Moving to Argentina

[Candz]

As the title reads,we have an offer to move to Argentina but aren't sure of things. We'd be coming over for work purposes.

Hi everyone,

We have been presented with the opportunity to possibly relocate to Argentina as a family of 5. Myself,my husband and our 3 children (6,4 and 1). We have tried doing our own research but there appears to be a lot of conflicting information about which makes it hard to know for certain.

I guess my question is what would be a livable wage? Realistically what would we have to take home each month after taxes to live a comfortable life - We assume we'll be paying 1000-1500 USD a month on rent (4 bedroom house). Then there's transport, groceries and basic essentials each month with some entertainment too.

I should probably also state "No hablamos Espanol",basic phrases and words but certainly not a grasp on the language. Would it be tough for us? I've heard English isn't commonly spoken but I'm guessing the big cities more so.

Any useful information/advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated

 

[Lanick]

Hello. Where in Argentina? Buenos Aires?

 

[Candz]

Hello. Where in Argentina? Buenos Aires?

Yes this is where we are considering. It'll be close to the office and so forth.

 

[Lanick]

Yes this is where we are considering. It'll be close to the office and so forth.

Ok then. You can’t live just anywhere you like in BsAs with kids. I’d recommend Nordelta as it’d be very convenient with 3 kids. It’s a gated community made up of gated barrios with security and full of amenities. Most houses have pools. Big garden. Two of the best hospitals in the country are there as well. Very very safe area. Nice schools. Rents are around usd 2000 plus the monthly expenses. Rent amount may go up but very unlikely to go below 2000. Life became very expensive in Argentina. You have to be making at least usd 5000 to have a good (not great) life. Let me know if you need anything.

 

[jorisw]

> You can’t live just anywhere you like in BsAs with kids

I'd be interested in seeing this elaborated. I'm in a building at Scalabrini Ortiz in the middle of Palermo and the building is full of kids; babies and toddlers mostly.

 

[Rich One]

Key issues.

• Bilingual Schools for children nearby ?
• Commute time to work for Parents ?
• Near public transport or need car ?

The rest can be solved.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

I have wife and 2 kids, 1 goes to private school other is a baby.
Live in a house in Northern suburbs that I bought so don't pay rent.
Approx summary of my monthly fixed costs in pesos.
School - 600,000
Expensas (sort of like homeowner fees) - 300,000 pesos.
Electricity bill - 150,000 pesos
Car insurance - 130,000 pesos
Health Insurance - for family 500,000 pesos.
Internet - 20,000 pesos
Cleaner 2 x a week - 200,000 pesos a month.
So that's approx. 2,000,000. before I've done anything.

Depending on where you choose to live you may or may not need to have a car but if you want to live in a house with a garden you're not going to find that in the city for anything like $1500 USD/month, which means you'll need a car, or maybe 2 cars. So need to factor that in to you decision making.

Food prices have gone up a lot, I don't really watch what I'm spending but I'd say I'm spending on average $300-400USD a week on food maybe more, bear in mind this includes all sorts of things that you may or may not buy. Beer and wine for instance...

If you want to go out and eat for the 5 of you, you're looking at absolute minimum of $100k pesos.

No idea what your current situation is at home or what kind of standard of living you are used to so hard to say how much you would need to be "comfortable", but it's certainly not cheap here.

I'd say take what you're living on wherever you are in the world as a baseline, and use that, add +20% for all the heartache of moving here in the first place and go from there.

.

 

[Lanick]

I have been living in Las Canitas and Collegiales most of the time. Now I got kids, we moved to Nordelta. Would I live in Nordelta without kids? No way! But it’s a different story with kids. First of all it’s extremely safe. You don’t lock your car or door. Our windows are always open during summer. Leave the bike outside. It’s right on the water and all the communities have a riverside area to stroll along with your kids. All the houses have big gardens. Kids can roam around freely and safely. Go to their friends on their bikes, you don’t worry. Traffic is strictly regulated within Nordelta. No speeding or anything dangerous. You got tennis courts, gyms in most barrios. Easy access to CABA. 30 minutes drive after the rush hours or you can take the train from Tigre or Pacheco. There are a few reputable international schools. I wouldn’t live in BsAs. But if I have to it’ll be Nordelta. Extremely safe!!

 

[FrankPintor]

> You can’t live just anywhere you like in BsAs with kids

I'd be interested in seeing this elaborated. I'm in a building at Scalabrini Ortiz in the middle of Palermo and the building is full of kids; babies and toddlers mostly.

Basically, all of the neighbourhoods bordering Av. Santa Fe and Libertadores north from Tribunales, including Recoleta, Palermo, Belgrano, Colegiales, (collectively known as Barrio Norte) are full of families. You don't need a car, you'll probably find almost everything you need with a radius of 3 blocks of your apartment. The tradeoff is that you won't have too much space, but then there are lots of parks to go to in the evenings. Just watch out for the noise (mostly traffic), stay away from main roads and stay away from bus stops.

Further north, for a bit more space, you can look at Villa Urquiza, Nuñez, Olivos, in these areas houses are also available. Leaving the city to the north you have barrios cerrados, country clubs, and the like. Nordelta has generated some negative headlines for being a party area, upscale though it may be. There are lots of other gated communities in the Maschwitz / Escobar / Campana area, some with access to the delta, and also lots around Pilar; transport becomes an issue with those, but you will most likely have a house with a big garden and privacy. Uber is not necessarily a solution in these areas, the drivers are fed up with losing 20-30 mins to gate controls and 20kmh limits inside the barrios.

 

[steveinbsas]

In reply to this:

Hello. Where in Argentina? Buenos Aires?

Candiz wrote this:

Yes this is where we are considering. It'll be close to the office and so forth.

It would be helpfull to know where the office is located. Then other members will be able to share information regarding the cost of renting the desired four bedroom house, if any, are available in that area.