Moving to Chile

Jeff,
good to hear from you.

We studied every country on earth 5 years ago and narrowed things down to Chile and New Zealand as our top 2 places if we had to leave the US. There were about 100 factors involved in choosing. I can't remember them all now. But that time has come. Obamacare finally pushed us over the edge in terms of staying in the states.

So I went down to Chile a year ago and drove all over the country checking things out. It was very frustrating not knowing anyone, not knowing spanish, and pretty much getting lost all over the place. I did not realize how dependent I had become on my phone and nav system. lol.

It was also such a different country from the US. I guess I was naively expecting it to be like the US in more ways. But it is not, it is Chile. To me, that is the biggest adjustment for Americans. Getting back to a simpler way of life and not being able to get whatever you want, anytime of the day, 7 days a week. You have to embrace Chile for what it is and become part of it.

On the bright side, the weather is good, government is stable and debt free, middle class is growing, and it is a pretty conservative country. Not to say it doesn't have socialism because it does, just not on the level that america has become.

Fruit and vegetables are very cheap as they produce a ton of food down there. Fish is cheap depending on where you are. Gas is more expensive than the US. All energy is for that matter. We might stay off the grid. Not sure yet. Definitely going to design the house, well and pumps with energy efficiency in mind.

Cars are about the same price down there as america. The bus system is cheap and good, but it just depends on how many times you go into town, etc. I was going to try and not get a car down there and use the buses, but we are 15 miles outside the city of Los Angeles and my wife and boys are going into town 5 days a week for karate, tennis, and other bullshit. So riding the bus was eating up a ton of their time every day. So we broke down and bought a car today.

Weather wise, we picked a location that gets enough rain to grow things almost year round, but not too much to make a gloomy seattle winter. That is the problem with the south of Chile. If you get much further south of us, you get into 50-100 inches of rain per year. Which sucks. The summers are really beautiful down there in the lakes region. I visited it on my last trip in summer. But everyone down there said it just rains and rains and rains for 6 months of the year. All winter. So we chose the best all around weather year round.

You could definitely talk to Juan about buying a few acres of the land. I bought 8 of the 40 acres. He is keeping some with his house, but plans on selling some to one other family and that is it. Ultimately we are planning several businesses including a store off of Route 5, the main highway and maybe a lumberyard. I would like to start a school/orphanage too. And Juan and I are going to start a company to help expats pull this off as well. I know just how difficult and committing it is. I don't know if I could have or would have done it without Juans help. Him and I meeting was a blessing.

By the way, 2 of my best friends in the world are married to Columbian girls. Great gals.
Let me know if you have any other questions or want to talk. I'll help you as much as I can. I know how difficult and confusing this process is. We are working through it step by step. You will at least have a head start on me with a spanish speaking wife. That will be huge.