American expat Evan's expedition to South American landed him in Buenos Aires, Argentina - and he's loving every minute of it there. The minor inconveniences he encounters in no way detract from the pleasure he derives from living and working in BA, where he's content learning the language, writing, and living life. Read on for snippets of this young American teacher/travel writer's expat life in Argentina, and his tips for those of you who might be considering moving to Argentina.

Evan Kubitschek

-Where were you born?

Born in Houston TX, raised in Asheville, NC, USA.

-In which country and city are you living now?

I'm currently living in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

-Are you living alone or with your family?

Right now I'm living with one roommate.

-How long have you been living in Argentina?

A little more than two months now.

-What is your age?

I'm 23 years old.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Argentina?

I first came up with the idea when one of my good friends pitched living down here to me (she actually ended up backing out), and I eventually fell in love with the idea.  I always knew that I wanted to travel, and coming here seemed like the perfect marriage of becoming fluent in Spanish and being able to travel South America.  The exchange rate certainly didn't hurt either.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?

The tourist visa down here works fine for me.  It's good for 90 days, and all I have to do to renew it is pop over to Uruguay or somewhere else close.  Great motivator to travel, have to do it every three months anyways right?

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

Medical insurance actually was a breeze, my carrier back in the States covers me just fine down here.  As long as I'm in a major city like Buenos Aires I'll have no problems with coverage.

-How do you make your living in Argentina? Do you have any type of income generated?

Down here I teach English and work for a hostel network (www.MiniHostels.com, check us out!)  The teaching English is fairly easy, mostly business related conversation classes with upper level company workers.  For MiniHostels I write and blog on all sorts of travel-related content, as well as help the company utilize online social media and SEO.  It's a great job for me, since I already do that on my own time with my own blog (www.ExpeditionEvan.com, check me out!). 

Both of my jobs I found after arriving here, I didn't look at all in the States.  Getting my English classes was easy, I sent out about 30 emails one morning to local schools and institutes and had three interviews two days later.  Right now I work for just one school, and almost all my classes are at Accenture, a huge consulting / outsourcing firm.  I found the MiniHostels job through Craigslist, they posted on the job board looking for writers and bloggers. 

I wouldn't say it's difficult to find work down here, as long as you're proactive in your job search and don't get discouraged when you're not hired on your first try.  Craigslist was my main tool, and the rest of my searches were online for international companies with a presence down here.

-Do you speak Spanish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

I do speak a fairly high level of Spanish, which helps immensely.  I think it's very important to learn the language.  I met a bar owner down here who after two years in Buenos Aires still speaks almost zero Spanish.  Why would someone come to live in another country if they didn't want to immerse themselves in the culture?  I really love experiencing all the quirks and social gaffes that come with living in a new country and a new culture, and I've definitely tried to observe local customs.  If you don't make a little effort you're making all expats look bad.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

I definitely miss my family and friends, but home as a physical place not really.  I'm not one to dwell on what I can't or don't have, so missing home would just take away from my new experiences down here.  There are a couple things that drive me bonkers, like the lack of peanut butter and other little comforts, but you quickly learn to do without.  I've also learned to love new things that I'll probably miss if I move back to the US, like the amazing steaks and yerba mate.  It's a tradeoff, so you quickly get used to it.

Recreationally I can do most things I did back home here.  I'm a futbol fanatic so being here is amazing, when you have such a great national team and one of the best soccer rivalries in the world (Boca vs. River Plate).  I play soccer once a week and run three times a week, which is about what I did back home.  I also really enjoy hitting up the nightlife in my barrio and playing chess in the park.  There's always a new experience waiting around the next corner and I'm really enjoying hopping around the city still as well.  Honestly I consider living down here on the whole a recreational activity.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

Right now I'm content learning the language, writing, and living life.  Of course I want to travel down here as much as possible (and MiniHostels will allow me to do just that!), so I've got some trips to places like Iguazu and Patagonia in the works right now.  MiniHostels has some big plans coming up so I'm going to try and make myself a part of those, and who knows where it will take me?  I'm along for the ride and loving every minute of it.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?

I share an apartment with a roommate and we pay $950 US for a two-bedroom in the centro.  It's a good deal for where we are, and I'm very happy with the apartment.  Most places around us in Palermo cost upwards of $1100 US a month for a two-bedroom.

-What is the cost of living in Argentina?

It really depends on your lifestyle.  For myself, the student lifestyle can be done on $800-900 US a month, if you're good at budgeting and don't mind pinching pennies sometimes.

-What do you think about the Argentines?

The locals are amazing.  I studied abroad in Spain and while the locals there were friendly, it was in a very reserved way.  Here Argentines welcome me with open arms and are really excited to talk about their country and what I think of it.  They treat foreigners like friends and it's very refreshing.  I've even successfully avoided political diatribes thus far!

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Argentina?

The positive aspects more than outweigh the negatives in my mind.  I'm down here learning a new language, exposing myself to another culture and continent, really learning about how other people live, and doing it completely independently.  That was a huge part of the appeal for me initially, just to challenge myself to travel on my own and see if I could really live in another country.  I think travel is one of the most enriching experiences someone can have, and everyone should do it if they have the chance.

There are of course a couple negatives, but mostly inconveniences.  The job market is pretty tough down here, besides teaching English.  I was pretty fortunate to land the MiniHostels job.  You also need to be ready to jump through many a bureaucratic hoop for things like residency, visas, and travel in general.  The way things are run down here can sometimes by mystifying.  But like I said, these are minor inconveniences and I'm loving it down here.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Argentina?

Sure.  I'd recommend coming down here with a decent amount of savings socked away to start, and a decent plan of what you want to be doing before you come.  Don't rent an apartment online before you come down, they'll rip you off.  Get a cheap hostel to start and hit the ground running, it's much easier to find an apartment on your own once you're here.  Be patient with the inconveniences and snags that arise, and you'll quickly learn to appreciate the experience for what it is.  If you're thinking about doing it, I can't recommend enough to just go for it.  It's been a great learning experience for me.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Argentina?

www.ExpeditionEvan.com: My personal blog, I post about three times a week pertaining to whatever random thoughts pop into my head.  Fun read if you like quirky views on moving to another country, or just want to read about my goofy exploits down here.  Let me know what you think!

www.MiniHostels.com: The company I work for, and a great hostel network to boot.  We have hostels all over South and Central America, and we're shooting to provide quality travel tips, advice, and itineraries on our site very soon.  It's a one-stop site for all your accommodation needs here! You'll find hostel reviews, backpacker articles, city advice and information, and travel forums as well.  Lots of new stuff will be starting up in the near future, so be sure to check us out!