I have just decided to take the plunge. I'm moving to BA in August, 2003 to get fluent in spanish. I won't let language be an excuse anymore. Maybe I am being stupid, but I just have to get this behind me and get on with my life.

It seems that I can't get a job in South America without spanish or portugese skills given the current state of the economy. Even despite a lot of trips and a lot of studying, I can't get better fast enough. I hope by this time next year that I'll be basically fluent and thinking in spanish or portugese (or both).

I know the lifestyle is different from a tourist and it will be new experience living overseas, but I'm not sure when I will ever have the right timing to do this otherwise. Things aren't perfect now, but the timing never will be.

I'm open to suggestions and I will post some of the things I have learned and the experiences I have in preparation and actual execution.

If the opportunity and the timing are there, go for it and don't look back, you may never have
another chance.

UW,

Don't tell me you are giving up the benefits of living in the Northeast during the winter for the warm climate of Latin America. Must have been the call of "mi amor."

Enjoy the life, amigo.

Moondog

UWphoto:

My advice is do "baby steps". Don't aim too high by planning to "move". Instead, rent an apartment for 3-6 months and try to study the "everyday life" of the common porteño.

That way, if living there proves to be an unwise decision, you would have lost only a couple of months of rent.

Regardless of your education, I bet that if you don't have a lot of business contacts in BA and you are older than 40, it will be very hard to get a job. And in case that you get one, forget about making more than ar$3,000 per month.

There are some reasons that drive many well educated Argentinians abroad. As I always say, Buenos Aires is a good place to have fun but awful to work.

You may contact me at by e-mail (my handle at hotmail) to find out about more specific stuff.

Hope this helps,

Andres

Hey UW Photo,

How ya been buddy? I've been reading up on your exploits. I was in Rio in Feb for 2 weeks and I'm going to get around to posting a trip report, but tomorrow I'm off to Costa Rica.

I'm not sure if I mentioned, but in one of my former lives I used to have a fairly large group of Argentinians reporting to me. I was down in BA once a month. I would put BA in the nice place to visit but.... category. Not that I don't love the city, but the economy is just not stable. It hasn't been in many decades.

But... the best way to learn the language is to find a novia that will spend lots of time with you and help you learn the language. Immersion is great, but one on one talk will help more than anything. Plus also studying.

So I would find a novia that would spend lots of time with you, and then rent an apartment for a couple of months. I would bet that after two months you will be quite conversational.

BT

You could also get a spanish speaking girlfriend here in the States. Heck, there's certainly no shortage of Mexican and Puerto Ricans living here. My current live-in girlfriend loves to teach me spanish. Between her and Pimsleur it's the ideal combination, and I didn't have to move to BA.

Just a thought,
Sterling

Thanks for all the support and comments. I took 8 trips to Buenos Aires last year and am headed back tomorrow night. Everything takes on a different focus when you shift from tourist to potential local.

I just met with my boss and will be taking a leave of absence to do the spanish immersion training. The company is going to pay for my classes and maybe some of the living expenses. I'll have a job to come back to when the 6 months are up. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find my boss very supportive. He indicated that he would be checking with our Latin America operations to see if we could find a six month or one year assignment as an expat that I could do either concurrent with the language training or immediately following. He said it could be Puerto Rico, or Mexico, or Brazil, or Argentina ... or anywhere else down there. I responded that I wasn't too particular as long as I was building language and culture skills.

My goal is to build a life in Buenos Aires. I'm looking to meet people, build language skills, and decide if I can actually make a life outside the USA. I can't afford to live on an argentine salary (unless I cut all ties to the USA, which I can't do right now), so I need to find an expat job. I have good, current, high-tech skills and lots of experience in manufacturing, banking, and government sectors. I figure the most likely place I will probably end up is Sao Paolo in the long run. A transfer at my current company is the ideal situation, at least until the global economy improves.

In any case, at least I have started down the pathway to making the dream of living in South America a reality. I'm just going to be as flexible as I can and go with the flow.

UW,

If you wind up in Sao Paulo, there is no shortage of beautiful women and palces to go in that town.

Enjoy the life,

Moondog

UW, I would really pull for SP! Think of all those weekend jaunts over to Rio via the "Ponte Aerea". And the opportunity to check out the rest of Brasil. I've been to quite a few places in Brasil, and have imho, only scratch the surface!

SP all the way! sf4dfish

Uw, who cares about jobs, salary, and all those stuffs? Aren´t those the reasons why we all wanted to live/retire outside of the US soils in the first place? If you need something to motivate you just think of those beautiful, charming women and great food. Good lucks with your plan and hope everything turns out your way.

UW

Can I sleep on your couch (with my garota of course) in your Sao Paulo pad?

Every porteno working for an MNC (Multi national Corp.) wants out. You want in It is a rarity to get a US paycheck for working in AR or BR. But it does happen -- Mostly as an assignment.

Many of our clients do send their senior folks abroad when they set up plants and manufacturing operations. It is just to ensure stability and continuity in the Co.

Ha ha! Wherever I end up, I just know that things will work out. I´m being positive about things and so far have been pretty lucky. I´ll keep posting about my progress and adventures. I´m sure the beauracracy is going to be a nightmare.

I´m back in BA this week and just posted the first installment of a trip report. More periodically during the week.

uwphoto, what kind of job do you have that will allow you to go to AR for 6 months and pay for your classes?!! Plus they will hold you position for you too!! I need to send my resume to your company!! My boss would laugh in my face if I even dreamed of asking something like that. PM me with your response.

UW,

if the company pays your classes, I recommend you ILEE www.argentinailee.com. They are very expensive as they charge western prices, but teachers are good.

Give me a message when you´re her, let´s meet and have some fun together. I´m one of the lucky guys who already has an expat job in BA )

HAve fun

Flirty

Uwphoto. How have it gone with your plans? I'm very curious because I will stay in BA the whole 2005. I'm from northern Europe and my spanish skills are weak.

Snr. viking,

Not sure what kind of response to this you'll get because I think these messages are old and I'm pretty sure he wound up in Brazil, not Argentina.

But if you've got any questions, drop me a mail and I might be able to help ... I've been down here for a little more than 6 months now.

-khoofoo

Khoofoo,

I remember the stir you caused on this board when you announced you were moving to BA. It sure was great discussion you started. I was hoping we'd hear some updates from you. Well? How is it going in your new homeland?

Best,
Sterling