Well that is because you have to travel more my friend don't stay with the impression of the capital only, almost all the people of the interior in Argentina is like that the problem here are the Porteños in my experience (not all of them anyway).
The Chileans are the way they are, i personally don't like it for personal relations but is true that they take more serious their work, but that happen the same in lot of places in the interior of the country in Argentina and I’m sure that the same apply for other country’s.
There's many aspects where Argentina and Chile are a world of difference the same apply between Buenos Aires and the rest of the country, chile drive their economy better than any country in the region but still they are not wonderland, they have a lot of problem, even when they export almost the same than Argentina but with the difference that they export more than nothing raw mineral materials, that alone explain the grow on their economy and the total lack of industry let them open their economy to free market without fear of loosing industry, (same recipe that were used in the Beginning of Argentina with the cattle and farms but they do it with mines, that have the risk that when prices stop going up or you exhaust the mines then you are done).
Chile is a country with very few infrastructure outside Santiago region, they don't have gas in almost all the country they keep using wood or gas tanks for calefaction beside the capital, they connect their southern province using Argentina roads, chile is a country where is so expensive to study and so limited to only rich’s that the average chilean have to come to study to Argentina, is a country without public health where the inhabitant cross the border to get attended in the hospital of the nearly argentine city, a country with very boring cultural life, well i could follow but i make my point off course they have lot of good things to, specially if you like order and they do have a very stable economy that i admire this is not a critic to Chile i think chile have take lot of good decisions in the last 20 years where Argentina Hasn’t but they still have big things to solve, go and live there and you will realize that not everything that shine is gold, same go for Buenos Aires is not the same as a turist as when you go to live there.
To resume yes there is a world of difference between Chile and Argentina but that go in both ways for good and for bad
Sorry for the mistakes in the write i just arrive home and i may have drink 1 or 2 more bottles than i should, and i don't feel like reading what i write and correct it
Oh man i just realize that i answer to the wrong person lol