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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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 Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Professor"]
| FreddyM wrote: |
Yes and you teach KIDS,something most on this forum don't want to do because of the way they are in the schools here in the DF. Plus, how long have you been working in DF?
Wages are low here. Go to Asia newbies. |
Yeah, that could be, but you are always asking for way to make more money and/or have more stable employment, and the best way to do that is to become a classroom teacher, so I don�t know why you discount this person�s experience. For a large part of my career in ESL I also didn�t meet any of those conditions and was able to save a decent portion of my earnings as well. And even though I am married and my husband has a business, we oftentimes save his salary and live on, and sometimes save part of, my salary as well. If you have qualifications that are in demand you can get a decent paying job. If you work 20 hours a week giving provate classes at 150 pesos an hour (though you can probably earn more per hour) that is 3000 pesos a week, or 12,000 - 14,000 pesos a month. For whatever reason there are some posters here that seem to think an 8000 peso an hour job is all that is out there, and it just isn�t so, not by a long shot. I have never earned 8000 pesos a month, not even 20 years ago when I first started teaching in Mexico. |
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foodie555
Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Location: California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| Professor wrote: |
| kaptaincangaroo wrote: |
| teach in Mexico to make enough money to pay for my BA degree. |
Dude, that will NEVER happen in Mexico or Latin America!! As Prof. Gringo told you, the salaries are VERY low in Latin America and saving is almost impossible unless you have a spouse/girlfriend who has a job as well and/or that spouse/girlfriend has properties used for rent.
OR..you have a SS coming in every month from the States. An EFL income ONLY in Mexico or Latin America will not make it possible for you to save.
Get the bachelor first and look into teaching int he Middle East or Asia. |
All very true. The people that do well in Mexico all seem to either have:
1. Outside income such as a pension, SS check or a trust fund to rely upon.
2. Rich parents (EFL phone home)
3. A Mexican life partner with better than average income, business, rental property and/or connections as well.
4. Significant savings or income from their home country or possibly from a high paying EFL country before coming to Mexico.
5. A combination of the above.
The average EFL job in Mexico pays $8,000 pesos per month, which is the minimum to live on. No way to save on that income.
Some jobs pay as little as $4,000 or $5,000 pesos per month. That is not even enough to live on.
Cost of living is going up all the time in Mexico, but wages have stayed about the same for the last 5 years (or more). |
I know that this may be true for teaching jobs at institutes. What about university jobs? And are these university jobs hard to come by if you have an MA? I would really like to work in Mexico or another Spanish-speaking country in order to have more opportunities to speak Spanish (I am fluent, but speak like a 4th grader right now) while gaining more teaching experience. I know that I will not make a ton of money, but I do not want to lose money. Is that possible anywhere in Mexico, or am I just a dreamer? |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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| foodie555 wrote: |
I know that I will not make a ton of money, but I do not want to lose money. Is that possible anywhere in Mexico, or am I just a dreamer? |
Don't come here if you don't want to lose money my friend. Go to asia or the middle east. Spain if yuo really want to be in a country where Spanish is the language.
You WILL lose money here. |
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foodie555
Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Location: California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
| foodie555 wrote: |
I know that I will not make a ton of money, but I do not want to lose money. Is that possible anywhere in Mexico, or am I just a dreamer? |
Don't come here if you don't want to lose money my friend. Go to asia or the middle east. Spain if yuo really want to be in a country where Spanish is the language.
You WILL lose money here. |
Spain would be nice, but from what I hear, they don't pay that well, and it's hard to get a job if you don't have an EU passport. I would love to visit someday, though. I am looking into Asia and the Middle East, but it's not my first choice.
I guess I am okay with spending extra money on traveling to other places in Mexico during breaks, but is it really impossible to break even just with living expenses? I mean, most of the university jobs that I have seen pay about 11,000 to 13,000 pesos per month. Is it really impossible to live off of that? What kind of lifestyle can you have with that amount of money?
I am guessing that some Mexican families can live decently with less, but I don't know. |
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foodie555
Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Location: California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Maybe I should also list the places that interest me because COL can probably vary depending on where you are:
Oaxaca
Guadalajara
Xalapa
Salamanca (Guanajuato) |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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Food, just make sure you have a nice savings and don't allow it to get below a certain amount. You will need it to bail, go home or to a country that has a serious EFL market.
Like asia or the middle east. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| foodie555 wrote: |
I guess I am okay with spending extra money on traveling to other places in Mexico during breaks, but is it really impossible to break even just with living expenses? I mean, most of the university jobs that I have seen pay about 11,000 to 13,000 pesos per month. Is it really impossible to live off of that? What kind of lifestyle can you have with that amount of money?
I am guessing that some Mexican families can live decently with less, but I don't know. |
Many, many Mexican families live a middle class lifestyle on less. Say you work for an institute making $150 pesos an hour. Working 15 hours a week that would be 2250 pesos, 20 hours would be, 3000 pesos, for a net of around $12,000 or $13,000 pesos a month. With the lower cost of living in Mexico, you can easily live on that, and save a bit. The trick is to live like Mexicans do - live in a typical middle class area, instead of a trendy one, shop at the market instead of grocery stores, take public transportation, etc. The household expenses for my husband and myself are around $5000 pesos, which includes cable TV, high speed internet, electricity, water, food, which includes eating out a couple of times a week, cell phones, an occasional taxi, at least one soccer game a month and incidentals. It doesn�t include rent, since we own our apartment (bought on an ESL salary, but the way), but it would probably rent for $2500 pesos or so. And that�s for two people and four dogs, so a single person�s expenses would be a bit less. |
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foodie555
Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Location: California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, thank you very much for the information. That gives me some hope  |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:00 am Post subject: |
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[quote="TeresaLopez"]
The trick is to live like Mexicans do[/quote]
No thanks. I've seen how many Mexicans live and it's down right SAD and there is NO EXCUSE for it. It was mentioned on this forum before by someone from Britain (won't mention his screen name), why should I have to lower MY standard of living just because people here don't seem to have a choice, that and the fact that education isn't respected in Mexico for the most part? |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| foodie555 wrote: |
| Wow, thank you very much for the information. That gives me some hope |
Just remember newbie, you won't have a working spouse who has properties as well to fall back on. And if you're wanting to live in an area where you won't have to worry about having your place buglarized while you're at work, you'd better be ready to pay a pretty peso. |
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foodie555
Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Location: California
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:12 am Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
[quote="TeresaLopez"]
The trick is to live like Mexicans do |
No thanks. I've seen how many Mexicans live and it's down right SAD and there is NO EXCUSE for it. It was mentioned on this forum before by someone from Britain (won't mention his screen name), why should I have to lower MY standard of living just because people here don't seem to have a choice, that and the fact that education isn't respected in Mexico for the most part?[/quote]
Wow. I agree that many Mexicans live difficult lives. That being said, I don't think it's wise to move to a country like Mexico and expect to have the same standard of living that you did in your country of origin if you are from the US or the UK. You can't go to a developing country and expect to live like a king because the money just isn't there--unless you are being funneled money from a richer country.
From what I have seen of Mexico City, middle class housing is definitely not the same as middle class housing in the US, but it is livable. I agree that if one is seeking to have the same standard of living or higher as Europe or the US do, the Middle East and Asia are a better bet. But it seems like you could have invaluable experiences in Mexico that would not be possible elsewhere. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| foodie555 wrote: |
But it seems like you could have invaluable experiences in Mexico that would not be possible elsewhere. |
Spoken by one who has never set foot in Mexico before. Another newbie bites the dust. Come on down O' wise one. There are some here who will help you every step of the way.
From the 1,900 DOLLAR teacher training course here in Mexico City, to the coordinator who will help you get 150 an hour while traveling on the microbuses all day all over the city to the person who will start you out at 4,900 pesos a month...BEFORE taxes.
Please keep us posted on your PROGRESS once you arrive. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:24 am Post subject: |
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| foodie555 wrote: |
But it seems like you could have invaluable experiences in Mexico that would not be possible elsewhere. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:28 am Post subject: |
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| foodie555 wrote: |
I don't think it's wise to move to a country like Mexico and expect to have the same standard of living that you did in your country of origin
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You don't think it's WISE?? You haven't worked one day in Mexico yet my friend so forgive me but I think I'll pass on what YOU think is WISE regarding Mexico.
You're on your own newbie. Good luck....you'll need it. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:13 am Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
[quote="TeresaLopez"]
The trick is to live like Mexicans do |
No thanks. I've seen how many Mexicans live and it's down right SAD and there is NO EXCUSE for it. It was mentioned on this forum before by someone from Britain (won't mention his screen name), why should I have to lower MY standard of living just because people here don't seem to have a choice, that and the fact that education isn't respected in Mexico for the most part?[/quote]
I am not sure what YOU are referring to, but what I meant was not living in an overpriced, trendy neighborhood, not paying 3 times the price for fruits and veggies at a supermarket, when the same can be had better and cheaper, at a traditional market, taking the Metro to work. I live pretty much the same lifestyle I lived when I lived in Chicago, have the same amenitities, etc. but I don�t waste money on overpriced items, like, say, coffee at Starbucks, or living in Roma. But I would be interested is know what you are talking about. As for education, for many people it is not that it is not respected, but that it is an unatainable luxury. I find educated people to be very respected, perhaps just for that reason, that for many people it is just out of reach. |
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