Chile Expat Forum

It depends were you live and you're lifestyle.

I live between US and my Farm in Pencahue,Chile. When I'm at the farm I live with $600.00 a month, includes cell phone, dish cable tv, car insurance, electric, gas and food. I keep my basic US health insurance while I'm in Chile, I have no car or rent payment.

simple, relax and healthy life for 600 or complicated, stressful and sick life for 6,000

community farm web page;
www.movingtochile.com

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00abuse

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Living good is expensive everywhere.
what do you consider living good?
I find we can live comfortably in Pucon for around $3000 / month.
We purchased the house and contribuciones ( property tax) is about $800 / year. A LOT cheaper than in the US despite the home being on 2 acres of land which would be worth a small fortune in the US. specially a place comparable to Lake Tahoe.
Electricity is about half the cost of the US but that can vary depending on when you started your contract.
Propane is expensive. A tank full ( 750 liters) is about $800 US. and can last all summer or maybe a month or two in winter.
Food is healthy. Local grown seasonal veggies are inexpensive and free of pesticides or fertilizers. Goodbye type II diabetes!
Beef is more expensive and can be imported from Texas, Paraguay or even Peru.
Pork is local grown, cheap and excellent. Chicken also.
Salmon is abundant and local caught. depending on where you buy it. I get it straight from the hatchery every Thursday or from the river by fishing it myself.
Seafood ( mariscos) excellent and not too expensive.
Wines and alcoholic beverages are well under US prices.
You can hire a Haitian refugee to do yard work for about 35$ a day plus meals. Or a local mapuche indian for about $50 a day.
Medical insurance varies widely. You can get very good mediacal services and drugs for free at the municipal hospital.
You can buy FONASA national healthcare for about half the cost of Medicare without ever having contributed.
You can purchase US style private insurance policies for about $400 a month but the service is not much different from the free version.
Waiting times for appointments is anywhere from walk right in to three days.
Dental is not covered by FONASA but is anywhere from free to a lot less than you would co-pay with the best insurance coverage in the US.
Santiago is more expensive.

Alan.

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00abuse

If you are going to pay US$ 1.000 on rent per month on an apartment, it is up to you how much you will spend on the rest. But I guess US$ 2.000 to 2.500 will do more than fine to live comfortably on the rest of the items for one or two persons.

You can live with less as any Chilean on middle class.

Food is not expensive. Neither public transportation or utilities. Health is much cheaper than in USA but probably you have a good health insurance.

You could live on Santiago with that amount very well. Or in Valparaiso or Viña del Mar. Rural towns are cheaper starting for housing.

Regards

Teo

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00abuse

Moving to Chile in 20 days. Will be living in San Vicente on an acre of land. Just finished building a 1300 sq foot house from a prefab purchased there that when all said and done will have cost us about $50,000. No mortgage. Our monthly expenses under $500. Could never do this in the United States!

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00abuse

Please contact us in a years time as to what has transpired over the year, in terms of overall cost of living as $500 a month sounds quite low, especially with the current tax rates. It can always be done but I would like to know the real costs after one year. Thanks for writing.........

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00abuse

Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

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My husband has already lived there for one year at his mothers 3 bedroom home while he has been building our house and there monthly expenses are around $300 a month. Electric, propane, Direct TV etc.

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00abuse

The cost of living actually dependes of the budget you want to allocate to it.

Most of Chilean families earn less than US$ 1.500 per month. And they probably got two kids. So 4 persons are capable of living with succh summ.

But if you want to live in a Puerto Varas lot with an acre of land probably you are going to pay US$ 1.500 to rent per month.

Instead if you want to live in many towns as a low middle class like in La Serena, or Los Angeles, or Osorno, you could live well one perdon with US$ 1.500 including rent, utilities, internet, your mobile and dinning at home.

The amount you spend on rent set the base to calculate all other expenses.

For instance a small flat in downtown Santiago with two bedroms the rent could be US$ 600. Gastos comunes or common fees of the building add US$ 150 per month.

But if the rent is 1.200 monthly probably those common expenses of the building could be US$ 400.

On rural towns rent is cheaper.

Kind regards

Teo

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00abuse

The good thing is we will not be renting. We built a 1300 sq ft house on an acre of land. We will not have a mortgage payment. We cold never do this in California. I guess that was really my point. If you don't have to pay a loan or pay rent your monthly expenses could be minimal.

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00abuse

Good for you, most people can't even grasp the idea of living with 500 or 600 a month.

I truly believe you because I live in my farm in Pencahue in 2013 for close to a year and I was able to live comfortably with $600.00 a month, but I have no car payments, no rent, no health insurance. If I add the Chilean Health insurance thats another $300.00 a month and still less than $1,000.00. Right now I live in Houston and my ridiculous Health insurance cost me almost $900.00 a month and I'm Healthy, and I must pay 5k deductible before kicks in any coverage. So is fair to say that what you pay for health insurance in the USA covers all your living expenses in Chile.

Most people thinking about moving to Chile think they need 4k-5k a month to live, and thats not true, but if you have 3-4 kids going to private schools, high rent, health insurance, car payment, dining out frequently, country club, etc, etc, then is possible to spend 4k-5k.

Im moving to Chile in late August or mid September and start a sustainable community, im selling lots and build 2-3 bedroom cabins, I want to show people how to live healthy without stress with less than 1,000 a month that includes health insurance. Good luck and keep in touch. Cesar
www.movingtochile.com

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00abuse

I agree.
You will also find costs of healthcare, cell phones, medication, property taxes, fresh groceries, and electricity to be lower or extremely lower than the US.
For instance, your car liability insurance is compulsory but offered by the chilean government for about 25 USD per YEAR
! Makes you mad that in the US private insurance costs twice that per month.

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