Goshen777
11/2/2014 14:10 EST
Are there thrift stores (or perhaps they call them something else) in Montevideo or Salto where you may purchase inexpensive but still very clean and nice second hand (used) clothing and other items like furniture/small electronics/bikes at discounted prices?
By the way, are most home and apt. rentals already fully furnished?
Post a Reply
 0 0 abuse
|
|
Morell
11/2/2014 15:53 EST
In my area there are a number of used furniture stores. One is called Emaus.
Uruguayans tend to be very thrifty and rarely part with anything so most of the things in these places are pretty beat up to me.
Mercado Libre is where most folk sell secondhand stuff. http://listado.mercadolibre.com.uy/uruguay
In regard to rentals, most regular rentals are unfurnished and this usually includes no appliances including a water heater or any form of heat. In some areas, short term vacation rentals are furnished bit usually with low end stuff. Most regular rentals require 5 months deposit and you are responsible for any repairs while you live there.
Post a Reply
 0 0 abuse
|
|
|
|
edykizaki
11/8/2014 05:38 EST
Hi, there are a lot of used clothing stores both for kids and adults. There are both high end and low end antique stores. The auction houses have "levels" of quality and these are auctioned at different times, so if you want "cheap" stuff you would go to that group... you can preview all the stuff in the days before and the auction happens once a week... my friends are going to take us there, and then I will blog about it, there are 2 or 3 big ones in the city and then some small ones... also as the previous reply, Mercado Libre has tons of posts of things... one is usually responsible for getting a guy to deliver whatever it is, which can add about 300 pesos to the price... of course it is buyer beware in private transactions
Post a Reply
00abuse
|
|
edykizaki
11/8/2014 05:50 EST
also, the deposit on long-term apartments can vary a bit (3-6 months), and there are important things to know about it... like by law the landlord and tenant go together to deposit it in a certain legal bank account which then you both have to agree to the disposition of (that is, the landlord is not supposed to just hold the funds)... some people have said they had landlords that tried to keep as much as possible of the deposit when they moved out, others that they didn't have much trouble getting it back...some people said if they used a real estate agent to get the place the agent helped them when it was time to get the deposit back... you have to pay the agent an additional one month's rent if you use one, but if you don't the other agent asks you for it anyway, I am not sure if people negotiate this... also if you rent directly from the landlord they ask you to pay one month's rent to the lawyer who writes the contract, I am not sure if this is negotiable either, will ask someone... I plan to get more people's experiences on this from expats who've rented here as a watermark, and blog about it...
I definitely agree with the advice to rent a room from someone for a while, this doesn't commit you to a 1 or 2 year lease, has none or little deposit, and not much needed to purchase furniture etc... although make sure you know what your mattress will be and what's included in writing, even if informally jot it down and both read it so you know what the agreement is, initial it and keep it...... also hopefully the landlord/roommate can hand hold you a bit to get oriented...whether you're a couple or one person, this is a good transitional strategy, then when you have a job and bank account established you'll know how much you'd want to spend on your own place and know the city better so you'll know which neighborhoods you are attracted to...flexibility in the beginning seems like a great strategy.
I sold all my stuff too before leaving and am at peace with that, but it's like burning your bridges to an extent...
Post a Reply
00abuse
|
|
edykizaki
11/8/2014 06:24 EST
also if you buy/bring electronics there are things we were not aware of... one thing is there are 2 plug large and 3 plug small outlets (I think the two plug large ones are called Shoko, does anyone know?). The two plug large are the equivalent of the grounded ones in the States I believe. We fried my son's xbox almost immediately because we bought an adapter plug and my very imperfect understanding of electricity and of Spanish meant I didn't understand that just because you can plug it in does not mean the current is transformed to the other system... for that you need something else, called a transformer... therefore you can plug it in and it will burn out the motor. Also most plugs in apartments are the 3 little prongs ones, and most appliances (like refrigerators or washing machines or even blow dryers) are the two prong big ones, so you have to use an adaptor plug, which we have been told and experienced will possibly cause burn outs (and possibly fires which we have not experienced)... the solution to this is to get an electrician on your own dime to come switch out the plug in the wall to the 2-plug one (three plug ones can be plugged into the 2-plug one without a problem)... there are extension cords with power strips sold in the stores which will give you 5-6 plugs from a wall outlet... some of each... would love to hear from an electrician if there's a downside to using these). You can tell electricity is not my strong point...
Post a Reply
00abuse
|
|
crazyfarmer
11/13/2014 10:24 EST
There are two other options that I know of. One is that if you visit a border town, many stores have lower prices and don't charge sales tax in order to complete with stores in Brazil. Alternatively, you can shop in Brazil. Not sure what the situation is with Argentina.
The other option is called the barrio judío (Jewish Neighborhood). It's in the vicinity of Arenal Grande and Domingo Aramburu. There are a number of stores in this area, mostly clothing but also some electronics, toys, and other small items. There are rules about how many of what you have to buy. Some stores require that you buy at least six of something, or six of the same type. Others don't have a limit.
Sometimes this is annoying. For example, there's a hat store with all kinds of nice cowboy hats. You have to buy six. But other items like dishes or small adapters, buying six is no problem.
There are also ferias. They seem to always have clothes.
brian
Post a Reply
00abuse
|
|
|
|
