An Interesting question ...

[bret]

... in response to Interesting that you should mention Chil..., posted by El Diablo on Jul 10, 2001

i haven't been to columbia yet, but i have been to chile. santiago de chile and valpariso are both big cities. actually val reminds me of a sizable port city on the california coast. the breezes are nice and the food is good.

chileans are generally friendly, but it is more expensive than other countries in the northern part of s.a. there is  a lot to offer there, though. great wine, good food, atractive women, beautiful country in the south of chile. i mean nice, like lakes and mountians/american west feel.

i never dated a chilean lady, as i was only there a short while, but if your spanish is good and you can assimliate into other cultures, you should be fine.

a lot/some of the ladies have a slight mestizo look, and it is obvious that the origion of the races are much differient in chile than in argentina. all of the native population of argentina (huarpe, mostly, i think) was murdered by the spaniards, and it is easy to see how the great andes mountian chain blunted the advance of the conquistadors and left the indigenious population of chile intact. and hey, if these things don't jive with historical facts, oh well. all i know is what i see with my own eyes. i prefer the present, anyway.

(i say these things to be informative, and i in no way try to define or stereotype people along racial lines, as i like everyone, from everywhere, cool?)

chile is cheaper than argentina, however. they have a big financial crisis in argentina right now, and everything is expensive. bummer!

chile is stable, and santiago is safe (as far as big cities go). one problem though, is that it is pretty darn far away. if you fly from the southern california, it's not that much farther than from miami, but  still way to far to fly back and forth for the weekend. it's the kind of place where you go and stay a really LONG time.

they do have some of the best seafood in the world!

uhh, i think that is all i have to say about chile. other than if you decide to retire there, don't forget to give us your current address so we can drop in!!!!!!

[bret]

... in response to Chile, posted by bret on Jul 10, 2001

oops, i spelled colombia incorrectly, please forgive me!

[Cali vet]

... in response to Interesting that you should mention Chil..., posted by El Diablo on Jul 10, 2001

Sure Colombia is dangerous, no one would contest that but not impossible. I have a friend who's been living in Trujillo for almost four years now without incident. It's a mountain village two hours north of Cali so not so hot. He has a house in town and a finca on the edge of town. He just keeps a low profile and doesn't look rich. He lives with a woman and her daughter and told me their living expenses come to about $500 a month. Says he's smiling every day and the happiest he's ever been. However he admits that he will bail for Ecuador if things heat up too much. Then there's Bob Frank of Classycolombianladies in  B/quilla. This is close to his thirtieth year there. I find the culture, the food and the incredable women awfully tempting as a retirement option.

[El Diablo]

... in response to Re: Interesting that you should mention ..., posted by Cali vet on Jul 10, 2001


C-V,

Well if you're Cali Vet, I might be Cali Vet 2.  I keep an apto. with friends in barrio Versailles and over the past year and a half, I've spent about seven months there.

My last trip was for 10 weeks and I returned in the latter part of May.  This trip, I perceived things to be more dangerous however.  I felt like the street thugs were more aggressive and the decline in the economy made theft a more likely occurence.  

It may have been totally coincidental but I kept witnessing events of extreme violence. I returned my videos to the blockbuster near my apartment, and the front of the building had been partially taken out by a grenade not too much earlier.  I was eating at a restaurant and there was a hold up with shots fired only 30 meters away.  My apartment is only a few blocks away from the Hotel Torre.  You remember the car bomb, well I remember it to.

I like Colombia but I'm not sure I want to live my retirement life always looking behind my back.  If Chile offered something similar but with less risk of crime, I might consider it.  

El Diablo  

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Re: Interesting that you should ment..., posted by El Diablo on Jul 10, 2001

El D

Like I said, no argument about the danger. In fact my friend in Trujillo has only come in to Cali six times and never stays the night. Says the cities are dangerous. However the reports we see in the U.S. would have us think that every square inch is overrun with guerilla and it ain't so.

Chile might be nice, I'd like to visit and find out. Glad to hear you were unscathed by the Torre blast.

[Jeff S]

... in response to An Interesting question ..., posted by yc on Jul 10, 2001

It described a voluntary system of racial deconstruction, in other words, everybody has to keep f__king everybody until we're all the same color!
-- Jeff S.