Who each one is for, and the catch.
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.
Pick it ifPeople who want old San Isidro's quiet without its Sunday visitors.
The catchAlmost nothing comes up for rent; what does is a house, in dollars, through a local agent who already knows the family.
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) · transit (6–7) · parks (6–7) · culture (4–5) · english & expats (6–7) · clubs (all 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.