Job Discussion Forums

[jentai]

I've been teaching in Shanghai for four years and would now like to try life in Mexico.

I've been offered a job in Puerta Vallarta, teaching five hours a day, for a monthly salary of $8000 with a furnished apartment included.

From what I've been reading 8000 is not that great considering my experience but am wondering if the free apartment kind of makes up for that.

Can anyone give me some idea about the cost of living in PV?

Thanks

[Phil_K]

I don't know Puerto Vallarta's cost of living, but $8000 + apartment and easy access to the beach sounds a pretty good deal to me. I'd take it!!

[ls650]

I'd say that's pretty good for PV. PV is more 'gringoized' than most of Mexico, and prices reflect that. You could live pretty decently on 8000 pesos per month if you had a free apartment on top of that.

[Samantha]

Cost of living is fairly high in Puerto Vallarta, since it is a major tourist center on the west coast, cruise ship port of call, and lots of expats living there. If it's a fairly decent apartment then that's a sweet deal. You can easily live well on $8000.00 pesos if you live smart, because your major expense in PVR would be the housing. (If you doubt this, just check the rental rates being paid by doing a Google) Also, English language school teacher wages are generally lower in tourist centers where there is no shortage of people willing to work for a bit less in exchange for beach living. It would be difficult to find a better deal in this area, IMHO. I live in Mazatlan, a little to the north, and wages here are quite low with expenses being rather high. Most foreigners don't make it here for too long because it's easy to get caught up in the tourist lifestyle and spend, spend, spend, even though the salary earned doesn't cover it. No schools here throw in housing so it's very difficult.

[dixie]

Wow....I don't know what cost of living is like there (but it has been addressed in previous posts) but if they're throwing in housing that is great. My job paid a few 1000 more (I'm in DF) with a furnished place and that was a great relief (I would never have been able to afford that place if I had to cover it in my salary!)

If you can track your moeny and like the beach...then I would have to say that you have a deal. At least a starting point until you decide what more you want/need.

Make sure you ask what exactly the housing has....major furniture (bed, couch and the such). Tvs are not normally thrown in and if you like something tastier than nescafe....a coffee pot might have to be bought but if you ask, there might be someone you work with that can lend you such things (including micro if not even a mircro and a tv ....should you care to watch that rather than those interesting people on the beach!)