Job Discussion Forums

[che2007]

Hello everyone!

I am planning to go to Argentina in early 2009. Should I be nervous? Here is what I offer. I'm in my late 20's. I have a CELTA certificate and a B.A. I am a native English speaker from Canada. I am about 90% fluent in castellano as my father was born in Buenos Aires and has taught me to speak the language. I have about 2 years ESL experience. I have taught in Canada and also in Mexico (for 1 year and a half).

I'm not worried about finding work, i'm more worried about finding a decently priced apartment in a safe neighborhood. I have been doing research and reading all about teaching in Baires and it makes me hesitate. There is a mix of good and bad reactions to Buenos AIres. Why is that? Does it just depend on the person u are?

Also, how much money will I need to save up? Let's say i go down with $5,000 Canadian dollars...how long will that carry me for? I mean without a job and all... The biggest concern I have is that I will quickly lose that money and then be working just to pay my rent and not really enjoying my life because I will be working so hard..

So please, I'd really appreciate any advice or thoughts... Please feel free to PM me... Thank you all very much. This message board has been very helpful.

Thank you.

[Kushluk]

I dunno... I liked BA a lot when I was there last Christmas, and during Jan, I mean that's why I'm going back. I'm in the same boat you are and will be there around the same time.

As far as complainers go, don't worry. I lived in Taiwan and I loved it there, despite the huge contingent of people who would complain about that country too. Wherever people go there will be complainers and those to learn the place they go for what it is, not for what it's not in comparison to 'home'. That said you also have to take perspectives into account, country people will always decry any city as a den of crime and villany or as dirty and disgusting. I live in NYC, which is all of those things. . . so I suppose a place like Taipei or BA seemed not so bad to me. To put it shortly: I am used to cities, and I didn't grow up on a farm.

This has been a rambling post but you get my point: People aren't lying, they just have vastly different expectations of what to find.

[Phil_b]

[afansenil]

This is exactly what I did when I decided to come to BsAs and it TOOK ME A WHOLE YEAR!!! so start ASAP

Getting more opportunities holding a DNI is a fact, a lot of people won't give you more classes, not because they don't want to but because if they pay you over 1000pesos (NOTHING!!), they HAVE to report this money to the tax authority, and they can't do that if you are not "legal"

You will have to juggle your schedule with different institutes. I now have a DNI, but I had to blow off a lot of great opportunities throughout this year because I didn't have the proper paperwork.

What I have heard that people do is share a CUIT number. Every month you have to pay 120 pesos tax if you are making more than 1000, and 2 people can legally share 1 CUIT number.

So in the meantime, you can either find one person to share a CUIT number with or you just get here with enough money to survive for a year. I would bring at least USD700 a month if you want a shared apartment and USD1000 a month if you want to pay for a studio.

Apartment rentals KILL foreigners on the prices and its hard to find a decent studio in a regular part (middle class) of the city for under USD500, even locals have a hard time paying their rent. A lot of people that were living on their own were forced to move back home because of INFLATION (30% in 2008).

check out the listing on craigslist www.craigslist.com for buenos aires in temporary apartments and shared rooms, you will get an idea of how much money to bring.

An average salary can be anywhere between 1500 and 3000 pesos (U$D1=$ARG3.40... and rising!!) The peso has been devaluated because Cristina "la presidenta" is going crazy. You can read all about it in the papers, there is definitely REAL freedom of speech here!

N

[Guy Courchesne]