Doing Student Exchange At Utdt Next Year, Some Questions

[ventanilla]

Hey everyone!

I'm an Australian who's going to do a single semester exchange at Torcuato di Tella next year. I speak very good Spanish and will be studying in Spanish so that's not a worry.

I just have some questions, if anyone's bored enough to answer

1) I've heard the process for a student visa if you're just doing a short exchange (I'll be here for about 170 days total) is very easy, ie: you come as a tourist and just update your status at immigraciones with an apostilled police report from home, translated in Argentina. Is that correct? Or will I need to apply back home (would be hard since there's no consulate in my city).

2) What ballpark price would I be looking at for a small 1 bedroom or studio apartment in the vicinity of Belgrano? I've done some cursory Googling but that just returns overpriced crap aimed at expats. Just trying to get an idea as to what to budget.

3) Similar to above, how's the general cost of living? Again, admittedly lazy googling has made it seem that things are actually quite a bit more expensive than I would've thought -- casual restaurants charging as much as they do here in Australia for example, when my city (Melbourne) is known for its high cost of living. Is this an inaccurate picture? I've lived in Lima before so I know that often you won't find the decent cheap places online.


4) How's the cycling? Worth a try, or garbage? Can you ride on the footpath, are there bike paths, etc?

Thanks for reading, cheers guys

 

[Ries]

you need to study up on the uniqueness of argentina...
standard rental terms here are 2 years, unfurnished (and that means no fridge or stove, either) and they require an argentine property owner to guarantee your payments.
thats where the deals are.
I really doubt you will find a cheap apartment for 170 days, more likely a share or a room.

The neighborhood of Di Tella is very nice- and expensive. Its in the park belt, which means good bike riding, but lousy public transport- its a long way from the Subte, and bus lines are few. I have attended a few events there- a friend teaches there- and found it to be a pain to get to on public transport from the center of the city- and also from the cheaper neighborhoods. Maybe you can find a place in Chacarita or Caballito- there are some crosstown buses.
Most kids at Di Tella live at home, or in expensive family owned apartments- and many own their own cars, so they dont often live in cheap shared houses nearby. They live a half hour north in big properties in the suburbs. Its a school for rich kids.
Still, it would be worth seeing if they have any kind of online bulletin board or place where you could try to find a share.

I own, not rent, so I dont know about current rents, but short term, it wont be cheap in Belgrano- probably a $1000 USD to $1500 minimum, and, even then, take some work to find.

Dunno what it costs in Australia, but generally I find food and drink to be a bit cheaper than the USA, but not "cheap". Certainly there are pizza places and empanadas to go everywhere, and there still exist a lot of inexpensive neighborhood restaurants. But its a big city, and there are a wide range of prices.
Its not like Peru, or even Mexico, pricewise- but it shoud be cheaper than Melbourne. My Australian friends consider it cheap compared to Sydney, for day to day haircuts, meals, drinks and cab rides, club entrance fees and public transport.
You can get a kilo of ice cream delivered to your door til 2 am...

 

[mrfriendly]

try airbnb for that time of stay. i lived in palermo for 3 months last year and used Airbnb. it includes utilities and wifi, etc.

 

[ltRingrost]

http://www.rentinba.com/

http://www.atbuenosaires.com/Alq-Temporario

I found those two to be the best for temporary contracts. Not cheap but better than airbnb and good service.