Job Discussion Forums

[McQueen]

Myself and my girlfriend are both TEFL qualified teachers with only 2 months experience behind us, but we are heading to Santiago for July and will be looking for teaching positions.

We wanted to know of any websites or people to contact that can arrange cheap apartment rentals. We have seen that it is cheaper to rent with other flatmates, but we would rather have our own place. Size is not an issue, but cost is, $400 (US) is our maximum between us, but we would rather be paying $300. Is it possible to get a place (even a studio flat) for this price that includes cable TV, as this would be another preference.

Also, as both of us are qualified, do you think that any schools/institutes will take on 2 teachers at a time? Does it have an advantage that we are a couple?

Many thanks for any help.

[erynn1105]

While Chile is part of south america, it�s isn�t that cheap. $150,000 (about $300 US) with cable TV, furnished? Nope. Decent furnished apartments are fairly difficult to find here, unless you want to have roommates. You can certainly find a small 1 bedroom for $150,000 but it won�t have furniture. (by the way, without furniture means no fridge or stove). After gastos (building fees) and other bills (gas, electricity etc.) it will be more anyway. The best bet for finding a place is to get one when you arrive. Most services offering help charge a hefty fee or really misrepresent the place. But, be prepared to spend some money on a hostel and bring money for general costs. It ain�t cheap here.
Oh, and Lonely Planets Chile prices are waaaaaaaay off. The dollar is also very low, basically $500 pesos to $1.

[koshechka]

i agree completely with the previous teacher,
right now i am living in a very cheap apartment, it costs 120,000 about 240 and the gastos (maintenance) are about 40-50 dollars a month, that's excluding the normal gas, electricity and water bills. and yes, the apartment didn't have anything in it. a bit uptown it gets a lot more expensive, like 200,000 (400 dollars) a month plus the rest. but, if you both work and have privates, that wouldn't be unreasonable. i don't think that coming as couple has many advantages, you could walk to class together and do each other's grading.
ciao