Another Galt's Gulch in Argentina?

Posted by ShrugInArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago to The Gulch: Introductions
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Ever since I read Atlas Shrugged for the first time I wanted to live in Galt's Gulch. Unfortunately, it does not exist in the real world. Nonetheless, in 2009, as legislation was enacted in the USA that will "fundamentally transform" America, once known as the land of the free, into the home of the slave, I decided it was time to "go Galt" in real life. I began an extensive search in Argentina for affordable, fertile land with access to ground water where I could live with security, privacy, and peace of mind, as well as dogs and horses.

In early 2010 I found what I was seeking near the Atlantic coast in the south of Provincia de Buenos Aires, at the edge of a "village" of 1,500 residents in an area where it is still possible to have the major benefits of civilization nearby but also be prepared to live with less of them. I hoped to be welcomed warmly but also be left alone by the Argentines who already lived there. I was and I am. I have more freedom in Argentina now than I had when I left the USA, including the freedom to build almost anything I desire without asking permission.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, beer, wine and basic supplies are available within a three minute drive from my property. There is a medical clinic with an ambulance in the village, along with over a dozen shops that sell the basics. Low cost medical insurance, high quality health care, Walmart, hundreds of businesses and restaurants, and an airport with direct flights to the Ciudad de Buenos Aires can be found in the two closest cities which are less than a 10 minute drive in one direction and a 15 minute drive in the other.

I am presently subdividing two hectares (10,000 meters2 each) into eight, 2,500 meter2 home sites. Both properties are bordered by dense rows of tamarisco trees which provide a great deal of natural beauty as well as a high level of privacy. My own residence is on one of them. The lots are ideal on which to build a hacienda style home which traditionally features outside walls and a center courtyard. The "Spanish Hacienda by Geschke Group" is my favorite version. Three of the lots are reserved but one single lot and two "double" lots (5,000 meters2) are still available.

If you also have serious concerns about the future and share the belief that having a "safe haven" or a "life hedge" in a beautiful, natural setting with like-minded individuals is worth considering, there is still time. Your dollars still have the power to purchase what you will need, especially the land and building materials. Individual home sites are priced from $37,500 to $50,000 USD ($15-$20/meter2). Building costs are less than $100 USD per sq.ft. for masonry construction with exposed wood beam ceilings and red tile roofs.

Please contact me for further details at: LasHaciendasLibertad@outlook.com

Hasta luego,
Steve

Links of interest:
http://lewrockwell.com/thomas-jeff/thoma...

http://geschkegroup.com/index.php/Projec...


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    • Posted by Edward 11 years, 6 months ago
      Look people, the gargantuan US debt is growing unabated, as is the nervousness of those who hold that debt. Meanwhile, the Fed continues to create mountains of new money – since the start of the Great Recession in 2008, the US money supply has skyrocketed over 60% and continues to rise.

      Clearly, the government is intentionally driving down the dollar...

      February 6, 2012 Forbes: The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) has made it official: After its latest two day meeting, it announced its goal to devalue the dollar...

      Potential pension takeovers... over $16 trillion in national debt... a continual erosion of purchasing power... escalating tax burdens... crony capitalism... senseless wars...

      When you add it all up, it's clear that you need to start protecting your ass...ets now!
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    • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
      "It is beyond my understanding how ANYONE can possibly believe there is safe haven in the land of military dictatorships, terrorist communist guerrillas, hyper-inflation, rampant graft and total political corruption... all of which experience a rebirth in South America during every economic disaster these countries suffer."

      This is simply not true. Nothing of the sort occurred in Argentina after the "economic disaster" of 2001 -2002. There was no return to a military dictatorship nor an appearance of communist guerrillas. The (peso (which was devalued in the crisis) actually was fairy stable for about six years and there was significant growth in the economy during those years.

      Another economic crisis may be inevitable in Argentina, just as it now appears inevitable in the USA, and for the same reasons, including out of control government spending fueled by printing too much currency. Argentina, unlike the USA, lost it's ability to borrow after the last crisis and default.

      I am not a gringo in Argentina. No one here calls me that. I speak Castellano well enough that no one is sure where I'm from unless I tell them. I am an extranjero with permanent residency and I could become a citizen if I so desired. No one is going to throw me in prison. Even during the military dictatorship of 1976-1983 Americans in Argentina were not bothered by those in power.

      Since I won't be in prison if you want to give me a bad time for the rest of my days it will just be a waste of your life, which I hope you can protect wherever you are.

      If it's the USA I have bad news. You are not living in a nation which is self governed, either, and you won't give be able to give me a bad time about anything that happens in Argentina after they flip the internet kill switch in the USA and confiscate your guns and food storage (all by executive order if necessary).
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  • Posted by terrycan 11 years, 6 months ago
    I believe we can fix The United States of America.
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    • Posted by Edward 11 years, 6 months ago
      I hope you have some good ideas and pronto, because we are just about out of time terry.
      When the market crashes and the dollar goes up in smoke, it will happen overnight and then it will be too late. Someone said, "I rather be 6 months too early than 5 minutes late", I totally agree.
      Remember, when they shut down the doors, you better have a second passport to get out and hopefully you would have already gotten your pennies out of Dodge.
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      • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 11 years, 6 months ago
        Get out to where exactly? If the U.S. crashes you think there won't be 'issues' in other parts of the world as a consequence? In AS the rest of the world was in a much worse place when everything crashed. Francisco chose to stay in the U.S. and rebuild from here not go home to Argentina.
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        • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
          It's a bit difficult to understand what you meant as you mixed tenses as well as reality and fiction.

          Does your second sentence refer to what happened in a work of fiction (as your third sentence does) or did you mean that the rest of the world will be in a much worse place when everything crashes?

          If I understand geography correctly, the rest of the world should still be in the same place if and when everything crashes everywhere.

          If there ever is an Atlas Shrugged level crash in the USA I don't want to be there. I believe that up to 25 million Americans could die before anything is rebuilt.

          Argentina only has a population of 40 million and can continue to produce enough food to survive. The fact that virtually everyone who has anything worth stealing already has bars and/or anit-robo curtains on their doors and windows should help keep the level of violence to a minimum. Argentines also have a history of dealing with economic turmoil and financial collapse with a remarkably low level of violence and few fatalities.

          I daresay that a real Francisco of today will be safer in Argentina during and after the coming crash (which will probably happen suddenly and very fast). I know an Argentine woman who has been living in the USA for the past 40 years. She is "one of us" and she is planning on leaving the USA in the next month.

          BTW: I may have "Gone Galt" in 2010 but I have lived in Argentina for a total of seven years, arriving in 2006 after living in Mexico for five years. In 2010 I could have return to the US or relocated anywhere else I desired. I chose the south of la Provincia de Buenos Aires and I do not regret it. There's no place in the US I could live as safely during or after a crash.
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          • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 11 years, 6 months ago
            Geographically everything will remain the same barring major geologic events. I meant the financial/political stability of the rest of the world if/when the U.S. $ crashes. Will it? Probably. Fiat money after all. Sentences 2 & 3 did refer to the work of fiction. My reading of the book was that the rest of the world was largely dependent on the U.S. for supplies. The supplies that Ragnar liberated and sold on the black market to recover what was looted by the government. Based on my understanding of that situation, when the final crash came there was no viable entity to get those supplies to the other countries.

            I don't doubt lots of people will die when something happens. Good reason to live in an area where you can grow your own food etc.

            You have found your Gulch. I choose a Gulch in the U.S. To each his own and good luck to us all.
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  • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 11 years, 6 months ago
    I won't let them have this country. No other country has or will probably ever have what we had and it's worth fighting for. Besides. I've taken an oath to defend against all enemies foreign and domestic several times and I don't think that oath has an expiration date.
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    • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
      To whom did you take that oath and does it entail following orders?

      Are you willing to defend your country and fight domestic enemies regardless of who is giving you orders or what those orders are?

      Is it possible that the "them" to whom you refer already have "this" country and to keep your oath by following their orders will not have the results you desire?
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      • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 11 years, 6 months ago
        Regardless of who is giving the orders and what those orders are? No. I took an oath "... to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic." I do not have to obey an unlawful order. Here is a section of the UCMJ on illegal orders.:
        The UCMJ on illegal orders

        The Uniform Code of Military Justice is more concerned about failure of military personnel to obey legitimate orders than it is about refusal to obey illegitimate orders, but it does address the subject. In Section 16c(1)(c) it provides:

        Lawfulness. A general order or regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the laws of the United States, or lawful superior orders or for some other reason is beyond the authority of the official issuing it.

        Does that answer your question?
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    • Posted by Edward 11 years, 6 months ago
      You obviously listen to the talking heads in the media. We have a perfect storm here and it is about to blow. Do you think we can sustain the trillions of paper they are printing on an on going basis? Or the huge debt for which we cannot even pay the interest? WAKE UP FOLKS!
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  • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 6 months ago
    Question: Can you own guns there?
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    • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
      Yes, and all amerias (gun stores) offer assistance in applying for the required license. They cannot sell you a firearm until you have one.
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      • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 6 months ago
        What's the purpose of the license?
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        • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
          To be sure the gun owner does not have a criminal record and is familiar with gun use and terminology.

          Foreign residents (like me) and Argentine citizens must also show evidence of income so it will be less likely the gun will be used for criminal purposes.

          Armed robbery is rare in Argentina and non-existent where I am living..
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          • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 6 months ago
            You edited this after I responded with more questions...now I have even more.
            Evidence of income? So far this isn't sounding like freedom. Mafias, drug cartels, and governments have money and they use guns in criminal ways all the time.
            Armed robbery is "non existent" where you live.... for now maybe. My point is...I'm not worried about criminals getting them (as they will ALWAYS find a way to get them when they want them no matter how illegal it is...because they're criminals)...it's YOU I'm concerned with. Can YOU get one without a hassle and being "registered" in some way so they can then confiscate it.
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            • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
              Of course I can. Even an 80 year old woman here can, and I know two of them.
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              • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
                Armed robbery is non-existent where I live because it is assumed that everyone around here already IS armed and there aren't enough police to disarm the population.

                There is a naval base in one of the cities near the village in which I live. It is populated with a lot of retired as well as active duty naval personnel.

                If there is ever widespread unrest in Argentina the highway into that city will be closed off just before the entrance to "my" village which is not the kind of place that would attract looters in the first place. My property is far enough away from the highway that it is highly unlikely any miscreants would ever get very close.

                And I have nothing to fear from my neighbors, or (what's left of) the military in Argentina
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          • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 6 months ago
            There's a terminology test? I'm interested in seeing the details of the licensing requirements. Also, who holds the license and where else is this information sent? And what does purchasing ammo entail?
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            • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
              I'll look for information on the test. The terminology test just covers the meaning of words (in Spanish) like bullet, shotgun, rifle, etc.

              The tiro federal issues the license, which is also required to buy ammo over the counter, but there are folks who can legally buy ammo and ostensibly "use" it for sporting purposes.

              No one tracks ammo after it has been sold the first time.

              And no one shows much concern about the possibility of the government confiscating guns.

              It's their US dollars in the bank they worry about.



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              • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 6 months ago
                Federal licenses are registration. One should always be "concerned" about gov's confiscation of guns, especially if you have to register them, aka "license" them. And they have good reason to worry about the US dollar disintegrating. Interesting. Thanks for the info. :)
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                • Posted by ShruginArgentina 11 years, 6 months ago
                  You're welcome.

                  It isn't the US dollar disintegrating that the Argentines are worried about, it's the disintegration of the Argentine peso. They actually WANT dollars and will pay much more than the "official" exchange rate to get them. The Argentine government wants their dollars, too, and has a history of helping itself to US dollars in Argentine bank accounts.

                  The exchange rate has increased so much in favor of the dollar in the past year that I can now buy building materials "cheaper" here (my net cost in dollars recently converted to pesos) than five years ago.
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  • Posted by C_S 11 years, 6 months ago
    "Ever since I read Atlas Shrugged for the first time I wanted to live in Galt's Gulch. Unfortunately, it does not exist in the real world."

    And never will. It's like the Starship Enterprise that way.
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