Who each one is for, and the catch.
Pick it ifYoung families who want a garden and a quiet street, and still go into the city most days.
The catchThe river park is the postcard; the blocks that actually face it are towers along Libertador, and the house-with-garden version is a few streets in and seldom listed.
Pick it ifPeople buying Zona Norte logistics — trains, car, garden — who don't need the postcard.
The catchRents have climbed fast and the gap to Olivos is now small; the Panamericana splits it, and the west side is a denser, different place.
Pick it ifPeople who want residential calm by the river and are fine on trains and buses.
The catchThe river side of Libertador is few flats at Belgrano Chico prices; the value is west of Cabildo, which is a plainer place.
Pick it ifFamilies moving for a school, and anyone who wants trees and the river with a social evening.
The catchThe school run owns the mornings — Libertador and Maipú jam from half seven — and the house market is thin, dollar-listed and mostly through local agents.
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 (3–4) · quiet (7–8) · schools (8–9) · safety (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.
City barrios and province localities count crime differently (per barrio against per partido, with a third of the city's per-resident reporting rate), so no lowest is marked across the line.
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.