May 31, 2011
Santiago, Chile

As I told Sovereign Man: Confidential subscribers on our monthly teleconference yesterday afternoon, I’ve been focused over the last several months on sniffing out the best deals in Chilean farmland for our planned resilient community. We’re definitely close.

My base in Chile is here in beautiful Santiago, however, and I wanted to take some time today and tell you about the real estate market in the city.

First, you should know that Santiago is a truly fantastic city. In terms of weather, you can hardly beat it:  bright, blue sunny skies and a temperate, Mediterranean climate where it hardly rains. And yet, you’re no more than an hour or two from both world-class ski resorts, as well as the beach. (note: the city does have a problem with smog which is worst in the winter time)

Another 'dreary' winter day in Santiago, taken from my balcony in El Golf at about 11:50am this morning. High temperature today: 73F.

Furthermore, Santiago is just a nice, clean, modern, first world city… something like Madrid meets Chicago. It’s a pedestrian-friendly city with great mass transit and a privatized highway system. There are parks everywhere among the sprawling towers, and you see locals everywhere enjoying a coffee in the city’s numerous cafes and eateries.

(as an aside, Santiago has something you won’t find in too many other places in the world… a concept called ‘cafe con piernas’ or coffee with legs. Think of it as a combination of Starbucks and Hooters…)

Most of all, this place is civilized; Santiago is devoid of the sort of destitute squalor you would expect of a Latin American capital. Obviously some parts of town are nicer than others, but overall I find it every bit as nice as Europe or North America with every amenity you could ever want or need, and all at a pretty nice cost of living discount.

Compared to what I’ve seen elsewhere around the world, real estate in Chile (and Santiago in general) is a relative bargain. Bear in mind, I think about real estate in terms of square meters, which for our metric challenged readers is 10.76 square feet… so a 1,500 square foot 3-bedroom home is about 140 square meters.

My unequivocal, universal standard for ‘cheap’ residential real estate in big cities is $1,000 per square meter. It’s really hard to find this anymore in the world. Ecuador comes to mind– there are a number of good quality properties in Cuenca and Quito for $1,000 per square meter.

I’ve also seen a number of existing condos in Medellin, Colombia for this price, as well as parts of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico (such as Merida).

In parts of Santiago, it’s possible to find some bargain properties for $1,000 per square meter. In the area around Parque Forestal near in the center of town and the Bellas Artes district, you can find some lovely older properties for between $1,000 to $1,200 per square meter.

The construction quality is excellent– these buildings are solid concrete, built to last… and they’re huge too. You can find many apartments in excess of 300 square meters (3,225 square feet) with a beautiful view overlooking the area’s numerous parks.

The neighborhood is undergoing a gentrification process and is becoming popular now with young professionals, the art crowd, and Santiago’s rapidly growing gay community… the triumvirate of a promising real estate market.

It’s also a protected, historic area, so the chances of a new eyesore going in anytime soon are slim.

Property taxes are a joke; owners might pay $40 to $100 per year in taxes on a reasonably-sized apartment, while rents command a 6% yield at present. I expect the rental yield to increase over the years, along with property values, as supply is constrained and demand is increasing.

In other parts of Santiago– the upmarket areas of Vitacura, Las Condes, La Dehesa, or Providencia, property prices can run between $2,000 to $3,000 per square meter. This is much more expensive than downtown, but it’s still quite reasonable to what I’ve seen elsewhere in the world, including in Argentina and Uruguay.

Even in Asia, which has some of the cheapest cost of living on the planet, it can be hard to find good quality construction for less than $2,000 per square meter. In Bangkok, many upmarket properties sell for in excess of $5,000 per square meter, no doubt a bubble fueled by cheap credit and Chairman Bernanke’s exported monetary inflation.

Santiago has been much less prone to such speculative bubbles; the central bank here has taken rather steps to both hike interest rates and allow the peso to appreciate. In the face of coordinated currency devaluation and exchange rate games in just about every other country on the planet, these are undoubtedly bold moves.

The peso is now near its 10-year high against the dollar, and the central bank’s benchmark interest rate is 5%. In the Greek-induced financial system meltdown part II that I expect to occur over the next 2-years, Chile will consequently emerge as one of the safe havens (i.e. least scathed countries) because of the responsibility it is taking now.

The following post is from our American-expat correspondent in Chile, Dr. John Cobin:

According to the National Statistics Institute, as reported in La Tercera, Chile’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.1% for the September to November reporting period. Santiago’s rate dropped to 7.0%. Iquique and the two southernmost regions (Coyhaique, Aysen, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, Cerro Sombrero) had unemployment rates of 5.0% or less. A lot of this drop is to be expected after the major earthquake and seasonal factors. But coupled with a 6% growth rate, the unemployment indicator provides encouraging evidence for a bright future in Chile. Economic sentiment has been running high too, with 74% of Chileans having a positive outlook.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

Buy Dr. Cobin’s Public Policy books at Amazon.com:
A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy(2009)
Christian Theology of Public Policy: Highlighting the American Experience (2006)
Bible and Government: Public Policy from a Christian Perspective(2003)

The following post is from our American-expat correspondent in Chile, Dr. John Cobin:

A client who loves the majestic beauty of southern Chile recently told me that living in Santiago is “a fate worse than death!” Of course, she was exaggerating. She wanted to make the points that (1) she loves the countryside and that (2) Santiago is horrid compared to what she had seen in the 11th Region. If you have ever been to the 11th Region of Chile, especially to see the majestic, jaw-dropping beauty of Lago General Carrera, with its turquoise waters, glacier-encrusted peaks, and stunning marble formations and cliffs, you would appreciate the woman’s sentiment. There is only one place on earth more beautiful, and that is found due south in Torres del Paine National Park. In terms of relative natural beauty, Santiago does not stand a chance.

Many people will feel sympathetic with my client but let’s face it: the rest of Chile would not exist with its high level of sophisticated services without Santiago. And not everyone can live in the countryside.

Many people need to work and will find the highest-paying jobs in Santiago. The city has the best hospitals, clinics, schools, churches, malls, recreation and cultural events. Santiago is the hub for finance, transportation, agriculture and mining.

As far as the world’s big cities go, Santiago is among one of the most beautiful. It is a combination of rich European architectural traditions plus steel-and-glass modernity. Its public transportation system is excellent and its highway system is good. Both continue to be improved, too. One might even say that Santiago is an “urban paradise” compared to other older, major urban centers. It effectively provides what a big city should offer along with pleasant and pretty suburban settings. Santiago also has a couple very bustling and beautiful business districts.

Santiago’s northeastern section is especially green, full of many varieties of deciduous trees and flowers. There is smog, but it really only plagues the city in the winter months from late May to September. And the snowcapped peaks around the city during those months make Santiago’s setting even more enchanting. There are plenty of elegant and pleasant neighborhoods to live in and stroll around. Indeed, one of the most amazing features of Santiago is how many thousands of elegant homes and apartments there are. More are being built all the time, indicating the people are getting wealthier. That fact is good for prospective immigrants.

Chile in general has much less violent crime than other countries, and Santiago is a place where one can still walk without a looming fear of being attacked. Note that Chileans thieves are very artful, able to rob a person without them knowing it. But they will rarely hurt a person. The key to safety is to be careful.

In the 11th Region, chick full of small towns like Chile Chico, Cochrane, Villa O’Higgins, Puerto Guadal and Puerto Río Tranquilo, one will only find a large construction super store like Sodimac and super home store like Homecenter (or Easy) in the provincial capital city of Coyhaique, which may be as much as 600 kilometers away in the vast region. Santiago, on the other hand, is replete with such stores. In the regions there are fewer providers of internet service and fewer choices of plans. Cell phones often do not work in smaller towns and in the countryside. None of those things is a bother in Santiago where everything works efficiently, not too expensively, and at a First World standard.

“A fate worse than death?” Hardly. The reality is that Santiago forms the backbone for business, culture, entertainment, international trade and tourism. And one of the best parts about living in Santiago is the ease of inexpensive travel within Chile so that frequent escapes from the “hellhole” are possible. For that we should all be thankful to have such a blessing like Santiago.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

Buy Dr. Cobin’s Public Policy books at Amazon.com:
A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy (2009)
Christian Theology of Public Policy: Highlighting the American Experience (2006)
Bible and Government: Public Policy from a Christian Perspective (2003)

The following post is from our American-expat correspondent in Chile, Dr. John Cobin:

Chile is arguably the overall best place in the world for most people to live. But that fact does not mean that Chile is the best place to keep the majority of their assets. Indeed, many other places are better-suited for that task: Singapore, Guernsey, Jersey, Labuan, Liechtenstein, Abu Dhabi and Andorra, just to name a few.

The most widely-known financial instrument that Chile has going for it is the Chilean peso, which is about as solid as it gets for a fiat currency. Further, peso accounts can be denominated in Unidades de Fomento (UFs) which, in short, is an inflation-proof quasi-currency based on the peso.

Chilean stocks have also doubled in the last two years and a mutual fund or brokerage account has been a good friend to those who have had one. The biggest problem with UF and fund accounts for foreigners is that one must have a visa (and national ID card/number) to open them. When one can qualify for these accounts, he can realize some significant financial benefits.

However, there is also another Chilean product that should be in the limelight: life insurance. On account of very favorable legislation in Chile, a person with a visa can profit handsomely in Chilean or global stocks through a variable universal life contract. Why should one consider such a product?

1. No death tax (which is otherwise as much as 25% in Chile);

2. No capital gains or income taxes on your profits;

3. Lawsuit and judgment proof (including divorce decrees for alimony or child support);

4. Face amount and death or disability benefit is stated in inflation-proof UFs;

5. Face amount is payable to the insured prior to death for total disability;

6. Face amount and death or disability benefit increase with the amount of investment and are always significantly greater than the policy’s cash value;

7. Policies can be overfunded with unlimited amounts of cash, without fear of “modified endowment contract” conversion like in the USA (meaning that, for example, one can buy a UF2,000 policy–US$90,000 face amount equivalent–with a annual premium equivalent of US$4,000, and dump in an extra US$100,000 equivalent every year without losing the legal protections and tax advantages of life insurance;

8. Overfunded policies have surrender penalties but illustrations at assumed growth rates of around 10% show that the full investment (and more) can be recouped by the second year of the policy, making the investment medium rather than long term in nature, with larger additional contributions making the surrender penalty problem much less significant.

9. The VUL is a mixture of insurance and long term investment (often 9 or 10 years unless the policy is overfunded).

10. The maximum face amount of the death benefit (natural or accidental) is US$5 million.

11. The policy may be kept in force until the insured reaches 100 years of age.

12. These policies allow partial withdrawals, or policy loans (for those concerned to avoid tax consequences as USA citizens) at very low interest rates.

Imagine writing a check representing nearly all the value of your estate to the life insurer upon news of a terminal illness, immediately transforming your estate into a tax free benefit. All your money would be protected in your VUL contract. With a little more creative thought, you can probably think of other valuable uses for this product.

I have worked in the financial services industry for over 15 years and this product is unparalleled in the USA. The twelve benefits listed above are simply tremendous. And property rights are secure in Chile. For that reason, as part of my services to expatriates, along with buying Chilean gold coins and real estate, I help them set up overfunded life insurance accounts. In January, we will be announcing a special visa program for wealthier clients which includes quick access to life insurance, UF, mutual fund and brokerage accounts as part of the service.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

Buy Dr. Cobin’s Public Policy books at Amazon.com:
A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy (2009)
Christian Theology of Public Policy: Highlighting the American Experience (2006)
Bible and Government: Public Policy from a Christian Perspective (2003)

The following post is from our American-expat correspondent in Chile, Dr. John Cobin:

Working in the legal profession

Not all professions in Chile require licensing, whereas most professions do in the USA. For instance one may sell insurance and securities without a license in Chile whereas in the USA one must have a state insurance license and FINRA registration. Likewise, lawyers and architects are not required to have a state license, although they do have to pass an “examen de grado” at the university after completing their degree requirements.

The same sort of “market-based” standard testing is not universal. It certainly does not apply to medicine, which requires passing a rigorous “board” examination (in Spanish) before a doctor is permitted to practice medicine. When Chile has licensing requirements they are serious, but in many cases there is no state licensing at all.

If a lawyer were to come to Chile from a civil law jurisdiction, he might want to find out how his degree and studies could be validated by the Chilean government so that he could recognized as a lawyer in Chile. There is probably a way to get such a resolution.

Could an American come to Chile and practice law? Probably not, but “yes,” from what I understand, he could set up some consulting service for legal matters pertaining to certain kinds of law. The key would be not to hold himself out as being a lawyer and certainly never trying to represent anyone in a Chilean court.

“Unfortunates”

Chile likes immigrants, especially from English-speaking countries and Europe. If a person shows up with his social security “estimated benefits statement,” a bank or brokerage account statement showing at least US$50,000, OR a new business idea and willingness to do something in Chile, along with his consulate-certified birth certificate (and maybe marriage certificates or divorce decree) and passport, he can apply in country for temporary residency (which can lead to permanent residency).

I also have a service for (usually wealthier) clients wherein they can obtain a visa subject to contract and checking and mutual fund accounts. Simon and I will be posting more about that program soon. Yet another option is to come and get a job teaching English part time, which will lead to the same visa. So “yes,” one can fly in and simply say “I am staying.”

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

Buy Dr. Cobin’s Public Policy books at Amazon.com:
A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy (2009)
Christian Theology of Public Policy: Highlighting the American Experience (2006)
Bible and Government: Public Policy from a Christian Perspective (2003)

The following post is from our American-expat correspondent in Chile, Dr. John Cobin:

Simon Black recently posted six places in the world that are full of opportunity and freedom; in a couple significant ways, they coincide with mine. His picks were Chile, Singapore, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Estonia.

Most importantly, we both put Chile at the top. It would be too redundant for me here to reiterate all of Chile’s virtues. We both put Estonia in the top six, too. In his subsequent post, he praised New Zealand, which has been in my top list for 15 years. Perhaps nothing more needs to be said since most other countries pale by comparison to those in his list. However, I would still highlight a few other countries: Panama, Poland, the Czech Republic, and maybe Serbia. Of course, I purposely excluded many fine islands, Hong Kong and European enclaves from consideration, each of which would be fine choices for the right person.

Panama has long been among my top five destinations in the world. I would probably go there myself if something dramatically negative happened in Chile, mainly because I could never afford Hong Kong or a European enclave, and especially since New Zealand seems to be on the decline recently with its foolish social policies.

Those of us who have studied Panama know that are many benefits to living there, even though some (including me) would be less optimistic about Panama’s relationship to the USA via its use of the dollar. I am also not sure that many people would hold Panama’s proximity to the USA as a virtue either, other than lower plane fares, and probably would not be thrilled about the USA’s military presence or at least its influence over this tiny country. If you need to work for a company, then Panama is not a good choice either, since the main city has only a million people. These things make Panama a distant second on my list. But as bad as its problems are, Panama is still far better than most places.

I know that academic studies of countries can be fruitful. Indeed, I chose Chile in 1996 through research; I had never visited it prior to moving to Chile. I just packed up the wife and kids and moved. But some things are best determined by spending time in a place.

I do not think there is any way that Panama can be considered superior to Chile for folks of our ilk in theory, and the knowing in practice part can only be determined by visiting. In saying that, once again, I am not saying that Panama is a bad place to be. On the contrary, I think it is one of the best places you can be. It is just not as good of a choice as Chile, for many reasons.

What is the main difference between Chile and Panama? Chile is First World while Panama is not. Like all Third World countries, life is cheaper in Panama, but you pay the price in other things. And how one wants to live comes down to personal choice. Also, Chile’s natural beauty is unparalleled, even beating out New Zealand’s and central Europe’s.

Apart from the weather, I hold out immense hope for several of the Eastern European countries. They are rebounding fairly well and the standard of living is increasing rapidly. Poland’s is growing so fast that its GDP per capita has overtaken Chile’s after being once far behind Chile. Free market reforms are taking some hold in Estonia and even in the Czech Republic and Serbia, even though the political situation in the latter places seems a bit unstable.

In 1995, my five finalist countries in which to immigrate were:

1. New Zealand

1. (tie) Chile

3. Estonia

4. Czech Republic

5. Argentina

Once again, I needed a job in 1995 and so enclaves, Hong Kong and islands were largely out of the picture. Singapore’s fascist social policies put it on the “no” list for me.

I have visited all of these places with some depth, except for Estonia (which I would still like to go to some day), the coldest freer place in the world. I have tried to confirm my theoretical choices with some practical experience. So the list gets updated as time passes.

Nowadays my list is:

1. Chile

2. Panama

3. Eastern Europe, various locations, e.g. Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, and maybe Serbia.

3. (tie) New Zealand

5. Southern Peru

6. Costa Rica

Colombia, Thailand and Malaysia are barely on my radar screen but they merit little more consideration at this point than Uruguay, South Africa or Paraguay, and certainly Ecuador. I have never seriously considered Sri Lanka, nor have I been there, but the fact that Simon likes it has made me take notice. I do not like living in tropical places in general, unless (like Panama) you can get up into the mountains and avoid the humidity.

I have been to most of the places on my current list (other than Estonia, Costa Rica and Latvia), and I have lived in Chile for 8 years. As new information comes in, I adjust and the list changes over time. I should add that the distance between Chile and Panama is far greater for me than the distance between Panama and the other candidates.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

The following post is from our American-expat correspondent in Chile, Dr. John Cobin:

I echo the absolute vanity and hopelessness of relying on the Republican party to save America, even the relatively few dedicated “tea party” people that might now make up 10% of the 454 (with rare exception) evildoers in the House of Representatives. They will not be able to steer, veer or otherwise alter the course of the boat they are on. Public choice theory (correctly) precludes such a thing. There is a greater probability that our parents will find the fountain of youth by Christmas, than that the Republican party will “fix” America or restore its constitutional and Jeffersonian base.

Moreover, the idea that America is the global engine of the world is dubious at best. Sure, Americans have traditionally consumed more than any other nation. Consumerism is king. Prices of goods have been relatively low in America on account of the fierce competition it has (or at least used to have). So Americans buy. They also produce. Americans consume 30% of the world’s natural resources but also produce 35% of the world’s goods and services. There is no doubt that American is and has been an economic powerhouse.

Yet those facts do not mean that the rest of the world will rise or fall with America’s fortunes. The fact that Chile, for instance, has a current GDP growth rate of over 6%, low inflation and has seen unemployment drop over 3% in the last year (to 7.6%), while America stagnates at 1.8% GDP growth, beleaguered by idiotic monetary and fiscal policies (which the Republican House will in large measure leave untouched), rising inflation and 9.8% unemployment (both being curiously lower figures than American reality indicates), show that a country can go in the opposite direction of America. Chile has been largely untouched by America’s recent depression. Other natural resource-based and export-based economies have also been doing well during the northern hemisphere’s self-induced recession: Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong are a few other examples. The fact is that natural resource-based economies are going to prosper in the short run by the boost in metals prices, along with other commodities (in terms of dollars of course), and in the long run by increasing sales of products to feed the socialist and bailout projects of the USA and other countries.

What is there to do? The answer is quite clear. (1) Get your assets out of the USA. (2) Get a passport. (3) Get an escape route planned with adequate and realistic transportation. (4) Get to a suitable place as soon as you can.

Chile has pulled away from New Zealand and Panama recently, at least in my mind, as the leading place for most people to go. I still see virtue for brave souls to go to Hong Kong if they can afford it, ditto for European enclaves like Monaco, Guernsey, Andorra or Liechtenstein if they can afford it (and win the local immigration lottery), or even an island nation somewhere (if they like living on islands). Uruguay has never been on the radar screen as a freer place to go, even though it might be an okay place to get a second passport or park some money. One American immigrant here was recently asked why he came to Chile. He stated that, “because it is the best country in the Western Hemisphere.” He was mistaken only in that Chile is probably the best overall country, despite it many shortcomings, in the entire world. Some 30 years ago I might have said the same thing about America. I can no longer do so. If you will be honest, neither can you.

How much longer will “our kind” of people continue in their vain hope that America will right itself, especially via Republicans? No one has offered any reasonable reason for hope in the “land of the free.”

In terms of making an impact in Chile, while excellent “obscure” writers like Dr. Steven Yates (who deserves to be heard) are relegated to off-the-charts minor league newspapers like The Times Examiner in Greenville, South Carolina (where I dedicated much time writing as well), the impact that he and others would have in Chile is remarkably high. Libertarian-types (including constitutionalists and “real” Republicans) will find fertile ground in Chile to share their ideas with friends, acquaintances and students whom will often seriously consider their ideas and change their views to be more liberty-minded. They like gringos and by default appreciate our perspective.

Many of my frank or even “hard core” letters to the editor get published in national papers, and many people have asked me (after meeting me for the first time) “Are you the same Dr. Cobin who writes letters to the editor?” I have been able to speak at intellectuals’ dinner clubs which are designed to discuss and debate new ideas. I have made considerable inroads in promoting homeschooling in many places, for instance, as well as promoting free market capitalism, denouncing socialism and faith in the state, denouncing Lincoln and the War of Northern Aggression, blasting radical feminism and radical environmentalism or ecology, promoting market-based alternatives like free banking, and decrying abortion policies.

The other day a friend here heard some Marxist on the radio blasting me and my latest book A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy, a sure-tell sign that I am having an impact (or at least annoying the Left). I was pleased to hear of it. Perhaps most importantly, I have seen my students have life-changing experiences as they have thought through hard philosophical and economic issues. I have recently supervised their theses dealing with topics like Chilean free banking and using cases in Chile to debunk radical environmentalism. (For fear of not wanting to sound boastful or “narcissist,” I will not bore you with other details.) I only hope it can and will continue, by the grace of God.

I point out all of the aforementioned facts mainly to provide encouragement to those who drudge on in the USA hitting one brick wall after another and find themselves increasingly ostracized by the mainstream and even by some true conservatives or libertarians. There are some places in the world in which the ideas of liberty are being well-received. Chile is one of them. And if you have been able to “handle” putting up with the sins of the USA, then handling Chile’s relatively minor peccadilloes should be a piece of cake.  Plus, I know many liberty-loving Americans not to be cowards. They have shown a willingness to fight for liberty and the truth at considerable personal cost. Now the time has come for them to make the next move: the move out of “the land of the free” to Chile.

I know there will be some exceptions and I feel badly for them. For instance, if you cannot pay for plane fare or food and shelter for awhile, there is no point in even thinking about leaving. Therefore, it is logical that people in such circumstances would try to make the best of their reality and even “believe” in what Republicans will do to “fix” America. Their only hope is to fix America. It may be a vain hope, but they must cling to it. Living without hope, like living in the former USSR, is simply too depressing.

Yet I would encourage those who face such unfortunate circumstances to not think that Republicans will fix things. I do not see any remedy for the insane financial policies of the central bank and the fiscal madness of Obama and his cronies. The public school and Draconian institutions in the USA: ATF, DSS, Family Court, IRS, TSA, etc. will continue to dominate the minds and hearts of most Americans, already too dull on account of their porn, sports, romance novel and TV addictions. America simply will end, sooner or later, even if the body (without the soul of the Founding Fathers) drifts on for a thousand years as a military might and totalitarian regime. Rome did, just as Simon Black recently reminded us in his Sovereign Man “Notes from the Field.” The American idea is over. Time to face the facts and deal with them.

You need to leave if you can. Instead of saving for retirement, start saving for plane fare and short term living expenses. Get TEFL qualified so you can teach English when you arrive in Chile. Bring a peanut butter machine so you can start a micro business when you get here, or something to help you survive. The writing is on the wall. Please do not be like so many hold outs in Eastern Europe under Hitler and Stalin who vainly believed that things would get better because they were too paralyzed to move and unable to face the facts, to their own demise. At least in coming to Chile you will have a support network and friends. You will find good or decent churches, wholesome family activities and a nice quality of life.

Like you, I take pride in being culturally American. Characteristics from American culture like generosity, following-through, and volunteerism are laudable. I cherish the nostalgia of what America, and especially the South, used to be. Indeed, like you, I still have the ingrained idea that people should be free. Many of us are Jeffersonian at heart in this sense. How sad it is for me to say to you, “Don’t waste all that good energy on a hopeless case like America!” And certainly do not trust Republicans to resolve America’s problems. Your window of opportunity will eventually close. So do not miss it.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

Modern apartment buildings and hotels in Chile have had water heaters for many years. It was only in older apartments and most homes that one had to suffer with cold bursts in the shower when the flame flickered on the “on-demand” calefont unit. Now water heaters are more commonplace. Just recently, I saw some water heaters for sale in the Punta Arenas tax free shopping mall, ZofrAustral, ranging in price from US$350 to US$500. I also saw a wider variety of electric toothbrushes and replacement heads than is normally seen. See the images below.

>According to this report and this one, unemployment in Chile dropped more than had been expected to 7.6%. According to this report, Valparaíso, Concepción, Punta Arenas and Antofagasta all had the largest drops in provincial rates. Iquique and Arica had rises in unemployment. Still, the rate of unemployment rate was 5.3% in Coyhaique and Puerto Aysén and under 5% in Iquique and Punta Arenas. Santiago’s rate is 7.5%.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

>Here is a quick look at the front page news today: Chilean President Piñera seated next to American President Obama, two of our “favorite” world leaders. They were both in Japan.

> Ha habido más de una ocasión en la que un chileno me ha preguntado por qué los estadounidenses no toman más de un periódico de la parrilla que funciona con monedas cuando pueden hacerlo? ¿Por qué dejar pasar esta oportunidad de obtener algo de manera fácil? La respuesta implica algo más que decir: “porque sólo quieren una copia”, “¿qué harían con dos?” o “sus ingresos relativos son tan altos que la obtención de una copia extra no entra en la mente de un americano como sí en la un chileno.”
La naturaleza de la cuestión revela una diferencia cultural, entre Estados Unidos y  Chile, que no alcanza sólo a las personas más pobres, sino también a las de clase alta. Esta tendencia puede simplemente resumirse del siguiente modo: La gran mayoría de los estadounidenses no quieren ser mentirosos y ladrones, mientras que la gran mayoría de los chilenos no quieren ser conocidos como mentirosos y ladrones. En otras palabras, a la mayoría de los chilenos no les importa mentir y robar, cuando pueden salirse con la suya, sin ser descubiertos. Por otra parte, creen que los americanos son tontos por no tomar ventaja de una oportunidad para engañar o robar, cuando sus acciones pueden pasar desapercibidas. No es que los chilenos no se den cuenta de que lo que hacen está mal, lo de ellos es un problema de percepción: se ven a sí mismos como oportunistas inteligentes en lugar de  gente deshonesta. Por otro lado, la persona que crea la oportunidad de ser deshonesto es la más culpable; si sufre una pérdida o abre el camino para hacer trampa, entonces ¿por qué se sorprende cuando esto sucede?
¿Cuál fue la razón principal por la que Home Depot no prosperó en Chile a fines de la década del 90? Se rumorea que el fracaso fue el resultado de una mezcla de la cadena entre su política de “100% de satisfacción garantizada, sin preguntar la razón por la que se devuelve el producto ” y la cultura chilena. En los Estados Unidos,  cadenas como Home Depot y Wal-Mart, reconocen que aproximadamente el 3% de los clientes va utilizar un taladro o un vestido de noche durante una semana (o un año) y luego devolverlo para un reembolso completo. Esa pequeña cifra, que obviamente tiene  ”costo de ventas” para ellos, es una parte de la estrategia de marketing que impulsa las ventas de forma espectacular. Algunos clientes ven en esta política, una gran oportunidad para arrendar gratis un producto nuevo, sin embargo esto lejos de dañar las utilidades de la empresa las favorece, pues a causa de tal política las ventas en general suben. De hecho, los clientes terminan comprando más porque saben que si algo no funciona bien, pueden cambiarlo por uno nuevo y conseguir algo más u obtener la devolución de su dinero. Por otra parte, pocas personas terminan abusando del “100% de satisfacción garantizada”, ya que en la cultura americana (en general)  rara vez se premia la deshonestidad.
La mayoría de los estadounidenses tienen una conciencia moral que se opone a mentir y robar, ellos no aprovecharán una oportunidad para ser deshonestos. En los Estados Unidos una persona que es  sorprendida en mentira o haciendo trampa en la escuela tiende a ser castigado con mayor severidad que en Chile. Por ejemplo, un estudiante chileno que es sorprendido engañando en un examen tendrá que volver a dar el examen fuera de plazo o recibir una calificación reprobatoria. Pero la posibilidad de que pierda el curso o lo expulsen de la escuela, como puede ocurrir en muchas escuelas de Estados Unidos, es casi nula. ¿Por qué hay penas diferentes? A lo mejor tiene algo que ver con el hecho de que los chilenos saben que la mayoría de sus compatriotas, tienen una tendencia latente a mentir y robar, y que una persona no debe ser tan duramente castigada simplemente por seguir su naturaleza. Estadounidenses, por el contrario, a menudo miran a los tramposos como  gente estúpida o perezosa que no han encontrado otra manera de salir adelante en la vida. Para la mayoría de los gringos, no hay virtud en ser un mentiroso o tramposo; para ellos la honestidad y el trabajo duro son muy apreciados.
Algo similar ocurre con su moralidad. Los chilenos suelen vivir una doble vida en lo que se refiere a prácticas morales y mucho me temo, que a sabiendas de que están practicando la inmoralidad. Mi esposa me recordó algunas generalidades  comunes en historias que ha escuchado o conocido  de sus coterráneos. Por ejemplo, en Chile, (1)  un homosexual se casa sólo para encubrir su homosexualidad, (2) el hombre o la mujer que más alto proclama las virtudes de la monogamia y la estructura familiar tradicional, es el primero en tener una relación secreta, paralela a su matrimonio, (3) estudiantes que proclaman que son honestos y “no como otros chilenos” son muchas veces los mayores estafadores  y (4) la chica (o su padre) o la mujer que más firmemente se opone al aborto  puede haberse  practicado uno de manera secreta e ilegal. Estos chilenos no quieren ser conocidos como deshonestos o inmorales, pero quieren practicar con arte sus pecados personales en privado. La clave está en no ser descubierto y al mismo tiempo, para disimular y/o ser valorado por su entorno, alabar la moral tradicional. Algunos chilenos reconocen a menudo esta dicotomía y les maravilla que la gente en Estados Unidos no tenga miedo de exponer sin tapujos su estilo de vida inmoral, al menos cuando sus prácticas son legales (por ejemplo, mostrarse abiertamente gay o lesbiana, abiertamente adúltera – como en “Hollywood”-, tomar dinero del bienestar del estado, tener un aborto cuando se supone es “absolutamente necesario”, etc.) ¿Se dan cuenta de que en Chile mantener la moral tradicional es de buena educación, si se pueden ocultar hipócritamente las prácticas pecaminosas? En síntesis esto es “The Chilean Way”.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

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>For those Americans fortunate enough to have brought a waffle iron with them, here is a simple recipe to make the batter from scratch:

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• Confectioners’ sugar and fresh fruit or maple syrup

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
• In a small bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold into batter.
• Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown. Top with confectioners’ sugar and fruit or serve with syrup. Yield: 8 waffles (about 4 inches).

>The Cajon del Maipo area located a couple of hours southeast of Santiago offers spectacular views and a great place to go for a day trip or just to get out of town. Jagged glacial peaks, waterfalls, reservoirs such as Embalse El Yeso (2,500 meters or 8,200 feet), the Maipo River and its tributaries, and thermal hot springs are featured along the way. The (dirt) road surface at the Termas la Colina hot springs must be close to 13,000 feet since the nearby pass to Argentina is over 13,400 feet. The lack of oxygen in the air is noticeable immediately. Some of the prominent peaks include Volcán San José (5,856 meters or 19,212 feet), Cerro El Morado (4,674 meters or 15,334 feet), and Cerro Marmolejo (6,104 meters or 20,026 feet).

>There has been more than one occasion in which a Chilean has asked me why Americans do not take more than one newspaper out of the coin-operated rack when they can easily do so? Why do they pass up such an easy opportunity to have more? The answer involves more than saying: “because they only want one copy,” “what would they do with two?” or “their relative incomes are so high that taking an extra copy does not enter an American’s mind like it would a Chilean’s.”

The nature of the question reveals a cultural difference, perhaps a latent cultural tendency, between America and in Chile that reaches not just to poorer people, but even to the upper classes. This tendency can be simply summed up as follows: The great majority of Americans do not want to be liars and thieves, while the great majority of Chileans do not want to be known as liars and thieves. Otherwise, most Chileans do not mind lying and stealing when they can get away with it. Moreover, they think Americans are foolish for not taking advantage of a perfectly good opportunity to cheat or steal when his actions can go undetected. It is not that Chileans do not realize that what they are doing is wrong. They do. Nevertheless, they look at themselves as being clever opportunists rather than generally dishonest people. Besides, the person creating the opportunity to be dishonest is the most culpable. If he suffers a loss or opens the way for cheating then why should he be surprised when it happens?

What was one of the principal reasons why Home Depot failed in Chile during the late 1990s? Rumor has it that the failure was a result of a mix of the chain’s “100% satisfaction guaranteed and no-questions-asked returns policy” and Chilean culture. In the United States, chains like Home Depot and Wal-Mart know that something like 3% of customers will use a drill or an evening dress for a week (or a year) and then return it for a full refund. That small figure simply becomes a cost of sales for them in a part of sales strategy that boosted sales dramatically. A few customers see a great opportunity to de facto rent a new item for “free” but this fact does not harm overall profits since sales go up on account of the policy. Indeed, customers ended up buying more because they knew if something did not work, fit or look right they could take it back and get something else or their money back. Moreover, few people end up abusing the “100% satisfaction guaranteed” policy since there is so little in American culture (generally) which prizes dishonesty.

Most Americans have a moral conscience that stands against lying and stealing; rather than partaking of a perfectly good opportunity to be dishonest, they choose not to do so. In the United States, a person caught lying or cheating in school tends to be punished more severely than in Chile. For instance, a Chilean student who gets caught cheating on an exam will have to re-take the exam later or be given a failing grade. But there is almost no chance he will be kicked out of the class or school as might occur in many schools the United States. Why are there different punishments? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Chileans know that most Chileans, including them, have a latent tendency to lie and steal, and that a person should not be so harshly punished simply for following his nature. Americans, on the other hand, often look at cheaters as being stupid or lazy people who have found no other way to get by in life. For most Americans, there is no virtue in being a liar or a cheater. But honesty and hard work are highly-prized.

Many Chileans often live double lives when it comes to moral practices. They greatly fear someone knowing that they are practicing immorality. My wife reminded me of a few generalities which have been commonplace in stories she has heard about her fellow countrymen. For instance, in Chile, (1) a homosexual marries just to cover up his homosexuality; (2) the man or woman who most loudly proclaims the virtues of monogamy and traditional family structure is the first one to have a secret on-the-side relationship, paramour or mistress; (3) students who proclaim that they are honest and “not like other Chileans” are oftentimes the biggest cheaters of all; and (4) the girl (or her father) or woman who most staunchly stands in opposition to abortion may well have had a secret, illegal abortion herself. Such Chileans do not want to be known as dishonest or immoral but they want to artfully practice their personal sins in private. The key thing is not being discovered while at the same time praising traditional morality and culture. Some Chileans often recognize this dichotomy and marvel that in America people are not afraid to be “open” about their immoral lifestyles, at least when their practices are legal (e.g., openly gay or lesbian, openly adulterous–like in “Hollywood,” taking welfare, having an abortion when it is supposedly “absolutely necessary,” etc.). They realize that in Chile it is considered to be well-educated to maintain a luster of traditional morality while hypocritically concealing one’s sinful practices. More than not, that is “The Chilean Way.”

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

I wanted to pass along a recent letter from my friend Dr. John Cobin– a ‘former’ American who is a full-time expat in Santiago, Chile, one of my favorite places in the world. John is author of the book Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, which is easily the most comprehensive work about the country. From John:

People often ask me for my opinion about which are the freest, best and sanest places in the world. My answer is: “It depends.”

It depends on whether you are financially secure or still need to work, whether you have children with social or cultural needs, whether you want to be near established churches, whether you would go crazy living on an island, whether you can afford a lifestyle of $10,000+ per month in expenses or whether you can only afford $2,000 per month, whether a broad range of natural beauty is important or just a slice of paradise, whether a generally left-leaning social policy or a right-leaning social policy is preferable, and how important it is for you to be able to travel to other places easily.

While these are the main issues of concern, there are at least another ten items of secondary general importance that might carry greater significance for any client in particular. I won’t list all the secondary issues here. Nevertheless, having said all of that, I would suggest the following short lists:

For the relatively wealthy:

1. Hong Kong (the freest place on earth and a great place to shop or buy gold and jewels) and maybe Macau. Hong Kong is always ranked 1st in the world for economic freedom.

2. Campione d’Italia on Lake Lugano: Italian but administered by the Swiss (one of the world’s best-kept secrets for the wealthy to retire in luxury and beauty).

3. Anywhere on the list of 10 offshore financial centers mentioned in the previous post (but you would select one to live that is different than the one you select for your money to reside).

4. Chile — especially the lowest-taxed places in the world within its boundaries: in the tropical desert north Iquique and Arica, or in the deep south Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales (up to 21 hours of sunlight in summer and the opposite in winter).

Puerto Natales is beautiful and quaint, serving as a launching point to see the single most beautiful place in the world: Torres del Paine National Park. The spectacular Perito Morales glacier in Argentina is within striking distance too. Maids and other personal servants are reasonably-priced.

A person might consider having a four-month (summertime December 1 to March 31) residence in Puerto Natales, for instance, and an eight-month residence in Iquique. There is good regular air service between the two cities.

Located on the Strait of Magellan, windy Punta Arenas also has a three hour charter flight in the summertime to Antarctica, nearby penguins to see, great seafood restaurants (as does Iquique and Arica), and a cemetary with tombstones in over a dozen languages, in case those things matter to you.

If one shops at the free zones (ZOFRI) in Iquique or Punta Arenas for cars, appliances, etc. he will not have to pay either the import tariff (5%) or the onerous value added tax (19%).

Having said that much, I would also emphasize that Santiago is a great big city if one likes urban life, and Viña del Mar is not bad. Plus there are very wonderful exclusive beach area homes in Las Rocas de Santo Domingo, Las Tacas, and Zapallar. Chile was ranked 5th in the world (in 2010) for economic freedom.

5. New Zealand (trendy, free-market bent, a magnet for social leftists and radical environmentalists, beautiful especially on the south island, prostitutes are listed under “P” in the yellow pages, English spoken, walk and drive on the left, fiercely loyal to the Queen…Can you put up with it?). New zealand was ranked 3rd in the world for economic freedom.

6. Panamá (with a wide variety of living options from rural “Third World” living, planned rural communities, or the “big city” experience). Maids and other personal servants are cheap.

7. Monaco (maybe but they do sign on to repressive pacts with other countries at times such as the pro-feminist Hague Convention)

8. Pick your favorite Caribbean or South Pacific island not already mentioned. Maids and other personal servants are reasonably-priced if not cheap in many islands, especially poorer ones.

9. Luxembourg, Switzerland, and maybe a few other socialist places could be options for the right person, but these are way down on the list for me. I might as well include Arequipa, Peru, the Falkland Islands, Morocco, Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname if we are going to stoop to this level of legal plunder and/or danger!

For people who need to work:

1. Chile (Santiago in particular but anywhere would do). The elegant northeastern part of the city is growing and the economy is booming in mining and agriculture. If you like to live where there was German influence in culture and architecture, try south central Chile. Maids and other personal servants are reasonably-priced, and they really help out with families with younger children. Chile was ranked 5th in the world (in 2010) for economic freedom.

2. Hong Kong (if you get a REALLY good job that affords you $15,000 per month just for rent!). Hong Kong is always ranked 1st in the world for economic freedom.

3. Panamá (especially Panama City)–Maids and other personal servants are cheap. Opening a pizza parlor in David is one thing. But how well will you fare looking for a job in Panama City (pop. 1 million)?

4. New Zealand (so long as (a) left-leaning social policy is not too troublesome to you–see notes in the entry above, (b) you are young enough and skilled enough to get enough “points” so the government will let you in, and (c) you get a job which is well-ABOVE the national average for salaries).

Opening a ski rental and repair shop in Queensland is one thing. But how well will you fare looking for a job in “big city” Auckland (pop. 1 million)? New Zealand was ranked 3rd in the world for economic freedom.

5. Belize (if you are willing to rough it in the Third World agricultural scene and trying to live dirt cheap or at least to live off of the land)–Maids and other personal servants are cheap. This option is only for the most hearty.

6. Paraguay (just as ferocious as Belize but worse; no income tax but a soft-fascist regime that permits Mennonites to own vast stretches of land and grow rich)–note: not a place for the faint of heart! Maids and other personal servants are dirt cheap. Like Belize, this option is only for the most hearty.

7. For those who don’t mind having one foot in the black market to prosper, and who can live with a prominent mafia presence, Eastern European countries like Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Montenegro, Croatia, and, if you want to take a risk but still be around the most beautiful women in the world, Serbia. Also, to be frank, the chance of you getting a good job in these relatively high-cost-of-living places is not very great.

8. Argentina (maybe but be ready for political upheaval, anti-Americanism, and insecure property rights). For instance, just after I put up this post in August 2008 some Argentines burned a commuter train as a protest of slow commute times. In the past the Argentine government has done wretched things like confiscate private social security accounts, tax exports, convert dollar-denominated bank savings accounts into pesos (thus reducing the account value by 70%), and passing a “glacier law” to please the Greens in October 2010 that has totally hamstrung gold and copper mining in the Andes.

Argentina is synonymous with stupid public policies. Violence and corruption are also soaring in Argentina. Taxes are high and some consumer goods like automobiles are outrageously expensive. You might find a way to work in Buenos Aires and leave your family, social life, and primary residence 90 minutes away in Santiago, Chile.

If you can manage to live in the smaller cities or rural areas of the country, you will likely fare far better.

9. Costa Rica (a lot of Americans, no military, but a lot of US control and a largely Third World experience only marginally better than Belize). Maids and other personal servants are cheap. Again, you will likely be getting a job in tourism or a service industry without great pay.

10. Anywhere on the list of 10 offshore financial centers mentioned in the previous post that you happened to get a job (but to be honest, this is very unlikely in most of the places on the list).

11. Bahrain (maybe but you have to put up with a lot of non-Western issues).

12. United Arab Emirates (ditto from the above entry). You know that the remaining world choices are not good when Arab states are this far up the list!

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

I wanted to pass along a recent letter from my friend Dr. John Cobin– a ‘former’ American who is a full-time expat in Santiago, Chile, one of my favorite places in the world. John is author of the book Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, which is easily the most comprehensive work about the country. From John:

It is cheaper to live in Chile than in the USA or Europe.

Even though Chile’s per capita income as a percentage of GDP is higher than any other country in South America, it is still only about a third of North American or Western European standards. That means that millions of Chileans live for much less than Americans and Europeans. They may not have a car (they use privatized public transportation), but they are well-fed and have sufficient clothing and shelter for the most part. Plus technology is common across the board for cellular phones, televisions, appliances, computers, etc.

There is also a growing middle class that affords many of the features of life that Americans and Europeans are accustomed to having. If you want the sort of lifestyle that most Chileans experience, and do not mind living in a Second World city or town, you and your spouse can live comfortably for about US$1,000 to US$1,500 per month, even if you have to pay rent. You will not be living high-on-the-hog, and may not have a maid (other than a day or two a week), but you will be able to make ends meet reasonably well.

I know some Americans in Arica who live for under US$600 per month. Talca is likewise inexpensive. If you want to live at a level that is equivalent to suburban American living, replete with car and a nice home or apartment in Santiago or Viña del Mar, you will likely need to have a little more than US$3,100 per month.

In terms of assets, assuming one can consistently earn 7% on investments, the target used by upper-middle class Chileans (social category C1) is 300,000,000 pesos or US$550,000. If one owns his house or apartment free and clear, the amount of assets needed will be less.

Likewise, if one is receiving a pension or Social Security, the amount of assets will be proportionately less. For instance, if a couple receives a total of US$1,600 monthly from such pensions, they would only need US$260,000 in investible assets. If they also own their “typical” dwelling free and clear, the amount of assets needed might only be US$100,000.

A lot will depend on how much you plan to travel (travel within Chile purchased in advance in not expensive), whether you will eat out a lot instead of using your maid (and if you will be eating at pricey establishments), what recreational activities you plan to do, and whether you will be buying a lot of gifts for grandkids.

When I did financial planning in the USA, I usually recommended that my clients shoot for 3 to 4 times these assets as a minimum for retirement, perhaps US2,000,000. Chile is far more affordable. So do not make the mistake of thinking you need more than you do or have in order to retire in Chile.

Of course, having more is always better. And the more one has the better he will be able to live in Chile. But this entry provides some guidance for at least minimum requirements you should strive for.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

>The national unemployment rate in Chile dropped to 8% (annualized) during July through September 2010. This is good news for Chile, which is now growing (in terms of GDP) at 5.5% per year and is expected to grow at more than 6% through 2014. It is also good news for prospective immigrants who are hoping to find a job or start a business in Chile.

The unemployment rate was really low in certain cities: Iquique (3.6%), San Fernando (3.9%, wine country in the 6th Region), Coyhaique (4%), Punta Arenas (4.5%) and Puerto Montt (4.7%). Viña del Mar and San Antonio had much higher rates (11.9%), as did Osorno (10.7%) and La Serena (10.4%). The greater Santiago unemployment rate was 7.9%.

Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.

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     Por eso, ¿No sería mejor tener siempre un programa para mejorar la calidad de seguridad minera, como hacen las empresas privadas todos los días? Seguramente tiene fallas como el caso de mina San José, pues el mercado no es perfecto. Además las excepciones o accidentes no hacen la regla, pero hay amplia evidencia que demuestra que el mercado puede proveer  seguridad de mejor calidad que el Estado.

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     ¿Hay alguna duda de por qué las empresas extranjeras ven con buenos ojos a Chile al momento de decidir dónde ubicar su sede principal en Latinoamérica? ¿Cree usted algo extraño que las empresas multinacionales se preocupen mucho menos acerca de la corrupción, los problemas de la confiscación, y los costos adicionales asociados con la fabricación de nuevas inversiones en Chile (como lo harían en casi todos los otros países de Latinoamérica)? ¿O tiene alguna razón para preguntarse por qué Chile es tan atractivo para los futuros inmigrantes en comparación con otros países de Latinoamérica? 
     Al estar en el top 25, o incluso avanzar hacia los top 10, Chile garantizará un mayor crecimiento y prosperidad, dejando una mayor riqueza a las generaciones actuales y futuras. Por otra parte, este último ranking le da a Chile una imagen mayormente positiva. Se debe dar a los inversionistas internacionales una razón más para invertir en Chile e impulsar la economía nacional.  Durante 2010, el mundo ha visto a Chile en su mejor momento con su resistencia al devastador terremoto y al tsunami, su fortaleza en el rescate de los 33 mineros, y ahora al confirmar su reputación como uno de los países menos corruptos del mundo.

>One of the most attractive features of Chile, for either an immigrant or a foreign firm, is its transparency and lack of corruption. Chile is already renown for having the only police force in Latin America, los carabineros, that will not accept bribes. Now it has been recognized as the 21st least corrupt country in the world, ranked among the elite 12% of 178 nations under consideration, and 1st place among all Latin American countries. Chile received a higher rating than the United States (22nd) and was just behind the United Kingdom (20th), which is certainly perceived by the world as “good company.” The rankings were published in Transparency International‘s “Corruption Perception Index 2010.”

The top ten spots went to Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, and Norway. Hong Kong was 13th and Spain was 30th. Notably in Latin America, Uruguay took 24th place, joining Chile in the top 25, Puerto Rico took 33rd place, and Costa Rica took 41st place. However, other Latin American countries were ranked in the middle and lower part of the scale between 69th place (Cuba) and 164th place (Venezuela). Of local interest, Panama was 73rd, Argentina remained crippled at 105th, Bolivia languished at 110th, and Peru, Columbia and China came in tied for 78th.

Is there any doubt why foreign businesses look favorably upon Chile when deciding where to locate their Latin American headquarters? Do you think odd that multinational firms worry far less about corruption, confiscation problems, and extra costs associated with making new investments in Chile (as they would in nearly all other Latin countries)? Or do you have any reason to wonder why Chile is so attractive to prospective immigrants compared to other Latin countries? By staying in the top 25, or even moving toward the top 10, Chile will secure greater growth and prosperity, leaving greater abundance for both current and future generations. Furthermore, this latest ranking provides Chile with even greater positive exposure. It should give international investors yet another reason to invest in Chile and boost the national economy. During 2010, the world has seen Chile at its best with its resilience to the devastating earthquake and tsunami, its fortitude in rescuing the 33 miners, and now by seeing its reputation demonstrated as being one of the least corrupt countries in the world.

>I have commented elsewhere that medical care in Santiago is world-class, while the cost for services is far lower than the USA. Childbirth is one example of such savings. Consider the table below published in El Mercurio, Sunday, October 17, 2010, page B5.

Basically, the most a couple is going to pay in Chile’s most expensive hospital is US$10,910 for a complicated C-Section birth (using an exchange rate of 475 pesos to the dollar). And the cost difference between the five best hospitals in Santiago (Las Condes, Alemana, UC San Carlos, Santa María, and Hospital Clínico de la UC) is significant. For instance, the most expensive C-Section in the Clínica Santa María costs only US$6,660, which is US$4,250 or 39% less than Clínica Las Condes, and a “normal” delivery without complications is just US$3,805. Having a baby with normal delivery in the provinces is even cheaper, such as Puerto Montt (US$2,528), just as it is in the middle to lower-middle class areas of Santiago, such as Vespucio (US$2,388). My daughter Rachel was born in a provincial hospital in Quilpué 14 years ago. The cost of delivery was, not surprisingly, much less than a delivery would cost today. And the care received by mother and daughter was very good.

Compare these prices with a similar range in the USA, including excellent facilities in major cities as well as small town hospitals. My guess is that having a baby in the USA costs something like three to four times as much as it does in Chile. This link confirms this fact, showing a range of costs for normal delivery from US$9,000 to US17,000 (depending on location, with the southern States being cheapest) and C-Sections ranging from US$14,000 to US$25,000. Alternatively, this link states that the ranges are US$5,000 to US$8,000 and US$10,000 to US$12,000 respectively. In Houston, Texas, a city of comparable size to Santiago, the reported costs for a normal delivery have been US$8,000 to a whopping US$25,000. Accordingly, even Americans who do not plan to live in Chile might consider coming to Chile to have their babies. It would save them a lot of money, especially if they do not have good medical insurance.

>The fabulous rescue of the 33 Chilean miners apparently gave hope to the world during gloomy economic times and also provided a new principal reason to remember Chile (instead of Pinochet). People like Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal sure found reason to do so. See her upbeat article of October 15, 2010: (alternate link here) “Viva Chile! They Left No Man Behind. A show of competence and determination inspires the world.” Along with the two obvious winners from the rescue of the miners, i.e., TV or radio advertisers and Chilean President Piñera, a few other winners must be added to the list.

• First, mining companies in Chile and around the world showed everyone (through their solidarity) that they are serious about safety, protecting their workers, and are worthy of praise for their concerted and efficient efforts. Chilean mining operations are especially good, outdoing past rescue efforts of mining companies in the United States and Europe.
• Second, the precision and perseverance of American well drillers Matt Stafeard (age 29) and Jeff Hart (age 40) provided more reason for Chileans to like Americans. Thus, American immigrants to Chile won too, since they will undoubtedly be considered even more competent, generous, and voluntaristic than ever before–thanks to the spectacle performed by Stafeard and Hart.
• Third, Chile won fame as a world-class destination. This predicament was the second disaster of 2010 (after the February 27th earthquake and tsunami). In both cases Chile showed the world that it can effectively deal with significant problems that would have spiraled the majority of countries into oblivion. As one Chilean minister recently put it during an international press conference: “Chile is a tremendous country.” And now few have any doubts about it. Accordingly, Chilean business and tourism will win as well. Chile has already held first place in the mind of Americans over any other country south of the border and the miner rescue will only underscore that sentiment.

The rescue may have cost 20 million dollars. But it was worth every penny for those who “won.” The effort was pulled off ahead of schedule and flawlessly before the eyes of untold millions in the Americas, Europe and elsewhere. Wall Street public relations and advertising experts have estimated that the value of the same exposure, if purchased by Chile, would have run between US$1 billion and US$2 billion (source: El Mercurio, Sunday, October 17, 2010, page B1).


I happened to be in Copiapó during the rescue (albeit not by design). The euphoria I witnessed was similar to the excitement in the air when Chile participated in the World Cup. Everyone was glued to the radio and TV coverage. Some people did not go to sleep. They wanted to see every miner’s face as he emerged and how he reacted to seeing his loved ones. They were not disappointed. Latinos are tremendous performers. Evangelicals were also keenly interested in the outcome since at least one purported believer, José Enriquez,  was among the 33 miners. The way the miners treated one another in captivity demonstrated that “human love defies Darwinian explanation.” God did not fail them prior to and throughout the rescue..


In Copiapó, horns were honked, plastic trumpets blown, people were yelling and sining and making all sorts of ruckus until at least 2 a.m. One would almost have to be inhuman to not have a tear come to his eyes. The rescue that made Chile famous really was a thing of beauty.


Congratulations miners! Congratulations Chile! Congratulations new immigrants to Chile!


Unfortunately, most of the miners were from the lower classes in Chile and, at least until their royalties for books and movies come in, they still have to face the realities of relative poverty. See this story for details.


Finally, on October 29, 2010, the following image appeared on the front page of Chile’s national daily paper, El Mercurio. Credit was thus given to the Americans, from NASA specialists to Jeff Hart, who contributed so substantially to the miners’ rescue.

Here are my letters to the editor, the first of which was published the day after the rescue (in Spanish) about the improved friendship with the USA and Chile on account of the miners, and the second one was published the following week:

>Sometimes it is easier to imagine what a place looks like if one can compare it to a similar known place in his home country. I am referring in particular to climate and physical appearance of the locale. Here is my take on several cities in Chile and what cities seems like them (to my recollection) elsewhere.

Zapallar = Carmel, California (or maybe Santa Barbara)

Ovalle (south entrance outskirts) = Grand Junction, Colorado

Chile Chico = Bend, Oregon or maybe Sunnyside, Washington

Coyhaique = Has a sense of Yosemite about it

Talca = Fresno

Curicó = Stockton, California

Los Angeles = Red Bluff, California

Coastal 7th Region (Counstitución south) = Marin County, California

Viña del Mar area = coastal Southern California

Las Tacas (south of Coquimbo) = the best resort in Cabo San Lucas

Temuco down to Puerto Mont = Willamette Valley, Oregon up to Olympia, Washington

Puerto Aysen = Juneau, Alaska, Sitka or some coastal inlet in British Columbia

Arica inland agricultural areas = any southwestern USA location with a river (e.g. the Colorado)

Puerto Natales = far north in British Columbia where a river meets the inlets to the sea

Santiago = Bakersfield with a Colorado Springs backdrop

Puerto Guadal = the same Alps view from Lausanne, Switzerland on steroids

Cerro Castillo = Pueblo, Colorado

Playa la Virgen (near Copiapó) = Greek Island, Key West, Florida or Destin, Florida in a cove with turquoise water and white sandy beaches, without any significant population nearby or services either

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Notice the problem for unwary American and European immigrants in the photograph above? Chileans color code their condiment bottles according to the spiciness of what it contains. Thus, like a traffic light, ketchup, being the most mild sauce, gets the green squeeze bottle. Mustard takes yellow. And the hot sauce (ají) goes in the red bottle, of course. Other cultures match the color of the bottle to its contents, e.g. ketchup in red bottles, mustard in yellow ones, pickle relish in green ones.

If you do not read this blog entry first, you will not be the first gringo to squirt hot sauce all over your fries. You will be following your color-coded conditioning learned since infancy. You will amuse nearby Chileans too who will wonder why you simply do not read the label before you squirt the contents!

>Americans are spoiled when it comes to banking services. Most places in the world charge customers to maintain checking accounts. In the USA, almost anyone can get a fee-free checking account if he wishes. In Chile, only the wealthy, or upper middle class at least, can secure a free checking account. One reason for this is that the checking account is a gateway product that automatically qualifies a person for a Visa or Mastercard credit card, preferred rates on consumer and home loans, and other banking services like insurance products (life, disability, car or truck), mutual funds and safe deposit boxes. Accordingly, qualifying for a checking account requires a submitting pay-stubs, lists of assets and liabilities, and legal documentation, including whether or not your are married with complete separation of assets or not.

To get a free checking account in Chile, one must earn at least US$30,000 per year with a steady employer, and he usually must go to one of the “smaller” banks to get it. Larger banks provide a great deal of services, many branches, conveniences. They might be willing to waive fees for the first year for a new customer. After that the newcomer can expect to pay US$5 to US$25 per month in banking fees. But not all banks operate this way. Banco Security is an example of a smaller bank that will provide good clients with completely free checking forever. Other smaller banks will do the same if one directly deposits his paycheck, using online bill pay, or he maintains an average daily balance of 210,000 pesos (US$410). Since these sorts of services and average balances are commonly used and maintained, most newcomers will have little difficulty meeting the criteria for free checking at other smaller banks. Even then the account may still incur some charges. For instance, if one happens to use his credit line (overdraft protection) he might see an annual US$25 charge appear on his statement. In that case, the checking account is “free” but if one voluntarily uses the overdraft part he has to pay a fee.

Remember that only permanent residents, employees with visas “subject to contract,” and the occasional wealthy immigrant with a temporary visa, can get checking accounts in Chile normally. But when you are ready to try to establish your checking account, be sure to let the banks compete for you business. Call several banks and tell them you are interested in opening a cuenta corriente (checking account) and that you are speaking with several competitors. Then evaluate the offers as they come in. Representatives will likely visit you at your office with a package of benefits that their bank provides. You will be treated like a king, in some sense, and in the end you will walk away with a free or inexpensive account if you are a patient and careful shopper.

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     ¿Quién sabe? Tal vez algunos de los aspectos sociales negativos de Chile se mitigarán con el tiempo. Todos sabemos que “la esperanza nunca muere.”

>Chile Inteligente

     ¿Por qué Chile es un país inteligente? Chile no teme al libre mercado. Más mercado y menos Estado es la regla chilena, incluso si una empresa colombiana disfruta de ser accionista mayoritaria de concesiones como la Autopista Central o si una empresa australiana es dueña de la minera más grande del país. Además, no hay ningún drama en tener autopistas concesionadas, aunque sean monopolios, en parte ineficientes por las pérdidas sociales que genera debido a la “búsqueda de renta”.      

>The Fraser Institute in Vancouver has again placed Chile ahead of the USA and Canada in terms of economic freedom. Chile is ranked 5th, New Zealand is 3rd, and Hong Kong is 1st. This Fraser news release and this report in the New Zealand Herald summarize the findings. Of course there is no surprise here, other than that the USA and Canada are still among the top 10. Visit the Free the World site for more details.

>Other than the Rose Bowl and other stadiums, I cannot recall being in too many places along with 60,000 other people. How about you? The thing is that Chileans really get into their independence day holiday, especially this bicentennial year. The 60,000 figure was reported in Chile’s major daily newspapers. There had been nearly 70.000 present the night before. Click the newspaper report below to see some detail about the celebration that took place at La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace in downtown Santiago.

This year a French firm specializing in lighting, special effects, and fireworks had been hired to put on a show for 6 straight nights. Key historical and cultural events are highlighted during the show. The series will have attracted well over 300,000 spectators between September 16 and 21, 2010. (And that is a considerable sum considering Chile is a relatively small country with about 17 million people and several hundred thousand people left town a couple days ago for the 5 day weekend.) Even though we had to stand for nearly 3 hours in total for the 45 minute show, we wee all favorably impressed. I had seen sound and light shows in Egypt and Greece before, but this one in Santiago was the best thing I had ever seen (mainly on account of the special effects). People crowing all around and pushing their way through made for some discomfort, as did parking 2 miles away and walking with a grand multitude of people. But the net experience was clearly positive and worth doing.

Everyone had a good time, in spite of the crowd!

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Palm trees line the boardwalk and beach at Coquimbo, making for a pleasant walk or drive. No public mass transportation (“micros“) are allowed along the road and almost nothing is built on the beach side of the road, providing for unobstructed scenery while driving or walking.

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In the photograph below, a wind harp is shown which play a tune for visitors to the dam. We saw no recreation activities on the lake nor signs indicating that lakefront land was available for sale. One can see in these photographs that the lake surely does make the valley a more desirable place to be.

My son Matthew (16) and his stepmother Pamela were enjoying the scenery.

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Get a load of this idle road crew: all standing around getting paid. Apparently, pretty much the same phenomena exists just about everywhere in the world.

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>Thanks to avid blog reader Martin for pointing out this site sponsored by the Chilean government to foster and attract “early-stage” entrepreneurial activity in Chile. Prospective immigrants with a desire to open a new business in Chile, or expand operations into Chile, would do well to check out the Start-up Chile site. The government will sponsor up to 90% of labor and operational costs (US$40,000 maximum). A business plan must be submitted to be considered for this grant. Remember that US$40,000 goes a fairly long way in Chile compared to the USA and Europe, but the start-up will still be a small enterprise. It could be perfect for setting up an import or export business.

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>Don’t be a victim of Obama’s inept, even insane, real estate policies and other macroeconomic policy follies. (Don’t be fooled by Bernanke’s either.) Today was perfect timing for Obama: early on Sunday morning. We find ourselves early in the college football season and the pennant races in baseball are starting to heat up. The midterm elections having people once again lost in Wonderland as they imagine the glories of putting Republicans back in control of Congress, salted with a few “Tea Party” candidates. What a vain hope! Yet most people are distracted. The timing is good.

Look very carefully guys at what happened in Germany to real estate values after its post WW1 hyperinflation. Look at what happened to them in the USA after FDR’s New Deal policies took hold. Look at the value of buildings in the Bronx in the aftermath of stupid economic policies in the mid 20th century. Check out Oil City, Pennsylvania for yet another example of real estate demise (Rockefeller’s gem in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries). History shows that real estate does not necessarily hold its value. Plenty of ghost towns still exist out west where there was once thriving economic activity. Land is not like gold in being a good store of value throughout the ages.

>I have often said that a professional or retired person can live twice as well in Chile for half the price. But that statement is qualified, of course, according to where one lives, his desire or need to travel, what he chooses to eat and where, what kind of transportation he prefers, and how much insurance he needs to buy (especially if he has a large family). Booking flights on Lan Chile’s Spanish language site from within Chile yields very attractive airfares, as much as 80% less than the gringo price paid by those logging into the airline’s English language site. This benefit is available to all immigrants, new and old. But some benefits only accrue over time. One pertinent economic consideration has to do with special discounts associated with obtaining a permanent residency visa and its corresponding ID card.

For instance, there are many more credit card options available to permanent residents than to those with (a) temporary visas or (b) visas subject to contract. While Visa and Mastercard cards are not available to those with temporary visas, they often are available to those holding a visa subject to an employment contract. But neither of these visa holders will be able to get department store credit cards. This fact is important because Chilean department store cards, which carry no annual fee but do incur nominal monthly fees and taxes when used, are used to obtain discounts all over Chile. These benefits come in addition to items placed on sale only to cardholders within the store that issued the card and its related chains.

In Líder super-centers (now owned by Wal-Mart), for example, shoppers who use their Presto card receive 6% off their total shopping bill on items purchased on Monday; 25% off meats, fruits and vegetables purchased on Tuesday and Wednesday; 25% off cakes and pastries on Thursday; and 25% off fish on Friday. Gasoline has been 10% cheaper on Fridays (during June 1-September 30, 2010) if purchased at Petrobras service stations. Purchases are discounted 15% at many name-brand shoe outlets. Presto has 55,000 affiliated merchants in Chile (searchable) that provide some discount when one pays with the card. Presto users also receive 6% off any real property tax bill, called contribuciones, paid on Monday, and 10% off car registration fees (taxes), called permiso de circulación, paid in March, if they pay with the Presto card (both transactions now available online). Obviously, these savings are significant and add up to a considerable sum over the course of a year. There are many other discounts on goods and services available when paying with Presto too, as well as in-store promotions which yield discounts (of perhaps 10% to 40% off) on certain brands or sizes of grocery items. The Presto card can be used to make purchases with an optional repayment schedule over three months without any interest or fees, making its use even more attractive in terms of financial planning. The catch is that not paying the the normal payment due (either in full or the cuota due that has been spread over three months) is very costly since the interest rate on the card is around 44% annually.

The Cencosud chain’s más credit cards (for Jumbo, Paris and Easy stores) and the CMR credit card (Falabella, Sodimac/Home Center, and Tottus) also offer significant and important discounts. Two-for-one is not uncommon. These discounts apply to in-store purchases of appliances, furniture, building supplies, plants and household goods, as well as discounts on certain groceries and other featured items at Jumbo and Tottus super-centers. Moreover, major purchases, when made with these cards, are often also permitted with up to 12 (and even 18 or 24) monthly payments without interest charges. The cards provide significant discounts in certain pharmacies too. Local (Santiago) ski areas provide a 50% discount on ski lift tickets on Monday at the El Colorado resort (with CMR) and on Thursday at the La Parva resort (with Cencosud). Youths (students up to 24 years old) can often ski all day for only $17 with these programs.

Note: Not paying the full amount due for the month results in very expensive interest and card fees. Like with the Presto card, CMR and Cencosud cards must be used with caution. Yet, instead of paying cash, prudent card use can be a significant financial planning tool that yields important cost savings when the “amount due” for that month is paid in full.

The El Mercurio (newspaper) sponsored American Express card for its Club de Lectores (“reader’s club”) provides savings of up to 25% at many businesses. For instance, movie theaters, participating restaurants, certain wine dealers, certain Goodyear automobile service centers, and admission tickets to many cultural events or performing arts grant this discount. The savings can be  up to 70% off for travel purchases. One nice thing about this card is that immigrants with visas subject to an employment contract (not just permanent residents) may be able to get one. Another nice thing is that most businesses only require a customer to show the card in order to get the discount. They will accept payment in cash or with another type of credit card. That means, for instance, that one can still get the 25% discount and at the same time get airline mileage points by paying with a Banco Santander Visa card. Some bank issued cards, including the Club de Lectores Amex, also offer temporary gasoline price reductions for the first couple months of their use, usually for gasoline purchases on the weekend. Surely this discount is worth taking advantage of.

The three major pharmacies offer credit cards that can be used to provide special discounts in their pharmacies. But I have found that bank-issued Visa and Mastercard cards have overlapping benefits in pharmacies quite often, in addition to accruing points on Lan Chile airlines or other points schemes. Thus, the benefits of pharmacy credit cards are relatively minor compared to using the Club de Lectores Amex, Presto, CMR and Cencosud cards.

If food, entertainment, restaurants, gasoline (for part of the year), recreation, pharmaceuticals, and property taxes make up 40% of the household budget, then saving an average of 20% on these things translates to an 8% reduction in one’s cost of living. Put another way, permanent residents who use these cards as prudent financial planning tools will live 8% better than those who do not, in addition to being better off than recent immigrants with inferior visas. Considering purchases of appliances, kitchenware, shoes and clothing might boost that 8% figure even higher.

The coupon-clipping housewife, famous in the USA, has to adopt a different line of attack in pursuing her craft in Chile. There are no significant or regularly-issued coupons to speak of in Chile. There are instead discounts offered for using the aforementioned credit cards, and a good housewife will learn to optimize her household purchasing by making efficient use of them. One hassle that she will find is that these cards often require a personal trip to a Banco Santander branch (which issues the Amex) or a branch of the issuing department store, to pay the bill, rather than using one’s online bill payment services (which are still not universally available to pay it). This process tends to consume a considerable amount of time.

Nevertheless, permanent residency and prudent use of department store and Club de Lector Amex cards can significantly reduce the cost of living in Chile. New immigrants should look forward to having such cost-saving options available to them after 2 or 3 years of residency. Until then, their cost of living will be higher for purchases, not to mention the normal higher costs due to the language barrier and lack of information.

>Pedro de Valdivia is an important figure in Chilean history since he conquered the land for Spain and founded many of its cities from La Serena to Osorno. He founded Santiago in 1541 and Concepción in 1550. On September 4, 1543 (after he founded La Serena), he wrote to Carlos V, King of Spain these remarkable words:

“The land is such that there is none better in the worldto live; I say this because it is flat, fertile (healthy), very pleasant…It has no more than four months of winter, during which (when there is no crescent moon) it rains a day or two; every other day is beautiful and sunny with no need to stand near a fire to warm oneself. The summer is so mild with beautiful breezes blowing all day, making walking in the sunshine hardly bothersome.”

The original Spanish text is found below, also em-brazened in downtown Santiago at the Santa Lucia park.

“La tierra es tal,que para poder vivir no la hay mejor en el mundo,dígolo porque es llana, sanísima, de mucho contento,..Tiene cuatro meses de invierno no más, qué de ellos, si no es cuando hay cuarto de luna, que llueve un dia o dos, todos los demás hacen tan lindos soles que no hay para qué llegarse al fuego. El verano es tan templado y corren tan deleitosos aires que todo el día se puede andar al sol, que no le es inoportuno”. Pedro de Valdivia en carta al Emperador Carlos V, La Serena, 4 de Septiembre de 1543.

In my experience, winter only lasts two months in Santiago. June and September are far to warm to be considered “winter” by European or North American standards, with daily high temperatures often over 70 degrees fahrenheit. Other than that, I would say that Valdivia has hit the nail right on the head. Pleasant climate is a significant attraction for new immigrants coming to Chile.

>Here is a listing of the addresses and phone contact information for Chilean consulates in the USA. You can find what consulate deal with your state by looking at the map at this link. Remember that if you want to get documents legalized and stamped by the consulate, you have to send it to the consulate that deals with the state where the certificate or degree was issued.

Consulate General of Chile:

Washington, D.C.
1734 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.,
Washington D.C. 20036.
(202) 530-4104 / (202) 530-4106 / (202) 530-4107
Fax: (202) 530-4145
E mail address: cchile.washington@minrel.gov.cl

Los Angeles
1900 Avenue Of The Stars, Suite 2450,
Los Angeles, CA 90067.
(310) 785-0113, FAX (310) 785-0132

>     The Andes Mountains run along the border of Chile with Argentina and Bolivia. It is the world’s longest continental mountain range with 138 volcanos on the Chilean side alone. Its highest peak, Aconcagua (situated just northeast of Santiago) reaches 6,962 meters (22,841 feet) above sea level. The Andes, along with its myriad snowcapped volcanoes and lakes, provide beauty that is virtually unparalleled in the rest of the world. Most of the peaks in the Andes are rocky and barren, far above the tree line. But the rock formations, often incrusted with glaciers, are stunning.
     Nevertheless, the Andes are effectively uninhabitable. There are small Indian populations at high elevation, as well as mining operations, but it is hard to breath at such altitudes and the climate rapidly changes from fiercely cold to fiercely hot. Even in relatively lower elevations of the range in northern Chile, such as Chile’s ugliest city Calama (2,400 meters or 7,900 feet), daily living can be a challenge. Its 143,000 inhabitants, who have learned to live with the thin air supply, are almost entirely involved in copper mining or services to the mining industry. In that (technically tropical) place, it is not impossible to see daytime high temperatures around 70 degrees fahrenheit and early morning low temperatures of only 10 degrees fahrenheit. Thus, a person may have to change his clothes several times a day! One can only imagine what life would be like at double or even triple that elevation. Moreover,  most of the volcanoes in the Andes range are active, making human settlement quite risky over the long run. Therefore, other than for occasional skiers, hikers and miners, the Andes provides little draw other than providing a spectacular scenic backdrop.
     However, Chile also has a coastal range, which reaches almost 10,000 feet in the north (near Antofagasta) and almost 5,000 feet in the central part of the country, where the highest peaks are snow covered for short periods during the winter (and can be seen from Santiago). Much of this range is inhabitable in its lower elevations, and even useful for agricultural purposes, particularly in central Chile. The scenery is pleasant, with rolling hills and many view spots either towards the Pacific Ocean or towards the snowcapped Andes. The coastal range in  northern Chile (such as in Iquique) is barren but provides spectacular scenery, for those who like a desert view at least, of seemingly endless sandy peaks reaching 6,000 feet high (or more) butting up against the ocean. In the photograph below taken from Valparaíso harbor, one can see Valparaíso to the right with Viña del Mar directly ahead an to the eft, the coastal range peak of  Cerro La Campana (a national park) with the snowcapped Andes range and Aconcagua behind it (double click it to see more detail).

     Consequently, when immigrants (that are not planning to live in Santiago) make plans about where to settle in Chile, they might consider living in or near the coastal range. The pine-covered coastal ranges in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth regions of Chile are very pleasant, in particular those located west of otherwise unimpressive cities like Rancagua, San Fernanado, Curicó, Talca, and east of Concepción, Valparaíso and San Antonio.

>The mainstream media is reporting that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has now made it legal, and thus supposedly not in violation of the Fourth Amendment, for government agents to track the movement of your car. Read this article from Time. They can sneak onto your property and put a tracking device on your car to watch your movements. All is “legal.” And remaining in the USA is now even more precarious.

Thank you to Vicki, an avid reader of this blog, for passing along the link. She is yet another American who has “reached the end of her rope” with the USA and is now making her way to Chile as fast as she can.

>I was just informed by an employee of the Instituto Chileno-Norteamericano, an American who teaches English as a second language, that employees are offered Spanish lessons at no charge. This perk is quite valuable to say the least. So, in addition to helping one get a work visa, which is a money saver and an important legal asset, English teachers at this (most famous and well-respected) institute also get economic benefits from free Spanish lessons. There are approximately 200 English teachers at this institute.

So now you have another good reasons to come to Chile, supporting yourself in the interim as an English teacher. Don’t be too proud to teach English!

>The story really is amazing, as is the recent video footage of their living conditions, and although the danger is not over for the 33 trapped miners yet, they can be glad they are stuck in a Chilean mine rather than a mine in a Third World country. All countries can have mining accidents but not all of them are well prepared for them in terms of laborer survival and rescue.

Through this remarkable event, Chile has been seen by the world as a tough and efficient country. The event demonstrates a deep-seated cultural trait for solidarity among the less fortunate. The thin, bearded workers, their families, and their co-workers have been able to withstand tremendous emotional pressure and to cope with serious uncertainties with remarkable patience, stoicism, and almost no complaints. Even if the northern mineros tend to have leftist political leanings, they behave as tough workers and even remarkable human beings at times.

Let’s remember that Chile’s economy is export-based, and something like 16% of its GDP comes from exports of copper (89%), gold, silver, and molybdenum, as well as lesser production of lead, zinc, lithium, and chromium. In a sense, Chile rises or falls on mining. It has other export sectors too, especially wine, fruits, vegetables, chemicals, salmon and other fish, and lumber. But these sectors are still relatively small (albeit growing) compared to mining, which represents 50% to 65% of all exports (depending on the information source). Chile produces 36% of all the copper mined in the world, an element essential for construction and industrial production. The most important buyers of Chilean copper are (in order) China, Italy, Japan, United States, India and France.

Accordingly, Chile has attracted many multinational mining firms, especially from Australia and Canada, but also from the United States and elsewhere. These firms, along with many Chilean firms, are equipped with very modern equipment and state-of-the-art extraction technologies. They have disaster plans in place and, as the present mining accident shows, they have installed underground refuge places equipped with emergency food, water rations, and energy sources. Workers in Chile are also trained to know how to survive a disaster, just like the vast majority of Chileans knew that they had to flee the shoreline after the dramatic 8.8 magnitude earthquake in February which generated massive tidal waves.

Living in Chile has tremendous advantages economically, including decent working conditions, environmental security, strong property rights, low corruption, and seemingly endless opportunities for new ventures. The mining accident and how it has been handled are testimony to why Chile is an attractive place for immigrants.

>The 8.8 magnitude quake that struck Chile on February 27, 2010 had its epicenter in Cauquenes, located in the southwest corner of the Seventh Region. As you can see from the photographs below (taken on August 22, 2010), extensive damage still remains in Cauquenes, including broken buildings all around its plaza. I could have easily taken 50 different pictures of other destroyed buildings like these ones.

The following images are from heavily-damaged Consitución, about an hour’s drive north from the epicenter.