Night And Day

vagabundo

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So we exited Argentina for Uruguay and settled into Montevideo looking for a home etc living in Pocitos for now.

What a differance only a few meters can make even in the Mercosur.

1. Dollars LOL no problem they are ATM listo everywhere no more 30% off the top!
2. Income tax! No need to worry about that for 6 years.
3. Pay with a credit card no VAT! pay less with no VAT! again zero VAT for forgieners using credit cards. Looking into buying a new car possibly without VAT and other taxes.
4. Inflation it is here but now a fraction of what is there.
5. Married to an Argentine instant temp residency perm in 2 years
6. Internet OMG 30 down 10 up first world class.
7. G3 is better then high speed there.
8. Want things you can not get there LOL piles and piles of that here and costs less and no
VAT.
9. Clean streets.. Priceless.
10. Locals are not rude mindless sheep.. Priceless times 10!

My best advise...

Argentina has and always will be looser land! get out while you can!
 
Vagabundo,
Thanks for the update. But I'd love to hear some pros and cons, a balanced view,
What do you miss from BsAs, are there things you don't like about MVD?
- Do you find MVD boring? (Yes... that's a loaded question and very personal).
- What about public transportation, do you find the colectivos slow and "leisurely"?
- Your perception of safety, for example downtown and the Old City area at night?
- Finally, how do you find the prices for housing, food, services, everyday needs??
Thanks,
- Jim
 
I must say, I have found this website to be active, lively and informative. But is there a similar website for folks living in Montevideo or elsewhere in Uruguay? I am undecided as yet as to where I'd want to do my expat trial.
 
MVD is a very small town. i like visiting, and i visit often, but could not imagine living there. however we do have european friends who moved there and love it. but they are also wondering how much longer they can afford living there, with all the price increases.

very expensive country.

traffic is getting worse by the day.

food is even less varied than in buenos aires. (a lot less varied!)

not much in the way of museums.

all young, middle-class professionals are leaving because they see no future there.

big crime problem which is increasing. muggings, break-ins, robberies are frequent. crime is the main subject of concern, and not only in the old city. friends of mine recently got robbed while sleeping, the guys came in through the balcony (7th floor!) everybody talks about insecurity.

i always like to wander around barrio sur and palermo (during the day only!!) because of the gorgeous old houses, and the neighborhood feel, and its important history. but every time i find iut more in decline. it appears so charming, but on two separate occasions i have seen people shooting up right on the street, in broad daylight, with kids playing next door. lots of muggings there, and also downtown. once i was on the main boulevard (18 de julio) in the middle of the afternoon and saw a man taking a crap right on the sidewalk.

tons of homeless people, lots of garbage, filthy streets.

lots of big trash containers everywhere, but at night the cartoneros are inside them (!!) looking for stuff of value.

MVD is very charming, and many things are easier (dollars!!), and their president is a decent, unpretentious, honest man (which is a major step up from argentina, obviously) -- but, let's put it all into perspective!!
 
Im part uruguayan and half of my family lives in MVD so I go there every year. MVD is a nice city of 1.5 million (compare to the 15 million of BsAs!!!!) with good beaches, less traffic, although like mariposa said is changing. The rambla is very nice when the good werather starts.
About insecurtity: its a totally new phenomenon, Uruguay has always been quiet, not violent, even lazy, I would say. Totally oposed to hectic BsAs. Everything takes a lot more than here in BA, queues, administratives, everything is slow, and nobody rushes.
Like the interior in Argentina, they too have a strong nap culture. Everything closes for 2 or 3 hours after mid day.

So insecurity almost began in 2002 crisis, and its nothing compared to BsAs in numbers. The problem is that, as you have it here, it has a lot of press, so that appears to be a very big problem while it is a small issue. Remember Uruguay has only 3 million people and the half is in MVD; it is a small city, and poverty is a very marginal phenomenon. Uruguay has less than 6% of poverty, which is considerely low compared to de 25-30 we have here. Unlike Brazil and Argentina, it is hard to find extreme poverty, you ll see very humble places, houses, people, but not poor. The violence, mogging thing has to do with these new drug problem that began in 2002 when they discontinued importing drugs from Paraguay and they started making it there. It hits the young people more than anybody, it makes them abandon school, they live in the street...


Uruguay is a very nice country to live. Actually due the lack of population, out of Monetvideo is the safest spot in South America, and the first place retired couples choose to live. In Maldonado and Rocha there are TONS of elder european living there, and in the coast MVD - Punta del Este I know exist German colonies. The weather in Uruguay is perfect -like here but with nice beaches. The Rio de la Plata always brings the sediments to the argentinian side, making uruguayan water clearer and more blue.

I lived a year in Punta and I will certainly live there in Uruguay again. :)
 
So we exited Argentina for Uruguay and settled into Montevideo looking for a home etc living in Pocitos for now.

What a differance only a few meters can make even in the Mercosur.

1. Dollars LOL no problem they are ATM listo everywhere no more 30% off the top!
2. Income tax! No need to worry about that for 6 years.
3. Pay with a credit card no VAT! pay less with no VAT! again zero VAT for forgieners using credit cards. Looking into buying a new car possibly without VAT and other taxes.
4. Inflation it is here but now a fraction of what is there.
5. Married to an Argentine instant temp residency perm in 2 years
6. Internet OMG 30 down 10 up first world class.
7. G3 is better then high speed there.
8. Want things you can not get there LOL piles and piles of that here and costs less and no
VAT.
9. Clean streets.. Priceless.
10. Locals are not rude mindless sheep.. Priceless times 10!

My best advise...

Argentina has and always will be looser land! get out while you can!

Interesting to see what your priorities are from the list above. Fast Internet, dollar accessibility, cleanliness, and lack of tax. Clearly you have found the Switzerland of South America and like Switzerland I suspect it is dull, dull, dull! Wouldn't be my scene, I like "movida", culture, nightlife. I doubt the government of MVD put on 100 different outdoor events during the 6 week summer holiday. But lots of people, mainly swiss or tax avoiders, like Switzerland so good luck to you. After all, its only a short hop on the ferry when you get bored and need a proper city!

Edit: Sorry, for overly polite reply above, I had skipped the bit where you referred to all porteños (or maybe Argentines) as rude mindless sheep. Personally I have a lot of Argentine friends and find this very offensive. You are clearly an arrogant Wa*K*r. I suspect you are a culture-less, consumerist clone, who spends his whole life thinking about how to hoard more centavos and they were only rude to you to get rid of you! Success! How can you call them losers (note correct spelling) when they won that round jajaja?!
 
Clearly you have found the Switzerland of South America and like Switzerland I suspect it is dull, dull, dull! Wouldn't be my scene, I like "movida", culture, nightlife. I doubt the government of MVD put on 100 different outdoor events during the 6 week summer holiday.


There is an old Brazilian joke that goes more or less like this:


There were three friends visiting the Louvre together, a British, a Frenchman and a Brazilian. As they walk through the halls of the museum, they see a beautiful oil plaiting of Adam and Eve, nude, holding an apple together. The three stop in front of the art piece to appreciate its beauty.

"They are obviously French", says the Frenchman as he nods towards the painting. "Why do you say that?" ask the Brazilian and the British in surprise. "Well, just look at them. They are slender, fit, beautiful and have this aura of sensuality. They are French for sure".

"Nonsense", replies the British, obviously offended. "Look at their stern eyes. Look at their elegant and aristocratic pose. They are obviously from the United Kingdom".

The Brazilian look at both in disbelief, shakes his head, and as he turns back to the picture says "You are both clueless aren't you? Pay attention at the picture, and notice that all the clues are there. Look at them, they have no house, they have nothing to wear, they have no food but an apple, and yet they think they live in paradise. They are obviously Argentinians!
 
There is an old Brazilian joke that goes more or less like this:


There were three friends visiting the Louvre together, a British, a Frenchman and a Brazilian. As they walk through the halls of the museum, they see a beautiful oil plaiting of Adam and Eve, nude, holding an apple together. The three stop in front of the art piece to appreciate its beauty.

"They are obviously French", says the Frenchman as he nods towards the painting. "Why do you say that?" ask the Brazilian and the British in surprise. "Well, just look at them. They are slender, fit, beautiful and have this aura of sensuality. They are French for sure".

"Nonsense", replies the British, obviously offended. "Look at their stern eyes. Look at their elegant and aristocratic pose. They are obviously from the United Kingdom".

The Brazilian look at both in disbelief, shakes his head, and as he turns back to the picture says "You are both clueless aren't you? Pay attention at the picture, and notice that all the clues are there. Look at them, they have no house, they have nothing to wear, they have no food but an apple, and yet they think they live in paradise. They are obviously Argentinians!
Nice history but what is the relation with this thread lol sorry i dind't get it :p , in any case why the brazilian thought that was an Argentine and not a brazilian? wouldn't fit more to the joke? ;)
 
Interesting to see what your priorities are from the list above. Fast Internet, dollar accessibility, cleanliness, and lack of tax. Clearly you have found the Switzerland of South America and like Switzerland I suspect it is dull, dull, dull! Wouldn't be my scene, I like "movida", culture, nightlife. I doubt the government of MVD put on 100 different outdoor events during the 6 week summer holiday. But lots of people, mainly swiss or tax avoiders, like Switzerland so good luck to you. After all, its only a short hop on the ferry when you get bored and need a proper city!

Edit: Sorry, for overly polite reply above, I had skipped the bit where you referred to all porteños (or maybe Argentines) as rude mindless sheep. Personally I have a lot of Argentine friends and find this very offensive. You are clearly an arrogant Wa*K*r. I suspect you are a culture-less, consumerist clone, who spends his whole life thinking about how to hoard more centavos and they were only rude to you to get rid of you! Success! How can you call them losers (note correct spelling) when they won that round jajaja?!

lets evaluate some key words and key points here... just to clearify!

1. Cleanliness, after several years on the other side of river I almost forgot what that was as I shuffled my thru that garbage dump of filth and smell everyday.

2. Dollar accessibility, I do not know about you but loosing 30% of my income every time I make a legal exchange while at the same time getting pummeled with almost 30% inflation is just unacceptable. You do not have to very smart to do that math.

3. Fast Internet, Run a business? I do, it is web based and time is money. Why is it you cannot enjoy such things over there? Power been out lately? Internet down lately? Carrying 3 services providers just to cover your ass in case one of them goes down which they do all the time.

4. Lack of Tax, Since I have to file and pay taxes to the Empire no matter where I live on this planet and it is the only Empire that requires that. Life just got allot easier.

5. Rude mindless sheep, I have to conclude that only people that fit within that description could be as rude as Argentines and vote and tolerate the current politics within that country. Personal opinion yes but if the shoe fits...

6. Proper city, Please tell me what is proper about BA.

7. I suspect you are a culture-less, consumerist clone. No actually I just see no sense in getting whacked 30% on the legal exchange rate, while suffering almost 30% inflation and then being asked to pay 35% income taxes on my world wide income. Perhaps the culture is great the math sucks!

6. Who spends his whole life thinking about how to hoard more centavos, If I fit that description I would have stayed in Argentina and ran for office.
 
lets evaluate some key words and key points here... just to clearify!

1. Cleanliness, after several years on the other side of river I almost forgot what that was as I shuffled my thru that garbage dump of filth and smell everyday.

2. Dollar accessibility, I do not know about you but loosing 30% of my income everytime I make a legal is exchange is well unacceptable. You do not have to very smart to do that math.

3. Fast Internet, Run a business? I do, it is web based and time is money. Why is it you cannot enjoy such things over there? Power been out lately? Internet down lately? Carrying 3 services providers just to cover your ass in case one of them goes down which they do all the time.

4. Lack of Tax, Since I have to file and pay taxes to the Empire no matter where I live on this planet and it is the only Empire that requires that. Life just got allot easier.

5. Rude mindless sheep, I have to conclude that people that only people fit within that description could be as rude as Argentines and vote and tolerate the current politics within that country. Personal opinion yes but if the shoe fits...

6. Proper city, Please tell me what is proper about BA.

7. I suspect you are a culture-less, consumerist clone. No actually I just see no sense if getting whacked 30% on the legal exchange rate and then being asked to pay 35% income taxes on my world wide income.

6. Who spends his whole life thinking about how to hoard more centavos, If I fit that description I would have stayed in Argentina and ran for office.

Good that you left BA, good luck there and do not come back please, people that generalize and talk in a bad way of the people of the country that took you without ask is the worst kind of people. So good luck and as i told you make as the favor of never return
 
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