Our Story: 13+ Years Living in Chile
Jim & Lori Dorchak — Chile Expat Family
How We Ended Up in Chile
We have lived in Chile since 2013, but our journey here was not something we had planned for years. It grew out of hard work, heartbreak, financial loss, and ultimately a search for a new beginning.
Jim grew up in Upstate South Carolina, the son of a farmer and a cardiologist. His love of aviation began when he was eight years old, flying with his father throughout the Southeast. He later earned his bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and hoped to make aviation his career. When that path did not work out as expected, we changed direction and entered real estate.
Jim became a real estate broker and certified general appraiser, and we built a successful business while raising our family. Lori later earned her residential appraiser’s license while homeschooling our children. We also invested in real estate development and, for a time, believed we were building a secure future.
Then 2007 changed our lives. We suffered a devastating family loss, and the real estate and financial crisis that followed badly damaged the businesses and investments we had spent years building. Those years forced us to reconsider what we wanted from life and whether starting over somewhere else might be possible.
We first explored Uruguay, making two trips there, but it never quite felt like home. Meanwhile, friends of ours had moved to Chile and offered us the use of their vacation home. That invitation gave us the chance to experience Chile for ourselves.
In 2013, after Jim’s father passed away and another chapter of our life in the United States came to an end, we decided to take the chance. We left the United States and moved to Chile. We did not have everything figured out. We simply knew we needed a new beginning and were willing to build a different kind of life.
Building a Life in Chile
More than 13 years later, Chile is home. We have bought property, built new businesses, raised our family here, homesteaded, grown food, kept animals, and learned firsthand what it takes to live off-grid in southern Chile.
We have also learned how different everyday life can be—from buying rural property and dealing with utilities to healthcare, transportation, immigration, banking, shopping, and simply understanding how things get done.
It has not always been easy, but we came to Chile looking for a fresh start and found far more than we expected: a home, opportunity, and a different way of life.
Why We Started Chile Expat Family
Chile Expat Family grew out of our own experience and the questions we kept hearing from other foreigners considering the same journey. Much of what we know has come not only from living here ourselves, but from helping others navigate Chile through our community.
We are not writing about Chile from a desk thousands of miles away. We live here. Our goal is not to convince everyone to move to Chile. It is to share what we have learned—the good, the bad, the surprising, and sometimes the downright difficult—so you can make better-informed decisions for yourself and your family.
If you are considering moving to Chile, retiring here, buying property, building a homestead, or simply wondering whether a different life might be possible, we hope our experience helps you understand what living here is really like.