Uruguay

[ScooterGuy]

Who has lived here recently. I hear tales of low living expenses, an educated population, a fairly stable political arena, stable currency, fairly-well internet wired and unlimited beaches (seasons reversed). Spanish language, but English widely spoken.

I've looked at the expat websites, but they were almost solely oriented toward selliong real estate there.

Any member memories or experiences?

[kcowan]

I investigated Uruguay when a poster mentioned they were going there to buy beachfront property north of Punta del Este for $100k. Living expenses about half what it costs in Toronto, stable government and currency (unlike neighbouring Argentina), modern infrastructure, good climate (3 weeks of fog in August), same latitude as Capetown, Sidney, and Santa Barbara (north).

Have a look here for more references:
UruguayLiving.com

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Try this forum:
Sociedad Southron • Index page

It was started by a US expat who is not in the real estate business and is populated by a number of ordinary folks who have moved there who are happy to be informative. Very instructive.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

BTW, Uruguay does have some attractions, but I wouldn't say it was paradise. It is on my list of places to visit when I get off the treadmill.

[Gworker]

I went there for work a few years ago. I only speak basic high school learned Spanish and managed to get by. I did find quite a few people who didn't speak English or wouldn't speak English. Most people were friendly enough, a few taxi drivers tried to rip us off. I thought it was OK there, I heard that non-violent crimes were kind of high, thefts, burglaries, etc.
The thing that was hard to get used to is that they eat dinner at restaurants at about 10:00pm so many restaurants don't open until 7:00pm or 8:00pm. The party crowd doesn't come out until midnight. One afternoon we were in downtown Montevideo and it was a party atmosphere, people drinking, hanging out, partying, then all of the sudden everything shut down and it was dead out, siesta time.