(A meandering post for a dreary Saturday.)
Maybe it´s just a (relatively) early onset of senility ...but when I get the bill for something in Buenos Aires, I don´t analyse it, I just pay it.
Before, I might have said to myself, "Wow, that was cheap" or "Hmm, that´s a little expensive" ...but nowadays, I don´t feel like I have an index or rule of thumb to make any comparisons.
Any other long-timers feel that way?
For years after "la crisis", it felt like the peso was still pegged to the dollar; if something cost 5 pesos, that same item would generally cost 5 dollars in the US. With a few exceptions like the local steak or some imported items, a 100 pesos walkin' around money would get you as far in Buenos Aires as 100 bucks in Chicago. Of course, the dollar then was worth almost 3 pesos.
Now when I leave the house, I just hope that I have enough money.
Using a credit card makes it even more unreal. A few months ago I made a purchase that my old instincts would have told me "about 200 or 300 pesos." I handed over the plastic, got the bill, signed it, and walked out to the curb quite pleased with myself.
Suddenly, looking at my receipt, I said out loud, "WTF did I just pay for that?"
And it´s very uneven. Recently, I stopped by L´epi for a giant loaf of their scrumptious bread: 11 pesos. I almost felt guilty, as if it were like buying a loaf of bread in Chicago for 11 dollars. On the way home, my missus called me to pick up a large diet Coke: $9.50. Suddenly, my pan artesanal didn´t seem so profligate.
When I posted Thursday about the dreamy coffee at Est. General de Café, I left out that a doble con crema set me back 14 pesos ...but I figger´d that the best in town should come at a premium. Today, however, I ordered the same thing in a non-descript little neighborhood joint ...same price for coffee that was, as I expected, only so-so.
I wonder, too, if this weirdness is a drag on the economy. I´ve found myself not even bothering to buy some things ...simply because I don´t want to go through the sticker shock.
The greenback is, of course, at 4 to 1 nowadays ...but I don´t think that explains the phenomenon. It´s disorienting. I´m not even sure how to write about it.
7 comments:
I so hear you!
I just tend to stay home and confine my sticker shock to the supermarket, which is bad enough!
Sheesh. The supermercado!
$300?
$400?
$547.90?
It´s almost like it´s a random number generator.
The experience is a pain in the ass, too.
Hey, what´s up with that Carrefour on Paseo Alcorta? What a dump ...and in Recoleta!
Carrefour in Paseo Alcorte used to be my favorite but lately our local Disco and Coto seem to have all the same items.
We just ran amok in L'epi .. I am so hooked on those tiny little almond croissants!
The dollar is good but the prices here are so high, it doesn't seem to make a difference.. the coffee we buy from EST is about 100pesos, which is about what a pound of French roast cost from our store in the US before we moved here .. 3 1/2 yrs ago.
Sticker shock hits me when I want ordinary ( in a previous life) things like moisturizer from the US :(
...so what is a visitor coming from the States (me and friends in a few weeks) to expect? Is the sticker shock just for Argentines or will we find things expensive too?
I think you´ll find it downright cheap ...we still rank among the most affordable cities in the world.
It´s still cheap for expats, too. There´s just this creeping inflation that is a little disorienting for those of us who have lived here for a while.
When ya comin´? Can you bring me some bib overalls?
besos,
Mike
letters@yanquimike.com.ar
Mike, I think the only thing still "cheap" here compared to the States is housing. Almost everything else not local foodstuffs or leather items or wine costs a whole lot more because so much is imported.
Drugs and pharmaceuticals, perfume and makeup, quality clothing, electronics, towels and sheets, cars--the list is long--are way more expensive.
That's why whenever I can get to L.A. (ever year or so), I bring back a suitcase of stuff! And I'm long overdue now!!
Intersting observations. I live in Capital Mendoza, and the subject of inflation is a staple of most conversations. Why for instance does a big mac cost the same in Mendoza as New york ? After all, prices in a rational economy reflect wholesale costs, the rent,and salaries in Mendoza are a fraction of New York. Another aspect of the Argentine Mystery.
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