How would I live in BA on 18,000 Pesos/month

[ChicagoNick]

Wow! You guys are awesome. I just came back to this thread after about 10 hours and am blown away by the incredibly thoughtful comments. Clearly the expat community in Buenos Aires must be pretty supportive and strong.

There's a lot to consider and take in. The offer is still pretty new and I need to talk over the details with my company. Not sure about taxes yet, but its of course a major issue. Questions about guaranteeing my apartment, increases for inflation, etc are all excellent. Taking serious notes here for when I'm back in the office next week.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[citygirl]

My recommendation is to get really nice housing, take taxis everywhere, hire a half time maid to wait on lines and eat at the really good restaurants. You will enjoy BA much more that way. You should have money left to do some travel through LAM while you're here which will add to the fun.

2 people living on 9K in hand won't be able to live that kind of lifestyle.

Let's say the OP rents a furnished apt b/c he doesn't want to deal with the hassle of buying furniture or the company wont' act as guarnator.

1 BR furnished apt in nice section of town (not luxury): 1200 USD or 5040 pesos. (and potentially MUCH more if the peso drops as expected after the elections)

That leaves him and his girlfriend 4000 pesos a month for food, entertainment, dry cleaning, going out, etc. Again, certainly doable but not going to be living the high life, taking taxis everywhere, having a maid daily or traveling all over.

ETA - the 6 months without rent will certainly help and they will be able to build up a 30K peso cushion. That's a huge plus of course and certainly during that time, having 9K in disposable income will allow a very nice quality of life. But no one wants to go from living the high life to the low life when the rent payments kick in

 

[BAJoe]

Most Americans are plain scared of inflation, but you have to realize that Argentina and many other countries live with inflation ALWAYS and still get by. It`s simple: as prices go up, so will your salary,... eventually. The difference is prices rise gradually all year round, while your pay will increase likely once a year, in one big jump. (20-30%)
And if your company doesn't make the adjustment, no worry. Just gather all your workmates, and block some downtown avenue for a few hours. You come out on national TV for free, and you'll surely get your raise real fast!!!

 

[hepdoll]

CityGirl's right, but just to throw in another data point: I have seen 1 BR furnished temporary apartments in decent parts of town in the $800 USD range. Check out services like soloduenos.com and spread the word to your friends and coworkers instead of going through agencies to help save on fees and find the deals that are around.

 

[El Duderino]

Yup, I'm paying $650 for a furnished loft in Palermo with all utilities included. $1200? Come on...

 

[ghost]

In what part of town is the business located?

 

[citygirl]

1200 is not exactly outrageous in a nice 1 BR in a nice building. I've heard of people renting for less (800 or so) and paying much more - 1500 or 1600 for 1 BR in luxury buildings. I was trying to give a mid range point.

To the OP, go to Clarin or La Nacion and you will see what type of apts are available. I just did a quick search on Clarin and the high price for a 1 BR furnished apt was 3200 USD per month, the lowest is around 450 plus building expenses for a tiny 1 BR with no amentiies.

Again, all things are dependent on what the OP wants and considers necessary. In some areas he may spend much less than others, in others more.

 

[puvenlee]

real thread or not..
18 K is a lot for both... I think 12 - 13 K will be enough for the expendings for both at a very comfortable level...
But the tax here is a lot too. And the HRs here themselves are not exactly sure how the tax is done...jajaja

 

[jb5]

Agree with Citygirl that if it's $18K gross, it's not that much.

I also think if it's net it's still no where near living like a king. If we assume that BA is about the same cost as most US cities, than the OP will be living on $54K US. That's not living very well for an American professional. Thats starting salary for engineers, accountants, etc.

I think most here seriously underestimate the cost of decent furnished rentals. I just went through a very thorough rental market search as a professional who wants to live well. I think the decent places started at $3K US per month. Everyone time I write this people say I'm wrong. All I can conclude is that my idea of nice differs. But I can tell you, none of my professional friends live in anything similar in the US to apartments costing under that. Search Furnished rental apartments in La Nacion between $3K and $4K US to see what you get. For
fun go up to $15K to see what living really well in BA really looks like. And yes, US dollars.

So I want to clarify what I meant when I'd said you'd live well. I meant you'd be living like a young professional in the US. No fancy house, no expensive car, but plenty for a decent apartment, lots of meals out, some non luxurious travel.

 

[steveinbsas]

Nick also needs to ask his employer about health insurance. Even if they pay for his insurance, I doubt they would pick up the tab for his girlfriend...and I doubt that she would be happy if he provides less than the best.