Chile Forum

I just want to say that I am sitting here incredulous. The budgets you all are showing are lot less than what we are paying right now in the Philippines and it's supposedly a cheap country. I guess I gotta look for plane tickets.

[quote="Rook"]Transportation - 3000 using micros/collectivos [/quote]

I should add that this was in the context of weekly expenses. However, to me this seems a very low number, are you using micros & colectivos daily, or is this infrequent use? I will likely be taking 3-4 micro rides a day (is it at 400 pesos now?).

Micros in Concepcion are running between 300 and 450 and colectivos are from 400 to 500 all depending on the route you are on.. these prices can be negotiated with the driver but as mentioned on another thread this is done at your own risk in the event of an accident if the driver did not give you a ticket.. although i am told that in the event of an accident the bus driver is responsible for all passengers regardless of the ticket stubs but that's hearsay..

No I do not use micros daily, in Vina, I typically walk instead of taking micros/collectivos. I am fortunate and have access to a car for the trips to La Feria but for trips to supermarket, mall, downtown/center and such, I typically walk. In the summer, we biked up to Reneca, but will use micros to Valpo. Micros - Vina to Valparaiso - 430 one way. Vina plan 310 one way. Bus to Santiago is about 6000 round trip.

Great, thanks for the information Rook. One further question, given that you had mentioned that you are living in los ponientes, do you have a favorite grocery store or panaderia in the area. If my memory isn't failing me, I believe there is both a Santa Isabel and an Unimarc close to the 4 - 5 norte con 2 - 3 poniente area. Any preferences there?

I really don't have a preference. I know people have said the bread is better at Unimarc. One nice thing about Santa Isabel is that if you have a large purchase and live reasonable close, the kid that bags your food will push the shopping cart with food all the way to your apartment door. Not a bad deal for 500 pesos or whatever you feel comfortable tipping. I assume that Unimarc has the same deal but have never used it. Supermarkets in Vina plan (excluding Lider < NO EMAIL > the mall).

Santa Isabel = 1 poniente between 9 & 10 Norte
Unimarc = 7 norte between 3 & 4 poniente
Santa Isabel = Calle Quillota between 5 & 6 norte (los oriente)

Not that Futaleufu is very relevant for northern, or central Chile, but here is what is comes down to for us. Nine months now so I have things averaged out and in pesos.

Rent for 2 bedroom unfurnished house 70,000
Electric 8,000
Water 1,500
Internet and phone 30,000
Food and cerveza 150,000
259,500

I no longer use the cell phone and don't have a long distance plan because I use Yahoo Messenger Phone In/Phone out on the computer.

Basic direct TV is 10,000
Propane for stove and in-line hot water heater 17,000 and should last a couple months depending on use.

Chili Wiki has a shopping link where you can compare prices for appliances, and household items. If you are single or a young couple, I wouldn't bring anything but clothes, computer and favorite CD, DVD's. Buy the rest here. My two pesos.

Vicki

This may help with the cost of living in Chile...


SANTIAGO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Chile's government on Thursday cut by almost half the fees mobile phone operators can charge to use each other's lines for the next five years, as mobile phone traffic increases and the costs of service decline.

President Michelle Bachelet signed a decree that decreases access or connection fees, which represent about 95 percent of what users pay for each call, by 44.6 percent on average after setting new rates for the 2009-2014 period.

I wonder what those of you living in Santiago on gas directo are paying for natural gas by the therm/BTU/MCF or however it is measured here. I can´t seem to find this information anywhere else and don´t know what is reasonable here.

Ouch, I can't believe how little you all spend. We must be doing something wrong...

James.

I remember reading this thread last yr. and being hopeful. Now having lived here for over a yr.this very last post takes the words right out of my mouth...'we must be doing something wrong...'
In Nov. we rented a 'house' in Campiche. Large yes, but nothing more than a 'lean to' in my husband's opinion. Very poorly built, hard to heat, no real maintenance to property in yrs. and yrs. When it rained the roof leaked, no hot water in the kitchen, leaky windows that had huge gaps in the framework and let in cold/hot air. Gosh the list goes on and on. Now. at first glance the place looked quaint and interesting and we were under a time crunch to rent something. Only after moving in did we discover all the things wrong with the place. The rent was 150,000 mth. PLUS...'rent' on some old broken down furniture the landlord left in the house. We had little furniture at the time so we felt forced to agree to pay an extra 40,000 a mth. for his stuff. This means we were paying 190,000 for a shack essentially. We had signed a 12 mth. lease so we toughed it out. We were told that the electricity was cheap something like 12,000 a mth. Wrong...our bills were generally triple that or more!!

So we make a decision to move. We find something we think will be better. We move in, it is only slightly better (hubby says we have gone from a 'lean to' to a 'shack/cabana')...and our rent is now 210,000. In our zeal to move we made a poor choice once again. Again, leaky windows/doors with huge gaps, leaky roof. Musty smelling house, poorly constructed inside and out. Are we total smucks? For this amount of rent...given the cost of living here...what do you all think we should be paying? I am at a total loss here and hate the thought of moving again...but I fear that may be the only option. Are there no decently built, affordable houses in Chile? And we run into the red monthly...I just don't get it!!!! We rarely eat out, we shop carefully foodwise, we eat little to no red meat. We don't own a car, so no car payments. I am all ears as to how to resolve this and live better on the income we have.

Wow, I also can't believe how little some of you are able to spend!
Antofagasta is much more expensive. We (partner and I) spend about $1,100,000CLP a month, maybe more. Mainly this is because the rent we pay is significantly more than anything I have seen mentioned here ($400,000 a month for a 3 bed apartment, central, large by Chilean standards), and we have some debt for our car (Around $200,000 a month). I find groceries more expensive here (than NZ), even going to the Vega, we're vegetarian, so no expensive meat, although I do buy expensive cheese. Most of it has to be trucked here, so I can understand it's more expensive than the south. Unfortunately, my partner's kids are here in Antofa, so moving to another part of the country where accommodation is cheaper is not an option. Just a warning for anyone coming North... i've been told Antofa is the most expensive city in Chile.
-Rachel

I stick to the budget estimates I posted 18 months ago. I think to make big savings in Chile you either have to downgrade your standards of living (and you'll spend less than in US/Europe for less comfort) or you have to upgrade your standards (and you get more for about the same you'd spend for the basics in US/Europe, which is what we're going for). Most houses on the coast aren't done with all-year round living in mind and gets cold/damp or even wet in the winter. We're happy to buy and get it renovated our way because I think renting is a sure way to get frustrated - I'd probably stick to an apartment if I had to rent long term.

There are products and services significantly cheaper here, and some others quite more expensive than in the US (everything in Europe tends to be overpriced anyway). It is not a no brainer that Chile will save you money, you have to look at the mix of what you consume to make sure it works for you. You also have to know where to buy stuff (e.g. feria vs. supermarket) and take more time before making big purchases (we bought almost nothing for our new house at list price, it's all about looking for sales).

otravers wrote:You also have to know where to buy stuff (e.g. feria vs. supermarket)

I think this is the biggest thing. I live in Viña and manage to spend around 500,000 CLP per month (one person living in a fairly nice 1-bedroom apt). It really comes down to knowing where to buy stuff. For example, buying fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, etc., at the feria instead of at the supermarket; searching for discount stores rather than buying everything at Falabella, Ripley, or Paris. First, you have to commit to not having the same lifestyle as in NA or Europe (i.e., no car, no fancy meals, etc.) and from there you can really get by on quite a reasonable budget. I think if I had to I could get down to 400,000 CLP per month.