Young Europeans flock to Argentina

[steveinbsas]

You planning that move to Colombia yet? I tell you what, my life is a million times better after having left BA.

So is mine, but I'm still in Argentina...

...and you didn't move to Colombia, did you?

 

[steveinbsas]

Already enabled ---- I have been receiving pms for quite a while. Advice?

No problemo now...I just clicked on your user name (again) and I have the option...

 

[lavalink]

I saw this article last week as well. I'm a young 26 hetero male that's educated and came here to Buenos Aires one month ago.

Life was very difficult in the United States. People my age have it rough. There is no work that pays more than $9, gas is almost 5 dollars a gallon, and with the price of rent 2-3 times more than BsAs, there is little chance to save money or pay back student loans.

Here is an article from last month detailing the problem for young people in US - older generation is 47 times wealthier than younger generation (the highest recorded gap in history): http://news.yahoo.com/us-wealth-gap-between-young-old-widest-ever-050259922.html

(Oh... and what's even more interesting... our US government spends $5 for every person that's 65 for every $1 it spends on a person who's 20... what a great way to invest for the future)

All youths in US (and possibly Spain and Italy as well, though I'm not qualified to speak for those places) can do is stay at their parents for years after college to save money and try to take some shit pay job to pay off their expensive $150 or $200K degrees.

I am a self-employed web designer and search engine optimization expert and never had any need to work a shit job, BUT i have found living in BsAs to be much easier.

Rent in Barrio Norte = $350
Rent in San Diego = $790

Transportation Cost in BsAs = $30 / month (buses, subtes, FREE bicycles w/ bikeshare program)
Transportation Cost in San Diego = $120 - 200 a month ($30-50 a week for gas)

Food costs are more or less the same... some things like coffee are more expensive in BsAs, but other things like wine are much cheaper. Since California has numerous cheap burritoes for $2-3 that one can consume every day, it gets a slight edge over Bs As in cost of food.

 

[marksoc]

Rent in Barrio Norte = $350
Rent in San Diego = $790

Before people start jumping on you, that quote is probably what you get sharing a two or three bedroom + living-room + kitchen apartment with a local, isn't? Because 1500 pesos doesn´t seem a lot in Barrio Norte. In the (nice) suburbs you can still rent a small nice place with that (of course, Argie prices).

 

[chris]

$350 USD seems a very low rent to me for Barrio Norte. This includes taxes, expensas, water, gas, electricity? As for transport costs, is a colectivo equal to a private car? My Argentine friends drive cars. They complain about thew high costss involved. Much more expensive than in the US. Is furnishing an apt cheaper in BA? TV and electronics cheaper? Also the transport subsidy will not last much longer.

 

[citygirl]

$350 is for a shared apt clearly. Maybe the $790 is as well in San Diego - no idea on COL there.

I don't think anyone will argue that apts are still a *relative* bargain compared to many cities. It's everything else that's not.

Living a nice lifestyle here - living alone in a nice apt, furnishing it, cars, dinners out at nice restaurants, vacations, etc - the costs add up very, very quickly.

I also find it interesting to hear so many complaints about the US economy given our company and the vast majority of our clients are hiring regularly and even having trouble filling positions. And "no jobs pay more than $9 ah hour? Seriously, that's 100% not true. Of course just out of college kids aren't kidding those 50.000 (at least) salaries that they were expecting a few years ago but that's (IMO) a good market correction.

Oh & this "All youths in US (and possibly Spain and Italy as well, though I'm not qualified to speak for those places) can do is stay at their parents for years after college to save money and try to take some shit pay job to pay off their expensive $150 or $200K degrees. - Hyperbole much?

1) 150.000 is hardly average for ALL colleges. Private colleges, yes but per the college board in the US -
"approximately 28 percent of full-time private nonprofit four-year college students are enrolled in institutions charging $36,000 or more yearly in tuition and fees. These higher-priced colleges sometimes have bigger endowments and more grant aid available — which may mean that you can get more financial help to attend that institution..... In fact, in 2011-12, 44 percent of all full-time undergraduate college students attend a four-year college that has published charges of less than $9,000 per year for tuition and fees. "

So almost half graduate 36,000 in debt, not 150 BIG difference!

2) Of those, very few people finance their entire costs

3) Living at home after school and saving money to get your own place = welcome to the real world.

 

[PhilipDT]

I saw this article last week as well. I'm a young 26 hetero male that's educated and came here to Buenos Aires one month ago.

Life was very difficult in the United States. People my age have it rough. There is no work that pays more than $9, gas is almost 5 dollars a gallon, and with the price of rent 2-3 times more than BsAs, there is little chance to save money or pay back student loans.

Here is an article from last month detailing the problem for young people in US - older generation is 47 times wealthier than younger generation (the highest recorded gap in history): http://news.yahoo.com/us-wealth-gap-between-young-old-widest-ever-050259922.html

(Oh... and what's even more interesting... our US government spends $5 for every person that's 65 for every $1 it spends on a person who's 20... what a great way to invest for the future)

All youths in US (and possibly Spain and Italy as well, though I'm not qualified to speak for those places) can do is stay at their parents for years after college to save money and try to take some shit pay job to pay off their expensive $150 or $200K degrees.

I am a self-employed web designer and search engine optimization expert and never had any need to work a shit job, BUT i have found living in BsAs to be much easier.

Rent in Barrio Norte = $350
Rent in San Diego = $790

Transportation Cost in BsAs = $30 / month (buses, subtes, FREE bicycles w/ bikeshare program)
Transportation Cost in San Diego = $120 - 200 a month ($30-50 a week for gas)

Food costs are more or less the same... some things like coffee are more expensive in BsAs, but other things like wine are much cheaper. Since California has numerous cheap burritoes for $2-3 that one can consume every day, it gets a slight edge over Bs As in cost of food.

 

[bigbadwolf]

A recent article in the Daily Mail (for what it's worth) on emigration from Europe.

 

[Conorworld]

This article seems to highlight emigration from Europe from certain European countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal. It seems to paint all of Europe as some place with no hope, which negates the fact that a lot of European countries, especially Germany are doing particularly well. It gives the impression that all the emigration is to places like Argentina and does not take in to account migration in Europe, such as from Spain to Germany and so forth.

Furthermore it fails to point out that although emigration has increased a lot in these countries, it has been a common occurrence for a long time, albeit in smaller amounts. Italy has lamented a loss of a generation of professionals for almost 2 decades because the entrenched system of hiring made it untenable for example. It also fails to point out that the increased globalization of the world economy and the inevitable rebalancing of the world economy would see this occur.

Yes things are bad in a lot of Europe but it is not all so negative.

 

[bigbadwolf]

This article seems to highlight emigration from Europe from certain European countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal. It seems to paint all of Europe as some place with no hope, which negates the fact that a lot of European countries, especially Germany are doing particularly well. It gives the impression that all the emigration is to places like Argentina and does not take in to account migration in Europe, such as from Spain to Germany and so forth.

Furthermore it fails to point out that although emigration has increased a lot in these countries, it has been a common occurrence for a long time, albeit in smaller amounts. Italy has lamented a loss of a generation of professionals for almost 2 decades because the entrenched system of hiring made it untenable for example. It also fails to point out that the increased globalization of the world economy and the inevitable rebalancing of the world economy would see this occur.

Yes things are bad in a lot of Europe but it is not all so negative.

I did issue the caveat, "for what it's worth." Even so I feel compelled to point out that while Germany may be "doing well," it is German capital that is doing well, not necessarily the workforce. In particular, young Germans have a hard time finding jobs. I myself have encountered some in Scandinavia, looking for opportunities elsewhere. And while it is true that Spaniards, Greeks, and Poles flock to Germany, it is usually for the basest and most casual of labor.

This may be worth reading:

Probably the biggest commercial risk a business can take in Germany is to give someone a full-time job. For all the right reasons, a mountain of legislation protects the employee from unfair treatment and provides a framework for working conditions, pensions, insurances, parental leave, holidays and protection from unfair dismissal. Now, almost any potential employer will prefer a freelancer, agency or contract worker, a part-timer, or even a volunteer (praktikant/intern) to giving anyone a full time job. This casualisation means both employers and employees are heading full tilt towards the precariat.

Roughly 30-40% of the workforce in Germany, France, Holland, and Britain now belongs to the category of "precariat." While mass emigration from Europe is not taking place (After all, where to go to? From the frying pan into the fire?), it is a place of bleak prospects -- even in the Nordic core.