Chile Forum

Hello all. Thanks for all of the great information and insight you provide. I am close to the point where I am ready to leave the US for good and move to Chile, or so I think. One of the basic questions is, of course, will I be able to make enough money to live? My needs are very basic. I don't expect or want lujos. But I don't want to be cold and hungry, either. For those of you who are living in Chile, can you give me a rough estimate of what it costs on a monthly basis? Rent (or mortgage) for a 2 bedroom place, utilities (phone, gas, electricity, cable TV/internet), food, transportation,etc. I know there's going to be a lot of variability in your responses, depending on the specifics of the location and lifestyle....that's OK...I'm just trying to get an idea of how far my savings will stretch and how much I'll have to work to make this idea become real. Thx.

Another interesting thread:

topic1426.html

Search is a wonderful feature.

point taken. thx

It depends on the person or family. Everybody's different and may have different 'nessesities'. Also, depends on where you want to live, some places are more expensive. Do you want to live in a trendy area like say, Renaca or Las Condes ?

Arica is in the far north of Chile, my basic expenses there for an apartment, gas, water, electricity, Internet, and gastos communos was, IIRC, about 325USD per month. That's not including food. Check my back posts I made a thread about my bills. Check out TomBrad2's blog for all the Arica info: http://infoarica.blogspot.com/ Tomas is a good guy to know. Arica is not for everybody I guess, being in the north, but it's a nice place and has the benefit of being pretty cheap to live there.

Are you single? You can find cheap in Valpo, but you may not want to even let your dog live in it. As a very rough estimate you'll pay 150k+ CLP per month to get a somewhat liveable place. But even then.... be careful. Think more like 175ish to 200. Apt and house hunting in Chile is a HUGE subject with an amazing amount of twisty 'gotcha's'.

Don't burn any bridges. Chile may not be for you. Check it out for awhile first. Chile has frustrating things about it that for a gringo take getting used to, in other words it aint a paradise. That said i wish I was there now.

Assuming your single have at least 10k-12k USD before you go. It may be difficult to make in money in Chile, again that depends on the person. I know it's time consuming but there is a lot of good info on this forum. Take some time to read all the old threads. You'll be better informed about what to expect.

cheers.

cali_chile48 wrote:I am close to the point where I am ready to leave the US for good and move to Chile, or so I think.

In another thread you talked about a relationship with a Chilena. If you live together and she works, it shouldn't be much of a problem. If you marry, it makes it easier to get a temporary (and permanent) visa. That makes it easier to get work authorization with the visa (I hope I'm wording it right). But, people live on tourist visas forever. It's just a hassle to renew your visa every 90 days. And, you can't work. You have to convert to a contract or investor visa (depending on the type of work).

You mentioned you're 48. Do you have a pension with your employment? You might stick with it until you're eligible to receive the pension (50? 55?). If you have a guaranteed income like that, it makes everything easier (even the ability to get a non-tourist visa that are granted if you can show self-sustaining income.). Also, some pensions are designed to have exponential growth in the final years. In my case, if I leave now compared to five years from now, it's a big difference (like, what I gained in the prior 10 years).

Mark

Total monthly expenses for two people living in a one-bedroom apartment, living a no-frills, bare-bones lifestyle has come out to 450.000 pesos.

Clearly a high-rent district, J.A.L.!

RWS wrote:Clearly a high-rent district, J.A.L.!

Exactly. We've spent the first few months in a furnshed 1 bedroom in los ponientes. A real rip-off, but our only option at the time.

OUCH!!!! Looks like I'll definitely won't be moving to Viña any time soon.

eeuunikkeiexpat wrote:OUCH!!!! Looks like I'll definitely won't be moving to Viña any time soon.

I don't want to give the impression that good deals on apartments aren't available. With time one can find a one-bedroom unfurnished apartment (probably not by the beach) for around 140.000 más gastos comunes (probably around 30.000).

yea, vina is the bench mark really of high rent in Chile.

We have some relatives that own apartments overlooking the ocean in some of the more sought after buildings (across the street from the beach). They can get up to 400,000 a day during the peak summer months and especially during the new years fireworks show for their three bedroom, two bath apartments.

We live in a somewhat expensive apartment in Pingueral that we own. We have two new cars and eat out a lot. Our expenses per month are as follows:
'
2008
car insurance $115
car maintenance $50
heat $100
Car Tax $100
gasoline $400
life insurance $55
cable $80
eating out $300
food $200
general expenses $200

Skype $20
Condo Fee $60
cell phone $24
newspapers $30
Local tax $20
Water $42
sewage $15
Charity $30
accounting $100
Dental $40
Medical $100
total $2,126

No income taxes, SPenn?

Interesting to see how the other half lives.

What percentage of those expenses are payable in pesos? And of that percentage, what exchange rate are those translated into dollars costs based on? Just a move from 525 to 425 could dramatically change the equation.

eeuunikkeiexpat wrote:. . . . What percentage of those expenses are payable in pesos? . . . .

Wow, EE.UU., do you mean to say that those figures aren't in CLPs?