Punta del Este? Uruguay?

scarface

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I am curious about the quality of life in Punta and in Uruguay in general. I wonder whether the living there is better than it is in Buenos Aires. I speak a little Spanish and have a decent income (US$ 6K/mo) with no fixed expenses. I would appreciate any advice/comments shared from those with experience.
Any technical/document problems for a US citizen?
 
glasgowjohn said:
Its a pretty quiet town out of season....

A friend of mine has a grandmother who lives there (the grandfather passed away about 2 years ago, but they were living there already).

I think that it's almost a ghost town out of season. I can't imagine how people stay sane.
 
Actually its a great place to live depending on who you ask - better to ask there in PDE than the forum here.... Also depends on what you are looking for -
 
Thanks. I'm reminded of :
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
For preacher and monk the honored name!
For, quarreling, each to his view they cling.
Such folk see only one side of a thing.
  • Jainism and Buddhism. Udana 68-69: Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant
 
scarface said:
Thanks. I'm reminded of :
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
For preacher and monk the honored name!
For, quarreling, each to his view they cling.
Such folk see only one side of a thing.
  • Jainism and Buddhism. Udana 68-69: Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant

I, on the other hand, was not reminded of that.

This a forum predominantly made up of people who live in a city with roughly the same population as Uruguay, and in a metropolitan area with roughly 4 times Uruguay's population!

If you were expecting to find reviews like:

"When the population dips below 5,000 people from Punta Ballenas to Jose Ignacio to the Tip of Punta del Este and all points in between, when 95% of the restaurants are closed, when the grocery store gets dairy & produce deliveries once a week, and the weather is cold and clammy with blustery winds...

The PdE area is like a little piece of heaven."

If you were expecting to find a review like that on a site for people who have chosen to live in a megalopolis, then you haven't quit yet grasped "How to properly surf the Internet".
 
Hi,

Punta Del Este is a super trendy city, which is buzzing with bars and night like..... For like 3 months... Then it's empty and everything is closed... Bevomes eery out of season. The permanent population of punt a del este is a fraction of what it is during high season.
It's also really windy and it gets reallly cold.
the houses are gorgeous tho!!!!
 
Alright, so many misconceptions to clear, where do I begin?! I don't even know if it's worth clearing them, or to let them fly and keep Eastern Uruguay a well hidden treasure...

Punta del Este and its countryside (Maldonado "county") is indeed what could be described as a little piesce of heaven particularly off season, during the months of March, April, October and November.

Yes, winters can be a bit chilly (while summers are hot and dry) which fits its description of a perfectly Mediterranean climate only found elsewhere in Southern Australia, The Cape, Central Chile and southern California (and the Med of course!)

First of all, while the population exceeds a million during the peak summer season, it doesn't shrink to 50 during the winter, rather to a good 100,000+ comprised by locals, expats, argentines who moved permanently, and 200,000 sea lions.
The megamall is therefore open all year round to service this rather affluent winter population and its supermarket "Tienda Inglesa" is well stocked with a cornucopia of local and imported products, all year round that puts any Argentine shop easily to shame.
Gas stations, also open 24/7 365 days a week, sell a decent variety of essentials, and unlike Argentina they also sell alcoholic beverages and do take four currencies - legally.
Everybody does, and conversion is free and unregulated for sums less than 3K per transaction. Uruguayan peso, Argie peso, Brazilian Real, USD, and Euro.

Punta del Este (and Piriapolis, Punta Ballena, Jose Ignacio, La Paloma, La Pedrera, etc) is indeed more expensive than Argentina but the quality of the products more than makes up for it.

Rentals from March to November are dirt cheap for luxury apartments, but they hike tenfold for the summer months.

Building is not cheap either (land IS), but it can be offset by renting during the peak season. Some buildings were designed exclusively for summer use and therefore lack proper heating, but HVAC alternatives are responding to the market.

The natural beauty of the rocky outcrops, beaches, marine fauna, woodlands, lagoons and rolling countryside is free of charge....

Both Chui and B.A. are a daytrip away so buying stuff in Brazil or Argentina is also a monthly option. By Chui I mean the border with Brazil, where they don't ask you for a freaking visa just to buy some stuff on the other side of the artificial line and go back to Uruguay.

Uruguay is very receptive of English speakers, not just Americans, as it has a long story of friendship with Britain. It is the least Catholic of Latin America.
Culturally it's more European than Portugal.

(Everywhere except in Montevideo) Social tension doesn't exist as even the poorest understand the concept of mutual benefit thanks to 100 years of tourism, and service-oriented thinking, and the fact that people help their neighbors to a reasonable extent.

People in general behave in a manner that albeit maybe too relaxed, would be described as "sane"

Finally, the thread opener obviously does know how to surf the web since Punta del Este was founded by portenos who couldn't stand buenos aires anymore, and therefore asking about Punta here makes as good sense as asking about Montauk while in Manhattan.
 
Thanks for the info. I have been surfing the net and have found sites that are helpful. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask here in "Travellers Stories",too, and it has been helpful. (Sorry if I came off as haughty with prior post).
 
Matt84 said:
First of all, while the population exceeds a million during the peak summer season, it doesn't shrink to 50 during the winter, rather to a good 100,000+ comprised by locals, expats, argentines who moved permanently, and 200,000 sea lions.

100,000?????? The year-round population of Punta del Este is 20,000, according to the last census (two years ago)
The thing about Punta del Este is that yes, it is beautiful, but it is a pretty small town. There aren't any cultural activities, classes to take, concerts to go, clubs, etc. A friend of mine lives there and she's been wanting to take a writing class for years and she can't find anything. The mall is certainly not a "mega mall".

I absolutely love it but I couldn't live there. It just depends on the type of living you want.
 
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