Santiago
Central Chile · Chile · South America
Snow-capped peaks over a glassy skyline, with weekend skiing, surf and wine all within reach.
Santiago is a modern, well-run capital framed by the Andes, with reliable infrastructure, a strong economy, and skiing and wine country both within an hour. It's the most orderly and developed big city in the region — clean metro, good services, a real startup scene — but it can feel buttoned-up and socially harder to crack, and winter smog settles in the basin. It suits people who want Latin American life with first-world functionality. Cost of living is higher than its neighbors.
comfortable monthly budget
1-bed rent, good area
Best for
Not for
A reserved, professional local population plus a solid expat and entrepreneur crowd; warm once you're in but slower to make friends than elsewhere in Latin America, with a decent if low-key nightlife.
Where to land
The scorecard
Tax in Chile
Special regime: New residents taxed only on Chilean-source income for first 3 years
Residents are taxed on worldwide income, but newcomers get a 3-year foreign-income exemption before full worldwide taxation begins.
Representative estimate — not tax advice. · source
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Find my placePhoto via Wikimedia Commons · source