Expat Advice: Living in Punta del Diablo, Uruguay
What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?
Punta del Diablo
How long have you lived there?
5 months, buying/building a home now
What activities, clubs and organizations would you recommend to newcomers to help them meet others?
First of all, learn some Spanish, preferably Castellano (Castile, Spain) instead of the Mexican version... They will understand YOU, but you may not understand THEM... Many TV shows here are in English with Spanish subtitles... It helps, believe me, especially with grammar.
We have one Canadian couple here and one crusty old Irishman... Those are the only expats we have met in our tiny fishing village of 1,000 souls... This agrees with us PERFECTLY, as we want to assimilate, not hang with expats. I would recommend just chatting the local up - your grocery clerk, the fellow who fills the tank for your car at the Ancap station, the meat man (prime rib is always in the meat locker, seldom out front). We have made friends of a family who own a wine/cheese shop in the town where we buy our groceries... They love to practice their English while we practice our Spanish.
My dentist has just returned from a trip to British Columbia to do a work/study tour on a boat up there. He practices his English with me & I practice my Spanish with him...
We have been so well received & made welcome, I may eventually offer English classes for adults...
My best advice is not to be shy and simply venture "Buen dia" occasionally until you feel more comfortable. Undoubtably, someone will eventually try to engage you in conversation on the bus or at the market. If they speak to fast for you to understand, simply request "mas lentamente, por favor" & they will slow down. I had to retrain my ears to the Castellano, altho I had grown up speaking Tex/Mex and Mexican Spanish.
Just be yourself, be courteous & respectful, smile & the world will open up for you.
Be aware that here we don't say "Adios" but, rather, "Ciao!" Schnitzel is Milanesa here... Germans may have invented it, but the Italians immigrated first, so there ya go... :D
One of the BEST places to meet people is the local futbol matches and/or practices. Uruguayans are rabid futbol fans, and will quickly try to persuade you to root for their favorite teams... ;p
In terms of religious, racial, economic and cultural diversity, are the people of this city or town diverse? Are they accepting of differences? Describe.
I have yet to experience any racial discrimination here in UY. I am a true Heinz 57 - Native American, Scots/Irish with some Russian Gypsy Jew, and Texas redneck... My partner is Filipino & German.
Uruguayans come in a wide range of skin tones & hair textures. People are not referred to as "black" or "white," but just as... people.
Mixed-race couples are everywhere, if you judge by skin tones; however, you find out eventually that BOTH are native Uruguayans.
The principal religion is Catholicism; however, they are not rabid about religiosity. They attend Christmas, Easter, funerals, weddings, christenings. Religion is a personal matter, between a person & his/her higher power - that is all.
That said, I find it amusing that they refer to the Mormons as "huevos," because they are always found in twos... :D
I have found all the Uruguayo cities I have visited to be very accepting of foreigners, which I obviously am due to my Texas twang...
Here in PDD, this is even more pronounced, as this is a village dependent upon tourism, so tourists are VALUED. Stick around awhile, make some friends, let the people steal your heart like they did ours...
Economic diversity - well, there are some rather wealthy & some not wealthy in money but wealthy in quality of life. I have made friends with some Rastas and other locals who make their living by selling their handicrafts during tourist season. What more does one need in this life, they ask, other than a dry bed, a warm fire in winter, good wine & good friends to share it with? Answer: good music & the lovely environment here.
What are the main industries in this city? What types of career opportunities commonly exist? How do most people find new jobs?
Most jobs here at the moment are in construction, as our village is growing. Most of the construction going on is for rental properties for the tourist trade, rather than personal housing...
Many people find employment with the hotels, restaurants, or as musicians. One friend of ours is a fish cook in summer and does bricklaying & concrete work in winter... ;p
If a friend of yours was thinking of moving to this city or town from far away, what other advice would you give them.
Bring flip-flops. Bring your favorite condiments, especially if you like spicy foods.
Leave heavy coats behind, as winter only lasts about 3 months & spring is usually beautiful. That said, bone up on your fire-tending skills, as most home heating is by wood fire... If you split your own wood, you can buy it cheaper. Make friends with a good firewood vendor. Bring earmuffs for winter, as we do have a lot of wind (the Pamperos). Bring comfy pants with lots of pockets for shells, etc. when you hit the beach. ALWAYS save your empty beer bottles, as you get a 10- to 15-peso discount when you return the "dead soldiers" as you purchase more beer. Same with wine - returning the bottles (esp. the 5-liter bottles) saves you 165 pesos or so (about $8.50).
Get the tri-fold maps from an Ancap station. Worth every penny of the $10, they have a map of UY, another of all the MercoSur countries, a map of Montevideo, and city street maps of all of the major cities... PDD is not listed, as we have only one main road through town... ;p Be prepared to be unprepared for the welcome you receive, the wonderful food & wine, the genuinely friendly people. We have found our new home, for sure. Lay out your trips in advance & plan to use the least fuel possible... Gas is about $8/gallon, so we use it well. We bought a 1968 VW Bug for $3500 USD. She's economical, reliable & parts are cheap as dirt. We bought an engine belt, new fuel lines, fuel filter, new seatbelts, and a new door knob for only $10. The fuel lines & filter were installed curbside at no additional cost. We had the resistor for the windshield wipers changed out curbside & were given a handful of extra fuses. The labor took 2 hours, but the total cost was $16. Learn to use propane. It's one of the things they do best here. Exchange of a 33-lb cylinder is only $16. The 2-lb cylinder for the gas stove in the kitchen costs $5. If you plan to immigrate, come down during the fall & stay thru the winter, so you know what you're getting into. You will probably be pleasantly surprised - we were. Now that we're hooked, we're buying property & starting building a home.
Buy a cell phone from Antel, the govt phone company. A mid-range phone with camera & MP3 player, Bluetooth, and internet will set you back $26, with $5/month for service. :D
Try the Uruguayo products. We have found many to be superior to brands we used in the US. If you have allergies, plan to obtain some antihistamines & decongestants from a farmacia here. You can get Loratadine cheaply for the first; you can still get pseudoephedrine down here without being spread-eagled outside the pharmacy. If you have health issues & are on regular medications, most are available over the counter without prescription here. Put off any dental work until you get here - it's incredibly high quality, latest technology, and incredibly cheap... I had a cracked molar that eventually broke, losing 25% of the back corner. Mario, my fabulous dentist, my hero - fixed it for $40 USD.
Be prepared to be amazed at how little govt interference these people have in their lives. Be prepared to make friends with the police. They are not at all the threatening thugs one fears in the US.
Moving to Uruguay soon?
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guestGreat report, very encouraging. Thanks for taking the time. My wife and I have reserved a house near the beach for next May. Can we expect to get by on $2000 US per month? How much does firewood cost? Also, I love to fish. Can you catch anything delicious from the beach? Chuck
guestDear Chuck - May until when? May is kinda late fall here, but still with brilliant beach days... I was so sick when we got here I couldn't get out much during May, but the difference in my health has been amazing. Yes, you can get by with $2k per month. I make a little more than half of that. Beach does get a LOT of wind during winter, and also a lot of wind-driven rain. Bring your sweats, for sure! Firewood is essential part of life here. We burn red eucalyptus (same red gum as in Australia) & it puts out an excellent heat, with less ash residual than oak... We are paying my good friend (whom I will introduce you to), 1200 pesos ($60) per truckload, delivered but not stacked. The key here is the more refined the wood (fully split, etc.), the higher the price. We have a maul & split our own down if the chunks are 1/2 moons. It may take you a while to master the UY fireplace, which is bricks only, no grate. That said, a properly placed parilla could serve as a grate. You didn't say if you were a Yankee or not, but thot I'd mention that. We're Texans & it took us a while to master the draw, etc., so we didn't smoke the house up. Depending on where you are, what house you're in, etc., and the style of chimney, direction of wind, etc., you are sure to have adventures of this nature. Make sure to have plenty of newspaper on hand for blocking drafts from windows/doors. Also, highly recommended you bring at least a poker (which we did) & a small garden trowel for arranging coals, etc. (Heck, if you're traveling "big," bring an entire set of fireplace tools...) Hint: A set of granite "heartstones" works great for keeping the feet of the logs in place so you can sleep & not worry about them falling horizontally & smoking, etc... ;p You can gather these yourself, wherever you are in town (except someone's garden, of course). Stock up on heavy socks, but you can get scarves, hats & gloves in Chuy for about $5 each (3 pr sox). Most homes provide blankets, but many do not provide pillows or, especially, sheets & towels. Be prepared to bring your own or buy them down here in Chuy... Leave the big, heavy jacket, but bring LAYERS of things - tank tops, t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, hoodie, etc. Stuff you can take off & put back on in a hurry, as weather changes rapidly on the peninsula... If you're going to do any fishing, a good pair of insulated boots will come in handy... You can get excellent woolen sox down here in Chuy... (on sale now it's spring). Also, depending on if you plan to have a vehicle or not, bring some good walking shoes/boots. Comfort is the name of the game here. GOOD SOCKS. Basically, it depends on where yer from, Chuck. If you're from Minnesota, winter down here is a cakewalk. No snow, no ice. As for fishing from the beach... Yes, you can catch good fish. It's important to know your tides, as we have 2 huge granite points & will need to be up on them to get out into the best spots. Bring LOTS of HEAVY lead weights (especially curved, as all they have here are pyramid-shape & these tend to get hung up on the rocks). We have a LOT of wave action here (which probably explains the surfers). We have enjoyed some excellent pompano, sea trout, croakers, flounder (HUGE if you're a gigger :P). We Cajuns are waiting for the water to warm up so we can go floundering, as the beaches are flat, with soft sandy bottoms for a good distance, low tide on a full moon - oooohhhweeee! Another thing we enjoy is the abundance of mussels here... We also find a large number of Rapa venosa, an invasive species of sea whelk from Asia which preys on the mussels. Therefore, we find it our duty to eat as many of THESE as we can, thereby doing our part to rescue the mussels... We'll enjoy having you as neighbors, as we are completing our property purchase & will have a home built by then. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. Cheers, CabraVoladera a/k/a Flying Goat cabravieja@privacyharbor.com
guest$8 / gallon gas? are you sure? i visited UY a few years ago and i don't remember tha cost of gas but it was definitely not that much!!!
guest@ Guest re Gas: Yes, MANY things here have increased the last couple of years. For nafta here in PDD, which is sold in recycled 2-liter drink bottles, the cost is 90 pesos for 2 liters. The exchange rate varies between a low of 18.05 pesos/$1USD to a high of 19.75 pesos/$1USD. In Chuy, where we buy groceries, nafta on the UY side costs 38.7 pesos/liter or almost $2. When you multiply that by 4 liters for the imperial gallon, you get a price pretty close to $8/gal for fuel. Even the price of land has increased by 600% over the last 8 years. In the balneario (spa or seaside)areas, it can approach $90kUSD for 1/4 acre lots. Food & staples, especially fish, are about the only things we do not see rapid increases on. Even coffee has increased by 8 pesos since April when we arrived. Many people mistakenly think UY is a cheaper place to live. This is NOT the case; however, in my humble opinion, it is a much BETTER, more relaxing place to live. I cannot speak for the big cities like MVD or Rocha, etc. We rarely leave the area between Castillos & Chuy, so I can only speak of my personal experience. However, talking with the locals will reveal that they are very aware of increasing prices as well. Chau y que pasa bien. CV
guestThanks so much for this truly enjoyable report on your life in PDD. I'm a writer, visual artist/photographer and classical pianist currently living in the US. Could you advise on the state of Internet access in your area, and might you know how long it takes to get packages (media mail) shipped to PDD from the US? Would I have to pay customs each time I receive a box of books? DO you know who I could contact to find out about renting a house in the area, long-term? And is the area safe for women?
guestDear Guest of Jan 17 - You're welcome. We have lightning fast broadband at all Wifi cafes here in PDD. If you get a home & have a land-line phone installed, you can get LIFETIME broadband for a ONE-time payment of between $25 & $50, depending on the service you choose, with no monthly payments. All phones are 4G & have been for years. UY is lightyears ahead of the US in some ways. Don't know about media mail, as in magazines, etc., but when I order garden seed from Johnny's it is in my hands in 6 to 7 days. That said, I am waiting on replacement bank cards (sent US Priority Overnight) but which have yet to enter UY. You will have to pay Customs when your order is greater than $40 or so... Buy used, from Amazon.com & you will have no dramas... OR, have them shipped to a US friend & then reshipped down here as a "gift" & you will receive it in about 20 days, assuming 8 lbs or so. Be aware, anything over $100 will have a 100% import tax. I would be delighted to help you rent a house - there are several lovely ones belonging to friends of mine... and many more available (altho not all rent in low season). You can look for yourself at www.PortalDelDiablo.com.uy. My friend, Olga, owns Las Carolinas & they have a view of the sea... VERY nice. In winter, $40/night but I am sure you can arrange to rent for a month much less. Also, another lifelong friend, Marcos, has 2 bungalows, LaJoyaDelDiablo at the same site as above... They have a fireplace, nice bath & full kitchen, but are quite small - 2 people... Almost everyone of my friends has rental housing, so just let me know your likes at www.cabravieja @ privacyharbor dotcom. I have a MagicJack & can get back to you. We can exchange numbers & I can call you when I'm at the Wifi cafe (our home has no electrics yet). Be aware that we are on Buenos Aires time, about 4 hours ahead of CST. If you are in Wash State, that means we need to chat very early AMs... Women are greatly respected in this culture. Basically, I, as a 50 yr old woman, have never felt in danger, etc. Which is the opposite I felt when living where you are now... :D
guesti,/loved///i,will be in my way to punta del diablo for holidays /
guestHola Flying Goat. We are here in Punto del Diablo. I'd like to get together with you to share travel stories and to get a leg up on local PDD know-how. Send me a note at CSalt2@hotmail.com Cheers, Chuck
guestMELANIE, its Bill, please email me at hawkswingfarm@gmail, Privacy harbor is kaput. closed. I'll try the ph # u gave me too. hope you and W are good. will catch up and explain the past 3 months. still on course to arrive UY this coming late fall( here)
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guestThanks-a-mundo for the article post.Thanks Again. Really Great. real jordan
guestHi, We are two family's totaling 12 moving to Uruguay. Kids ages 1-13. Any help you could provide would be much appreciated. sales@judgingwisdomkitchen.com
biggles0449Really glad i found this forum and thread, Ive been looking into relocation to Uruguay and have been searching for somewhere that could tick the boxes, coming from a surf / outdoorsy community in the UK, Punta Del Diablo seems like it could be just the golden nugget :) Will be making trip there in the next couple of months to check things out and see how it all feels, if I like it, expect to be meeting your new neighbour sometime not too far off! Cheers and thanks for the informative read Ben
QuynSold! To the lady in Cape Town! Loved this information - the country seems to be designed for us and our values... You lucky people, there already.
doublekindnessMelanie- please email me at pinkkimmyhen@gmail.com i'm coming to pdd this spring to move there. Your friend in denver- double Kindness
CabraViejaDoubleKindness - Great to hear from you! Sorry for the late answer, just got your note today... Yes, I am Flying Goat & CabraVoladora... I can never remember passwords... We will meet up if you've not been & gone!!! You will THRIVE here. We've been living off-grid in our home still under construction. We have a rainwater system for water & a small generator & getting solar setup soon. But we will be returning to the US for a couple years, as parents need us. So, we are accepting offers for the house & land now... first $20k gets it... That's the value of the land & building materials, so we'll throw the labor in for nothing. YOU would love it.
AliciaCFlying Goat Are you still in Punta Diablo? We are visiting in mid-July. I'd love to meet in person.
AliciaCFlying Goat Are you still in Punta Diablo? We are visiting in mid-July. I'd love to meet in person. Oops - I meant mid August!
CabraViejaAliciaC - I could not respond to you by Private Message. I would need to PM you to pass on private contact details. We are home, but it's winter here now & chilly out. If you will PM me, I will give you some Skype info so we can connect if you come in July. Cheers, FlyingGoat
AliciaCCabra, Thanks for responding. I too could not private message for some reason. I tried to contact IL to tell them but who knows if they got my info. You are much more travel savvy than I. Could we exchange emails here or would that invade privacy? I have so many questions that emailing or Skyping would truly help. My husband and I are learning Spanish from a dear friend but know very little at present. (But working hard!). I look forward to connecting some how. Thanks again for this post and responding.
CabraViejaHey, Alicia - Look for me on Skype. crazytexans2 in Uruguay. We'll talk. :D
AliciaCFlying Goat, Sent you a Skype request. Write down when would be convenient to talk as there is a time difference. I'm in Wisconsin. Thanks!
