Job Discussion Forums

[Taylor Brown]

Hey all! I'm doing the August EBC program in Buenas Aires, but with the exception of getting accepted, I'm in the preliminary stages of getting all my logistics figured out. Does anyone who has completed/is doing the EBC course have any housing suggestions (I will probably want to move to another part of Argentina after the course) and/or other feedback about EBC? I don't know where to start with the wealth of housing options listed on the EBC site. Which district would be best? Recoleta maybe? Rent an apartment or stay in a hostel? My Spanish is pretty (really) rusty, so I'll have to be careful about getting jacked up prices if I rent, right? Also, is anyone else out there doing the August program?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I've been perusing this forum for awhile and it seems a lot of great people are working and living down there. I hope to run into some of you guys.

[amy1982]

Taylor-

hi. i'm doing the EBC program in July (leaving in 10 days woooooooohoooooooo ). what you want to do as far as housing depends on your preferences, finances, etc. i am going to stay in a hostel during the program until i find an apartment. recoleta is close to the program. i forgot what streets the ebc building is on, but that info is on their website (cordoba is one of them).

at any rate, i looked on www.hostelz.com and there are several places for under $10 a night that look decent and are within walking distance of the program. most of the entries have a map link so you can see how close it is. but even if you stay in palermo and have to take the subte, there is a stop that is nearby and it really won't take that long.

as far as renting an apartment, find an argentine friend! i got a hotel room for 40 pesos cheaper a night b/c that is the quote they gave my friend - 1/3 less than they quoted me! (and i had a pretty good argentine accent at that point.) that said, not everyone is looking to take advantage of foreigners. if you're flexible and keep yours eyes and ears open for a good deal, you'll probably find one. i recommend www.clarin.com > clasificados > inmuebles for apartment listings. i hope that helps... see you in august!

[matttheboy]

www.yesba.org for accomadation-flat shares and flats

and i wouldn't advise staying in a hostel whilst doing the course. If it's anything like CELTA, and i believe it is, you'll want peace and quiet and room to work...you can get decent hotel rooms for 30 pesos a night. Nuevo Mundial on Av de Mayo for one example.

[vivaBarca]

I just booked a hostel for the first week I arrive...and it's about $10 USD/night for a dorm room. If you did that for a month, you'd be paying $300 USD to sleep in a room w/ 4 or 5 other people. I know you can get one bedroom apartments for $250 or for a whole month, so that may make more sense for you. Especially if you value your peace and quiet....

[snielz]

Recoleta is really nice and has got to be one of the most expensive barrios in the city. It sounds as if your school is on subte Line D, so you could look for a place anywhere on Line D also and be able to get there in no time. I find that the subways here work well and for the Line D I never have to wait more than a few minutes. To go all the way from downtown Microcentro to the edge of the city on Line D is only about 30-ish minutes (I did it Friday).

[sqwerl]

there is a hostel out there for $6 per day milongahostel.com.ar I think.
I know it is called milonga hostel, so you may have to google it.
An argentine e-friend(haha) said her friend stayed in the hostel for a few months while she was searching for a new house.
She said it was pretty nice, and the people there speak English.[url][/url]

[amy1982]

there are a bunch of hostels that are in walking distance of the program. (it is located on cordoba and talcahuano.) i haven't been to any of these or heard any firsthand info, but here are some links...

milonga youth hostel www.milongahostel.com.ar
colonial youth hostel www.hostelcolonial.com.ar
el sol hostel http://webs.uolsinectis.com.ar/el-sol/
recoleta home hostel www.recoletahome.com.ar
the village hostel www.thevillagehostel.com

i found all of these searching www.hostelz.com which i got off the ebc website. there are others, i don't remember the specific criteria i had for choosing those, but i hope it helps some!

[Taylor Brown]

You guys are truly great. Judging by their website, Milonga Hostel appears to be a cool place with fair rates and great location. Plus they offer single rooms, which might make working and studying much easier. At this point, I'm planning to arrive August 1 (EBC program begins the 8th). Hopefully, I'll be able to wrangle one of my more proficient Spanish-speaking buddies into accompanying me. amy1982, we may try to look up your EBC class and get whatever feedback/advice you July veterans have to offer. See ya'll down there.
-Taylor

[eo-nomine]

Che, I stayed at the milonga hostel for four days and wouldn't recommend it. The whole thing is a bloody factory. I'll admit it's nice and big and clean and pro - no doubt about that. But it's the most impersonal and just plain boring hostel I've ever been to. People don't really talk to each other, or hang out together or what have you. It's basically like a hotel where you share a room with three other bored blokes.

I was there during the summer, so maybe it is different and less crowded at this time of the year - but if you're looking to have some fun for the first week you arrive, it's the last place I'd go to!

I'll add the gardenhouse hostel to amy's list. It's about USD 5 a night and the staff dudes are pretty friendly. Here's a link: http://www.gardenhouseba.com.ar/

[Maria Kirby]

I�m just finishing my last classes here in Madrid (I�ll be done around the first week of July) then I�m off to Buenos Aires for at least a year. I�ve got some teaching hours lined up, but subject to a face to face interview! . I wonder what they really mean by that, "face to face interview" - well that�s an exact quote from one of the Directors I spoke to! Of course the pay between these 2 schools offering me teaching hours are a lot lower than my Madrid wages, but again with the prices in BsAs it seems to even out, you earn less, but the cost of living is also much lower than in Europe. Madrid is a lot cheaper than the rest of them, ie: London, Paris, even Rome!!!

I was a graduate of EBC in Madrid but their job placement help is lifetime so I�ve already been put in contact with local BsAs schools so for me that�s really cool. It�s the same thing they did in Madrid, we had lots of interviews after the course and it was great because getting interviews , calling schools, that can be a hassle especially when you�re just starting out with very little Spanish. My Spanish has improved a lot but when I got here a year ago, whoa! it was not good at all, they called it "Cowboy Spanish".

I wanna do a bit of chilling out, worked too much for a year in Madrid, ( I know its winter in Argentina!) so maybe I�ll take it easy on the work (if I can afford it! ). Really looking forward to this move, kinda apprehensive as well because its sad leaving all these great Spanish friends I�ve made over here. Oh well, thats what internet cafes are there for! I see a lot of threads from July , Aug EBC students, well, if you wanna send me a pm, maybe we can meet up for a Starbucks or a 5 Estrellas? That�s a popular Spanish beer (the 5 Estrellas not the Starbucks!!), what are the good ones out there? An Argentinian friend of mine mentioned Quilmes?


hasta pronto,


Maria

[snielz]

Starbucks doesn�t exist here. I, too, had forgotten that there are other places to have coffee. Have you noticed that phenomenon of commercialization where the name for a certain brand of product becomes the common name of the product itself (like �Q-tips�)? This is happening with starbucks. However, I have not seen a single one here and my life is better for it. Please don�t bring it with you.

[Maria Kirby]

Ok, I won�t bring my barrels of Starbucks with me! Also my Argentinian friends tell me the coffee there is great, strong, full bodied, all that strong stuff, but I�m kinda not into this strong coffee stuff! Mine has more milk, ala frapuccino maybe?? Alright, I promise no extra luggage of Starbucks with me.

hasta luego.

maria

[snielz]

Thank you Maria. By the way, I agree, the coffee is nice and strong- lots of flavor (this isn�t Chile, for cryin�out loud). But you can get any different type of drink with leche or creme (my favorite so far). The cream is almost a solid it is so rich when the dump it in your coffee.

[eo-nomine]

[jp]

Hi Maria,


Hey, I too WAS a fan of Starbucks until I started living in BsAs. The coffee is strong but you get used to it and it really it isn�t that bad, you won�t miss your Starbucks after a while. I�ve been reading some posts on when, where, how, the whole thing on Argentina and one thing for sure, I�d do the winter months, july, aug because the summers here can be humid, hot, sticky, meaning there is the great need to be in an airconditioned room all the time. And if you don�t like airconditioning like yours truly, then you�re stuck. The EBC school has a lot of room, good location actually so I guess it wouldn�t matter, winter, spring, summer or fall (sounds like a song!), you�ll just get centrally heated rooms or there you go again, airconditioned rooms. So I�ll still say winter, july, aug, i mean, Argentinian winter months. My 2 cents worth.


jenn