Argentina is a great place to vacation, but if I were to move to Latin America and wanted to buy a home and start a business, I would have to choose Chile over Argentina - and this is in fact what I have done. I think the economy and the legal system in Chile are much more solid than in Argentina. Chile has laws that protect foreign investment and foreign property ownership. Chile is a very pro-business country and very good about rooting out corruption and putting an end to it - something not done in Argentina.

I know there are many places that are touting Argentina as the best place to buy property on the planet right now, but for my money I will stick with Chile, because even though the cost of living is higher in Chile I think the land prices are still less expensive than in Argentina. Chilean property is a steal in some areas: the average traveler will only look into the normal tourist destinations, what people do not know, and need to know, is that presently there is an economic boom in Southern Chile that foreign investors are paying very little attention to.porttitor, magna.  The city of Puerto Montt, for example, has almost doubled in population over the last ten years. The Government is doing all it can to build an infrastructure to support the growth and there are other towns that are going to go through the same transformation, and the opportunity for the adventurous investors are unlimited.

I will not mention what my financial projections are because in an economy like the States, where 10% is a good return, the returns you might find in Chile seem impossibly good. But that is the beauty of foreign markets, you can stumble into remarkable opportunities if you just keep snooping around and picking peoples brains.

People have a different take on life in Chile: I must have been told 10 times in casual conversations that the most important thing in Chile is friends and family and then business. I would have to say it is true because most of my leads came from very successful people that had great ideas, knew what worked but did not want to get involved, because they already had enough to do and did not want to clutter their life with more work. 

I talked to a lot of people in Chile that work for large companies. I did most of my brain picking with people in the Salmon Farm Industry which is huge in southern Chile. They see problems everyday: one job a foreigner might be able to do is helping companies solve their problems. Take Ice for example, do you know how much ice the fish farm industry needs every day: Tons and tons and Tons of it. Access to ice is a problem in some areas so you fill that need and make your money with a product that doesn't last and has to be re-bought every day.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to run a ice machine, pretty simple. I was thinking of getting into that and while looking around for the best place to start I came across a much larger need that is so rewarding I am not even mentioning it in this article because we are still in the beginning stages of the venture and I do not really want to give the Idea away. 

My next article I will lay it out and I will know by then if it can be done.

Enough about business. None of this would even be a consideration if I did not love the country and the people so much. I don't know why but when I am in Chile I am filled with hope, and love the people; there seems to be such a bright future in Chile. It is nice living in a place that nobody hates; they really do not have to worry about whether someone is going to sneak a suitcase bomb into Santiago. Chileans always ask me: do you love my country is not beautiful? Chileans are very proud of Chile and they should be; it is a very nice place to raise a family and do business.

I also spent some time in Valparaiso this year and what a beautiful city to explore. I would say it is very much like San Francisco without the weirdness. It reminded me of San Francisco in the early Sixties. Art is important, you find artists on the street painting, there are people performing plays and playing music: instead of the whole town being concerned about the homeless, as in San Francisco, you find the locals taking care of stray dogs. When Valparaiso became a world heritage site the mayor decided the city needed to do something about the stray dog problem.

Well that was the day that looked like doomsday for stray dogs in Valparaiso but it turned out to be their meal ticket for life. The people were so up in arms about the possibility of exterminating the stray dog population that they formed a kind of Underground Railroad for dogs. Taking them in at night when the dog catchers did the dastardly deeds and putting them back out in the day. As you walk the streets you will see little bowls of water and dog food on paper plates - these are for the stray dogs. I saw a lady combing out three different dogs that I'm quite sure were strays. It's a beautiful city with a big heart, beautiful architecture and a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean.

I also saw some beautiful real-estate between Valparaiso and Santiago; the prices were higher than in the south but you have beautiful Mediterranean weather year round and that special peace that you find in the rolling hills of high desert country. I walked around in that country and I felt a very spiritual energy. I know after three months of business and travel I found it a very restful and regenerating place.

Both places I saw were around 250,000 dollars a piece, one had 34 hectares of land with a beautiful home; it was part of a private community that owns 1700 hectares of land. The other place had two beautiful homes on a large lake with a caretaker’s home. This home is a showpiece with one of the most beautifully landscaped yards I have ever seen: years of planning and thought had to have gone into it. Both places would sell for a million or more in the States but that is the beauty of property in Chile: it is very inexpensive compared to much of the world.

Now if you need a contact in Chile to help you get started buying a place or putting together a business plan I would suggest you contact my friend and partner in Business Andy Grimberg 

His email is: Agrimberg@hotmail.com. To phone from the States the number is 011 56 97 579807

My Email is BL@interbel.net and if you have any questions you feel I may be able to answer or if you would like photos of some of what I've talked about feel free to drop me a line, I would just like to say one thing: please be as specific as you can. I get many emails and people ask me to just tell them all I can about Chile or all I can about land and those are very hard emails to answer, if you tell me your age and what you are trying to accomplish, what kind of place you want: full time or just a place half the year, or are you looking to start a business - these details will increase my ability to answer your questions.

The following is the first article that Bill wrote for the magazine:

• Buying Land In The South Of Chile ~ What You Might Find