CHILE UPDATES #10
“Moving” Towards Independence
“Moving” Towards Independence
Date: July 26, 2013
The idea of leaving your homeland really does take some getting used to. When things are moving along smoothly, there isn’t so much of a need to. Why leave the comfort of familiarity, family, and friends, unless there is a better life for you somewhere else?
I think we are finally starting to approach the crossroads where it becomes clear to a much bigger percentage of the population that indeed a better life does exist for them outside of the heavily indebted nation they might currently call home.
When I first began thinking of moving to Chile back in 2009, 99% of the people I mentioned this to thought it was absolutely absurd. Leaving a “1st world” nation for some random place in South America? They figured I must have lost my mind.
Back then, I understood that in order to be more independent, I needed to at least establish a bolt hole in a well-run financially stable jurisdiction, like Chile, but the idea of living outside of the states indefinitely was still intimidating. I figured I’d give it 6 months, maybe a year, and see how I felt.
More Freedom, More Economic Opportunities, and More Fun
Now after 3 years here, while I certainly do have some complaints about Chile, I think I can make a pretty strong case for why life is significantly better than it was back “home”. Most importantly, the freedom, economic opportunities, and amount of fun I have here far exceed what was available in my native country.
In regards to freedom, there’s a lot less regulation here. That’s bad news if you like people telling you what to do. If you’d prefer to make your own decisions and generally be left alone, you’ll notice a big improvement by coming to Chile.
Salaries for similar positions in Chile compared with those in the US or Europe are usually lower so if you are an employee, this might actually be one drawback to moving to Chile right now. However, if you are willing to think more entrepreneurially and consider starting a business an industry that you know well, it’s obvious that the governmental incentives and room for growth here far outweigh those in the more “developed world”.
Is living in Chile really more fun? This one is definitely the most subjective but for me, it’s a very easy “Yes”.
In Chile, you can become somebody important relatively easily (I’ve heard Chileans use terms like “distinguido” and “selecto” before). It’s more difficult before you speak the language but once you become fluent enough to converse without problems and do business in Spanish, things really start to click. Only a small percentage of Chile’s 17 million inhabitants speak English, meaning when you’re bilingual you become the natural intermediary for local business owners trying to deal with foreign markets.
The social prestige of this in and of itself isn’t so important to me but what comes along with it is significant and makes life much more interesting than just being one out of several hundreds of millions of people.
What do you think?
Could life in Chile possibly be better than what you’re currently used to? I'd love to hear your opinion.
Until next week,
Darren
I think we are finally starting to approach the crossroads where it becomes clear to a much bigger percentage of the population that indeed a better life does exist for them outside of the heavily indebted nation they might currently call home.
When I first began thinking of moving to Chile back in 2009, 99% of the people I mentioned this to thought it was absolutely absurd. Leaving a “1st world” nation for some random place in South America? They figured I must have lost my mind.
Back then, I understood that in order to be more independent, I needed to at least establish a bolt hole in a well-run financially stable jurisdiction, like Chile, but the idea of living outside of the states indefinitely was still intimidating. I figured I’d give it 6 months, maybe a year, and see how I felt.
More Freedom, More Economic Opportunities, and More Fun
Now after 3 years here, while I certainly do have some complaints about Chile, I think I can make a pretty strong case for why life is significantly better than it was back “home”. Most importantly, the freedom, economic opportunities, and amount of fun I have here far exceed what was available in my native country.
In regards to freedom, there’s a lot less regulation here. That’s bad news if you like people telling you what to do. If you’d prefer to make your own decisions and generally be left alone, you’ll notice a big improvement by coming to Chile.
Salaries for similar positions in Chile compared with those in the US or Europe are usually lower so if you are an employee, this might actually be one drawback to moving to Chile right now. However, if you are willing to think more entrepreneurially and consider starting a business an industry that you know well, it’s obvious that the governmental incentives and room for growth here far outweigh those in the more “developed world”.
Is living in Chile really more fun? This one is definitely the most subjective but for me, it’s a very easy “Yes”.
In Chile, you can become somebody important relatively easily (I’ve heard Chileans use terms like “distinguido” and “selecto” before). It’s more difficult before you speak the language but once you become fluent enough to converse without problems and do business in Spanish, things really start to click. Only a small percentage of Chile’s 17 million inhabitants speak English, meaning when you’re bilingual you become the natural intermediary for local business owners trying to deal with foreign markets.
The social prestige of this in and of itself isn’t so important to me but what comes along with it is significant and makes life much more interesting than just being one out of several hundreds of millions of people.
What do you think?
Could life in Chile possibly be better than what you’re currently used to? I'd love to hear your opinion.
Until next week,
Darren