As he spoke these words the American expatriate I was in the company of, swept his hands in a broad open gesture suggesting I look around.  We ordered another beer. Work on the 30 acre farm he had bought 6 months earlier could wait a little while longer.

Sit and watch the world go by in this town and you soon start to feel that everything can wait.    From the comfort of my café bar seat in the main street of General Alvear that is exactly what I did. 

Happy family groups strolled by, the elderly among them considerately and willingly supported by younger family members.  Men and women dressed for the office were in no particular hurry and stopped regularly to greet friends and exchange pleasantries.  Groups of laughing and chatting teenagers were heading for the park to meet with more friends to pass time before returning to school.  Drivers stopped their cars and patiently waited for pedestrians to cross.

For a few moments my thoughts returned to London and I had recollections of the menacing gangs of teenagers high on glue terrorizing the lonesome elderly who had been abandoned by their families and left to fend for themselves. I recalled the underground trains stuffed with sharply dressed business types holding at least two conversations simultaneously on their state of the art cell phones whilst frantically pecking at their laptop keyboards. All of them competitors in the never ending rat race.   The sound of another beer cracking open bought me back to my current location. General Alvear - a geographical distance of almost 7,000 miles from London, but socially and culturally it’s a completely different world. 

In case you are wondering, General Alvear is located in the South East of the Mendoza province of Argentina. As well as the Central district, known as the City there are two outlying districts, Bowen and San Pedro of Atuel with the latter also known locally as Carmensa.  The total area of the districts combined is 14,488 square kilometers and is home to around 45,000 inhabitants. Majority earn their living from farming various fruits and crops using traditional agricultural methods or raising livestock to produce some of the best meat you will ever taste. 

The climate is seasonal and is described as semi arid with 329mm rainfall each year.  This statistic is hard to believe when there is an abundance of greenery, thriving vineyards and heavily laden fruit trees all around. But, clever use of snow melt from the Andes Mountains channeled into an ancient irrigation system overcomes the lack of rain and adequately waters the crops.  In your mind’s eye, conjure a vision of rolling acres of well manicured vineyards and fruit orchards with clear water canals running alongside and you have an idea of the overall landscape of General Alvear.

So what if this green and pleasant land is the finish line where the rat race ends and you get your life back?  What property is available and at what price? 

Two Properties Currently Available In General Alvear

Farm/Ranch For Sale in General Alvear, Argentina :: Unique, modern house on 30 acre farm - Completely remodeled house with new addition on 12.08 Hectare (30 acres) finca.  This property is situated 13 kms. from the center of General Alvear. There is 1 hectare of new D'Agen plums, for drying for prunes.  They should start producing in 3 years.  Various manzana (apple) alamos (poplar) and duraznos (peaches) dot the canals and fields.  Another 7 hectares can be planted with a little preparation  Large parcel of river from land near General Alvear, Argentina - A 1,540 Acre River Ranch On The Atuel River In Argentina - This property has hundreds of perfect building sites, and is the perfect location for a resort, retreat, or eco-tourism development.   Located 621 miles from Buenos Aires - approximately 65 miles from San Rafael, Argentina - 1,540 acres of prime land, that can be used for vineyard, olive grove, eco-resort, tourist development, private ranch, or personal retreat.  It's the right place at the right time at the right price. Don't let this one slip by

See The Real Estate Marketplace For More Properties In Argentina

I needed to talk to the local estate agents.  Was my Spanish good enough?  Definitely not. And so my expat companion introduced me to Nora Oller, his Spanish teacher and director of the Bethel Institute, an English Language school based in General Alvear.

A short walk took us to the most centrally located inmobiliaria (real estate agent) owned by Señor Ricardo Di Rosso who, Nora told me, had been in the business for 20 years and was well known and respected in the local community.

Señor Ricardo Di Rosso was happy to talk me through the range of properties he had for sale.  With a budget of between US$23 – 30,000 I could buy a house in town of a reasonable size in a good neighbourhood. For the same price, but a bit further out of town bigger and better houses were available.  If my fistful of dollars held between US$43 – 65,000 I could buy bigger and better in town. I had seen some spectacular properties on the outskirts of the city and enquired what that type of real estate would be valued at.   These properties came on the market so very very rarely that at this point it was difficult to place any sort of figure on them I was told.

Señor Di Rosso told me that house prices had doubled over the last two or three years and were continuing to do so largely due to indications that demand will soon exceed supply.  This, he attributed to four main factors.

1. The anticipated completion by 2010 of the “Ocean Corridor”.  This is a road linking Buenos Aires to the port town of Talca in Chile, the Atlantic to the Pacific.  General Alvear is the halfway point along this road and the predicted stopping place for tourists, travelers and truckers.
2. Inhabitants from Buenos Aires wanting second homes in the country were looking closely at this region. 
3. After the devaluation in 2001 many people in their 20’s and 30’s migrated to Spain and other European countries to for greater earning power and were now returning with cash to buy a home. 
4. A significant increase in foreign interest.  Americans and Europeans looking for bargain real estate for second homes or investment purposes.

Farms (fincas), building lots and campo land had not shown quite the same increase but as much of the foreign interest was now leaning in that direction he anticipated that this would change in the future. 

Prices for fincas are not so clear cut as there are many variable factors to take into consideration.  The location of the finca and its proximity to town; type, quality and productivity of the vines/fruit trees; quality of the soil; water rights and whether it had been worked recently or abandoned or semi abandoned all determined the final price tag.

Señor Di Rosso gave me the following, very rough, guide to the value of farmland per hectare (there are approximately 2.5 acres to one hectare)

Blank land (i.e. no plants or trees) is valued at US$1000 – 3000 per hectare

Land planted with D’Agen plums, the type used to dry and produce prunes, is currently valued at US$7500 – 15000 per hectare.

Photos Of General Alvear - “If you’re looking for a place to drop out of the rat race in to, then this is it”

Prices tend to be lower in General Alvear than in San Rafael - General Alvear is a bargain!

Visit his website www.dirossoinmobiliaria.com.ar for a full list of properties for sale.

Before going to the next inmobiliaria we decided to stop for coffee. This was a wonderful opportunity to talk more in depth with my cheerful translator, Nora, who had lived in General Alvear for all but 12 years of her life.

I was curious to know what recreational, healthcare and educational facilities the town provides for its residents and what it could offer outsiders proposing to settle here.

The town has a public funded hospital with an Emergency Room that treats accidents and emergencies for free.  Besides that, there are a large number of general practitioners and specialists that you can consult for an average $10 fee.  Access to other Para medical professionals is just as easily available including alternative therapists practicing reflexology, acupuncture and homeopathic remedies. Health insurance plans are available from basic to more comprehensive cover. Prices vary so shopping around would be advised.

There are private and public options for schooling.  General Alvear has 3 private schools and an abundance of free place public establishments. As is always the case, some are better than others but parents have the freedom to look around and choose the best option for their children.  Paying a modest monthly fee for private education would buy a wider curriculum and maybe smaller classes.  Education is compulsory from the age of 6 until 18.

The climate and terrain is suited for outdoor activities.  The long flat roads lend themselves perfectly for cycling, running and walking but hillier terrain is a short drive away for more challenging hiking and climbing.  Soccer, rugby, basketball,smimming and hockey are major diversions for young and the not so young and the nearby park has tennis and paddle courts.  Paddle, I learned is a cross between tennis and racquet ball and is best played as doubles.

For around US$15 a family can have membership to the park which also is home to sailing and fishing clubs.  Or, for a more leisurely Sunday lunch and afternoon families take the wonderful meat available here and barbeque it on the brick built grills and sit at one of the many tables by the river that runs through the well maintained grounds. 

It was time to move on. We paid the $2 check for our coffees and headed for the next inmobiliaria.

A walk to the edge of the commercial centre of the town bought us to the office of Mauro Euliarte, another local real estate agent.  We had to wait to be seen by the owner, but passed the time by chatting with the very pleasant receptionist who reported brisk business and a definite increase in interest from foreign buyers.

Mauro was pleased to assist and I noted that the prices he had his houses listed at were closely comparable to the first office we had visited.  Finca valuations were more or less the same. 

Mauro reported an increase in interest in property in the area of around 60 – 70% over the preceding 2 years.  Seventy percent of that increase coming from overseas enquirers. 

He told me that local and foreign entrepreneurs are taking a serious look at General Alvear in recognition that once the Ocean Corridor is complete there will be heavy demand for hotel and leisure facilities.  Of course now is the time to prepare since the anticipated completion is only 2 to 3 years away. Prime land prices were set to rocket he thought. 

He wondered if we knew about the airport expansion programme and went on to tell us that the runway at the local aerodrome was being extended and progress was well underway.  This surely signifies a projected increase in tourists and freight coming in to the area, guests for the new hotels and customers for the leisure facilities.

Ok, so I don’t want to build a hotel or leisure centre, I just want to buy a residential size lot and build on that, how much would that cost? 

Lots, he told me, are priced around the same as blank farmland. Building costs are currently US$2 – 300 per square metre for something basic, rising to US$3 -600 per square metre for more complex requirements.  These are today’s prices he reminded me.  The cost of building materials will rise with demand.

But planning permission, that would be a nightmare surely? 

Not so.  If you are planning to build your own house then you would need professional plans drawn up by an architect to present to the local municipality for approval but this was merely a formality in most cases but would add around US$1000 to your costs. 

How about getting building work done, that would be a nightmare though wouldn’t it?

A wry smile told me the answer.  Getting building work done is never as straightforward as one would like. There are always unpredictable problems, uncompleted projects, builders walking off the job, plumbers not showing up.  Yes you can build your own house but be prepared for the emotional turmoil that goes hand in hand with the project in question.

This sharply ended my daydream of overseeing the construction of my own design of a well constructed 100 square metre house set in about 15 hectares (37.5 acres) for less than $100,000 and made me wonder if it wasn’t a better idea to buy ready built or renovate an existing building. 

Would it be difficult for me to buy here was my next question.

The answer was no.  Foreigners can own title outright once they have gone through the very simple and quick process of applying for a CUIT number (similar to social security and national insurance numbers in the US and the UK).  You would of course use the services of a local escribano (notary) and you should budget for an additional 10% on top of the purchase price of a property to cover all legal and agent fees.

Visit www. Euliartepropiedades.com.ar for more property listings and details.

My head was now buzzing.  Was this a town to drop out in to or is it the next real estate or land investment hot spot set to boom?

My conclusion is that for the short term it certainly is somewhere that you can disappear in to the friendly crowd and live a laid back lifestyle with a cost of living that certainly doesn’t break the bank. 

Looking further ahead, maybe five years or so, if the tourists, travelers and truckers do come in the numbers predicted then this will be a booming little town with the price tag placed on real estate pushed above the reach of small investors or second home purchasers. 

For bargain prices the place is right here, the time is right now.