Excited/scared About Moving To Ba...!

[lamarque]

Hi all!

Well, reading all of this has got me a bit freaked out too, to be honest!! I am moving in a few weeks to complete my Masters degree in BA and have agreed to rent an apartment (month-to-month) for $500USD. It's fully-furnished, in Palermo, and has a lot of space for the money compared to what I have seen elsewhere advertised. I am prepared to NOT earn money while I am in Argentina and continue working remotely as a consultant whenever I can and earn USD. Because of this, I am desperately hoping I am not getting screwed by paying in USD (since my income and paying power is not tied to the Peso). Is this logical or is there some loophole I am missing? FYI my landlord has US bank account I can pay into, so I do not need to pay him locally in cash, if that makes any difference.

Thank you, thank you!

Signed,
Another paranoid soon-to-be-expat!

It will be better for you to pay him locally in pesos as that will let you pay less in usd, in any case there are plenty of ways to get dollars in the country but is better to not pay nothing in dollars. I still think that you are overpaying.

Why are you chosing San Telmo? is expensive and not the best choice to live in the city for my taste.

 

[sarita1103]

hmm but if he quoted me the price in USD and I agreed to it, how do I propose getting him to charge me a fixed price in Pesos? Is this good practice?

 

[sarita1103]

It will be better for you to pay him locally in pesos as that will let you pay less in usd, in any case there are plenty of ways to get dollars in the country but is better to not pay nothing in dollars. I still think that you are overpaying.

Why are you chosing San Telmo? is expensive and not the best choice to live in the city for my taste.

I forgot to answer your question! I will be in Palermo (Fraga near Dorrego)....I honestly can't say I remember what the neighborhood is like since I haven't been in BA for 2 years, but friends tell me my location is fine.

 

[Ashley]

How about converting pesos to dollars (not cash just to my american bank account) to pay back my student loans while I'm working here as a teacher?

If you're relying on a peso salary for a job teaching English to pay loans or anything else abroad, you're in the wrong place.
It is unlikely that you will be working legally (en blanco) as an English teacher so you're salary will likely be cash in hand. There is no way that you can then move this to a US account (even if you were working above board, you can't wire money out of the country). Also, it is nigh on impossible to exchange pesos for foreign currency at the official rate (4-something) really the only way to do it is to exchange on the blue market for 7-something.

On another note 7,000 pesos is a very good salary for an English teacher. Even so, renting an apartment alone in dollars or even in pesos will be tough on that salary so it might be better to get a flat share. I've been here for years and have a stable (though highly mediocre) income and there is no way that I could afford to live alone even renting an apartment in pesos with a garantia. Its just not realistic for a good percentage of people at the moment as prices (for both tourist and local rentals) are through the roof.

 

[Rich One]

hmm but if he quoted me the price in USD and I agreed to it, how do I propose getting him to charge me a fixed price in Pesos? Is this good practice?

Your landlord MAY agree to take pesos instead at the Blue dollar rate... Today $7,8 pesos ? or $3900 pesos...!1

 

[nlaruccia]

With the rate of inflation, the high cost of living and the increase in taxes, don't worry. You won't make enough teaching English to even have something left over to convert to dollars when you go home.

 

[Ashley]

I forgot to answer your question! I will be in Palermo (Fraga near Dorrego)....I honestly can't say I remember what the neighborhood is like since I haven't been in BA for 2 years, but friends tell me my location is fine.

Sarita...I don't think USD500 for a one bedroom apartment is unreasonable at all...in fact, it's pretty good. We pay more than that (official rate) to rent a 1 bedroom apartment on local terms (unfurnished, 2 year lease, garantia). I suspect that part of the good deal is that the landlord wants to get paid in dollars. If you're earning money outside the country, this won't be as impossible as if you were planning to come and teach english for pesos like the OP. However, exchanging pesos for dollars is going to be really tough and will probably have to be done on the blue market (at 7 something to the dollar...and you will only be able to extract pesos from your account from an ATM at the official rate). Perhaps you could arrange with your landlord a conversion rate beforehand (official...(unlikely), blue or somewhere in between)...or better yet, see if he has a foreign account where you could wire the money each month (you wont be able to do this to his Argentine account).

 

[Rich One]

Sarita...I don't think USD500 for a one bedroom apartment is unreasonable at all...in fact, it's pretty good. We pay more than that (official rate) to rent a 1 bedroom apartment on local terms (unfurnished, 2 year lease, garantia). I suspect that part of the good deal is that the landlord wants to get paid in dollars. If you're earning money outside the country, this won't be as impossible as if you were planning to come and teach english for pesos like the OP. However, exchanging pesos for dollars is going to be really tough and will probably have to be done on the blue market (at 7 something to the dollar...and you will only be able to extract pesos from your account from an ATM at the official rate). Perhaps you could arrange with your landlord a conversion rate beforehand (official...(unlikely), blue or somewhere in between)...or better yet, see if he has a foreign account where you could wire the money each month (you wont be able to do this to his Argentine account).

would have to agree on a Formula, since rate will vary every month?

 

[expatinowncountry]

I forgot to answer your question! I will be in Palermo (Fraga near Dorrego)....I honestly can't say I remember what the neighborhood is like since I haven't been in BA for 2 years, but friends tell me my location is fine.

Sarita, I am sorry to tell you that Fraga and Dorrego is Chacarita, no Palermo. We live two blocks from there and we often walk to the restaurants in Palermo Hollywood but definitely is not Palermo. There is a tendency from railtors to call Palermo everything because that is where most people want to be. When we bought our house, the ad said Palermo but it was Chacarita. We are glad we came to see it because we love our home/neighborhood.

 

[sarita1103]

Thank you, everyone! I spoke with my landlord yesterday and he confirmed that it will be no problem for me to transfer the USD directly into his USA bank account. He seems like a very reasonable and kind person, so I'm hoping if the situation came up where I was earning enough in Argentina to pay rent in Pesos, we could work something out. For now, I think for the sake of my own sanity of not wondering what rent will cost each month in USD vs, Pesos, I'll stick with paying him the USD.

Sarita, I am sorry to tell you that Fraga and Dorrego is Chacarita, no Palermo. We live two blocks from there and we often walk to the restaurants in Palermo Hollywood but definitely is not Palermo. There is a tendency from railtors to call Palermo everything because that is where most people want to be. When we bought our house, the ad said Palermo but it was Chacarita. We are glad we came to see it because we love our home/neighborhood.

About the location- Yep! He did say 'near Palermo Hollywood', but since I don't know the city, I didn't know what else to describe it as in my post :/ Glad you like the neighborhood though!! Any suggestions on things I should check out upon arrival are more than welcome! Looking forward to getting to enjoy some Argentine sunshine (currently freezing in NYC!)