It's April. The temperatures are pleasantly warm in the daytime and the nights are cool. Anice extention of a long summer. Though one sees some gold and yellow, the majority of Santiago's trees are still green.
Living in Santiago with a bit of money to spend is very pleasant. So how much money does one need?
A one bedroom apartment in the Providencia District will rent for US$ 300. But be carefull: These are all condominiums and you will have condo expenses. These will run aproximately CHP50,000 (USD 86) per month plus you will have an electricity and water bill.
In the winter (May, June, July, August) you will also have a heating bill (if your building has heating) I chose an apartment facing north, as long as the sun is shining, I'll be heating very little. Both, my living and bedroom are all glass on one side, so insulation is bad.
If you want to pay less rent, the central district will be a bit cheaper, but less elegant. I've heard of apartments going for as cheap as USD 110.
A good way of getting to know Santiago is renting a room from a Chilean family. Often this will be with full board for less than USD 500. A good place to look is on Craiglist.org.
Internet: Santiago is an internet city. Hot spots and internet cafes are all over. Look for the signs WIFI. Metro stations have hot spots, public libraries. In Providencia the public libraries are called literary cafes and have great locations in Balmaceda and Bustamante Parks.
I have broadband Internet and telephone for less than USD 50 per month. It took about an hour to get hooked up after signing contract.
When it comes to furniture, the full range is available. Good furniture (and everything else) is available at Almacenes Paris and Falabella, department stores with several branches across Santiago.
If you want cheaper stuff, you go to San Diego (Metro Franklin). There you will find the hugest furniture market and you have to hagle. Make sure they include delivery in the price.
If you need a fridge, you can buy it here, too. I bought a used one for USD 80.
Flatware, tableware and pots and pans can be found at good prices in Preunic (Paseo Ahumada) in the city center,
For inexpensive clothing Patronato is the street to visit. It will cost you less than one half than in Almacenes Paris.
A small store that will amaze you with the variety of stuff from tea pots to glasses is located on Manuel Montt a few doors south of the corner with Valenzuela Castillo (Metro Manuel Montt)
Groceries: Beef in supermarkets will cost about the same as in USA. You can still get pretty decent deals on frozen fish. It is worth making a trip to the Vega Central (across the river from the Mercado Central--Metro Cal y Canto) once a week. You will find goodies at substancially lower prices than in supermarkets.
What you find here at incredibly low prices is fruit. I buy avocadoes by the kilo.
About USD 200 per month is an adequate grocery budget for one person.
Eating out. on the cheap
The cheap lunch is still alive in Santiago. It is possible to have a salad, main course and desert for CHP 2,000 (USD 3.50)
The Maveric Restaurant & Bar in Barrio Bellavista (Dardinac one block west of Pio Nono) serves a great home-made lunch.
Eladio is a great place for grills and reasonably priced, it has three locations, Pio Nono, the Giratorio on Providencia and one on Bilbao.
Good, typical Chilean food can be had in the Vega Central's kitchens.
Ah! And don't forget the enpanadas, the Chilean pies, they sell them for 900-1100 pesos each (USD 1.75) that is a meal in itself they make thim with meat (pino) cheese. I haven't seen fish ones lately.
Prices can vary tremendously, I've seen the price of a beer (1/2 liter schop) very by a 1,000 pesos in two bars next to each other.
Booze.
Pisco (technically a brandy) is the national drink after wine. it is great as a pisco sour cocktail, I hate it with coke (piscola) and drink it straight only when desperate. Johny Walker Red costs in the stores around USD 15. The cheapest good rum is Havana Club, around USD 12.
Putting it all together, one can live decently with the odd meal out for USD 1,000 per month.
Bear in mind, the dollar been taking a beating lately and fell from 660 CHP to 580 in the last three months.
With the world economic crisis it is difficult to predict costs on the long term.
Alexey Braguine is the author of the espionage thriller KINGMAKER available on Amazon as paperback or Kindle, Barnes & Noble and many online stores world-wide.
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