The Travel Chica

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My New Apartment: Frisky Kitties & Cold Trips to the Bathroom

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I have had many homes in Buenos Aires.  Some good.  Some bad.

I lived in a hostel so long (6 weeks) that it earned the label of home.  (There were actually 2 other hostels before that, but I couldn’t take more than a few days in each.)  I had the misfortune of renting a room from the Cruella de Vil of Palermo.  But then I had the pleasure of living with another solo female traveler.  Now I have a new home about 11 blocks from my previous home.

There are some oddities associated with my new living situation.

It took me a solid week to figure out how to turn the keys just right to actually exit the house.  My new home is also the stomping grounds of about 10 or so stray cats that make all sorts of crazy noises day and night.  My room is a separate small structure, one might call it a shed, separate from the main house.  This makes for rather chilly trips to the bathroom when I have to pee in the middle of the night.

But I love my new home!

Frisky Kitties

The cats must all be in heat right now.  I hear constant “moaning.”

Some of these cats like to fight as well.  Often when I am trying to fall asleep, I hear vicious fighting just outside my window.  I am afraid to look out the window because I don’t want to see cat guts flying through the air.

The cats also like to scare the crap out of me by jumping on the roof of my room.  It sounds like a massive object is going to come crashing through the roof on top of me.  I envision it is the plump “queen” of the cat tribe who never makes an appearance before humans and travels around the neighborhood by walking along the tall concrete walls and hopping along the roofs.

Cold Times

My room is cold even though I have a space heater because one wall is a giant window.  On the coldest nights, I have even had to use my sleeping bag under the blankets.  Yes, people.  It has hit freezing here recently.

When I am awoken at 4am by my near-bursting bladder from all the water I have to drink to not dehydrate with the space heater in my room, I have to put on layers of clothes and shoes to go out into the freezing air and enter the main house to use the bathroom.

So why do I love my new home?

There are three reasons.

  1. I have awesome roommates.
  2. I have my own room with lots of privacy.
  3. And the house has huge common areas for cooking and entertaining.

My Roommates

I live with two smart, funny ladies from Australia and Minnesota.  In addition to good laughs and discussing the idiosyncrasies of the English language (Aussies say “on heat” not “in heat” as I learned when we were discussing the cats), we have in-depth conversations about the places we have traveled and what we want to be when we grow up.

My Own Room

When I lived with Ayngelina, we shared a bedroom.  We had no problems with this arrangement and were both very compatible roommates and thrilled to be out of the hostels.  But having my own room is pretty special.  Since my room is actually separate from the house, I have even more privacy and do not even hear my other housemates (unless you count the cats).

That’s my shed on the right and the main house on the left.

Photo of apartment

My House

The house is very open and spacious.  For my birthday, I invited over some friends and cooked caprese empanadas, and we had a great time.

Phot of apartment kitchen

Photo of living room

I just have to stay out of the cat’s way.

Comments

  1. Sounds like you’ve got a great living situation! The tone of this post is so much better than when you were living with Cruella, I hope it keeps up! Stay out of the cats way and you should be fine!

  2. Nice house, and awesome that you found a place with some privacy and great common areas. Even though I’m in tropical Bangkok right now, I’m getting a little bit cold thinking of BA – but it’s a great place!

  3. This sounds like a great place to live! Too bad about the cold, but it sounds like the overall arrangement is worth it.

  4. The house looks absolutely amazing, I love the little wooden staircase – so cute!

    I much prefer living in a place rather than just travelling, I had a house in Vietnam far more impressive than anything else I’ll ever live in and I always felt sorry for the backpackers all cramped up in tiny hostel rooms!

    How long are you going to be in BA for? I’ll be heading that way later this year (Sept/Oct time) so if you can tell me which hostels to avoid, or maybe recommend a good one, I’d be really grateful!!

    • I will be moving on to travel the rest of Argentina when the weather gets warmer, but maybe our paths will cross in another part of the country. I can definitely send you some hostel recommendations.

  5. Your house is freakin’ awesome. At a good price? Living expenses fairly affordable?

    I knew that well-known troublemaker Ayngelina had a roomie – didn’t realise it was you. That lady is a good person to hang out with (so I hear – we’ve yet to meet).

    • I think it is hard to find a good apartment for a good price in Buenos Aires. There is definitely a “foreigner tax” here. This is the most expensive place I have been in Latin America so far, but I hear Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay are even more expensive.

      Yes, living with Ayngelina was pretty great. We had a fun month :-)

  7. Congrats Stephanie,
    Glad to hear you have accommodations that you like. ( Good roomies are great, too!)
    Very important!
    Cheers,
    John D. Wilson

  8. No,no,no, I WON’T comment. But, the most important thing is that YOU feel happy and have room mates who seem a lot of fun.

  12. Congrats on the new place. While rooming with Ayngelina was fun, I am sure anything beats the house with Cruella. The cat thing would rive me nuts though. But considering what you’ve been through, I think I would like this room as well!

  13. It’s always nice when you feel at home away from home. And PS-no matter how much I use the bathroom prior to bed to avoid the pitch black bathroom run in a foreign country at 4 am, inevitably, I must don the flip-flops and go!

  14. Wow, this house looks awesome! Spiral staircase? Big ass kitchen? Free kitty MMA entertainment?

    I think this housing situation is a win :)

    • It might be available late-August when my other roomie returns to Australia.

      But you will also have to deal with wading through a small lake at the front entrance (due to leaking pipe) that the landlord has not fixed for months. Oh, and the toilet flusher thingie just broke. Other than that, you’d love it :-)

  17. A long as you feel comfortable with your housing situation everything is good! I lived in a really loud neighborhood in the netherlands with trains passing 10 meters next to the house and cat fights nearly every night. I was happy when I moved out!

    • Luckily, the cats are the only noises here. My previous apartment with Ayngelina was soooo noisy. The traffic on the street was insane at all hours, and I had to sleep with ear plugs. Here, I am on a less busy street, and the house is set back quite a bit.

  18. Oh wow – love the new place! Possums used to jump on our roof in our first apartment in Melbourne (we were on the top floor and it was a tin roof). When they’d suddenly fight or scramble around it would scare the piss out of us. Can totally relate!

  19. Hello Stephanie,

    So glad you finally have cats in your life again. Maybe you can suggest they spay and neuter the cats. LOL! That might keep the fighting down and the noises. Nice looking home. Glad you are enjoying your trip. I have enjoyed reading about your travels. Take care and God Bless and Watch over you.

    • Unfortunately, these kitties aren’t very friendly. I only hear them and never see them. They are afraid of humans.

      Glad you’re still following along. Thank you!

  20. Soooo jealous, the apartment looks amazing, I loved the month with you too but agree having a bedroom to yourself is pretty great.

  21. I dont think anyone wants to see kitty guts flying through the air. Living in a hostel that long would drive me insane. Nothing like good roommates and your own room. What kind of roof to you have to hear when cats land?

    • Living in a hostel that long didn’t make me crazy… just angry and irritable :-)

      I think it’s an aluminum roof. Probably whatever is cheapest in this country.

  24. It looks like a great place. As for the cats, think of it this way: You have unlimited, free access to vintage “cat fights”. :)
    Great article and beautiful pictures!

  25. Looks like you’ve found the perfect place in BA. As for the foreigner tax, you’ve got to learn fluent Spanish and pass yourself off as Argentinian.

    • I have heard they actually ask for your official DNI. They can tell the accent immediately because it’s so different here than in every other Spanish-speaking country. But I heard that getting an Argentine to go with you and speak on your behalf can help.

  28. Very cute new home Stephanie. Having a lot of privacy is awesome although for me the bathroom situation is a deal breaker since I take trips to the bathroom a lot!

  29. Wow, what a lush place, hun. 😀 Gorgeous. And I love how cute your little room is off to the side.

    Oh my gosh. Never mind that the cats are at it – Think about how many kittens you’re gonna have surrounding you. Hahaha!

  31. Wow amazing, I love your house. When I saw the first picture, I thought this is not good but when I scrolled down and saw the other photos I have to say I am impressed it really looks great from the inside. I hope you had great times in this place as you have traveled to many destinations since then but anyway I like to read old stories.
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