Research has documented significant gender gaps in subjective well-being among adolescents in residential care, with girls reporting lower life satisfaction than boys. As well-being is considered an everyday experience, adolescents in residential care are expected to have particular views on what counts as a good life. This qualitative study explores the well-being experiences of adolescents living in care residences in Santiago from a gendered perspective. We conducted four group workshops with 35 adolescents (aged 12 to 18) residing in gender-differentiated facilities in Santiago, Chile. Participants completed fanzines and engaged in facilitated discussions about their daily experiences living in the residences. Results revealed that residential infrastructure, rules and regulations, routines, and relationships are integral dimensions to participants’ daily experiences. Within those dimensions, participants highlighted their wish to be treated with trust and practice autonomy, and criticized institutional constraints—surveillance, rigid rules, limited control over daily activities—that restricted decision-making. These findings suggest that promoting well-being in residential care requires reconceiving autonomy as relational—fostered through trust, participation, and flexible institutional practices—while remaining responsive to gender-specific needs, such as those of girls whose entry into care is often linked to sexual violence.