Rolling the Dice in Times of Upheaval
Moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina During the 2008 Financial Crisis Was the Best Decision I’ve Ever Made
The US is in a situation unlike any we’ve faced as a country. 2020 has brought many challenges. A deadly pandemic, social unrest, a looming financial crisis, and nihilistic, self-interested national leadership that has proven completely incapable of reassuring us or making things better.
As a University employee, I have thought a lot about the impact this has on students, especially those who either getting ready to enter college or who have graduated this past spring. The situation reminds me of when I graduated, in 2009 at the height of a financial crisis, a history degree, and few job prospects and decided to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina to become an English teacher.
While 2020 graduates undoubtedly have it worse than I did (they were denied even the opportunity to finish their spring semesters in person and celebrate with their friends and families), what remains the same is the uncertainty and negative outlook on the future of the economy.
What Comes Next?
Many students lost summer internships or jobs they had lined up, and it is now unclear what the next step will be. Even going to grad school, the go-to option for many in times of high unemployment, is impacted as colleges are going virtual in the fall, and who wants to pay full price for a Zoom degree?
NYU Professor Scott Galloway has predicted that 2020–2021 will be the “Mother of all gap years”, and I believe this to be absolutely true as well. Not just for High School seniors, who may choose to take a year off before going to college, but for those who have just graduated and may “take a year off” from pursuing their careers.
When I was a recent grad, I certainly felt immediate pressure to solve the “What comes next” question. Looking back ten years later, I realize that I had plenty of time to solve this (I’m still solving it) and the right move was to focus on building skills and gaining experiences that would help me in the future.
Why I Decided to Move Abroad
It was Summer 2009. Jobs were scarce, and those that were available mostly weren’t responding to my applications. I also had a problem — I had no idea what I wanted to do.
After spending about six weeks working as an intern for a non-profit tech conference, two months working as a camp counselor for European High School students visiting NYC (which consisted mainly of waiting for them outside of Abercrombie and Fitch), the best paying job I could find was at Starbucks.
But a plan began to form. I’d spent my Junior year studying in Argentina and I loved it. I decided I would get certified as an ESL teacher and move back to Argentina. Maybe I’d spend six months or so, and then enroll in grad school when I returned.
I chose Buenos Aires because I felt I knew the city somewhat and could land successfully, plus I wanted to perfect my Spanish.
Working at Starbucks after I’d graduated college was an ego-blow at first. I wondered why I’d gotten a degree at all. But I learned a lot of valuable customer-service and time management skills and made some great friends. To this day, I respect the training that Starbucks puts its employees through and the standards they expect.
After about eight months, I’d saved enough to make the move. I booked myself into a 30-day ESL teacher certification course in Buenos Aires, found a hostel, and bought a one-way airline ticket.
Arriving in Argentina
I arrived in Buenos Aires at about 3am on January 3, 2010. A cab driver took me to the hostel in the middle of the night, I checked in with the sleepy receptionist and he led me to my bunk.
Lights were out, and there were five Germans sleeping in bunk beds. I climbed to the only free bed, a top bunk, fully clothed, and lay on my back thinking, “What in the hell did I get myself into?”
Over the next few weeks as I took my certification course, I had the most fun since I graduated college. The hostel was alive, with people from all over the world, speaking dozens of languages and sharing stories of travel and adventure. Years later, I still remember some of the characters I met living in that hostel for a few weeks.
Soon, I found an apartment on Craigslist and moved in. One of the guys living there was a Brazilian who worked for a South American tech company. He became one of my best friends, and seven years later I was a groomsman in his wedding where I first got together with my wife.
What I Learned Being a Teacher
After I completed my certification program, it wasn’t too difficult to find a job. Native English speakers were in-demand for language institutes across Buenos Aires and paid decent wages.
The biggest challenge was that I wasn’t teaching in one location — I had to travel all over the city to meet clients in their offices. For every hour I spent teaching, I probably spent another hour traveling. I didn’t love teaching and ruled it out as something I wanted to do as a career.
Things started to level out and become stable. I grew accustomed to living, working and partying in Buenos Aires. I had a girlfriend and began volunteering for a local nonprofit that helped me realize that I ultimately wanted to work for a social justice organization.
Working with so many different clients, many of them high-level corporate executives, taught me valuable relationship management and conversational skills that I depend upon in my career today.
I made so many beautiful friends, learned Spanish, and had some of the best times of my life. Six months became two years, before I finally returned home to the US.
Regrets
As Sinatra would say, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention.
Really, the only things I regret about my experience were what I didn’t do. I had a few business ideas related to tourism and education that I never made happen. I kind of wish I had spent another year living there before returning.
But all in all, moving abroad was one of the best decisions of my life, and it was a decision I made without knowing exactly how it would all play out.
Looking back, I see the genesis of so much of who I am today and what my career has become in those two years I spent living abroad post-college.
Recent Grads, It Might be Time to Roll the Dice
This is going to be a difficult time for recent grads one way or the other. Lots of plans have been unmade in the last few months.
Amidst all the tragedy and disappointment, there are opportunities to take risks and try new things that may not have existed before.
Doing something like moving abroad will likely be impossible for the next six to eighteen months.
My advice for recent grads would be, find any way possible to make money working from home right now, even if it’s a customer service job or something completely unrelated to your major.
Save up, and then when things start to normalize, take a risk. Whether that’s moving to another country, or starting a business, times like this are a great time to think outside of the box.
