Any advice is welcomed!

[lucia900]

Hello everyone,

you all seem a very helpful and friendly bunch! So I thought I would ask you a few questions if you don't mind, any advice is welcomed. So my name is Lucy, I came to BA for 7 weeks in Jan of this year. I fell in love with the place. the culture, the people etc. Since returning to England I have been thinking more about returning to BA for an extended period maybe a year or more, who knows as yet. I am looking for work as a nanny/tutor for children as I have a degree in Early Childhood. I also have a TEFL qualification although it's 10 years old. I guess I am hoping to hear some reassuring stories of people like myself who have found themselves in their early 30's or whatever age, and craving to begin a new and exciting chapter in their life. I have a full time job in England but if i'm honest the pay is not great and I am not very happy in it anymore. I have no dependants or ties so really I think why not take the risk?!! I am also aware however that you can't base 7 weeks as real life as I was in holiday mode. So I guess I would like to hear how you guys find life there, your favourite places to live and really how much money I should be thinking of saving before I take the plunge. As I come from UK generally everything is cheaper in BA (and most of the world!!!). So please feel free to comment and thank you in advance for your advice. Lucy

 

[Davidglen77]

I´ve been living here for nearly 5 years and like you when I came here in 2005 for the first time, I fell in love with Buenos Aires. I returned in 2007, found a job worked for a year, started a business, did that for 3 years, and now for the past year I have been doing a few things and recently found a new job. I stay because I am in a relationship, have permanent residency and a fairly nice place to live. However life here is unstable, unpredictable and many people struggle daily with the most basic aspects of life. Think long and hard about coming here, getting your life in gear without any friends to lean on or and a nice reserve of cash is no easy task. Best of luck to you.

 

[jb5]

Wages as a nanny or English teacher will make life in BA tough. I think the city looks cheap to tourists as restaurants remain a relative bargain.

 

[DontMindMe]

In your early 30s, you say? If you're willing to go back to living like you're broke and in your early 20s again, knock yourself out. This will entail at least one if not multiple roommates and very little money to do anything other than pay for basic living expenses, based on the types of jobs you said would be looking for. Considering you fell in love with the place as a tourist, most liekly doing expensive touristy things...(They are expensive. You just won't realize it until you start making pesos.)

 

[Crema Americana]

Like those before me said, I don't find things to be cheaper here... especially in relation to the median income. If you'll be working here and earning in pesos, you'll be surprised to see how expensive everything is.

 

[buddha]

Most things are not cheaper if you are earning pesos. If you can earn dollars/pounds then you can live good. Move here with an open mind because it's needed.

 

[Bellakentuky]

prices have been rising substantially in the last few years. I've been here since 2009 and have seen an increase of as much as 25% on food items that I purchase regularly.

 

[shoush]

I love your question because this was my question 4 years ago! 100% go for it!!! Your question isn't to buy an apartment, or have a baby here or start a business. It's to explore and live in a different culture for a year, so you are not risking losing an investment. I fell in love with Argentina and decided to try to live here for a year, I was always on a budget but enjoying every second of learning Spanish (through speaking) and any money I did spend went to learning tango and going out some evenings. Of course 4 years ago it was much cheaper but when there's a will there's a way! 4 years later, I am still here teaching English, dancing tango and getting married to an amazing argentine man over 2 years ago! Life definitely gets harder once you decide that Argentina will always be your home, but the first year here, as a curious visitor it's amazing, dreamlike.

 

[allcraz]

I agree with the above (shoush). Go for it. You have nothing to lose. Plus you spent 7 weeks here recently. You've done the comparisons. I've been here 5 years - expected to stay for 1 year. I was 23 - I came with a few thousand in savings as a cushion but only used it for traveling. I lived fine off teaching English for 4 years, but I lived in a way many expats might not consider (shared housing, few meals out). But that's how I learned Spanish and met some of my best friends here. I wouldn't have done it any other way. Let her decide for herself when she gets here if she finds life to be hard. If so, she can go back. But you already sound like you're ready to jump ship, so do. Surely you'll swim.

 

[trennod]

Your right, things are still cheaper than the UK, (except probably clothes) however local wages are significantly lower and thus your relative buying power is lower hence you will probs find it expensive. I think excluding rent USD1k per month is probably a fair start at what you would spend. With inflation at 25%ish and the unknown of what will happen with the FX rate this figure is very current and ballpark and could change. I would save as much as you can and ensure you have enough for a return ticket in case you need one!

BA has some fantastic things to offer, but having spent a similar amount of time here travelling as your south (before coming to live of which I have been here a touch over 6 months), my opinion is it is better as a travel destination than a place to live long term (my opinion of course). Having said that, if your only planning on coming for a year, the experience of another culture and country could be well worth it! And of course if you have the money you can always leave when you want!