Me and My GF moving to BA for 6 months end of October 2018

[LozLudi]

Hi all,

First time on this forum (and first time posting) - but found it during my research of what to expect and all the rest of it.

Now, myself and my girlfriend are going to BA for 6 months leaving this October - with plans of teaching English. Now, I have read through a lot of the posts on here (regarding English reaching) and I must say some seem quite negative, and I am in two minds about going - even though we have already paid and set to go!

Now, we are aware of the money in teaching (that it is not that good) and we are happy to earn enough so we can live and experience the amazing culture and city.

We are both in the process of doing a TEFL course - my GF studied Spanish at Uni so I know she will be ok - and I am quite outgoing (have Italian descent can understand Italian quite well and am OK with Spanish) but still need to practice a lot.

Anyway, I digress, onto the main point of this post, would you advise we still go? what do we need to know before we go? Are the jobs teaching English even possible out there? (seems like things have changed). We aren't completely set on teaching English, we will take any other job that offers safe work and a live-able wage - any advise on this would be great also.

And with regards to jobs and living, I have started my extensive research at areas such as: Palermo, Belgrano e.t.c as the places to live. And also looking on craiglists for jobs and for apartments.

I just am looking for anyone on here that may have done the same thing with their SO - and what advice you have, or anyone that can offer advice/tips, but also reinvigorate my desire to want to go, as at the moment I am more worried about how we will sort this all out!

Thanks in advance all

 

[Neil]

Hi all,

First time on this forum (and first time posting) - but found it during my research of what to expect and all the rest of it.

Now, myself and my girlfriend are going to BA for 6 months leaving this October - with plans of teaching English. Now, I have read through a lot of the posts on here (regarding English reaching) and I must say some seem quite negative, and I am in two minds about going - even though we have already paid and set to go!

Now, we are aware of the money in teaching (that it is not that good) and we are happy to earn enough so we can live and experience the amazing culture and city.

We are both in the process of doing a TEFL course - my GF studied Spanish at Uni so I know she will be ok - and I am quite outgoing (have Italian descent can understand Italian quite well and am OK with Spanish) but still need to practice a lot.

Anyway, I digress, onto the main point of this post, would you advise we still go? what do we need to know before we go? Are the jobs teaching English even possible out there? (seems like things have changed). We aren't completely set on teaching English, we will take any other job that offers safe work and a live-able wage - any advise on this would be great also.

And with regards to jobs and living, I have started my extensive research at areas such as: Palermo, Belgrano e.t.c as the places to live. And also looking on craiglists for jobs and for apartments.

I just am looking for anyone on here that may have done the same thing with their SO - and what advice you have, or anyone that can offer advice/tips, but also reinvigorate my desire to want to go, as at the moment I am more worried about how we will sort this all out!

Thanks in advance all

Is all I can suggest,at least $1k USD per month!

 

[gracielle]

Hi all,

First time on this forum (and first time posting) - but found it during my research of what to expect and all the rest of it.
LozLudi....welcome to BAExpats!

Now, myself and my girlfriend are going to BA for 6 months leaving this October - with plans of teaching English. Now, I have read through a lot of the posts on here (regarding English reaching) and I must say some seem quite negative, and I am in two minds about going - even though we have already paid and set to go! Now, we are aware of the money in teaching (that it is not that good) and we are happy to earn enough so we can live and experience the amazing culture and city.

Teaching English, privately or thru a local language institute and with or without a TEFL certificate, do not provide an income to cover your living expenses.

.....would you advise we still go?
Yes, but bring US$ to cover living expenses.
.....what do we need to know before we go?
Cost of renting a short-term, furnished apt for 6 months + food and public transportation.
....Are the jobs teaching English even possible out there?
Few and far between and not well paid in pesos. Educational activities cease beginning December thru end of February.

 

[Rich One]

Figure out the first 2 months No Income, then on the 3rd. month income to cover 25 % of Basic expenses and so forth after 6 months you may be covering your Basic (lodging plus food) no medical coverage? So figure on a US$ 5000 cushion to survive. .3 Summer months may be dead for English lessons.Plus without work Visa Institutes rarely hire...

Some miracle may happen someone lets you stay somewhere for free. Or both you get a full time teaching after the first month. Miracles happen...!!

Good Luck

 

[gracielle]

Figure out the first 2 months No Income, then on the 3rd. month income to cover 25 % of Basic expenses and so forth after 6 months you may be covering your Basic (lodging plus food) no medical coverage? So figure on a US$ 5000 cushion to survive. .3 Summer months may be dead for English lessons.Plus without work Visa Institutes rarely hire...

Some miracle may happen someone lets you stay somewhere for free. Or both you get a full time teaching after the first month. Miracles happen...!!

Good Luck

A more realistic scenario for TWO travelers.....first 2 months (Oct/Nov) most likely no income, 3rd (Dec), 4th (Jan) and 5th (Feb) no income due to summer hiatus and at the end of the 6th month it's time to go home. So I would bring at least US$7,000. If either/both of you find jobs, that's the icing on the cake.

 

[Ries]

unfortunately, I must agree. Argentina has many wonderful things about it- but ease of getting a job, especially if you are not a citizen, is not one of them. I would second the above recomendations. Bring Money. Do not expect you will be able to earn a living here, especially teaching english. People who get work here, and get paid under the counter, are usually skilled in some unusual way, or very enterprising self starters. Restaurant work is sometimes available, but, again, nothing like north america or europe.

 

[LozLudi]

Thanks all,

Well this is depressing news - we were both sold on the fact that getting a job teaching over in Argentina is easy, (we knew it would be expensive) but not unbelievably expensive.

We knew about the dates we were going - but thought that we surely would be able to get some work, not to mention - no information out there that readily available about the illegality of working!

All the TEFL websites (and we really did spend ages researching) said nothing about DNI's or anything.

6 months is a long time to not know if we will even get work for 1 month of that. I planned on bringing around $4000 for the whole trip with the idea of dipping into that to supplement my low income. But that all I have.

Any other suggestions of what we do? as we have booked and set to go!

 

[gracielle]

[QUOTE="LozLudi, post: 358564, member: 65655"

We knew about the dates we were going - but thought that we surely would be able to get some work, not to mention - no information out there that readily available about the illegality of working! All the TEFL websites (and we really did spend ages researching) said nothing about DNI's or anything.

Worldwide employment laws only permit the hiring of citizens, permanent residents, and those foreigners who obtain work visas prior to entering ANY country. It's not the responsibility of the TEFL website to inform re: work laws.

6 months is a long time to not know if we will even get work for 1 month of that. I planned on bringing around $4000 for the whole trip with the idea of dipping into that to supplement my low income. But that all I have.
Any other suggestions of what we do? as we have booked and set to go![/QUOTE]

If your airline tickets allow change of travel dates, come for 2 months instead of 6.....Oct-Nov or Jan-Feb or March-April.
Forget about trying to find a job which pays under the table and in pesos. Bring the US$4000 (cash) in $100 crisp, new dollar bills and exchange them legally as you go along.

In my opinion, BA is the most distinct metropolitan capital in Latin America. Enjoy exploring the city and chalk this up to experience.

 

[Ries]

one of the things that makes buenos aires so interesting is that its not totally globalize. I recommend visiting for as long as you can, because its great, but moving, without ever having been here, for six months, is just not as easy as going to berlin or LA. Its, as Daniel Melero says, magico. Which is good, and bad.

 

[Idois]

Any other suggestions of what we do? as we have booked and set to go!

What comes to mind is exploring the options of teaching English online. There are online/virtual English schools that pay nicely, 15-20 US$/hr of instruction (to get an idea you may want to check out this link). I am sure you already know that there are FB groups dedicated tho this where members exchange info, so all this is just a friendly suggestion, not a prescription. Once you are working online it does not matter where you are based, as long as you have good and stable internet access and are making enough to sustain your adventure and enjoy the place where you are based. And while you are making money online you can of course look for face to face English schools to supplement your income or diversify your experience. What some members of this group told you above regarding the economic reality is true. We have seen English teachers come and go, some do get jobs without DNI, other struggle. In the end they all realize that making money in local economy as you go is frustrating and tiresome. You will enjoy the city and the atmosphere. I have taught English for corporate clients in BsAs and enjoyed that aspect (I am not certified and my background is in a completely unrelated fiend and at that time I did not have a DNI), but I took it as a fun experience between my other (money-making) projects that allowed me to live in BsAs.

Best of luck, don't despair, be smart with your finances and keep exploring your options, be it in BsAs/ARG or beyond!