Country Article / Postcards
Colonial Charms (and the Cheapest Steak I've Ever Had)
Date: 08/12/2005
Everything that International Living and Global Real Estate Investor say about the excellent values in Buenos Aires is spot on. Your dollar stretches a long way...but take a two-hour plane ride from the Argentine capital to Salta in the northwest and you'll find even cheaper prices, from dinner to a new home.
In Dos Jovi on Salta's Balcearce Street, Bife de lomo--melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon steak--costs $4.15. (If you can only manage an eight-ounce half-portion, that costs 7 pesos, or $2.40.) A bottle of really good Malbec wine? Here it costs 17 pesos ($5.8). Jug wine is just $1.40.
Dos Jovi is an authentic neighborhood restaurant with a TV permanently tuned to soccer games. But don't imagine this is some downmarket, scruffy kind of place. The waiters wear black suits, starched white shirts, and red cummerbunds, and look like they belong in an opera chorus. When meals are ready, the chef emits a bull-like roar from the back kitchen. He must be scary, because all the waiters immediately scuttle away from the TV screen.
Surrounded by green hills, Salta holds the title of Argentina's best-preserved colonial city. It was founded by Spanish conquistadores in 1582; riches from the silver mines in nearby Bolivia made it one of Argentina's wealthiest settlements. Picture colonial mansions with wrought-iron balconies, carved wooden doors, and cool inner courtyards...a Basilica whose shrines absolutely drip with gold. Locals rightly call it "Salta la linda," Salta the beautiful.
Home to around 500,000 people, the city's heart beats around the grassy expanse of Plaza 9 de Julio. Complete with an old-fashioned band-stand, the square is lined with shady colonnades and European-style cafes. There are shoe-shine boys...old ladies knitting...men reading copies of La Nacion. I also saw something I've never seen before anywhere -- a kindergarden teacher with a string of toddlers roped together so they cannot stray!
I could easily imagine living amongst these dusky-pink churches, cobbled streets, and mauve-blossomed jacarandas. Salta seems to have everything: modern shopping malls, public and private hospitals, plentiful green spaces, and a university. Full details in International Living's August print edition, but you can buy small refurbished houses for $50,000 to $85,000. In villages 15 minutes from the city by car, land costs $2 to $3 per square foot. Construction prices for a top quality home are around $32.50 per square foot.
Steenie Harvey
Roving Editor, International Living
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