Job Discussion Forums

[gpars]

I tried to find this out via a search but was overwhelmed, so decided to start a new thread. I'm sorry if this has already been posted.
Location: Guadalajara
I have a job lined up that provides housing plus utilities, medical, and a salary of approx. $460 USD per month. My husband will be working at the same school and so combined we will earn approx. $920 a month. Our hope is to enjoy Mexico and travel some, yet still save a bit each month. (realistic?)
Basically, the biggest monthly expense we will have is food. (we are hoping to use our own 2 feet for transportation as much as possible)
We will have our own kitchen and hope to save money by cooking, and will probably eat out a couple of times a week.
What would be an appropriate budget for food? (Daily/Monthly)
Also, random question. What are the streets/sidewalks like in Guad? Sounds silly, but we like to skateboard/rollerblade...would this be feasible as a mode of transportation?
Lastly... Has anyone been able to defer their student loans by claiming economic hardship? From the research I've done, it seems like we'd be able to since our income will be so low, but just curious to see if anyone's actually done it.

[danielita]

Is your student loan an OSAP loan? If so, you should be able to defer the payments using the economic hardship reason...give them a call and you may be able to work something out...

[Sgt Killjoy]

About the loan, you can change uit over to an income contingent repayment plan which would mean minimal payments.

About the jobs, the salary is doodoo. When I was back in Mexico City last fall, my friends were complaing that they had to pay the cleaning lady 3500 pesos a month. At 4600 pesos a month, you will be paid like a laborer, security guard, or streetsweeper, and earning less than the people who sneak across the border to the US. 5 years ago, a friend of mine was earning 8000 pesos a month as a bilingual secretary. Now she is earning 18,000 pesos a month in a government office.

The job sounds like another take advantage of a gringo who knows no better type of job. Unfortunately, too many gringos don't know any better and are depressing the wages.

[grahamcito]

GDL's sidewalks are narrow, cracked up and normally crowded with slow-moving people. And forget about skateboarding/rollerblading in the street unless you have excellent life insurance and wouldn't mind having it cashed in sometime soon.

If you're in the centre, stick to walking, cars, taxis, buses. A bicycle if you're desperate to save time.

If you want to skateboard or rollerblade for the fun of it, you could hang out with the kids in Slipknot t-shirts in Plaza Revolucion outside Juarez metro...

[ls650]

A typical starting wage for a teacher with a BA and a TEFL certificate might be 7000 to 9000 in most cities. Even with decent housing lumped in (assuming it is decent) that doesn't strike me as a very good salary.

[Dragonlady]

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out of date

[M@tt]

those salaries seem really low to me too, even given the perks. i would look for something else in the same city if you are really set on GDL.

by the way, don't cross eating out off of your list of daily pleasures. many places serve comida corrida for less than 30 pesos. you wouldn't save much money at all by cooking the same food yourself! sometimes i don't know how they do it. i guess the profit margin is quite small.
by the way, comida corrida is like a four course lunch that is very mexican but healthier than the food you can get on the street or in markets.

i've neve been to GDL but if it's anything like DF, cordoba, or veracruz (places where i've spent a lot of time skateboarding) you are unlikely to find too many great spots. great meaning no cars, smooth pavement, and no police. there will certainly be spots--i'm not saying they don't exist, but it's not quite the US where good pavement and sane drivers are a given, and the only real problem is the cops. i have only been hit by a car here once, fortunately. it was a cop car and it didn't hurt much, and he certainly didn't mind it a bit. but you know, if the police are willing to run people over, that's usually not a good sign.
generally, aggression from security/cops is laxer toward gringos, so it's unlikely you'll have real problems. yesterday i was at insurgentes and was told they arrested 8 kids the days before. i doubt they would have arrested me too if i had been there, but anyway i did this to myself right after.. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f102/mgwatson/agony.jpg

by the way, i went to dr. simi and got it cleaned up today for 20 pesos. rock and roll!

good luck with your job hunt and your move

[Sgt Killjoy]

I agree with Matt.

About wages in other parts of Mexico for teacher or even in different schools, that isn't the point. Wages suck in Mexico and haven't improved in 7 years. I have a friend who works at United Airlines in their call center, 7 years ago, he was making 7000 pesos a month, now he is pushing more than 11,000 pesos per month and this is with full benefits, including flight privs.

At 4600 pesos a month, you will paid similiar to a night watchman and less than an uneducated factory worker. Just keep that in mind.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[Fatcat]

"A typical starting wage for a teacher with a BA and a TEFL certificate might be 7000 to 9000 in most cities. Even with decent housing lumped in (assuming it is decent) that doesn't strike me as a very good salary."

Do you say this because the OP wants to live in GDL? I'm a single female and do not want to live in a big city or touristy city where I believe the cost of living is higher. Would 7000-9000 pesos be a decent wage for someone in my situation in a less expensive city? I know the wages usually mirror the price of living and from what I've heard 9,000 would be pretty decent for my standard of living and the type of city I want to live in.

And I don't have any debt at home.
Thoughts?

[gpars]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.
I understand that 4600pesos is low, however, some of you say about 7000pesos is average, leaving the difference at 2400pesos. From the other threads I've read, housing, utilities, health insurance, etc. would exceed that so it doesn't seem like TOO bad of a deal to me. (Plus we will have my husband's income as well. ) Our housing (spacious apt) is furnished and definitely exceeded my expectations from the photos I have seen. We also have paid sick and vacation time, as well as round trip airfare after the 1st year. The school we are working at is a private non denominational Christian school, so we weren't expecting to make as much as we would probably make elsewhere.
Regarding the bumpy and crowded sidewalks... I figured as much! Bummer! We'll stick to walking but will be on the lookout for the good skating spots mentioned.
I have a good feeling about loan deferment. Thanks again.

[Wouter]

Hi,

Every Sunday in Guadalajara they close a route in the center for cars. Perfect day to do some skating. I dont have any Idea if it is a good place for skating because I am not a skater.

About cost of living. I lived for several months on 5000 pesos which was doable and most of the part went to the rent, 2000 pesos. If you dont have to pay rent you can defenitly live from this money.

Wouter

[cwc]