Moving to BA next year- need some practical tips!

[AHansen]

Hi, my name's Alyssa and I will be moving to BA early next year. I would appreciate practical advice on "how-to's" for completing all necessary paperwork (DNI, visa?, job permit?). I previously lived in BA for a year while attending Torcuato di Tella and doing research so I know a bit about the city already. I am currently living and working in Washington, DC, but would like to network to find a job in the microfinance/finance sector in Argentina. I'd also like to meet cool people to hang out with once I'm there. I speak Spanish but need to improve it to reach a professional level for the workplace.
Hope to connect with some awesome expats!

 

[fred mertz]

Make sure that you bring at least twice as much money as you had planned.
Make sure that you have a lot of patience.
If I were you I'd reconsider. As a pessimist, I'd say that you chances of getting a job in your field would be less than ZERO. As an optimist, I say that your chances of getting that job would be about ZERO.

 

[jayjane]

I second those comments. BA is not for the faint of heart. It is very difficult to find a good job here and legit ones will likely want you to be working en blanco. It is much more difficult than anywhere I have lived before. There is a lot of competition too which many people don´t realize before coming (even people that have been here before). Many Argentines are well-educated as I am sure you know from attending university. Speaking like a native would help. I also hope you have a lot of savings at your disposition. You´ll probably need ´em. Just paying rent will likely be fairly expensive since you will likely be renting at ¨foreigner rates¨ without a garantia. Renting a room somewhere may be a viable option. Time the DNI/residency paperwork right otherwise you may end up having to retrieve documents from abroad which is difficult or, you may experience a lot of delays in the process. You have time to get most of the documents you would need for residency before you come down.

I forgot to ask. Are you eligible for residency here?

 

[jb5]

From what I've seen there are companies, Argentine and multi nationals, hiring educated foreigners in BA. Ours is one, though we hire software developers.

My advice is to secure the job before you come and to be prepared for the very low salaries most companies will offer you. Read the threads on this board written by those, young Americans, who've recently been hired for 5K pesos/mo and wondering how they'll live on that.

Being in Baires as a student is quite different than living here as a young professional, so just make sure you take a hard look at the reality.

For some professions like engineering/software development you can live relatively well. For most, and I don't know about yours, you'd live much better in the states.

If you've not been to Baires in over a year, you'll be shocked by current prices. Good luck!

 

[xtrasback]

offtopic

From what I've seen there are companies, Argentine and multi nationals, hiring educated foreigners in BA. Ours is one, though we hire software developers.

Who do you work for ? Are they currently hiring ? PM please so we don't hijack this thread.

 

[jb5]

Don't want to hijack thread but any software developers looking for jobs in BA can PM me or email [email protected].

 

[Xeneizes]

I am leaving for Buenos Aires in 2 days to take a job in business consulting specializing in market intelligence. Myself and a few other Americans who recently graduated from good schools in the US are going. If you are interested PM me and maybe I can send your resume to my employer.

I am also the student the above is referring to making 5000 pesos/month, haha. I i'll be alright, but it's a far cry for the salary i was set to make in the US

 

[xtrasback]

Well if it doesn't work out for ya, you can always go back ..

 

[steveinbsas]

Hi, my name's Alyssa and I will be moving to BA early next year. I would appreciate practical advice on "how-to's" for completing all necessary paperwork (DNI, visa?, job permit?). !

The job comes first...then the visa...then the DNI.

I agree that finding a job in the microfinance/finance sector in Argentina would be tough. Your chances will improve if you can find an employer in the US who wants to send you to work in Argentina, but those assignments rarely go to the newly hired.

 

[withersdavis]

Try to get a job before, but if you can't don't let that get to you. BA is a great city to live in - I love it here. Finding a job may be hard, but if you work hard at it you can probably find something. Yes it is getting expensive, and yes it can be frustrating sometimes, but it is a great experience.

You probably should plan on living on savings until you get settled. There are ways to live cheaply in this city, but they take some time to figure out.

Once you get here there is a great support structure in the expat community. There are thousands of us here, and that really helps get settled.

Ohh - and I'd say don't worry about the visa stuff. It is very common for people to live here for years on tourist visas.