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| CLICK HERE NOW FOR FREE ONLINE SPANISH LESSONS Living in Chile
T his article is designed for foreigners who want to try living in Chile. Experienced expats are encouraged to sound off, and Chileans are more than welcome to read along. One good place to start is with a very common question locals ask: "Why did you come to Chile?" Why do people move to Chile? When you go online, most sites paint a very limited picture of what it is that an expat in Chile does: study abroad or teach English. But when I step back to think about what my expat/transplanted friends and acquaintances do here in Chile, and I rifle through my list of bloggers in Chile, the diversity of experience is baffling, as it should be. People currently come to Chile to: But also And that’s just what I’ve seen. Work Opportunities Available in Chile Teach English This timeless, archetypal - perhaps the oldest occupation of the (young?) expat. I’ve never done it, but based on what I’ve heard from a close friend and a few other people who have spent plenty of time living and working in Chile teaching English, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot chalkboard pointer. According to those I spoke to, the typical day revolves around calls to students’ homes, workplaces or public places like a bar or café. I haven’t heard of anyone with the “luxury” of a 9-5 shift teaching English in a single location. Nor have I ever heard of anyone making more than $10 an hour. Add to that, you’re spending most of your day scurrying around the sprawling city of Santiago with a failed (and, relative to your teacher’s income, expensive) transportation system, the now-infamous Transantiago. Top that off, it’s not an exception to the rule, but rather a matter of course, that students will flake out on you. Anyway, if you really feel like hating yourself, go find out more about teaching English at Woodward. Much better is to do what I do: Freelance on the Internet. Don’t depend on the Chilean standard of living, where a monthly salary of US $1,000 is ogled at and unattainable by most. Rather, go international. There are lots of expats who make a living off the Internet, in dramatically different ways. Kyle’s a celebrity blogger and then there’s sluggers like Olivier actually a kids&mortgage-tier Internet entrepreneur, who’s taken his expat roadshow to all four corners of the world, and recently made the move to Chile. Then again, total squares can get a job at Met Life or, like Joel, the front desk of a hotel. That requires the whole Work Visa nonsense and more importantly, to me at least, the idea of moving to a foreign country to get a boring office job raises existential questions that jeopardize the clarity of this article. Wheel and deal Then there are a bunch of others schemes people have going on. I heard the guy who destroyed La Tercera website by making this clunky-ass flash program meant to simulate the physical experience of reading a newspaper – I’d never seen anything so 90’s-tastic and, quite frankly, inhumane. He was a gringo and apparently made a lot of money. So keep your eyes wide open for opportunity, if that’s what you’re into. Thankfully, however, La Tercera has moved on. Other schemes include film production. Actually, there’s plenty of room for honest work there. All this talk of work is making me feel slightly nauseous. Well, that wraps up Part I of Chileno's Guide to Living in Chile. Here's a sneak preview of Part II: Cost of Living in Chile This is something I haven’t actually calculated yet, and I won’t unless one of you kind readers would like to defray my own cost of living in Chile and sponsor a serious study, by me. In the meantime, I’ll just point to a price list on Page 4 of: http://www.teachingchile.com/pdf/cost.pdf There's lotsa inflation in Chile too. ... I haven't even scratched the surface of the cost of living in Chile. That's coming up soon. For now, though, I’m really tired and I’m about to take off for a couple of weeks I’m gonna bring this to an abrupt halt. Until I get back to this, what are ytour thoughts on the cost of living in Chile, renting an apartment, finding work, etc. © Copyright 2005 - 2012 Chileno |
