Post by Erich Kruschitz

81 Days Around the World: Finale in Buenos Aires 🌎🇦🇷 9 countries, dozens of conversations, one emergency passport (ok, two), and a head full of stories I'll process for years. Buenos Aires was my final stop. 3 weeks. Drop someone blindfolded here and they'd guess Europe. Architecture, culture, nearly everyone traces roots to Italian, German, or Spanish grandparents. Yet this is unmistakably South America. 🚌 People queue for buses in perfect lines, nobody pushing in. The buses themselves ('Colectivos') look like Fangio era race cars, privately operated, competing on routes, driven with more confidence than caution. A 45 min ride? 50c. I loved them. 🚓 Police presence is everywhere. Officers are usually calm. Their blue lights seem to be on permanently, even while standing at a red light with no urgency at all. As a foreigner, it takes some getting used to. ⚽ This city is football mad. During River vs Boca, every bar overflowed onto streets. Police closed roads mid first half. I saw River vs Belgrano: 85,000 people, families with kids, incredible passion. Thanks to Lautaro Brunatti for the invite. 📈 And then the economics. In 1913, Argentina was richer per capita than France or Germany. The French said "riche comme un Argentin." Conversations with Adrian Büchner, Mauro Arcucci, Maria Clara Monferini, Sean Skantze and Guido Bartalena helped me understand the weight of "Peronismo": massive state spending, subsidized everything, until the bill came due. Today: 3.4% inflation per month (yes, monthly). An Adidas Argentina jersey costs more than in Europe. A Lindt Dubai chocolate? €40. But a bus ride costs cents and real estate in prime locations goes for ~$4k/m². The catch: virtually no local can get a mortgage. Interest rates are unaffordable. So demand to buy is low, demand to rent is high. For foreigners, opportunity. For locals, an impossible path to wealth. Does it take someone as unconventional as Milei to break the cycle? I don't know. But Argentina has everything it needs to be a G-10. 🍷 The food, wine, and cultural scene rival any European capital. Teatro Colón alone would be enough for most cities. I also scrapped my plans for Santiago, São Paulo, and Patagonia. After 10 weeks of movement, I needed reflection time. Buenos Aires delivered. 𝟴𝟭 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀. 𝟵 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆. 🇹🇼🇦🇺🇳🇿🇺🇸🇵🇦🇵🇪🇨🇴🇦🇷🇺🇾 I met people with different backgrounds, industries, and perspectives. Entrepreneurs, executives, coaches, academics, startup founders, Uber drivers, tour guides, and strangers in coffee shops, clubs, and bars. The conversations were often private, always generous, and frequently insightful. Thank you to everyone who shared their time, stories, and honest perspectives 🙏   What's next? I came back with clarity. Not about one thing, but several I want to pursue. More on that soon. 👉 What resonated most with you from this journey?