Yup-That same Old Cost of Living Question

[wildchild]

Hello Everyone-Have been offered a job in BsAs and although I have looked around from numbeo to other resources online, I wanted to understand from the fellow forum posters how BaAs compares to where you came from. So I would suggest rating your home and BsAs on a 1-10 scale to compare and help me understand how expensive it really is.

I know lifestyle and stage in life effects these but it would hugely help me -cuz right now I am a little lost.

Also-if it helps what is the average salary for a IT professional in BA with 5 years of work ex.

Cheers

 

[French jurist]

Really difficult to compare homes !

I rent a big house with a big park (+ 20.000 ft) and a big pool for 2.000 pesos + 500 pesos charges.
For the same price (I come from Paris), I would rent a 1 bedroom, with a tiny surface of 70 sq.ft. But that would be in Paris (and I would be making 6 to 8000 Euros per month there hence I would rent something bigger or take a 30 years loan).

Average salary for an IT pro with 5 years XP here ? : my own guess = between 6 and 8000 pesos. Maybe a bit more if you can sell your background (coming from a different country).

 

[MizzMarr]

Wow--French Jurist, where do you live? Not in Capital, correct? I rent in Caballito and pay a little less (1900 pesos+ building expenses, around 300) for nowhere near what he's got (50m2 + 30m2 patio), shared pool on the roof. Jobs with decent salaries are to be had but IT professionals are in abundance here. I'd guess a salary similar to the range that FJ proposes, higher if your speciality is rare. I'd also agree that it's next to impossible to compare homes, especially considering inflation (it's vastly different here than it was in 2006).

Keep in mind that unless your company is sponsoring you a guarantor (or you have someone lined up) to rent an unfurnished property you will have a difficult time finding an apartment willing to do a 2yr lease (the standard) without paying a ton of money upfront (likely min. 1yr). Your alternative would be to rent a furnished apartment (500-700 usd/month) or share housing ($300usd/mo).

When I lived in Seattle I rented a 3 bedroom house with a garden, hot tub, etc., for around US$1200 a month, and my income was higher than what I am able to earn here with a local (professional level) job. A lot of the answers you're looking for depend on what you want out of your experience here. Personally I wouldn't move here/accept a job offer of anything less than 8k a month (if you're just supporting yourself that salary would give you some room to spend, travel a bit as well as save).

Good luck!

 

[fifs2]

Wow--French Jurist, where do you live? Not in Capital, correct? I rent in Caballito and pay a little less (1900 pesos+ building expenses, around 300) for nowhere near what he's got (50m2 + 30m2 patio), shared pool on the roof. Jobs with decent salaries are to be had but IT professionals are in abundance here. I'd guess a salary similar to the range that FJ proposes, higher if your speciality is rare. I'd also agree that it's next to impossible to compare homes, especially considering inflation (it's vastly different here than it was in 2006).

Keep in mind that unless your company is sponsoring you a guarantor (or you have someone lined up) to rent an unfurnished property you will have a difficult time finding an apartment willing to do a 2yr lease (the standard) without paying a ton of money upfront (likely min. 1yr). Your alternative would be to rent a furnished apartment (500-700 usd/month) or share housing ($300usd/mo).

When I lived in Seattle I rented a 3 bedroom house with a garden, hot tub, etc., for around US$1200 a month, and my income was higher than what I am able to earn here with a local (professional level) job. A lot of the answers you're looking for depend on what you want out of your experience here. Personally I wouldn't move here/accept a job offer of anything less than 8k a month (if you're just supporting yourself that salary would give you some room to spend, travel a bit as well as save).

Good luck!

Mizz marr as a fellow caballito resident let me know if you are game to meet for a coffe sometime.
For OP, IT people are in demand as long as they are bilingual and have broad programming expertise..pure QA`isnt so hard to fine...good luck with the move.

 

[HowardinBA]

difficult question that one re home comparison.I live in San Isidro-25k from the capital.I paid 97k dollars for my 3 bed detached house,with pool,quincho,parrilla and a sizeable garden with double car space in front,that was 3 years ago.This placeis growing rapidly and is valued at almost 3 times what I paid.I lived in a 3 bed semi in Nottingham and sold that for 132 thousand Pounds over 6 years ago....so you see everyone,s situation is different.As for wage comparison,it,s all pay related at the end of the day ,but I would agree with the other poster that between 6-8k is about right.good luck anyway,Howard

 

[Climber]

Also-if it helps what is the average salary for a IT professional in BA with 5 years of work ex.
Cheers

Hello!
It depends on what you have experience.
For example, for java or .net programmers, having senior level, the salary is about 5000-6000 pesos argentinos.
and 6000 it's very difficult to get.

 

[Julia2]

Hello!

Living costs in Buenos Aires depend very much on your personal situation. You can still by an apartment (2-3 rooms, good part of the city) for less that 200.000 Dollars. But if you have to rent one, it can be quite expensive as cheap room in good location is hard to find. Especially if your company does not help you with a garantia etc.
I can only compare it to Europe (Germany) and I would say that the costs of living are almost the same if not higher. I got a quite cheap apartment, but in Europe I would get a much bigger and better one for maybe 200 Dollars more.
If you want to live on the same standard than in Europe, with the same quality of food, furniture, electronics, you will spend even much more money for that in Argentina.
6000 Pesos is a very good income here, which not so many Argentinos have, but especially with the inflation and rising prices it is not much.
A lot of things we are maybe used to have, are a luxury here like traveling, cars, electronics etc.
If you want to come here you should do it, Argentina is a great place to live but because of other reasons than the economic things.

 

[gouchobob]

Don't take anything less than you are making where you are. If you are coming here to work you don't want to lower your standard of living or make less money. I suspect this a contract job, would mean you'll be around only a year or two at the most. Think beyond this position and what you will do once your done in Argentina. A U.K. salary will go further in Argentina than at home, so if you are making at least as much you'll probably be O.K. Also in these situations its customary for them to provide a return home ticket to visit family and friends once or twice a year. If you are planning to be here a short time rent don't buy, even if you plan on staying rent for at least a year. At least 80% of expats to Argentina or elsewhere return home after a year or two, its tougher for most people to adjust to life overseas than they realize.

 

[tkm]

I can't not offer any info on cost of living and accommodation since I have not been here very long. But before accepting the job offer, I think you should bring some issues when discussing the expats package besides salary.

First is accommodation. As others veterans have suggested, it would not be easy to rent an apartment on your own here without guarantee from the company and such. So, strongly insist them on assisting you on this: from funding to searching for apartments. If the company is well established here, they will have contact with agents that they can "trust", they pay for the rent and the commission charged by the agent, you will probably have a good place without so much of hassle. It works in case that you will not be settling down for good, just 1-2 years.
Second, the insurance, get the expats insurance package that enables you to use as many hospitals/clinics as possible. It'd come in handy.
And as Gouchobob mentioned, you should be entitled to home trip once or twice a year with air tickets paid by the company.
There are other things related to holidays, medical leaves, bonus etc that you might want to consider.

Hope it helps.
Good luck.

 

[andebobandy]

We rent a place that's easily three times the size of our NYC studio, a one bedroom, full kitchen/bath with patio area in the back of a private house in the right near Plaza Cerano for $700 U.S. with everything included, and I've been told it's expensive, but compared to many of the apartments we saw when we were shopping around, I think it's probably good. I'd rate it a 7-8. It's not a dream place, but it's perfectly fine for now. It's a temporary (3 month) contract with option to renew at 3 or more month blocks. We are mid-30's and have a 1 year old.

I think you will have to look around to see what suits you best. It's always a complicated issue. Moving before a job or with a job makes a difference. I lived in NYC for 6 months before I found a job. It was stressful and it will be stressful paying pesos as much as paying dollars.