Nightlife

Pro: Vibrant Nightlife

• Yes, I know, big cities in general have a great nightlife, but there are some important things to mention about the nightlife in Buenos Aires. The clubs here are called "boliches", and they're generally open after midnight. However, that doesn't mean people go at midnight. In the US, most people are heading home from the clubs at 2 or 3 in the morning. Here, the boliches don't start filling up until 3. People have really late dinners here, so often, they'll have dinner at 9 and enjoy a glass or two of wine at a restaurant or at home, then they go home to take a nap. Then at around 12 or 1, they meet at a bar and order a few drinks. They'll sip on their drinks and just chat with their friends, order another round and continue hanging out. Many Americans have the mentality that they must get drunk before or at the club. But in Argentina, they don't have to get drunk to go dance. Most don't. (This contributes to the porteños thinking of Americans as loud and obnoxious. Not only does speaking a different language make you stand out, but you're also in a huge group of very obviously drunken foreigners. When you see drunken people out at night making a scene or throwing up, they're generally not locals.) So anyway, the porteños often leave the bar at 3 or 4 to go to the clubs, and they stay out late into the morning. The latest I've stayed out is until 7am, but many porteños don't get to bed until 10 or 11 in the morning. Obviously, every night varies, but from what I've seen so far, what I described above is a typical night out.

• Depending on the club, the entrance fee is generally cheaper than in the US. Which is why foreigners are so eager to pay to get in, not realizing that if they take the time and did some research, they can find always find out ways to get into clubs for free. After staying here for about a few weeks, you start realizing a lot of little tricks. (Useful info if you're planning on visiting BA some day!) Most clubs will either have a list of people who emailed the club beforehand (and all you have to do is find out the email address from a flyer and email them and you don't have to pay!), or a list of VIP names, and if you can find out one of those names, you can mention that you're with them (even if you don't actually know them! you just need their name) and you can get in. If you tag along with porteños who know people at the club, not only can you get in for free, you can also get into the VIP section (unlimited drinks, holla!). Some clubs will partner up with a bar on a certain day of the week, so if you go to that bar first, they'll hand you fliers or tickets that will get you into that club for free later that night. There's also a website I accidentally stumbled upon, infoboliches.com.ar. This website has a bunch of ppl who work at clubs who give you info on who to contact if you want to go to that club. It also gives you info on when a certain club has ladies night or nights when everyone gets in for free, and general info like the address, which nights are the most popular to go, etc. Once I wrote a post on the website saying it was my friend's birthday and that we were looking to go to a certain club. Within a few hours, 3 ppl who work at different clubs had facebook messaged me about letting my friends and I into the club, including a girl who works at the club that I specifically mentioned I wanted to go to. If you come to BA, definitely utilize this website.