there's a lot of info at http://www.quora.com/Hows-life-in-Santiago-Chile but basically: if it's imported, it's more expensive than the usa, but if it's local then it's less so. so the cost of living depends a lot on your standard of living. if you want all the luxuries you might expect in the usa or europe, you'll need to spend a similar amount. but if you're happy living in a cheap part of town, eating local fresh food, you could get by on much less.

you could rent a small apartment in a good area (providencia) for $300 a month; a ride on the metro or bus is $1 - $1.50; bread is around $2.50 a kilo... minimum wage here is about $500 a month (the quora page is a bit out of date - the dollar has lost some value...). i imagine you'd need to pay around $2,500 a month for a decent programmer - less for someone with less experience.

so bring a laptop with you!

What about non-Santiago parts of Chile? If I were going to spend six months in Chile I might be tempted to forego the metropolis and find a nice town by the seaside or the mountains (both of which seem to be pretty easy to find in Chile). But are there "nice" areas outside the big city, or is all the wealth concentrated in Santiago?

I have the impression, from having had a look at the program, that they want you to be involved and available, which I suppose isn't that much to ask, given that the only other real string attached is to stay in Chile for 6 months. This would likely mean staying in Santiago.

BTW, for andrewcooke or anyone else there: how's transportation there? Can you get by with public transportation? Are cars cheap? Do they drive well or like maniacs?

I studied in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar - both very nice places on the beach about 1.5 hours from Santiago. It's a pretty modern place with all the shopping of a city of 200K in the US.

i can't imagine the grant requires you to live in santiago - that would be something of a political faux-pas here. BUT the country is very much centred around santiago. there are no other places that i, as a european, would honestly call a city; the largest are are more like large provincial towns. the only exception really is valparaiso/vina del mar which is almost an extension of santiago on the coast - the government is there for half the year, and it's within easy distance of santiago.

not sure what you mean by "nice". i know of one european software engineer that lives in the middle of nowhere (well...) and loves it. but outside santiago you just don't get the "stuff" you probably expect (nice restaurant / top-end computer hardware / large selection of brand-name clothes / pre-prepared frozen food / decent coffee ...). but if you want a simple life, sure. doubt you'll find many good software engineers to hire, though.

as for transport - i think it's excellent. in santiago there is both a modern metro and a bus system. the entire country is connected by buses (some of excellent quality - something like airplane business class) and air. i lived here for many years without a car (i still don't have one, but my partner now does, and uses it about once a week).

oh, and driving - well, they consider themselves the "british of latin america" and really that's not a bad description. compared to uk driving, it's a bit more hectic, but compared to elsewhere in latin america, it's pretty sane. also, no corruption here (well, not that you should meet). don't try bribing a police officer. you can extend this to culture generally - "they" (disculpenme) are friendlier than the british, but less friendly (perhaps "more reserved" is a better term) than any other s. american culture i have met.

How about health care, in terms of cost and quality?

in santiago there are very good hospitals. i had a hernia op in a good-but-not-top place and it seemed similar to me to hospitals in the uk. doctors are a little more paternalistic here - you have to be firm in making clear that you want to be involved in any process. health insurance is way less than the usa. on the other hand, public (government-funded) hospitals are pretty basic.