Chile Forum

Finally, I can explain why I have been AWOL from the forum in recent weeks.

We have now opened a new office in Frutillar, about 1 block from the Lake Llanquihue. We still maintain an office and staff in Temuco, but decided a second office in Frutillar was a better move than simply renting a larger office in Temuco.

Our published public Chilean Land Line has also changed: 56 65 421024
All other numbers remain the same, both public and private lines.

My wife (attorney Zandra Valenzuela) and I are also now officially living in Frutillar. We will still be in Temuco most likly a couple times of week (well, at least Zandra will be as she teaches at the law schools there ), but we wanted a better view for our own offices. We also have a rather large percentage of our client base in and around Puerto Varas, Chiloe, the deep Patagonia, Puerto Montt, and so on. So, it is a fairly strategic location for us to easily reach more points around Chile. Puerto Varas is only 20 mins away, Puerto Montt is like 40 mins (think the airport is like 30 mins from us), Osorno is like 50 mins ( Osorno airport is like 40 mins), couple hours to Argentina, and on and on. Well, there will be much much more about this as we manage to unpack and finish renovating ( renovating both a house and an office ).

A bit more about Frutillar can be found at the following link including photos (will post a lot more now that we are here).
http://www.allsouthernchile.com/frutillar.html
The photos should explain most everything.

Nice move, Charles...
g~j did some biking around Lago Llanquihue...
Way worse places to work~play~relax...

Yea, that is basically the view from the deck outside my office now and my drive to work. Unfortunately, I need to start lobbying the local city to sink all electric and phone cables underground in Frutillar Bajo (lower Frutillar) where we are, as I have a transformer killing my view across the street of the lake and volcano. Luckily the Volcano is really big. Still, Frutillar has far less ugly cables than most cities in Chile.

Well, the story of how this came about.

In the hours after the earthquake, my wife and I were sitting around a candle at our kitchen table in Temuco doing the 'now what do we do'. We figured Chile was never going to see another foreigner, and we were just hoping that Chile was not Haiti (we still had no real news at that point). So, we jumped in to the relief efforts 24 / 7 in the following weeks (everyone on the forum knows that story, or you can check the earthquake forum for more info).

After the relief project it turned out our business was not only still functioning, but we had way more new business than we had before the earthquake. So, we decided we needed to expand our offices, and heaven forbid I might really have to get up and go to an office in the morning myself. We went to go look at a larger office in Temuco in the same building we currently have our office in Temuco. It was nice, modern, with a better view of Temuco, and so on. I started getting excited about leasing it, then suddenly I caught myself in a moment of, 'I don't want a better office in Temuco, I want an office with better fly fishing". If I am going to get up in the morning and drive to an office, it better be a spectacular drive. It better be a place that makes me really feel good about going to work in the morning, or all of this is totally not worth it.

The thing is that for the last 5 years or so, my wife and I have had the luxury of either working at our office at home or we are out in the field meeting with clients or just generally traveling around Chile. We never even had any clients near Temuco up to a couple of years ago, it was just a very strategic travel point for the rest of Chile. Even in Temuco, I only went to my office about once a month (if that). My wife would perhaps go once or twice a week, but our Temuco office was setup to function without us being there in anyway as we travel so much. I might stop by and sign a check once in a great while or for a particular meeting, but not often. For the most part, our girls at the office in Temuco take care of everything, and we work remotely over the phone, fax, and mostly the internet. Everyone else that we work with or works for us is located somewhere else in Chile.

So, after the aid project we were invited down by some friends to Frutillar to gather our wits and mostly get some rest. We simply fell in love with it, and Frutillar has what we believe to be the most potential of any town we have seen in Chile to attract foreigners. It has everything from the one of the largest concert halls in Chile, to the Jack Nicolas designed golf course under construction and Hyatt hotel, to even a very German tradition of very clean bathrooms in every establishment. It is just sufficiently big to have three national chain grocery stores, yet just sufficiently small that you can really get to know everyone. Anything else the town might lack can normally be found over in Puerto Varas about a 20 mins away (e.g. good Sushi ).

That was just over two months ago that we made the decision and started putting the plans in the works to make the move.

As for Temuco, I think it will be one of the most important and largest cities in Chile in very short order (especially after the earthquake). Investment in Temuco is exploding, just Temuco is more about corporate and industrial investment all the way around because of the central location for access between the south and central regions. Thus, why we expect to maintain an office there for many years to come. However, it is a city. It is going through all the growing pains of a small town turning in to a large city, including the problems and the opportunities that go with that. It is just not where I expect to live, and I never planned to die in Temuco when we moved there in the first place.

So, here we are in Frutillar.

...couple hours to Argentina

A quick~easy trip over Paso Samore...
(OK, took g~j about 4 days to bike from P. Varas)
... down into Villa de Angostura.
g~j recommend this place over Bariloche - anytime

Wow. The only property listed in Portalinmobiliario is in the Holy Shit category for 160M. Great, I just found yet another way to spend 300 grand we don't have This looks mightily attractive to spend summers.

Cables killing the ocean view took a couple houses off our list when we were on the market last year. I don't see buried lines as a realistic option at this stage of Chile's development though. First and more importantly, they need to figure out how not to collapse each time it rains.

Well the nice thing about Frutillar is that development is just getting going, and most of the cables are in the ground. For example, in the parcels we live in out side of town all the cables are underground for the most part with a couple main polls. The exception is that there is a high tension line running across the back lots, but there is really no view of anything on those lots anyway. Also, Frutillar does not have say 50 year old cables just cut and hanging like a lot of cities. The cables that are there are new, and are fairly well organized with just one cable company, one phone company, and the power company, there is not the mess you see hanging from every poll in other towns and cities. That is why I want to start pushing for a local ordinance to hide those suckers while it is still a manageable problem.

Great area very beautiful, I lived for 5 years just east of Pt. Varas on the lake, it was wonderful except for the worst months of winter, which I would try and miss by being in Canada.

I love Fruitillar and have spent several nights over the years in the Captains room at the Ayacara Hotel. It has to have one of the best views ever, from a bed. We drive down that way every year even if it is a just a day trip. We took our son down last year and that lakeside walk just about blew him away. Good choice Charles!

I would have moved in a heartbeat. I grew up in Alaska and that's looking dear to my heart! Good decision. We only live once.

yea have spent a lot of time at the Ayacara Hotel when we were making the move. One of the real B&B's I have found in Chile.

Been more than a few years since I was there, very nice place, I'd pick it over Temuco any day. Though I understand it's a completely different deal city vs. village life. Bit even in winter you've got a view of the volcano most days. I did the tourist trip via Todos Los Santos to Peulla twice and on to Bariloche once, I remember they said they run the trip in winter as well, using motorized sleds in the snow to get over the pass. Must be impressive.

BTW, you're planning to learn German now?

Is the Café Danés still in Puerto Varas? I used to like going there.