Who each one is for, and the catch.
Pick it ifPeople choosing by school or budget who don't need the river and have a car.
The catchRents rose faster here than anywhere in the zone over the past year, so the discount is shrinking while the view is not improving.
Pick it ifSettlers, not short stays: people who want a real town with a center and plan to stay years.
The catch'San Isidro' in a listing can mean the partido, which runs to the Panamericana; the town on the hill is a few prime blocks and priced like it.
Pick it ifSt. John's families, and buyers who want San Isidro's river side at a step down.
The catchInland near the Panamericana sits La Cava, one of the zone's largest informal settlements; the river side is a different world and the listings know it.
Pick it ifFamilies who want the house, the garden, the school and the train, and will own a car.
The catchUnicenter and the Panamericana are the other half of the name — malls, traffic, towers — and the family-house stock is thin and listed in dollars.
Two or more points apart on the 1–10 scale, widest gap first. The tick is the median barrio.
Alike onwalkability (6–7) · cost value (all 5) · culture (3–4) · quiet (6–7) · clubs (6–7).
Each lens weighs the marks differently; what each one weighs is in the note below.
First landing — Walkable, transit-rich, English-friendly, food and culture on tap — with reported crime included in the comparison. With kids — Schools and healthcare first, then the clubs, safety, parks, quiet and walkable streets. On a budget — Lower asking prices first, with transit, walkability and reported crime in the mix. Creative & nightlife — Culture, food and walkability — and the louder, the better. Quiet & green — Calm streets and green space, with reported crime and asking prices in the mix. Car-free — Transit and walkability only — live here without ever owning a car.
Averages of asking prices; crime as reported robberies and thefts per 1,000 residents.
Scores run 1 low to 10 high; “data” means derived from a source, “our read” is our considered opinion. Rents are averages of asking prices — the city statistics office for barrios (43 m² one-bedroom), the Zonaprop index for Zona Norte (50 m²) — converted at each table's bank rate. A missing dimension is left out of fit, never counted as neutral. Methods and every source with its date: how we score.