4 great reasons to learn Spanish in Buenos Aires

Learning Spanish? One of the best ways to pick up a language quickly is by immersing yourself in it, which definitely throws you in at the deep end but is guaranteed to make you fluent! Spanish is a language spoken by 20 countries as their official language, so imagine how many incredible cities you can visit in this world to study in? What about Buenos Aires, both the capital and largest city of Argentina? Here are some reasons why you should learn Spanish in Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires: your gateway to travel in South America through learning Spanish
The perfect place for immersion
Put your Spanish to test out and about in Buenos Aires
Let’s get practical: what about the cost of living in Buenos Aires?

Photo via Flickr

Buenos Aires: your gateway to travel in South America through learning Spanish

There are more than two million people living in the city of Buenos Aires, which means so many people to practice Spanish with! The city’s website calls Buenos Aires the city of all passions and it is true; whether art, dance, gastronomy, or soccer is your thing, you can find things of interest to do here. And once you have mastered enough Spanish to be confident, you are perfectly placed for onward travel. After exploring the rest of Argentina work your way up the continent through Uruguay, Paraguay, and beyond. Exposure to the range of accents in Buenos Aires will get you well prepared!

The perfect place for immersion

So why is Buenos Aires such a great destination for Spanish learners? To start with, while the city experiences four distinct seasons, the temperature is always pretty welcoming; no harsh cold winters or blisteringly heated summers for Spanish learners here! And as well as good weather, whenever you visit there is always plenty to do. Buenos Aires hosts the Argentina Open in the Palermo every February, and the Festival and World of Tango takes place across the city throughout the month of August. Whatever your tastes and interests Buenos Aires has something for you—and plenty of Spanish practice opportunities as a result.

Photo via Pixabay

Put your Spanish to test out and about in Buenos Aires

So now it is time to put what you’re learning in your language classes in the city into practice. You have the perfect companions to practice with in your fellow students, who can help you get over any language hurdles because they are probably just as nervous as you are to initially try conversing! The city is working hard on its gender equality, has some of the most progressive transgender rights in the world, and is generally considered by many as one of the most LGBT-friendly places to visit. And with so many international events hosted in the city, from the BACIFI International Film Festival in April to the ExpoMedical trade fair in September, Buenos Aires is used to international visitors. In short, Buenos Aires is a welcoming city, whoever you are and whatever reasons you are visiting. The locals will not mind one bit if you practice your new Spanish on them; give it a try!

Let’s get practical: what about the cost of living in Buenos Aires?

Your first consideration when thinking of studying overseas is the costs involved. Studying is going to take a lot of your attention; can you dedicate your time to hours of study if you haven’t budgeted for adequate accommodation and meals? Be honest with yourself about your needs before you set off and your experience will be all the more rewarding. To give you a little guidance, here are some numbers to help you compare with prices you might be used to back home. Expatistan tells us that Buenos Aires is 65 percent cheaper to live in than Chicago, 73 percent cheaper than New York, and 67 percent cheaper than Los Angeles. The exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Argentinian Peso is about one dollar to 60.50 ARS (pesos), which makes prices easy to work out! For some everyday costs, we turn to Numbeo, who tell us that a small bottle of water costs 49.15 ARS, a beer around 100 ARS, and a monthly travel pass 720 ARS. For accommodation, you are looking at something between 13,000 and 16,000 ARS per month depending on where you are in the city, which is based on single occupancy. Your accommodation cost could be far cheaper if you opt to share with someone; perhaps you could find yourself sharing with one of your fellow students, or a host family, so you have no excuse to practice all the time!