscapes around there, a favela tour, visiting during or right before/after Carnival to attend, the Niteroi Museum, and perhaps checking out a couple places in the CBD (Portugese Library, Confeiteria Colombo, Mosaic Steps/Santa Teresa Tram, etc.). But, honestly, Buenos Aires just felt MUCH more walkable, more historically preserved, safer, organized, entertaining/inviting, etc. I will say that Rio's immediate setting is about as spectacular as any in the world from a natural standpoint, and that Buenos Aires doesn't have a similar quality for itself on a world scale (though it is probably the most visitor friendly urban center in S.A.). I guess what I'm saying is I want to go back to Rio to give certain aspects of it a second chance, but if I were recommending somewhere for someone to live, or even a first time visitor to hit for a week, almost unquestionably Buenos Aires.
Urbanity is so hard to measure in one word. Rio may be more dense in terms of population cropped together, but B.A. seems to have much better urban fabric, transit, connectivity, economy, and business density.
Never been to Rio. But it does seem like Buenos Aires is better in a lot of ways, it is much safer, has a better climate, better architecture, more developed, etc. However Rio is undoubtedly the more unique city. Buenos Aires draws a lot of influence from Italy and Paris, whereas Rio seems to be doing its own thing. Rio has a more South American flavor with the rolling green hills, the beautiful beaches, and the dances
Buenos Aires, definitively. Standard of living is better, climate is better and, most of important: personal safety. In fact, Buenos Aires and Santiago are the only cities in Latin America to where I would move without complaints.
Buenos Aires, definitively. Standard of living is better, climate is better and, most of important: personal safety. In fact, Buenos Aires and Santiago are the only cities in Latin America to where I would move without complaints.
I think among major cities, those would be my big two as well, with perhaps Quito being (#3) (don't know THAT much about them though). I think if I were to live anywhere in S.A. (L.A. in general) for a few months to a year, it would probably be Cusco though. It strikes me (though I could be wrong of course) as that would be even safer than any of the aforementioned places, a place where everything is relatively close together, there's plenty of amenities due to the tourist infrastructure, great climate (for my tastes), but most importantly, the energy of adventure that has to be there from having a core that is as European as almost any city out of Europe, combined with being the only city I know of in the world that serves as a main gateway point to seeing one of the 7 Natural, and 7 Man Made wonders of the world. My Top 5 for that (which I quite want to do), would be Cusco, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Hong Kong and Madrid.
Back to the thread though, yeah, unless someone was super in love with Brazilian Flamenco culture, or was that obsessed with the natural landscape as to let anything else slide, or ultra wealthy enough to live a life insulated from some of the more run down portions of the city altogether (and even then), I don't think too strong a case could be made for living in Rio rather than Buenos Aires. I would be curious to hear some dissenting opinion on that though, and I get why anyone would really want to visit the "Cidade Marvilhosa", at least once.
I think among major cities, those would be my big two as well, with perhaps Quito being (#3) (don't know THAT much about them though). I think if I were to live anywhere in S.A. (L.A. in general) for a few months, it would probably be Cusco though. It strikes me (though I could be wrong of course) as that would be even safer than any of the aforementioned places, a place where everything is relatively close together, there's plenty of amenities due to the tourist infrastructure, great climate (for my tastes), but most importantly, the energy of adventure that has to be there from having a core that is as European as almost any city out of Europe, combined with being the only city I know of in the world that serves as a main gateway point to seeing one of the 7 Natural, and 7 Man Made wonders of the world.
Back to the thread though, yeah, unless someone was super in love with Brazilian Flamenco culture, or was that obsessed with the natural landscape as to let anything else slide, or ultra wealthy enough to live a life insulated from some of the more run down portions of the city altogether (and even then), I don't think too strong a case could be made for living in Rio rather than Buenos Aires. I would be curious to hear some dissenting opinion on that though, and I get why anyone would really want to visit the "Cidade Marvilhosa", at least once.
Cuzco is not a good place to live imo. It has above average crime by Peruvian standards (altho it is safer than your average Brazilian city), has a very cold climate, uncomfortable latitude, slow internet, and honestly feels every bit a developing city
Sao Paulo seems like a good place to live as long as you stay out of the bad areas. I remember seeing that some of the wealthier parts of Sao Paulo have an HDI similar to Norway!
Cuzco is not a good place to live imo. It has above average crime by Peruvian standards (altho it is safer than your average Brazilian city), has a very cold climate, uncomfortable latitude, slow internet, and honestly feels every bit a developing city
Sao Paulo seems like a good place to live as long as you stay out of the bad areas. I remember seeing that some of the wealthier parts of Sao Paulo have an HDI similar to Norway!
Huh, that is surprising regarding crime, I had assumed Peru was safer than most other LA nations, and especially that Cusco's center would be sorta gentrified due to all the expats and tourists and people wanting to be in the mountain/pseudo-European setting. I've heard nothing but positives from people visiting, but I suppose that is a different story from being there long term. Re: Climate, it does look like each daytime reaches around 60s year round though, and honestly, if given a choice between colder evenings, and regularly excessively hot daytime temps, I would probably choose the former. I do get your point about altitude totally, though I've never lived at altitude so I can't speak to what it would be like. People do adjust (esp. locals though, right?). I've even heard there can be health benefits like having better breathing/endurance (some athletes sleep in altitude tents I think). I can imagine it would be worse for wear overall economically though for long term locals (non expats), because there probably isn't that much work outside the tourism sector. Do you think I'd potentially be miserable there if I chose that as a place for a 3-6 months immerse in Spanish, tour, etc? That is interesting to note about Sao Paulo!! I have to imagine all that money goes somewhere. The traffic would probably be overwhelming I would guess too though because it doesn't seem like that pedestrian friendly a city.
Anyways, sorry again for hijacking the thread. I feel like I've already weighed in pretty thoroughly on desire to live in/visit both, but would like to hear some dissenting opinions, re: Rio.
Buenos Aires, definitively. Standard of living is better, climate is better and, most of important: personal safety. In fact, Buenos Aires and Santiago are the only cities in Latin America to where I would move without complaints.
To be fair, i was sure that a paulista would not choose Rio anyway
To me is a tie. Clearly the two best big cities-capitals of SA imo (only Santiago is somewhat close), each of whom have their pros and cons when comparing each other. However, is true that BA is somewhat more wealthy/developed than RÃo.
Rio to visit and Buenos Aires to live, for me. B.A. was more "Manhattanesque"
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