Uruguay Dreaming Uruguay Dreaming Observations about life and customs in Uruguay - contains lots of tips for expats Articles
Timeout
2007-07-22 04:22:00 I would like to inform regular readers that I will be writing much less often from now on. The illness that kept me bound to the home has improved dramatically and I can now leave the house and face the world again. This means however that I will have less time to devote to the ... More About: Timeout
Atlántida
2007-07-17 02:33:00 Atlántida is a resort town 45 km east of Montevideo with pretty beaches, tall shady trees and a small and charming downtown. In the early half of last century, it was the destination of the jet set, not unlike Punta is today. Nowadays however, it is just one more of many popular summer ... More About: Nature , Places
Ship or Carry?
2007-07-11 17:18:00 Sooner or later, anyone considering life abroad needs to tackle the question: do I ship my stuff of do I bring all-I-can-fit in my suitcases? In a previous article, I mentioned that my wife and I had recently been converted into the shipping group. However, when I reread the article today, it occurred to me ... More About: Transportation , Immigration , Ship , Carry
The Appliance Dilemma
2007-07-07 22:03:00 As most of you may already know, we are planning to move to Uruguay in the next couple of years. For some time now, the subject of whether to ship our household goods or have a large bonfire keeps coming up between my wife and me. My wife was more inclined to the bonfire approach ... More About: Transportation , Immigration , Dilemma , Emma , The A
Uruguay as a Retirement Destination
2007-07-04 22:18:00 A reader asked me to compare retirement incentives offered by the Uruguay an government versus incentives offered by other countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras etc. Since I don’t know much about those countries, I decided instead to write more generally about the advantages and disadvantages of Uruguay as destination for retirees. ... More About: Retirement , Real Estate , Immigration , Cost of living
Can You Take the Heat?
2007-07-02 01:00:00 The subject of heating has already been covered very competently by several expat bloggers living in Montevideo; see here, here and here for example. So why do I feel the urge to write about this subject again? Because despite all the information available, I think many North Americans and Northern Europeans will still assume that ... More About: Weather , Real Estate , Heat , Cost of living
Uruguay Dreaming Update
2007-06-28 16:33:00 Three months ago, I wrote a Note to My Readers to offer some behind-the-scenes statistics about the site and its readers. Since the profile of readers has changed somewhat over the past three months, I thought it might be a good idea to provide you with an update. First, I would like to thank you ... More About: Uruguay , Update , Dreaming , Ming
Usufruct and Inheritance
2007-06-25 16:36:00 In an earlier article, I discussed the inheritance problems that could arise if you own properties in Uruguay and you or your spouse were to die. I wrote that there were no good alternatives to the problem and that therefore it might represent a significant financial risk for some couples. After talking to a few friends, ... More About: Culture , Taxes , Inheritance
Tipping
2007-06-22 16:33:00 If you are coming from the US where tipping has gotten completely out of hand, you will be glad to know that tipping inflation has not yet arrived in Uruguay. When I arrived in the US in the early eighties, tipping was beginning its upward creep from 10%. In a few short years it grew to ... More About: Culture , Food and Drink , Ping , Tipp
Things I Find Puzzling About Uruguay
2007-06-19 16:13:00 In a previous article I discussed the ten things I love about Montevideo. And, taking the lead from Gabo, I had thought it would be logical to follow with my list of ten things I hate about Uruguay . But there?s nothing I really hate about Uruguay. Besides, I think it would be impolite ... More About: Economy , Culture , Find , Things
Tax Implications of Life Abroad
2007-06-16 17:09:00 The US is one of the few countries that taxes its citizens based on their world income. This means that you need to file a tax return whether you live in the US or not. There is some debate as to whether this policy should be revised, however it is not likely to change soon. ... More About: Life , Taxes , Cost of living , Implications , Broad
Wind and Rain
2007-06-13 21:54:00 In order to discuss weather in Uruguay, I am hitching a ride on a warning issued today of a possible cyclone forming on the coast of Uruguay. First the news: according to a Brazilian weather company, it is possible that a cyclone is forming in the South Atlantic near the coast of Uruguay. Hurricane ... More About: Weather , Wind , Rain
Car and Driving Glossary
2007-06-11 15:29:00 I had been planning to write about the requirements for driving and for obtaining a driver’s license in Uruguay. In the process of doing that research, I realized that it would be useful to have a glossary of the most common terms related to cars, driving and traffic. With that in mind, I searched through ... More About: Driving , Vocabulary , Glossary , Gloss , Ving
Uruguayan Immigration Update
2007-06-08 07:15:00 This week JP from OutInUruguay took the initiative to go to the Immigration Office (DNM) in Montevideo and get whatever information he could. He was kind enough to send me scans of the material he obtained. Of particular interest to expats are four sheets of paper listing the requirements for the permanent residency application process. ... More About: Update
Ten Things I Love About Montevideo
2007-06-05 14:33:00 I read another blogger?s post about the 10 things he loves and another one about the 10 things he hates about living in Uruguay and it inspired me. Since life in the interior is quite different from life in the capital, I thought it would be best to separate the two. So I?ll save ... More About: Love , Places , Montevideo , Things , Thing
Has Punta Peaked?
2007-06-02 20:14:00 Could the region around Punt a del Este be heading into a real estate decline? There are many indicators that seem to suggest this may be the case. Over-development, costly infrastructure and crime increase may be working together to change the economics of property ownership in Punta. Punta rose to fame as a crime free, first ... More About: Economy , Real Estate , Places , Peak
Travelling to Brazil
2007-05-30 17:53:00 If you move to Uruguay, sooner or later you will be tempted to travel to the big neighbors, Argentina and Brazil . If you come from Europe and North America, you?ll find going to Argentina easy and convenient. After all, Argentina is close and you won’t need a visa to enter as a tourist. ... More About: Travelling , Immigration , Razi
Bribery
2007-05-27 16:56:00 Uruguay is known as one of the least corrupt countries in Latin America, after Chile. This does not mean however that corruption does not exist there. In my travels in Uruguay, I?ve seen a number of instances of both solicitation and offers of bribes, most often in the context of highway patrols or border ... More About: Culture , Crime , Bribery , Ribery
Asset Tax
2007-05-24 18:49:00 Many people that are now considering moving to Uruguay may not realize that they will be subject to a tax based on the total value of their Uruguayan assets. Since this type of tax exists in relatively few countries, most future expats will likely forget to take it into consideration. Even so the ... More About: Economy , Real Estate , Cost of living , Asset
Desperately Seeking Uruguay
2007-05-18 15:14:00 Have you noticed how hard it is to find information about Uruguay using search engines? It?s maddening! It has been said that searching for a piece of information contained somewhere in a US site is like trying to drink from a fire hose. If that?s the case, searching for information in Uruguayan sites ... More About: King , Seeking , Seek , Rate
For The Birds
2007-05-15 14:57:00 I must admit that until recently flora or fauna had never been high on my list of interests when traveling. Actually I used to think bird watching was a peculiar and strange hobby, like listening to opera without subtitles. I think it may be an age thing, but I discovered I no longer find ... More About: Nature , Birds , Bird
FAQ
2007-05-12 16:50:00 Since I started this blog, many readers have written me personal notes on a variety of subjects. Many of these notes contained personal questions about this mysterious Brazzie character. As you may have noticed, I have tried to keep the focus of this blog away from my person so as not to get ...
Moving Up
2007-05-10 21:46:00 If you walk around Montevideo in areas with a lot of tall residential buildings, it is not uncommon to see furniture being hoisted from the outside with ropes. Last December while we were in Pocitos, we witnessed this curious event not once, but twice. At first, I thought it was just an odd ... More About: Services , Moving , Ving
Uruguayan Spanish
2007-05-05 22:37:00 Uruguay is one of those countries where you?ll need to know Span ish to function and it will make your experience there much richer. Relatively few of the people you?ll interact with on a daily basis will know enough English to help you out. The good news is that if you learned Spanish in ... More About: Vocabulary , Nish
First Cedula
2007-05-02 17:07:00 In a previous post, I discussed the steps required to apply for permanent residency in Uruguay and in this post I’ll cover what it takes to apply for a Uruguayan Nation ID (cédula de identidad). The cédula will be needed for many things in Uruguay, such as placing your children in public school, opening checking ... More About: Immigration , First
Applying for Permanent Residency
2007-04-30 04:10:00 In a previous post, I discussed the steps that need to be taken before leaving for Uruguay in order to apply for permanent residency. In this installment I will cover what needs to be done after the arrival in Uruguay. In the next installment, I will discuss how to apply for a national ... More About: Immigration , Residency , Lying , Side , Erma
Uruguayan Permanent Residency
2007-04-28 20:16:00 If you are considering residency in Uruguay and are frustrated by the lack of information available from the Uruguayan consulate, you are not alone. Most of the information on the web on this subject is vague, incomplete or contradictory. So it is not surprising that most Uruguayan expats recommend hiring an immigration consultant ... More About: Immigration , Residency , Side , Erma , Perm
Uruguayan Citizenship
2007-04-26 15:50:00 The rules covering the rights to Uruguayan citizenship are spelled out in the country?s constitution. In order to make this information more accessible to people who don’t know Spanish well enough to read legalese, I am posting my informal translation of the relevant articles below. Keep in mind that I simplified the wording. ... More About: Ship , Citizen
Radio
2007-04-25 01:06:00 Learning a new language is tough. What nobody told me was that once I learned it I would need to keep using it in order to maintain fluency. I grew up speaking Portuguese as my only language until I was twenty-five. In spite of that, in less than five years living abroad my ... More About: Radio , Culture , Adio
Family Matters
More articles from this author:2007-04-22 21:14:00 Uruguay is a family-oriented country where family bonds extend much wider and deeper than what is common in North America. Even though most families have few children (2.04 on average), the extended family includes distant cousins and is augmented by neighbors and childhood friends that are often treated essentially as members of the immediate ... More About: Family , Culture , Matter , Matt , Family Matters 1, 2, 3 |
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