Job Discussion Forums

[alfred_utton]

I am a white U.S. citizen currently living in San Jose, Costa Rica. I completed my TESOL certification through the SIT site here in Costa Rica (it was a great program) and am currently looking for employment. I have submitted a number of resumes and have interviewed at Pro-Language and Instituto Britanico. Both interviews went well but neither place was willing to offer me any guarantees for employment until the semester starts after January 10th. Basically, they didn�t turn me down, but they didn�t exactly say yes either.

After completing the certification course in November, I�d considered relocating to Colombia but decided to stay here because I thought it would be safer. But San Jose is not that safe, as John Hall will attest. Guards armed with rifles protect everything from stores to the entrance to Universidad Latina. A woman I met saw a man get shot in the stomach on a busy street at 6:30 in the evening.

Because I was certain I wanted to stay here in San Jose, I�ve rented an apartment through Jan 16. One of my housemates is also from the States and has been living here for a number of years. According to him the increased crime is due to skyrocketing inflation and a regressing economy. He says that the cost of living has risen significantly in the past four years. He�s concerned that, even if I do find work here, I�ll have to work all the time to be able to afford the standard of living I�m accustomed to in the States. By which I mean eating out most nights and going out to bars a couple of times a week. I�d also like to be able to afford to travel some while I�m here and join a gym.

I think I�d enjoy living in Colombia and my housemate says the cost of living is much cheaper there. However, I�m hesitant to relocate after investing so much time and money here. Also, I�m afraid it�s too late for me to get down there and get a job.

I�d fly down for a week to check it out and see if I could get some interviews but I�m afraid that all the schools will be closed for winter break, as they are here.

Any suggestions? Should I relocate or stay here? I�ve thought about staying here for a few months and seeing how it goes but then relocating if things don�t look like they�re going to work out. But, from what I�ve read, it takes a few months after you�ve been hired to really start getting work. So waiting and relocating doesn�t seem to make sense.

[Guy Courchesne]

This is simply the worst time of year to try to make any changes. North America and Central America are on break for Xmas, South America is on break for summer holidays.

My suggestion is that you wait it out. for experience, there will be offers of employment in Costa Rica starting Jan. 10th.

If you find Costa Rica unsafe, I think you'll not much like Colombia? The safest places in Latin America are Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Mexico City. I would have put San Jose + outskirts on that list, but you took it off. I am talking about larger centers here. Obviously, there are many quiet and safe smaller towns in the countryside.

Stick it out in CR...it will happen. Cost of living is an issue there, as CR is one of the most stable and prosperous Lat Am countries, considering its size.

[alfred_utton]

I think staying here in CR for a while seems like a good idea, but I would like to try living in another country. When would be a good time for me to try relocating?

Its not so much that I feel unsafe here in CR, its more that it just isn't. And this lack of safety matters much less to me now, having lived here in SJ for a few weeks than it did when I came. So there are guns and violence. OK. And I have to take a cab home from the bar instead of stumbing home drunk. Probably a good idea anyway. I've gotten used to the precautions I have to take here and would be comfortable taking the same precautions in Colombia.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the characteristics of my ideal city of residence. I want it to be large and cosmopolitan, with a large international community. I'd like to live somewhere where I communicate with other people who speak Spanish as their second language too. I don't drive, so good public transport is a must. I want active night life: bars, discos, saunas, etc. I want culture: theater, ballet, arthouse cinimas, etc. SJ has all those things but if its more expensive to do them here than elsewhere, I'd rather go elsewhere. Ideally I would live in Buenos Aires, but it's so expensive to get there from here.

[alfred_utton]

I think staying here in CR for a while seems like a good idea, but I would like to try living in another country. When would be a good time for me to try relocating?

Its not so much that I feel unsafe here in CR, its more that it just isn't. And this lack of safety matters much less to me now, having lived here in SJ for a few weeks than it did when I came. So there are guns and violence. OK. And I have to take a cab home from the bar instead of stumbing home drunk. Probably a good idea anyway. I've gotten used to the precautions I have to take here and would be comfortable taking the same precautions in Colombia.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the characteristics of my ideal city of residence. I want it to be large and cosmopolitan, with a large international community. I'd like to live somewhere where I communicate with other people who speak Spanish as their second language too. I don't drive, so good public transport is a must. I want active night life: bars, discos, saunas, etc. I want culture: theater, ballet, arthouse cinimas, etc. SJ has all those things but if its more expensive to do them here than elsewhere, I'd rather go elsewhere. Ideally I would live in Buenos Aires, but it's so expensive to get there from here.

[Guy Courchesne]

Mexico City is probably your best bet then. It would cost much to get here (I am in DF) and it is hardly as dangerous as its proclaimed to be by those who have never been.

Pay is good for teaching jobs, costs are fairly low...lower than SJ I think. I'd be happy to show you around.

[alfred_utton]

mexico city would be great but I�d rather head south. I want as much space as possible between me and the US. not that I�m going to be heading anywhere soon. I am going to stick around in SJ for a while and make things work there. at least for a few months.

I want to post my resume at the job board, to see if I can get any more interviews in CR. I would really love to have Guy, or anyone who�d be willing, to look it and my cover letter over before I post.

a

[Guy Courchesne]

Send me your resume by email...I'd be happy to look at it.

[email protected]

[AsiaTraveller]

[moonraven]

I think he means "baths"--major pick-up spots all over Latin America.

[AsiaTraveller]

[alfred_utton]

Guy, thanks for agreeing to look at my resume. I really appreciate it. I want to work with it further, in light of some criteria that someone sent me. I'll get it to you soon.

a

[alfred_utton]

in the midwest, Denver and Chicago, they�re called �bathhouses.� if my memory serves me, the same term is used in London. in the movie The Boys in the Band, characters refer to closing �the bathes.� one of the resources I consulted on-line refered to them as �saunas,�hence my use of the term.

no, one typically cannot get drunk at them. however, there are bars and discos that supply many of their functions to one while drunk.

I have picked up colorful local phrases in them, as well as other things.

[moonraven]

Like guys, STDs, ideas....Whatever happened to the End of Promiscuity?

[Guy Courchesne]

Boy have we strayed off topic.

Alfred your resume looks great...leave it as it is. I'll suggest one thing for the cover letter though. Be sure to let the school know how long you plan to be available for hire. Best if you can tell them 1 year+...don't lie though.

I first read saunas and thought of a Swedish thing...was a nice image until the rest of you ruined it for me!

[Twisting in the Wind]

Alfred,

I would like to second what Guy said about Colombia. It's not just about you being used to taking those precautions in CR. Colombia and CR are two entirely different animals.

I was in Colombia after having traveled all over Latin Am and living and working in several,one during a civil war in that country, and never have I been so scared out of my wits as in Colombia.Everyone had a gun. Everyone was in this sort of collective bad mood. A hotel was blown up by terrorists in the town I was in... Nothing really "happened" to me, and yes, I'm a woman, so it might be somewhat different for a guy, but I am hardly considered "timid."

Other posters may totally disagree with me, but my experience with the, what I shall call "the Colombian temperament" has been borne out in travel guides and books about the region. Colombia is not just another Latin American country. There is something dark about the Colombian temperament.Be careful if you do go there about drinking, getting in fights with locals. I have not had good experiences with the Colombian students I have had. Other teachers I have talked to have said the same things about their Colombian ss that I have noticed: argumentative to the point of almost being violent, rude,

Just my experiences and opinions, but hardly out of the ordinary.