What is there to do in and around Buenos Aires?

What kind of jobs are there for Americans in Buenos Aires? Or American jobs that might place you there?

• My girlfriend and I want to move to Buenos Aires for a year or two to have a little fun before we get locked down by our careers. We were wondering what kind of American jobs there are that would place us in, or that we could do from, Buenos Aires. That way, we'd be able to be paid in dollars, while living in Buenos Aires. I've been running a small IT company in New York for a few years and my girlfriend has worked as a staff writer for several major magazines. She was thinking she could do some kind of freelance writing (maybe travel writing) or something of that nature. A job for me--I'm not so sure though. I have a lot of computer knowledge from running my IT company, and am looking for something that would be more freelance if possible. I'm very flexible and entrepreneurial, my spanish just isn't good enough to run any kind of business in Buenos Aires. Any thoughts? Any field is fine--it's just temporary to pay for our fun! From what I've found, it seems we need about $2000 (US) a month to get by comfortably and we were trying to figure out what kind of work we could find to support us there without working a 5 day 9 to 5 job. THANKS SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME!!

• Answer:

  Hi! Congrats on wanting to go to BA, one of THE coolest and most romantic cities in Latin America. I lived there for about 3 years. I do know though that you will have to look into obtaining a work visa as you are American. You WILL have to learn Spanish also to get by as that is their first language and there are no places to work that do not speak Spanish other than the US Embassy. But not to worry there are plenty of local small centers that teach. I would recommend you contact the American Embassy down there. They usually are open for administrative assistant jobs or other ones. They would have to be your best place to go to talk about what you are asking. They have all the information you need including helping you find a job and assisting you with living questions. Contact the CLO office, which is in charge of helping military families relocate down there and get settled (even though you aren't military, they could still help you). They could probably answer your questions on which neighborhoods are good, and give you resources and contacts about job searches. Just always fall back on the US Embassy down there - they are your most reliable source for all the questions you have. You might want to try e-mailing them from where you are now to start getting detailed answers. Also, you could try to contact the Argentine Embassy in DC which could answer some questions about Buenos Aires also. You say you do NOT want to work 5 day job 9 to 5. I have to say you are setting the bar pretty high and unrealistic for yourselves in attaining income. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm being VERY honest. Unless you have a great savings acct. to fall back on ;) Portenos, or the people who live in BA are VERY hard workers even the ones who make little money from receptionists to big wigs, all of them work long hours but they also take great pride in that. Asking for what it sounds like a 'part time' position will limit your options even more than your limitations already (no spanish speaking) Think of it this way - BA is like New York City just Spanish speaking - it's VERY competitive in its job market. I would say contact the Embassy and let them know what you ask on Yahoo here - they can definitely give you a more detailed layout of what you will need to do before you start the job hunt. They may have some English-speaking positions open you can work at part time until you get a hang of Spanish then you can broaden your search to BA businesses. Your gf will definitely have to learn speaking and writing in Spanish if she would like to pursue freelance writing at an Argentine company. BA has major mags also but are highly competitive and only print in Spanish. **Sorry I don't want to sound like I'm promoting the US Embassy or anything, I just know that they are the most informative and reliable place to go for questions you have. Obtaining jobs down there without any background in Spanish will be pretty difficult I have to be very honest. There ARE jobs in the US that can send you down there, but then again, most of these jobs you can't choose where you go and you have to be with them for a while to have the privilege to choose. The Embassy has a website just google American Embassy Buenos Aires. Good luck and happy travels! :)