TOURIST2TOWNIE.COM
Follow my adventures in Buenos Aires, Argentina as I attempt to go from Upstate New Yorker to Porteño in less than one year. Hopefully the trials and tribulations I'm faced with will help educate and inspire others thinking about making a similar leap.
BACKGROUND
Right after I graduated college in 2006, I started working full-time for a start-up company that i've been with since Sophomore year. After 6 years of non-stop work and constant chaos, I decided it was time for a new adventure. I was hit with the travel bug that a weekend get-a-way in Niagara Falls wouldn't cure.
So, I built this site and decided to try something different. I want to go beyond typical travel blogs and see exactly what it takes to become part of a foreign community (If it's possible). So many people travel but rarely do they stay long enough to truly understand a place and the people that define it. My goal is to learn the language, build relationships and live, work and play like a local. I have no set plan on exactly how I will accomplish my goal but I'll utilize social media and some good 'ol fashion networking to submerge myself in Buenos Aires.
Also, I plan on doing all this with no prior connections, a poor understanding of the spanish language and less than $5,000 to my name.
With my plan to transform from tourist to townie I should probably share my definitions of the two:
TOURIST - Someone who sees the sites, eats the foods and has a broad understanding of the layout of a particular area. I have been a tourist before and It isn't as fun as being a local. Loud. Annoying. Lost.
TOWNIE - A local. Someone who has been around since you can remember who has their own seat at the bar and who can tell you stories about "the good 'ol days". Knowledgeable. Connected. Smooth.
MORE INFORMATION
The Tourist2Townie.com Experience
Top 10 Reasons I Choose Buenos Aires