Go or no-go

[qwerty]

I have a friend 28 from Europe who lives with his Peruvian wife in Europe. He has a 5 year career in finance that is going well. He also recently bought a home and has no kids. His career prolly won't suffer that much and he thinks he can go back and find a good job after 1 or 2 years. If he gets a decent job it might even help his career

He is pondering about moving to BA for 1,2 years and getting a job that woud pay him 4000 to 6000 peso as a start. His wife can also work in a restaurant/bar. Right now she is not working in Europe and does have European citizenship. He can rent out is home for about the same amount as his mortage. He does have savings he is willing to use.

Assuming he gets a decent job, a do or a don't?

 

[qwerty]

And on a related question, does it help if he actually moves to BA that he gets the Peruvian citizenship?

 

[AlexfromLA]

This is a joke right ?

if not

ahahahahahaha

He has a 5 year career in finance that is going well. He also recently bought a home and has no kids.

He is pondering about moving to BA for 1,2 years and getting a job that woud pay him 4000 to 6000 peso

 

[zaenden]

why can't his wife work in europe! my sister is married to a Brit and she gained work permit and free health care instantly. same rules appy for Shengen area. and you gain right to become a citizen after 3 to five years. depends which country they live at the moment. if they r living in uk germany france or Scandinavian coutries they shoud stay in europe! there is no such thing as "european citizenship"

 

[citygirl]

I'm not quite following. Why do they want to move to BsAs? To have an adventure? I'm not one to say no if that's the case but if I were him, I would be asking some serious questions.
1) Unless it's an intra-company transfer, he will probably have a tough time finding a job.
1a) I'm assuming he is fluent in Spanish.
2) Would his hypothetical job be a guarantor for him? If not, he'll be living in a short-term apt, which alone will run him about 4000 pesos a month. That's his salary.
2a) Even if he can get a guarantor and rent unfurnished for much less, he will have to buy all the furniture, etc - tough gig on local salary.
3) Why would he want to leave when he is entering peak salary years? That's a huge hit to make up.
4) Taxation issues.
5) Do they have kids? Do they want to have them soon?

I guess only your friend and wife can make the decision but from a financial aspect - I would say no go.

 

[syngirl]

28 years old, I'd say if he's doing it for the adventure, better to do it now before you have kids etc.

But he might as well look at it as a 1 - 2 year gap in his CV and earnings unless he can get a transfer over and a good placement. Competition is very high for good jobs here and odds are he will get passed over for an Argentine. Peruvian citizenship I don't believe will do anything for him since usually it's only the bordering countries that can get working papers -- but someone else can confirm or deny this.

Honestly, if they're looking for a South American experience, but don't want the gap in the CV and a huge gap in earnings, he may be better off looking for something in Santiago de Chile. There are a lot of foreigners working there, he may have more luck findng a company to hire him, and if not the Temporary Resident Visa looks relatively easy to get, and then he could change to a work visa if he finds a company to hire him.

Salaries are much better than in BA, though taxes can be high. Cost of living is about on par with Buenos Aires these days -- we talked to a friend of ours that moved there 6 months ago and he said that a lot of things there are cheaper, apart from education for kids (these posters have none so not a consideration), his health insurance only covers 85% of costs of doctor visits etc (here it's all covered, then a discount on pharmaceuticals), and that food costs were 15% above Buenos Aires, but since many salaries there are paid in USD it was a negligible difference for him at the end of the month). Cars and electronics were much cheaper, and the rent difference from what he was saying was negligible for what you get. Public transportation costs are much higher than BA, since here it is heavily subsidised.

However from what I've heard of Santiago, it's basically Buenos Aires on Valium -- ie similar (bland) food, similar culture, but more conservative and boring. So if they're looking to go out partying a lot, it may not be for them. But if they want a South American experience but don't want to derail the CV and their earnings, it might be a good option.

 

[steveinbsas]

As Neil Diamond once sang: "Oh no, no, no, no, baby, something's wrong."

Giving up a stable life in Europe to move to Buenos Aries without already having a job offer is not rational.

 

[syngirl]

The other thing... if they're coming from Europe shouldn't they have some crazy holidays -- 4 weeks or more?? Why not just come to BA for one month, rent an apartment, have a look round, if he has any luck in the jobs department (unlikely, sorry), set up some interviews and see what happens. I think that after a few interviews he's going to realise that without a transfer over here, probably not the greatest idea. With one month he can come for a visit but not have to give up the job back home yet

 

[mini]

why can't his wife work in europe! my sister is married to a Brit and she gained work permit and free health care instantly. same rules appy for Shengen area. and you gain right to become a citizen after 3 to five years. depends which country they live at the moment. if they r living in uk germany france or Scandinavian coutries they shoud stay in europe! there is no such thing as "european citizenship"

He didn't say she couldn't. He said she doesn't. And as for "european citizenship" I'm assuming he just means she is a citizen of an EU country without naming that country.

Anyway, we did just what your friend is thinking of doing. Personally at this time, I wouldn't do it again. He should try to get a transfer as an true expat with a fixed contract & all the perks.

 

[qwerty]

She was working, but they want that she learns the language better and she is doing some schooling. She is 20. I suppose if they ever go to Argentina she would get a full time job and do a course like hairdressing in BA, that should give her more future once she comes back

It's basically a adventure thing and with the right job it makes it easier for him to find a job in a multinational bank. Right now he is working in local bank with no options for him to go abroad. He already made some promotions and my guess is that he atleast for the next 3,4 years has reached his roof. If he comes back with international experience and some courses(evening school) I don't think it will hurt his career chances, it might even help him

The idea offcourse is to start low(er) and trying to make promotion in an Argentine company, if that doesn't pan out within a year to go back. My guess knowing him that he can if he finds the right job.

The idea for him is to come to BA alone(His wife already was in Peru this year) party with me for a month and trying to find out how his marketvalue is

And offcourse none of this will happen if he doesn't have a job lined up.