Are u considering moving to Patagonia, or just traveling for a while?

Hi,
I have been living in Bariloche for 10 weeks after buying a home in this beautiful area. The scenery is fantastic, as is the climate in the summer and autumn.

I offer warnings to people who move or travel from abroad. Assume nothing! Get receipts for everything, especially when you need to pay "up front".

Get the costs for remises and taxis before you enter the auto. You must pay 5 pesos to open the door and sit in the seat of a taxi! Bariloche has a confusing one/way system with many roads that are closed with walking areas because of the steep slopes of the roads.

Whilst I have been at the mercy of the goodness of people who are providing private transport services, almost every one of them will use the opportunity to either take you the "long way round", or even charge you double the real rates!

They will say things like, "well, the real rate is 100 pesos per hour, but I will charge you 70 pesos. BUT, the real rate is 60 pesos! In remises, the charges are by the hour.. the distance, number of stops, and time waiting has no effect on the price. And, there is no printed price list nor meter. Get the price before entering the auto. I had one person who told me the charge was 60 pesos per hour only for the car, and any waiting, advice about finding shops, and other services cost another 60 pesos! Keep your eyes and ears open.

There is a tourist office in the centro civico that provides a really good map and they provide information about the local bus services, which are excellent. They have a special prepayment card which saves you much money and inconvenience. My journey costs 4 pesos one way in money, and 2.55 with the card. They also provide an excellent "re charging" service for the card so you can add money to your reserves whilst on your journey!

This is a fantastic place when you find good people for support.