Chile Forum

Help! I need to determine a good, safe town to live in that's not corrupted by tourism. I prefer smaller towns, say not more than 100,000 or so people.

Can somebody recommend a nice town to live besides Santiago that not on the coast?

I would need to be within a reasonable distance from the Argentina border as frequent trips will be required to renew a tourist visa every 3 months.

I noticed there isn't even one member here who lives in Curico.. I did find one from Talca. Heh..

Anyone?

I would try Talagante and the environs....you can get casa de campo de adobe, de lo antiguo....also ISla de Maipo...both have the carraterra del sol that go into Santiago...bus service will get you into el centro in about 20 to 45 minutes. Los Andes is nice but way to far for regular commuting into Santiago. Your next spot might be in "El Arrayan" above Santiago...really nice and fairly olde chile so to speak. Nunoa isn't so bad, which is in Santiago and there are some nice spots around la clinica las condes(strangely rural but not...)...but takes a while to find something not to spendy. I wouldn't worry about the visa run to argentina..the times will all be the same and readily accesible.

good luck y saludos,

p out

Thank you very much for the advise! Talagante sounds interesting from what I googled, mostly found info on it in Spanish only. I speak four languages so far and Espagnol is not one of them..hoping to be somewhat fluent in a year or so. Right now I only speak weak spanglish.

What is the best place to find info on these cities (other than getting there and investigating)?

I lived in Valparaiso for one year (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours bus ride from Santiago, still not too far from Mendoza), and also spent some time in neighboring Viña del Mar. I loved living by the sea! Is that too far from Santiago for you?

Valparaiso is beautiful! Though rather dingy, it has an undeniable character of its own -- ie, if you like old, worn, but romantic, could be the place for you. I wouldn't move there if I had children (port city, a little dangerous), but seeing as I don't, if you offered me a good job there tomorrow, I'd take the first bus! I don't know if I should waste more time on descriptions, maybe you could just check out photos on the web (there are tons!)

If you prefer safer, more modern and (much) cleaner surroundings, you might be interested in Viña del Mar. It also has plenty of places to go out, and walk, plus a nice, pedestrians-only (though not so exciting) center. Plus, it's 10 minutes from Valparaiso by bus.

As for rents, you can find 2 bedrooms in your range, pretty easily.

I don't know what other info to add, but if you have any specific questions about Valparaiso/Viña I'm at your service!

Thank you very much, that was exactly the sort of info I was fishing for!

Is Viña del Mar in about the same price range as Valparaiso as far rent is concerned? What other city in the world would you compare it to?

I happened to notice that Santiago has a lot of houses with bars on windows.. What is your take on this? Is it the same in Valparaiso and Vina? Should I be concerned of burglars?

I wouldn't worry about it otherwise but I have a lot of computer and camera equipment because of my work.

I live in Vina, and though its not a dangerous city I certainly feel more secure living in a 24-hour concierge staffed apartment building than I would living in a house. Crime is not a huge problem, yet it does occur, and living in a staffed apartment building is certainly more secure.

After being broken into I can vouch that a 24-hour concierge staffed apartment building or a 'condominio' is a lot more secure than a house.. but that is questionable as thieves are changing their habits here as seen on the news lately.. they mostly come in through the front door posing as delivery guys or sales people.. there have been reports of people in 'secure' buildings being robbed because the concierge wasn't on the ball.. I guess it comes down to how much attention you draw to yourself.. we made the grave mistake of hiring cars too often (which meant we were going away for an extended amount of time) and parking the car outside the house and loading all our bags for all to see.. lesson learnt.. as for bars on the windows.. it only slows the thieves down by a fraction.. there is a thread on how to secure your house down better and things to do in order to avoid being targets.. El Puelche and others have great tips and ideas/advice.. easy to find by doing a search..

Hmmm.. things to consider there. Thanks for the information.

I wonder what cities in Chile are generally considered more safe?

I am guessing the small towns are safer than Santiago or Valparaiso for example.

Perhaps you should ask Vicki about life in Futaleufú.

Bars on windows (Rejas) are a fact of life anywhere they speak Spanish, be it Madrid,San Juan , San Miguel de Allende or a village in Chile. From the Spanish came a idea that "if you don't protect it, and I can take it,it isn't really stealing". petty thievery is a problem everywhere, no matter what language people speak, but Rejas have been part of Spanish architecture for centuries.

Isla de Maipo, about 30-40 mins by bus (micros to santiago are about every 5 mins) outside of Santiago in the wine country. Small town that has still managed to maintain it's colonial feel. It is growing, but you will still see people riding their horses up and down the streets. A lot of my wife's family lives there.

The central region will always be more dangerous simply because there are a lot more people. Still, you can get robbed in the rural areas if you do not put out the proper community hands off flags. Typically hiring a local caretaker is sufficient for everyone in town to get the word to leave the gringo's property alone.

RWS...Yes, I'm always happy to sing sweet praises for Futa, but reading the posters' posts, it's probably too remote here. Now with Chaiten gone, getting anything sent here is a major ordeal. If solitude and extraordinary beauty is priority, and you don't mind living ala early last century (with internet and electric, though) this is the place. Futa is a lifestyle in itself, not for everyone, full-time at least!

Vicki

Many thanks for all the advise to everyone! This forum is really a terrific resource, and I take it as good sign that the expats in Chile still have time to hang out on forums.

That means, life in Chile isn't that hectic for you.

I will look into all the places mentioned. Can't wait to actually get there and do my field research.

I would love to find a smallish town that has a great community, maybe a few gringos as well to network with. Definitely not a tourist town though, so I think the coastal towns are off the list.

Is there a town with a perfect mix of old world charm and newly founded modernism that tourists haven't ransacked?