[bx_lr]

Could you describe your experiences a bit more? Buenos Aires seems to be one of the more interesting places in South America. Based on the typical news about South America (or Mexico), just landing on that continent will get you kidnapped, abused by the police, robbed, mugged, cheated, etc.

[redthrowaway]

>Based on the typical news about South America (or Mexico), just landing on that continent will get you kidnapped, abused by the police, robbed, mugged, cheated, etc.

That's like saying, "Based on the typical news about Miami (or Anchorage), you will get eaten by polar bears and die of hypothermia".

Mexico is not South America, and it's nowhere close to Argentina. The distance between Juarez and BA is about the same as the distance between London and Seoul. Seriously. Worlds apart.

You can't generalize South America. It's bloody ginormous, and has far more cultural diversity than North America. It's far from homogenous. There are some places in South America that are dangerous. Most aren't. Similarly, you don't judge San Francisco by Detroit.

I've travelled through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Buenos Aires is basically Paris or Madrid, but a little run down and depressing (much better night life, though). Bolivia is mostly alpine desert in the south and jungle in the north, and almost all poor. Peru ranges from modern metropolis (Lima) to shacks on a beach (Mancora), to mountains, jungles, etc. Ecuador is the only place I ever felt unsafe, and only in parts of Quito and Guayaquil. The worst places for crime and personal safety were apparently Venezuela and parts of Brazil.

Anyways, the point is you're trying to shoehorn an entire continent with dozens of countries and hundreds of cultures into a single mental schema, and that's just a dumb thing to do. It would be like saying "Asian culture" and thinking you could fit China, North Korea, Japan, Thailand, and India in one label.

[bx_lr]

Firstly, I didn't suggest Mexico was part of South America. Secondly, I'm not trying to shoehorn South America under a single mental schema. I'm actually trying to do the opposite, i.e. figure out what South America really is. Doesn't seem I can do that based on news, articles, whatever, and rather have to tour the place myself to come to a conclusion.

[redthrowaway]

You can talk to people who've been there, but each country is pretty different and there are major differences within countries, as well.

As far as the violence goes, it tends to be cyclical. Certainly in parts of Columbia FARC activity is still a major issue, and Venezuela is bad for petty crime and assaults. You get the occasional Shining Path incident in Peru, but it's very low-level. Bolivia has regular strikes that bring the riot police out in La Paz, but the rest of the country seemed perfectly safe. Never had a problem in Argentina, or heard of anyone having problems in Chile, Uruguay, or Paraguay. Brazil is mostly kosher, but I heard of a few people getting robbed, or more likely picking up a girl from a club and getting mugged after.

But seriously, do go down if you get a chance. I had a blast there.

[ferostar]

Not that you asked me, but living here i wanted to share my two cents. Buenos Aires is not tragic at all, it's... just a little melancholic. A tiny London with poor people and too much humidity, but with great people, lovely architecture, and well, there's insecurity, no way to deny it, but it all depends on where you go. You can walk, travel, go out, party, do whatever you want and you won't feel paranoid or anything. Oh, and there aren't as many escaped nazis here as in the movies, either.

[bx_lr]

Thanks :-) Comparison to London makes me feel better about Buenos Aires. Puts thing into a context. I actually used to live in North London, in a semi-rough area. Even though London was an expensive mess and certain areas gave the feeling of insecurity, I still liked it...at least it was an interesting mess.