Why they came back: They paid US $ 10,000 a month in New Zealand, but now they are betting on a small town in Buenos Aires.

DUGGAN.- “At one point we realized we were earning more than the president,” he says Maria Lus Teleflor (31 years). In 2015, they moved in with his partner New Zealand Two years later, with the idea of ​​harvesting kiwi, they were billing nearly $ 10,000 a month. “In the first week we were able to buy a car,” he recalled. Fagundo Esnola (32 years). Exceeding Language barriers And Lifestyles, Spent seven years in jobs that New Zealanders did not. But they returned to them last November The guy who pays And is built a house that is Rural abode On weekends DugganA small town in the municipality San Antonio de ArecoWhere do they come from.

“At one point we looked at each other: we were rich,” Esnola admits. Even on vacation he never left Areco. He was a mason. “If we didn’t even have a motorcycle, we would have two cars and lived in a beautiful house,” he says. A few days later Auckland They got it Work. “I could not speak a word English“, He agrees. The first day at work they went looking for him in the van and when he left they did not know how to get back to the apartment they shared.” I had to use Google Translate to get back on the bus, “he says.

“The problem Money It disappears and it’s a heavy burden to be without – says Teleflor. So you focus on the work. The Personal relationships They are complex. “Kiwi’s cultural identity, as the New Zealanders dialect name it, is inward.” They have not been open to visitors, and in seven years we have never had friends Kiwis. We joined together Chileans Even more so Argentines Who lives there, “he asserts.

“The important thing is: you get a job very quickly, and they pay you well,” Esnavola expects. It was planned to participate Kiwi harvest. “Some friends from San Antonio de Areco did it, and it was great,” he says. But for them the New Zealand adventure drove them out of the countryside. They never harvested. An Arequera friend received them. They spent six months sharing a house, and “it helped them get into the computer,” Teleflor described.

To work, the first step is to obtain an IRD (Department of Inland Revenue), Is equivalent to processing the record in our monotax. Esnola got her first job: mowing grass in parks. They gave him a cell phone with a processor that had green spaces to maintain. The first week I already had 500 New Zealand Dollars In his pocket. One local dollar equals 0.70 US dollars. On the island, the national currency is simply called the dollar.

Teleflor, a kinesiologist and in Buenos Aires She had a steady job and got a job as a bar attendant. It was not a good experience. “But a week later we got a 2010 model used car,” says Esnola.

She then began cleaning houses; He misbehaved at night and while drunk at the bar. “This is a job I did without any problems. When you leave your country, you find that you have talents that you did not know existed,” he says. The House cleaning Is a Change jobs Very profitable and sustainable that New Zealanders do not; Therefore, staff is always needed. “They give you a car, cleaning supplies and a cell phone with a processor, which has a list of houses that need to be cleaned and some specifications for each,” he explains.

He had two bosses, a Chilean and a Chinese. “I’ve visited millionaire homes and you can’t put a fingerprint on a mirror,” he says. “There was not a hair on the floor, but they complained to the company,” he adds. From $ 500 per week, he started earning more. Five years later, the same salary for both: 1,200 per week, or $ 4,800 (NZ) per month, on a double basis. Fagundo began painting houses for a company, and in his spare time he also worked as an independent. “In one month, I raised $ 8,000 to paint a house,” he says.

Life there is work-centered. The Latin Community She does all the hard work. Trading, cleaning and masonry. “Forget eating roast, New Zealanders will not get along with us,” says Esnavola. “As well, everything ends very quickly,” he says. Meetings with Argentine friends (many from Buenos Aires) and the Chileans start at 6:00 pm and everyone is home by 10:00 pm. “Stores will close at 18,” Telefloor explains. “No. Departures From friends to bars, it’s not, and he misses a lot, “Esnavola insists.

Argentine Products They come, but are expensive. One kilogram Herb It costs $ 25 and a bottle Fernet, 70. Good wine labels are available for $ 15. The Rent $ 300 for a studio apartment; “It’s customary to share a house,” Teleflor says. In 2019 they decided to rent one living place Two main rooms for $ 600. “We return to Argentina every year, and with a week’s work you can already pay for the ticket,” concludes Esnavola.

“What surprised us the most was coming back from trips and seeing that there was a lot of money in the bank account,” he says. “We know we won’t be forever,” he says. So they came up with a plan: To save So much money.

But a Accident Their plan to work and save changed for a moment. Esnavola’s tendons were torn while playing football in a park. “We thought it was all over, we got used to Argentina, how expensive the operations were,” Teleflor recalled. However, the issue was quickly fixed. The State of New Zealand He took care of everything. “Any person, citizen or tourist involved in an accident at a public park is insured and all costs are covered. They gave me everything and for six months they even paid 80% of my salary. We just can’t believe it. “

“But there came a time when having money did not make us happy. We had everything, but the emptiness of not seeing you in your land will never be filled,” he concludes. They set another goal: they invest everything they earn in their small fee. Decided to buy land. A writer friend San Antonio de Areco He pointed to the place: Duggan15 km from the main city.

In 2019 they moved to Areco and gave Maria Loose’s father the power of attorney. At the end of that year, they bought land in Duggan; Before making a firm return to Argentina, another. They began to build: the idea was to build a house, but a dwelling, and then another.

The Isolation To him Corona virus It was a turning point. Though slight, they thought they could not return to Argentina. “We were locked up for only a month and a half and then we went back to our normal lives. But we were afraid we would get stuck,” they point out.

One fact makes a difference: the State of New Zealand paid all monotax payers three months in advance of the billing they were doing before the isolation. “One day I woke up with thousands of dollars in my account. Isolation was a vacation for us, ”Teleflor said. “Also, we realized we didn’t want to spend our lives in another country,” he says.

“We built the house Share”, Says Esnola. A mason from Duggan built it, and through the news, he told them about the progress. The return is long; To him GovtThey had to orbit the planet. “The flight took 50 hours,” Teleflore recalled. Different sizes included Australia, Qatar and BarcelonaUntil you leave them inside Ezeiza, Where they came from seven years ago. They arrived at the end of November 2021 and went straight to Dukan. “We went home and cried emotionally,” he says. The family was waiting for them with a barbecue.

“We worked well throughout the summer and we felt that many people needed peace of mind,” Telefloor says, adding that they called the impact on passenger accommodation. Tukan’s cottage (@ the.duggan.house) By the time they rent it out, they will be moving back to their parents’ home in San Antonio de Areco until they can build a second home on the other land.

What advice would you give to those who want to leave the country? “Let them have experience, have work outside, they are well paid. At worst, you’ll be back if something goes wrong, “says Esnola.” It opens your mind, it gives you opportunities to grow, but leaving the country does not make you happy. ” Offers. ”We want to provide an alternative to having a place in town Tourists Come on in, ”he concludes.