Neighborhoods in Buenos Aires

Although about half of my life is lived deep in the countryside where cellphone coverage is rather new and we still don´t have "real" electricity yet ...I spend the other half living very close to what you might call "downtown" Buenos Aires.

Now I´ve always been a city boy ...but even after emigrating here from Chicago, I´m still amazed at how urban this place is.  Other than maybe downtown Manhattan, I don´t think there is anywhere in the US with this kind of population density.

Of course, that kind of density is not everyone´s cup of tea (Jesus Christ, Mildred!  Millions of those poor bastards all livin' on TOP of each other!) ...and some days it does seem a little overbearing during rush-hours.  However, density does bring its conveniences.

I think it could even "play in Peoria" ...after all, in a city this big and dense, every little sub-neighborhood roughly equates to a small midwestern town.  The biggest difference being that within only a half a dozen square blocks you can find a vibrance that small-town mainstreet hasn´t shown for half a century.

Tonight, my missus sent me to the all-night pharmacy for a cold remedy ...and it was such an easy task that I came back an drew you a map of my 'hood.

H marks our home on the sixth (seventh, in the US) floor of our building.
B is a great bar with microbrews and open-air seating.
C is a little store that sells beer-to-go 24 hours a day.
D marks a couple of locations that sell great hotdogs.
E is our parking garage.
F is a 24 hour pharmacy.
G marks three groceries ...one of which is actually two-in-one, it has one of those great vegetable markets next door.  Imagine!  Urban people ususally have trouble getting to a grocery ...I choose from four (there is actually a fifth one in my barrio which I never go to.)
I is a terrific, old-fashioned neighborhood ice cream store.  I don´t think there´s a better one in town.
K, is a 24 hour convenience store where I can pickup cigs and sodas and few other such things.  They don´t even close for holidays!
P is a great pizzeria that delivers.
R is a barbershop ...he´s not that good but he´s there in a pinch.
S is a subway stop.  I can´t tell you how nice it is to have one that close.
W is a very big sidewalk cafe ...there are too many others to show on the map.
Y marks two locations where I can pay any utility bills that don´t yet accept online payment.

The big avenues are great for busses and taxis and loads of shopping of all kinds.  The big park is beautiful and usually has some sort of art or history or cultural instalation. 

I´ve only listed the places that I go to regularly.  There just isn´t space to include all the banks, little hardware and appliance stores, the shoe repairs, nightclubs and restaurants, coffee shops and lunch counters, bookstores, police stations, doctors, dentists, veterinarians and pet stores, and more.

...and it´s nothing special.  Anyone in any neighborhood in Buenos Aires can tell you the same kind of story.

Buenos Aires:  urban living at its best.