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Melanie Van Orden,
Jet Set Now Editor
Apr
26
Why We Moved to Buenos Aires | What to Consider When Moving Abroad
Apr 26, 2008 by Jason Van Orden
I’ve had a number of people express interest as to why we chose to move abroad and specifically to Buenos Aires. So I wanted to post our reasons for moving.
Ever since Melanie and I got married we’ve wanted to live abroad. Other things (such as employment, our previous rock band or school) have determined where we’ve lived until now.
When Melanie finished grad school last Spring, the possibilities were wide open to us. We had nothing tying us to NYC (other than friends and a bit of family of course). Even though we love NYC, now is the ideal time to live abroad since we still don’t have kids (although, you could do this with kids, too).
The main reason I got into internet business is because I can do it from anywhere. As long as I have an internet connection, I can create and publish online content. I can can connect with my community and work with my students/clients. This kind of freedom is a key element for us to feel fulfilled in life.
One of the things I try to do through the content I create online is to encourage people to decide what fulfills them most in life and then pursue it. (See www.jasonvanorden.com.)
In the spirit of freedom of location, we started looking for a place to live abroad. Our first choice was Paris since I’ve lived their before and Melanie wants to learn French. Unfortunately the current conversion rates for the euro put a damper on that. We wanted to live in a country where the US dollar would go a long ways allowing us to really enjoy the experience there.
Reading the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss planted the bug in our ear about Buenos Aires, Argentina. We started our research and quickly realized why Tim likes it so much. In the end we chose Buenos Aires for several reasons.
- We have a brother-in-law from Buenos Aires whose parents still live here.
- We have a few Spanish speakers in our extended families now and thought it would be useful to learn the language.
- Argentina is just a great country with lots of interesting things: plains, mountains, a city with aspects like Paris, rain forests, huge waterfalls, etc.
- Buenos Aires fits the urban lifestyle that we prefer right now.
- The USD goes a long way here. Last weekend I had the best steak I’ve ever had for $8 USD. The subway is 30 cents USD per ride! Granted, this kind of currency leveraging requires that you have a means of making money in US dollars or something of equal or greater value. Internet business and my podcasts allow for that.
- It’s summer here now instead of the cold drab February of NYC. It’s only snowed here once in the last 90 years.
- To experience a new culture and discover new things about ourselves in the process.
- It’s a relatively safe place to live.
- Argentina has a very interesting emerging economy.
We considered Ecuador, some Eastern European countries, Southeast Asia and Australia. But when all the factors were weighed, Argentina was the place we wanted to be for now. Besides, there’s always time to experience other countries later.
When considering moving abroad, I suggest you take the following into consideration:
- What is your tolerance level for culture shock? Moving to Tokyo would be more difficult for someone from an English-speaking country than moving to a European country.
- Would you like to leverage currency exchange rates to upgrade your lifestyle or do you want a more “roughing it” experience?Pick a place where you will feel stable and safe.
- Is there a particular language or skill that you would like to learn while living abroad? Learning Spanish was a top priority for us.
Have you lived abroad? Where did you live? Why did you move abroad? Where would you like to live/visit?
Photo Credit: Crisfer
Filed Under Argentina, Locations
Comments
12 Responses to “Why We Moved to Buenos Aires | What to Consider When Moving Abroad”
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I moved from Italy to USA 12 years ago and it was one of the best decisions I could make. While I love my country and always will, I found that the kind of opportunities available in USA are not common in all places.
Being a tourist is different than being an expat, and only when you spend quality time abroad you get to appreciate the local culture.
While I agree with you that you can move with kids, I’ve to say that a number of other variables get into the equation and make any major relocation more complicated.
Ciao!
Paolo
I’m really looking forward to keeping up with you guys, and learn your secrets for survival abroad. It’s been our dream to move abroad, as well. For now we’ve moved cross country to Seattle from the Washington, DC area, but one day it will be outside of the US.
So happy to have found you on twitter!
Melanie, I’m so excited for you. Consider me a subscriber and an advocate. Looking forward to it, and congrats!
@Paolo I agree!
@Kelly Glad to see you on Jet Set Now! Good luck with your dream to move abroad. I’ve enjoyed following you on Twitter and on your blog, http://www.Travellious.com .
@cory huff Thanks for visiting the blog! I’m looking forward to writing a guest blog post for http://www.AGoodHusband.com about traveling as a couple.
Hola, Jay.
I lived in Guatemala for a month, after my first year of medical school, to get a big leg up on my (Central and South American) Spanish language skills.
It was an immersion experience, and the expats I rubbed elbows with were largely German and Austrian, and were just as interested in focusing on Spanish as I was. By the end of the month, I was thinking and journaling in Spanish, and coming home, my English had become halting, and had to be retranslated in my mind from the Spanish.
Living with and studying in private homes with a tutor, and interacting daily and traveling the countryside were unparalleled learning experiences. (The autoshots carried by soldiers in the banks were an eye opener.) Learning value was in inverse proportion to the time I spent with other Americans, who generally weren’t there to learn as much as to travel, which was fine, but I noticed I learned less when I “fell back” into familiar spheres.
It’s a revelation, seeing what you really need to be satisfied and happy, how light you can truly be to travel, and what folks in other places take as their norms. My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Asia, but I was still humbled by just briefly living at a more world-norm standard.
And learning what’s really important, when you’re tapped out, overseas.
I think that it is so awesome you guys wanted to live abroad and you made it happen!:D Kim is going to France in August for a study abroad and her parents are moving to the Netherlands because her dad got a job with United Nations and it requires a lot of foreign travel. Hence maybe Europe will be a possibility for me next summer. I hope your little adventures in Buenos Aires are continuing and have been beneficial and enjoyable. Adios.
I have to say, I’m SSOOOO jealous of you travelers! Although I work from home as a virtual assistant, my husband’s job keeps us tied to our home and location. Someday, perhaps…
A good friend of mine and fellow virtual assistant has a true traveling business, however, I think she’s too busy having fun to do much work. Check out her blog at
http://borderlinegypsies.wordpress.com/
She travels with her boyfriend (a helicopter pilot) to all sorts of exotic and wonderful places for very long stints, all the while keeping us up to date on their adventures. A great couple! Sounds a lot like you two.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to living vicariously through your adventures and travels.
Andrea
[…] will be a blog to watch. you see Jason and Melanie are currently living in Buenos Aires Argentina, having recently moved there from New York. Their niche is their passion and their blog, and you can follow along with them in their […]
can i BE you??
Wow the conversion is unbelievable!
I live in Montreal now and earn about $800 a month from blogging. It’s a little bit of struggle but down there…. well I would be fine
My Girlfriend is quite happy here for the moment so I doubt i’ll be moving anytime soon!
@Peter Beck - Studying with a private tutor has really helped us get a grasp on the language and cultural norms here in Buenos Aires. We need to get out more, as we work from home and have a hard time tearing ourselves away from our computers, but what we have seen has been amazing! I agree that seeing how well others do with less is inspiring and humbling and helps me curb my excessive tastes.
@Amara Van Orden - I loved to see your comment on the blog! How exciting to go to Europe next summer. Maybe we can join you there on our jet set travels?
@Andrea Kalli - Thanks for the awesome recommendation for your friend’s website! I’m going to see if I can interview her for the Jet Set Now site or podcast. Best of luck with your jet set dreams!
@Raquel - You’ve already BEEN a jet setter, as it seems! Now you can relax and just be your awesome self. We’ll come by and see you next time we are in your neck of the woods!
@Forest Parks - Montreal is awesome (or so I’ve heard). Jason and I would love to visit it someday. Maybe we’ll make it a stop in our jet set lifestyle? I don’t blame your girlfriend for not wanting to move!
Wow,
Now *this* is a neat blog!
I have literally today launched mine in a similar vein, though I’m focusing my first month of posts on online business, then I plan to branch out into lifestyle and travel posts somewhat.
Argentina is on the hotlist for next year. This year so far has been Cuba, Costa Rica and learning to ski (badly!).
Added you to my RSS reader and I’ll be back often