Uruguay, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Many Americans (and Europeans) come to Uruguay with expectations of cheap real estate, easy residency, nice climate, inexpensive living, friendly English speaking people, private and protected banking and so on.  The good news is that the people are friendly and many speak English.

Expectations are dangerous things.  Most of the expats we have talked to have really tried to do their homework before coming all the way to Uruguay (this includes us).  Many of these people are frustrated, disgusted and are ready to relocate elsewhere.  Unfortunately, the information available about retiring or living in Uruguay comes from people that wish to sell you their services or products.

We were attracted to Uruguay for many of these same reasons.  A cosmopolitan yet inexpensive lifestyle with no visa worries sounded like a wonderful place to spend the months from November through April.  So we came here to see and this is what we have found.

·         Apartment rentals can be very expensive during the Uruguayan high season which runs December through March.  In addition, availability is severely reduced by January.  Run down forty square meter apartments in Montevideo or Colonia run between $1,100 and $1,500 per month before the cost of utilities.  Punta del Este or Piriapolous will cost significantly more.

·         You can reduce your rental cost by executing a longer term lease but expect to be asked for a deposit equal to five or six months rental.  You can reduce this deposit amount by paying the entire cost of the lease up front. 

·         There will be an immobliario (rental agent) involved and you will pay them a commission equal to 10% of the lease or one month’s rental whichever is less.

·         It is best if you can find qualified assistance for the residency process although we understand it can be done by yourself.  We have listened to story after story about law firms here in Uruguay taking thousands of dollars from people for results that are never achieved.  The process, done right, by honest people who know what they’re doing is quick, painless and inexpensive although we have been informed that the process has changed significantly with the recent change in government.

·         Bringing hard goods, vehicles, furniture or appliances into Uruguay before obtaining residency (possibly after as well) can be problematic and very expensive.  Our friends were told it would cost $300 in fees (not counting transport or insurance) to bring their vehicle into Uruguay.  One month after their vehicle arrived in port and $3,000 later they have sprung their vehicle from the customs authorities.

·         Prices for food are similar to that in the United States but more than in southern Europe.  Beer and wine costs more; a liter of the local beer costs $3 plus a $.60 bottle deposit in the grocery store as compared to $1 in Spain.

·         Restaurants are not cheap.  Beef prices appear cheaper than in the US but it can be deceptive.  Uruguayans do not age their beef similarly and the cuts are very different so it is difficult to compare.  An average meal “menu del dia” for two will cost $25 to $40 (compared to $12 to $15 in southern Spain).  If you both have a steak and share a bottle of wine you will pay $65 to $80 or more.

·         The cost of consumer goods; clothing, appliances, furniture, etc. is very high and quality is very, very low.  This is due partly to the fact that there is very little or no manufacturing in Uruguay and these items must be imported.

·         We’ve been here for December through February and the climate has been simply divine.  Daytime highs in Montevideo generally don’t exceed 27 or 28 degrees Celsius and gentle breezes blow most days.  There are occasional hot and humid days without breezes but for the most part, summer here feels like spring to us.  Because of this we expect that the winters might be fairly cold although probably mitigated by the river and the ocean.

·         There is a lively and friendly expat community in Montevideo.  There are several different groups that typically meet in the evenings or on weekends so you can get plugged in fairly quickly.

·         The buses run constantly during the day and getting around the city is relatively cheap and easy once you figure out the routes.  The bus station, Tres Cruces, is the primary place to catch buses traveling to other cities.

·         Service is an interesting thing in Uruguay.  Wait staff do exactly that; they wait until summoned.  There is also the amusing overemployment issue where there is one person for each job and that is all they do.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in a fast food joint.  The cashier takes your order and makes change.  Another person looks at the ticket and gets your sandwich.  Yet another person obtains your french fries while yet another makes your drink.  While this may not sound so bad be advised that no action is taken on any ticket until the previous ticket has been fulfilled.

There’s much more of course.  We chose to live in Ciudad Vieja which is the old part of Montevideo and very near the port.  The streets are noisy nearly all night but the shops and other businesses close up and pull down their steel shutters by 8 pm on weekdays and earlier on the weekends.  This has the effect of making Ciudad Vieja appear to be a deserted ghetto which it is most definitely not.  We have had several people tell us (but not by anybody who has lived here for any length of time) that Ciudad Vieja is a dangerous place to live.  You wouldn’t want to be walking around alone at 3 o’clock in the morning but that would be true about most other parts of the city and in fact, most other cities.

The language is definitely different.  We are intermediate Spanish speakers and learned our Spanish in Andalucia.  Being relatively new to the language it has taken us some time to adapt to the idioma here in Uruguay.  They have trouble with our soft” c’s” and “z’s” and we struggle to hear a “y” or “ll” pronounced “sh”.  The formal “usted, ustedes” verb forms are utilized (not common in Spain) and word usage varies dramatically as well. 

Interestingly for us, many Uruguayans will answer or speak to us in English when we speak Spanish to them.  At first we thought that our Spanish was so difficult to understand that people were encouraging us to switch the conversation to English.  Later we find that this is normal and is a way for them to practice their English while we practice our Spanish although we have been told that Castellano spoken with a strong American accent is indeed difficult for most Uruguayans.  Apparently nobody needs to practice listening in their second language.

Living in the cities of Uruguay is neither cheap nor expensive.  The people are friendly and the climate benign if not absolutely divine during the summer months.  You can choose to live in a good sized city, an expensive tourist resort area, a small town or a tiny rural village.  Public transportation is good and reliable.  There are ways to avoid both problems and significant expenses once you know your way around and have connected to a few quality people.

Our advice:  Visit Uruguay once or twice before considering a commitment to living here.  Perhaps a visit in the summer and another during the winter months and stay at least a month each time.  Make connections with other expats and explore different parts of Montevideo and different parts of Uruguay.  Once you are comfortable that this is where you want to be then make a well planned, properly assisted move and avoid the costs and headaches others have experienced.  Most of all do this with your eyes wide open.

Gallagher's, Montevideo

On our fourth visit to a pub with an Irish name and a green lettered sign with shamrocks we found an establishment that tried to be an Irish pub.  Gallagher’s, located in the lovely Pocitios barrio of Montevideo has an impressively Irish looking façade and outdoor seating on a wood deck facing a quiet little street.

Upon entering we were impressed with the wood paneling, the lighting and large bar.  There are comfortable booths along one wall and a semi-private dining room on the second floor.  Music was playing at a comfortable level that didn’t interfere with conversation.  The menus were large but difficult to read in the subdued lighting due to the small, fancy print and because the drinks menu was black.  Because the bar was properly lit and comfortably furnished we give Gallagher’s two points for ambience.

The beer taps had no names on them but there appeared to be a large selection.  The friendly bartender only spoke Spanish, which, while disappointing, gave us a chance to practice.  It turned out that the bar had only been open for four months and was just now gaining a reputation and a following.  He explained that it was difficult, if not impossible to obtain Irish beer and ale in Uruguay and the need for a new bar to work closely with their distributor which means basically, that you serve what they offer.  For Gallagher’s that meant a selection of brews that were little different than that served all over Montevideo.  This pub receives one point for the bartender even though he was not Irish because of his friendliness.

What was a little different were two things: they had a selection of beers on tap “tapidas” known only by their color (rubia, roja, negro, etc.) and a selection of expensive English bottled beer called “Fullers”.  Some of these were priced at $50 for half a liter!  No Irish beer, ale or cider was to be found and worse, no Guinness.  No points can be given for the taps and the food menu was also typically Uruguayan but did feature a roast beef sandwich and fish and chips.

We ordered red ale and decided to split an order of fish and chips.  Both were disappointing as the ale was rather weak and the fish was tasteless at best.  We couldn’t fault the cheerful and responsive service however and give the pub one point for this service and for the attempt at fish and chips.  The bar is popular among the locals however, and by the time we left was quickly filling up.  Because we really like the music selection and because the volume was always at a comfortable level, we choose to award one point for entertainment.

Overall, though we were disappointed at Gallagher’s lack of “Irishness” we were happy with our comfortable experience and would certainly not hesitate to return with our Uruguayans friends although we might not chance the kitchen again. 

We award five total points to Gallagher’s.

Ambience                                            2

Bartender                                            1

Taps                                                    0

Food/Kitchen                                      1

Entertainment                                       1

This puts Gallagher’s into a tie for fourth place for the moment.

Hannigan’s                                          Granada, Spain                       13

O’Reilley’s                                          Lanzarote, Canary Islands       9

Devil’s Forest Pub                              Venice, Italy                            7

International Brewery Bringas            Madrid, Spain                           5

Gallagher’s                                          Montevideo, Uruguay             5

The Tower                                           Moraira, Spain                       5

Ciudad Vieja, the "old city" in Montevideo.

We chose to stay in barrio of Ciudad Vieja (old city) in Montevideo because that’s what we do.  Our experience has been that the history and the culture of a city we haven’t been to before can be found primarily in the oldest neighborhoods.  Ciudad Vieja turned out to have a flavor all its own.

After living for three months in Ciudad Vieja we definitely have mixed feelings about this particular barrio.  There are things we really like about it and things we really don’t care for.  That is the nature of Ciudad Vieja.

At first glance, Ciudad Vieja is ugly with graffiti sprayed on the walls of the grey cement buildings and steel shutters over all the doors and windows.  Rambunctious youths talk loudly with their friends in groups around closed doorways.  Dogs wander where they like doing their business anywhere.  In the evenings most of the streets are almost completely deserted, adding to the eerie feeling you get if you first arrive after dark.

The light of day reveals another Ciudad Vieja.  Graffiti disappears as the shops roll up their shutters and open for business.  Souvenir vendors display their wares along the pedestrian only areas of Calle Sarandi and police are at every intersection.  People of the barrio go about their business carrying bags containing their morning bread, fruit and vegetable purchases. 

Ciudad Vieja has approximately 16,000 full time residents but over 100,000 workers regularly flow into this part of Montevideo on business days.  On most days there will be one or two large cruise ships in the port which adds several thousand more people to the streets.  For a while, Ciudad Vieja is crowded, noisy and vibrant.

Like any modern city that experiences the wonders of hosting tourists, there is quite a bit of petty crime.  From our apartment window we have seen two men arrested for fighting, another chased down and arrested for reasons we know not, and a local man arrested when the police were trying to walk away from him but he could not shut his mouth.  By far the most common crime is purse snatching by juvenile delinquents.

While not criminal, there are two things we have found extremely irritating about Ciudad Vieja.  The first is the number and methods of the beggars.  Hardly a child in this part of the city can bear to see a person pass without asking for money.  These are kids who are wearing nice, clean clothes with new shoes playing outside of the buildings they live in with their parents.  Please bear in mind that we have lived here for three months and I know some of these kid’s names.  At first we would ask them “why” or “for what” and the first answer was inevitably “to buy something” and when we shook our heads the answer changed to “to eat” or “for food”.  Don’t you just have pity for these kids?  Not.

The second irritating thing just grosses us out.  We have seen this happen in Pocitos and Punta Carretas (two very nice parts of Montevideo) but it is a constant in Ciudad Vieja.  The dumpster divers.  There is nothing like sitting in a café trying to eat your wonderful and expensive chivito while facing a man eating out of a dumpster.  This is an endemic problem in Ciudad Vieja and dumpsters are rummaged through several times a day.  A regular dumpster diver (not an eater) will generally have a backpack and might be riding a bicycle.  In some ways, these regular dumpster divers are worse because they tear open garbage bags, looking for whatever they’re looking for and generally strew garbage about for the wind to blow around the streets.  We absolutely hate it. 

We stayed on the corner of Calle Perez Castellano and Calle Sarandi which is right on the edge of the tourist area.  Police stationed in the small plaza in front of our building regularly direct tourists in one of two directions (the other two directions being relatively undesirable).  Following either of the two “undesirable” directions will take you to the river and the “Rambla” which is a beautiful, wide, well paved walkway that runs for miles along the river in Montevideo.

From our apartment a walk up the Calle Sarandi will take you past several cafes and pastry shops (pastelerias) and ultimately to Plaza Constitucion (old name Plaza Matriz) which has a nice tree lined park, some fast food restaurants and two or three nice but expensive cafes.  Occasionally there will be a musical performance and there are always artists and other vendors displaying their wares.

A walk down Calle Perez Castellano toward the Mercado del Puerto has a little different flavor.  As you walk you will pass solid building with wonderful wooden doorways of many shapes and sizes.  The locals pass a good amount of their summer evenings sitting outside their residences and will respond with a cheery “buenos tardes” to your greeting.  Further down you pass a pizzeria, a butcher, a wonderful sweet shop, a grocery store and several produce stores along with a variety of other shops, markets, cafes and bars.

At the bottom of Calle Perez Castellano you will find the Mercado del Puerto which has the reputation of being the most dangerous place in Montevideo.  This is true if you are an obvious tourist, wearing a lot of jewelry and loosely carrying a purse.  This can also be true for you men if you are loosely carrying a camera (with or without case) or if you regularly keep your wallet in your back pocket while passing through crowded areas.  If you don’t insist on being a mark, Mercado del Puerto has several very nice but expensive restaurants to enjoy. 

We spent several nights a week with our friends Carlos, Selenia and Julio at El Peregrino where the parilla (barbeque) and the atmosphere are terrific.  We also particularly enjoyed the ravioli at Bebieca which is right around the corner from El Peregrino but all of the restaurants in this area have good food and are friendly.  Beware, the serving sizes can be huge in Uruguay and the parilla for two in any restaurant in Mercado del Puerto may well feed four of you.

From a practical standpoint, Ciudad Vieja is close to the port which means there is easy access to the ferries and the cruise ships.  Buses run regularly to other parts of the city most of which are within 20 to 30 minutes depending upon traffic.  It is far, perhaps a 45 minute taxi or one hour bus ride to the airport.  The main bus station, Tres Cruces, where you can catch a bus to just about anywhere in the country, is a 15 minute bus ride.  Getting around isn’t a problem.

Ciudad Vieja is also close to many of the famous Uruguayan Carnaval celebrations with the Tablados in the Mercado del Puerto open Thursdays through Saturdays, Murgas being performed every night for almost two months on the beaches in nearby Palermo and the Llamadas beginning in Barrio del Sur (an adjoining barrio or neighborhood).  Everybody simply goes to the beach for the actual holiday of Carnival.

All in all, an interesting experience.  You can stay in Ciudad Vieja with a little less spice if you rent a place near to or above Calle Zabala.  We’ve both enjoyed and hated our experience here and for us, three months has been quite enough.  We don’t need to do this again, but we’re glad we did it.  Go figure.

Punta del Este - The Malibu Beach of Uruguay

After living in Uruguay for 11 weeks we finally got on a bus for the two and a half hour bus ride east to Punta del Este.  It was February and still in the middle of the high season in Uruguay which meant that there were very few hotel rooms available and those that were available were very expensive.  

After a bit of a hunt, we finally managed to find a nice, reasonably priced room at the Hotel Milano a couple of streets from the beach.

Punta del Este is located on a small peninsula that happens to separate the River Plata from the Atlantic Ocean.  The town is large enough to be an alternative to the big city life of Montevideo for Uruguayans and expats alike. 

From Punta del Este one can travel north and east up the Atlantic coast and visit a number of scenic, small beach villages some only accessible by four wheel drive vehicles with large, fat tires.  It is in some of these little villages where the most bohemian lifestyle in Uruguay and quite possibly in South American can be found for those so inclined.  We did not have time to explore these areas around Rocha and further north on this trip.

It rained during our entire bus ride to Punta del Este and when we arrived it was just starting to clear.  Once again the bus system in Uruguay was inexpensive (about $10), comfortable and on time.  We checked into our hotel and set off to explore this beautiful beach town.  After walking for about an hour we realized we were hungry and began looking for a restaurant for lunch.  There were many options to choose from including coffee bars, fast food restaurants, sandwhich and pizza shops and, of course, several traditional Uruguayan parillas and chivito establishments.

The sun came out while we were enjoying our lunch so we decided to continue wandering the town.  Unfortunately, the ever changing Uruguayan weather didn’t cooperate as a storm front moved past the town bringing 70 mph winds with it.  We felt as though we were being sandblasted as we attempted to take photos of Punta del Este’s famous sculpture La Mano set in the sands of the town’s beautiful Brava Beach.

Driven by the wind back to our hotel we settled in for a couple of drinks on the protected verandah and waited for the storm to pass us by.  Later we joined two friends for dinner at the lovely Virazon Restaurant located on the river walk that runs past the yacht club where we enjoyed terrific fish dishes and fresh salads.  Dinner for four with a decent bottle of wine cost about $130 which is very reasonable in Uruguay.

We only had two days in Punta del Este which for us, was probably enough.  Although the town reminded us of some of the towns along the Costa Blanca north of Alicante in Spain with twenty story apartment buildings standing along the beachfront next to entire neighborhoods of private homes the prices are significantly higher.

  A Menu del Dia for one person normally runs $25 or more compared to the 8 to 10 euro range in Spain.  Restaurants, coffee bars and shops are abundant and we saw quite a number of North Americans and Europeans crowding the streets along with the always friendly and helpful locals.  Punta del Este is a beautiful place to visit but no place to live frugally.

Never as easy as you think it will be.

At this point there was only one more major decision to make.  Where would we stay for the remainder of our time in Uruguay?  We had visited the sleepy town of Colonia and found nothing rentable for a reasonable price.  We had looked in various Montevideo neighborhoods and weren’t impressed by anything we were shown for the price.  Needless to say, we were becoming a little irritated.

A one bedroom apartment in Montevideo, during January and February will cost around $1,500 per month minimum.  For this price you will have a locking entrance door and a slow elevator but your toilet seat might be broken.  You can do better if you are willing to accept a more colorful neighborhood.  This was not frugal living!

Further, our expat friends were all complaining about the recent changes to the residency and citizenship requirements.  Some even had legal problems with neighbors and had found that being a property owner did not come with the same rights as an Uruguayan property owner enjoyed.  In addition, a couple of law firms that had promoted themselves as experts in residency, citizenship, importation, and real estate were, well, frauds is the best way to say it.

We were starting to feel stuck at the bottom of the world in a place that absolutely did not resemble what we had read in magazines such as International Living or Retire and Live Abroad.  Ah well; that’s why we were here to put our “feet on the ground” so to speak.

Realistically, we were already in a very nice apartment, in an admittedly colorful neighborhood and were only paying $800 per month all inclusive.  Rather than double our costs for an apartment in marginal condition in an only slightly better neighborhood we decided to ask our imobliaria if our landlady would be interested in extending us for a couple of months.  She was, and we took it.

Next up; starting our long overdue blog.  We had a couple of other things to accomplish as well.  Uruguay quickly became about working on our Spanish, exploring Montevideo, spending time with our fun, interesting and quirky expat friends and writing about our experiences.  Finally, we had to arrange our time back in Spain.

We had developed a plan to surprise as many people as we could by our return to Granada and decided to enlist our good friends Allie and Andrew in the process.  Unfortunately for them, that meant that they would need to help us arrange a place to stay; in their apartment building.

What we thought would be a fairly simple thing became complicated.  The price was agreed on but the landlord wanted payment of a deposit, in advance, in cash.  Oh boy, here we go again!

We were in Uruguay with ready access to both Uruguayan pesos and US dollars.  Of course our US bank accounts were denominated in US dollars as well.  Spain does business in euros so cash is a very difficult thing to arrange from a distance.  We thought we had the answer because we had sent dollars from Spain to Uruguay through MoneyGram the previous fall.  In fact, we could tell Allie exactly where the location was and we efficiently made the arrangements by pulling dollars from an ATM, walking to the nearest MoneyGram office (a little hard to find) and paying the outrageous fees to send cash to Spain, to Allie, in euros.  Then we emailed the pickup code to her and, we thought, we were done.

There’s more to the story though.  Allie went to the MoneyGram location and they told her that 500 euros was more money than they were able to distribute and that she should try a local Albaycin bank.  Going to the bank, who advertised on their window that they worked with MoneyGram she was told that they did not, in fact, accept MoneyGram.  Finally, God bless her, she went to central Granada, found a location that would work with this amount of money, obtained it and delivered it to the landlord.  Wow!  Thanks so much Allie!

It was all coming together now and we were looking forward to seeing our daughter and our friends in Granada again soon.

Christmas and New Year's with an entirely different spirit.

The waiter at our favorite restaurant in the Puerto Mercado told us that we didn’t want to be in the plaza there after about 3 pm on Christmas Eve because there would be a lot of craziness.  Being adventurous types we arranged to meet our new friends Chris and Molly at the restaurant at 2 pm.

Christmas Eve dawned hot and humid.  It is rare in Montevideo that there is little or no breeze but when there isn’t it becomes stifling in a hurry.  Walking up the street in the morning to do a little marketing and perhaps grab a café I was surprised by a bucketful of water tossed from the 6^th or 7^th story of an apartment building.  It soaked about half of me and I looked around in consternation.

On our way back to the apartment an hour later we were confronted by a girl about 6 years old with a bucket of water.  Shaking our heads at her we tried to get past but she soaked our backsides good saying “Feliz Navidad”.  It clicked for us then; this is some kind of tradition!

Back in the apartment we quickly changed into shorts and t-shirts that could get wet and emptied our pockets of everything we didn’t want wet (except our camera of course) and ventured back outside after arming ourselves with a plastic bottle of tap water.  We hadn’t traveled a block before being soaked by neighbors in the street and on their balconies and we gave the kids as good as we got.  It was five hilarious blocks to our meeting in the restaurant.

We couldn’t have chosen better.  The restaurant had hired a large man to keep the party goers from dousing the customers so we were able to eat without further dousing but we did have a front row seat to the party in the plaza. 

There were groups playing drums, Candombe is the national music and dance of Uruguayans and usually combines the sounds of three very different styles of drums.  It is based in the African heritage that is a strong cultural bond celebrated by this small country.  People were singing and dancing and everybody was being sprayed with water, cheap cider purchased on the street and even beer.

After eating we ventured into the plaza, again getting soaked, and purchased several bottles of cheap cider (about 35 pesos or $1.75per liter).  The drummers were moving on to a new location and we were invited to come along. 

People were pouring cider into each other’s mouths, drinking out of half pineapples and basically having a good time.  The new site was a narrow street with bars on both sides and the street was jam packed with partiers; a perfect site for pickpockets.

For sure, halfway through I felt a hand in my pocket which I slapped away.  Marilyn saw another attempt and smacked another.  No problems however, what little money I had was tucked away in a different place and we really didn’t have anything with us that we couldn’t afford to lose.  At the end of the evening we returned home, quite tipsy and full of a very different kind of holiday cheer. 

The next day, Christmas Day, we were informed that New Years Eve was even more crazy in the streets than Christmas Eve.  We also learned that the street festival and dousing was a tradition specific to the Ciudad Vieja (old city) where we were staying.  We were surprised at how many of the shops were open on Christmas Day even though it had been explained to us that Navidad wasn’t quite the important holiday Christmas seems to be for us Americans.  It seemed very little different than any other weekend day.

The new year fell on a Tuesday this year and we stepped out on Sunday the 30^th to a ghost town.  It is normal on weekends from time to time in Ciudad Vieja, for the streets to be empty.  This was different.  Shops, markets and cafes normally open at all times were closed.  Eventually we learned the reasons. 

Like in Spain, in Uruguay it is common to “hacer un puente” or make a bridge around the holidays.  In this case the bridge was beginning on Sunday and in most cases including Monday and Tuesday.  In Uruguay, New Year’s eve is a short workday or a holiday and New Year’s day is commonly a workday for those not on vacation.  The new year is also the beginning of the vacation season for Uruguayans which lasts through Carnaval at least.

Feliz Ano! The people shouted as they drenched anybody on the streets beginning the morning of New Year’s Eve.  Nobody was spared and one couldn’t walk a block without being completely soaked.  Amazingly, a midst all the water, everyone seemed to have a parilla (grill)going!

 The streets were raucous with screams and laughter and many restaurants were, surprisingly, open during the middle of the day almost all closing around 4 pm.  By 6 pm everybody had returned home to be with their families.

We joined our friends for dinner in their apartment at 9 pm and had an enjoyable evening.  At midnight we climbed to the terrace of their 7 story building and were simply amazed.  The entire horizon was a fireworks show and this went on for more than 20 minutes!  We toasted the new year with champagne and returned home to sleep having experienced a very different and incredible way to celebrate the holiday season.