Thank you for the very extensive response! Chile sounds really interesting. I have some additional questions:
What about immigration: How hard is it for a foreigner to move there / get long term visa ?
Are there many good developers and what's the average salary of a developer ?
Are there other foreigner software startups / companys or immigrants ?
What about the government / bureaucracy: How hard is it to hire developers for a foreign company ?
What about the English skills ? Of course, if we come to Chile we have to learn Spanish, but our software is written for English-speaking (and German-speaking) customers
Last question: What is the cost of living like there and where's the best place to live?
In terms of salaries for a developer with at least 2 years of experience:
Program Analyst: $1210/mo
Informations: $1450/mo
Civil Engineer, Information: $1700/mo
Programming: $1100/mo
Design and Industrial Production: $700/mo
Are there other foreigner software startups / companys or immigrants ?
There are companies such as Wanako Games (NYC), Bio Architecture Lab (Berkeley), Bling Nation (Palo Alto), Atakama Labs (SF), Entegris (Nasdaq: ENTG), InquiroGroup (Palo Alto) and Zappedy (SF).
More information on http://supercoolschool.typepad.com/startupschool/2010/08/sta...
What about the English skills ?
I think you will be fine here, there is no deal if your software is written in a different language.
(I'm not sure if I understand your point with the english skills.. you're worried because you have to learn spanish?)
Thanks a lot for this detailed answer and the additional links. Very interesting arguments for Chile! We will review this information (we plan to relocate our startup next year) and also follow you on twitter.
What about immigration: How hard is it for a foreigner to move there / get long term visa ?
Are there many good developers and what's the average salary of a developer ?
Are there other foreigner software startups / companys or immigrants ?
What about the government / bureaucracy: How hard is it to hire developers for a foreign company ?
What about the English skills ? Of course, if we come to Chile we have to learn Spanish, but our software is written for English-speaking (and German-speaking) customers
Last question: What is the cost of living like there and where's the best place to live?