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Timeout

Posted on July 21, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments

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 blog.

Over the next few weeks I will reorganize the main page to better cater to new readers that discover this site every day.

Thank you,
Brazzie

Atlántida

Posted on July 16, 2007
Filed Under Places, Nature | 11 Comments

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 destinations for Uruguayan vacationers.

Atlántida has a year round population of 4,000 inhabitants but swells to many times that size in January and February. Since it less than an hour away from Montevideo, on weekends it receives bus loads of visitors from the capital and the surrounding areas. However, the balneario has a better infrastructure than might be expected from a small town: good restaurants, bars, several large supermarkets, small shops, cyber houses, telephone company, cable company, bus station, schools, policlinicas, etc. Read more

Ship or Carry?

Posted on July 11, 2007
Filed Under Transportation, Expat Tips, Immigration | 5 Comments

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 that I should have discussed the pros and the cons of shipping as well. Read more

The Appliance Dilemma

Posted on July 7, 2007
Filed Under Transportation, Expat Tips, Immigration | 18 Comments

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 (donation, really), while I have been more partial to the prune and ship approach.

After months of debate, we are now both firmly in the camp of bringing the stuff with us. And we have Urufish to thank for it. He helped settled the issue once and for all, by writing about the trans-hemisphere moving process and the costs associated with it. Read more

Uruguay as a Retirement Destination

Posted on July 4, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Cost of Living, Immigration | 11 Comments

A reader asked me to compare retirement incentives offered by the Uruguayan 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. Even though the incentives offered by the Uruguayan government to foreign retirees aren’t many, there are several other factors that may be just as important when comparing countries. Read more

Can You Take the Heat?

Posted on July 1, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Cost of Living, Weather | 9 Comments

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 because the Uruguayan winter is milder, there is nothing to worry about. And they may wrongly assume that all homes are heated and they will have the same comfort they are accustomed to back home. This would be a big mistake. Read more

Uruguay Dreaming Update

Posted on June 28, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized | 15 Comments

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 for taking the time to read my blog; and my special thanks to all of you that contribute to the blog on a regular basis in the form of comments. Read more

Usufruct and Inheritance

Posted on June 25, 2007
Filed Under Expat Tips, Culture, Taxes | 13 Comments

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, Urufish stumbled on a way to mitigate the problem. I did some research on the subject and here’s what I discovered. Please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer and what follows should be used only as a starting point for further exploration. Read more

Tipping

Posted on June 22, 2007
Filed Under Food and Drink, Expat Tips, Culture | 8 Comments

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 around 15% where it stayed for many years. Now 15% is the absolutely minimum allowable value, rounding up from there, often way up. People I know tip 20% on a regular basis and even more when in groups. Read more

Things I Find Puzzling About Uruguay

Posted on June 19, 2007
Filed Under Economy, Culture | 20 Comments

In a previous article I discussed the ten things I love about Montevideo. And, taking the lead from the Uruguayan blogger 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 hate about Uruguay. Besides, I think it would be impolite of me to make such a list about a country I want to make my home. So I decided instead to write about things I find puzzling about Uruguay. By puzzling I mean I don’t clearly understand the cause or how other countries have managed to overcome these issues. I am sure there are must be good explanations for these things, so feel free to write in to share your insight. Read more

Tax Implications of Life Abroad

Posted on June 16, 2007
Filed Under Cost of Living, Expat Tips, Taxes | 10 Comments

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. Countries wishing to attract foreign nationals, like Uruguay, usually only tax income earned in the country. Others like Brazil, tax on world income, but only if you are a resident for more than 6 months of the year. Read more

Wind and Rain

Posted on June 13, 2007
Filed Under Weather | 6 Comments

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 force winds are possible on Friday. See the announcement here (scroll down to see the maps). The Uruguayan authorities are understandably cautious about making a big thing about this, because this type of thing is new to Uruguay. Read more

Car and Driving Glossary

Posted on June 11, 2007
Filed Under Vocabulary | 11 Comments

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 a number of Uruguayan sites and collected terms I thought might be relevant. It turns out that most of these are common to many Spanish speaking countries, but others are specific to Uruguay and Argentina. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but I will augment it over time as I come across other related words. Read more

Uruguayan Immigration Update

Posted on June 8, 2007
Filed Under Immigration | 13 Comments

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. I translated these requirements and they can be found here.

It is important to note that this new information does not contradict what has been reported here and elsewhere about the process, but it does include new information. And it contains better instructions regarding the Certificate of Good Conduct for individuals from countries other than the US. Read more

Ten Things I Love About Montevideo

Posted on June 5, 2007
Filed Under Montevideo, Places | 10 Comments

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 what I like about Uruguay for another post. Also since there’s nothing I really hate about Uruguay, I’ll write instead about the things that I find puzzling. Without much further ado, here are the ten things I like most about Montevideo. Read more

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