Affordable Dolce Vita in Buenos Aires?

[gouchobob]

Come down for a visit, see what you think. Then make sure you have something good to say when you're next interviewed for a job back in the USA as to why there's an X amount of blank time on your CV... and if you're +30 saying you lazed around in Argentina while living on your trust fund isn't going to impress your potential bosses back home.

Down here expect to either not get a job at all, since it's pretty hard for locals even, or when you see the salaries you may decide it's not even worth it at all. Even with your couple of passports you're not an Argentino so you'll need to get a work visa. A lot of companies will see that you need that and pass you over for a local just because it's easier. I don't know that the rentista visa would allow you to work.

As far as living the "dolce vita" the only people in their 30s that I know doing that these days are foreigners who came down on transfers with their companies and got set up in apartments in desirable areas with foreign-level incomes.

As far as the person who said "apartments are much cheaper here" than TO -- I beg to differ -- your rent may be cheaper but if you do your square footage you'll see you're paying about the same per sq ft or sq meter as you would in Toronto. Apartments here are teensy, so yes your rent is cheaper, but you're also getting a lot less space -- for the same price per sq ft that we're paying in Las Canitas for 54 m 2 -- about 550 sq ft, my sister has a 2 bedroom, living room, dining, kitchen -- about 1900 sq ft near to Ave Rd and Spadina. And we have a garantia -- when we move out at the end of the contract they are going to jack the rent on this place like you wouldn't believe.

Also, internet / cable bloody expensive for what you get compared to North America -- for the same that I pay here for crappy Digital TV (not even HD) and 6mbps internet connection I'd get HDTV / Optik connection and 25mbps. So it's a ripoff here -- and the 6mbps they can't even manage most of the time here.

So yes, bills are cheaper, but like everything here that is cheaper than back home, quality is usually less. If you want things of an equal quality that you'd find in North America, expect to pay 2 - 3x, if not more, than whatever that service or item would cost back there. This applies to foods, services (Basic 210 OSDE = 3x more expensive than Medical Services Plan of BC, not sure how much Ontario goes for these days), clothing items that are actually really good quality, furniture that will last you more than 6 mos (ie a good bed costs at least as much, if not 2x as much as in the USA), children's items, computers, electronics, etc etc etc.

Some very good points particularly on an empty CV, I had thought the same thing but you said much better than I could. I guess I'm old fashioned to me it seems by your early thirties you ought to have some direction in your life. Nothing wrong with coming to B.A., but coming with just a vague idea what you are going to do just strikes me as drifting particularly at age 30. I don't want to sound like I'm critical of the O.P., people can do what they want, it just seems like kind of an aimless approach to life.

 

[dani28]

Some very good points particularly on an empty CV, I had thought the same thing but you said much better than I could. I guess I'm old fashioned to me it seems by your early thirties you ought to have some direction in your life. Nothing wrong with coming to B.A., but coming with just a vague idea what you are going to do just strikes me as drifting particularly at age 30. I don't want to sound like I'm critical of the O.P., people can do what they want, it just seems like kind of an aimless approach to life.

Just to clarify also, I do not have am empty CV/resume. My CV actually looks rather good for someone who is just turned 30. It has numerous different jobs, for both leading international companies as well as for the Spanish government, each opportunity segwaying into a more lucrative one, and international experience (I have worked in both the US and in Europe) which in my experience, in my sector, has always been a valuable and rare to come by asset.

This is precisely part of the reason why I am doing what I am doing. After having had my last post in PR for the Spanish government eliminated all together, I am looking to get back to work and perhaps find something that may be relevant to my experience, job history, and skills, and I am looking to do it in place that I enjoy living in and can actually work to live and not vice versa.

Worst case scenario: I come back to wherever (like I said, I have lived in so many places, ¨home¨ is really relative) and explain to whoever is interviewing me the truth. (Maybe leaving out the trust fund part LOL) I think they will appreciate my frankness and it will show that I am not afraid to tackle new things, which is exactly the case.

 

[sergio]

I don't understand expats who think BA is cheap or even "reasonable". This thread is full of concrete examples of how it isn't true. Tourists keep saying that prices are a lot higher than they had been led to believe. With 30% inflation it will not be long before Argentina becomes one of the most expensive countries in the world -- with some of the lowest salaries.

 

[gouchobob]

Some very good points particularly on an empty CV, I had thought the same thing but you said much better than I could. I guess I'm old fashioned to me it seems by your early thirties you ought to have some direction in your life. Nothing wrong with coming to B.A., but coming with just a vague idea what you are going to do just strikes me as drifting particularly at age 30. I don't want to sound like I'm critical of the O.P., people can do what they want, it just seems like kind of an aimless approach to life.

Just to clarify also, I do not have am empty CV/resume. My CV actually looks rather good for someone who is just turned 30. It has numerous different jobs, for both leading international companies as well as for the Spanish government, each opportunity segwaying into a more lucrative one, and international experience (I have worked in both the US and in Europe) which in my experience, in my sector, has always been a valuable and rare to come by asset.

This is precisely part of the reason why I am doing what I am doing. After having had my last post in PR for the Spanish government eliminated all together, I am looking to get back to work and perhaps find something that may be relevant to my experience, job history, and skills, and I am looking to do it in place that I enjoy living in and can actually work to live and not vice versa.

Worst case scenario: I come back to wherever (like I said, I have lived in so many places, ¨home¨ is really relative) and explain to whoever is interviewing me the truth. (Maybe leaving out the trust fund part LOL) I think they will appreciate my frankness and it will show that I am not afraid to tackle new things, which is exactly the case.

Well if this is true and you have had several jobs why aren't you building on that? What's the fixation with B.A.? If you were moving ahead in several jobs in Europe why move to Argentina? If you have international experience that's in demand why don't you look for a position where you can have both the lifestyle you want and a challenging position? If you come to Argentina your employment options are going to be very limited with low pay, probably a dead-end from any kind of career standpoint. Wouldn't you be better off landing a job with some international company or organization (in North America or Europe) and then taking an overseas assignment?

What sector have you been employed in? What is your education? What do you want to do? You need to provide this if you want people to really to give you an honest opinion on your employment prospects in Argentina.

 

[stefano]

Jeeze people! Just let the guy go to BA find this stuff out for himself. He's only 30. It's not like he's signing up for life. I say, "have a great time." If it sucks, then try something else.

 

[fifs2]

What's a coal face?

(The last time I had a "blast" was in the '60s...I was a teenager then.)

In the 70's everything was groovy, baby.

Think "Austin" powers.

I have them.


I hear from my parents that the 60s were lovely..I like to use old language to make you silver fox ie old expats feel included...thats`hot!

 

[jb5]

The advice to get a job with a multinational and getting them to send you to LAM is very good. In Europe you can get jobs throughout the EU that pay much, much better. Friends telling you the pay for professionals is good in AR is baffling. The ones I know make a fraction of what they do in US and Europe.

Foreigners living well in BA are earning dollars and Euro, not pasos.

You may want to check out Payscale and a few similar sites for relative salaries.

 

[perry]

Well, there's obviously a lot of different points of view and everybody's perspective is different, I guess this is based on what one's priorities in their overall life are. I have a lot of friends who would never consider leaving the States, and would also be complaining about the conveniences that the US offers that they cant get anywhere else. In my particular case, I have lived about 50/50 of my life between Spain and the USA, mostly in large and fairly cosmopolitian cities but also in some areas of Spain where you are lucky if you get mobile phone reception, so I am pretty much adaptable.
As far as salaries in Argentina and getting work is concerned, from what I have heard from some Spanish friends who have gone over for work, salaries for most professionals in Argentina are actually higher than they are in Spain (which doesnt have such high salary expectations in the first place, but yet does have a much higher cost of living due to the Euro, especially in cities like Madrid) but that where Argentina has the claim to fame on having low salaries is due to the very low salaries paid in more blue-collar and service-related jobs.
As far as getting work is concerned without being Argentine, aside from the fact that they may naturally just want to hire a local, it supposedly doesnt cost companies any more time or money to extend job offers to foreigners, provided that the candidate fits the bil for the job. It is then the foreigner that takes the work contract and with that the individual can apply for the work visa. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Many of my Spaniard friends have gone and have stated literally verbatim what the Consulate told me, ¨Being European and speaking Spanish natively, you won't have any problems finding some sort of work.¨

Great post thank you and completely true . Too many people believe that Argentinians make low wages when in many cases they make higher wages than many european countries. Many professionals in Argentina make wages that would suprise USA citizens and especially if you contract a lawyer , accountant, or escribano they seem to charge more per hour than people are prepared for.

I know many expats here that are making far higher wages than they ever made in their home countries . Good businesses here make excellent profits and many expats are business owners reaping the benefits of one of the worlds strongest economies.

I suggest to anyone who wishes to come here please do and be suprised as it a land of oportunities and if you work hard you will earn well.

 

[dennisr]

I hear from my parents that the 60s were lovely..I like to use old language to make you silver fox ie old expats feel included...thats`hot!

The 60s?

Know I was there, but the experience is kind of foggy. They tell me I had fun.

 

[John.St]

Many professionals in Argentina make wages that would suprise USA citizens

This is so true. It is almost impossible to understand how wages can be so low - a real surprise. E.g. the annual salary in Argentina for a civil (i.e. licensed, university postgraduate) engineer with 15 years of experience is at the level of 2 month's salary for the same job in Europe.

I suggest you check out real wages in Argentina: http://www.elsalario.com.ar/main/Comparatusalario/argentina-funcion-y-salario/ingenieros-civiles

... and especially if you contract a lawyer , accountant, or escribano they seem to charge more per hour than people are prepared for.

Are you comparing 1950 salaries in Europe or the US to 2011 salaries in Argentina?