Moving To Ba From Canada

[CanaCroat]

Hi everyone!

I'm new here! I'm from Vancouver and looking to move to Buenos Aires within the next year (I don't have an exact date yet as I'm trying to be prepared as possible before I commit to the ticket.)

I'm hoping to teach English (I have a TESOL certificate) although I've heard that it can be a challenge to find teaching jobs. Eventually my goal is to find work within the NGO arena (I have a degree in Peace & Conflict studies). However, I am quite open to other jobs and living in other regions, and once comfortable enough, even outside of Argentina.

My Spanish is quite basic, I have a beginner class under my belt and am currently taking some online courses, I can understand enough to get by, but conversing is still something I'm working on. How big of an issue is language going to be? Also, I'm speak near fluent in Croatian, but I'm not sure if that's worth anything? Hah

I'm just a little nervous, a good nervous. But, I'm looking forward to doing something different and challenging myself... From what I understand I can do the 3 month visas by leaving and re-entering the country, but I would imagine trying to work with that visa is next to impossible. And, if I'm lucky enough to find an English teaching job then I can get a work visa covered?
For living, I've heard I would have to pay cash up front for any rentals...sometimes for the duration of the stay? Is this normal, risky? Or would it be better to live in a househare or hostel for the early days?

Any general guidance and advice that might be of use would be very much appreciated!!
Cheers!
~A

 

[Girino]

I don't think you will do much with Croatian skills, but never say never... My guess is that translating HR>EN online would be more lucrative than teaching English, or you could complement the two!

There is much competition as far as English teaching jobs go, and they will hardly sponsor you for a VISA, unless you choose to teach at a bilingual school (maybe you could teach geography or history), but the school year starts in late Feb/early March, so keep this in mind.


You will definitely need to sort some practical issues out before actually getting here, especially the "how do I make my ends meet" part - this forum will be helpful to this regard. But in order to put a strategy in place, you should think about 1) why you are coming here 2) how long you plan on staying here 3) how much money saved you will be taking with you 4) what kind of lifestyle you are aiming at.

If you are just here for "an experience" for a few months, I wouldn't even bother about sorting your tourist status, as long as you don't plan to travel frequently outside Argentina.

About Spanish, get ready for some big surprise: you will need Spanish, a lot. And you will need to get used to the Argentinian Spanish, which is quite offsetting at first if you are studying on regular Spanish audio tapes! Watch videos of Argentinian speakers on YouTube to get an idea, maybe find a language buddy to converse with before making the move.


Good luck!

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Hi everyone!

I'm new here! I'm from Vancouver and looking to move to Buenos Aires within the next year (I don't have an exact date yet as I'm trying to be prepared as possible before I commit to the ticket.)

I'm hoping to teach English (I have a TESOL certificate) although I've heard that it can be a challenge to find teaching jobs. Eventually my goal is to find work within the NGO arena (I have a degree in Peace & Conflict studies). However, I am quite open to other jobs and living in other regions, and once comfortable enough, even outside of Argentina.

My Spanish is quite basic, I have a beginner class under my belt and am currently taking some online courses, I can understand enough to get by, but conversing is still something I'm working on. How big of an issue is language going to be? Also, I'm speak near fluent in Croatian, but I'm not sure if that's worth anything? Hah

I'm just a little nervous, a good nervous. But, I'm looking forward to doing something different and challenging myself... From what I understand I can do the 3 month visas by leaving and re-entering the country, but I would imagine trying to work with that visa is next to impossible. And, if I'm lucky enough to find an English teaching job then I can get a work visa covered?
For living, I've heard I would have to pay cash up front for any rentals...sometimes for the duration of the stay? Is this normal, risky? Or would it be better to live in a househare or hostel for the early days?

Any general guidance and advice that might be of use would be very much appreciated!!
Cheers!
~A

Most of the Croats are in Chile, and I don't think many of them speak Croatian any more.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

In fact, if there is no public translator of croatian, he can become one without studying the degree.

 

[Caashia]

I am from Vancouver, I just moved here 3 months ago and I play field hockey for a club team which I arranged to play with before I decided to come. I didn't speak a word of Spanish before I came down, however I felt pressured to learn quickly due to the fact that not many people speak English here, so now I am taking lessons. It's sometimes difficult not speaking the language, but I have really enjoyed being here. There are so many things to see and do and I love how social it is. It's the complete opposite from Vancouver. I was nervous as well before I came, but the less you worry the better. I found that all that worrying I did was for nothing because everything fell into place. The way society functions here makes planning a lost cause! haha. When I first came I stayed in an apt through airbnb, and then one of the girls from my team found a house to rent outside of capital. I think if you want to find a good deal on an apartment it's best if you know someone. I know in capital you can rent rooms in large apartments for a decent price, that can be found on craigslist. Please feel free to contact me, because perhaps I could help you find accommodation I know places that are available at towards the end of this year. I feel inclined, as we are from the same city! Hope all is well in Vancouver.

 

[CanaCroat]

Serfina thanks so much for the information!

Ckarr that's great news I'm glad to hear its been working out! Yes I'll send you a message, any help would be greatly appreciated! Are you planning on staying there for an extended period of time? Oh Vancouver, it's beautiful here right now, I'm definitely going to miss these summers!

 

[Caashia]

Yes I am here for a while.. and yes we have some good summer weather, but for only two months out of the year, it's not enough for me. It's sunny mostly everyday here no matter what the temperature is. The weather is better here I assure you, less rain and more sun!

 

[valergal]

I am an Argie but lived in Vancouver for more than a decade until I decided to move back home a few months ago. CanaCroat and Ckar let's stay in touch! I am happy to answer questions about life here. I am not sure about the specifics of teaching English but I am also interested in NGO and International Development jobs so perhaps we can share info. So far, i've only applied to a few remote jobs in the UN but nothing has come out. In regards to your visa, most people just come here with a tourist visa and cross the border to Uruguay or Chile every 3 months.

I am interested in staying in touch with people who travel to the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver, Seattle, especifically). I still have part of my life there as I lived there for so many years.

Cheers, Val

 

[K4RR4R]

Ha awesome, I'm from Vancouver too. Moved here about 6 months ago. Great to see there's more of us here.

CanaCroat - I don't think its tough to find English teaching jobs, but it is tough to find decent ones that pay enough to live on. If you work hard at it you'll be able to scrape by but make sure that's not your only source of income.

Learn as much Spanish as you can before you get here, and then keep taking classes here too to get comfortable with the local way of speaking. You'll need it.

Good luck! Feel free to get in touch.

 

[Noesdeayer]

Hi CanaCroat,
My attention was drawn to your post when I saw that you have a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies.Think about Conflict Resolution courses and workshops in English.With a change in gov't here in 2016, the market for these courses should open up again.I had an in-company English Instruction business here for 25 years that kind of died with Argentina's default in 2002.Please visit www.interfaceenglish.com to see the kind of courses and workshops I offer.One was specifically Conflict Resolution.You wouldn't really need Spanish for any of those types of courses.Let's hope that Argentina reconnects with the world again for everybody's sake. Please contact me when you arrive in the country.