Top 10 reasons why Bariloche is like the American West of the 60s

• 10. A trip to the gas pump comes with a complimentary window cleaning.
  
• 9. Playgrounds have seesaws. How refreshing to live in a world where liability laws don’t govern everything. I’ve yet to see a sign stating the recommended age for using the equipment, nor warning me that my children might get hurt if they “use the equipment in a way it wasn’t intended”
  
• 8. Two lane roads are the rule. Ok so this is not one of those things I wax nostalgic about—it might be fun if we didn’t have a car that feels like it has 3 cylinders and crash test stats that keep you awake at night.
  
• 7. Only the main roads are paved. The roads in the barrios are strictly hard packed dirt.
  
• 6. The police are quite helpful. Since there are no lights or traffic signs at school dismissal, their on-hand daily to regulate crazy chaos of pick-up. I have yet to see anything resembling a speed trap.
  
• 5. Even tiny local grocery stores have full service butcher sections and bakeries with fresh baked baguettes.
  
• 4. The available produce is what’s in season. In general, it looks terrible and tastes great. There are only 2 kinds of apples and a single color of grapes-- with seeds of course.
  
• 3. Owner-operated bookstores where they really know the inventory. While looking for a text book in a store with thousands if not tens of thousands of books, the owner knew (without consulting a computer) that he had grade 1 but not grade 3.
  
• 2. Public transportation is reliable, thus well-used and cheap. Public bus routes even run through neighborhoods with dirt roads.
  
• 1. It’s a cash society: mortgages and car loans are few and far between. If you can’t pay for it you don’t buy it. . Many partially built houses are in evidence because owners add on as they can afford to.