Arg / UY

I have mixed views on MVD after being there.

MVD is the only spot I would consider moving to in UY. But that's just me -- I'm more comfortable in urban settings than in smaller centers or isolated on my own place in the country. You might be fine in smaller spots, I can't say, of course. Note that MVD is a city of 1.3 million -- a touch bigger than the Canadian city I live in -- but still after 2 full weeks in town I was bored & discontent and decided it's probably not a spot I'd like to move to such a looooong way from home..

Part of if is I would likely retire younger (40's) than your typical expat (especially the ones in the Southron forum I list above). I don't know -- if things work out that I won't be able to retire until age 55+ for whatever reason, a quieter city like MVD might look OK at that time.

As for now, BsAs across the river looks a lot more appealing on several frontiers. Lots more to do.

I have a good friend -- fellow Cdn expat -- who retired ~ age 48 in Montevideo with his Porteña wife. They got tired of the general slowness of the city, sold their condo, packed up & moved to BsAs. He's only been there 2-3 mos so far, but he's liking it a lot better.

A lot of what you point about about UY & MVD is true.

It's probably the most stable country in South America to move to. Locals joke around that "nothing ever happens in boring Uruguay" (positives & negatives to that, as I note above).

As a Canadian, the weather in UY doesn't get as cold as up here, of course, but beware MVD can be a cold, windy, damp city in their winter. I seen a bit of this when I was down in Sept 2007. If their homes were as well insulated as Cdn ones, it would be easy to weather out the cooler temps. But as I seen in the hostel where I stayed, there were a few days it was warmer to be outside than it was to be inside! A prospective house/apt buyer needs to make sure you have heating coming up from underneath the floor or you might be in for some intolerably cool winter days..

Favorable tax laws? I'm not 100% sure on that. I asked one immigration specialist on the Southron forum if I had a biz going and I dealt with only with US/Cdn clients (no internal biz in UY) if I had to pay taxes. He indicated I would. That kind of cooled me to UY at that time & I looked to other countries from that point on. I actually went to Panama after this but really didn't like the country (even though the ease to do business down there absolutely rocks). I later learned from a few sources that Mr. Immigration Specialist was wrong. Maybe he misunderstood something in my questions, I don't know. But at that point, I had grew less interested in UY at the time, so it wasn't a huge deal..

Less legal hassles for foreigners -- yes & no. Seems if you are prepared and are willing to use a knowledgeable immigration specialist, sure you can breeze through things. Lots of bureaucracy & red tape in the country, though. My Cdn expat buddy has an interesting story about the need to return his UY bank cards when he was moving away. He & his wife waited 2 hours or so to talk to a teller. When they returned their cards, the clerk had some BS story about how she couldn't take & shred them because she didn't have the "official scissors" My friend calls this his "death knell moment" for UY.

Good base for travel elsewhere in S Am -- Well, you're in S Am, but it really is a long ways south. To go to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia -- it's a good 8-10 hrs away. Plus usually expensive to boot.

Food. Entirely subjective. Meat, meat & more meat. If that's your thing, both Arg & UY would be fine for you. Both countries are not too big on spices also. I find the food relatively bland. I really don't consider myself all that fussy either. I was so sick of "jamon y queso" (ham & cheese) when I came back from UY, I didn't want to look at it for a month..

Anyhow, that's quite a bit.

A good EBook I bought on UY is this one: www.lulu.com/content/579686

$30 and a lot of accurate info. Really, a must read if you're considering the country. Or if you don't want to spend the $30, that Southron forum is pretty good too. Lots of friendly, helpful folks there.

That's my personal take on UY & MVD. But as mentioned, one should really see a place with their own two eyes to see if it's a spot where they could really see themselves realistically living.

Any more questions, fire away.

Thanks for your post. I'm familiar with Southron's writing.

Maybe people are disappointed by Uruguay because they expect it to be Brazil - warm winters and a party every night.

You say there is "nothing to do". I assume you mean there is a lack of tourist attractions, and the nightlife is not varied enough.

Personally, I'm not a particularly social person. If I moved there I'd pass the time learning guitar, taking Spanish and dance lessons, learning Judo, and writing. I'd probably take up golf so I could meet the local middle class. And sailing. As long as there are some local concerts to go to on the weekend that's enough for me.

I'd probably spend the winter in Brazil.

I do all my own cooking, which revolves around huge amounts of red meat, so the way the local restaurants prepare it isn't a big deal, I'd just do it the way I like it, I am more concerned about the quality of the ingredients.

In short, I would expect to amuse myself through hobbies. Obviously if you were there for two weeks, you would not be doing these things, and I can understand there are not really any "must see" destinations in Montevideo. It does look pretty quiet. I would see it as a place to live a "regular life" of quiet pleasures, pursuing the same sort of hobbies you would pursue in a Western country. It certainly isn't an exotic party destination. You'd have to travel to Brazil or BA to get your party fix.

If you want "exotic", maybe Costa Rica or Panama would be better, with trips to the Dominican Republic and Columbia for extra flavour.

I hear the girls are almost as pretty as in Argentina, but friendlier. Any impressions there?

(From what I read there is a lot of emmigration by educated working age men seeking opportunities abroad, so there is a perceived shortage of "good men", hence the friendly attitude)

Funny you ask. In the Southron forum there is a 'Post-Tip Impressions" section. I gave a list of my impressions when I got back home. All were practically ignored except when I wrote that I found most of the women were fat. Truth be known, I expected some controversy over that statement. Somehow I expected flak from the women, but it turned out to be the expat guys who jumped on my head.

I should mention I got that impression out & around in the lower-middle class barrio I stayed in, Palermo, and nearby.

Of course I did see some gorgeous ones. I remember sitting on a bench in Plaza Independencia one weekday afternoon taking a break. This 25-30 yo '8' or '9' walked by in a shapely, semi-tight dress. She seen me looking and immediately flashed this great big smile. It was just a smile from a pretty stranger, but it brightened up my afternoon! Compare that to back home where it would have been a derisive "What you & me? Hah!" or a "Whatcha looking at, pig!" look if they caught you looking.

Another experience. I was with my Cdn expat buddy in Diablo's restaurant having a few beer (Side note: If you do make it to MVD, a lot of people say this restaurant has the best empanadas in town, so it'd be worth checking out). Anyhow, a group of college/university age women walk in. They've all got flowing, shoulder-length black hair and although they're not supermodels, they're still attractive as young women in their prime. They take their seat. I have a few beers in me, so of course I'm glancing over on occasion. Their body language becomes even more closed and defensive. At one point, I get up to go to the washroom. A couple of them look at me with snotty, derisive looks. I comment to my friend that the young women here are just like back home.

I stayed in a hostel when I was in MVD. Interacting with the people at the hostel -- workers & travelers (most travelers from not too far away). Same thing really -- mixed bag. It wasn't trying to pick up the women there, but most were as attitudinal & vain as back home. There was one of the women working there who seemed kind of flirty, but I dismissed that when I seen her walking in the barrio one day with a boyfriend.

As far as I'm concerned, UY is no better than the US/Canada. And then (unless one is fluent in Spanish) there is the whole language barrier.

I never went to any nightclubs or anything like that when I was in MVD. Not into it really.

I did ask in the Southron forum years ago (before going) if the local women are interested in expat men. One of the prominent posters (richer, well-traveled UY gal) mocked that. If I remember correctly, she said something along the lines of in most of the countries she's been to, most of the local gals would give an arm to be with a 'rich gringo'. Another one piped up that there are lots of divorced or abandoned women in their 30's with a kid or 2 in tow. I didn't say so on the forum, but that doesn't particularly enthuse me..

So I don't know if any this helps at all. Might seem a little 'rambly' and double-minded. In the end, it's just one guy's experiences anyhow..


I'm not particularly social either. Wherever I choose to go when I can expat out, I will primarily keep to myself and my hobbies/interests as well.

I never posted this on the DGM board, but truthfully I question if I'd even want to bother getting together/living with a woman (yikes, even marrying?) wherever I wind up.

I've got along this far just fine. I might just choose to keep living a simple, quiet, problem-free life without women..

Hello fschmidt,

We've actually chatted about this on DGM2 and other forums (Winston Wu, Southron UY forum), but no big deal if you don't remember.

So far I've just been to BA in Argentina. When I was down before, I had read tons of material pitching Uruguay as a quiet spot to retire to, so I was more interested in spending time there. That's exactly what I did. The 3 weeks I had off, I spent a bit more than 2 weeks in Uruguay.

But I know from your other writings on the Internet that Uruguay didn't turn your crank. It didn't for me either. Too quiet.

I'm spending the entire month of November this year in BA. But I'll probably travel with my Canadian expat bud to Mar del Plata. I'm considering going to Cordoba on my own for a few days too. Other than that, I may do some day trips just on the periphery of BA (eg. Tigre), but by and large I plan to just hang out mostly in BA.

Here's a good forum for all things BA:

baexpats.org

Even if you're interested in elsewhere in Argentina, there are knowledgeable people that I'm sure could answer questions about those other spots.

Cheers