Buenos Aires: To Live or To Travel?

Monday, August 20th, 2012 | Posted under Argentina, Travel General

Yeah, I know. The title of this post is a little odd, but I have no other idea how to express what I’m about to say.

Flat out: I liked Buenos Aires, but I think I’d rather live there than travel there. Does this make any sense?

I know that I can sometimes be a cheesy traveler/tourist. When I visit a new place, I want to know what the residents are like. I want to see what is distinctive about that place and why visitors and locals like it. I usually find all of this out by a mix of roaming and people watching, but I also want to go to the known frequented spots, too. I know it’s the nerdy, restless traveler in me.  Often there’s a reason why there are must-see places to visit. I don’t feel ashamed about getting my “tourist on”. It’s fun.

So knowing this about myself, when I got to Buenos Aires, I realized something by the end of my time there: I’d rather LIVE in Buenos Aires than visit there. Part of this stems from the fact that there wasn’t enough for me personally to “ooh” and “aah” over. I like being awed by a place. Buenos Aires felt homey and familiar.

Instead of being bowled over by the city, I kept picturing myself in Buenos Aires.

I saw myself hanging out on rainy Saturday afternoon browsing through El Gran Ateneo Bookstore.

El Gran Ateneo Bookstore

El Gran Ateneo is a converted theater.

I saw myself spending afternoons in the Japanese Garden on a park bench reading a book or people-watching.

Buenos Aires Japanese Garden

 

I could totally see myself sitting in one of Buenos Aires’ plazas staring at all of the statues and other beautiful public art.

Buenos Aires Statue

 

The next time I’m in Buenos Aires, I hope it’s for a longer period of time where I can just kick it and really become a part of the city. Buenos Aires reeled me in. Sometimes a place doesn’t need to wow you for it to still be special and worth visiting.

Have you ever traveled to a place where you would have preferred being a local to being a traveler?

tags:

10 Comments »

  • Daphne

    I felt that way about Victoria, though it was a day trip as part of an Alaska cruise. I could definitely see myself living there. The Parliament building was beautiful, particularly at night. But to your point, it definitely felt familiar, like a place I could live.

    • TryItFoodTravel

      Okay, D. I totally had to look up Victoria. An Alaskan cruise is DEFINITELY on my list of things to do. Victoria looks so quaint!

      • Daphne

        From my brief trip, it seemed to have a nice balance between quaint and modern.

        The Alaskan cruise was fantastic. The scenery was gorgeous. My sister and I went in mid-September, so it was a little chilly. But it was also prime time for the leaves changing, and it was awesome to behold. I highly recommend the trip, and it’s a good combo for the Pacific Northwest, given that you’ll likely have to fly in Seattle or Vancouver for embarkation ports.

  • Melinda

    I definitely get this sentiment. Now having been to some of the biggest/most tourist attraction type cities, sometimes I feel a little let down with a smaller city. But your thought about it being homier definitely struck a chord with me. I loved living in Bath, England, but for most people, it’s just a nice day or afternoon trip. Nothing huge – the beauty was in the everyday living. If it ever works out that I’m in between jobs or something, I’d love to spend a month in South America (Buenos Aires topping the list!) so that I can get a good local feel for it!

    • TryItFoodTravel

      I’d love to go to Bath. I’ve never been outside of London (I’ve been there only twice), but I can imagine the pretty seaside atmosphere and sea breeze everyday.

  • http://twitter.com/ThinkinTravelr Rubella

    At first the title of the post did throw me off but once I finished I totally understood exactly what you were talking about. When I went to San Francisco recently I had those same sentiments and didn’t realize it until now. I’d so rather be hanging out in one of their many parks with a view of the city then to be traveling through. I’ve never been to Buenos Aires but I hope to soon and we’ll see how it plays on me if I’d rather just be a traveler or local. Great post and pics!

    • TryItFoodTravel

      Hi, Rubella! Yeah, I was playing around with the title, and I had no idea what to actually say. I’ve only been to San Francisco once, but I think I think I could possibly add it to this “list”, too.

  • Erin

    I felt that way about Seattle. I fell hard for the city but not in a tourist way. I mean, the Space Needle isn’t that exciting. But the restaurants, little neighborhoods, the scenery was amazing and I can see why people love to live there (weather aside).

    • TryItFoodTravel

      I need to get to the Pacific Northwest. It’s on the domestic trip list.

  • http://twitter.com/Monique_Rubin Monique @ Mo Travels

    I’m glad you don’t feel ashamed about “getting your tourist on”. That tourist vs traveler argument is so tired. And that bookstore? Spectacular. They’d get a lot of my money.

Try Anything Once All rights reserved © 2010-2013

I am a HowJoyful Design by Joy Kelley