Chile Forum

G'day all

It looks like no one has made a "hello, I'm new" announcement for quite a long time, but I'll make one anyway.

I was born and raised in the USA, emigrated to Oz (Australia) in 1988 and have lived in Sydney since emigrating.

I am considering establishing residence in Chile after my daughter completes high school in late 2013, as I reckon Chile will be a better place to live than a lot of other countries over the next forty years. (Coincidentally my daughter inherited Chilean nationality from her mother, but that is not a principal reason I have chosen Chile.)

So, I'm learning castellano, learning about Chile and "putting down roots" in Chile in anticipation of moving to the region in approximately 30 months.

It would be nice to find a dual-language female partner near my age (presently 57yo) with whom to spend the next forty years, but obviously we would need to ensure we enjoy each other adequately for that to happen.

Andrew aka Andrés

Hi Andrew. Welcome to the forum .
You are 57 and plan to live 40 more years. I like your style. That is cool.
As to dual language partners? I see you've given chilenas a go. How about Thai or Filipina? But of course I am sure you meant Spanish speaking. Silly me.

Chile's nice 'n all but why the heck do you want to leave Ozz?
Did they run out of beer down on the "rocks" or something?

Andres wrote:G'day all

It looks like no one has made a "hello, I'm new" announcement for quite a long time, but I'll make one any.

Damn, I thought you'd all been scared off... but welcome to the forum anyway. You made a good stab at "Why Chile"?

murf wrote:Chile's nice 'n all but why the heck do you want to leave Ozz?
Did they run out of beer down on the "rocks" or something?

Tax in Australia alone is a pretty good reason to leave, not to mention cost of living & property prices.

I would guess it´s a lot more comfortable being old in Oz than in Chile. Hopefully you have a good sum tucked away to live on as for all intents and purposes, retired people here get zero benefits. Out of interest what are the reasons that you feel Chile will be a better place to spend the next40 years than OZ?
For most of my life I was against paying high taxes but growing older you begin to realise that when the time comes, you can reap some benefits from those years of paying tax. I´ve often toyed with the idea of going back to Europe now that I´ve reached that age, but so far, the wonderful climate of Santiago has counted for more than govt benefits. Let´s hope the weather stays fine!

>How about Thai or Filipina?

I'm not prejudice. A woman's personality and her actions are far more important than her race, her cultural background and the languages she speaks. But it would be helpful if she spoke Castellano and English.

>Chile's nice 'n all but why the heck do you want to leave Ozz?
Did they run out of beer down on the "rocks" or something?

I'm not into beer.

Recent economic and political events, including the recent Australian federal and New South Wales state elections, indicate to me that Chile might be a better place to be living over the next forty years. I am happy to go into details in another thread, as it would be too long for this one.

>Tax in Australia alone is a pretty good reason to leave, not to mention cost of living & property prices.

Tax is better in Oz than many other places. One needs to learn how to manage one's money in any tax, living cost and property cost environment. That is not a major issue.

>I would guess it´s a lot more comfortable being old in Oz than in Chile.

Maybe now, but based upon what little I know about Chile, it appears the Chilean government is more fiscally responsible than the Australian governments. I reckon things will be a lot different in ten to twenty years. I'm planning for forty.

>Hopefully you have a good sum tucked away to live on as for all intents and purposes, retired people here get zero benefits.

I have a bit. But I am also frugal and resourceful. I am hoping I can start some businesses in Chile, Argy, Peru and/or Bolivia. Perhaps I am being unrealistic.

>Out of interest what are the reasons that you feel Chile will be a better place to spend the next40 years than OZ?

Too long an answer for this thread. To keep it short, it is decades-long resource, economic and geo-political issues. It is partly related to the degree of democracy remaining in respective countries, and partly due to the economic ability of respective governments to maintain a safe, civil society.

>For most of my life I was against paying high taxes but growing older you begin to realise that when the time comes, you can reap some benefits from those years of paying tax.

I reckon that is a naive perspective if you think you will get a pension and/or medical benefits. You assume the government is going to be willing and able to "pay up". I could be wrong.

Andrew/Andrés