Longterm Expats: What Has You Life Been Like?

[Huxley1234]

Hello All,

My fiancee and I have been going though some serious changes. She is from B.Aires, I am Canadian. We love each other very much, but she wants to live in Arg., and I am not sure where I want to live. I am adventurous and like the idea of being in BA...I want to be a writer, journalist, entrepreneur so I can do that anywhere. But I am also cautious and my gut reaction is one of fear and to run for the hills.

Can anyone on this forum help me understand what the option is like to live longterm in Argentina, particularly from perspective of American or Canadian?

How did you find work? What is your life like? Do you feel security or are you always hoping to go back "home"? What about children and what is education like for them?

What will my life be like in 10 years? In 20 years?

Do you need to be very rich to enjoy a relaxing life, or is it easy to be middle class and happy in BA?

Please feel free to respond in this forum. If you wanted we could also set up a skype chat! Please send me your contact details if so

Gracias amigos, chau

 

[mariposa]

This is going to be a looooooong conversation.....

I have lived in Buenos Aires part of the year for 5 years although my "main life" is in New York City. Buenos Aires is a great city in many ways but life there can be extremely frustrating. And it's getting worse. I just got back to NYC after 5 months away, and, being just out of Buenos Aires I now realize how totally insane Argentina is.

But as i said I don't live there permanently and I don't have kids, unlike many others you will hear from.

Take your time deciding and come for a long visit first.

 

[Gringoboy]

What will my life be like in 10 years? In 20 years?

What will life be like in Canada in 10 or 20 years? Probably pretty stable.
The real question is, what will life be like in BsAs over the next few months to a year?
Do as Mariposa said. Come for a defined amount of time so you can get a feel.

 

[JamJam]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]How did you find work?[/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Most of work is found through contacts. There is still a lot of discrimination here. Don't be surprised to see add stating you should be Female, and under 30 for a normal office job.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Security[/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]I've never had a problem in 3 years, touch wood. Although I have [/background]heard of a lot of shit. My view is its not as bad as people make out but just keep your eyes open.

Kids
I don't have any so its hard to comment. Although I wouldn't want my child subjected to the amount of government propaganda in schools here. I also wouldn't want my child growing up in such a sexist environment. (perhaps there is a reason why most women are in therapy here or have been)

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]What will my life be like in 10 years? [/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]The magic 8 ball probably would have a better answer than anyone.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Do you need to be very rich to enjoy a relaxing life[/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]This is totally subjective. Cost of rent and transport is a lot lower but everything else is about the same if not higher.[/background]

There are some great benefits to living here but you really have to ask your [background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]fiancee why she wants to return and how she thinks this will benefit your future.[/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]I know so many locals here that want to escape.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]As mentioned before come for 6 months to a year and see how you feel, any less would be more like a holiday.[/background]

These things totally depend on your personal situation. I for one can't wait until I return to the UK but until then I'm going to try and make the best of what life has to offer here.

 

[Rich One]

Life in ten years will be the same as today since AR has a crisis every ten years,,,! In the UK 20% of the population lives under the poverty line? , here according to INDEC only 5%....?? See video on UK living on 1 pound per day ? Wow one can eat in the UK for 15 pesos AR a day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uix3b6zgus&feature=player_embedded

 

[syngirl]

I want to be a writer, journalist, entrepreneur so I can do that anywhere. But I am also cautious and my gut reaction is one of fear and to run for the hills.

Want to be, or are? Because want to be makes me think that you are still pretty young. And cautious doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with "entrepreneur" Where are you living right now? Are you living with your fiance? Maybe there are other things that need to be sorted out before you get married.

I'm Canadian, I've been here 8 years. I can tell you my own earnings have crashed, I work for a guy back home and it's hard to maintain a constant flow of work -- that's also been affected because I had a child. However, although my income is a lot lower than when I first got here, my local husband has been lucky enough to have promotions and growth in his career, so really our lifestyle has not changed any more than anyone else being affected by inflation.

The one thing that has really changed is the amount of visits I make back to Canada, because tickets are more and more expensive. This has also been affected because of things like weddings to attend in other places, and really just wanting to take a holiday that ISN'T Canada. This will happen, eventually you just crave going to somewhere else other than home for a holiday.

I think the idea of "going back home someday" is the reality of being an immigrant. You move, you immigrate, and your memories become intertwined with nostalgia. I have these crazy ideas that I want my child to experience the postcard Canadian christmas with snow and snowmen and sleds etc. I'm from VANCOUVER -- white Christmases happened during my childhood maybe 3-5 times at most. And yet here I am with these crazy ideas that my son should experience something that I myself didn't really experience. That to me is the immigrant nostalgia.

What will my life be like in 10 or 20 years? How do I know. I know that I'm not planning on relying on Argentina for jubilacion, but let's face it, CPP isn't going to cover it either, so at some point I keep trying to tell my husband that we need to move home for awhile to make sure we earn and save some money abroad. However I could be telling him the same thing 10 years from now and we won't have gone anywhere.

As for do you need to be rich to enjoy a relaxing life. Well, that depends.If we wanted to be travelling to Europe / Asia / fill in the blank we'd need a hell of a lot more money than we're making now. But we do have a good life. Its low key, but at once more social. People really hang out with each other, take time for coffee, lunch, what have you.

As JamJam says there is a RIDICULOUS amount of propagandizing in schools -- fine, be nationalistic, but here it can be at the detriment of other learning. We're just starting to dip our toe in the water of the education phase of our child's life so can't comment much yet but can tell you that for education you will need to be earning a decent amount of cash because public isn't much of an option.

 

[JamJam]

Life in ten years will be the same as today since AR has a crisis every ten years,,,! In the UK 20% of the population lives under the poverty line? , here according to INDEC only 5%....?? See video on UK living on 1 pound per day ? Wow one can eat in the UK for 15 pesos AR a day

We have a better standard of poverty in the UK

Huxley, what does your GF do? If she wants to work and has good connections in BA it will be easier.

 

[Montauk_Project]

I am from NY, very different from Canada in the respect that to me, free health care and education are very positive parts to being in Argentina, but if you are from Canada, that really isn´t an advantage.
I have been here for ten years, with my Argentine husband for six (wow! six). I consider myself to be an immigrant more than an expat and that Buenos Aires, although I hate it at times, is my place in the world. I think I am happy here (most of the time) is that I decided to live here before I met my husband. While he kind of sealed the deal, I had already adapted to the language and culture, changed careers to something more adaptable to the local economy (filmmaking--here being a woman director is no big deal, can´t say the same about Hollywood).
I have met a lot of expats who are here because of love, and they are the ones that tend to complain the most and have the biggest issues adapting, because they really don´t want to be here. This is a generalization or course, but I think there is some truth in it.
You will probably find that family is highly valued in Argentina and you will spend a lot of time with in-laws. This could be positive or negative.
You will probably find that things change monthly--from salaries, to costs, to regulations, to street directions. This is exciting if you thrive on change. This can be scary if you enjoy routine.
Compared to the states, there is more work and better paid for journalists here (but you don´t speak Spanish. . . ) and the city and national government have a lot of programs for entrepreneurs, and there are also a ton of informal networks (for tech, check out Palermo Valley).
You will probably find a lot of red tape is involved with everything. The good news is that it is getting better--it used to take YEARS to get an ID, now it takes about a week. No real positive on this one! Some things, like doing an international bank transfer, is next to impossible.
You need to come down here and see for yourself, and if you do, accompany your wife or family/friends of hers to do "tramites" (paper work), go to the hospital, pay bills, visit some offices in your field. Sometimes people come down for a few months but are in "vacation mode" so really don´t see what it is like to live here (btw, most porteños don´t tango). Take some Spanish lessons, watch local TV and talk to other entrepreneurs, both expats and Argentine. If you buy coffee and go to them, people will chat with you.

 

[JamJam]

Oh and the 'free' health care here isn't really up to much EVERYONE I know has private health care.

 

[Peony54]

I agree with everything JamJam said... and Montauk Project regarding moving here for love. Just coming for a few months won't really help you decide because lets face it coming down here just to visit isn't really the same as living and working here. I LOVE Argentina as a tourist- but as an inhabitant? Not as much. I think you really need to take a look at your relationship and see if you are going to be in it for the long haul. One thing that is good about your situation is that the type of job you want would be appropriate for working from home and you might be able to travel home to visit more easily. It's a very tough decision to make and I think you need to be not only 100% committed to your girlfriend but also to Argentina and to making it work. Maybe move down here for a year and give it your all? At least that way you can say you gave it a try and not have any regrets!