The short answer is damnyankees of course…
But seriously, this is not about my well founded biases against arrogant jerks from North America or Europe–rather, it is about those who probably just shouldn't come here because Uruguay won't work for them. My heaven could well turn out to be your hell!
These are the Seven Deadly Sins of moving to Uruguay…
First and foremost:–DON'T COME TO URUGUAY FOR A JOB!!!! The very best and most talented people are leaving here looking for jobs. If you want to get an idea of trying to get a job here is like, I refer you to a really whiny website about a person from the US who tried to make it here teaching English: http://tekno-yanqui.blogspot.com/.
Second–DON'T COME TO URUGUAY TO START A BUSINESS UNLESS YOUR INCOME WILL COME FROM OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY OR FROM BRINGING FOREIGNERS NTO THE COUNTRY! There is just not enough disposable income here to support hardly any locally dependent business at a standard that would support the investor in a lifestyle desired by a North American or European. However, the Free Zones are great tax free places for business rendering services or shipping products elsewhere.
Third–URUGUAY IS NOT HANDICAPPED FRIENDLY! Unless you have some mobility you will have a very hard time here. If I could not walk a bit, I would like it here a lot less. There is a handicapped service agency, but it provides little service. I took the handicapped transport a couple of times just to try it and the last trip was the ride from Hell. The driver drove so fast and erratically that I was almost thrown to the floor and both wheels on my wheelchair were bend entirely out of shape. Additionally, there are few, if any ramps on street corners or elsewhere. Buildings have a neat trick of having an elevator, but putting it up 2 or 3 steps.
Fourth–URUGUAY IS NOT THE CHEAPEST! If you are driven solely by money concerns, this may not be the place for you. I did not come here for the sake of cheapness, but rather for good value for my money and a great lifestyle. That being said, if you can do without high speed internet and a few of the other cirty things, the minute you go outside Montevideo (except to Punta del Este) costs drop precipitously.
Fifth–IF YOU DON'T SPEAK SPANISH, WON'T SPEAK SPANISH AND WON'T HIRE A BI-LINGUAL ASSISTANT! Stay home! The frustration will spoil everything. I am lucky, I get to cheat. I speak a little Spanish, my business partner speaks a lot of Spanish and we hired a bi-lingual assistant. The ideal thing to do is go to an immersion school for as many weeks as you can stand. I haven't had time to do that–I am thinking about bring in a tutor simply because of the issue of getting around with a wheelchair.
Sixth–IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEPLACE EXOTIC! Cross Uruguay off the list. One visitor described it as Iowa with beaches. I prefer calling it Eisenhower's America with Spanish subtitles. You can get exotic from Belize to Bali, here you can get a good steak.
Seventh–If you have pulmonary problems the winter here could be tough on you. I just got out of the hospital after a bout of lung infection brought about by the near freezing pea soup fog of early August. Of course, the winter is thankfully short, and really only a month of objectionable weather. Had I not been forced to go out into it for reasons of business and immigration I may well have been fine. My plan next year is to spend the last week of July through the third week of August somewhere else: maybe in San Carlos de Bariloche, the “Aspen” of Argentina.
HI, just read your most current comments on Uraguay and it leaves me with a large hanging question. If Uraguay is not particularly inexpensive nor exotic and is infact like Iowa with a beach, what would draw an adventurer, a pensioner, or for that matter anyone, to live there? I’m certain there are reasons, I would just be interested in what they are. I am “early retired” and have moved to Guadalajara, Mexico. This is a fabulous and phenominal city, but having been a traveler all of my life I am forever thinking of other places to live. I’ve been to BA several times recently and am very fond of the city. I have never been to Montevideo. I have read that you have put in a business and I surmise that may have been the driving force. I’ve recently sold mine and am not excited about opening another one.
Left by RIchard Love on August 27th, 2006
Please see my next post: Choosing Well…
Left by The Southron on August 27th, 2006
Bariloche might not be your best choice in Argentina, it is damp in winter there too..You might want to investigate Cordoba, Merlo or the Mendoza area for drier winter conditions, in fact we are now swaying toward’s Villa Carlos Paz (near Cordoba) as a possibility for our big move!
Left by Neil on August 28th, 2006
I’m not quite sure that I agree with the “not inexpensive” statement. Various surveys including MoneyMagazine rank Asuncion Paragauy as the World’s least expensive city, preceded by Buenos Aires and Montevideo. To put what I am about to say into perspective, I need to point out that I earn tax free US dollars and live in New Zealand so my income base remains constant. In NZ we pay hefty taxes on foreign earned income, butin Uruguay my foreign earned income is tax free. Already a big difference.Now for some real comparisons; A friend on mine attends world class operas in the beautiful Teatro Solis for US$16. Yesterday we paid $125 for “right-at-the-back” seats in a lousy theatre in Wellington to see an American production of Porgy and Bess.We decide to take a taxi instead of trying to park. Cost was $36 for a few blocks. My taxi rides from Pocitos to the Teatro Solis were $3.00 which is a slightly longer ride.A small (600 sq metres) piece of land in our town (Havelock North pop. 20000) costs 250 - 450k. For that price I buy a really lovely house in upmarket Punta del Este. For $70000 one can buy an old property to renovate in the adjoining suburb to Pocitos. The size of the construction would be in the region of 250 sq Meters.Food is so cheap that it was not an issue. My wife freaked when I came home and told her that I had made curries using fillet seak! Here in NZ a kilo of fillet costs US$27. In Montevideo I paid US$3.30. Bus fares…well there are no plurals…the fare is 18 pesos (about 75cents US) irrespective of the length of the ride. One block or around the city is just 18 pesos. Then there were other differences. Medical for example; My dentist friend charged me $7.50 for a filling. A quote for two dental implants is $900 compared to $5400 for the exact same system. Ventolin is a non prescription drug in Uruguay and costs $16.00 over the counter. In NZ I have to pay $36 for a doctor’s visit to give me a limited prescription for Ventolin and then I get a state-subsidized Ventolin for $6.00 Total cost $42.00 and inconvenience.Drugs like Viagra are non-prescription too.Montevideo has a really decent yacht club. Initial membership will cost you $2000 but well worth it. You can get season tickets for both the theatre and cinemas.Items such as digital cameras, flat panel TVs etc are expensive but that is not an issue with me because, if I am not paying tens of thousands in taxes each year then buying the odd TV or digital camera is not going to bankrupt me. For comparison, I bought a Nikon Coolpix 7600 with a max. memory card and pouch for $640 which was about 50% more than in NZ. What does one do there? For starters:- many of the foreigners there rate Uruguyans as the second most hospitable people on earth; second only to South Africans. I experienced amazing hospitality. I made more friends and was invited out more often in the three months I lived there than in the eight years I have lived in New Zealand.
Left by Peter on August 28th, 2006
Somehow my coments about the relative cost of living in Uruguay were misinterpreted. I did NOT say it was not inexpensive, just that it was not the most inexpensive!My assistant just returned from a weekend in the dep interior and he said the price of most things there is 25-35% of here in Montevideo. The down side: little or no internet access as of now.The Southron
Left by The Southron on August 28th, 2006
im sorry but i dont understand the fact that you say that outside montevideo there is little internet access, i live in colonia and have high speed internet access( in my home) and if you dont own a computer there is a cyber internet shop in every other block.
Left by jose sande on August 30th, 2006
Thank you for catching that. The point I was trying to make was not about internet, but cost of living. Thngs just got jumbled.What I have been told repeatedly is the following:1. high speed internet is generally available in Montevideo and all the coastal comunities from Colonia to Punta del Este.2. the farther you go into the interior, the less accessible internet becomes.3. In most places North of the Rio Negro, there is currently NO Internet access, not even dial up.f anyone has hard information to the contrary please let me know. i want to be as accurate as possible.
Left by The Southron on August 30th, 2006
Maybe I was told incorrectly by a realtor while looking for remote properties, but they indicated that if the property has telephone service through Antel that they are able to get the AntelData ADSL service. I believe they also have ISDN available.http://www.anteldata.com.uy/
Left by Enzo on August 30th, 2006
That is absolutely NOT TRUE! ADSL is limited by the distance from the central office and according to Anteldata is NOT available everywhere. My recommendation is to confirm with Antel exactly what service is available at any place you are considering. Do NOT take anyone’s word for it.Not every Anteldata service is available at every location. Some pars of the interior don¡t even have land lines,they use a satellite bassed “rural phone”.The Southron
Left by The Southron on August 31st, 2006
To avoid cold weather, I would suggest some place like Florianopolis, Brazil. It seems to have 60s when Montevideo has 40s. With your cedula, you should be able to go there without much trouble.
Left by Jack on September 5th, 2006
What are you finding in the way of remote properties?
Left by Tom Harding on September 6th, 2006
What would beachfront properties cost just outside Punta del Este?
Is there any English TV available by satellite?
>> You may want to inquire of the Real Estate agents listed in UruguayLiving.info. Also, there are a few blog readers who live in Punta, so they may be able to help.
DirectTV Latin America is available by satellite, but at best only some of its programs will have English available via SAP or Second Audio Program. The very best way to have TV from home is via the Slingbox. I suggest you check out The Copperhead’s post:  “The World’s Longest Umbilical Cord” at http://www.uruguayliving.com/2006/07/13/the-worlds-longest-umbilical-cord/
Left by kcowan on October 31st, 2006
Hiii…
which is the best internet Plan and ISP in Montevideo(is it Anteldata??)…
how mcuh will it cost me??? if I go for some plan that lets me acces internet unlimited at a speed of around 1 mbps..
I am looking for a plan that will let me watch TV online without any waiting for the streaming videos to buffer…
I am currently not in Urruguay..(so I cannot go n contact local ISP operators directly :-) )
>>I have detailed my reasons for using Anteldata in several blog posting which you can find with a little searching here. Currently an ADSL line 1024/256 costs about US$83.00 per month. We use it with our Slingbox for TV watching every day. You can get full details in my book, which you can buy in print at http://www.lulu.com/content/579686 or in downloadable e-book format at http://www.uruguayliving.info/book/members.htm.
–The Southron
Left by coloreal on May 19th, 2007