Living in Buenos Aires for 3 months or more: a checklist

A few months in Buenos Aires means a furnished rental, a monthly budget in a currency that moves, a routine and very late dinners. This is the list we'd start from.

Before you go

• Check entry rules and how long you can stay for your passport with an official source.
• Get health insurance that covers the whole stay. Many travel policies cap trip length.
• Read up on how visitors are paying right now (card, cash, transfer services) and what each costs. It changes often.
• Book the first two to four weeks short-term, then look for a furnished temporary rental once you've walked the areas.
• Tell your bank you'll be away and carry a card without foreign transaction fees.
• Decide what happens to your home, mail and car while you're gone.

First week

• Get a local SIM or eSIM.
• Get a SUBE card for the subte, buses and trains.
• Save 911 for the police and 107 for an ambulance, and find the nearest pharmacy and clinic.
• Keep your phone out of sight on the street and on crowded buses.
• Walk your shortlist of neighbourhoods by day and at night. They feel very different block to block.

While you're there

• Log spending by month against a budget, in pesos and in your home currency.
• Keep an eye on the date your permitted stay ends.
• Plan side trips while you have time: Tigre, Colonia del Sacramento, Mendoza, Iguazú.

Wrapping up

• Give notice on your rental in writing and agree how the deposit comes back.
• Cancel the SIM, utilities and any local subscriptions.
• Book the flight out before your permitted stay runs out.

Neighbourhoods people look at

Palermo · Villa Crespo · Recoleta · San Telmo · Belgrano · Colegiales · Almagro

Which suits you depends on budget, noise and how you get around. Cojourn's assistant can compare them for your stay.