Job Discussion Forums

[livadary]

Hi all,

I am currently teaching English in Santiago, but I am thinking about moving to Buenos Aires in March. I�ve heard that Buenos Aires is cheaper than Santiago nowadays, but I haven�t been able to find much information about how much housing in a safe area should cost. Does anyone have any idea about how much a shared apartment would cost, per person? I�m paying about $150 US in Santiago, utilities included.

I would like to live with Argentine roommates, too--does anyone have any idea where I could look for available room announcements, either before I arrive or once I�m in the city?

Finally, everyone talks about the dangers of BA--taxi robbery, kidnapping, good old-fashioned pickpocketing--how much should a 23-year-old gringa coming to the city alone worry?!

Thanks in advance for your help!

[amy1982]

i can't help you a whole lot with the apartment issues - i haven't had to try and find one yet. but you can look on www.clarin.com.ar under the "clasificados" then "inmuebles", "departamentos", "alquilar ofrecido". some of them have price quotes, most say exactly where they are.

i studied abroad in bsas for 6 mos. lived w/ an elderly host mom in barrio norte. barrio norte and recoleta are pretty safe (but more $$$). i walked around by myself ANY TIME DAY OR NIGHT. yes, you get piropos, but that is the argentine way. i didn't spend as much time in san telmo, but that seemed nice too. i LOVED boca, but the porte�os will tell you it is very dangerous. there are a lot of lovely neighborhoods in the city. nothing too dangerous ever happened to me (that i am aware of, although there were a lot of adventures ) i never got pick-pocketed or anything. neither did any of my american friends there. (i am a gringa, was 20 when i was there). when my parents came to visit, nothing happened to them either. they were on there own quite a bit b/c i had class, couldn't speak ANY spanish, and had a good time of it. by the end of the week, they could order food in restaurants on their own (and have a pretty good idea of what they were getting). both were quite impressed with how friendly the people were and how safe the city was. you see grandmothers with their grandchildren walking around after midnight...

***obviously, stuff can and does happen. but my impression is that, for the most part, either common sense would have prevented it or there was no forseeable way of preventing it. make sure you are aware of what is going on around you. don't let people in your building that you don't know. don't carry around tons of cash. look like you know what you are doing, where you are going, etc. don't be intimidated by the piropos (and i recommend not responding - positively or negatively - the game will escalate). it is safer to be in groups than alone. try at least to be in areas where there are other people around (whether they are with you or not)***

also, as recommended by the man in charge of my program, if someone does ask for your purse, just give it to them. don't risk a bigger problem.

pm me if you have more questions...

[matttheboy]

Buenos Aires is much cheaper than Santiago although i have to say that the rent you're paying now is probably about the same as what you'd pay in Buenos Aires. $150 a month in santiago is very cheap-whereabouts are you? I haven't actually ever seen any ads for flat sharing but i guess there must be some info out there. As mentioned on numerous threads on this forum, finding a flat without needing to leave a huge deposit and hundreds of references is difficult.

I agree with Amy about safety issues. Bad things do happen but in the same way that bad things happen in central london. BsAs is no more dangerous than most major cities. There are a few rules though-if possible phone a radio-taxi, only get into taxis marked as "radio-taxi". If there's no logo on the back doors just don't get in. Having said that i used these taxis without any problems whatsoever for months without any problem before starting to be a bit more careful. Also, it's best to avoid using taxis that are just waiting, always try to hail a moving cab. Oh, and if you take money out of cashpoint never get straight into a taxi, always walk a couple of blocks.

Other than that, there are the same scams used in every city in the world to look out for.

Personally, i feel safer walking around central BsAs at 2am than central London at 2am.

A good website for info about the city is http://www.guillebaires.com.ar/

A good book to read is Bad Times in Buenos Aires by Miranda France.
A bit out of date but it gives some really good insights into the Argentine psyche.

[zachariah64]

I too am wondering about apts and or shares. I jsut got top buenos aires a few days ago and am living with a friend here for now, but would like to find my own place. i dont mind living with english speakers or argentinians, but i have found that it is not too popular to find people to share places. Do you guys know of any good places to look for flats to rent for 1 person? or would anyone be interested in looking for a place together? i have found some nicely furnished places in god areas, like palermo and what not for 350-450 US dollars total for 2 people to share, everything included...where can i find cheaper and or places for 1 person?

thanks

zach

[Marcethebest]

Hello Zach,
I am argentine and I live in Santa Fe, a city north from BA.
Neighbourhoods like Palermo, Recoleta, Norte, Belgrano, etc, are very nice but very expensive. If you want my humble advice, try to get an apt in another neighbourhood, but not in Gran Buenos Aires, try to keep yourself in Capital Federal.
Hope you are lucky and get the apt you need!! Contact me if you need any help...

[zachariah64]

Yeah, I am here for a bit and i know the nieghborhoods and where i would want to live and everything, the problem is finding a place, i cant find anything for a decent price...the cheapest i have found is about $400 US per month...do you or anyone have reccomendations on where to look?

[matttheboy]

The problem in buenos aires is that there has been a huge explosion in the amount of flats bought by people to rent out to foreigners here on a short term basis. Everyone thinks they can charge an absolute fortune and there are now way too many flats on the market.No one will drop their prices though. Most fully furnished flats in areas like barrio norte, recoleta, microcentro, san telmo, palermo etc are these types of flats.

You may find something in Clarin (or search the classifieds on www.clarin.com - a really good search engine, very easy to use), the BsAs Herald tends to be full of the aforementioned short-term lets but something may come up. Most landlords look for at least a year's contract and you'll need a local guarantor for many unfurnished places. Your best bet is finding someone to share with i should think...

[Marcethebest]

Let me tell you some personal information I got. My sister lives in an apt she rents in Palermo, and she is paying 1000 pesos a month plus utilities, the apt had no furniture, just the kitchen. The apt has 2 bedrooms and it�s not sooooo comfortable. That�s why I said to try and get cheaper neighbourhoods, but of course it�s up to you. I was not in shock when I saw the prices you saw for an apt.
I hope you are lucky and get a decent apt in a decent place for a decent price
Hope to hear from you soon!!!

[Rebekah]

I'm leaving my apartment (a one bedroom, street facing flat, on the second floor) at the end of March.

We pay 450 pesos a month and we live three blocks from the alto Palermo Mall. It is an extremely safe neighborhood...in fact the Minister of Saftey lives on our block! It is near the D-line subway and a lot of GREAT restaurants and parks.

We had to put down three months rent and make a good impression on our Landlord. I am sure she will be looking to replace us when we leave (We are having a baby and we need to get a bigger place in the suburbs). If she likes you, she may even let you move in without a garantaur as long as you leave a suitable deposit (which it looks like we are actually getting back) perhaps about 3-6 months rent. The bills are not included but the gastos (building expenses) are.

It was completely unfurnished when we moved in but since the hosue we are moving into is partially furnished by my school, we could sell you some stuff at a steal .

If anyone is interested you can e-mail me. Also check out the bulletin boards at UBA and other schools and put up flyers of your own in the local pubs in San Telmo and Palermo.

Let me just say, Boca and Santelmo are great by day, but at night they are not safe. Safe neighborhoods would be Palermo, Belgrano, Recoleta, Centro, and anything in a gated community.

I have never had any problems with Taxi drivers aside from the typical take the long way home scam. But heck it's a couple of pesos, no big deal.

It's a city. Be careful, but don't be paranoid.

[felicia369ny]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Felicia and I'm thinking of moving to Buenos Aires.
I don't speak Spanish, but am very gifted in learning languages. It took me 6 months to speak and write Swedish fluently. I also speak French and write fluently. I currently live and work as a English teacher (private lessons), translator, and personal assistant to an Australian film director here in Paris, where I've lived for a total of 5 years (off and on) since 1998.

I've researched prices of studios,neighborhoods, of course teaching jobs,etc.

What I'd like to know is, is there anyone who could give me an estimate of salaries per hour for teacing English in Buenos Aires? I taught French in Virginia, where I'm from, for 2 years (2002-2004) and one year teaching English in a French lycee outside of Paris.

Will my current inability of speaking Spanish hinder my chances of finding good employment in Buenos Aires? I will, of course, enroll in Spanish classes as soon as I get there! Planning to be there in June 2005.

Other stats about me: I'm 36, African-American, hold a B.A. in French and International Relations, have worked in high fashion as a model, a booker at the largest modeling agency in the world, and production assistant on fashion shoots. The list goes on. I would really appreciate some advice upon moving to Buenos Aires.

Thank you all for your time and consideration

Sincerely,
Felicia

[matttheboy]

Average pay for an institute is 15 pesos an hour. Private lessons you can charge 20-25 pesos an hour but you should be aware that private students can be demanding and if you don't have any books, material etc they'll probably just drop you. I lugged 15 kilos of books and teaching stuff out with me which seriously ate into my baggage allowance...Also, most private lessons are given in the homes or offices of students so unless you can walk there you have to discount 1.40 pesos in metro or bus fares as well.

You need 1000+ pesos a month to live comfortably here. More if you want to really enjoy what the city has to offer. You can live on less but i doubt you'd want to. That means at least 70 hours a month which can be difficult to get when you start out. Bring as many euros with you as possible, they go much further than $s what with the $ being so weak at the mo and the peso following the $ in whatever direction it chooses to go. Even better is to change your euros to dollars so you'll be covered if (a big if a the mo but it will eventually) the dollar strengthens against the euro (the peso will follow suit)...

Not speaking Spanish won't hinder your chances of finding a job at all except when you get lost and can't ask anyone how to get to wherever the hell your interview is

Good luck, matt

[felicia369ny]

Thanks for your good advice!

Sincerely,
Felicia

[carlos-england]

Some advice that I will think that will come in
handy regarding your personal information
is the 'piropo'


Judging by your description that you are a beautiful African
American woman. You will be getting a lot of (unwanted) attention
from the men in Capital Federal. One that you are beautiful, two
that you are black and three if you are over 5ft 10ins tall you'll
be taller than most of the men there so you will be a target of
many a 'piropo'

A 'piropo' is like a comment on your beauty, it can be lewd
or it can be nice. But it is common and it is one thing you will
have to get used to.

I have seen buses stop in the middle of the lanes and the drivers
shout piropos to beautiful girls walking down the street, more common
is men following you down the street wanting to meet up with you
for a coffee...

It is pretty harmless for the most part. You will have no problems
regarding personal safety or I never did in any case (yeah I got piropos also hahaha). it is no use complaining to your new Argentine female friends because they quite like piropos for the main part. They will think you are quite weird to get offended by it.

But you will make plenty of male and female friends in Argentina
but many European and North American women flip out over piropos
when in fact it is embedded in the culture as much as mate is.

[amy1982]

maybe being a model you've already had to experience this to some degree, that's great - it'll help with culture shock. but carlos brings up an important point: you will stand out of the crowd walking down the streets of buenos aires. minorities definitely get extra attention. i'm not tall, dark or a model, but i received many piropos EVERY TIME I LEFT THE HOUSE being an american accustomed to valuing privacy and my own personal space, it made me very uncomfortable at first. eventually i got over it and learned to tolerate the piropos, and finally accept and enjoy them as part of life (especially if i was in a bad mood)

the piropos can be quite creative, involved, and span the whole spectrum of completely disgusting to fancy anatomical nicknames to ridiculously "romantic" to simple and sweet. for the most part just harmless game, but they are EVERYWHERE. so, people may yell after you as you are coming and going, follow you for a few blocks, stop the car, stare, say stuff etc. but at some point they'll continue on their merry way. my recommendation is to not respond in any way shape or form unless you intend to make a new friend. if you smile, blush, or look at them, they'll keep going. if you tell them to shut the f* up, stop following you and leave you alone, you make a new, loud, obnoxious travel companion for the rest of the night. (the last one was recommended to me by an argentine friend, obviously it didn't work.)

[carlos-england]

I'll tell you a funny story. I won't beat around the bush here.
I'm a decent looking bloke (modest too lol) and very tall
(6ft 2ins) anyway I would sit down at a pavement cafe or I would
be walking down the street and the girls would preen their hair and
they would look round at me when they walked past or they
would look right at me when I was sat down having a coffee...
and walk past...

Anyway I thought the girls of BA thought I was irresitible
and I was smugly telling this to a friend of mine one night and he was
'nonono, they are waiting for their piropo they walk past
and when they don't get their piropo they are checking to see why'
and this is true... because I look like an Argentine they expected
the piropo and when they didn't get one, they wanted to know why.

This says a lot about feminism and Argentina, male attnetion and
acceptance is still a major factor amongst the women over there
though Argentine women are not subservient in the least a lot of self esteem issues boils down to what attracts men.

This winds European women and north American women up
to the extreme and some leave because they can't handle it
BUT for all that. It is still a wonderful country... piropos and all.