Author: dan

Cost to Retire Overseas in Santiago Chile

In this video, I share the cost to retire overseas in Santiago, Chile.  

Google Map

With my feet on the ground, I am going to show you living cost estimates for the low to middle range, and why many foreigners are retiring in Santiago, Chile.  

Google Map

First, I will show you around Santiago, Chile, so you know whether or not you are even interested in living or retiring here. Second, I will share low to middle-range living costs.  Third, I will share visas, residency, healthcare, walkability, weather, social considerations, things to do, and safety.

Here is a map of my favorite areas in Santiago, Chile.  This walk would take a few hours, so I will just show you the highlights.  

Google Map

This was my first time in Chile, making it my 77th country.  I left the USA in 19 years ago, traveling the world, and showing you the best places to retire affordably overseas.  So subscribe to learn about my favorite countries to retire affordably overseas.

The beautiful woman you see in the videos with me is Qiang of the Hobo Ventures YouTube channel.  Subscribe to Qiang’s channel if you want to see our daily lives as we move forward, slowly traveling the world on one-way tickets.  

Now, I will give a line-item estimate of the cost of living for two people living long-term in Santiago, Chile.  Then I will share information about retirement visas, healthcare, walkability, weather, social considerations, things to do, and safety in Chile.

Estimated Cost to Retire in Santiago, Chile

Rents: I found this 1-bedroom unfurnished apartment for rent in a nice area of Santiago, Chile.  It is advertised today for 450,000 CLP, which is $504 USD per month on a 12-month lease.  If you rent a furnished apartment for a shorter period on Airbnb, it would be much more expensive.  

If you rent a larger apartment long-term, the rent would be higher, starting around $800 USD per month or more, depending on the area and size.  

Here is the process we use to find great apartments.  So, we will show you a table of all expenses in a moment.  We will use $504 USD per month for the lower rent estimate and $800 USD per month for the middle-range living cost estimate for expats who want a little more space.  

Utilities: We estimate the year-round average for utilities for the smaller apartment above would be about $90.00 USD per month.  The utilities would cost more for the larger space, starting at around $125 USD per month.  

Groceries: We estimate about $390 per month for the two of us.  Other expats are likely to purchase more imported foods from their home country, spending $510 per month on groceries.  

Restaurants: We would eat out twice per week at local-style restaurants, ranging from about $7 to $9.00 USD per meal per person, and one or two splurges per month at $12 to $18 USD per meal per person.  If you add it all up, we would spend around $188 per month on restaurants for the two of us. We may have a beer here and there, but that is covered below in alcohol.  

Other expats are likely to eat more often at expensive restaurants and very little, if any, in local-style restaurants, so they would likely spend more like $360 per month for 2 people in restaurants.  It is lifestyle-dependent.

Cell Phone Data: The cost to get a prepaid SIM card for your unlocked smartphone is about $10 USD per month.  

Other expat couples are likely to buy two prepaid SIM cards so they would spend $20 USD per month or more if they get post paid service.  

Laundry: Unfurnished apartments in Chile rarely come with clothes-washing machines.  You can buy a new washing machine for about $500 USD, and the laundry detergent is included in the groceries bill.

Drinking Water: We bought RO drinking water from the grocery store.  But if we retired here, we would buy a water filtration unit for the kitchen.  A decent unit costs around $350 USD.  The replacement filters are around $150 per year, so we estimate about $13 per month after we purchase the unit.  

Internet: 600 Mbps in-home wifi is about $23 USD per month.

Transportation: All of our daily needs, including groceries, shopping, restaurants, coffee shops, and nightlife, would be within a 20-minute walk. 

We may take an Uber home at night or to the grocery store twice a week, averaging about $4 per ride or $32 per month.  We would also take public transportation (buses/trains) a few times per month to explore other parts of the city, at about $0.92 USD per person each way.  So we would spend about $56.00 per month on transportation.  

Other retirees may want to pay cash for a used car, but would still need to pay another $300 per month or more for gasoline, repairs, and insurance.

Alcohol (Optional): Domestic beers are about $1.20 USD in grocery stores.  In bars and restaurants, domestic beers are around $3-$5 USD.   So, we estimate about $120 per month for the two of us.

Many other expats would spend more on imported, craft, or foreign beers in convenience stores, bars, and restaurants, so we estimate about $230 USD per month for 2 people, assuming they do not drink imported whiskey or wine.  

Entertainment (Optional):  We would budget about $200 per month for the two of us.  We generally enjoy doing more do-it-yourself kinds of entertainment, so other expats would spend a little more, maybe $300 per month, for 2 of them.

Basic Costs to Retire in Santiago, Chile

After the cost of living, I will share information on visas, residency, real estate, walkability, healthcare, and safety.  The first link in the first comment below this video provides details on how I arrived at each line-item cost.  

We gathered this data with our feet on the ground here in February of 2026, so adjust for inflation after that.  The above lower cost-of-living estimate would apply if the two of us lived here on a tight budget.  The middle estimate is just an example of what more typical expat couples might spend if they moved here.  

So, what would it cost you to live in Santiago, Chile?

To understand what it would cost you to live here, you must put your feet on the ground, see how you would choose to live, eat, and entertain yourself, and add it all up.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else spends because we are all different.  

You should also add anything to the above table that you spend money on in your home country that is not listed in the above table.  Presumably, you find those things necessary in life.  To do that, visit the Numbeo Santiago and add anything not mentioned in the above table.  Anything not on Numbeo you should add during your exploratory visit before moving to Santiago.

Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely vary significantly depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post was published.    

Typical expats’ living costs in Chile range from about $1,500 to $4,000 per month, depending on their lifestyle, budget, and whether they live in a city or a rural area.

Santiago, Chile, Livability Factors

Before you move anywhere outside your home country, make a list of the factors you must have for a happy retirement.  Here are my livability factors, and I will rank each as high, medium, or low before assigning an overall retirement desirability score to Santiago, Chile.  

Walkability:  High.   We stayed within 10 minute walk of our favorite part of Santiago, called Barrio Italia.  Barrio Italia has a great nightlife, restaurants, coffee shops, live music, arts and crafts, and shopping.  But if we retired here, we would stay 5 to 10 minutes’ walk away because it can be noisy and busy at night.  In that general area, everything would be so centralized that we would rarely need to walk more than 20 minutes to get what we needed for everyday life.  Plus, walking is the healthiest way to stay in shape as we age.  

Internet:  High.  The in-home Wi-Fi in our apartment was 558 Mbps up and 381 Mbps down.  Good enough for Zoom calls, uploading YouTube videos, and watching Netflix.  We were also able to use our cell phones as hotspots when we were out of the house together.  

Food:  High.  We found some great restaurants in Santiago, as shown in our restaurant list below.  We would eat out a few times a week, mostly at local-style restaurants, but would cook more meals at home.  We would also splurge a few times per month at expensive restaurants.

Weather:  High.  Chile lies south of the equator, so summer runs from November through March.  The city is at about 550 meters above sea level (1800 feet).  Summer daytime highs in Santiago average from 86 °F (30 °C) in January to 59 °F (15 °C) in July.  Nightly summer lows average from 54 °F (12 °C) in January down to 37 °F (3 °C) for winter average nightly lows in July.  The rainy season is May to August, with June typically being the wettest month at 80–123 mm (3.14 to 4. 84 inches).

Things to Do:  High.  Santiago is the capital and thelargest city in Chile.  Santiago is between the Andes Mountains to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west.  Chile has about 20 million people, with about 7 million living in the Santiago area.  

Santiago is Chile’s industrial, commercial, and financial center for services for Chilean companies and international company headquarters, as well as a hub for Chile’s leading universities and research institutes.  Many historians say Santiago was founded by the Spanish in 1541, but carbon dating by archaeologists shows the area has been inhabited by humans since 1000 BC. Chile won its independence from Spain in 1818.  

Santiago has everything you would expect froma Capital city of 7 million people.  Beautiful parks, bicycle lanes, fine arts hosted by the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA), the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, opera at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago, an active and diverse live theatre scene, a thriving international music scene, and massive festivals like Lollapalooza Chile and remains a hub for rock, electronic, and metal music, including a strong, diverse local scene.

Snow skiing is very close to Santiago, with major resorts located only 40 to 60 km (25–37 miles) east of the city in the Andes Mountains, and is just a $10 bus ride to the beach of Reñaca, with fast, powerful waves suitable for intermediate and experienced surfers.

They also have large, successful shopping malls and farmers’ markets that pop up in various neighborhoods a few times per week.

Social Considerations: Medium.  English is not widely spoken in Chile.  But you will hear a little more English spoken in tourist-facing businesses in Santiago.  If you intend to retire here, you should learn Spanish for a fuller life.  I have met many expats overseas who have used Duolingo, the free language-learning smartphone app, to learn various languages.  If you are just visiting, become familiar with using Google Translate on your smartphone before you arrive.

Safety: Medium.  If we retired here, we would live in the Bella Italia neighborhood of Santiago.  We walked all around there in the evenings, and I jogged through that neighborhood in the early mornings, and it felt safe to us.  Another area that felt safe to us was the Providencia area of Santiago.  

However, we would use Uber taxi to get home at night if we started to feel isolated while walking.  Also, the US State Department issues travel advisories for each part of the world, which you should be aware of.  Read that before you go and thereafter from time to time to stay up to date.  Chile, at the time of this writing, is “Level 2: Use Increased Caution.”  Here are my thoughts on how to remain safe all over the world.

Expat Community: Medium.  Here are some Facebook groups 1, and 2 that cater to English-speaking expats living in Chile.  These online expat communities are great for learning what expats want to know when they first move overseas.  You will often find that someone has recently answered your questions, so first search for already answered questions before asking in these groups.

Medical: High. This healthcare international comparison index ranks Chile 51st in the world, 18 places better than the United States, which ranks 69th. There are different ways healthcare is rated, but this one seems to be considering not only the quality of care but also what patients are charged.

All retired permanent residents of Chile are entitled to enroll in FONASA, which includes hospital and clinic coverage.   To enrol, you must contribute 7% of your monthly pension/income.  It covers basic medical care, hospitalizations, emergency services, and medications, but you may experience longer wait times for non-emergency procedures.  There is also private insurance if you prefer.

Tourist Visa: High.  Citizens of the US, UK, Canada, and the EU, as well as many other Western nations, do not need a visa for 90-day tourist visits. You must present a valid passport (valid for at least 6 months), and they might ask for proof of onward/return travel and accommodations.  Upon entry, you will be issued a tourist card that you will need when you exit.  You can also apply for a 90-day extension.  When I flew into Chile only asked for my passport and the purpose of my visit, nothing else.  

These conditions change periodically, and sometimes airlines will ask for information that immigration doesn’t check, so check both before you attempt to enter.

Retirement Visa:  Americans must show a stable, recurring monthly income of approximately $1,500 USD from pensions, Social Security, or investments.  You need a valid passport, an FBI background check, a medical certificate, and private insurance in Chile, and other documents depending on circumstances, and all documents must be apostilled and translated into Spanish.  After 24 months of continuous residence, you can apply for permanent residence.  

Once you obtain your Chilean passport, you can visit the USA on a tourist visa without applying for a visa.

It is highly recommended that you use a licensed immigration lawyer in Chile to help you through this process.  Contact the lawyer before you arrive because laws change, so the documents you need may change at the time you intend to apply.  

I would request a referral to a lawyer on one of the Expat Facebook pages I shared above. I would ask the expats for an immigration lawyer whom they used personally to get their residency. 

Real Estate: In general, foreigners can own land in Chile in their own name at this time with minimal restrictions.  

$197k USD: I found this 2-bedroom 1 Bath apartment for sale online today in a nice area.  It will likely be gone by the time you read this, but use this webpage to find what else is available that may better fit your needs.  

I would not buy real estate in a foreign country until I have lived there for an extended period of time, making sure I love it after the honeymoon period. I have a report explaining what to look out for and why.  

Santiago, Chile, Overall Retirement Desirability Score:  High   

I would rate Santiago, Chile, as having a High overall retirement desirability score for people who prefer seasons in their lives that do not include snow on the ground.  Santiago is a beautiful, modern city with many fun things to do, including nearby wineries, beaches, and ski resorts just a short drive away.  Ultimately, that high ranking depends on whether you love the life available within your budget, which you will only truly know when you put your feet on the ground here and take an exploratory visit.  For me, I would rate it medium because I like warm or hot weather year-round.  For me, it is flip-flops and t-shirts all year.  

If you are really serious about retiring overseas, grab a copy of my free eBook that shares the 10 things you need to do before leaving your home country.  And if you would like to know how we find great apartments all over the world, watch the video here now.  

Where we stayed in Santiago, Chile

This Airbnb was where we stayed and was walkable to our favorite neighborhood, Barrio Italia. If we retired here, we may even look for a 12-month lease in this building.  

Restaurants, Services, Markets

Santiago

Restaurants ($1 USD is 868 CPL):  
Services/Markets/Resources