Chile Forum

We're moving to Chile later this year and I wondered if there are any things that are particularly difficult to get hold of or expensive in Chile that I should try to buy before coming over.

I remember reading a message from someone who wanted to get hold of a good cast iron pan and found that tricky, so I'm definitely packing up my cast iron pan, but I wondered if there are other things like that? Things that, for whatever reason, aren't readily available. I know electronics are probably a lot more expensive but because all our stuff is 110 Volts we won't be able to bring it anyway. (That's correct, right? If a lamp or stereo takes 110 volts it'll get very hot with 220v right?)

Sorry, two questions here really. Any answers appreciated!

Great. Love to be publicly humiliated.

I found lots of great threads. I should've thought to search before posting. Duh. See? I can even humiliate myself.

As for the other question: any items particularly expensive/difficult to find? Non-stick pans? Duvets? Beds? Mattresses? Or are these types of things pretty much the same price as in the US/Europe?

Amen re the

Glad you have a sense of humour. You will need it when you come to Chile. And patience. Gawd, will you need patience.

You will know you are settling in when you make an appt for 9 with a neighbour 2 doors away and find yourself there at 10:30.
And I am (was) a freak for punctuality but hey, it's Saturday, they wanted to borrow something, Friday ran late... so WTF.
A friend brought a Kitchenaid mixer from the US. He can start it using his 1000watt 110v transformer but only just.
Mine is 4kw, his mixer starts like back in the US.
I use all my US handtools here without a hitch. A transformer should have enough grunt.
A side note, I recently built an insulated tool shed within my garage to protect my tools from the coastal wet (salty) air.
I moved my transformer inside the enclosure to take advantage of the waste heat.
It works.... on average that little room is 5 degrees warmer than ambient in the am.
Why are you coming to chile?

Hello Franziska.
My experience using 110v appliances in Chile is that the mixer, blender and food processor (all of which 110v 60 Hz) work fine with appropriate transformer. The bread machine, teflon "grill" , crock pot slow cooker and waffle iron do not get hot enough to perform. 110v electric lamps seem only to need the bulbs and rheostat (if part of the lamp) replaced with 220. No one has been able to explain to me why the cords did not have to be changed as well. My elderly boom box played the cassettes, but too slowly to tolerate the music. It was, however, a very interesting demonstration of the difference between 50 Hz and 60 Hz. I didn't think of listening to music on the radio until after I repacked the boom box, so I don't know how that would sound. I have a U.S.dryer here, but have not tried to use it. Although it is 220v I have serious doubts about its ability to get hot.

Tampons

wiscondinavian wrote:Tampons

yes, I forgot them, and be sure the Hz and voltage are right..... Uff no more vino for you!

are you sending by boat or ???
do you have kids?

Seeing as I'm still up, I checked the voltages in the "line" (220v) and "modified" (110v) legs.
The line voltage at this "low draw " time of year here at the coast is an actual 220v.
My 7 stars 4000w transformer however sees fit to kick out 109volts. I am underwhelmed.
My power tools, I should add, seem happy enough.

I've copied this (my own response) from another thread on what to bring to Chile (and we are back home in Aus with 220 volt appliances that actually get hot!!! (I never could get my iron hot enough in Vancouver)

HI, I'm an Aussie Mum who moved with our family to Stgo in 2008 with 3 and 1 year old boys. We are now living in Vancouver but due to go home next week (yay).
Anyway, thought I'd give you my background and also my rundown on what to bring with you (and what I wish we'd brought with us):
1. A REALLY GOOD MATTRESS. I cannot stress this enough. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive. (also, be prepared for that last sentence to be repeated ad infinitum)
2. Bikes and bike seats. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive. We were told no-one rode in Chile and ended up buying bikes there, but we should have brought ours with us. The parks and bike tracks and mountain biking around Stgo are fantastic.
3. Kitchen stuff - from saucepans, knives, gadgets etc etc. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive.
3a. Don't bring casseroles or baking dishes. Go to Polmaire and buy the fabulous traditional clay ones from there - i've taken heaps home to Oz.
4. Bed linen. I brought beautiful 1000 threadcount sheets from Aus because the best i could find in Chile was 225 count. Gah. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive. Probably worth bringing towels too if you have the space, but we did get some decent towels at the department stores - but paid more for them than we would in Canada, USA or even Aus.
5. Car Seats, Strollers, anything baby-related. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive.
6. Toys. Stock up in a Western country before you arrive and store it in your bodega for the next xmas and birthdays coming up. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive.
7. BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS. If you're a reader, bring all you can!!!! English language books are extremely limited and stupidly expensive. Spanish language books are also limited and stupidly expensive.
8. Cook books. See above.
9. Food with Flavour. Any tinned, bottled, jarred foods that you can bring in that you cook with. Please read up on the quarantine restrictions, but I highly recommend stocking up on sauces and spices and things in tins that you wish to bring in, as you either won't find it in Chile or ............If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive.

(items below are new suggestions)

10. If you are a mother of young Children, then bring boxes Costco Baby Wipes and also any non-scented creams/soaps etc that you usually use. Also, any OTC medicines that you usually use.
11. Tampons - you can only get one brand there, and they're not very good.
12. Maple Syrup - you can get the fake stuff, but you can't always get the real stuff.


Have a wonderful time there. I made some wonderful friends in Stgo so despite the lack of supplies and lack of flavour in food, it was a very positive experience.
Also, please join the "English Speaking Moms Living in Santiago, Chile" facebook group. Alot of my friends are members and there is alot of mummy/kid related stuff there.
All the best.

Great info on transformers, thanks. I'd like to ship our lamps, stereos and fan - not a lot of electrics but these things would make a big difference to how comfy I'd feel in a new home.

We're headed to Concepcion ('the armpit of Chile' I think someone on the forums called it once? Let's hope it starts using some deodorant then! He he). But we won't live right in the city, probably somewhere like Nonguen, although it's difficult to say until we're there, obviously. My husband has work there (volcanologist) and I work on laptop from home (journalist). We've got two kids.

We're shipping our stuff in a 20ft container and have space to spare, so I'm trying to figure out what I can buy here that might save us some money.

sweetbiscuit, yes! This is the kind of list I was after. I was umming and ahing over our mattresses, but what you've said has settled it. Bikes too - I wasn't sure. My husband, who's Chilean, pointed out that there are bikes for sale in Chile but I suspected that they might not be as good and more expensive than what's available here. We have got kids too and very much like the idea of packing presents for birthdays, especially as one of ours will have hers shortly after we arrive.

Thanks so much. Very much appreciated!

I just wanted to add something re books. I read a tonne and will be bringing my ipad so I can read e-books (I've seen the bookstores in Chile) but I also found a bookstore here that says it'll ship to Chile for free. It's www.betterworldbooks.com. The books are used but they have always had any book I've requested and they're not so expensive. I haven't tested it yet - maybe there's some small print that I missed and the postage will cost extra but that's what it seems to say. I'm going to send some books as a test to my mother-in-law... will let you know how it goes.

sweetbiscuit wrote:5. Car Seats, Strollers, anything baby-related. If you do find a good one here it will be stupidly expensive.

Yeah, just figuring this out the hard way -- as in $1000 for a decent car seat & base that my brother paid (an already inflated) $300 for in Britain! And that only lasts for a year until a bigger one is needed... Anyone have experience bringing a baby seat as excess luggage on the plane (without having the baby yet)?

Cheers,

James.