NYC to Buenos Aires - question on cost of living

[zmr]

Hi all - I'm contemplating a move to Buenos Aires in January. I have a job lined up that pays 10,000 pesos per month and I have about $US40k in savings to help me through tough times. The company is sponsoring my DNI and taking care of everything. But, my question is, is 10,000 pesos per month considered a good salary? I would be giving up a job that pays more than 5 times that amount, but my expenses are also considerably higher living in Manhattan.

Any advice on how far 10,000 pesos per month will go would be appreciated. I'm willing to give up the money but don't want to sacrifice too much of my standard of living, i.e. I like having a nice apartment and I don't think twice about going out to dinner or taking a taxi when I feel like it.

I should also say that I envision being able to get a cheaper "local" rent because I will have a DNI, my company will give me a garantia, and if all else fails my boyfriend is a local and can negotiate on my behalf. I'm told the salary is also adjusted periodically to keep up with inflation, but rising inflation and potential for further devaluation of the peso are big fears.

I'm a single female, mid 20's, so I don't have a family to support with this salary. I really love Buenos Aires and at this point the only thing holding me back from accepting the job is the money...

Any thoughts/advice?

Thanks!

 

[MizzMarr]

10,000 is a very good salary to support a single person. Combined with your savings as back-up and the additional help of your employer should make this an easy enough decision for you. If your boyfriend is a local all the better, and of course if you don't like it once you're here you can always sell your things (easy) and move back to NYC. There have been some recent threads talking about cost of living and salary (such as this one: http://baexpats.org/expat-life/15675-job-offer-buenos-aires.html and this one: http://baexpats.org/newcomers-forum/15817-want-expat-hungry-knowledge.html) have a lot of information if you take the time to read through them and sift through any drama. Best of luck!

 

[deeve007]

10,000 and being able to get local rental price with employer's garantia, you'll live very well.

 

[marksoc]

10,000 for one person and local-level rent, you are practically in the high-class category (at least middle-high).

 

[jb5]

Nice apartment by what standard? Where do you live in NYC and what's your rent?

Nice, by say the average Upper East Side standard, a 2 bedroom in a nice enough building, not on 5th or Park, which translates to Recoleta or better parts of Palermo, can easily cost all of that 10K pesos even with a guarantia. $2500 US dollars gets you pretty nice, but nothing luxurious by American standards. A $5K NYC apartment costs $2500-$3000 in BA. A $2500 walk up will cost $1000 US.

Then you need to furnish your apartment and decent furniture is not easy to come by or cheap in Argentina. Electronics and kitchen equipment cost much more here. Shipping from the US is expensive and a big job. You may want a furnished place which usually puts you in the expensive tourist housing market. The best deal is to buy if you plan on staying.

Really upscale is a fraction of NYC prices, a big mansion for $10K/mo that would cost $30K in NY, but they're not giving away the nice (clean and updated with a decent kitchen) housing a fussy NYer would want for low prices.

Next, will you be seeking NYC quality restaurants? There are few, those that try aren't NY prices, but they are much more than many think--over $100 US for 2 and going up quickly.

You'll save a lot on house cleaning and laundry, but groceries and casual meals will be about the same cost in both places on average.

$10K pesos is a strong local salary, but Argentines want much less than most Americans. Even 3 years ago you could have lived very well on $10K pesos, but BA is not cheap now.

 

[Barney]

1500 dollar a month should get you a really nice furnished appartment, with a garantia about 1000 dollar.

That leaves about 125 peso a day to spend, you should be fine with that

 

[dani28]

$10K pesos is a strong local salary, but Argentines want much less than most Americans. Even 3 years ago you could have lived very well on $10K pesos, but BA is not cheap now.

I think this is the key statement. It depends on the kind of lifestyle that you are used to. The typical Upper East Side NYC nice does not always neccesarily translate into the typical Recoleta nice. In the US people are used to everything on a larger scale and consume much more than in Argentina and feel like they ¨need to have¨ more things than the typical Argentinian I know.

To give you an idea of some salaries, an Argentine friend who is a new, fresh out of university attorney makes 6.000 pesos a month. Another friend who is a flight attendant for Aerolineas Argentinas makes 5.500 pesos a month. Another one who is a receptionist for a finance company makes 3.500 pesos a month. And I have read on this board of somebody's PORTERO (doorman) allegedly earning 6.000 pesos a month plus free rent in the building, so as you can see, the ranges are quite differing. I have had some interviews for some marketing management positions that pay around 8.000-10.000 a month and the recruiter/HR person as well as friends who I have told, have made it sound like that is an unusually high salary for this market.

 

[Barney]

Your lawyer friend won't make 6000 peso(take-home pay that is) unless he got some friends in high place. Your flight attented friend will only make 5500 peso if she works a lot of hours

 

[davonz]

As for wage increases covering inflation i very much doubt it.. Have local friends who got wage increases last year... one a teacher in a school for rich expats kids got 17%, another who works in a book shop 10%, another who is a lawyer 15%.. a friend of a friend has said he got 25% increase, but he is an economist with a international bank.. all said that it didnt cover the increase in their costs... i think inflation is around 30% to 35% going by food prices - my biggest cost after rent, others think it is lower.. but all do agree it is alot higher than what the gov says - 9% last year from memory..

 

[Philsword]

Sorry but this doesn't sound real. Who in their right mind would take a 80% pay cut from their current employer to take a foreign assignment, in my experience this isn't how the world works.