Chile Forum

OK not happy with the big town. Can anyone please give me objective feedback concerning Valparaiso or Vina de Mar and a permanent place to final settle down!

Valpo is older, dirtier, more run down with much higher crime rates. Basically it has a lot of character. Vina is more expensive, cleaner, newer, and is basically boring. That said, I have lived in Vina and would live in Vina given the choice, and grab the new subway to Valpo for night out or whatever.

I spent a day in Vina, so I now nothing, but I wasn't impressed at all. Also passed through parts of Valpo and wasn't impressed either. Wouldn't trade them for Las Condes, that much is for sure. Love the cleanliness and access to everything within a few blocks that living here provides.. malls, parks, groceries, etc... also at least a strong illusion of safety, and few incidences in our little nook.

But then again I rarely leave the house more than a few times a week

Valpo hills keep you fit. Its promoted as Bohemian,arty,hippy.Few foreigners stick it out for long,those that do mostly live in the cleaner parts like Cerro Concepcion and Cerro Alegre running guest houses,restaurants and tourist services.The street dogs are better looking in vina,(worthy of a pat and some of your sandwich)some valpo mutts are too distressing to approach .Vina theatre productions are a gem. Unlike Europe and Argentina the cafe culture is tame in Chile.Vina has little in the way of good cafes for people watching over a morning coffee but probably better than most towns ive seen.Those familiar with Mendoza.ARG will know the comparision.
With a short drive inland it can be its a few degrees warmer,microclimates. Morning coastal fog adds drama to your day especially if you cant see the car ahead.
Concon beach pollution from the nearby refinery is bad.Renaca isnt so good either...surprising as its a major resort.Vina has a good yearly events program and a fine racetrack.Theres plenty to do.It has a long pleasant beach promenade.The town is a bit souless but cleaner.It has a mac shop in the mall.

admin wrote:Valpo is older, dirtier, more run down with much higher crime rates. Basically it has a lot of character. Vina is more expensive, cleaner, newer, and is basically boring. That said, I have lived in Vina and would live in Vina given the choice, and grab the new subway to Valpo for night out or whatever.

Agreed. I've lived in the hills in Valpo and the plan, as well as the hills of Viña and Viña plan, and I would say unless you are looking for a bohemian, arty, grittier experience, live in plan Viña and go to Valpo for everything else. It's not like it's far, anyway. It takes 45min to get from Playa Ancha to the mall outside of rush hour. Transportation can get complicated and/or expensive depending on where you live in the hills.

For example.. as far as crime/safety goes, I feel fine walking around the poniente area in Viña on my cellphone during the day, whereas in Valpo I would stop and duck into a doorway.

Valpo is loud...and at night, its even louder...and its true, you won't find prettier transvestites in all of South America I shouldn't think...plus I don't think that there isn't anything for sale in any other part of the world that you couldn't just as easily purchase in Valpo...like anything, just name it ...but then as well I think Valpo has remained the most like the Chile of old...yes it gets out of hand with theft and other sins, but the people and the way of life has changed very slowly in Valpo....there is no better place to see a parade then in Valpo...the saddest second grade auxiliar del basico kicks ass over any astronaught parade in New York and it only gets better from there ...Valpo is the jerusalem of parades for the bomberos and the navy...gloriales navales in Valpo should be seen at least once for any expat in Chile...fin de ano is good too...they have taken apart the mercdo des Halles en Paris but Valpo still remains and will for awhile.

Vina is the golden Caens of Chile..elegant and ordered with all the beach that Valpo has...and its hermes scarves, un pizza napoli personal at 11:30, LV handbags that open up with the ring of a cellphone, a trip to the casino that finishes in a spendy disco, hot clothes on hot women with everyone to see...while Valpo is a pea-coat with a flannel or sweater, empanadas de horno at 11pm with 2 or 3 schop negro, papas fritas con mostaza at 1 am, hot women that you had no idea were hot till their clothes come off(but you had a pretty good idea) and sleeping till morning on a friends sofa til 6 and then a soggy cig on a sea wet stoop with no furthur view down the street then what the mist lets in...in Vina you get up when the alarm rings or when you want to get up, and in Valpo, you get up because everyone else on the street is up or your friends want you to get up.

Valpo is the green stain of coppered water in your bathtub through cheap plumbing because it never stops dripping, while Vina is clean, dry and shiny like France...every Chilean thinks they are Vina but really live the life of Valpo...smelly, fishy, windy and unpredictable...the only thing more Chilean than Valpo, is patagonia, and thats another story for a different year.

Vina is everything with a label and Valpo is only the label you put on it...Vina is passing an evening alone among friends and Valpo is passing an evening alone with friends...

p

Let me put it this way. I had some friends come in from Colombia a couple of years ago. We went all over Chile, including much of Santiago. They are rather accustom to living dangerously, considering the situation in Colombia and they are well traveled around the World. I trust them to know how to handle themselves in different situations. Valpo was the only place that it occurred to me to mention they should likly keep their eyes open as we went out for drinks at the bars one night.

Nice post P.

I feel the same way about Uruguay... its dirty, you might get your house robbed on any given night (thankfully not much violent crime though), roads are absolute garbage in the city, etc... but there is something truly great about the people and the life you can live there. So laid back, about spending time with family and friends, lots of asados and Pilsen beer until the wee hours of the morning, then the trips to the coast to escape the IMPOSSIBLE heat and humidity that sits on the city... then the freezing cold and wet winters that eat your bones out of your skin...all of it blends together to make a very unique adn real experience. It always takes me a few weeks to readjust to life there, but since spending prolonged time in Las Condes I've been spoiled... my home in Buffalo, NY was nowhere near as nice, clean, safe and fun as it is here.

Does that mean I've sold out?

my home in Buffalo, NY was nowhere near as nice, clean, safe and fun as it is here.

AHA! A point of reference that I can relate to.

el p.
Great post!!!

gregf
I once spent a week in Buffalo one night.

Good thread, Valpo and Viña are two different worlds.

Hi everyone!
I have been reading this forum for almost a year now. Lots of great info.
Im looking at maybe moving to Chile in the future.Right now Im just researching all the information I can get.
I went down in march for 3 weeks (Santiago,Valparaso,Valdivia,Porto Varas) had a great time.
The fisrt impression I had of Valparaso was, this is a dirty dangerous place. I decided then,that I would spend
just one night ( at a local hostel,conception hill). I ended up staying for 5 days. Valpo was more the real Chile,
Vina was more touristy. I plan on spending 4 weeks in febuary lerning Spanish in Valpo. I know you have to be careful
because its a rough city. But how rough is rough? (I didn;t have any problems,went to a few bars.....).
Just like to know what to watch out for, and any other info.

Thanks

How rough is Valpo? In the wrong places, you can get robbed a knife or gun point in broad daylight.

otravers wrote:How rough is Valpo? In the wrong places, you can get robbed a knife or gun point in broad daylight.

On the bright side, you probably have to actively try to get to those wrong places. If you're careful, you probably won't have any troubles in Valpo (I've gone there most weekends for the past 1 year plus and had no problems), if you're not careful, you probably will have troubles.

chile-expat wrote:On the bright side, you probably have to actively try to get to those wrong places.

Drift without paying attention for just a few blocks in the wrong direction...