Job Discussion Forums

[Vecchia]

Hi does anyone have any up to date info on this place regarding jobs and lifestyle?
The wikipedia page makes it look fairly interesting...

[labomba]

Oi Vechia,

Tudo de bom no sao luis?

I went to Paraguay a couple of years back. Came in by bus from Foz and Ciudad del este, never liked either of those, Ciudad is different...

But Asuncion I enjoyed and would of liked to stay longer. The most laid back capital in South America by far, little tourism, difficult history, different, and as South America emerges as a bigger power, its at the centre of the continent. You do feel far from anywhere though, like some of those Brazilian towns deep in the sertao.

One problem is the currency, like the real, it has appreciated a lot in the past few years as the country is selling a lot of commodities, soya etc. Gets very hot, in January I remember 39 degrees, at night... Everyone is drinking iced mate. I wasn't there during the colder season.

An interesting thing I found out was this:

http://www.offshore-world.org/paraguay/immigration-and-citizenship-in-paraguay.html

Don't know its veracity?

I'm sure English teachers are down there, just quiet. Sorry I can't say more but IMHO I would choose Paraguay above Uruguay or Argentina every time.

[Vecchia]

That`s an interesting article...I can`t say I heard it was that easy though...
I read an article about Paraguay experiencing 12% economic growth so I think the country is going in the right direction. However, agriculture is by far the biggest part of the economy so I don`t know where English schools comes in...
Anyway, things are going very well here in Sao Luis so I`m sticking around!!
Tchau!

[globalcitizen1968]

Very difficult to make money in Latin America amigo. That is a sad reality. Have you thought about asia or the middle east?

[mfinna]

Hello

Just registered after being a long time user of this board so trying to generate some posts with my teaching experiences. I am currently in Laos.

I worked at a Berlitz in Asuncion in 2007. After much research on wages and costs of living in SA (much of it done here), and hearing that Asuncion had had the lowest cost of living of all capitol cities worldwide at that time for something like 5 years running , I went down there and found work no problem.

My general rule is that an economically feasible place to work need not require more than 1/3 of your salary for rent. Paid $100 for an unfurnished apartment and wages were about $4/hour (16,000/40 min lesson of their currency at the time 5000=$1). Berlitz is notorious for having the lowest wages in every country they operate in though, so maybe higher rates are to be found. It was the feeling of my fellow teachers that it was "good money" for Asuncion.

I have continued to research SA and am still concluding that Paraguay and at one time Colombia(and still possibly) are really the only places where you can make enough money to sustain yourself without any savings to fall back on in SA. This of course is dictated by lifestyle to a great degree. Being quite frugal and not being one for the bars I found it "doable".

Although my experience is a bit dated, I would be happy to answer any questions.

[mfinna]

Hello

Just registered after being a long time user of this board so trying to generate some posts with my teaching experiences. I am currently in Laos.

I worked at a Berlitz in Asuncion in 2007. After much research on wages and costs of living in SA (much of it done here), and hearing that Asuncion had had the lowest cost of living of all capitol cities worldwide at that time for something like 5 years running , I went down there and found work no problem.

My general rule is that an economically feasible place to work need not require more than 1/3 of your salary for rent. Paid $100 for an unfurnished apartment and wages were about $4/hour (16,000/40 min lesson of their currency at the time 5000=$1). Berlitz is notorious for having the lowest wages in every country they operate in though, so maybe higher rates are to be found. It was the feeling of my fellow teachers that it was "good money" for Asuncion.

I have continued to research SA and am still concluding that Paraguay and at one time Colombia(and still possibly) are really the only places where you can make enough money to sustain yourself without any savings to fall back on in SA. This of course is dictated by lifestyle to a great degree. Being quite frugal and not being one for the bars I found it "doable".

EDIT:

I should mention that I am not one for sharing accommodation. I think if you are willing to have flat mates then perhaps other SA countries become feasible, just one man's opinion though.


Although my experience is a bit dated, I would be happy to answer any questions.