Santiago vs Punta del Este

In summer the city lives on tourists: 1.3 million of them entered the country in December–February, and Punta del Este is the main destination. A two-bedroom apartment for half of January rents for 6,500 dollars.

SpecialistPuntanews: results of the 2025-2026 summer season according to the Ministry of Tourism · checked 29 Sep 2026

Maldonado is the fastest-growing department in the country, 212,951 residents in the 2023 census. It grows through the arrival of Uruguayans and foreigners.

OfficialINE: final results of the 2023 census, population by department · checked 29 Sep 2026

For living with children, realtors recommend Cantegril, Beverly Hills, Pinares and Mansa. Península, La Barra and Roosevelt are jammed with traffic in summer.

SpecialistLa Cite Realtors: international schools in Maldonado and where to live nearby · checked 29 Sep 2026

A 70 m² apartment per month: Santiago Centro 623k pesos, Ñuñoa 777k, Las Condes 916k. Utilities on top.

SpecialistEl Diario Inmobiliario: rents by commune in Santiago, Yapo.cl “Radiografía 2025” · checked 28 Sep 2026

Three bedrooms per month: La Florida 541k pesos, Ñuñoa 786k, Las Condes 2.08 million. The gap is almost fourfold.

SpecialistBioBioChile: apartment purchase prices (BDO Chile) and three-bedroom rents (TocToc) by commune · checked 28 Sep 2026

Prices are quoted in UF, not in pesos. The average apartment: Ñuñoa 6,200 UF (about 254 million pesos), Santiago Centro 3,100 UF.

SpecialistBioBioChile: apartment purchase prices (BDO Chile) and three-bedroom rents (TocToc) by commune · checked 28 Sep 2026

Maldonado department: average existing contract 23,083 pesos a month, new 25,177 - more than Montevideo (July 2026). INE does not calculate the city separately.

OfficialINE: average rent by department, existing contracts · checked 29 Sep 2026

A two-bedroom apartment for a year or for winter is asked at 700 to 3,500 dollars a month, median about 1,550. Plus gastos comunes separately, up to 1,000–1,400 dollars in towers.

SpecialistGallito: two-bedroom apartments for rent in Punta del Este, 80 listings on the page · checked 29 Sep 2026

A two-bedroom apartment in Punta del Este is on sale for 138–967k dollars, median about 270k for 75 m². These are asking prices, not transactions.

SpecialistGallito: two-bedroom apartments for sale in Punta del Este · checked 29 Sep 2026

The minimum food basket is 92,327 pesos per person per month, about 369k for four. Without household chemicals and meals out.

OfficialChile's Ministry of Social Development: cost of the basic food basket and poverty lines, August 2026 · checked 28 Sep 2026

The poverty line for a renting family of four is 994,038 pesos a month. A realistic budget with normal rent is from 1.8–2.2 million.

OfficialChile's Ministry of Social Development: cost of the basic food basket and poverty lines, August 2026 · checked 28 Sep 2026

The INE minimum food basket for the country excluding the capital is 5,421–5,621 pesos per person a month, for a family of four 21.7–22.5k. Data from 2025.

OfficialINE: income poverty estimate, first half of 2025, with poverty lines · checked 29 Sep 2026

A family of three renting housing outside the capital is considered poor at an income below 42,055 pesos a month. In Punta del Este the real bar is much higher.

OfficialINE: income poverty estimate, first half of 2025, with poverty lines · checked 29 Sep 2026

A subsidized school with a co-payment: 122k pesos a month. The German school in Santiago: about 793k pesos in each of ten payments.

SpecialistColegio Alto Palena: information letter on fees for the 2026 school year · checked 28 Sep 2026

International schools Woodside, St Clare's and Garzón School. According to a realtor's estimate, 6–15k dollars a year per child, with higher grades costing more.

SpecialistLa Cite Realtors: international schools in Maldonado and where to live nearby · checked 29 Sep 2026

The Metropolitan Region has 62 accredited inpatient facilities, 52 of them high complexity. There are three children's hospitals plus two specialized children's centers.

OfficialSuperintendencia de Salud: register of accredited healthcare providers in the Metropolitan Region · checked 28 Sep 2026

The ASSE state hospital and the Mautone sanatorium are in the neighbouring city of Maldonado. In Punta del Este itself, on Roosevelt, parada 13, is the head office of the private mutualista Asistencial.

OfficialASSE: Hospital Departamental de Maldonado Dr. Elbio Rivero Moreno · checked 29 Sep 2026

Santiago airport handled 15.73 million passengers from January to July 2025, twice the pre-pandemic level. In July there were more international flights than domestic ones.

SpecialistSantiago airport: passenger record for January-July 2025 · checked 28 Sep 2026

A Montevideo – Punta del Este ticket from COPSA costs 466 pesos, return 932. To Maldonado 450, with a student discount.

SpecialistCOPSA Línea Este: intercity bus fares from 7 January 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

Only Buenos Aires and São Paulo have regular flights all year round. Santiago, Asunción and Campinas are added only in summer. Data for the 2024–2025 season.

SpecialistAviacionline: Punta del Este adds flights for the 2024-2025 season · checked 29 Sep 2026

The average temperature in July 2026 at the Quinta Normal station was 10.6 °C. Winter is mild on paper, but homes are not insulated, so it can be colder indoors than outside during the day.

OfficialChilean Meteorological Service: average temperature in July 2026, Quinta Normal station (330020) · checked 28 Sep 2026

286 mm a year under the 1991–2020 norm, almost all of it in winter. Over thirty years the norm has dropped by 16%: it was 342 mm.

OfficialDGAC: update of climate normals, 1991-2020 period · checked 28 Sep 2026

By mid-June 2026 the city already had 15 critical pollution episodes. A year earlier at the same date there was one; in 2024, none.

SpecialistEmol: Santiago exceeded the number of critical pollution episodes of the previous two years · checked 28 Sep 2026

July is the coldest month: average minimum 8.7 degrees, maximum 14.4. Summer is mild: in January 18.1 and 25.2.

OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Punta del Este · checked 29 Sep 2026

About 1,010 mm a year, evenly distributed: from 67 mm in December to 94 mm in August, 8–10 rain days in any month.

OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Punta del Este · checked 29 Sep 2026

In the first half of 2025, the commune of Santiago had 21 homicides, La Pintana and Puente Alto 19 each, Ñuñoa 4, Vitacura 2, and Las Condes and Providencia none.

OfficialReport on homicide victims for the first half of 2025, with figures by commune · checked 28 Sep 2026

In 2025 there were 14 homicides in the Maldonado department, about 6.6 per 100 thousand residents. Nationwide, 10.3.

SpecialistMontevideo Portal: breakdown of 2025 homicides by department · checked 29 Sep 2026

Symmetric fiber at 600–940 Mbps for 11,990–15,990 pesos a month ($12–17) on a 12-month promotion. The price goes up afterwards.

SpecialistComparaiso: current home fiber internet rates in Chile · checked 28 Sep 2026

As of June 2026, fiber accounts for 87.3% of all fixed connections in the country, and 77.3% of urban households have wired internet. The average home downloads 699 GB a month.

SpecialistBioBioChile: Subtel telecommunications data for the first half of 2026 · checked 28 Sep 2026

Antel fibre from 1,650 pesos for 400 Mbit/s to 4,342 for a gigabit. For holiday-home owners there is Fibra Temporada for 865 pesos: unlimited data from December to March.

OfficialAntel: data plan price list, 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

Metrogas piped gas: 1,336 pesos per m³ in the 60–130 m³ band. A winter month with gas heating is about 100 m³, which is roughly 134k pesos ($139).

OfficialMetrogas: publication of new gas rates, in effect from 24 March 2026 · checked 28 Sep 2026

Water with sewerage in Greater Santiago: about 1,384 pesos per m³ including IVA and 944 a month according to an aggregator site. Only the water part is officially verified: 577.57 per m³ in 2025.

SpecialistAhorraHogar.cl: price of a cubic meter of water in Chile, tariffs by company (Aguas Andinas, SISS sheet from 11 May 2026) · checked 30 Sep 2026

The UTE tariff is uniform: 300 kWh comes to about 2,940 pesos, 600 kWh about 5,470. In apartments, gastos comunes come on top: from 13k pesos to 1,400 dollars.

OfficialDecree 339/025: UTE tariffs from 1 January 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

OSE, Maldonado resort zone: 47.41 pesos per m³ up to 15 m³ plus a fixed charge of 636.68. For 15 m³ with sewage about 2,200 pesos a month, more than in Montevideo.

OfficialDecree 340/025: OSE water and sewerage tariffs from 1 January 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

We did not find network gas in Punta del Este: the distributors Montevideo Gas and Conecta do not list Maldonado. Refilling a 13 kg cylinder costs about 1,216 pesos.

OfficialURSEA: network gas, tariffs of distribution companies · checked 29 Sep 2026