Anyone been to Uruguay?

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Kiopa_Matt

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Anyone been to Uruguay? Been getting the itch to make a move again in the near future. Been reading up on it, and looks awesome. Supposed to be the highest standard of living in Latin America, safe, good people, Spanish speaking which is great (would prefer to learn Spanish vs. Portuguese), excellent weather, some of the world's best beef, good expat population, etc.

90 day VOA (visa on arrival), which you can easily extend by another 90 days within country. Residency seems very easy to get, and you're legally allowed (and even encouraged to) reside within country while your application is being processed. No tax on foreign income (need to consult a lawyer on this for clarification -- eg. Canadian / US client while working in Uruguay = domestic or foreign income?). Plus with residency, they even give you a passport! Not many countries do that.

Anyway, anyone ever been? Good, bad, ugly?

EDIT: Any tips on getting the dogs there? That's going to be rough on them. Door-to-door, from the time I shove them into a cage in this house, until they're out in a temp house rental in Uruguay will be at least 45 hours. Ouch! Poor guys.
 


I've been there. Pretty sleepy country. The food is not particularly good aside from the beef.

Montevideo has a bit of air pollution. Downtown is run down. However, there are some very nice neighborhoods. When it gets cold down there, it can be bone-chilling. I remember staying at a hotel in Montevideo and waking up the next morning. My socks were damp and freezing from the humidity.

Punta del Este is a coastal resort town. First world quality with a wealthy crowd. However, it shuts down during the non-season.

There are a lot of small sleepy beach towns. I considered moving there years ago but it's just too sleepy. Property rights are more secure than in Brazil but Brazil has better food and beaches. You should make a short visit to Uruguay first to see if you like it. I would also check out Florianopolis in Brazil.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx0kCrD7QRA"]Jurerê Internacional - Florianópolis/Santa Catarina/Brasil - Verão 2010 - YouTube[/ame]
 
Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by "sleepy"? Sleepy in a way there's absolutely nothing open, you can't go out to a restaurant or pub with some friends, etc.? Or sleepy in the way that there isn't a bustling nightlife with beach parties and packed clubs?

I don't give a shit about clubbing / partying. Done it loads in my younger years, and never been much of a party guy anyway. I'm the type who would prefer just to have some good friends over for a BBQ, drinks, good music, and all depending, maybe hang out at the fire pit in the backyard until 4am getting pissed and smoking weed. Partying on a beach with 3000 people I've never met doesn't interest me though.
 
This thread needs some real Brazilian music in it; not that shitty hip hop rip off in the last video.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrZBiqK0p9E"]Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 - Mas que nada (introduced by Eartha Kitt / Something Special 1967) - YouTube[/ame]
 
Punta del Diablo is nice and relaxed. Beach shacks and holiday houses mostly. Good if you don't want the Miami vibe of Punta del Este.

Montevideo for me was really nice - a mini, more relaxed version of Buenos Aires. Nice cafe culture. Big enough to not get bored in.

I'd rate Uruguay in my top 5 South American countries (Colombia being #1).
 
I'm not into clubbing/partying either. Montevideo has about half of the country's 3 million population. It lacks the energy/vibe of a large city. The next largest city only has a population of 100k.

I went to a number of seaside towns. There weren't many people on the streets. They sort of looked like ghost towns. There were businesses open, though.

If you want a city environment, then I'd recommend you check out the nicer neighborhoods of Montevideo. Otherwise, I'd recommend checking out a place like Colonia del Sacramento or Maldonado where Punta del Este is located. Punta del Este gets crazy during the summer but you can find a lot of neighborhoods on the outskirts.

If you like small seaside towns or small-town villages with lots of open space, then you might like Uruguay. The beef is top notch. The rest of cuisine is not so enticing. The pizzas suck and so does the Italian food.

Uruguay has a pretty extensive bus system, so you can take a bus from Montevideo to Punta del Este and other towns. That's what I did. You can also take buses to Brazil. Also, you can take a bus/ferry combo to Buenos Aires.

Here's my overall assessment:

Food: bland except for beef
Property: secure property rights. Foreigners can buy property with certainty.
Beaches: mediocre beaches with lousy surfing
Banking: very good banking privacy if you aren't an American. I recall walking in Punta del Este one night around 10pm and seeing a bank security guard escort a man to his car with several bags of money.
Weather: pretty good except for the colder months when the temperatures can be bone chilling because of the high humidity
Demographics: an aging population; lots of younger people leave when they get a chance; the whitest population in South America

In addition to checking out Florianopolis, I recommend checking out Paraguay, too. Paraguay is like the way the US used to be. Lots of freedom. There's no income tax for foreign source income. Permanent residency is easy. Most of the country doesn't give two shits about the laws and bribing is prevalent. Even so, I found the place pleasant and attractive, even though a lot of it is rundown. The prospect of paying no income tax is very attractive to me. :) It can get really hot there, though. Las Vegas like temperatures.

Lastly, if you want a country where everything works, I'd check out Chile. There are a lot of nice towns there, especially in the south (Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, etc).


Kiopa_Matt said:
Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by "sleepy"? Sleepy in a way there's absolutely nothing open, you can't go out to a restaurant or pub with some friends, etc.? Or sleepy in the way that there isn't a bustling nightlife with beach parties and packed clubs?

I don't give a shit about clubbing / partying. Done it loads in my younger years, and never been much of a party guy anyway. I'm the type who would prefer just to have some good friends over for a BBQ, drinks, good music, and all depending, maybe hang out at the fire pit in the backyard until 4am getting pissed and smoking weed. Partying on a beach with 3000 people I've never met doesn't interest me though.
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If you're looking to move south of the border I'd recommend Colombia.

I lived in Medellin for about 6 months and it's Spring temperatures all year round. Beautiful girls, westernised city with good public transport, two airports including one that has low cost flights to the US. Can live there up to 6 months of the year with a tourist visa. Not too hard to extend that with other types of visa. Can fly up to the Caribbean or Pacific coast if beaches are your thing.

Expat community is decent there if you want to escape the locals or alternatively the city is big enough that you can go without seeing another expat if you choose.
 
I'm from Uruguay, lived there until I was 18 and moved to the Netherlands. Then I also lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Shanghai so I think I have quite an exposure to compare.

If you judge it from a Latin American standard, it is relatively safe and quite stable. It can be a slow and bureaucratic country but institutions are stable and there are no major changes no matter what political party wins the next elections.

It's also an empty country, like there are literally 12 million cows but only 3 million people. We have a shit ton of countryside, and 50% of the population is concentrated in Montevideo and surrounding areas.

A factor to take into consideration is that it is expensive. Inflation is running at 9% right now and while per capita income has also increased substantially in the last few years, many people struggle with $500 salaries. I know that this doesn't affect you personally but keep in mind that you'll have to pay more for groceries and rent than you'd in other South American countries.

I personally love to go back once a year during the summer, when Punta del Este is booming with people and there's plenty of stuff happening. Winter is a different story. We're quite down south, and winters tend to be cold and grey. The culture is also quite "cold" if you know what I mean. People won't be as outgoing as countries in the tropical areas. Over 90% of the population is of European descent, so our culture is highly European in many regards, including the "coldness" factor. That's not to say that people are not polite, because they are, but it won't be like in Colombia where you can hit any spot during the night and people will start a party out of nowhere.

All in all, I think it's a very good option for someone making an online income that will afford them a good lifestyle. It's a great place to live if you can afford it, which is the case of pretty much all foreigners coming over. It's relatively safe, and if you buy property, open a bank account, or anything like that, you know that things will remain stable and your stuff will be secure.

Hope this helps. If you want more input please PM me. I know that Uruguayans are very hard to come by, so if I can help with anything please let me know.

EDIT: Forgot to mention a super liberal culture. First country ever to fully legalize weed, and also one of the first ones to legalize abortion / same-sex marriage. In Catholic South America this is actually a bit rare, but people in Uruguay have always been very secular. I guess it's part of that feeling that many Uruguayans have of being a "piece of Europe" in the middle of South America.

If you like getting stoned with anything you can think of (including weed, acid, and other stuff) and nobody giving you shit about it, Uruguay is the place to go.
 
What about the infrastructure... for internet access?

I've been thinking about taking a trip down south as well... but I need reliable high-speed internet. (as everyone else does. lol)
 
DorianWar said:
What about the infrastructure... for internet access?

I've been thinking about taking a trip down south as well... but I need reliable high-speed internet. (as everyone else does. lol)
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Assuming you don't move to the middle of nowhere, chances are you'll get fiber. Antel is a state-run company but surprisingly they're quite good when it comes to internet and mobile services. They've been installing fiber for two years now, and by this point most middle and upper class neighborhoods in Montevideo have fiber, as well as most cities of 10,000 people or more in the countryside.

Antel - Personas y hogares - Internet - Planes de ADSL - Vera 120/12 Mbps

So you can get 120/12 on fiber for 1590 Pesos a month, which is equivalent to 70 USD. There are also cheaper plans for 80 or 50 mbs.

Just make sure that the neighborhood you're moving to has fiber available:

Antel - Personas y hogares - Fibra óptica - Hogares con Fibra Óptica en Uruguay

The green areas in the map already have fiber.
 
Thanks for the info everyone, and appreciate it. Yeah, I will definitely go to Uruguay to start with. Had a good friend from there back in my Toronto days, plus for other personal reasons, it seems quite fitting that I end up in Uruguay. Plus as mentioned above, it's safe, secure, stable, etc. Latin America is the one remaining region of the world I want to check out, but have never been, and Uruguay seems like a good safe bet for a home base while I tour around the region for a few years.

Only real question is rentals there. Looking online, looks like I can get a decent vacation rental for about $2500 - $3000 for the month, which is fine. What about long term rentals though? All I see from here is the inflated online tourist prices, so what's it like on the ground there?

Due to the dogs, apartments and condos are out. I need a house, decent sized yard, and preferably fenced. I can't let me dogs just wander around themselves, as they tend to be fairly defensive, and I've only bothered curbing that behavior a little bit, because well, I want them to be defensive. Helps me sleep at night. I'm assuming I'll end up in a little town / village outside of Montevideo, but that's fine. Can I expect to find something decent for say $1500/month? Is that reasonable? Also, are the owners going to want to kick me out every November - March, so they can rent it to tourists? (read that somewhere).

Hopefully I can get myself there in 6 - 8 weeks. Whew, actually getting a little excited now. Almost starting to remember why I chose this career path. So I can do stupid shit, like move to Uruguay on a whim. :)
 
Here are long term rentals in Carrasco, the poshest neighborhood of Montevideo (most politicians and business people live here):

Inmobiliaria Foti Montevideo Punta del Este Carrasco Pocitos

That would be the most expensive area. Then you can check out Ciudad de la Costa, a group of suburbs to the east of Montevideo along the coast. Combined search here:

Inmobiliaria Foti Montevideo Punta del Este Carrasco Pocitos

Other websites to find rentals:

casas.com.uy - Casas, Chalets - Montevideo, Punta del Este, Piriapolis, Ciudad de la Costa, Costa de Oro, Uruguay - Ventas, Alquileres - Inmobiliarias
MEIKLE Bienes Raíces | Uruguay
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4paLVu0gNcQ"]Homer Simpson vind u-are-gay (Uruguay) - YouTube[/ame]
 
$7000/month? They're nice houses and everything, but geez... it's just me and two dogs. I don't need something that nice. Even if I could afford that, I wouldn't pay it. Would much prefer that money go to Vanguard than rent.

Guess I'll have to go live in one of the slums for like $2500/month. :)
 
Only 3-4 of the listings in the first link are $7000, and as I said it's the most expensive area in the country. And they're all houses with 4-5 bedrooms which you obviously don't need. Most houses with a big backyard and fences are also 3-4 bedrooms, so just keep in mind that you'll most likely have to pay for that unused space. It's very hard to find a small house for a single guy that also has a big backyard and the whole shebang, so you might want to visit a bunch of places once you've landed and decide then. Not even half of available rentals are findable online.
 
Florianopolis looks awesome. Made me reconsider Brazil.

Buenos Aires. That's what I have in mind. Apparently very easy to get citizenship too. Just stay for 2 years. I know an Indian guy that moved there. Good option for third world passport holders. Argentine citizens can go most places visa free. "Palermo" seems to be the place to be.
 
DarkWolf said:
Most houses with a big backyard and fences are also 3-4 bedrooms, so just keep in mind that you'll most likely have to pay for that unused space.
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Yeah, that's fine. I want 3 - 4 bdrm anyway. My bedroom, office, then at least one or two guest rooms / storage. But I don't need a luxury house situated on a golf course with a private swimming pool though. Would be kinda nice, but ain't happening. :)


DarkWolf said:
you might want to visit a bunch of places once you've landed and decide then.
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Yeah, definitely. Grab a vacation rental house for a month online, then find my bearings once I'm there. That's what I always do, and why I never worry about long term rentals until I'm there. That's one thing I don't know though, and maybe you do?

For example, take Vancouver, Canada. If I'm looking at rentals, it doesn't matter if it's online or on the ground in person, the prices are going to be the same. The prices I see online are the same I'm going to find in person.

However, take where I am now, and there's a huge discrepancy. If I look online, I'll see studio apartments for $800/month. If I go out on the streets though, I can find a nice 3bdrm 3bath house with large yard for a simple $500/month.

Do you know, is there much of a discrepancy in Uruguay like that, or not really? If I'm there talking to people, looking through local newspapers, looking at the flyers posted on grocery store / cafe bill boards and around town, etc... is it going to be a different rental market compared to what I see online, or pretty much the same?
 
You're not gonna get different prices depending on whether you find the same property online or "offline". The thing with online listings is that they tend to target the high end of the market so it's hard to come by with simple but spacious places. Like for example I'm sure there are many beachside houses in Ciudad de la Costa that you could get for $1500 or less, the problem is that those won't probably be listed online, or if they are they'll be at the season price of Dec-Feb, which is usually three or four times higher.

Once you land, I highly advise you to take a copy of "El Gallito Luis". It's the Sunday classified section of El Pais newspaper. There are thousands of listings there across all price ranges. You might want to ask someone to help you if your Spanish is not very good yet, especially because the listings are only 2-3 lines so many words are abbreviated.

This is the website of El Gallito, I'm not entirely sure that they publish all the listings that appear in the print version:

Alquiler de casas en Uruguay - Inmuebles Gallito.com

Prices are in pesos in this one.
 
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Well, apparently those dreams I started having around 6 weeks ago about moving to somewhere new were for a reason! Three days ago martial law declared, but military was very adamant, "this is not a coup!". Then today comes, and it's, "yep, this is actually a coup! we're in control now, thank you!"

What a place. 10pm curfew country-wide, and they also cut the TV & radio country-wide as well. Nobody in the entire country has TV anymore, except for broadcasts from the army. I don't mind not having TV, but if they cut my internet, that's going to suck. That would be a good way to start a revolution in the US though. Cut TV, radio and internet nation wide for a few days.

A lot of pissed off people out there, so let's hope the military keeps things under control until I get out of here.
 
Kiopa_Matt said:
Well, apparently those dreams I started having around 6 weeks ago about moving to somewhere new were for a reason! Three days ago martial law declared, but military was very adamant, "this is not a coup!". Then today comes, and it's, "yep, this is actually a coup! we're in control now, thank you!"

What a place. 10pm curfew country-wide, and they also cut the TV & radio country-wide as well. Nobody in the entire country has TV anymore, except for broadcasts from the army. I don't mind not having TV, but if they cut my internet, that's going to suck. That would be a good way to start a revolution in the US though. Cut TV, radio and internet nation wide for a few days.

A lot of pissed off people out there, so let's hope the military keeps things under control until I get out of here.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine has been living in Thailand for the last 15+ years. Even started a business there. Watching the events unfold via his facebook updates. I don't think he plans on leaving, but who knows.
 
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