Advice for Buenas Aires please?

Hola chicos y chicas!

Next month I am jetting to South America for 6 months of travelling/backpacking/adventuring. I fly in to Buenas Aires and will most likely be staying there for 5 or 6 nights and was wondering if any of you fine people would be able to give me some advice on where is best to stay.

I'm a bit torn between staying in the Palermo district or San Telmo. I'm travelling alone and my Spanish is passable but basic, so I'm looking to stay somewhere nice and social where I might meet other people etc. If anyone can give some general thoughts on these areas or if you've been somewhere in particular you would recommend I'd be most grateful!

Thanks folks

passable spanish?
check http://spanishbuenosaires.tripod.com/tips.html tips for Argentina

[ Edit: Moderator note; linked site is owned by poster. ]

Ha, thanks very much. Already got that sorted! After BA I'm dashing over to Cordoba where I've got a 2 week Spanish course to brush up my skills. It's just the first week in BA I've got to get through with dodgy Spanish...

Hi:
I'm a local from Buenos Aires

Be casefull ,because Macachae's link is not updated, and accommodation showed there is very expensive.

But you have more than 100 hostels in BA you can find in this same website, in Accommodation link. Rremember Palermo and San Telmo, are in all touristic brochures, so accommodation there will be more expensive, than in many other nice and cheaper neighbourhoods in BA.

I think you will stay too short time to really know this amazing city.
If you decide to stay longer time, you can choose a guest house,
where the landlord can help you to better know the city.
In this case, you can see places like lodging4all.com.ar

saludos/regards
Juan Carlos

[ Edit: Moderator note; linked site is owned by poster. ]

Hola Juan Carlos,

Did you ever met Macachae??

I had met her 2 times in BA and I was very pleased.
She is a very well educated and helpfull person,she gave me excelent informations about BA and her country.
Your remark:
Be carefull with macaches link is not updated...........
puts her in a bad and negativ light.
Do you think posting this way is a good promotion for your business?

Marlis

Dear Jojoba, I just read your post.
I´m local too.
I don´t know who Juan Carlos is, or who Macachae is neither.
I recommended to you the same as my friends from abroad. Stay at a Hostel first and then try to find an apartment. You´ll have a lot of time to do that.
Several friends of mine chose Argentina Global Rent and they spent great time in their apartments. Another friend chose BA4U and the service was as good as in Argentina Global Rent. But all of them spent a week in a hostel first.
Remember that a temporary apartment for rent will cost you about 600 to 850 dollars per month for a studio or one bedroom apartment in Palermo, Recoleta or Las Cañitas and you´ll have to pay the commission wich is 15 or 20% for the total value. All companies needs a guarantee deposit to take the apartment, and in this case it will be the same as a month, cause is a long stay
Another tip. If you gonna go to Cordoba to study you have to go to Villa Carlos Paz, cause it has a good beach and a lot of places to hang out during the day and at night
See ya

palermo is fab

not good for the budget as there are so many great bars and shops!

amazing steakhouses though

Since you're staying for just a week, finding an appartment is not worth the hassle; better spend your time on doing nicer things.

Also, while I agree that -for someone with little BsAs experience- San Telmo and Palermo are nice areas, the cheapest accomodation is still in Microcentro, so I suggest you find a place there to have more money to spare on nice things. And, if you're up for a real immersion in Argentine culture, consider staying in a residencial instead of a hostel. They're numerous throughout town, dirt cheap, safe, usually inconspicuous and located near major transport hubs like Constitución.