Recent content by Gringo80

I live outside BA, my area is exploding with new stylish shops, cafes, restaurants, construction/renovation projects.

Is anyone thinking about Croatia?

We drove from Cartagena to the Santa Marta Marriott Resort Playa Dormida, near the airport. Most of the restaurants and shops we visited were in that area. We made several trips downtown and to the Minca and beaches on the other side of the park but we had drivers during our stay and that...

Nope, didn't like Gaza although, as of two years ago, the people were friendly and charming. Are you sure you were in the Sta Marta in Colombia? Perhaps I didn't have the same experience because I didn't look for nude beaches and ate at restaurants with table cloths. Whatever, We enjoyed it...

My last trip to Maui was in the late 1990's. I always found it to be indistinguishable from Florida except that Maui had mountains and much, much higher prices. I was in Sta Marta 2 years ago. We drove from one end to the other during our stay and never saw anything unpleasant. Good...

Pre-Chavez Venezuela was one of my favorite places to vacation. The beaches, food, people and nature were wonderful. I don't know what nationality you are but as an American I'd be concerned about my safety (from criminals and the government), the availability of health care and medicines and...

I did. It felt cramped, under powered and a bumpy ride.

Last year I paid $23k for a new Hyundai Creta SUV and we're very happy with it. It's the basic model but nicely equipped, good acceleration, lots of interior room. We visited quite a few dealers and did some test drives. The Creta was the only 25k range SUV that had excellent handling...

I met two women over the years that were financially ruined by day trading. Both were very bright, recently widowed and struggling to learn how to manage the money their husbands left them when they got hooked on day trading.

I went through this recently. The VPM required a state photo id. In order to get my Illinois dl renewed I needed proof of my SS# and a utility bill. It all became very complicated because I haven't kept my documents up to date.

All good advice. You will need to maintain a valid drivers license, a physical address and a vmb. Also, receiving SMS codes here is vital. Before you leave make sure you have activated a cell service that will send your codes here (there are lots of threads on this subject on baexpats).

Suggestion.... open an account at a mail handling center (like Super Postal Center) before you leave. Have all your IRS and other government mail sent there. You'll need it and it'll be harder to open once you leave.

If an American transfers money into an Argentine account does that attract the attention of AFIB?

You guys are pranking me on this right? These are two that were rejected today.

Boy, everyone agrees that I'm wrong. Except my wife. She's been with me many times, pulling out the small heads and taking them to the cuevas. At least now I know where to sell the big heads (thanks Graceille).