Trying To Move Asap To Buenos Aires

[natykerouac]

Hi everyone I'm Naty,
I speak castellano and I just went to Argentina over break by myself. I went to Mendoza, Buenos Aires, and Bariloche..I made lots of friends and I wish I never had to leave.
I'm a freshman film student, I dance tango, I play guitar..I want to move to Buenos Aires ASAP. I've wanted to for years, but especially with my culture shock and my preference for the culture and film industry and people over there, I've been thinking about it a lot more seriously lately. I even got my parents' permission to follow my own life dreams. I've been trying to get that for years. I'm trying to decide whether to finish my studies at la UBA o la Plata, for film, since I want to work in Argentina obviously in film, I thought it might be good to get an Argentine-film education, not a Hollywood education. Also, I'm worried about how I will pay off my private school debts with an Argentine peso salary. I plan to do something like teach English and work in film in BA..I don't think anything I do will make enough to pay this school's debts off. So, do I switch now, and not have debts, and risk a more difficult university situation, or stay here, and go on as much study abroad possible, and try to pay off these huge debts as I go? I really need the advice of people actually living in the country, Americans too, since you will all have a good idea of the easiness or difficulty of us getting jobs there. I'm really happy to have found this site because I think it will be very helpful in my decision making! Somewhere down the line I'm interested in finding more out about citizenship and visas and all that too.
Cuidense mucho
xx

 

[Davidglen77]

Hi there, I am an expat originally from New York City and have lived here in Buenos Aires for 7 years. I followed my "dream" and came to live here, already in my late 30s at the time, now in my mid 40s. I found a job immediately upon arrival. I was working for a US based company within 3 weeks of arriving, without having even sent a single résumé while I was in the US. However I was already bilingual english-castellano prior to coming here, so if you are truly bilingual you will definitely have an advantage. Salaries here are LOW especially if you are young and have little work experience. When I first got here 7 years ago, I was earning $6,000 pesos, which was about double what my co-workers were earning. At the time it was equivalent to $2,000 U$D when the dollar and peso were 3:1, so it was considered a "good" salary. That salary today, which many people still earn, is worth around $500 U$D and is barely enough to live on. Today you need at least an $8,000-$10,000 peso salary to live on your own and be able to have any quality of life and decent health insurance. Teaching English you can make some money to survive but very low budget, and paying student loans from here while you are earning pesos will be next to impossible since you will have no way to wire the money out of the country. While breaking into the film industry is VERY difficult, it's not impossible, but you will need savings to survive untll you start to make money doing it. Your first jobs will certainly be grunt work and while that may be okay for you as a young person, it will not feed you. If I were you I would finish school in the US, make some contacts via internet and keep in touch with those you already have. Save up some money, get your student loans deferred for 6 months or a year and then come down and try your luck. Make sure you have things in order back home before you try making it here, because if for some reason it doesn't work out, you don't want to have a big financial mess waiting for you back home. Good luck and follow your dreams, but make sure you PLAN carefull, in this case I would NOT throw caution to the wind.

 

[Joe]

"[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]So, do I switch now, and not have debts"[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]I vote for no debt. How many young folks are graduating today in the US with $100K debts and ending up working as baristas - it's a major scam! 10 years ago car loans were a much bigger part of total debt than student loan debt - now it's reversed (see chart)[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Seems like for you Argentina is a good choice for school. And then perhaps you can go back after you graduate and work a few years earning a US income.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]

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[mimyr]

I agree with the above, I recommend moving. Even if you get an incredibly expensive U.S. liberal arts degree, you're even less likely to find a job with it in the U.S. than you are here. And like Joe mentioned, why saddle yourself with all that debt for nothing? Since you're bilingual, there's a lot of good job opportunities for you, at least to keep you afloat. You can start off teaching, but I'd recommend trying to break into translation. It's what my bilingual girlfriend and her sister do, and it helps because they can do it from home and just freelance.

Don't be too worried about culture shock. I had more culture shock living in Amsterdam than I have here.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I would suggest that US university education is still far superior to what you can get in Argentina, especially with all the disruptions that occur in Argentine universities. Certainly some people overcome those obstacles but, on balance, US universities are better. That's unless, of course, you choose something like http://www.bju.edu/ (who chose their URL, anyway?) or http://www.oru.edu/ (no relation?).

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

There are a number of people on this list who actually work in the film industry here in BA. They can give you the realities of that world.

Regarding US university and student debt - If you can get a decent job that will help you pay off your student loan and still have money left over for a real life then that path will work. The question is really about your job prospects. I'm almost 50 and have just now paid off my undergraduate and graduate school student loans. For my career path (Business) it worked because many employers in that field are looking at the quality of your degree + experience and I had degrees from two highly regarded schools.

At the same time, you can get a liberal arts degree and be saddled with heavy debts right out of school. Try paying those off while waiting tables at Olive Garden! We have two kids here in Argentina. I've recommended to my daughter to get her undergrad here in BA and then, if she wants, get her graduate degree in the US.

In my opinion, consumerism is rampant in the US. We all had to have new(ish) cars, and houses, and a boat, and a truck to pull the boat, and furniture, and university degrees, and landscaping, and new flatscreen tvs, ... and ... and ... all of that is bought on credit. It is almost impossible to escape. Having a life with very little or no debt frees you to do what you really want to do. Just think about quitting your 9-5 job that pays for all that stuff in order to pursue what fulfills you. Not going to happen.

 

[Jaredberryman]

I think we can give advice but we don't know you so it's rather difficult to tell you what to do. The advantages of coming here is that you can study on the cheap and get a decent undergraduate degree without being saddled with a huge debt. Later, if you need a U.S. degree you can go on to get a masters in the U.S. in whatever you want. Definitely a huge advantage for you, and though schools here may not be on par with schools in the U.S., I think in this field you can find some quality schools, for sure in Capital. The downside is the work issue. You are going to have a hard time making a living here as a young person. Most young people here have the advantage of living at home into their late twenties or even thirties, so they have few financial duties. The money they make goes towards their clothes, school, and living expenses, so a high salary is really not necessary for them. But you don't have a family here, so finding a place to live, a job that pays enough to live off of, and getting everything you need done will be difficult to the utmost. Not impossible, but very difficult. Don't say we didn't warn you. Also, be prepared that studying at universities here is extremely bureaucratic and the system is annoyingly different. But a degree from a university here is not as worthless as some might now chime in and tell you.

The upside on staying in the U.S. is that you know what to expect and your family can help you out more. You can find a good university with ease, and it will be a very safe choice, at least for now. The big downside is that you will be saddled with huge debts when you get done. If you can't get a good job it will be a massive burden to you down the road. Student debt can become a major hamper on a person's life, so Argentina is well worth your consideration or another country if you feel like you can put up with the disorder, the culture shock, the bureaucracy, and learning the lay of the land.

Also, you are young, so if you try this and it doesn't work out, you can always go back home. You only live once is my philosophy. Some people that live their lives "safe" never end up happy, but bored and empty. If you come here, though, understand it is NOT a bed of roses. This is a tough place to live, a dog eat dog world, especially capital. Hope that helps.

 

[Alicia karr]

Isn't there some law that in order to go to University here to get a degree, you have to have an Argentine High School diploma or pass a test that consists of typical Argentine high school curricula? I vaguely remember reading that here...it's not my area of expertise, but I hope some other forum members can chime in on what I'm remembering with more clarity to help this young woman out!

 

[sleslie23]

In my opinion, consumerism is rampant in the US. We all had to have new(ish) cars, and houses, and a boat, and a truck to pull the boat, and furniture, and university degrees, and landscaping, and new flatscreen tvs, ... and ... and ... all of that is bought on credit. It is almost impossible to escape. Having a life with very little or no debt frees you to do what you really want to do. Just think about quitting your 9-5 job that pays for all that stuff in order to pursue what fulfills you. Not going to happen.

I've been back in the US for a little over 5 weeks and am already ready to move back to Argentina for this very reason. Buy, buy, buy!

To the OP, I would suggest that you go for it, but keep in mind that getting an undergraduate degree here is a long-term project. Few people finish an undergraduate degree in fewer than five years. Many take much longer, working during the process.

Also, you won't be able to "finish" your degree here, you'll have to start from the beginning and, in addition, pass high school equivalency exams that will probably take a full year, depending on your level of Spanish. There are several threads on BAExpats that describe in detail what you need to do study an undergraduate degree.

Edit: Here is one of the threads:

http://baexpats.org/topic/23854-universities-in-argentina/page__hl__undergraduate#entry198568

I included a link in that thread that describes the process. Also, search for "undergraduate" and you'll find other related threads.

Hope this helps and that things work out.

 

[steveinbsas]

Isn't there some law that in order to go to University here to get a degree, you have to have an Argentine High School diploma or pass a test that consists of typical Argentine high school curricula? I vaguely remember reading that here...it's not my area of expertise, but I hope some other forum members can chime in on what I'm remembering with more clarity to help this young woman out!

Yes, there is. Thanks go to sleslie for posting the information.

This also raises the question of whether or not getting an undergraduate degree in Argentina would prepare someone to pass the tests required to get into grad school in the USA