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getting hours, private lessons, pets

 
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amy1982



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 192
Location: Buenos Aires

PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:07 pm    Post subject: getting hours, private lessons, pets Reply with quote

from reading other posts, it sounds like 20-30 hours generates enough money to live on. i'll be taking an esl teaching course in june or july, and would like to secure that many hours by 1-2 months after completing the course. is that realistic?

for those that teach private lessons... do you find them to be a reliable source of income??? i've been to bsas before, so i know how it can be... Confused i assume that when there is a no-show, the money doesn't show either...

do you know if it is especially difficult or expensive to rent an apartment that allows pets? if i stay for a year (or more), i want to bring my dog with me... he'd love it!
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Guy Courchesne



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City

PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:46 pm    Post subject: realistic Reply with quote

20-30 is a good goal for teaching hours per week. Depending on the time of year and how many holidays there are to contend with.

On private teaching...it is universal problem to have no shows, were you lose your time and the earnings. The only way around that is to ask a student to pay in advance and offer no cancellation refunds. It's strict, and may scare away some students, but it is your time your selling here. A serious student will agree and stay if they like your teaching.
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matttheboy



Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Posts: 854
Location: Valparaiso, Chile

PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got most of my students through the building i live in-about 60 offices and 60 flats so lots of people. Don't have that many hours but enough to get by on with some savings from home. If you write a letter (in Spanish) and go to all the apartment buildings in your area and put the letter in every flats' mail box (assuming you can get in that is- buzz the portero or security guard if there is one) you should be able to get some hours.

The way i get around no-shows is to charge 20pesos per lesson but 18pesos if they pay for 5 or more lessons up front. If they want to rearrange lessons that's fine by me as long as i can fit it in.

As for renting a flat, you may have some problems with a pet but that's the same as every city in the world. The biggest problem is finding any flat as owners in BsAs often ask for a huge deposit and a guarantor who owns a property in the city.

Good luck,

Matt
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runabout



Joined: 28 Nov 2004
Posts: 27

PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

matttheboy wrote:
The biggest problem is finding any flat as owners in BsAs often ask for a huge deposit and a guarantor who owns a property in the city.


Matt is right about this, but I found that if the employeer really really likes you and wants to keep you around, s/he can submit the guarantor qualification -- this isn't a cash deal, but one of my bosses offered to "set me up" in any apt. I chose if I agreed in writing to work there. If I quit, the warranty is gone and the "landlord" will want tons of cash. Risky, but possible. Again, I never went that far and bailed the country after four months living in a dive hotel (70USD a month).

Also, depending on your taste, if you seek an apt in areas where most gringos don't go (which is about 90% of the city) it is much easier to negotiate for an apt. In some "bad" locations, I found that simply showing my passport (US) and allowing the fallacy that all USers are rich opened doors for me. I mainly did this by going to the local store (grocery, pub, whatever) and asking for an apt. that's open. Then with name and address I very very politely asked for an appointment to see the owner -- use the person's name who gave you the info, or at least the place's name. I got to see some great dives in great areas where a tourist would never go (a prereq for me) that were cheap and didn't want much of a deposit (first last and a rather large security -- though I had moved there and planned, like any move, to have USD avail. for such matters.

Also, as Matt said elsewhere, find a friend and all sorts of doors become open -- always be cheerful to strangers as they might become your best asset.

As far as bringing a dog, I would think it wouldn't make much of a dif. Portenos love dogs - shit is everywhere on the streets. Perhaps you could photocopy a pic of the dog (and if it's not a huge dog) show how much you love him/her. I have a cat and while she wasn't with me for that time, every apt. I asked about came with the question of pets. They don't really like cats (they don't see cat's as USers do), but go bonkers over dogs that are cute and won't eat the apt.

Runabout
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amy1982



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 192
Location: Buenos Aires

PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thank you all for your replies. i guess i'm going to just go and take a course and see what happens... sounds like fun!

i've been to bsas before and fell in love with it, so i'm not too worried about being away from the more touristy areas. any places in particular you recommend??? i have some (argentine) friends in bsas who i still keep in touch with, i'm hoping one of them will be able to help me find an apartment for a decent price.

my dog is pretty small and ADORABLE, so hopefully that won't be too much of a problem...
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OzBurn



Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 199

PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 4:16 am    Post subject: apartment prices Reply with quote

What will a decent one-bedroom in a non-fashionable area cost you? An area with regular working people, bohemians, students, etc. I know this is a general question that may be difficult to answer, but with wages as low as seems to be the case (15-25/hr.), one has to know.

I lived in Hungary in a "fashionable" bourgeois area, and I've had quite enough of that for the rest of my life.
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matttheboy



Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Posts: 854
Location: Valparaiso, Chile

PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sant Telmo is the boho centre with artists, student and workers etc but it isn't particularly cheap. It is a bit cheaper than say, barrio norte or palermo but because it is rapidly becoming fashionably boho and prices are going up. You can live in a residential area like palermo viejo, colegiales or almagro for less money but places can be out of the way and ill served by subte (although buses will take you everywhere) and prices can still be quite high. Around congreso (which is where i live) is a working neighbourhood and quiet at weekends. If you're looking for a 'real' working class buenos aires experience then you're also looking to be a victim of crime. Portenos spend their lives trying to get away from working class barrios due to the high crime rate so why would you want to move into one??

If you can find a guarantor (usually has to be someone who already owns a property in the city and which can be very difficult to find) you can get an unfurnished 1-2 bed flat for under 400pesos a month. Without a guarantor you'll be looking at 5-700pesos a month renting a room in a hostal or someone's flat or house (with all costs included).
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OzBurn



Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 199

PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 2:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks. That seems quite cheap.

I'm not looking for a hardscrabble neighborhood with desperate dopers on every corner. It's just that when I lived with the Buda bourgeoisie, it was incredibly boring and unfriendly and the whole huge houses with a security fence thing is not something one travels for. I'd rather live in the boho neighborhood.
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Maria Kirby



Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 56

PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Mattboy,

Can�t help but reply to the Maradona pix, is he that big now? I know he�s almost saint stautus in Argentina, so are you sure you�ll live to publish one more shot of him?

maria
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matttheboy



Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Posts: 854
Location: Valparaiso, Chile

PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saw him at the recent Boca v Bolivar game and he's approaching the size that he's been photoshopped to in the pic that i've got there...and i'm hoping that no mad argentine sees the photo or i'll be strung up from the nearest lampost Shocked Best footballer ever but, being English and all, i just can't stand the drug addled mentalist....

Ozburn, the gated communities are all way up north out of the city centre. The vast majority of places to live in the centre, san telmo, barrio norte, palermo, congreso, tribunales etc are apartment blocks, some nasty high rises with all the charm of a cess pit and some stunningly beautiful french style places with high ceilings etc. You wouldn't be able to afford anything in the northern suburbs on teaching wages....... The biggest problem in BsAs, as i mentioned, is finding a guarantor...
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eo-nomine



Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 72
Location: Berlin, Germany

PostPosted: Sun Dec 26, 2004 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello,

I'll be moving to BsAs around the 10th of Febuary 2005. My main concern is finding shared accomodation. From what I've read just here, finding cheap enough accomodation sounds easy, but it's often harder to really get into a country you don't know when you live alone, or amongst foreigners (maybe that's why you didn't like Budapest, OzBurn. I lived with students in Pest for 3 months and loved it!) ... which is why I'd rather go for shared accomodation, preferably with locals. Does anyone have any specific BsAs advice on this? Wink

Thanks in advance,

EN
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