Being single, foreign and female in Buenos Aires

By Tracey Chandler

Get some vital tips for visiting Buenos Aires, as a female travelling alone long-term, from a young, British, female who has already lived through the experience.

Being single, foreign and female in Buenos Aires

I arrived as a tourist for the first time in December 2008 and spent the Christmas and New Year period in Buenos Aires with a friend. I felt inspired by the city, finished the contract I was tied into in Merida, Venezuela, and came back to Buenos Aires to live and work in April 2009. I am still here.

This short article is full of tips, advice, ideas and perspectives that I have picked up over the past three years in Buenos Aires. They are perhaps not true for everyone and they are deliberately written with female readers in mind, but they have been developed from three years of real, personal experience… gold-dust for anyone about to arrive.

So, if you are female and thinking about visiting Buenos Aires at the next opportunity, here are a few tips from one female voice to another…

1. Integrating into society

Buenos Aires is a huge capital city and the provinces even bigger. If you intend to arrive alone, one of the most important things without a doubt will be to integrate into society, get to know people and even make real friends.

I arrived alone, I didn’t know anybody in the city, I had a really small job teaching English for a few hours and I was renting a small room in a house belonging to somebody much, much older than me. Not a good start.

However, things got instantly better when I began interning for an NGO. I had a project to focus on, people to socialize with and ways of getting to understand Argentine culture and customs. It is important to choose the project you work on well, which is why the internships and programs offered via Connecting Worlds are an excellent place to start.

Most Argentines go out on the weekends with friends they have had since they were 1 day old, etc. (except for those who grew up in other parts of the country and now live in the capital for work or study reasons). Therefore, lonliness can strike after a while of being left out all the time.

However, if you have contacts made via your internship, you will meet Argentines and perhaps other foreigners in similar situations, which is essential for long stays away from home.

After three years in Buenos Aires I can truly say that I have lots of friends who truly care and think about me, but it does take time. This is why involving yourself on a project is the best kind of introduction, more than ever when travelling solo.

2. Safety

In general, I feel very safe as a woman in Buenos Aires. There will be people who tell you otherwise and, I have to admit, that I was robbed once by armed robbers in the city and they took my cell phone. Therefore, I cannot say that Buenos Aires is the safest place in the world and that nothing will happen to you.

However, do I go out at night alone without worrying? Yes. Do I travel home at night (at 4 or 5am after going to a club)? Yes. Do I walk eight blocks from the bus stop instead of getting in a taxi to my friend’s house? Yes.

I am careful, but I feel just as happy in Buenos Aires as I did when I lived in London, UK.

To be a little more specific… it is obvious in Buenos Aires when you have taken a bad turning. The streetlighting is bad, you can see figures in the distance running in and out of the rubbish or across the streets in an eratic fashion and you simply doubleback from where you came from and take a different route.

Don’t get your phone out in the middle of the street, don’t carry large quantities of cash or credit cards at night, never cross through a park at night (no matter how small or how safe you feel), young children in groups can be just as dangerous as big guys with weapons and, if in doubt, always be safe and call a taxi. Taxis have meters and it is safe to take one alone, so if you are concerned, just hail one down.

However, like I said, Buenos Aires is, for me, as safe as most large cities can be.

3. Basics: Housing, Jobs, Finances etc.

Another really good reason for taking up an internship via Connecting Worlds is the peace of mind you will have in terms of cultural activities and accommodation. When signing up to an internship with Connecting Worlds, all accommodation can be arranged for you and all food will be included.

The internship might also provide new avenues for continued work when the initial program comes to an end, which is another really good reason for starting your time abroad in this way.

Work can be found, particulary in the main part of the city, but in general you will be restricted to hostels, teaching or the odd translation / writing / editing job. Internships provide a little more opportunity for variety.

When you know that your food and board are covered, there will be no need to worry about finances. Believe me, financial worries can be really stressful. I arrived without a steady job and nowhere to live and I spent about 6 months walking the hour and a half to the NGO office and back in order to save the 1 peso subte fare in order to buy some fruit for lunch every day. Not good!

Get organised and let the staff at Connecting Worlds give you the head start you need.

4. Going Out

If you are alone in the city, there’s nothing wrong with going out alone, even if you are female. I have plenty of friends now to go out partying with, but sometimes I still choose to go out alone. The vibe is great, lots of people speak to you and it is, as I have said in my experience, pretty safe as far as cities go.

If you do get the urge to give going out alone a try (it is a great way to meet people, because the Buenos Aires crowd is very friendly), I suggest the following bars…

-El Living for great music and large screens with music videos all night long. Marcelo T. de Alvear 1540

-Sonoman for a basic bar, young crowd and inviting patio. Fitz Roy 1655

-Makena for excellent live music (funk, rock and reggae in general). Fitz Roy 1519

La Puerta Roja for a variety of people from all over Latin America and pool tables. Chacabuco 733

The Gibraltar for English speakers and pub food. Peru 895

The Bangalore for open fires in winter and a half-decent curry. Humboldt 1416

Boris Jazz Club for high class evenings of sophisticated live jazz, blues and funk from famous Argentine faces and spectacular cocktails. Gorriti 5568

5. Love and all that jazz

Yes I have been in love. Yes I have fallen out of it. Yes the Buenos Aires crowd (the men) are flirtatious and yes, they will try to pick you up with a throw away line and fun-filled banter at any given opportunity.

However, in my opinion, the male interest is not invasive. In general, the Buenos Aires male community knows when a woman is really not interested and I have spent many evenings just chatting with guys, without any fear that at the end of everything they are going to be expecting more.

But, yes, wolf-whistling is a favourite past time, flirting is a must and asking you for your facebook page is the most important line of the night. Enjoy it!

(If you’re female and gay, I have heard that the scene is relaxed and fun, but any more than that I am unable to help. Sorry).

6. The Future

If you decide to stay on in Argentina after the initial visit and hopefully after a really positive experience via an internship from Connecting Worlds, you might what to read up a little further on my advice and tips for living as a foreign, single female in Buenos Aires in the long-term.

The article repeats a few sections in parts, but is entirely different in others. I hope it is useful.

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