Foreigners in Argentina

I have come across a programme on local television about foreigners who choose to move to Argentina. This should not really be anything new in the country where more than 95% of the population claims to be of European descent. Most of their ancestors came however between mid-19^th and mid-20^th century and since that time most of the immigrants were from poor South American countries. Many foreigners who decide to move to Argentina these days come however from Western Europe and USA. The programme featured a person each from Netherlands, Belgium, France, USA and Spain – mainly people who studied here, liked the place and then decided to start a business here.

They generally like:

·         the country’s economy is not as well developed as in their countries of origin, which means there are many more opportunities to do business in Argentina. It is also easier to succeed as there is more potential for growth and less competition.

·         people are creative, have a can-do attitude and are open to new things (this comment came from the French lady, but others agreed:)

·         the country itself - vast spaces, beautiful landscapes, good climate.

They do not like:

•  inefficient institutions and generally poor level of service. This was however also seen as a business opportunity
•   people tend to find it difficult to comply with the rules

The TV presenter’s attitude to the subject was somewhere between the local’s pride and bemusement of why would anyone from these “first world” countries want to live in Argentina. This reminded me how several years back in Poland we also started to discover a similar trend. This was reflected in a popularity of a TV show with foreigners living in Poland discussing differences between Poland and their home countries. People seemed fascinated about this trend and a few of the programme's guests became celebrities. I think this had to do with the fact that at that time we were generally not very proud of our achievements, we lacked confidence and felt inferior to our western neighbours. This has changed a lot now, particularly since Poland joined EU and among younger people. I wonder where Argentina is in that process and what could be the source of confidence for the people.