Recommendations, Where to buy food in Santiago

When living in a new city or a new country has to look for a lot of information related to the day to day, and one of the most important things after finding the accommodation, is where to buy food. There are different supermarkets, but how to know which is the cheapest? Or is there somewhere where I can buy cheaper than the supermarket? Knowing this information is useful when managing our finances (and see the money we have to travel with International Students Santiago); do not keep looking for more information since we will write them to you.

In Santiago there are several different supermarkets, although this time I will talk about the main ones. It is also important to mention in this post that you can not say that a supermarket is 100% cheaper or more expensive, since this will depend on each food purchased and sector of Santiago that is located. The main supermarkets are: Tottus, Lider, Unimarc y Jumbo

The most expensive supermarket is the JUMBO, however, is the one that has more variation of brands and products. It is in this supermarket that you can also find products from around the world.

The TOTTUS supermarket is one of the cheapest but the problem is that there are not many in Santiago, so if you live close to one, congratulations.

UNIMARC es un supermercado estándar, personalmente solo lo compraré allí cuando tenga ofertas (de todos los supermercados es la mejor oferta en materia de alcohol)

LIDER is the same as walmart (from the United States). It is a supermarket that tends to have the cheapest prices, here you can also find many products from the United States, Apart from being cheap you can find them in many places because they have small stores called LIDER EXPRESS (where they sell just enough)

In all of the supermarkets can be bought alcohol, nevertheless for us the Chileans going to buy to the supermarket alcohol is the last option because it is always more expensive. There are some small shops that are called "Botillerias" (where they sell bottles, in spanish "botellas" that's why the name). These Botillerias are located throughout Santiago and there are many, where you can find everything in alcohol. You need to buy alcohol look for a "Bottilleria" before a supermarket.

But in a city as big as Santiago there are always cheaper places than supermarkets; For this, I invite you to meet our great Market called "LA VEGA". With more than 100 years of existence and located near from Metro Cal and Canto is this place where you can find products at half the price than elsewhere. It is a place where people who have more money or less money, totally cross.
It is a place that can be dangerous in the sense that many people walk so if they decide to go, do not go with things that can steal, and is a place that is not common to pay by card so they must go with cash for pay.
I will write a complete Post dedicated to this wonderful place that I love.

To buy fish and seafood very close to La Vega have the MERCADO CENTRAL, in this place they can be worth less than the supermarket although the price difference is not so much.

I hope all this information is very useful for you and can help you, remember that this is just a tip from where to buy. Too check the websites of the supermarkets so that they know the offers they have per day or per week.

I advise you to check our post about the Cost of Living in Santiago so that you can compare when buying your food https://issantchile.blogspot.com/2019/06/cost-of-living-in-santiago.html

What is included when renting a room?

In this post I will inform you of what is normally included in the final price, when we rent a room both in Student House, as in shared apartment. It is really important that when renting a room they know everything that is included and they do not pay extra.

• In a standard room is included the bedding, blankets and pillow (however the washing of these is usually personal).

• The possibility of occupying all the common areas of the accommodation they found must also be included in the rental price.

• They have to give them a room key and a key to their room.

• The kitchen must be equipped with cutlery, plates and glasses minimum for each member of the accommodation chosen, in addition to having pots and pans suitable for cooking.

• The kitchen must have a pantry to store your stuff per person, also in the refrigerator have a space only for you.

• The kitchen must have an oven, refrigerator, refrigerator, electric kettle, microwave and stove (STANDAR).

• Your place of lodging should have a comfortable table so that all the people who live there can sit down to eat.

• Some accommodations charge extra for the use of occupying the washing machine.

• In Chile it is not customary to have to share the room with another person (they are individual rooms).

• The bills for electricity, water, gas and INTERNET are already included in the final price to rent a room.

• With regard to garbage bags, toilet paper, detergent; The normal thing is that these are included in the final price that you pay .

I hope this information is very useful for you and if you need to buy something for your new home in the supermarkets Lider and Jumbo sell household items at a convenient price

Many student houses in Santiago and Valparaiso have rules of coexistence, therefore before leasing, ask what they are so they do not have problems during their stay

Legal procedures that I must perform as a foreigner in Chile to formalize my residence

(RUT and RUN are the same)

1. Obtaining Resident Student Visa for foreigners

The Resident Student Visa for foreigners is granted to the foreigner who travels to Chile in order to study as a regular student in state education establishments or recognized by Chile, for a maximum period of one year and in the case of scholarship recipients, for the duration of the scholarship.

This Visa application is made at the Consulates of Chile in each country or at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And it is aimed at foreigners who travel to Chile in order to study as a regular student.

Requirements:

• Certificate of registration or letter of acceptance issued by a University or educational entity recognized by the State.
• To accredit before the Consul the economic solvency that allows him to subsist during the period of his studies.
• Criminal record.
• Medical certificate.
• Passport.
• 4 passport size photos.

2. Registration in Policia de Investigaciones (PDI)

Stamped the residence visa, you have 30 days to go to the nearest International Police unit and register it, and then, request in the offices of the Civil Registry and Identification Service, your identity card for foreigners.

Jefatura Nacional de Extranjería y Policía Internacional it's located in Eleuterio Ramírez 852, Santiago.

3. Application for identity card for foreigners

It must be requested in any of the Offices of the Civil Registry, presenting the following documents:

• Valid passport, with the residence visa stamped on it and with the certification of the inscription in the International Police Foreigners Registry.
• Proof of payment of the value of the Certificate. ($800 CLP, 1,06 US dollar, 0,96 euro)
• Simple photocopy of the pages of the Passport that include: the identification of the holder, the validity of the passport and the granted visa, the date of entry to the country (if the visa is consular)
• Registration Card for Foreigners.

The Identity Card for Foreigners that is granted to holders of resident visas, will have a term of validity equal to that of their respective visas, except in the case of permanent holders.

- Important -

In order to deliver all the documents required for obtaining the Identity Card (RUT), you must request an appointment time. Here I leave the link in which you must request the time. https://reservahora.extranjeria.gob.cl/ingreso 

Registering a Foreign Cell Phone

Why should I register my cell phone? This question is very common and before I give you the steps to do it I will explain why we should do it

The Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones (SUBTEL) calls to register both cell phones and other devices (tablets, alarms, etc.) as required by the Multiband / SAE regulations, which was reactivated on November 10, 2018. now with a 30-day window that allows traffic in mobile networks, and is mainly aimed at those devices purchased abroad.

The Multiband / SAE regulations take care of two relevant issues. In the first place, it seeks to ensure the safety of people, since by requiring that mobile phones have the mandatory incorporation of technology to receive messages from the Emergency Alert System (SAE) of ONEMI, lives are saved in the face of the potential occurrence of some phenomenon that could put people at risk, receiving an alert, with a sound and vibration difficult to ignore, in addition to providing accurate information and clear instructions.

Secondly, in the meantime, the initiative shows in a simple way the compatibility of the telephone with the different technologies available in the country, providing clear information to users about their equipment, and about the bands in which this will work. It also facilitates the process of numerical portability, eliminating an important barrier, as users often behaved and their mobile phone could not work in the bands where the new company operated. 

1.- As of November 10, 2018, foreigners who travel to Chile and want to use their phone or other mobile device with a local SIM Card, must register them in the system so that they can continue operating in Chile after 30 days of activated the computer in the network.

2.- For such registration, within a period of 30 days, counted from the activation of the equipment in the network, you must contact a certifying company (www.multibanda.cl) and make an administrative registration. For this purpose, once your phone is activated, you will receive an SMS that will allow you to make such an online registration.

3.- You must provide some background information about your telephone and your personal information, as well as proof of your purchase abroad, making a declaration acknowledging this circumstance and the effects that your phone has not been approved.

4.- You can register one (1) FREE equipment per year, as long as the certifying company does not exceed 2% of your total records (of IMEI) in the system. In this case, to enjoy the tip, you can resort to another certification company, which has not exceeded that 2%.

5.- The certifying company will carry out this procedure, verifying that it is a natural person, that it is 1 team for each request of Administrative Registration, the fact of having acquired the equipment abroad (ticket, invoice, passport and / or passages, etc) and the correspondence between the IMEI printed on the equipment and the IMEI obtained by configuration.

With this the team will be registered and can use it in the network of the mobile company of the country that the phone allows.

6.- A telephone purchased abroad has not been subject to a homologation process, so it is not possible to ensure that your phone is compatible with the technologies (2G, 3G, 4G) advertised in this regard, nor is it possible to ensure that support the Emergency Alert System (SAE).

7.- If after a period of 1 or 2 hours after receiving the confirmation from the Certification Company that it made the registration of the same in the Centralized Database that does not work, contact the Chilean telecommunications company with which hired the service (be it plan or prepaid) since it belongs to the Sim Card that you are using.

Note: If you use your phone only in the roaming or WiFi mode, it is not necessary to make this registration.

Here is a page where you can see the address where you can register the phone in the same way to acquire a chip ask at the store if they can also register too. https://multibanda.cl/empresas-certificadoras/

Cell Phone Chips in Chile

When we make the decision to live abroad we must search out something that is as important as accommodation, and this is ... Which telephone company has the best plan or which has the best signal when we traveling with International Students Santiago?

When buying a cellphone chip it is important to know about prices and the main cellphone companies.  These chips can be bought at the company's shop. The main cell phone companies are:

WOM: If you are going to buy it personally in the store, they give you the chip free (sometimes), the signal it has, it's good, but not the best, it's the cheapest cell phone company in comparison with price and quality

ENTEL: It is the telephone company with the longest time in Chile, it is the most expensive of all, but the one with the best signal, the prices of the recharges start at 3,000 Chilean pesos and can go up depending on your needs. If you come for a period of 6 months I do not recommend it

MOVISTAR: This cell phone company has standard prices neither good nor bad, however it is the one with the worst signal when you want to travel to places far from the cities. the chip sometimes give it away in stores, and the prices of the plans start at 3,000 Chilean pesos

CLARO: If you come for 6 months to Chile is a good option because for little money you can also occupy it in all of Latin America when traveling. Your signal is really bad when traveling far from the cities but your plans are economical
. 
There are other cell phone companies but they are not very popular so your signal or prices will be lower quality. Now is the time to choose which chip to acquire having this information, if you want to know which is the chip that we recommend send us a message to https://www.facebook.com/InternationalStudentsSantiago/

You will also be asked where to buy or acquire the chip, I recommend you visit the Costanera Center shopping center located steps from the Tobalaba Metro in the Providencia Area. This place will find all the telephone companies that I put in this blog.

Transport in Santiago of Chile

Next, I will give you to know the different options available to transport you in Santiago; I hope this information will be useful.

The axis of public transport in the capital of Chile is the Transantiago, the integrated system of urban buses and the Santiago metro.

To use the Transantiago you HAVE to buy the Bip card! Only purchase of the BIP card has a price of 1,550 Chilean pesos. (2.3 US or 2 Euro or 43 mexican pesos)
It is the only way to enter the service, because buses do not accept cash, and it is required to pass the turnstiles of the subway.

I will give you to know the 7 options that you can find when you are in Santiago:

Metro: 

The Santiago Metro is fast, clean and safe; it has nothing to envy to other similar systems in the world. With modern French trains, the network currently has seven lines Its operating hours are from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. (it varies on weekends). Line 1 runs East - West under the avenues Alameda - Providencia - Apoquindo, covering the center as well as the communes of Providencia and Las Condes. It is the most important metro line because it is located in the backbone of Santiago and it connects with all the other Metro lines.

The 7 metro lines are:

Line 1 or red line
Line 2 or yellow line
Line 3 or line cafe
Line 4 or blue line
Line 4A or celestial line
Line 5 or green line
Line 6 or purple line
By 2027, 3 new lines (7, 8 and 9) would be added

Depending on the time of day, the ticket has a price between 660 and 740 pesos (USD 0.95 - 1.30). It is recommended to buy a Bip! Prepaid card. Since 2007, the transfer to urban buses is also allowed, using the same prepaid card.

The metro in Santiago doesn't have fixed schedules for each trip; trains usually run every 2 or 3 minutes. On the Metro website (https://www.metro.cl/) or the Metro Mobile smartphone app it is possible to plan and calculate the approximate travel time.

Urban Bus: 

The transport of urban buses in Santiago is called Transantiago but the Chileans call them "Micro", this tranport is paid through the Bip card, mentioned above, which you can also use for the Metro.

The price of a trip in the Transantiago allows up to 2 transfers in a maximum period of 2 hours for the same value (the condition is that they have to be different bus services and can only travel once in the metro). More information:

- If they enter the subway a second time, even if they are within 2 hours, they will be charged a new ticket.

- If you travel again on the same bus line, even if they are within the 2 hour period, you will also be charged a new trip.

To plan the trips and to know at what distance you are between two places, we occupy Google Maps, which is the official Transantiago application. There are other applications, but this one is the most efficient and updated.

Colectivo:

The Colectivo are a cheaper alternative to the taxi. They have predefined routes that appear on the poster on the roof of the vehicle. In general, they wait at the exit of the metro stations in Santiago, as well as at central points. Once the minimum number of passengers this ready, they start their journey. You can take a Colectivo anywhere on the route. At night, for an additional fee they can take you to a specific address as long as you are close to the route.

You can distinguish the collective by its completely black color and a small sign on the ceiling.

Taxi:

In Santiago de Chile you can recognize the taxis for being black with yellow roof. This means of transport is relatively cheap, can be found throughout Santiago and at all times. There is no fee defined by destination, but a meter measures the distances traveled, and with respect to the distance traveled, the value to be paid is obtained. The rates can be seen on the windshield at the sight of the passenger.

The base rate is 300 chilean pesos for the first 200 meters, then 130 chilean pesos are added for every 200 meters traveled or 1 minute elapsed (whichever occurs first).

In case of any irregularity, write down the vehicle's license and notify a policeman as soon as possible.

It is not necessary to approach a Taxi Line to take a car, you can stop them at any place (you will know that it is unoccupied for the red sign "taxi" will be on).

Mobile Apps:

Another of the busiest ways in the last time to transport are with the APPs of Uber, Cabify, Beat, EasyTaxi and DiDi.

EasyTaxi: This is the only application for the state of Chile is legal, also the only one that can free circulate in areas where bars and discos are in Santiago. However, it has prices practically equal to a taxi that you get on the street

Cabify: This application tends to handle standard prices at all hours of the day, however, it is a little more expensive than the average Uber rate.

Uber: Most used application, it is cheaper than getting into a taxi although in times of heavy traffic it has a rate of almost double the value than normal, it can be paid in cash or with a credit card.

Beat: It is the cheapest application that the other options, although the bad thing, is that there are not many drivers like for example in uber.

DiDi: This application is the last one that has joined in Chile, comes from China and tends to have cheaper prices than the other apps.



Shared Bicycles:

Mobike is one of the first bicycle sharing platforms without designated parking areas or cash payments that can solve the problem of short distance connections in the city. Mobike bikes are connected to the mobile phone application to provide greater accessibility and comfort when you need it most.

The prices of these bicycles are determined according to the amount of time that bicycles are used. To have the updated prices check the mobile application of each company.

Electric Scooters: 

This shared urban transport system can be used in the communes of La Reina and Las Condes. They stand out not only for their particular design, but also for their easy mode of operation, since through an application, available in the iOS and Android operating systems, users can locate scooters with GPS, unlock them with a QR code, to use them From a point A to a point B. Once finished, the scooter is blocked so that another person can find it. To know the updated rates should see in the apps of each company. It is one of the fastest and most entertaining ways to move

https://www.facebook.com/InternationalStudentsSantiago/ For more information, contact us