My hunch is that expats left, digital nomads are still coming, although not swarming in. Probably, the main reason is that it is still one of the most western places to be in the Southern hemisphere.
Some expats because they were living off of their pension, and Argentina was no longer good value for the money. Other incentives were an excellent appreciation of their property in Argentina, who would provide a good payout upon leaving, and closeness to family in the US due to aging. I also feel that those who expatriated after retiring, never fully mastered the language and it can become tiring to deal daily in another language, especially as you age.
Expats who came here during work life, either gave up because of the red tape of running a business here or from here, or because it became increasingly complicated to maintain a business as a resident in their home country while being physically away AKA banks suspending accounts because you logged in with foreign IP addresses, or because you need to physically go in a branch to do something basic as a countermeasure against identity theft/scams.
Some left because they had a better job offer elsewhere and were tired fighting to lead a normal life/business in Argentina.
Personally, when I can work from Italy, it is all effortless compared to Argentina. If you order something online, the shipping charges are often €0, and stuff arrives when it is supposed to arrive. There are many pickup points in regular businesses at no extra charge (MercadoLibre charges more for delivery to a POD than at your home address, oftentimes). There is more choice of products/size/colors. If you order something from China, it actually arrives before your hair turn gray and there is no red tape (I am still reading about people whose stuff is stuck in custom because they have no clave fiscal nivel 3 and didn't declare their purchase on the ARCA/AFIP website). Frankly, it pulls me off A LOT.
I mail a lot of documents for my business, and I am always on the hunt for cheaper courier service. There are a few brokerages that sell FedEx labels for half the official rate or less, but you have to write them on whatsapp, during ridiculous business hours (like 10 to 5 Mon to Fri). Of course they are not open when here is a holiday (min. 1 holiday per month), and takes 2 hours to reply to whatsapp messages. I am often not able to mail out documents on the same day because it takes too long for them to reply, then they said that the waybill platform is backlogged (?), then they stop replying until next day and don't tell you if the pickup has been arranged for the same day or not. so, if by 4 PM no one came to pick up the document, I have to jump in the car and drive to the FedEx branch to drop it off before their pickup time (5-6 pm)
In the end, even if you work for abroad, you may have still to rely on local services/turnaround time. In the US, you can use PirateShip and drop-off your envelopes in one of the many UPS/FedEx/USPS mailboxes. In Italy, there are similar brokerage websites and you can drop-off your envelope in a local shop that also doubles as pick-up/drop-off point.
Here in Argentina, you either arrange for a pick-up (but you can't do it yourself if you buy a label through a local broker) or you go to a FedEx/DHL/UPS branch. If I have to go to the FedEx branch, it takes me 30' each way. So, one hour of work just to mail an envelope. It is not sustainable!
Receiving a payment from abroad is impossible. One day you can link Wise to your bank account, the next one Wise is no longer working with Argentinian banks. The same applies to PayPal. For years, they forced to pesify your USD income from abroad, now it was changed recently... but for how long? They let you buy USD using MercadoPago... it lasted 3 months and then it has been suspended by the govt for 90 days. C'mon, this is not a football game where you can suspend a player for a few games. I don't fall for the local govt. promises, left or right.
Also getting supplies provides limited option. I am seeking for cardboard or backed envelopes (the kind that courier uses, or harder, so that documents do not bend) and they do not exist here. I was tempted to order them from abroad, but after reading posts on FB about people being told by DHL that their shipment is on hold because they didn't complete a custom declaration on ARCA's, I'd rather pass.
I recently needed to get a custom-made stamp, and I wanted it in blue ink so that it is clear that it is a wet stamp even if I scan the record. Of the 6 businesses I contacted, including A LOT - formerly Staples - only one offered blue ink. Another one asked for 2 USD to wash the pre-made black ink pad and add blue ink, the other 4 didn't offer it at all.
Complications, complications, complications (rhymes with location, location, location)
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This is precisely the kind of stuff I don't miss! It's just nice that most everything just works as it should...and I don't have to jump through hoops for small things very often.
Truth is the Argentine retail industry wouldn't survive very long if they tried to operate the same way in Europe. Carrefour are going to get rid of a lot of their stores blaming outside interference on how they operate. I take that to mean political and union interference.
every time i do the groceries in Waitrose with the self scanner, we say to ourselves - this would never work in argentina!
