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vivaBarca

Hey guys,

Maybe it�s the nasty bout of food poisoning I just got or just the purple walls in my apartment driving me mad, but I�m itching to get out of the city, at least for a little while. Ideally I�d like to travel around a little in the north, perhaps make it to Bolivia, and come back down. Anyway, I�ve heard alot of good stuff about C�rdoba - has anyone visited there or taught there? I like Buenos Aires alot...but I really want to get out and see more of the continent. I almost feel like Buenos Aires is a like a Spanish-speaking NYC...but that�s just my two cents. I get my TEFL certificate in a few weeks, so I�d probably head out soon after that. Of course, this may just be an impulsive idea that I�ll be entertaining for two more days...

Thanks,

Adam

sheena maclean · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:48 pm Post subject:

If you do a search on here there was a thread about Cordoba at one time.
All I know is that they have an Oktoberfest coming up soon in Villa General Belgrano about an hour and a halfout of Cordoba. I�ve heard lots of good things abouts Cordoba tho

REDLEY · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 3:55 am Post subject:

well, Cordoba is nice I think, smaller....but nice...perhaps living there for too long might get boring but not if you live a couple or months or a year or two...things are cheaper outside of Buenos Aires, poeple is more relaxed...laid back, nice from my point of view...BA is so hectic at times...Its very personal weather you might like Cordoba or not, but I think its not a bad idea...finding a job might be more difficult.

Its not so far away...only 6 to 8 hs by bus....how about getting to know the city a little bit with a preliminary visit before making decision?.

suerte.

Gauchito · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 39 Location: Buenos Aires

Adam,
Go for Cordoba!
Lovely city, great weather!
Nice girls!
Superb alfajores!
People's great!

However a little recon first will not be a bad idea.

Good Luck!

Gauchito!

Tiger Beer · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 778 Location: Hong Kong

Veritas_Aequitas · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Jalisco, Mexico

vivaBarca · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:04 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the feedback guys. When I said that I thought BA was kind of like NYC, I meant that it is a big, loud, obnoxious, in-your-face city...this doesn�t mean that I don�t enjoy both cities though. Basically, I feel like it is a nice place to eaaase your way into South America, but having all the amenities/similarities to home, I almost don�t feel like I�m really in that far away...so maybe something more in the interior will give off the distinctive, local vibe a bit more. And C�rdoba is on the way to Bolivia, where I want to eventually go.
It�s funny what you said about the girls in C�rdoba - in an online travel guide I read recently it said that girls there are the best looking in the country, if not the world - but I think I�ve been told that about every Argentine city, haha.
Thanks for the advice...voy a C�rdoba!

tortuga · Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 51

Let us know how it turns out Viva, I might end up there myself eventually. If BA is truly like NYC (where I grew up and am sitting right now), I'll probably want to leave too. Surprised

vivaBarca · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 2:21 am Post subject: Cordoba - 1st impressions

Ive only been here 4 days, but Im really digging this place. Its very laid back and much more �tranquilo�than BA...but apparently still has a good amount of cultural offerings, restaurants, etc.

Ok fine, Ill cut to the chase - the women are incredible. Best looking I�ve seen since I�ve been to Argetina, and they�re nice too. Theres a huge student population here so it seems like average age of this town is in the mid-20s...I�m liking it. Of course, its cheaper than BA too. I�ve been exploring some of the towns outside of Cordoba too, so I havent really done too much in the city other than walk around and soak up the atmosphere. Its clean and the colonial architecture is really nice - you definitely feel like your in Latin America. I could see how it could get kind of boring though, it just seems so much smaller than BA, even if officially has over a million residents. But, one of my hostelmates�s girlfriends - a local - assures me that there really is alot to do, I just don�t know any of it yet.

Either way I can�t really comment on the teaching situation because I�m just passing through...I got so burnt out by the EBC course - sitting in class and/or internet cafes for 10 hours a day every day in a new city you traveled 5,000 miles to is a real bummer - so I�m in the midst of a little mini-vacation. Right now my gameplan is return to BA in a week or two, pick up my gear, and move to Cordoba eventually and find work. If this all actually comes to fruition, I�ll be sure to post.

Phil_b · Joined: 14 Oct 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Back in London

Hmmm.... from talking to various people, the thinking seems to be that Rosario is like a little BA - Cordoba is very different, it has a very different feel to BA....

holycats · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Minneapolis, MN

These posts and others make Cordoba sound like a fantastic place to visit and teach! Has anyone out there had any recent luck finding teaching work in Cordoba?
If I were to show up in Jan/Feb with certification and start applying around town, is it likely I'd find enough work to get by?

Veritas_Aequitas · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Jalisco, Mexico

Phil is the only one that lives and works there, but I'd bet that he'd be happy to answer your questions via a pm. Viva the golden rule.

Phil_b · Joined: 14 Oct 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Back in London

Pretty much everywhere will be shut in January... The institutes start to open in Feburary, but courses don�t start until mid march or April.... In terms of work, it shouldn�t be too much of a problem - though there are a lot of teachers in the city it seems to hold down wages rather than make it difficult to find work.... Wages are usually quoted per course, per month (that�s 12 hours a month) and range between 90 and 150 pesos - around about 900-1000 pesos seems to be what people earn per month... With a couple of exceptions almost all the institutes and schools pay "en negro", which sucks if you�re Argentine, because it means no health cover, no pension contributions etc... However it means that they really don�t care whether you have residency or not.

The city is also promoting itself as the national call centre, erm, centre I don�t know if that�s a bit of politics before Sunday�s election or if it�s true, but there are definitely a few around, however I don�t know if they would be prepared to employ people without residency - they work "en blanco".

I think that the nicest thing about Cordoba is the province, not the city itself... the sierras are beautiful and there`s plenty to see