Job Discussion Forums

[DeanJ]

I have been accepted to the CELTA course in July.
I have paid my tuition.
I have paid for my airfare.

I would like to work on finalizing a place to live during the course. During my interview, I was told that they may relocate the July course (to a different neighborhood).

I sent the school an email, asking if the venue had been finalized, but I have not heard anything back (which likely means it has not been finalized).

Has anyone attended the school within the last few months? Did they mention changing sites?

Is anyone else planning to be there in July?

Thanks in advance,

Dean Johnson

[tinydizzy]

Don�t sweat it too much. I did the program last august. Unless something has changed drastically they have two locations - recoleta and belgrano. Both of them are in the northern part of the city on the same subway line. belgrano is just about 6 stops further north. Most of the people who do the course end up living in Palermo or San Telmo, and there isn't that much of a difference in commute.

[DeanJ]

Thanks for the information. Who says ESL teachers in Argentina are not collegial?

I have read that there are many apartments for rent in Buenos Aires, and that they are lower cost to rent in person.

Accordingly, I am arriving a few days before the course. I was planning on using those days to find an apartment. Do you think I should wait for the course to begin, to possibly connect with potential roommates/classmates? Or should I just go ahead and get settled as soon as I get there?

Thanks again,

Dean

[tinydizzy]

I haven't looked for an apartment since I last moved in October, so I don't know how much up to date information i can give you. I mainly used craig's list and compartodepartmento. If your spanish is really good you could look in Clarin or La Naci�n (which are the daily papers). There are lots of tourist rentals and the like, which is probably what you'll have to get as they are the only ones that come furnished and without a 2 year lease.

If you want, you can stay in a hostel for a few days and try to look around, but for me that might be a bit stressful. During the Celta you DO NOT want to be looking for a place, it is more than intense enough an experience as is. Most rooms when i were looking were going for 300-400 US dollars a month on craigslist and the other site (with the inflation of the past few months that may have risen 30%). I found a place for 230, but that was with looking around for a month. Of course, others will tell you that there are cheapers places to be had, and there are, but you have to either a) get lucky or b) spend a good bit of time looking around and meeting people. Also it is much easier to find cheap housing OUTSIDE OF Barrio Norte, Palermo, Belgrano, Recoleta, and San Telmo. I live in Belgrano, but that's because I'm a runner and have to live near the parks in Palermo for my sanity, otherwise i'd move to a cheaper neighborhood that was on a subway line.

If i were you, i'd rent a place for a month now (suck up the extra cost) and then after you're settled look around some more.

just my two cents

dt