Why didnt I move to Estancia Cafayate in the Province of Salta

Fernando,
I want to congratulate again personally you on your move and restate my best wishes for you and your family.
I don’t know if anyone else sent you this but thought you’d find it interesting. I want to tell you that, despite some difference of opinion with some social/religious stuff, I would absolutely rather have you as a neighbor and friend than these guys, who live in another reality. Polo-playing elite. I get their free newsletter to see how they think.
Steve

Hi Steve, I got lots of emails like yours, thanks for letting me know about this.
In case you have no idea of whats going on, these guys are pissed with me:
http://www.caseyresearch.com/cdd/contrarian-view-argentina
Because of these articles I wrote some time ago:
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2011/08/moving-to-cafayate-salta-in-argentina.html
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2010/10/real-estate-and-relocating-investing-in.html
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2010/03/doug-caseys-opinions-of-argentina.html
Basically it comes down to this: These people are selling property in a country club in an Argentine province called Salta, pitching it as a high society, wine sipping, polo playing paradise, and selling houses there for exorbitant prices. I simply answered some questions readers sent me, and very kindly explained why putting that kind of money in such a far away place, in a dirt poor province, within an already unstable third world country with a president similar to Chavez was the most stupid thing I’ve head in the last decade. It seems that some people didn’t like my opinion on the matter, specifically those trying to sell property there.
This may have caused them to lose a couple sales. At least two that I know of because the potential buyers contacted me and I told them they would be idiots if they bought into this BS. Yes, I used those exact same words.
Isnt it wonderful how the “Casey Research Group “concludes that the best thing for you is to buy property from Doug Casey in crappy poor Argentina?. JAJAJAJAA!!!!
You’d think that being rich and loving a wine sipping, golf playing sophisticated lifestyle you’d be better off in Napa Valley or something, but no, the best thing for you is to go to the middle of nowhere Argentina and then go from there to a middle of nowhere province where land used to sell for a dollar a square mile, that is until good ol’ Doug bought it and his research now shows that its in your best interest to pay 300.000 a pop for a place in his Estancia…  in one of the poorest provinces of Argentina… in the middle of the desert, where not a blade of grass would survive without artificial irrigation. JA!! Amazing what you can achieve with research!
Here at the “FerFAL Anti-BS Foundation”, we’ve done some research of our own and came to the following conclusions:

Health and Education
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/south-america/argentina
http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/samerica/argentina.php
Wow! So one of the cool things about Salta is that you need to get shots for Dengue, Malaria and Yellow fever. That sounds like fun!  Its of notice that in my +30 years of living in Buenos Aires yellow fever shots where never recommended unless you traveled to these poor, far away provinces. Why would that be? Because Buenos Aires sucks while Salta is the best place in the planet for rich wine drinking golf playing billionaires..hmm… or maybe is its because Salta is a poor province in the middle of nowhere?… mmm.. . And you know whats additional fun factor Dengue, a deadly disease spread by a mosquito. That theres billions of those little rascals flying around the Super Rich guy retreat is just a bonus!! Unlike Buenos Aires where during dengue season you see the trucks driving around fumigating to kill them and stop the disease.
But hey, if you’re an old snobby fart that feels better surrounding yourself by some of the most awful misery in South America while you sip wine, there’s even better news: You’ll die very, very fast!! Who want to retire to Boca or spend your golden years skiing in Beaver Creek like those other unoriginal rich old farts? Go to better life like Indiana Jones would: Die of easily curable diseases in a poor crappy hospital of Salta! You want an even cooler death? Suffer a stroke in Casey’s Estancia Cafayate… and require a 4 hour drive, then a 2 hour plane trip to Buenos Aires to get serious medical attention! Now isn’t that fun? Of course it is!

Who wants to live past their 66 years? No one moving to Salta for sure! Oh, you didn’t know? See, one of the differences between living in Buenos Aires and living in Salta, is that the life expectancy for males in Buenos Aires is 69,17, while in Salta its 66,17!!!! How Cool is that?! You get to kick the bucket while in your prime years, no one wants to be remembered like an old wrinkly man, rich or not. Why would you want to live in Buenos Aires and live a measly 4 years more of life?
Stupid me, here I am in a place where my life expectancy is +80. Boooorrinnggg.
Source? Here you go! That’s according to the INDEC, the Argentine government itself, who just love admitting how young people die under their regime.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indec.gov.ar%2Fnuevaweb%2Fcuadros%2F2%2Find_demograf_5.xls&ei=fO0bT8mNFNDgtQab37xI&usg=AFQjCNHUFpSlFXwGewV2Cv5xF_JSBCdIxg
But say you aren’t a rich old fart but a young rich snobby prick instead with a trophy wife and a couple spoiled brats. What about schools? Seems that I didn’t research that well enough. Stupid me here I am in Northern Ireland: I should have contacted these people and move to Salta instead. Instead of sending my kids to a free public school that has both top world class education as well as Christian values being taught daily, among the top ten schools that end up sending pupils to Cambridge University, the ¬#1 University in the planet for 2010 and 2011, I should have sent my kids to a public school in Salta, where Kirchner gives kids…. drums please…. A netbook!!!! … In provinces where 83% of homes don’t have internet access!!! JAJAJAJA!!! I could also end up in Salta capital city where after paying 500USD for a private school my kids would at least learn to read and write properly, along with a mediocre general knowledge level compared to most first world nations and a view of the world narrower than a Llama’s but hole, but that’s just too far away from the Super Dooper Rich guy retreat.
But what the heck! Lets cut it out already and take a look at your new neighbors! Outside the walls of the country club walls! (better build those walls high!)

See?! They LOVE living in contact with nature, who needs roofs, water, electricity, toilets.  These are the rich, intellectual people this David Gland mentioned in his newsletter.
Hey, what about Chaco, the province next to Salta? Actually Chaco has a higher life expectancy than Salta so lets take a look there.

Ok… but you know what, you see poor hungry people, I on the other hand see slim intellectuals. How much money does it cost in LA to lose THAT much weight?  All that open space and fresh air, low population, fresh food products. Besides, how can you NOT feel good about yourself, snobby, golf playing rich you, when you’re surrounded by such misery and poverty. See? It all work out great towards achieving the Estancia Cafayate lifestyle.
But FerFAL, quit beating around the bush and tell us what you REALLY think
What I think about all this charade? I don’t have a problem with people making money. I like money a lot myself. I love the capitalist system that allows you to make money.
You know what I DON’T like? People that lie and trick others with BS. That’s why I spent some of my precious time replying to this bunched up panty fit of hysteria the guy that wrote the article bashing me obviously had.
Wrapping it up folks, since I have to go have dinner with my wife and kids. I didn’t mean to harm anyone’s business and I very much doubt I did. These people are smart and could sell ice to Eskimos, or property in Cafayate as a good lifestyle idea. They are just looking for ways of making even more money. Its up to each one to get as much information as possible. Then you have no one to blame but yourself if you fall for it.
Take care!
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