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gregd75
Joined: 14 Mar 2007
Posts: 360
Location: Tlaquepaque, Jalisco
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 Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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| It's legit if you want your employer to control everything |
Another cynical and unbalanced post...
The cost of renting can actually be very high, thus causing potential EFL teachers to think again about coming to Mexico.
If you rent you need a fiador (a person to guarantee your montly payments), usually 1 month rent in advance on top of the first months rent, you need to go out and buy all your furniture (assuming that the place isn't furnised- and in my experience, there are very few furnished flats available), you need to be in the flat when the delivery men come (which is usually during the working week, so you'd find it difficult to be at home receiving furniture when you've just started your new position), contracting electricity and gas can be a hassle- even organising for the water men to come along at a good time can be hard. Pots, pans, plates, duvets.. the list goes on and it can be very expensive.
All this when you have just moved to a new country / city with a new position.
Furnished accomodation may give new hires some flexibility so that they can concentrate on their new position and not have to break the bank in the meantime.
Controlling? I doubt it. Trying to be helpful - I'd like to think so. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| gregd75 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's legit if you want your employer to control everything |
Another cynical and unbalanced post...
The cost of renting can actually be very high, thus causing potential EFL teachers to think again about coming to Mexico.
If you rent you need a fiador (a person to guarantee your montly payments), usually 1 month rent in advance on top of the first months rent, you need to go out and buy all your furniture (assuming that the place isn't furnised- and in my experience, there are very few furnished flats available), you need to be in the flat when the delivery men come (which is usually during the working week, so you'd find it difficult to be at home receiving furniture when you've just started your new position), contracting electricity and gas can be a hassle- even organising for the water men to come along at a good time can be hard. Pots, pans, plates, duvets.. the list goes on and it can be very expensive.
All this when you have just moved to a new country / city with a new position.
Furnished accomodation may give new hires some flexibility so that they can concentrate on their new position and not have to break the bank in the meantime.
Controlling? I doubt it. Trying to be helpful - I'd like to think so. |
How many employers provide housing in the US???
First month employer provided housing, fine. Does it take over a month to find a room? My first employer in Mexico did that and I left and found my own place after the first month. If you want the same person in charge of your pay, work hours, housing and working without a visa on top of that, well by all means go for it 
At one school controlled house they wanted the teachers to pay twice the monthly mortgage for a piece of crap INFONOVIT house.
Pots, pans etc... All that can be had at any local market for less than $500 pesos. We're talking about stuff for one person, not an army.
And most of the folks that show up at language schools are here for 180 days... till their FM-T expires and then they move on. It's long-timers that are cooking at home, short timers just want to soak up the local culture and cuisine while working split-shifts and on Saturdays, right?  |
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gregd75
Joined: 14 Mar 2007
Posts: 360
Location: Tlaquepaque, Jalisco
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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Prof Gringo... you miss a key, fundamental point in your post.
We are NOT in the U.S.A
Stop comparing everything to the US |
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fishmb
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Posts: 184
Location: Istanbul
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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I can see his point, but I also have plenty of friends who haven't had problems with their school-owned housing. I'm sure it just depends on your employers.
And it was 25 contact hrs, but I didn't take it anyway. I'm staying in Istanbul. |
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hlamb
Joined: 09 Dec 2003
Posts: 431
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:12 am Post subject: |
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I had one employer-controlled housing situation and it worked out very well for me overall. I didn't like that he felt he had the right to come by whenever he wanted, but I made it clear that wasn't acceptable and he stopped. It was one of the better aspects of an otherwise bad job.
My next city involved a guest house for six months, which was ok when the partiers from El DF weren't there and a nightmare when they were. i then moved to a room in a crazy old lady's house and that lasted four months. Then I lucked into a house owned by a couple who now live in California. It was fully furnished, beautiful, large, private, had a swimming pool...great place. It cost a bit more, but it was fully worth it.
I say, go with the employer housing at first. Then you can look at other options and see what works for you. But don't just attempt to find your own place from the start. That's hard to do. |
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norwalkesl
Joined: 22 Oct 2009
Posts: 366
Location: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-China
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| Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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| gregd75 wrote: |
| The cost of renting can actually be very high, thus causing potential EFL teachers to think again about coming to Mexico. |
Unless one wants to share a place with uni students for 750 MXN per month and really live like a local. Students get by on 2500 to 3000 per month. I found a nice place, furnished, for 2300 per month. This is expensive, but the setup costs can make it worthwhile for a short 3 month stay. Beds, mattresses and other furniture are very expensive in Mexico and there is not a large used market to defray costs. I also was not teaching so fitting it into a 5k to 7k monthly budget was not required. Most locals in Northern Mexico paid 1000 to 1500. I found it easy to sign a lease, put down 2.5 months deposit, received it back after a few months. No hassles, really. The landlord was polite, professional, and never came around. Houses to buy were 150,000 to 1,000,000. In Mexico labour is so cheap that at the upper end people just build out a custom home for $100k USD.
Some schools have the group house paid for, free. This makes life easy if one can adapt to the constant party lifestyle many houses take on.
Last edited by norwalkesl on Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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scottmx81
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 64
Location: Morelia, Mexico.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:14 am Post subject: |
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share a place with colegio students
Sounds like a good way to get yourself thrown in jail, or at least beaten up by an angry father or brother.
(Kids go to colegios, adults to go universidades) |
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aaaronr
Joined: 08 Nov 2008
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:02 am Post subject: Employer provided housing |
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I had employer-provided housing. It was good, until it wasn't.
Working and living with the same people can be a pain in the ass.
When the employer didn't pay utility bills and the AC goes off in summer a few times, or the gas, or the water, it sucks.
When the employer moves you at a moment's notice to another house that is smaller and crappier, then it sucks.
When you can't afford your own housing, then employer-provided housing is your only option...god or bad. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:56 am Post subject: Re: Employer provided housing |
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| aaaronr wrote: |
I had employer-provided housing. It was good, until it wasn't.
Working and living with the same people can be a pain in the ass.
When the employer didn't pay utility bills and the AC goes off in summer a few times, or the gas, or the water, it sucks.
When the employer moves you at a moment's notice to another house that is smaller and crappier, then it sucks.
When you can't afford your own housing, then employer-provided housing is your only option...god or bad. |
Yep. Just more reasons to go it alone.
Even in high cost areas like Mexico City or TJ, I've never had a problem finding a place to rent for less than $1,500 a month and in smaller cities, under $1,000 per month.
Letting somebody else control your hosuing just sucks.
If a job offers housing see if you can get extra pay instead and find your own place. If it's a small town and there are few or no other employers, then it might be best to just take a pass. Small towns and places with limited options bank on newbies not knowing better and having fear of the unknown. Happened to a friend of mine a few years ago. He was offered a spot at a ESL school, got there, found the housing sucked, management was worse and the other teachers were a grab-bag. He would have left but: He was new, had never been to Mexico before, didn't speak Spanish, and to top it off the school asked for his passport in the first week to get him his FM-3, so he couldn't leave.
Good luck! |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, well, we all have to start somewhere, right PG? You have admitted in several posts that you were not a teacher when you came to Mexico. I think your comments are too harsh, and don't ring entirely true, in another of your blanket statements. How soon we forget. |
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