Newcomer beginning to have doubts

[nicoenarg]

Sue, all of these are great suggestions. Here is my summary - if you do your homework, you educate yourself on the plus' and minus' of BsAs, and have some experience travelling and/or living outside of the US you can have an AWSOME time here! If not, you could end up having a bad experience and that would be a shame.

That too is a big IF though. I have lived in 3 different countries with various differences and this is the fourth one (yeah, not that impressive but still) and I have travelled all around the world. Sometimes you just don't like a place where you move to.

Like others are suggesting, come here on a visit and stay here not like a tourist but as though you live here on a permanent basis. You know, groceries, cell phone connections, government offices, the whole nine yards.

If you don't like it then, leave, if you do like the challenges this country has to offer (along with plenty of stuff to enjoy) then make this your home.

If you're already having doubts, I would say be very cautious.

I used to read this forum and ignore all the warnings and now I wish I hadn't.

 

[jb5]

I think the biggest issue is whether you can bring significant dollars. It is expensive to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle on a teaching salary unless you can supplement it with more than SS.

 

[Gringoboy]

Sue, don't even think about sign language. It's prehistoric and you're likely to get ripped off.
Learn at least some rudimentary Spanish before you arrive, which will put you in a much stronger position.

 

[gpop]

I don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings, however there is huge age discriminiation problem here when it comes to employment. Take a look at the employment ads, even for professional positions such as lawyers, accountants, etc. They all list an age range. Here when you are over 45 it's very difficult to find employnent While being an english teacher is probably more flexible with age since you probably will be working independently, don't be surprised if you get turned down by institutes for employment.

Right!
Look, I've been here a long time and have much experience in my field both here and in Canada, and speak English, French, and Spanish; but once I hit 40... let's just say, I got laid off 3 days before my 40th and it's been well over 10 months of nothing. Phantom interviews or complete disregard once they see the age.
Severance pay and savings and have all been consumed, with little to no promise for further employment despite the thousands of CV's sent out.
Over the last 10 months I have one prospect (with a multinational company) that I got as far as the 5th interview. The rest, I'm afraid, were an utter waste of time.
I am not putting my faith in any company, nor do I intend to depend on any company from now on. In the last 10 months I've also been putting a lot of my efforts into my own endeavors; that is to say, starting "my own thing" without officially calling it a "thing"... for now, I'm just a talent seeking patrons.

Be careful. This is not a place that is kind to people over 40. The bottom line is that we cost more and that doesn't meet with local or multinational [company(s)] bottom lines. Everything that was/is normal in [insert country here], goes right out the window in Argentina. I am not exaggerating.

 

[Davidglen77]

Right!
Be careful. This is not a place that is kind to people over 40. The bottom line is that we cost more and that doesn't meet with local or multinational [company(s)] bottom lines. Everything that was/is normal in [insert country here], goes right out the window in Argentina. I am not exaggerating.

I recently started working for a company that is US based, but has operations here in Argentina. It took me about 6 months to find this job, many many interviews, offers of companies asking me to start on a "trial basis" for free, and several of those were after multiple interviews. And I have a college deree, 20 years work experience in banking, technology, I am fully bilingual, etc. I am very thankful to the powers that be have found this job. We have an AWESOME manager here who is intelligent and open minded and a pleasure to work with. Prior to this I was a business owner and for those who have followed me over the past 5 years, know what I went through. I very very much miss having my own business, but am too scared of the corruption in Buenos Aires to think about that. I may do it again one day, but with a whole different mindset and plan.

 

[MB Beagle]

You’re NUTS Sweetheart.
Wake up from your dream. Before you liquidate all your shiny American possessions at a ‘Yard Sale’ and move to Buenas Aires, think about what you are trying to do. Is this what you really want? Live in a big dirty South American city and teach English to locals? America gets a bad rap but it has to be light years ahead and heaps better off than this sinking country.



Teaching English here is not profitable. Unless you are working for a UNI or a wealthy international firm that is training their employees, it would be difficult to live comfortably. This job is usually supplied by 20 somethings who are seeking experience for future education accreditation or nomadic backpackers who believe that speaking English to locals can subsidize their bohemian traveling lifestyle. Either way, market is saturated and the money is chenchy.



Speaking the local language is beneficial. If you are from Arizona should I be surprised you are not fluent? Regardless, learning the basics or having a local friend will certainly be helpful. Unfortunately, for you, once the locals do realized you are a foreigner, price gouging will occur. Having the cash to combat this annoyance is costly but not as entertaining as pitching fits, cursing in English and storming out of the establishments.



Carrying extra cash is also convenient while being robbed. As a foreigner in a third world country, you are rich, not likely to resist confrontation nor report the matter to the comical Police Farce. Robbery is a tax on the rich so always carry a fairly recent touch phone on you in case you do run out of cash. This will make the tax collector happy and you will not have to pray that you don’t bleed out on a broken sidewalk surrounded by trash and unreadable graffiti.


Dealing with the confusing, inefficient, corrupt Argentinean government bureaucracy can be a challenge to ones sanity but the ordeal of importing three cats into this country amounts to a full on, self inflicted torture test. I am sure you love your little kitties and want so much to share with them the dream you are having but they are cats. Replaceable pet animals.



Before you find yourself with less than you already have, go get a fourth cat. The moniker Crazy Cat Lady is easier to live down amongst friends and family than Crazy Lady Who at 65 Moved Herself (and Three Cats) to Buenas Aires Hoping To Teach English.

 

[nicoenarg]

You’re NUTS Sweetheart.
Wake up from your dream. Before you liquidate all your shiny American possessions at a ‘Yard Sale’ and move to Buenas Aires, think about what you are trying to do. Is this what you really want? Live in a big dirty South American city and teach English to locals? America gets a bad rap but it has to be light years ahead and heaps better off than this sinking country.



Teaching English here is not profitable. Unless you are working for a UNI or a wealthy international firm that is training their employees, it would be difficult to live comfortably. This job is usually supplied by 20 somethings who are seeking experience for future education accreditation or nomadic backpackers who believe that speaking English to locals can subsidize their bohemian traveling lifestyle. Either way, market is saturated and the money is chenchy.



Speaking the local language is beneficial. If you are from Arizona should I be surprised you are not fluent? Regardless, learning the basics or having a local friend will certainly be helpful. Unfortunately, for you, once the locals do realized you are a foreigner, price gouging will occur. Having the cash to combat this annoyance is costly but not as entertaining as pitching fits, cursing in English and storming out of the establishments.



Carrying extra cash is also convenient while being robbed. As a foreigner in a third world country, you are rich, not likely to resist confrontation nor report the matter to the comical Police Farce. Robbery is a tax on the rich so always carry a fairly recent touch phone on you in case you do run out of cash. This will make the tax collector happy and you will not have to pray that you don’t bleed out on a broken sidewalk surrounded by trash and unreadable graffiti.


Dealing with the confusing, inefficient, corrupt Argentinean government bureaucracy can be a challenge to ones sanity but the ordeal of importing three cats into this country amounts to a full on, self inflicted torture test. I am sure you love your little kitties and want so much to share with them the dream you are having but they are cats. Replaceable pet animals.



Before you find yourself with less than you already have, go get a fourth cat. The moniker Crazy Cat Lady is easier to live down amongst friends and family than Crazy Lady Who at 65 Moved Herself (and Three Cats) to Buenas Aires Hoping To Teach English.

Hear, hear!

Wow, I was trying to be polite in my posts but this above post is just spot on and awesome!

 

[Its_not_me]

I can vouch for the huge age discrimination. My part time girlfriend just got a job at a YPF gas station. She just turned 30, if she had been 31 she would not have gotten the job. They checked her DNI 10 times with 3 different people doing the math to make sure she was not 31. 3500 pesos a month

 

[surfing]

Sue (the OP) has either vanished or we have scared her away.

 

[steveinbsas]

It is an adventure for sure. Do it. You will never know until you try. You can always go back...

Cats should not be a big concern. Working might be harder. You can learn enough Spanish while you are here. Lots of expats here that barely speak Spanish.

I wonder how anyone could ever expect to find an Argentine owner of a furnished apartment that would rent to anyone with three cats, even if they were declawed and spayed or neutered. It's doubtful an expat property owner who didn't want to sell out or be here would rent to a tricat owner, either.

The cost of bringing three cats to Argentina would entail paying for carrier(s), updated vaccinations, international health certificates, and the airfares. If the health certificates are not also "authenticated" by an Argentine consulate there is a chance of having to pay even more upon arrival in Argentina. I know from experience (with my dog in 2006), though this hasn't happened to everyone.

Gary is right about one thing: you can always go back..and if you read the posts by twoguysfromPM you can see how much you will pay for that priviledge (as far as your cats are concerned). Even if you returned in less than a month you would have to pay all the fees to get your cats out of the country...as well as the additional airfares.


Those who have posted about age and jobs made great points. Those who try to teach English to private clients usually spend a great deal of their time getting from one client to the next. Some might be able to teach at home, but its less likely, and racing all over BA to make less money than it costs to live in BA doesn't sound like much fun for a 65 year old woman. I don't think there are many expats of any age who are "successfully" teaching English without knowing how to speak Spanish.

Paying 20-30% more for almost everything on an annual basis (provided inflation doesn't get worse) may drain your financial resources and seriously affect your standard of living. Fees and taxes can increase by 80-300% without warning. Just look what happend to the cost of getting a cat out of the country in the past year or the cost of resident visas , the overstay fee, or the income requirement for temporary residency. You may not be directly subject to some of them (property taxes), but one way or another they will be passed down to you as the final consumer.

And sometime in the next two or three years the Argentine governemnt could become much stricter about enforcing the existing immigration regulations and give foreigners 30 days to "regularize" their status or get out. It has already happened to a few. If Sue "moves" to BA to live for two years, meeting the requisites for year roud residency are also something to consider.

Of course this thread may have been started by a 27 year old phoney living in his parents' basement, but if the first post is sincere, I hope the OP will heed the warnings and think about going somewhere else.

Thought I personally wouldn't want to live in the tropics again, I wonder about Puerto Rico as an option to experience a different cluture (if not a foreign country). I think one of today's posters (in another thread) is either from or has spent significant time there. Perhaps he has some advice for Sue.