Travel Channel Relocation Television Series
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steveinbsas
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If this is a legitimate reality show that will "introduce you to the local culture and customs, and give you a chance to experience what life might be like for you and your family" then it should include "real" scenes of getting all of the documents necessary for obtaining temporary residency as well as trips to migraciones where you will be told you don't have everything you need.
Scenes of unsuccessfully trying to open a bank account, waiting an excessive amount of time in line at a grocery store or to be served in a restaurant, changing dollars to pesos or getting your deposit back for a temporary rental could be pretty boring but at least they would show what life would really be like. Scenes of being mugged in the street or have your cellphone or camera swiped of of your hand would be much more dramatic and no less accurate.
If the producers are actually willing to pay (in advance) for all of the expenses for a couple or family to travel to Argentina (including airfare, hotel and meals) I would say go ahead and inquire about participating. I wonder if they realize there are far more "wannabe" and/or "phoney" expats who would love to have an all expenses paid trip to Buenos Aires than there are production companies that want to produce a show like the one they claim to be making.
steveinbsas
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Have you ever watched American Pickers or Pawn Stars on the History Chanel?
Would you even come close to using the exp<b></b>ression "good looking" to describe Mike, Frank, Rick, Big Hoss, The Old Man and/or Chumlee?
steveinbsas
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Except for the trolls.
steveinbsas
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PS: Except for the trolls who never actually lived here...and those who have left but can't quite let go.
pitipur
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wow, everyone give 'em a break! an expat forum where people come DAILY to ask tons of questions about relocation prior to relocating is a great place to look for people who are relocating. how many threads are there like "moving in Feb, where should I live?" etc etc etc. plenty.
edit: PONELE ONDA
edit: PONELE ONDA
steveinbsas
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And it's just as likely that they will be "scammed" (by someone pretending to want to move to BA) as much as it is likely that they are scammers (wanting to show and sell properties).
And plenty of those have been started by scammers or, at the least, individuals who were completely insincere about moving to BA.
One of my favorites was started by a woman (at first pretending to be a wannabe expat) in order to promote a relocation service to Mendoza:
Many of us who actually do live here have spent a great deal of time replying to these phoneys.
Wannabe Expats
Quoting "Deb""
"I'm still in TX... I have had just about enough of the madness in the US. The upcoming election scares me and I don't want to be here anymore. I am currently an airline pilot, but am willing to try
something else...
I would LOVE any advice any of you may have to offer on "chucking it all" and moving south. A prominent concern I have is that I have a 16 and a 14 year old... They aren't out of high school yet...
How much $ a month do I realistically need to live reasonably comfortably there? Any
info on schools and medical would be appreciated also.
Thanks."
Hi Deb,
I see your post has already received some replies, including one from a US based Argentine realtor/financial planner plugging Mendoza. There’s nothing wrong with Viviana touting Mendoza, but you did make your post here on the BA exapts forum, and I think it’s important that you get some information directly from BA expats. Being Argentine, Viviana and her husband will face few difficulties returning to live in Argentina. You and your children will face an entirely different situation.
Most expats coming to live here (not just "moving" here for six months or a year) either have a job lined up in advance or have enough income from "untouchable" investments to satisfy the requirements of the office of Argentine migraciones. You can't just come here to "live" (legally)without a visa, and a work visa is required if you are to be legally employed. You can also live here if you have a guaranteed monthly income of about $900USD (for one adult...possibly more for the three of you) from a trust, pension, or an annuity. For this a visia rentista is required. Foreign property, money in bank accounts, mutual funds, child usually support, and alimony will not be considered when applying for the visa rentista. I am not sure if your dependent children would be "entitled" to a "free" education under the conditions of a temporary visa.
I’m sorry to say that a foreign woman in her late 30s or early 40's wouldstand little chance of finding an acceptable entry level position in "something new" here, and if she did, the pay would probably be abysmal by US standards. A "well paid" 40 year old professional woman I dated makes a little over $1000USD per month here. For the entry level position, you would be competing for even lower wages with women half your age who are probably still living with their parents or other young women their age who are also working. A three bedroom appartment in a decent (not necessarily safe) area of Buenos Aires could easily cost over $1000USD per month (plus expenses and utilities). Your total monthly apartment costs would probably exceed your entry level income before taxes, and you would still face the need for food, clothing, health care, travel, and entertainment.
IF you could get a job as a pilot for an Argentine airline, you might be able to make it here, but I have no idea if they are hiring foreigners. I seriously doubt Argentine pilots are paid even half as much as you are paid in the US.
Average pay here is about 25% of comparable jobs in the US (according to other posts on this forum and Argentines I know). You would also be taxed at a rate of up to 30% in Argentina.
Unless you pay into the Argentine social security system for (30?) years, you will not receive any "retirement" benefits. As US tax law is now, your Argentine income (up to $85KUSD) would not be taxed in the US You may still be required to pay into US social security, but I'm not certain.There is also a 21% IVA tax on most goods and services here, not to mention the fifth highest inflation rate in the world today. The official rate is 9.5% but few believe that figure. Many items in the grocery store have increased in price by 50% or more in the past year, some in the past few months. This includes sunflower oil, coffee, cheese, and chocolate, just to name a few. Most groceries, with the noteworthy exceptions of beef, wine and beer, cost about the same as in the US now, and the selection here is limited.
As for education, there are several important considerations: Do your children expect to go to college in the US? Will a "diploma" from an Argentine school (public or private) satisfy the entrance requirements? After 2 to 4 years in school here will they stand a chance of scoring well on the SAT or ACT? Will they still qualify for “resident” tuition at a state college or university in the US if that is an important consideration? Most important of all, do your children want to leave their present schools, friends, the rest of the family, and even their own future in the US...in order to have a life here?...a life which a number Argentines I know would gladly trade with them!
As for health care, you and the kids would be able to go to any public hospital in Argentina and receive "free" medical care, but you would probably want "private" care (at least $300 US a month for the three of you for full coverage) as soon as you became aware of the differences between the public and private systems. I have been told that there are "better" public hospitals out of the city (and probably in Mendoza as well).
If the upcoming election in the US scares you, the present socioeconomic and political situation here will scare you even more as you become aware of the reality of life here (especially if you learn Spanish and read the newspaper regularly). Street crime, including mugging, robbery, home invasion, and kidnapping (for ATM withdrawals) here are far greater in the “better neighborhoods” of Buenos Aires than in those of any US city The US devotes a lot more resources than Argentina to catching, prosecuting and imprisoning criminals (TWO million inmates!). Argentina doesn't have theresources to go after these thugs, so we just live with them, literally. I'm 6'2' and weigh almost 200lbs, and, while I am not as "likely" a target, I know that anything is possible. An Argentine man I know who is ten years younger and 50 pounds heavier than me was robbed at gunpoint in a San Telmo grocery store at 5 in the afternoon!
Believe it or not, I’m very happy here, but I love even more the two or three months each year I spend in San Francisco and its environs....and the occasional month in Paris. I lived in Mexicofor five and a half years before moving to Argentina two years ago, and I still consider that move a significant upgrade. I received my "baptism under fire" in Mexico (two home invasions and numerous police (traficos) shakedowns), so I was able to adjust to life here rather quickly. Speaking Spanish (well) is essential, unless you only want to associate with other expats, and that's not why I moved here.
I suggest you find the topic "help me decide" by Hannah in the expat life forum. She was considering moving to Buenos Aires from Ibiza with her two year old daughter. Although the details are somewhat different than yours, it was another example of "the grass is greener" syndrome. There were some thoughtful replies to her post, but I don't think she actually ever visited Argentina.
As a result, even now she probably knows nothing of the "madness" to be found in Buenos Aires. Until you actually spend some time here, neither will you.
I just feel like Travel Channel or whoever the production company is hasn't really researched the economic situation or real estate situation at the moment and if they had, they would not be aching to make a show about someone buying a fixer upper (or whatever) here
steveinbsas
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I wonder how many of those threads were started by Musicman (before he became texas-dude) as he asked about opening a Texas style barbeque joint or bringing his Ferrari to BA and living off a retirement savings of two million dollars at the age of 50 in a luxury apartment with a helipad in Puerto Madero.
steveinbsas
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I didn't see anything about buying a fixer upper in the production company's posts, but a series about someone doing that could make a great show (if not series) .
It might start as a comedy, but it would more than likely become a tragedy.
