heading to argentina to teach english...any advice?

pdc99 · Post by **pdc99** » February 25th, 2012, 7:51 am

I just found out english teaching in argentina doesn't require a degree. (!) That's awesome. Anyone done this before and have any advice?

Part of me wants to wait and get my bachelors, (im just finishing up my associates now) but the other part of me really wants to get the f**k out of here ASAP and find some real women, regardless of whether the pay is shit or not.

anyway, seems like the right thing to do.

onezero4u · Post by **onezero4u** » February 25th, 2012, 12:00 pm

i lived there for a year (but back in mid-90s) so things are likely different now....

anyhow my impressions of buenos aires...

i didnt particularly care for it....it was expensive, people were quite snobbish and prone to hystery, the city had high pollution, their spanish is hard to understand b/c its stong accent, hot and cold as f**k depending on season.

however, chicks were hot, but uppity and high maintenance.
lots of cultural shit going on down there but itll cost you.
pizza and ice cream were really good

if you like europe, youll probly like buenos aires, they consider themselves more EU than south america.

emh · Post by **emh** » February 25th, 2012, 7:52 pm

A seriously bad plan.

"And, it's not necessarily that any work is hard to find, but it's hard to make enough to live on in Buenos Aires. I don't have much experience teaching English there, but I've seen other people trying to get by and personally I wouldn't recommend Argentina if you're looking to support yourself solely by teaching EFL. There's also the visa issue because employers aren't going to sponsor you to get one. That means you have to exit the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa -- which will also set you back financially. If you go to Argentina to teach English, I suggest you take substantial savings and be prepared to lose money overall."

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 3369de24f7

"As far as salary, it's tough. It's hard to make a good salary. I teach around 25 hrs a week, plus 15 hours or so of commute time and then there's lesson planning on top of that. If I don't have too many cancelled classes, I can scrape together up to $4000 AR or about $1000 USD. It's livable, but just barely. I would be in trouble if I didn't have pretty extensive savings when I came down here. BA's expensive and salaries are low."

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 3369de24f7

"What I am about to write, I am not writing to scare you off, but to impart a bit of the wisdom that came with my experience here, which including more than it's fair share of growing pains and trial and error experiences.

In January 2009, I came here with an open mind, a masterÂ´s degree in ESOL, a deep love for Argentina and (most importantly) savings. It has been an unstable roller coaster ever since. In a country that has around 25% annual inflation and not-too-great employment prospects to begin with, with a lot of competition (practically every expat that I have met here is an "English teacher"), living here is very unpredictable in every sense.

Finding housing is complicated (due to the "garantia" system) unless you are paying out the nose in dollars. Especially if you are already in a weak financial situation, itÂ´s not an advisable spot to put yourself in. To be frank, especially in the beginning to at least get set up for a few months, if your experience is anything like mine was, youÂ´ll be hemorrhaging money that you donÂ´t have.

I think itÂ´s also worth mentioning that this country is getting more and more dangerous (I personally havenÂ´t been the victim of a violent crime, but many people, both expats and locals that I know have been, especially muggings and robberies). Moreover I find it frustrating beyond belief that sometimes I canÂ´t get to work, because cutting off the access to main roads, highways, and bridges in the name of "manifestaciones" (protests) is practically a national past time here. "

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 3369de24f7

OutWest · Post by **OutWest** » February 25th, 2012, 8:55 pm

emh wrote:A seriously bad plan.

"And, it's not necessarily that any work is hard to find, but it's hard to make enough to live on in Buenos Aires. I don't have much experience teaching English there, but I've seen other people trying to get by and personally I wouldn't recommend Argentina if you're looking to support yourself solely by teaching EFL. There's also the visa issue because employers aren't going to sponsor you to get one. That means you have to exit the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa -- which will also set you back financially. If you go to Argentina to teach English, I suggest you take substantial savings and be prepared to lose money overall."

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 3369de24f7

"As far as salary, it's tough. It's hard to make a good salary. I teach around 25 hrs a week, plus 15 hours or so of commute time and then there's lesson planning on top of that. If I don't have too many cancelled classes, I can scrape together up to $4000 AR or about $1000 USD. It's livable, but just barely. I would be in trouble if I didn't have pretty extensive savings when I came down here. BA's expensive and salaries are low."

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 3369de24f7

"What I am about to write, I am not writing to scare you off, but to impart a bit of the wisdom that came with my experience here, which including more than it's fair share of growing pains and trial and error experiences.

In January 2009, I came here with an open mind, a masterÂ´s degree in ESOL, a deep love for Argentina and (most importantly) savings. It has been an unstable roller coaster ever since. In a country that has around 25% annual inflation and not-too-great employment prospects to begin with, with a lot of competition (practically every expat that I have met here is an "English teacher"), living here is very unpredictable in every sense.

Finding housing is complicated (due to the "garantia" system) unless you are paying out the nose in dollars. Especially if you are already in a weak financial situation, itÂ´s not an advisable spot to put yourself in. To be frank, especially in the beginning to at least get set up for a few months, if your experience is anything like mine was, youÂ´ll be hemorrhaging money that you donÂ´t have.

I think itÂ´s also worth mentioning that this country is getting more and more dangerous (I personally havenÂ´t been the victim of a violent crime, but many people, both expats and locals that I know have been, especially muggings and robberies). Moreover I find it frustrating beyond belief that sometimes I canÂ´t get to work, because cutting off the access to main roads, highways, and bridges in the name of "manifestaciones" (protests) is practically a national past time here. "

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 3369de24f7

>>>You have just dished out a good reality lesson. People who think "Anywhere but here" may be in for a RUDE awakening.
And Argentine girls? You should fill him in on that scenario. The land in Argentina is spectacular- and the wine country around
San Rafael is really great in some ways. A friend of mine there put it best- if you can just live in Argentina, you will like it.If you have to make
your living there, you will hate it to the bone!

I was not on the prowl in my times in Argentina,- I was working, but Argentina girls seemed pretty stuck up and vacuous to me.
Girls in Brazil, especially outside the cities, and Colombianas seemed much more sincere and approachable.

As you know, people often set themselves up for serious disillusionment.

Outwest.
Mindanao, Philippines

pdc99 · Post by **pdc99** » February 26th, 2012, 5:29 am

hey guys. Thank you for the awesome advice. Yeah, I was researching some of the salaries for teachers there.. Like 400/ month when a coffee costs 15. That's insane.

will totally figure out some other options. haha. Maybe mexico? The wages there would be shit too, perhaps I should just wait until I get my bachelors. lol

Voice of Reason · Post by **Voice of Reason** » February 26th, 2012, 6:34 am

It would probably be best to be patient and wait until you finish your degree. Don't make any rash decisions.

But at the same time, make sure you do go out and see more of the world. Don't waste any time.

Age will catch up with you sooner than you think.

emh · Post by **emh** » February 26th, 2012, 7:00 am

Voice of Reason wrote:It would probably be best to be patient and wait until you finish your degree. Don't make any rash decisions.

But at the same time, make sure you do go out and see more of the world. Don't waste any time.

Age will catch up with you sooner than you think.

Some very good advice here.

BTW, Mexico is considered the best place in latin america to teach english, at least as far as salary relative to cost of living is concerned. Plus, your flights back to the US will be a lot cheaper. Another thing is to learn a way to make money online...that will open up a lot of options for you and you won't have to worry about the crazy hours that teaching english often involves.

Voice of Reason · Post by **Voice of Reason** » February 28th, 2012, 4:18 am

emh wrote:
Voice of Reason wrote:It would probably be best to be patient and wait until you finish your degree. Don't make any rash decisions.

But at the same time, make sure you do go out and see more of the world. Don't waste any time.

Age will catch up with you sooner than you think.
Some very good advice here.

BTW, Mexico is considered the best place in latin america to teach english, at least as far as salary relative to cost of living is concerned. Plus, your flights back to the US will be a lot cheaper. Another thing is to learn a way to make money online...that will open up a lot of options for you and you won't have to worry about the crazy hours that teaching english often involves.

Making money online should be your number one priority. Try to learn a skill such as graphic design, web design...anything, that people will pay money for. Choose something that you enjoy doing. Here is a helpful article:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/20 ... edentials/

Such skills usually pay $25 an hour (at the start). At rates like this, working just 10 hours a week would be more than enough to cover living expenses in some countries.

Buena Suerte!

pdc99 · Post by **pdc99** » February 29th, 2012, 5:06 pm

that's a really good point. I actually really enjoy web design; it's hard to believe people still make money off it seeing that there's so many website template things and wordpress layouts and whatnot.

wineguy · Post by **wineguy** » June 27th, 2012, 7:31 pm

This was kind of the feeling i got about girls from Argentina from talking to a few on facebook (from a mutual interest group). Very European is the feeling i get, and high maintenance even.

Luckily i'm in the wine industry and I have a job lined up in Mendoza for the upcoming harvest, and i'll get to use that as a springboard to monger in Brasil after work is done. Can't wait.

xiongmao · Post by **xiongmao** » June 28th, 2012, 12:46 pm

Yeah, finish your degree and be American enough that they don't confuse you for a Brit!!!

Oh, and the chicks are way hotter in Asia.