Hello! ...and a thousand questions about moving to BA

[blanning]

Somehow, I don´t believe you. How could a family with 9 children where the parents are able to provide for all their needs decide to move to someplace that they´ve never even visited?

There's a lot of places I haven't visited yet and a lot that I have. Should having never been there before stop me from considering them?

I guess that you forgot to mention that you and your wife speak fluent Spanish.

I speak pretty good french and japanese, and I can speak some spanish now. I expect that I'd be fluent in 6 months. My wife would take considerably longer to learn spanish. But she stays home with the kids now and would likely continue that.

What would happen if after you settled in with everything going well and your employer decides that they no longer need your services.

The same thing that happens now?

Home school 9 kids, each of whom is probably at a different grade level?

Homeschoolers almost always have kids in different grade levels and handle it just fine.

Are you planning to buy a small bus?

Again, what do you think we do now? We rarely take everyone somewhere together at the same time. It's a once a year event for us now.

How about a license to drive it?If you´re dreaming about the book and the movie; FORGET IT.
Are you out of your mind? ABSOLUTELY.

People have been telling us we're crazy for years. Yet somehow, we manage to survive and do well. Isn't it amazing?

brian

 

[lolimundo]

Hi Blanning, send me a PM if you still looking for answers/questions.

I think with your background there are reasonable possibilities of finding a job. A good contact here is always the best way to find the right opportunity but take a look at the job websites
www.zonajobs.com.ar
www.bumeran.com.ar
www.clarin.empleos.com.ar

There are many companies here that want english-speaking people, and willing to sponsor your visa if their hire you.

But, on my experience, you have to be 100% decided to afford all the consequences of moving from your country.

Here, there are many people willing to help and share what they have.

Good luck with your venture!

 

[blanning]

Hi Blanning, send me a PM if you still looking for answers/questions.

...

Good luck with your venture!

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look and get back to you.

brian

 

[mini]

Honestly, I also think you're crazy to try to move 11 people to Argentina without any support. You just need to read some more threads to find out what a nightmare the bureaucracy here can be for no reason what so ever.

Anyway, I agree with those that say that finding a job before you get here or having a company send you here is the best option.

If I were you, I'd consider Portugal. You'd have access to the jobs in Europe with a lower cost of living and you could get yourself a nice farm house with fruit trees and chickens, etc not too far from an international airport.

 

[Bep]

Hi

Q: What is the work visa process for argentina?

"Supposedly" You have to have a work contract for Argentina while you`re still in the US, and you have to do all your paperworks before coming. Since that is not likely to happen you will probably come here under a tourist visa, look for somebody to hire you , then get your police record and make an appointment with migraciones. I don`t know any more so far.

Where would a software development job likely be in BA, and based on what I've said, what would be a reasonable part of town to find a place to live? We're willing to be a little austere, but safety is important. And we generally prefer longer commutes to get more indoor and outdoor space farther out.

If you get a software developement job you will probably work in the capital. It doesn`t really matters in what part of the capital you live to get to your job, but as for safety i would recommend East/ Northwest "barrios" of the capital. However, the possibility always exist that you can work home for the company after a while, my brother is a video editor, he was going to the office at first to work but now he can work at home.

What's the school situation in BA? My kids would need to go into some sort of school and only one of them speaks spanish. I'm sure some of my kids would pick it up quickly, but for others it would be a fight.

The only english speaking school (ONLY english) that i know is LIncoln, and it`s extremely expensive. You can send your kids to a bilingual schoool though, they would have spanish in the morning and the same classes in english in the afternoon, however, that would be at least $1500 (pesos) a month per kid.

Does argentina have an equivalent to home schooling?
No

Can anyone give me an idea what a high-end programming job would be likely to pay in BA and what renting a house would likely cost?

No idea about the job. Renting a house for 9 people would be around $4000 (US$1250) a month.

What's the most popular job website or place to post jobs, and the same question for places to live?
The sites Lolimundo recommended are good for jobs.

Are there any services (church-related or otherwise) that would help facilitate a move like this?
Not that i know of

What's the tax situation? That is, what percentage does the government usually take?
Out of products you buy: %21.00 but it`s included in the price. Out of your wage... until you have your papers none, once you have your papers it will be discounted in total around $300 (including your health service)

What is the health insurance situation there?
If you go to a hospital is free. Otherwise you can hire a pre-paid medical service, but they are expensive and not really worthy , except you have a big accident.

What's the race-relations situation there? Half of my kids are adopted. One is from vietnam, two are from guatemala. But the rest of us are northern european types. Are we likely to run into trouble with this?

Other kids might make fun of them if they don`t speak the language well, and they might call them a few names at first but nothing really too serious, argentinians make fun of everyone but there won`t be any physical violence because of it.

Anything else I should watch out for?
Scams, specially when you try to rent a place, if possible go with someone who understands law when you sign the papers.

 

[nikad]

You can start by looking at job offers that multinational companies have in IT, such as IBM, Oracle, Google, Symantec, HP, etc they all have lcoal operations and are always recruiting. Getting support for work visas, etc by one of them would be ideal. I suggest you run searches on this forum on different topics, I am sure most of your questions have been answered in great detail. I am not sure even with a very good salary you will be able to send 9 kids to private schools, elementary and high schools ( public ) are not good unfortunately. Also bare in mind that the US dollar is being kept artificially at a low exchange rate vs peso, and that could affect your situation. Good luck with your venture!

 

[nikad]

On what Bep said, I do not agree with the medical insurance and I do not agree with the job sites for a high end IT professional. I think a high end programmer can make around 20000 pesos ( 5000 usd ) net ( I don´t think it will be impossible to support a family of 11, but it will be tight.

 

[Uncle Dermot]

With 9 children I would definitely focus on a football career: you can set up your very own football team and in no time they will be the ones supporting you...et voilà!
Jokes apart I would consider Tel Aviv: much closer to the European/American way of living, everybody speaks English, very developed, nice (plus it's right on the sea!) and there are loads of families with many children in Israel, you would fit perfectly well there!

 

[Uncle Dermot]

There are many companies here that want english-speaking people, and willing to sponsor your visa if their hire you.

Such as? So far I have only seen a couple of Argentinian companies looking for native speakers of European languages to work for their call centres at Argentinian salaries/conditions...