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Crime rise in Palermo - It is out of control!

    In the last two days, I have read about crimes in Palermo that made me question my decision to live and invest in this country.


    Crime #1 - A man jumped on the roof a pickup of the Volkswagen shop on Honduras y Coronel Diaz to destroy it with a bat.

    The people of VW managed to bring him down and call the police. This is 4 blocks from where I live, in front of La Alacena.

    Palermo: se subió al techo de una pick-up para romperla y lo bajaron a las trompadas y con conos de señalización
    El violento episodio ocurrió este miércoles por la mañana en Honduras al 4200; vecinos y efectivos policiales intervinieron para reducir al agresor; más…
    www.lanacion.com.ar


    Crime #2 - A group of 5 boys stopped the car on Av. Córdoba to take a piss (literally) against a building external wall. The doorman told them to go away, so they grabbed the glass bottles they had in car to break them and tried to kill him. He made it with just some bruises, but a broken bottle is a pretty powerful tool in the wrong hands. The doorman is 49 years old.


    Palermo: jóvenes golpearon a un encargado que les pidió que no orinaran en la puerta del edificio
    Cinco hombres atacaron en patota a la víctima, de 49 años, que resultó con politraumatismos y debió ser internada por las heridas sufridas; los agresores…
    www.lanacion.com.ar


    Crime #3 - A 42 y.o. man was murdered in an ice-cream shop by a thief who wanted to steal his cellphone. The thief stabbed him on the streets at 10.45 PM and managed to enter the ice creams hop to ask for help. He gave his name, an explanation of what happened and his last words were "I don't want to die".

    The victim was an engineer and a father of a 4 months old baby.


    Conmoción y duras reacciones de los candidatos por el asesinato del ingeniero Mariano Barbieri en Palermo
    Patricia Bullrich, de Juntos por el Cambio, y Javier Milei, de La Libertad Avanza, consideraron que es necesario reforzar la seguridad; también se expresaron…
    www.lanacion.com.ar

    These are terrible crimes of violence. Because everyone knows there is no police enforcement, it is surprising there hasn’t been more of this, sooner than now. As the economy and drug culture worsen, so will violent crime.

    Quote from Bombonera

    It's so sad and leaves me wondering what the hell I'm doing planning to spend more and more time there.


    I bet the presidential candidates are all talking a good talk on tacking crime and improving justice as well.

    I was thinking about you, Bombonera , the other day. My uncle used to go on vacation to Cuba with a group of friends after he retired. He finally had the money and the time.


    He returned to Cuba on his own and with my aunt on several occasions. When I moved to Argentina, he came to visit as he was interested in finding a cheap place where to spent the winter months (Europe's winter months) and thought that maybe Argentina could be an alternative to Cuba, since I was here.

    He never came again, I guess it is worse than Cuba.


    I think he was especially upset by the many mindset/safety adjustments that it involves living here.

    For example, I told him to not wear his golden necklace, and he said it was his father's (my grandpa's) and he wore it at all times. Fine.

    I told him to bring cash because withdrawing money from the machines is a nightmare (not only it is costly, but sometimes you can withdraw so little money that it is really not worth it or there are no bills in the machines).

    He was a banker in his days and carefully calculated the amount to bring, including extra in case of emergency etc. However, given the scarce supply of stuff in Argentina, if you bring enough to replace all of your belongings, you are bringing a lot of money which makes it even risky.


    He came with about 5,000 euros for a 20-day holiday with my aunt. I told him to bring around with him just the money necessary for the day and leave the rest at home. He wasn't comfortable with leaving 5k cash at home. Uhm....


    He insisted that we should go to a bank and rent a security box. He was laughed at at the bank - he was just a tourist! No DNI, no CUIT... and for 15 days? People join waiting lists to get a safety box in banks!

    He was convinced that by paying he could get whatever he wanted, whereas Argentina's bureaucracy won over his stubbornness. As a result, he brought 5k with him at all times, which scared the hell out of me. I told him it was riskier than leaving the money at home, but he didn't budge. Fine.


    One day we were at the Retiro Railway Station, waiting to catch the train back to San Isidro. He decided he had to change his t-shirt because he had sweated in the hot weather and we were about to catch a train with full blowing A/C. When he removed his shirt, he revealed the hanging money pocket he was wearing. I wanted to die right there and I was expecting thieves as monkeys jumping on him.... nothing happened but it was a revealing experience. What he considered risky was not what I considered risky. Or he was just overconfident.


    Living here requires several adjustments and people who are not ready to compromise, won't be able to enjoy Argentina.

    It is not for everyone. I commend all of you who think to retire in Argentina. It makes sense financially, but there is more to it than taking a plane and finding an accommodation.

    That's quite a story serafina


    I've been visiting since 1991 and have friends there too so the financial side is merely a benefit rather than a driver in decision-making for me. I have a clear vision of the life I'd live there.


    Once you've taken care of everyday basic personal security (eg don't change your shirt in Retiro Railway Station!) everything else is out of our control.


    I often think about Palermo being a hot-spot for opportunistic muggings, especially against foreigners who have let their guard down, but none of the crimes you reported even fit that category.


    It's sad.

    serafina , for your sake, I’m glad your uncle didn’t move to Argentina! He is so naïve that you would have worried about him 24/7.


    I’d have died of embarrassment if someone I was with decided to whip his shirt off in Retiro station, even if he weren’t displaying a dangling money pouch for all to see! Thieves probably left him alone because they thought he was a police plant.