Teaching in 2024. I am currently in Buenas Aires and interested to move here in February 2024, from Queensland, Australia. Advice?

[Caffeinated]

Makes a lot of sense now, thank you. Can't see the election outcome changing a thing (except maybe currency), but "wait & see" is a natural expectation. If evictions weren't so difficult I could see month-by-month leases (or short-term lease that rolls into monthly) being more popular, so long as rent could be gradually increased to keep up with inflation. But if AirBnB is popular, and there's no rules specific to that (limits, additional taxes, etc... now happening in many cities globally) then it gives flexibility and income, with the ability to change price or pull the property at any time.

 

[Macanudo]

Nah, CC is Caribbean Cool, the person who posted just above me. We often disagree, but he's right on the money this time.


One question. Are you currently teaching English online, yes or no? I'm guessing it's no. I get so sick of people who have no current experience of online teaching coming out with these BS "oh it's so easy, you can make good money" statements. Yes, it seems like I'm just being bad-tempered here, but I do suspect that the vast majority of those with actual recent experience feel at least somewhat the same way. Teaching English is a tough row to hoe, and most give up rather quickly.

And in any case, you Macanudo have been posting here long enough to know that a statement from 2021 means nothing in Argentina of 2023. The whole world has changed in the last two years, and Argentina has gotten much, much worse.

I'm sorry to hear that your experience living in Argentina has gotten worse in the last two years. I haven't had the same experience. The Milongas are back to normal, and I haven't noticed any significant negative changes in my daily life. Could that change in the near future? Yes indeed. When I was just dreaming of moving to Buenos Aires to dance tango, I frequently used to read these inspirational quotes by Henry David Thoreau: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!" "Live the life you've imagined." If the OP is interested in teaching English online, I suggest they sign up now and see if it is suitable employment to finance their tango dancing dream.

Approximately 90 percent of Engoo students are Japanese. Half or more of those students have high-paying jobs. Very rarely do you come across students who don't already speak advanced-level English. Most of them studied English for years in school, but most Japanese schools focus on reading and writing, not speaking and understanding the spoken language. You can open a time slot to give a class up until 15 minutes before the class begins. The classes are 25 minutes long, with three minutes to say goodbye. The instructor has to write a short evaluation letter at the end of the class and has 24 hours to send it to the student. If the student doesn't show up, the class is canceled after 15 minutes, but the instructor is still paid. Japan is 12 hours ahead of Argentina. On weekdays, core high booking rate hours are from 8 am to 11:30 am and from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Starting on Friday night until Sunday night, there is higher demand all night long. Critical slots with a 90%–100% booking rate are marked in red on the class scheduling page. Most of the classes consist of reading a daily news article or having a free conversation. If you decide to work for Engoo you will meet lots of amazing and interesting people.

 

[wrangler]

Argentina will be more enjoyable if you can earn in dollars. More than likely, in order for that to occur, you'll have to work for a foreign company, but it's doable. Plenty of people do it.

My suggestion would be, not look for a job here from a company that will employ you. The pay will likely be horrible. The average salary here is less than $400 a month if you use the current dollar blue (venta) exchange (As far as finding your own clients to teach, that may be doable, however,

 

[wrangler]

Argentina will be more enjoyable if you can earn in dollars. More than likely, in order for that to occur, you'll have to work for a foreign company, but it's doable. Plenty of people do it.

My suggestion would be, not look for a job here from a company that will employ you. The pay will likely be horrible. The average salary here is less than $400 a month if you use the current dollar blue (venta) exchange rate. As far as finding your own clients to teach English to, that may be doable, however, again, you're going to run into the same issue as being employed for a company. The major advantage would be that you're your own boss, and control your own schedule.

In regards to rental properties, here, yes it's a mess. The few properties that are on the market, are being offered in dollars, but the reality is, that there are no properties for rent hardly. Why? Because even with dollars, owners are facing problems. First of, there are no way near enough tenants to be able to pay in USD. Second, owners realize that they are likely not able to sustain paying that high either. Otherwise you would see the market flooded with properties for rent in USD, and you're not seeing that.

Tenants are looking for 3 things. Long term tenants that can pay on time, someone that won't destroy their property, and someone that won't be nagging them to come fix something every week. They are not looking for someone to pay them strictly in USD, because they know they will be facing a lot of issues.

I pay my rent in pesos, and it's structured where I get a rate increase every 6 months in pesos in accordance to the inflation for that period. For example, I just got my rent increased 65% for the next 6 months, and I am O.K with it, because that is the aproximate inflation we have had for the time period.
In regards to what happens in December with rental properties. Well, there is likely to be a re-structuring no matter who wins, Milei, Bullrich, or Masa. The fact is that the current situation is NOT sustainable.

As far as dollarizing Argentina, I highly doubt it will happen. Honestly, most big business is absolutely against it. Where are they going to get all the dollars to pay for the welfare that they give out here?? They won't be able to turn on the printer as they do now. Furthermore, dollarizing the country, won't solve any problems, even in USA, they are seeing inflation.

Dollarizing Argentina is not a silver bullet as Milei wants you to think. Just take a look at Panama, or Ecuador. They have had major economic trouble. Unfortunately, Milei has swindled the (disenchanted) Argentine public into thinking that he will fix everything, just by dollarizing the country and some other economic packages. Furthermore this nut job, wants to continue borrowing from the IMF. He will plunder Argentina into further debt no doubt. The result of this will be major economic disaster. I believe, should Milei win, we will see major chaos in the country. A sort of repeat of 2001. I am staying far away from Milei, I don't believe a word he says,