About MDGringo

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Some Forum Posts:

Chile: Best channel for posting a furnished apt for temporary housing?:

I live near DC, and my family and I are looking to spend at least Jun-Aug in Chile in 2018 and beyond. DC summers are hot and humid ....looking forward to Chilean winters :-) Been twice now and taking the whole family at the end of may for 2 weeks.

Chile: Seeking Advice: Santiago relo recon mission Jan/Feb:

Erik, Hola y Bienvenidos! Spanish skills will definitely help, but we haven't found it to be a major problem in a big city like Santiago. There are many Chileans who speak English, but due to the great waves of diverse European immigration over the years, folks will first speak Spanish to you. There are lots of "white" people who are 3rd or 4th generation in Chile and are obviously fluent, so if you are from the US and of European descent you don't stand out enough to assume you speak English at first. If you are from the US and not of European descent, you might actually have a better shot at people speaking English to you first, because there is not a lot of African or Asian diversity in Chile - but there is a little. Either way, most are fluent enough in English for you to ask politely to switch over to English. We have found most very accommodating, if short, due to the typical busyness of city life. We do love the European diversity, because it means great Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and even Croatian/Greek cuisine etc... Being on the Pacific also means a great deal of Asian cuisine options. The seafood is amazing and of course super fresh with nearly every point in Chile being 2 hours or less from the sea. On the climate front, we have very different worldviews :-) I am attracted to Chile for the very fact that I don't have to deal with warm weather. I HATE every degree it gets over 70F. We are planning on spending winter in US and winter in Chile at least for awhile. Santiago is a fairly large city even by US standards. Five million in population and the large physical geography and the diversity and good economy put it on par with any city in the US outside NY or LA. Nothing in the US can compare to the population and physical size together, because NY has more people, but it is physically much smaller, and LA is physically large but has less people. Denver and San Francisco are the two US cities that I think of most when I think of Santiago, because it has a San Fran climate and mountains and sprawl of Denver. But Santiago is nearly 10 times larger than either of those two by population and you feel it being larger. There are many cool little barrios scattered throughout the city with a great, clean, and cheap subway to get around or plentiful cabs. We particularly like Bella Vista..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrio_Bellavista And you can go high-end if that's your thing out to Providencia and Las Condes..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providencia,_Chile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Condes Good Luck! MDGringo

Chile: Expat community in Valparaiso?:

Hi Kkuypers, My wife and I traveled to Chile last year and are again this year with an eye toward making it semi-permanent (part-time in both US and Chile equally) eventually. We will be visiting Santiago, Valpo, Vina, and other spots in late Aug/early Sep time frame. We would love to catch up with folks from the US in Chile such as yourself. PM if you are interested in making arrangements to meet at a restaurant/cafe/bar/etc. Jason and Susanna

Chile: Language:

Never had Spanish before Took three semesters at local community college Progressed through the online Duolingo program (still keep up to date on it even though I completed it) I go to a Saturday Spanish conversation class at the local Hispanic Center I would say I am about half way there to fluency I can read at about 75% Listen at about 50% and speak at about 30%

Chile: Hola Expats in Chile!!!:

Just signed up on this forum today. My wife and I visited Chile last fall, and we are set to come again in early Sept. Last time, we visited Santiago, Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, and wineries not too far from those places. We want to go to the mountains next time and a few other places. At some point on our next trip, we would love to visit with Americans living in Chile, because we are considering relocating to Chile ourselves. We could meet you at a restaurant and buy you (and your family if applicable) lunch/dinner for your troubles. Anyone available in early September in the capital region (or a couple hours drive nearby)? Thanks, Jason and Susanna

Date Joined:

3/31/2016

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