Relocating in the next 6 months...

[BKK to BA]

I just moved to BsAs last month after living in Thailand for the previous 5 years.After reading your posts I think you are in for a big shock here.It isnt a cheap place to live by any stretch of the imagination.

The advice others have given you thus far as has pretty much been spot on.Electronics here are quite expensive.The rental situation here is a scam.Without a DNI you have to pickup a temp rental and those are way overpriced because the owners know we have no other option.If you do decide to live in a hostel,how are you going to use that laptop of yours...not many offering free WiFi id imagine,not to mention it would get ripped in a heartbeat.
As far as finding a job goes...I recently posted a job offering for a bilingual assistant to help me part time,a few hours a week tops.I received several hundred replies,many of which came from people with a degree.I was shocked at how over qualified some of these people were applying for a job that requires you to order pizza for me!
Which segues well into the next topic...not much English is spoken here,not that you cant learn Spanish while youre here but if you dont know the language,dont know the system,dont have much $ to begin with I think your life here will be quite miserable.

If youre looking to go somewhere outside the US,I may recommend you consider Asia,namely Thailand or Korea.Tons of folks teaching English there and its not hard to get a small apartment for 100usd a month.

And the locals are friendlier too...

Good luck!

 

[cassiem13]

Hi Alaine,
I don't think you're crazy. I think you have a lot of research to do, but I don't think you're crazy. I moved here in September of last year with a one-way ticket, about U$4000 in the bank, and no job lined up. I do have my bachelor's degree (in graphic design), and I got my TESOL certification before I came, so I'm able to teach English. I have been paying my bills (student loans and debt from college) while I've been here, and I've had a spattering of design work from old clients in the States, which has given me a hundred bucks here and there. That's been helpful for my bills I'm paying in dollars, but I don't think I've taken money out of the ATM since October.

I (LUCKILY) found a job during my first week here, teaching English. You're right, people won't even want to talk to you til you get here, and even then it can be a slow process. I also have a freelance writing job that helps a lot (here, paid in pesos).

I've lived in 4 different apartments in 7 months, and am finally in one that is comfortable, although it's nothing fancy... it's a large 5 bedroom, and there are 6 of us (all mid-20s, from all over the world, mostly Spanish speakers), although the place is HUGE, so it hardly feels like that many people. I pay $1200 pesos per month for my own room... and I had to search hard for a deal that was affordable but still livable, and trust me, I saw some iiiinteresting places.

Finding a job is NOT easy (I got very lucky!), but if you're willing to teach English, it will be a lot easier. Most places require a TESOL certificate, though, so I'd recommend doing that. You'll work hard, and make just enough to live, but like I said, I haven't tapped my savings since October, I'm completely self-sufficient, and have even saved a little.. I'm also VERY frugal. I think, including rent, I live on between $2000 to $2500 (pesos) per month — closer to the higher end, usually. No shopping, pre-drinking when I do go out, cooking at home, mostly, etc.

I also left an emergency U$1000 with my parents in California, although I'm hoping to not need it, of course. I still have about U$2000 in savings, but the bills at home are draining that. I'm trying (so far, unsuccessfully) to open a bank account so the little I save each month can go to help pay those bills at home; transferring it each month sounds costly. We'll see, though.

Finding legal work is difficult, and from my understanding, most English teaching jobs don't REQUIRE you to have a work visa. If you can find a job that will help you get one, all the better, but don't hold your breath. I somehow managed to get my CUIT (independent contractor's) number with just my passport. Developing country bureaucracy...

I love the culture here. My Spanish was decent before I came, and it's gotten worlds better, so it helps to be able to communicate. I'm not sure how it'd be if I didn't speak Spanish, but if you can adapt easily to situations and are optimistic, I'd be inclined to say you'll like it here. I've actually never met anyone who didn't like it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared to go home if you DON'T like it, as that can always happen.

I feel like you've been met with a bit of hostility on here, which to me, seems a bit out of the norm. Your original post was a bit naive, yes, and like I said, you still have a lot of research to do. But I don't think you're crazy. Just know what you're getting into. If you have any other questions, let me know.

Oh, and I also have friends who live at hostels for free, in exchange for work (manning the desk for X hours per week, etc.). I prefer an apt, but that's just me. And YES, listen to the others' advice. A "rundown" place here is MUCH worse than a "rundown" place at home. BA is still very much developing, don't forget that. Also, def. buy all electronics before coming here.

 

[emilyr]

I don’t think these people are giving you advice along the lines of living like a wealthy queen. They are right. A lot of expats are retired or otherwise able to live really well here; I find them intriguing, interesting, and nice…but I am not one of them. OJO. You might be reading an old edition of a travel guide. My eyes were starry once, too, about what seemed the cost of living here. Your budget numbers are way off, especially for housing! There are also things that are categorically different from the US economy in the Argentine economy you may be taking for granted.

I have been washing my clothes in the BATHTUB for crissakes for the last, oh, 7 months, until we recently got together the plata for a lavasecarropas. Albeit, this doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I think it is pretty awesome. So I can talk to you about a budget. In fact, my recent “telecommute” job was writing a personal finance program. Still, I don’t splurge on safety – meaning not that I live in a nice neighborhood but I don’t live in a conventillo (basically a place with hundreds of people and no doors) or villa.

I have a very small apartment with the boyfriend. Split between the two of us, it’s $150USD per person BUT we have a garante which you WON’T be able to get, basically a real estate-owner IN Buenos Aires to CO-SIGN a 2 year lease with you. There are plenty of Argentines who pay less because they signed contracts 10 or 20 years ago. The best house share I could find alone was $300 USD, though a gal from New York I met shared a room with a girl for $220 USD or so. All my cheap, bohemian-like expat friends who speak fluent Spanish can’t seem to get below $210-250 in a share.

MONTHLY BUDGET for an ARGENTINE FRUGALITE, which is on top of the 100s of dollars already calculated one you get here. ($24 is the cheapest you'll get from the airport because it is unlikely you will manage the 8 bus ---and it is NOT safe with lots of luggage. + 131 entry, etc.)

*APARTMENT: $220USD –the absolute best you can strive for reasonably sharing a ratty room with a stranger, particularly if you don’t expect to buy your own bed, oven, table, fork, chair, etc.
*FOOD monthly for one, all cooked at home (NO processed foods all about 4x the cost, with a couple splurges on $4 USD peanut butter and tahini, NO MEAT, all frugal vegetarian i.e. not the specialized soy products, instead dried beans and rice etc): $120USD (Trust me I am a master from-scratch cook. You won’t get it much lower unless you eat no vegetables and only rice. Plus, if you are hoping to pay really cheap housing, good luck not having to buy a $15 crappy cooking pot and a spoon on top of it.)
*1 meal out a month at a common, common restaurant: $9 USD
*5 bottles of cheap wine/month at HOME: $15 USD
*Laundry Soap for washing your clothes in buckets: $7 USD - (Don't forget, buckets are about $4 a piece up front.)
*Transportation: $25/month. NO $3-7 TAXIS, only bus and subway, at 1.10-1.25 in the city, you can visit >1.5 pesos per day on this budget. If you have 4 hours a day, you can walk there and back to many more; just don’t do that in La Boca.
*Various unpredictables ($5 ATM fee for once withdrawal a month by ARGENTINE bank, medicine, internet use home or locutorio or café, small souveneirs, one household cleaning supply): $40 USD
*OUT FOR DRINKS: $0; you can’t afford it.
I assume you won’t need or be paying health insurance.

MONTHLY TOTAL: $436USD

I would say your ONLY OPTION would be to live, not just bathtub clothes washing cheap-frugal but super duper bohemian—which means you will have to dump the laptop most likely. If you really want to do this thing, pack light, take no valuables more than a cheap camera maybe you are willing to lose and a few USBs to back up the photos if you plan not to do so online, a camping cook set. You could try couch-surfing. That might be your only hope/option for a few months at your budget until you find some kind of work which still most likely will not cover your expenses. Otherwise, save a couple more thousand.

I would not tell you that it’s not worth it if you are young and especially have a parent to wire you money when you come up short. It’s totally worth it.

I did the same thing you want to do just with more cash. I stayed at a hostel and even after the first couple of nights moved to the room with TWELVE people, which did have free wi-fi and relatively safe. Again, I didn’t mind it, but I point it out to show it was the cheapest option in the hostel. Cost? About $11 USD per night, cheap but that totals to $333 USD a month.

Even if you do one day find your “dream job,” meaning I assume not cleaning houses or waitressing but working in some kind of profession, the salary will not be what you expect. Some of the sharpest young Argentine students in my Facultad in their 20s and 30s in good, professional jobs in international companies in Argentina did not make more than $600-$700 USD. It is very unlikely, like less than one in a thousand, you will get one of those jobs without a work visa unless you already have said dream job in the States right now, on your resume.

I would say you have two choices if you don't expect to be constantly bailed out by parents because of irresponsible planning, which is just lame…
1.You want to get “established” here. You need ABSOLUTELY need to bring things with you, like a laptop, electronics, even some household goods, a couple nice professional outfits. But then you gotta be safe. You need a couple more thousand dollars AT LEAST.
2.OR you want to have a six month bohemian trip, packing light, enjoying your time hanging out and working.
Either choice is valid. Suerte.

 

[mariposa]

are you reall that naive, or are you putting us all on ??

it's got to be the latter.

 

[Katie]

Alaine,

A lot of these topics have been touched on, but not enough. First of all, I'm assuming you don't speak Spanish (since you mention learning a new language). I would dedicate at least a month in the U.S. to learning the basics. Get some audio books or Rosetta stone program. Speaking Spanish is going to make finding a job a lot easier.
As for finding said job- you wrote that you're planning on looking once you get here. That makes sense since you can't interview from the U.S. but I would highly advise doing a lot of research into jobs/companies before leaving. Send out your Argentine style CV in Spanish and English with an introductory email explaining your plans. Even if you are applying for English speaking jobs I would write the email in Spanish and have a Spanish CV (unless the job is for an American/European company). The reason is because you never know who is first going to read the email, ie a secretary or assistant who doesn't speak English. I spent a few months doing this before I moved here. I got a lot of "let us know when you get here" replies which helped me form a short list of places to call once I arrived and helped me weed out the scams and dead ends.
Also, keep in mind that you will be entering on a tourist visa that lasts 3 months. If you want to renew it you will have to pay 300 pesos or leave the country (search this forum for opinions on that issue). That's another cost you may need to factor in, especially if you're looking to eventually get a work visa.
Finally, do your blog research. There are a ton of blogs written by youngish Americans/Europeans who have done exactly what you want to do. They often show a more current look at what life is really like in BA for someone who doesn't have a ton of money. Search around this forum or just start googling. Blogs are also a good way of making contacts and you never know who might have a good lead on a job or a cheap apartment.

Good luck with everything!

 

[Katie]

One more point: somwhere along this thread hostel/tourism industry jobs were mentioned. I have a friend that is in her final year of a tourism/hotel degree in BA. She's fluent in 3 languages and is working on a 4th. She's been looking for a job at a hostel or hotel for over a year. I don't know too much about the industry but it looks like it's pretty hard to break into.