Is Latin America Really Cheaper than the U.S.??

Every now and then, people ask me if Latin America is really all that much cheaper than living in the States. Or friends make comments about how I must be able to live like a king when I´m in Latin America. This is something I have briefly discussed in a previous post - Why I Like Latin America.

It is kind of a cliché idea that many gringos have - a dream of vacationing or retiring in a Latin paradise where the beer is cold and cheap. Well, that part is certainly true. The beer is cheaper... But the gringo dream encompasses much more than merely cheap beer - the gringo imagines a world where he can live a life of peace, relaxation and luxury.

I think most of us are somewhat familiar with this stereotypical idea of Latin America. Remember The Shawshank Redemption? Tim Robbins´s character breaks out of prison and makes his way down to a small coastal town in Mexico. Of course part of the reason he went to Latin America was to evade being captured and sent back to prison... But I´m just saying, Tim Robbins didn´t choose to hide out in Saudi Arabia or China - he went to Latin America... where the beer is indeed cold and the women are hot.

So, the question remains whether Latin America is really less expensive than living in the U.S... Well, the short answer is "Yes" - but the better answer is "it depends".

It depends on where you are coming from - are you moving to Latin America from Mississippi or are you moving from NYC, Boston, or Los Angeles??

It also depends on the lifestyle you are looking for - are you ready to live like an average Panamanian or are you accustomed to central A/C?

Maybe you live in a middle-class neighborhood in the U.S. - but what kind of neighborhood are you prepared for in Buenos Aires?

I´ll address some of these factors based on my own personal experience in the following posts:

Part 1 - Paying Rent in Latin America

Part 2 - Living like a Local

Part 3 - Goods and Services in Latin America

Remember this is not scientific data or anything - just my own observations and antecdotes.

Part 1 - Paying Rent in Latin America

So maybe you are thinking of moving permanently or temporarily to a Latin American country. You have heard that Latin America is supposed to be really cheap... so you should be able to live like a king, right? Well, yes and no. There are a number of factors to take into account in considering whether a gringo can really live all that much cheaper in Latin America.

One of the most substantial expenses in living in Latin America or anywhere else is RENT. Here are a few things to consider in anticipating whether or not your rent money in the U.S. will be sufficient to afford you a palace overlooking the Caribbean:

Where are you coming from? For one thing, it depends on where you have been living in the U.S. For example, when I graduated from the Ole Miss in 2006, I think that I was paying a little over $300/month for half of a 2 bedroom-2 bathroom house. Maybe it was closer to $350... Anyway, at one point I was paying about the same in Bocas del Toro, Panama. On one hand, I was not sharing the house in Bocas with a roommate. On the other hand, the place in Bocas was sort of sh*tty. But the rent was comparable to what I paid in Oxford, Mississippi.

Then I moved to Boston, where our 3-bedroom apartment costs $2,700/month. I share the place with 2 friends, so I end paying a little more than $800 in addition to my share of utilities. So you can see that Boston rent money would probably get me something pretty nice down in Bocas del Toro, compared to my rent money in Oxford Mississippi.

Where are you going? Of course it also depends where in Latin America you will be spending time. Like I said,

Part 2 - Living Like a Local

In determining whether your life in Latin America will be less expensive than in the U.S. you´ll need to decide how you plan to live...

Do you plan to be on permanent vacation in Latin America? Will you be jet-setting around all the time or clubbing every night?

Are you an overweight alcoholic or drug abuser? If so, then you´ll probably find food, alcohol and drugs to be cheaper in Latin America. But let´s be honest, gringo. You and I both know that this probably means that you are just going to consume even more...

Do you hope to integrate into the community? Or do you imagine your life in Latin America more like the people in the picture above?

Something I realized living in Panama is that I could live a whole lot cheaper there if I was willing to live and eat a little more like an average Panamanian.

Just a few examples:

A standard Panamanian meal may consist of lots of rice, beans, fried or baked plantains, and a relatively small portion of meat. It is work food - inexpensive and lots of carbs.

An average Panamanian does not necessarily need a huge quantity of beer and alcohol to enjoy a day at the beach.

In Panama City, thousands of Panamanians get around each day on packed buses with no air-conditioning, whereas most foreigners will opt for a taxi. The bus ride costs

Part 3 - Goods & Services in Latin America

I hope my posts have not discouraged you. Remember, I am a huge fan of Latin America - and one of things I like most is that I can afford a lifestyle that I really enjoy. I´m just trying to paint a slightly more informed, realistic picture of Latin America... Yes, in many ways it is a cheaper place to live, and it is certainly less expensive to travel here than in western Europe. But just how far your money really goes depends on a number of variables. I have tried to discuss some of those factors in this series of posts.

All that being said, there are certainly some products and services that are waaay cheaper here in Latin America. I´ll discuss some of my favorites:

Leather Goods in Argentina. Obviously, goods that are produced locally will tend to be less expensive. One great example is leather goods in Argentina. You see, Argentina has a bunch of cows - so that means a gringo can take advantage of great prices on cow products. Let me give you an example. In the picture on the right, you can see the Gucci´s famous Bit Loafer. The Gucci model costs about $500 retail. Other high-end shoe brands have come out with shoes of the same design. For example, the Allen Edmond model goes for about $300. Well, I bought a pair here in Argentina for less than U$S 100. They are made here locally, hand stitched and all of that - so this is sort of a mix of both a "good" and a "service".

And while the quality probably falls short of the Gucci model, I´ll get my money´s worth out of these shoes. You can also get great deals on leather coats, bags, purses, belts, etc. For U$S 15-20, you can buy a leather belt that would cost more than twice as much in the States.

Beef. Here in Argentina, this again goes back to the fact that there are a bunch of cows here. Argentine beef is world-renowned, and people eat a whole lot of it here. Iit is tender, juicy, comes in large portions, and doesn´t cost very much money. It is common here to go to a restaurant and order a giant steak and a simple salad of lettuce, tomato, onions and olive oil.

It is also interesting that here in Argentina, they eat all kinds of parts of the cow that we don´t usually think of eating in the States. One example is Chinchulín - which is the cow´s small intestine. On the left is a picture of a sizzling piece of cow intestine - it is actually really good.

If you are ever lucky enough to be invited to an "asado" in Argentina, you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity. As for some of the cow organs that you´ll be offered, I recommend that you just try everything and don´t ask questions.

Wine. I´m not much of a wine connoisseur... I mean I do drink it sometimes... When I go

Just a Few Things Falling Apart this Week

This week started off just fine. On Monday morning, I didn´t have to go to my International Private Law class. They were conducting sort of a "make-up exam" for people who didn´t do well on our mid-term a couple weeks ago. I found out last week that I did really well on that exam. As a matter of fact, the professor announced that I had made the highest grade in the class! I was pleased that I had done well, but I was also a little embarrassed. I´m sure some of my classmates were thinking, "Who does this gringo think he is?"

Of course, nearly all of my classmates work in addition to taking law school classes. Aside from school, my only other obligations are social ones ;-) On the other hand, it probably takes me twice as long as my Argentine classmates to

Visitors in Buenos Aires

I just found out the other day that my buddy Dan is coming down to Buenos Aires next week. Dan is another gringo that really enjoys being in Latin America. Dan and I met back in 2005 when we both studied together here in Argentina for a college semester abroad. Since then, we have stayed in touch on Facebook and chatting by phone every few months. I have only gotten to see him once, though - last summer when we were both in Houston. Anyway, I know he is looking forward to coming back down here, and I am pretty psyched about a 5-year reunion here in Buenos Aires.

Dan has gotten around quite a bit, too. He is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, but he went to undergrad at Cornell. After college, he worked for nearly 2 years for Jones Lang Lasalle in NYC, but I think he got a little burned out on the job and the City. Then he moved down to Antigua, Guatemala to do some volunteer work for about 6 months. At some point he was offered a job with a hedge fund in Ireland and had planned to move to Dublin after Guatemala. The job was going to have him traveling a lot, and sounded awesome - but then the whole thing fell through as a result of the economic crisis. So he went back to Grand Rapids for awhile before finally moving down to Houston to work with a firm involved in real estate transactions. Like I said, the guy gets around.

On the right is a picture from a soccer game in Argentina back in 2005. That is Dan on the far-right.

Anyway, I haven't gotten to talk much with Dan since I came down to Argentina - so I am looking forward to catching up with him next week. He is coming down with a friend, and they will both stay at my place. This will be an opportunity to justify the additional bedroom that I am renting here for visitors! Anyway, Dan is flying in on Monday, May 17th. It looks like he'll be here through the following weekend when Argentina celebrates its 200th year of independence. It is going to be a great time, and I'm really pumped that they are coming down!

Anibal's Story

Before you read this post, I want to warn you that it will not be a "funny" post. As a matter of fact, this is a very sad story. Please understand that I am not setting up a joke here - this story has a really tragic ending. A young man dies.

This story has been on my mind for the last 2 weeks. I woke up one morning thinking about it and could not get it out of my head all that day. Since then, it has sort of stayed on my mind, and I have debated whether to write about it on El Gringuito. If you have read some of my other blog posts, you know that I usually put a light-hearted spin on the stories I tell.

My stories usually go something like this:

Part 1 - Ryan & friends prepare to do something weird.

Part 2 - Ryan & friends do something weird (often making questionable decision).

Part 3 - Ryan & friends luckily walk away - usually relatively unscathed, maybe a little embarrassed, and hopefully having learned something from the experience.

Well, like I said, this story does not have a happy-ending where everyone walks away unhurt and a little wiser. This story just ends in tragedy, and a light-hearted spin is not really possible.

Nevertheless, I believe it is a story worth telling. For one thing, it had a pretty substantial affect on me personally. The story also serves as an example of how a bad or even a merely questionable decision can have huge and lasting implications.

So based on what I have told you, you can decide whether or not you want to click the link to the full-post. If not, there is plenty of other material on El Gringuito that is not quite so heavy.