Meh.

Don’t get me wrong. Buenos Aires has a lot going for it. It’s a fully modern city with all of the amenities you could ask for – restaurants of all kinds and price points, nightlife, beautiful architecture, greenspace, cheap public transport, a welcoming population, art, museums, etc., etc., etc.

Compared to my last stop, Medellín, it also has a number of characteristics that count as benefits by any definition I can imagine:

• The sidewalks, although liberally dotted with dog shit, lack ankle-breaking holes that you have to constantly watch for, at least in the Palermo area that I’ve been exploring.
• Even though the majority of the intersections lack stop signs or any official indication of the direction of one-way streets that I have been able to detect, I don’t feel like I’m putting my life at risk by crossing the street.
• The air is far cleaner.
• For those earning a living in dollars, it’s equally affordable.
• Not once have I been propositioned by either a prostitute or coke dealer.
• Unlike some neighborhoods of Medellín, it’s very walkable thanks to the complete lack of elevation changes.
• I haven’t heard a single concern expressed about the risk of being drugged and robbed (and possibly killed) on a date with someone met online. (That’s definitely a concern in Medellín.)

All good, right? So what’s my problem with it? Why don’t I feel more excited about Buenos Aires? Why do I feel my spirit shrugging with a sense of blah over being here?

After all, so very many people love Buenos Aires. I went to a weekly nomad meetup and met several people who have traveled extensively and decided this is the place for them. One friend I met in Medellín is here, and as much as he liked Medellín, he’s completely fallen in love with Buenos Aires. So much so that he returned here after spending some time in Patagonia to end 10 months of travel with another 5 weeks in Buenos Aires, or “BsAs,” the shorthand people use in texting. I’m unclear on why they don’t just use “BA.”

One obvious possibility for my lack of enthusiasm is that I’ve only been here for a week, and I’m still finding my groove. I grew very comfortable in Medellín, and I have a network of friends and acquaintances to feed my extroverted energy banks. I’ve got places I can go there where I can run into people I know without making specific plans. Maybe I’ve just forgotten how I felt when I first got there.

Or maybe it has to do with the fact that my hiking boots, pole, and daypack are completely useless here. Opportunities to get out into the woods don’t exist, and I grew to love those wild, muddy hikes around Antioquia. I knew Buenos Aires didn’t offer that coming in, though, so that’s no surprise. Complaining about it now feels like complaining that I can’t buy bread at the hardware store.

I think what it comes down to is that my sense of adventure is turned up to 11 in Medellín. Buenos Aires feels easy, other than the annoyance of having to operate in cash. The economy here is a mess, and the locals have to cope with 7-9% inflation per month, which translates into an ever improving exchange rate from dollars to pesos. By dealing in cash, you are able to get a much better rate, called the “blue rate,” than the official exchange rate offered by banks and, I was told, credit cards. I just confirmed that, though, by looking at what I was charged to take an Uber yesterday when I forgot to change the payment setting to cash (yes, you can do that here). The rate was essentially the same as what I got this morning at Berlin Cambio, which is conveniently open on a Sunday.

But I digress…

Everything about Medellín feels like an adventure, even the giant shopping malls. It’s exotic in almost every way while still offering all of the amenities of a big city – restaurants of all kinds and price points, nightlife, beautiful architecture landscape, greenspace, cheap public transport, a (mostly) welcoming population, art, museums, etc., etc., etc.

Buenos Aires feels like “South America Lite.” Nothing exotic. Nothing to pique my sense of adventure. It’s a beautiful city, but – so far – it’s just another city.

While I’m here, I plan to take full advantage of all that Buenos Aires has to offer, but in my quest to find a place to put down roots for a while outside the U.S., I already know this isn’t it.

P.S. As always, I don’t make any money from the links in this post. They are included for your benefit.