Chile Forum

east of the volcano is mostly national park and very lonely....when you go there is an extreme sense of lonliness and also that of something about to happen.....there are so many good places that when you see it, pucon becomes a distant thought.....

puelche out

hi shane

i just got back from chile some time around late jan for about 1 month. i bought land and house out in the palguin area which is still in the Pucon area. so i've spent a considerable amount of time in those area.

as far as rent. let's put in perspective. my permanent home of record is San Francisco, California. i've looked around for apartment for rent in downtown Pucon just to see how much it would cost, and for something comparable to downtown SF, that's partially furnished, with a balcony, and smack dab in the center... then it would cost you about 350 bucks. now i'm talking about 2 bedroom apartment with 2 bath and spacious living room. if in SF, california that will easily run you 1500-2000 USD a month easily.

i agree with the spanish. study it, memorize it, and apply it. i've studied spanish in High School for 2 years and i wish i kept at it while in school. my spanish is rusty when i get into Chile, but after about 3 weeks it starts to be a bit more fluid. plus it also helps with body language for me if they talk with their hands and slower than usual.

hi shanepickle

we moved to pucon a few months ago. Firstly, learn Spanish as they all say! It´s pretty isolating otherwise, and Pucon is one of the most international places you will find. Plus, you miss out on so much without knowing what people are saying. Start now, seriously. Even just buy some easy books in Spanish, every bit of effort helps. (I found a dvd set of spanish language soap operas helped but that may not be your thing!)

Secondly, don´t worry too much right away about where you would be buying while you´re not here. If you are here in the off season renting is easy and cheaper, as all those in the know have been telling you. A few days driving around will answer most of your questions about the areas around Pucon. The biggest thing we learned was you may think you want to get away from it all, but here that´s almost too easy to do!

East of Pucon there are good deals...but because of the nature of the border being so close there isn't that much east to go....as you go out east on the international road there are properties for sale, some mapuche and some not....stay out of the river basin as the river comes up several meters in the spring....people end up living on the roof of the house awhile....look for the water marks on the houses and you'll see alot of houses on stilts....east and north of the river there are no bridges to speak of so if you are on that side you have to ford the river, go in boat etc....

good luck puelche out