Envision the architecture and cafe culture of Paris, the cuisine and fashion sense of Milan and the dusk to dawn nightlife of Madrid, and you’ll begin to understand the allure of Buenos Aires, which combines some of the best aspects of those cities — at a 30% discount.

“People feel immediately at home here,” explained Joanna Richardson, who moved to the Argentine city from Britain 30 years ago and co-authors Hola, Buenos Aires!, a long-running relocation guide for the city’s estimated 30,000 English-speaking expats.

Beyond being the birthplace of tango, Buenos Aires is a draw for expats for other reasons. It has become an all-around cultural playground with more bookstores and theatres per capita than any city in the world. Public education is free, the healthcare system is top of its class, and personal safety is higher than in every other city in Latin America, save Santiago, Chile, according to the 2015 Safe Cities Index.

This sprawling metropolis of 13 million people was once one of the richest cities in the world. In some ways, it still seems that way, but the crumbling state of its infrastructure and high levels of poverty are merely hidden in the fringe — something expats discover quickly.

“Buenos Aires is a city that will constantly surprise you, but it’s not an easy city,” Richardson said. “The fact that it’s so unpredictable can be both charming and frustrating.”

Corruption and mismanagement have marred Argentina’s economic growth, and for the last century it’s been in a perpetual cycle of booms and busts. The latest major bust occurred in 2001, when Argentina suffered the single largest sovereign debt default on record.