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Honey, I Bought A Vineyard in Argentina

On July 11, 2010, In entrepreneurs, foreign investment, wine & vineyards, by InvestBA
San Rafael Vineyard

Regions like San Rafael offer foreign investors a region reminiscent of Sonoma County in the 1970s.

Politicians are a bit like chess players in the way they are constantly plotting their next moves: pushing new agendas, pursuing re-election or seeking higher office. But for one Alaska politician, the next move was as original as it was unexpected.

Wasilla City Council member Nancy Hall announced she will step down from her post and move with her husband to run a vineyard in San Rafael, Argentina. Hall and her husband, Gary, traveled to Chile looking for vineyard opportunities in 2009.

She returned to work in Alaska but Gary began to focus on Argentina vineyards after visiting their son in Buenos Aires. A few days later Nancy says, “I got this phone call that said, ‘Honey, I bought a vineyard.’”

The couple told the Anchorage Daily News that San Rafael reminds them of California’s Sonoma County in the 1970s before it exploded. Their newly-acquired vineyard, Shadow of the Andes, grows the increasingly-popular Bonarda grapes, but Hall is quick to clarify their role in the overall Argentine wine supply chain: “We grow the grapes, we don’t make the wine.” The couple plans to keep their Wasilla home and divide time between Alaska and Argentina enjoying what the ADN calls “a life of perpetual summer spanning the two hemispheres.”

For more information about owning your own vineyard in Argentina, click here and download the new issue InvestBA Privada.

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Cleaning Up: The Maid Service Industry in Buenos Aires

On April 13, 2010, In culture, lifestyle, by InvestBA
Maids and maid service in Buenos Aires Argentina

Uniform shop in BA. Immigration, psychology impact domestic help supply/demand. (Photo: Buenos Sarahs)

“The woman who cleaned our house was our best friend. We will never forget her and her lovely family.” Those words, found on one BA expat’s blog, are a common refrain for many foreigners living and working in Buenos Aires.

The maid or empleada domestica is a key member of most Argentine households, and their work ethic, reliability and affordability make them an important part of the quality of life equation for expats and foreign investors.

The supply and demand variables in the domestic care sector also offer some interesting insight on the changing nature of immigration and labor psychology, writes Julia Raggio in an interesting study for La Nacion. As always, there are both formal (agencies) and informal (word-of-mouth, Craigslist) channels for finding domestic help, but more and more workers today are young women from Paraguay, Peru and the northern provinces of Argentina who prefer more flexible work arrangements (e.g., not being full-time, live-in maids).

While that jibes well with most expat lifestyles, most Argentine families (almost 75%) express a preference for full-time, live-in assistance to help with cooking, cleaning and child care round-the-clock.  Susana Villafane, H.R. Director for Mucamas de Argentina, says, “We have domestic help thanks to the foreign workers.” She adds good treatment, compensation transparency (“blanqueo”) and fair wages are the three keys to a good working relationship. In terms of the latter, she says employers should be willing to pay somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 pesos per month (US$390 – US$515) for the services of a good domestic employee with 2-3 years of experience.

For more information about investment opportunities in Buenos Aires, download IncomeBA and the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Carpe Pasaporte: Living the Dream in Buenos Aires

On March 26, 2010, In lifestyle, tourism, wine & vineyards, by InvestBA
More Americans and Canadians discovering the quality of Life in Buenos Aires and Argentina

"Just livin' the dream": When the economy has everyone around you down, BA might make sense.

While some of our home countries are drowning in debt, others lack optimism regarding job prospects and the economic outlook. It’s times like this when many begin to re-prioritize and ponder quality of life, a common narrative thread here on InvestBA.

Whether it’s the annual International Living ranking or a wine expert lauding the “wonderfulness” of BA, or a foreign investor branding Argentina “the best place in the world,” these sources bring added credibility considering they have all scoured the planet looking for the best of whatever it is they are searching for: places to retire, food & wine, or prime real estate.

For the uninitiated, these articles fuel the imagination but don’t necessarily show you how to connect the dots and make the leap. Shelter Offshore to the rescue. The expat resource which touts Wealthier Living Abroad, fills in the dream-to-reality canvas for readers with some back-of-the-envelope calculations and a carpe pasaporte-inducing headline, “Live Your Dream Life Abroad for Less than £1,000 a Month.” ($1,300 USD).

Argentina is one of four Latin American countries mentioned in the article and Buenos Aires neighborhoods like Palermo SoHo are singled out for their abundance of dining, educational and cultural offerings. Once you’ve made the leap, Shelter Offshore recommends a minimum six-month commitment at whatever “wealthier” destination readers may choose. (Full article)

For more information about investment opportunities in Buenos Aires, download IncomeBA and the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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The Case for Health Care in Argentina

On March 2, 2010, In medical tourism, tourism, by InvestBA
Doctors performing surgery in Buenos Aires Argentina

A team of surgeons in Argentina where doctors are typically well-trained, confident & knowledgeable.

When most foreign journalists return home from a trip to Argentina, they often pen glowing reviews of their gastronomic conquests down south…Newsweek’s Howard Fineman is not one of those journalists.

On a recent visit to see his daughter—who currently lives in Argentina—Fineman had a nasty bout with food poisoning. The illness and his subsequent 3-day stay in a private hospital in Bariloche opened Fineman’s eyes to the cost and quality of care advantages for expats and foreign visitors in Argentina.

“My hospitalization included continuous intravenous fluids (to counter dehydration); IV antibiotics; an EKG, two blood tests and a chest X-ray; special meals; a private room; and even satellite-TV access to what seemed to be every obscure soccer match on the planet,” Fineman writes, “The doctors, nurses, aides, and others were all uniformly excellent. Total cost: about $1,500.”

Considering that similar treatment in the U.S. would have cost roughly $12,000, the NBC political analyst was impressed by both the quality of care (“The doctors were clearly well trained and knowledgeable, and inspired confidence with their touch of Argentine cockiness.”) and the resourcefulness he witnessed first-hand. (“Perhaps they can’t always afford the latest in technology, but they strike me as doctors who don’t dwell on technology for its own sake.”)

While most Argentine medical tourism coverage to date has focused exclusively on elective procedures in BA, InvestBA believes Fineman’s anecdote sheds important light on the non-elective, year-round quality care awaiting  expats, transplants and foreign travelers in Argentina. (Full article)

Read more about Argentina lifestyle and quality of living in the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Keeping Up With The Jet Set Down in BA

On February 9, 2010, In arts & entertainment, lifestyle, tourism, by InvestBA
Hundreds of foreign jetsetters ring in the New Year at BA's Faena Hotel (Source: Clarín)

Hundreds of foreign jetsetters ring in the New Year at BA's Faena Hotel (Source: Clarín)

The Dow broke above 10,000 this morning and European debt concerns eased, so TheStreet.com figures Wall Street execs could use some tips on what foreign countries to invade and blow invest their next quarterly bonus.

But this isn’t 2000 when you could charter a G-IV and kite off to Sardinia for a Tyco toga party featuring Jimmy Buffett, an ice sculpture of Michelangelo’s David spewing vodka from his privates and a birthday cake in the shape of a woman’s breasts with lit sparklers. No, this is 2010, so you’ve got to fly coach and hopefully find a country with an exchange rate that makes the hard-earned, government bailout coin go a little farther.

Look no further than Buenos Aires writes JetSetReport.com’s Michael Martin. “BA’s allure remains undiminished for American travelers looking for the romance of Paris made affordable by the weak Argentine peso,” Martin writes, “Tourism has flourished in Argentina’s capital with a bevy of new boutique hotels along the vibrant Puerto Madero waterfront and new developments by star architects.”

It’s been exactly four years since New York Magazine’s Moveable Fiesta article which declared Buenos Aires “The New Expat Heaven.” Judging by TheStreet.com article, very little has changed. The vodka-spewing ice sculpture may still be out of reach, but then again, life is all about trade-offs.

For more information about Buenos Aires luxury living and real estate opportunities, download IncomeBA and the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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