Job Discussion Forums

[SmallBigWorld]

Here's the situation:

A married couple, mid-twenties, fluent Spanish, university degrees, TEFL certification, experience in Korea.

We're coming to Guadalajara in mid-Jan looking for part-time (20-25 hrs/wk max) work teaching any age -- our primary concern is writing and perfecting our espanol.

How soon will we be able to find a) an apartment, b) work?

Also, how much money should we realistically count on needing until the first paycheck?

Thank you for your help. These boards are terrific.

[Guy Courchesne]

Guess I'll chime in while we wait for someone in GDL to answer...

January is a pretty good time to be looking for work. You might luck out with jobs in a primary or secondary school, but if you don't, you should be able to pick up work at a language school.

Give yourself a week or two to find an apartment...this too shouldn't be hard by checking the local papers. You might want to secure employment first so you're not stuck with big travel time from one end of the city to the other. GDL is fairly large and not particularly easy to move around in by public transportation.

You'll probably be fine with around $2000 usd between you to cover initial costs. Plan for paying first and last months' rent, and maybe a security deposit equal to the rent. You'll likely need to cover the costs of applying for a work visa (FM3 it's called) at 220 dollars or so per person. It can take awhile for the paperwork to be processed. You'll probably be able to work while the papers are being processed, but might not get your first pay until 4 weeks after you start.

If you're primarily concerned with improving your Spanish, then you might look into working for a school that offers both English and Spanish classes. There's a school in Tlalquepaque (beautiful southern suburb of GDL) that offers this called Guadalajara Language Center. Vancouver Language Center in center-west GDL also might offer something similar.

[SmallBigWorld]

Thanks for the advice, Guy. Not a lot of posters in GDL, perhaps?

[sarliz]

Hey there, I'm in GDL, but in slightly different circumstances, as I moved directly into my boyfriend's apartment when I showed up. From my experience job-hunting, I would second the notion of getting a job lined up, and then a place, as the city is pretty ginormous and difficult to cross. I highly reccommend a scooter. They're fun, faster than busses, and cost 50 pesos to fill up. Wear a helmet. Oh, and for a place to stay while you're finding the jobs, Posada Vilasanta in the centro is really nice. I stayed there during my time at ITTO, but word has it that they're doing less student business, so it should be much quieter.

For your situation, the only red flag I saw is the 20-25 hour/week thing. I wanted the same thing, but I found one of two things: 1. low-hours jobs with crappy pay or 2. ok paying jobs with a bunch of hours (like 35ish). Maybe with some persistance you can find the best of both worlds, but I ended up going solo.

Hope this helps!

Sara