Do you know how many times I’ve gotten the reaction- “there are skyscrapers in Santiago!?!?!??!” to one of my Instagram photos? One too many ….
Now that I’ve lived in Santiago for the better part of a year and a half, it’s strange to think that most of my friends and family back home don’t know the first thing about this city, or my life here.
Even though I’m constantly posting on my blog and all forms of social media, I swear most people still think I’m down here galloping in on a donkey to work and leaving my apartment in the middle of the night to pee in an outhouse. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration …
I can’t say I blame them though, as I had absolutely no idea what to expect from “Chilean life” before moving here. Sure I had google-imaged the city skyline, and looked up all your typical touristy “top 10’s,” but the truth is, this was the first time I packed up my bags and head somewhere without doing my usual in-depth research. I flew down to South America for the first time without so much as a clue.
Now that this city is starting to feel like home, I knew it was time to give “a little look at my expat life” here, the reason why I started this series. It’s time people back home (and anyone else who’s interested) got a look at the real Santiago I live and work in every day. The Santiago that I’ve come to know and to love (most of the time).
And yes, for those of you who didn’t know, there are quite a few tall buildings here. Some of us even have central heating, running water and indoor toilets! 😛
As for size reference, I’ll compare Santiago to my home city of New York.
As of July 2016, the population of New York City was around 8.5 million. The current population of Santiago is around 7 million.
New York’s 5 borrows measure out to a whopping 789 square km, while Santiago, Chile boasts around 641 square km.
Okay, so not quite as big as the “BIG Apple,” but still pretty freakin’ huge!
And while, the super smoggy urban sprawl of Santiago definitely has its fair share of faults, there’s one feature of this city that takes my breath away day after day. It’s the first thing I look at when I wake up every morning and what I often catch myself gazing at through my 18th story window at work.
If you follow me on Instagram, this may be no surprise- I’m head over heels, hopelessly in love with Santiago’s skyline.
Whenever I get up high enough to admire what quickly turns into a little Lego city surrounded by picture-perfect snow-sprinkled mountains, I just about melt into a big stupid pile of gawking mush. I just can’t get enough.
So today, I’m giving you a little inside look at one of my favorite neighborhoods in Santiago from above, Providencia. Watch my quick video below to see what Santiago really looks like!
Make sure to check out my other “Little Look at my Expat Life” posts and to tune into my Instagram Story today to get a visual!
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What’d you think of Providencia? Were you expecting Santiago to look like this? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Welcome to Wanderful Wednesdays!
Consider yourself a wanderer?! Well then, this Blog Hop is for you!
Meet your hosts: ME, Lauren of Lauren on Location, Van of Snow in Tromso, Isabel of The Sunny Side of This and Marcella of What a Wonderful World.
Here on Wanderful Wednesday we hope to promote an open and supportive community for like-minded bloggers- expats, travelers and all kinds of wanderers!
The linkup will take place every Wednesday at 8AM GMT.
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- Link up a wanderful travel related post below! One per blogger per week please!
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Happy Hopping Friends!! 😀
The Santiago skyline is beautiful with those white capped mountains off in the distance! I certainly don’t imagine you riding in on a donkey though haha #WanderfulWednesday
Haha good I’m glad!! And yes I know, I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of them 😀
The skyline is a beautiful contrast against those huge, snowy mountains. And didnt know Santiago was that big! Of course I expected more than a million, but 7!! Holy moly, so fun!!
Yepp! Pretty huge! And aren’t the mountains amazing!! 😀
Santiago is growing on my wishlist. I had similar feelings about Quito although Quito is much much smaller. But there are a few skyscrapers which surprised me. #wanderfulwednesday
Hehe I think it’s so funny how we many people “picture” South America before coming! I had no idea what I was getting myself into!
I think that sometimes people think that just because I live in Texas means that I ride a horse to work as well! I have to admit that I don’t immediately think of Santiago as a huge and bustling metropolitan city, but it’s seriously so beautiful! I’ve loved all of your snaps of the city with the mountains in the background!
Thanks Ashley! And this city definitely surprised me when I moved here. I wasn’t expecting it to be so modern or metropolitan either. It definitely has areas that remind you you’re in South America, but honestly I forget a lot of the time hehe 😀
I love mountains, it is super flat in Houston so to me, seeing mountains is like seeing a unicorn ha. Love the aerial footage. I almost bought a drone a couple of years ago, but I suck at flying them. I need my son to learn so he can be our drone operator lol
Hehe ,, I’m not so good either. This one was actually my bosses, so he was flying it in most of this footage. And where I am from is super flat as well. I just recently become a mountain lover, but now I can’t get enough!
What a fun video! I definitely knew that Santiago was a modern, urban city from your photos, but I had no idea about the size! I think my favorite part about your Santiago skyline pictures and videos is that the city always seems to have the most GORGEOUS sunsets. That sky is so colorful!
It really does have the most amazing sunsets. Unfortunately I think it has something to do with the disgustingly thick smog that we often have, but hey with skies like that I can’t complain!
I knew Santiago was big but I can see its real size when you compared it to New York. That was good! Beautiful skyline! Hope to see it one day.
Glad that helped give you some perspective Ruth! 😀
I love your series so much and Santiago from above looks just absolutely stunning! And I had to laugh so much about the donkey/outhouse comment. People assume similar things about the Arctic as well 😀
hehe yay Van! That makes me SO happy! So funny how people picture places that they’ve never been right … Even though I have seen quite a few donkeys around Santiago hahah
Such now amazing video of Santiago! I want to drone with you, so fun!!
Glad you are shedding light on the real Santiago 🙂
Well, first I have to get a drone hehe .. this one was my bosses! BUT I do plan on it, so we can go together soon 🙂
I wonder why we don’t hear so much about Santiago when it’s so huge?! And Santiago is so pretty with the mountains and the sunset. Thanks for showing us what it’s really like, donkeys or no!