Chile Forum

by **mlightheart** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:45 pm

Do you think they were concerned about wood items and books because of bugs, not because they think they were going to be resold here?

by **Gloria** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:25 pm

You are exactly right Martin, they are concerned about bugs. However I would imagine for someone as RWS who's passioned about books, they would put them in quarentine as they do for those that bring furniture into the country and no more drama. I personally had about 5 boxes total of books and magazines declared and I told my customs agent that they were brand new.I have no idea if it made any difference however I can tell you that customs didn't inspected my crates and one of the reasons I'm assuming was because the way we packed the stuff....so very tight and wrapped also in plastics PLUS the amount of screws around the crates it would have taken anyone about 15 mins at least per side to be able to open it. If they see probable reason they would open it regardless and I'm certain that they also have trained dogs to sniff anything unusual.

by **mlightheart** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 2:27 pm

Yeah, I had 5 boxes of computer books and a box of magazines too. The boxes were the standard book box size of 18x12x12 (inches). But we also had a good many boxes of other books as well in addition to my computer books. Probably not as many as RWS has, but quite a few.

Got the boxes from a nearby ULine warehouse in Georgia. I might have mentioned ULine before in a post somewhere. I also think that they are concerned from where the books are coming from.

by **RWS** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:17 pm

Over a hundred of those standard book boxes here, and still counting -- I've been packing for more than a year, off and on. Not a happy experience, packing under pressure, but living without my books would be worse (did I mention that I love books?).

by **mlightheart** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:43 pm

Like Gloria said, you will need to have your packing list in English and Spanish. I didn't list what books were in the boxes, but I think that maybe you might be doing that.

As for the value of used books, that is hard to gauge. We bought a lot of books from vendors through ABE and a handful through amazon that were still in print.

RWS, how much more book packing do you have to do?

by **RWS** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:15 pm

mlightheart wrote:Like Gloria said, you will need to have your packing list in English and Spanish. I didn't list what books were in the boxes, but I think that maybe you might be doing that.

I think I'll simply list, for example, "Boxes 1-199: used books".

mlightheart wrote:. . . . RWS, how much more book packing do you have to do?

Enough to occupy most of my free time 'til the beginning of the new year, I fear.

by **eeuunikkeiexpat** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:21 pm

RWS wrote:...Enough to occupy most of my free time 'til the beginning of the new year, I fear.

Then what are you doing spending so much time on this board :!:

by **RWS** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:23 pm

Gooooood question!

Actually, I glance at the board from time to time while working on the computer (as I'm self-employed, that hurts no one's income but my own). One can't always be lifting and taping, packing and lifting!

by **mlightheart** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:34 pm

Pack a few boxes of books, move them around, take a break from packing and look at the forum. Repeat. Unless you run out of tape and boxes, then you have to add run to store to get more tape and boxes to the routine.

by **RWS** on Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:06 pm

¡Ja! Sí, me sirve bien.

by **Gloria** on Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:54 am

Well, changing the subject a little, I skipped a part before arriving to Valdivia.We originally planned to stay in Santiago just few days enough to get some papers done, spend sometime with a friend and go south afterwards.We ended up staying about 12 days due to the major storm that created a mess and cut a couple of bridges. Afterwards, we were happy to know that we finally were able to travel south.My body and mind were tired of so much running around trying to cover all basis, I felt my defenses draining and I caught a nasty bronchial virus that didn't let go.I felt like crap but we travelled on the bus overnite anyway. We arrived in Valdivia and a sunny day welcomed us.Now we could start planning our lives in a somewhat "foreign" land. Although I speak the language, everything else was foreign to me.The way they talk, the way they think and the way they do things. Anyhow, we went back to the same "hospedaje" where we stayed in 06 and 07 for a short while.I kept in touch with the owner from the States so I felt pretty much at "home" there. After saying our hellos and leaving our never ending luggage in the room, we went right to downtown in search of a newspaper.Our house rental hunting was in progress.We needed a house, not an apartment because of our 6 crates filled with things due to arrive on June 6 and space was a concern. On our way to the square, we stopped at a real estate office to inquire about rental and what was involved.Their commission was 50% of the rental paid by the renter and after 6 months an automatic rental increase!! Holy cow! 50% sound pretty steep to me! Let me get the newspaper instead and see what's available, we may get lucky and save the commission with a private.(So I thought).
The paper was not much help therefore we went to the supermarkets to read bulletin boards. Armed with cellular, pen and paper I read few ads and made few phone calls to set up appointments to see a possible rental.We set an amount ( about $150.000) curious to see what we were going to get.
Due to lack of knowledge about the areas in the city, we went to our first appoitnment and ..........OMG!!! we ended up in CRAPVILLA!!! This guy was renting a house that looked more like a closet....a dog house ( without the dog) for $120.000!!! totally runned down!! was he joking?? Nope, he was dead serious! We didn't walked out of there... we ran!! Jumped in the taxi and returned to the hospedaje.
TO BE CONTINUED.

by **RWS** on Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:08 am

'Sounds miserable, Gloria. But I'm hooked. What happened next?

by **Gloria** on Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:58 pm

Everyday we pounded the streets,. We were going thru different neighborhoods looking for a sign in the window FOR RENT and nothing. Days went by doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel.The mall was a place for us to be able to connect to the internet. We looked every ad available, plenty of cabañas (not suitable for us due to the size) cabañas all over the place but houses...nothing.I couldn't understand why nothing was showing up therefore we increased the peso amount to a max of $200.000. We had made a plan not to pay high rent, after all it's money right out of the window til we find the right piece of land to build on it....if we decided to stay in Valdivia. At this point we were experimenting and adventuring...testing the waters more or less.The search for a rental was not going well at all and my frustration and pressure was increasing.At this point the entire hospedaje was "on alert" and helping us for any "word of mouth" possibility.I even made by hand little cards with what I wanted and how to contact me and I gave them to any warm body that stood in front of me.Meanwhile we continue walking and getting somewhat discouraged for what we were seeing.....it was puzzling to us to find "sprinkles" of nice looking houses right in the middle of absolutely crappy areas.This wasn't going the way I thought.The clock was ticking and the days were moving in the calendar.I didn't wanted to get depressed, I wasn't going to give up...although I felt as if the world turned its back on us.
I saw and ad in the paper with good possibilities...a house for rent, spacious,5 rooms ( we wanted up to 3...but what the hell..) and $190.000 in Tejas Sur.We had a little bit of knowledge with the area because few days earlier we went looking in that section of the city.To make sure, I inquired about it and the responses were positive. I made an appointment for the same day at 5 pm hoping that they would be there at our time and not chilean time meaning that sometimes they don't show up ( we've already went thru that experience) or get there 1/2 hour late.
On our way there by taxi, we noticed that the neighborhood was not the same we had visited few days earlier, this one didn't have front yards and wasn't kept as the others....hum....it didn't looked what we thought. Surprisingly the owner was arriving at the same time we did...5pm sharp!! we were enthusiastic and veryyyyyyy positive. We greeted each other and she opened the door saying at the same time that the place was just cleared by the prior renter and she didn't have the opportunity to "air" the place. She was right.The stench of cigarette was very present. The house had 5 rooms on the left and 3 bathrooms on the right with 2 areas that she called "kitchen".(..kitchen?...not in my vocabulary).Carpeting throughout, she added...pointing out to an outdoor type of covering on the floor.If that's carpeting...I'm Angelina Jolie .No patio at all and no backyard, no outdoor space whatsoever.OMG, once again my arms got long almost touching the ground of dissapointment. She explained that the house was "designed" to have it rented to students ( everything in Valdivia revolves around the Universities, students etc ). After an inspection by us, I looked in direction to my partner and we both at the same time gave the thumbs down signal.And the search continues.....
TO BE CONTINUED)

by **helibel** on Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:30 pm

I have questions, but i want the rest and "the happy ending" I hope.

by **Gloria** on Thu Jul 03, 2008 5:01 pm

I was getting damned tired and desperate.I wanted to get out the hospedaje( although I loved the owner.She was so compassionate and helpful but I guessed my desperation was showing in my face because several times she comforted me by saying....."this is only your second week in Valdivia, and 2 weeks of waiting is nothing in the south plus you have done so much, so calm down, you'll find the house you are looking for"). I couldn't tell her that we were sick and tired of eating sandwiches, we wanted to eat real cooked homemade food and that the humidity in the room was killing me, the musty smells was affecting me and I was convinced that that the mold and mildew under the house was doing something to my system... and I was right, my chest was getting tight, a sign of another bronchial infection was approaching. Shit! not now!! I don't want to get sick again!!!
Lord, please make it happen!!! We need a decent house where we can put all the stuff from 6 crates coming in a week and a half!!!! I prayed over and over again.By this time I was coughing and my nose was running.....Rudolphs nose was handsome next to mine.I was in trouble therefore we went to the pharmacy.(The pharmacists in Chile are the closest to a doctors prescriptions you can get without paying the big bill) and I told him my symptoms. He gave me a syrup and some pills to take every 8 hours.Awesome, I was in my way to recovery.
We couldn't stop now, the show must go on and once again to the mall.Armed with all our doodaas and laptop we sat in the WIFI zone....(whatever) At this point I didn't give a crap were we sat, I just wanted to GET IT DONE and connect. This time I put a darned ad in the internet in a classified. And just for giggles and kicks I looked in one of severals Valdivia's real estate sites, I just wanted to kill some time and get distracted instead of wiping my nose constantly.
Why did I picked this particular site? Maybe was fate 'cause there it was what we were looking for!!!!! A nice little house with 3 bedrooms, front and back yard, in a good part of town with a price tag of $200.000 per month. I got my cellular and made an appointment.Once again we made it for 5pm.
We told each other, let's hope this is it, the end of our search. I got reenergized and needless to say I was anxious.15 mins before 5 pm we took a taxi and we went to meet the agent.He was already there!!! very impressive, right on time!!! Greetings were in order and we entered the house.The owner was very cordial and let us look around.All was pleasing to our eyes.The house was small but cute with a second floor and a nice little yard.The kitchen long and narrow.We felt good there and we asked to speak to the agent.We wanted to rent it.The commission was 30% and all the usual requirements.I told him we wanted to sign the contract today. He took us to the office to meet his "boss" ( the agency's owner) a soft spoken and extremely helpful gentleman.The deal was done and finally our search was OVER!!! Thank you Lord, you heard my prayers!!!
TO BE CONTINUED

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Relocation, Construction,
and all your needs in Chile, South America
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