Bahia Blanca

[LAWoman]

Hello everybody,

we just got the offer to move to Bahia Blanca as soon as possible. Unfortunately we have only a few days to decide. As we move from country to country every few years we know already what is important to us, which means we have to check everything now within a few days.

I was hoping that you could help me with the following questions:

1. Are there international schools and kindergarten in Bahia Blanca? If so could you provide me the names please because I wasn´t successful at all when I checked it in the internet.

2. I would like to work as well but very probably will entry the country with a "wife"-visa as my husband will be sent there. Is it difficult to get a working visa/work approval in Argentina ?

I am really happy with all possible information you can give me. It is hard to decide from one second to the other if you want to move your whole family to the other end of the world without a lot of information. So thank you very much in advance for your help!

Best wishes
LAWoman

 

[citygirl]

If by int'l schools, you mean bilingual schools:
This one comes up on a google search: http://www.delsolar....olar.com.ar/ I have no idea on the quality however.

With regards to your ability to work - are you fluent in castellano? If not, I'm guessing your work opportunities in Bahia will be pretty limited. Assuming they get you sorted for a DNI and residency through your husband, you can work if you find something.

 

[jdr7137]

Living here in Bahia Blanca (but on the way out and back to the States in 3 weeks) I can give you a little info but not everything you are asking. You can work legally in Argentina if you have the spouse visa and your husband has the working visa through his company. My husband has the ability to work here, but it will take time and patience to get all the paperwork settled. My husband didn't get his DNI until about 8 months here, and he had an excellent lawyer. If you changed your name after marriage you will face problems with paperwork. You will also have to go to Buenos Aires for some steps of your process, lots cannot be done here in Bahia Blanca.
If you have questions about the city please let me know, I'd be happy to give you my honest opinion after living here for 10 months or so.

 

[LAWoman]

thank you so muh for your reply nd help! I am wondering why I didn't manage to find the school but it looks good to me as much as it is possible via internet. Thanks !

Do you have kids? How is life in bahia blanca generally ?
Again thanks for your help
best wishes bettina

If by int'l schools, you mean bilingual schools:
This one comes up on a google search: http://www.delsolar....olar.com.ar/ I have no idea on the quality however.

With regards to your ability to work - are you fluent in castellano? If not, I'm guessing your work opportunities in Bahia will be pretty limited. Assuming they get you sorted for a DNI and residency through your husband, you can work if you find something.

 

[LAWoman]

I am happy about all your answers-thanks also to you- i really appreciate it!!

As far as I understod from your other posts, you were supposed to stay for two years-is there a reason why you leave earlier? I mean is it because of the place or something like that?
I would really appreciate it if you can let me know about life as a family especially wih smaller kids in bahia blanca!? To me the videos etc. look very lonely and a bit boring to be honest-is it only my wrong impression? I didnt see playgrounds etc. so far so I am afraid that with kids it might not be the right choice. Dont misunderstand me, we do not need full entertainment 24h but some cities are just easier to be as a family than others and getting in touch with other families /people is important to us.

So if you have time,yes, please let me know about life in bahia blanca.I am really happy about all info we can get as we hve to decide within the next 1-2days.

thank you so much!
best wishes
bettina

Living here in Bahia Blanca (but on the way out and back to the States in 3 weeks) I can give you a little info but not everything you are asking. You can work legally in Argentina if you have the spouse visa and your husband has the working visa through his company. My husband has the ability to work here, but it will take time and patience to get all the paperwork settled. My husband didn't get his DNI until about 8 months here, and he had an excellent lawyer. If you changed your name after marriage you will face problems with paperwork. You will also have to go to Buenos Aires for some steps of your process, lots cannot be done here in Bahia Blanca.
If you have questions about the city please let me know, I'd be happy to give you my honest opinion after living here for 10 months or so.

 

[jdr7137]

Happy to help! I don't have kids, but there are a few other expat families here that do. They are concerned about the schools in general from what I understand (kids only go to school for about a half day and the ones I know go to a Spanish language school). I don't know much about private or international options, but I doubt there would be much choice.

This is a small 'city', like 200,000 people, and it feels smaller than that population. Its very far from everything - Argentina in general is a long haul from the US or Europe. There are a limited number of flights to Buenos Aires each day (maybe 3 tops) and no where else. Because of that it takes at least 24 hours to get from Bahia Blanca to anywhere outside Latin America. This is isolating, you not only experience it when you try to go anywhere (which is also very expensive by the way) but in the culture. Its very insulated, in my opinion all of Argentina is.

If I could have chosen my overseas assignment I would not have chosen here (we signed up for 1 year and are leaving happy after 11 months), but that's not to say its horrible.

Cons: Ok, so there really aren't any good restaurants, shopping, nothing like the variety in Buenos Aires. The issues others on this forum who live in BsAs have about getting things like grocery ingredients is about 100% more of an issue here. We have a Walmart, it is the mecca of 'international' ingredients because you can get a 8 dollar jar of peanut butter or a 4 dollar jar of taco sauce (sometimes). There isn't much to do - everyone here goes to Monte Hermoso on the weekends (a overpriced beach town with a beach that makes the Jersey Shore look like the Caribbean) in the summer or maybe the mountains to hike. Movie theaters are always sold out on the weekends. Other cons, we have had problems with utilities - blackouts, and now our internet hasn't worked in 4 months.

Pros - its quiet and safe, very safe for Latin America in my opinion. Our car has only been attempted to be stolen twice in one year. There are the robberies on the news etc. but its much much better than Buenos Aires. It seems that kids have a lot of sports clubs to join, and many kids take English classes as well. The people are also very nice and in general well educated, they have been very nice to my husband and I. Very helpful, friendly, and warm. There is a small expat community here that has been patched together through various channels. That has been a godsend for us, but by small I mean about 5 families all on temporary assignments here. And those (military, consulate employees etc.) will be leaving and most likely not replaced going forward, so this community will only get smaller.

I don't know your experience or expectations - if you are a trooper and it sounds like you are and are used to living in out of the way places without 1st world access to culture, food, amenities then this place is pretty good. If you come from Los Angeles (like your screen name might suggest) you will be in for a shock. Ever been to rural Kansas? Its more that I think than say New Orleans (which has a similar population).

 

[jdr7137]

I hate to sound so negative, but I was just thinking about it a bit more. Every expat I know here is just waiting to get out of here and on to somewhere else. No one has fallen in love with the place, even those that have been here for more than a year and speak the language fluently. I guess that speaks for itself. But if you are here in a temporary assignment and its for a job that your husband would love, that might change things and your situation might be different.

 

[Sulacochilcano]

I second everything already said. My wife and kids and I have a year to go in Bahia. If you keep your expectations low, think of it as an adventure, and try to get plugged into the local expat community (which is not hard) it will be ok. As for playgrounds, there are quite a few, and a couple of good parks (by Argentine standards)--1970s slides and playground equipment galore and a little merry-go-round on the weekends at the Parque de Mayo. Way more fun than most of the stuff you see in the States nowadays, but not very safe either. Argentines are not into "helicopter parenting," which can be both good and bad. Also, you will have to get used to the later supper hour if you eat out, and expect to see lots of kids up late in restaurants. I hope this helps.

 

[citygirl]

LAWoman - I don't live in Bahia Blanca, just pulled that info off the web. I will say however that my SO's cousin lives in Bahia and says the same things that jdr7137 says. And she is Argentine and from a small town a few hours from there. She isn't happy in Bahia and as soon as she finishes her studies, will be leaving.

 

[Montauk_Project]

I haven´t been there, but Bahia Blanca has the rep as a military town, a conservative town in Argentina.