How much to live?

[gouchobob]

I'm still wondering how you would lug around TWO car seats from taxi to taxi ?

Or is the TS supposed to risk the children's lives and sit in a taxi with the kids on their lap.

In California it is illegal to have a child in a car without a child seat because you are putting the child's life in danger.

Car accidents here happen very frequently and the way most taxistas drive, they are usually the ones getting into car accidents. If you have a small child in your lap when an accident occurs, chances are the child will be flung from the vehicle. You can put a seat belt on an adult but not a baby, not to mention many taxis here don't even have seat belts ( don't ask me why ).

The easy answer here is that there is a reckless disregard for safety here, I don't think too many Argentines worry about car seats.

 

[fifs2]

Our HR mger was actually enlightening us on middle class incomes yesterday..a long article but the image attached pretty much sums up why there is always an argument about what you really need to live on and it really depends on how addicted you are to your middle class goods as status symbols

 

[jp]

Great post. Except for this part. Please tell me whats cheap ?

I have friends who've moved back from the UK and the US because the cost of childcare and schools was too much for them to bear. And my porteno friends who've lived abroad find the education on offer here high quality and affordable.

Sure, there's expensive schools out there, but you have to compare like with like. If you went to the UK you wouldn't take Eton as your yardstick of what schooling costs.

Anyway the first year, be ready to pay a bit more for everything until you settle and know better how to spend wisely.

This is a really important point. Getting settled can cost a lot of money. You can live very economically in BA, but you have to learn how and that takes time and money. The plus side is that once you've settled, have the furniture and stuff you need, your expenses can plummet. Love the tiramusu analogy! Very true..

 

[katti]

The easy answer here is that there is a reckless disregard for safety here, I don't think too many Argentines worry about car seats.

This is a 3th world country. In every 1st world country you must have car seats until kids are 1,30 big.

Here they have other worries.

 

[fifs2]

This is a 3th world country. In every 1st world country you must have car seats until kids are 1,30 big.

Here they have other worries.

As we were too busy dodging bombs in NI my parents never gave a thought to car safety and we all lived to tell the tale...but then the world dint know about car safety technology in the 70`s and I am always amazed how many kids are jumping around front seats of new cars which do come with seatbelts..with no thought for safety and plenty of knowledge about what can happen..

 

[gouchobob]

This is a 3th world country. In every 1st world country you must have car seats until kids are 1,30 big.

Here they have other worries.

I think you missed my point the culture here is basically to ignore safety issues. Next time you are out check out how few of your fellow drivers are using seat-belts, or how many cars run red lights, or ignore stop signs. I have often seen toddlers of no more than 3 or 4 standing in the front seats of cars unrestrained. If you handed out car seats for free the vast majority still wouldn't use them.

 

[AlexfromLA]

So basically you really don't know how much it costs to school a child in Argentina.

Gotcha.

I have friends who've moved back from the UK and the US because the cost of childcare and schools was too much for them to bear. And my porteno friends who've lived abroad find the education on offer here high quality and affordable.

Sure, there's expensive schools out there, but you have to compare like with like. If you went to the UK you wouldn't take Eton as your yardstick of what schooling costs.

 

[AlexfromLA]

We are not talking about the children of Argentines, we are talking about foreigners.

Children of foreigners cannot go to cheap regular Spanish only schools for two simple reasons.

First is the need for a bilingual education which mandates " doble escolaridad ". That means the kids are in school from 8 am to 5 pm and have two teachers instead of just one Spanish speaking teacher. The cost of these schools are usually close to double what a regular Spanish only school costs. ".

Second is the international accreditation. That means schools that offer the IGCSE and IB Diplomas. There are exactly 47 schools in Argentina that are accredited to give the I.B Diploma. Only 33 of them are found in the entire Province of Buenos Aires. Out of those only about half are located in Capital Federal. That means your " yard stick " is limited to 15 to 30 of the best schools in Argentina if you want your child to receive an internationally accredited bilingual education.

http://www.ibo.org/school/search/index.cfm?programmes=DIPLOMA&country=AR&region=&find_schools=Find

 

[GuilleGee]

Because ABL is only a Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires tax, there are things that are similar in other cities, but it is not ABL. I am just giving you trouble for using a city term...

 

[AlexfromLA]

You will pay the same tax in a Barrio Privado or Country Club. In most cases it's included in the expensas. But you still pay the ABL tax.

You're arguing semantics to the detriment of this discussion.

Thanks.

Because ABL is only a Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires tax, there are things that are similar in other cities, but it is not ABL. I am just giving you trouble for using a city term...