Whether you´ve been here a few days or a few years, no one wants to leave.
In Mexico, where my darling aunt and uncle introduced me to the expat life, the day of departure was called "crying day." Nobody wanted to leave there, either ...but not too many people stayed!
Here in Buenos Aires, (I was just talking about this to Susy from Tucson not 2 hours ago!) expats go to enormous lengths to stay ...and they generally do!
There are not many of my friends and acquaintances over the last 7 years who have picked-up and actually left.
That´s a big change from the narrative among expats here when I arrived!
In 2003, after a few meetings with the venerable BA Newcomers Group, inevitably, you would be drawn into a conversation about how "long timers" and "short timers" didn´t mix.
The "short timers" would complain that the "long timers" were snobbish or cliquish or somehow not social with them.
The "long timers", on the other hand, complained that they were wary of developing relationships with the "short timers" because it was difficult to say goodbye to good friends after only a year or two.
I think a different dynamic may have developed since then. Nowadays, no one wants to leave and, it seems, few people do!
Becky of expanish.com makes a list of the things she loves about Buenos Aires and why she doesn´t want to leave.
What´s your list? Give it some thought!
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