Uruguay has beaches, but is it really like Iowa?
This is an excerpt from the February 2008 issue of Global Asset Strategist.
Montevideo’s focus is naturally on the beach. While it’s convenient to walk many places from the water, some attractions like the old city were too far away. I never bothered to learn the bus system when cabs are so cheap by U.S. standards. Also, they have a unique radio taxi service that will automatically dispatch a car to the address associated with the number you call from, like your hotel, and will give you an approximate arrival time.
Despite regular tourism from Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay is not really geared to deal with foreigners. They don’t seem to advertise obvious tourist draws like legal casinos and the old port area. Credit card acceptance is rare and the cambios (currency exchange businesses) have limited hours. Few people understand English in the capital, compared to Argentina where approximately 30% of the people I met could hold a conversation in English.
Unfortunately, knowledge of Spanish doesn’t help much either. The Uruguayan accent is extremely opaque, and the Spanish that served me in Argentina and Chile made no headway in Uruguay. A waitress in a tourist area was so disturbed by my attempt to communicate that she dragged another patron over to my table to translate. I also failed six separate times attempting to get a taxi driver to understand our hotel address without writing it down.
While I wouldn’t call Uruguayans rude or cold, they are not likely to initiate conversations with strangers. I found them particularly shy about speaking English even if quite fluent. I stayed at a hotel that caters to tourists and immigrants but the staff members were all hesitant to express an opinion or make a recommendation.
Most Uruguayans stay out late by American standards. Dinner is eaten around 10 p.m. as in most Latin countries, but you can snack and nap beforehand if needed.
I am a big foodie so I was quite disappointed by Uruguayan cuisine. Most restaurants have the same menu with only slight variations. The food is very bland and meat heavy, and attention to detail is lacking. One restaurant served me half raw chicken. The situation wasn’t much better when I went to a boutique hotel which advertised its fine international cuisine. My salmon was cooked until it was leathery, and I had to ask for a different entree. My favorite dish was the ice cream.
As far as I could see, nightlife in Uruguay is low key. Many people socialize at their favorite neighborhood bar after dinner. There are a few discos but they tend to be small. Even the tourist areas were pretty quiet on the weekend.
Uruguay does have shopping malls, although they tend to be small and crowded. You can buy most of the same items you find in the US although you won’t find many bargains. In fact, taxes and duties make electronics very expensive. Uruguay has not adopted optical scanners, so cashiers key in your items by hand. You may have to stand in multiple lines to complete your purchase due to procedures probably held over from the Communist years.
Uruguay has become a hot expat destination in recent years. The country has no real enemies, and it has little oil or other resources worth invading for. Uruguay has a sunny, temperate climate with miles of beaches. The country is relatively flat so they have no volcanoes, mudslides, or earthquakes, and tornadoes are very unusual. Obtaining residency is cheap and relatively fast.
However, two benefits of moving to Uruguay have eroded recently, affordability and banking secrecy. Due to its sudden popularity with expats, real estate prices in trendy areas have increased to levels comparable to the US. In addition, Uruguay has relented to severe pressure by the OECD so the country has passed an income tax, and has proposed a new law that will erode much of its financial privacy.
Whether you are planning to move abroad or not, I recommend meeting up with local expats. You will gain a deep insight into the country that you can’t get from a few days in a hotel. I had a great time at David “The Southron” Finzer’s get-together, which mixed Uruguayos, expatriates from three continents, and travelers. Between the food representing many different ethnicities and the bilingual conversations (well, I tried), it was quite the multicultural night!
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I guess Uruguay is just a place to make a home. There are countries like that. When a family wants a simple life in a quite and safe place then Uruguay could be the place to be.
That’s a good point Kathrynne, everyone’s needs are different. Adrian (from the Stranger in His Own Land interviews: http://liverichly.com/stranger-in-his-own-land/ wants a safe, quiet place in the country to farm. Others want the excitement of a big city.
Jenn, thanks for this post maybe this could help families who want to move in to a safer country.
Hi Kathrynne, I sure hope people find it useful! The only way to know for sure if a country will work for you is to visit.
Hi,
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Welcome to Live Richly, George! I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog. I checked out your blog and I would definitely be interested in guest posting. I have an idea that doesn’t seem to be covered on your website yet, so I will email it to you and see what you think. Thanks!
Nightlife, “low key”? You probably gave up around midnight. The boliches don’t open until 1 am, and things don’t get going until 3 or sometimes 4 on weekends.
Hi Ana, and welcome to Live Richly. What is a boliche? My Spanish dictionary didn’t help me. I did walk the streets of the Pocitos neighborhood until 2 or 3 am but I must have been looking in the wrong place.
I guess the dictionary says that a boliche is a bowling alley, but in Montevideo it means a dance club. Most of them are in Ciudad Vieja.
Thanks for the clarification, Ana. I didn’t think bowling alley was right.
Thanks for the wonderful information about the trip report of Uruguay. It is a beautiful place to see with historic architecture and fine pleasant sandy beaches for visitors. The Ciudad Vieja, Museo del Carnava, Catedral Matriz, Jardin Botanico, El Prado are great places to visit.
Welcome to the blog, HBB. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for sharing some of your favorite places to visit!
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I just spent a month in Uruguay, Montevideo and Punta del Este and found it to be wonderful! The food was wonderful, fresh fruit and veggies to be purchased. Fish at the marina, the beef was fantastic and the night life and music I experienced was sensational. I can not wait to get back!
Welcome to Live Richly Faith! I’m glad you had a great time. I was not as lucky with the food in Montevideo.
Hey Jennifer,
My spouse is a Canadian citizen and every summer when we visit Uruguay he gains weight cause of the great food they have and he is very amazed about its quality. His parents and friends agree, so please give us the names of the places you went for food in order not to go!!
All the Canadians where also amazed by the nightlife, specially in summer.
Best,
Ignacio
Welcome to Live Richly, Ignacio! I’m afraid I can’t remember any of the restaurant names anymore. They were all in the Pocitos neighborhood of Montevideo. One was in a hotel that caters to tourists right on the Rambla.
Hello Jennifer, I’m surprised at your bad food luck in Uruguay. I would have assumed that given the high level of immigrants, the cuisine would have been a high point. I’ve not been to Uruguay, just Venezuela and Brasil. Argentina is next in the travel agenda.
Hi Andrew, it seems that most of the commenters had a better experience. I thought the food was very good across the river in Buenos Aires which should have a similar cultural mix. I had a great time in BA, so I definitely recommend Argentina!
Hi Jennifer,
Sory you had a less than perfect visit in UY. The experience my wife and I have each time we go is wonderful. I am not fluent in Castellano (their Spanish), although I have more than a smattering of the language. Also, I found that the Uruguyan people are friendly to a fault, more than willing to chat with a foreigner, and very pleasant to deal with. Yeah, unless you hit a restaurant that caters to tourists, the food might be a bit meat heavy, but there are tons more cows than people. Once you get out of town, all you see is farmland and cows. Please try them again.
Welcome to Live Richly, Nyhormiga! I did take a bus from Colonia to Montevideo, so I saw quite a few cows. It reminded me of my own state of Texas. We like our beef here too
I hope I didn’t imply that I thought Uruguayos were rude as a group. Most people were pleasant in Montevideo but acted like a tourist who was non-fluent in Spanish was something they never encountered before. I thought this was weird for a capital city.
I wonder if a lot of the commenters who had a different experience spent time in Punta del Este, which is more touristy. I never made it there.
Hello Jennifer,
All the people from other countries I know have said the food here is really great. The ingredients are fresh and the meat is the best. I guess it depends on what you are looking for… refined cuisine, spicy dishes? I agree this may be harder to find than in Buenos Aires… but then, BA is one thing, MVD another. Apples and oranges.
Welcome to Live Richly, Caldeyro! I have had many people tell me that they enjoyed the food in Uruguay. I did not have good luck. One place my chicken was raw in the middle, another cooked my fish until it was like leather. I actually don’t eat much spicy food at all, so that wasn’t my expectation. I really enjoyed the ice cream from the many cows.