Welcome. You might want to contact the Uruguay Expats on Facebook, Some of the discussions have been on this topic.

In general the discussions there have gone like this.

" Without experience it might be tough to find work teaching English,unless you can line up private students on your own. When I arrived in UY with 20 years of ESL experience in the US and decent Spanish, the lang institutes ( http://langlandinstitute.com/ ) were happy to give me work....for about. $7-8 (USD) per hour. Berlitz paid even more pitifully, but did not require experience, at least then. Perhaps it has gone up slightly, but one would be hard-pressed to support oneself by teaching EFL in UY."

"Someone said that it's hard to find institutes willing to accept you without experience, but that wasn't the case for me (I had taught refugees english voluntarily in Australia, but that was survival English not really formal classes and I personally didn't count it as experience). I found it really easy to get work and if they had any questions/doubt about experience, they'd make me do "test/assessment classes" where a teacher would sit in and report on your methods (students would also be asked to comment)."

"If you're really worried about it, you could always get a TEFL/CELTA certification. Some institutes require it, but I didn't have one and found work. Most institutes start hiring in February, so definitely start looking for work then as it becomes increasingly difficult to get enough hours from March onwards."

" I have been told that you have to be a citizen to teach in the public schools in Uruguay."

" Schools could also pay as little as 180pesos an hour I know from a friend who was paid that... she didn't have a teaching credential. Some require a TEFL certificate at minimum.
Private lessons about 400 pesos an hour."

"I've done it and some friends too and the normal rate is between uy pesos $200/250 an hour at the institute where I worked and they're always looking for teachers. Not so good pay though."

Most jobs will be in Montevideo. You will find the Spanish here very different to that taught in Rocket Spanish.

Try listening to

http://www.learnargentinianspanish.com/

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbNt3YWiRXA&index=1&list=PL1N7BKTuLUGt6JWfoWabOpiqr2oYz4054

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Best choice among which countries in the south hemisphere?

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you are still not sure kimbo47 ? why?

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Great question Carlitos! The answer is simply because no one is able to answer the question.

I even asked SPECIFICALLY what does UY offer (that no other country offers) that would make the AVERAGE JOE (not personal special reasons) accept all the limitations, negativity and lack of services and products that are discussed in this forum.?????

I even gave an example of a friend who is an oceanographer and lives in Belize in awful living conditions just to be able to study the Great Blue Hole in the ocean which is unique in the world just to Belize. I can understand this; he is sacrificing his quality of life but the country is giving him back the unique opportunity to study to death this natural wonder of nature not found anywhere else!

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Hi Laura,

It has been my experience reading different threads here that if you are not the recipient of a guaranteed monthly flow of income, usually but not exclusively pension or social security, then you might have difficulty qualifying for residency in Uruguay.

Most people who have commented on the subject elsewhere have indicated that you should not expect to be able to find work and if you need that income to live, then it just might not be feasible or even possible to obtain the residency papers from the Uruguayan government.

I fully understand wanting to leave the US, however, each country has its own immigration requirements and some measure of guaranteed income is a requirement for Uruguayan residency.

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> if you are not the recipient of a guaranteed monthly flow
> of income, usually but not exclusively pension or social
> security, then you might have difficulty qualifying for
> residency in Uruguay.

I get that impression too.

I haven't looked at every country in the world by any means, but the ones I've considered all seem to have some variation on that requirement. Some are even tougher, requiring you to plunk down a pile of cash in some kind of investment. Some effectively won't let you in at all unless you have a job lined up, contract in hand, preferably a job that none of their citizens can do. (I'm assuming you wouldn't qualify as a refugee.)

I'd guess they don't want you moving in and taking jobs away from their citizens, nor do they want you to be a burden on their social safety nets. You can't blame them for that.

Basically, all the retiree-friendly "bring your pension" countries are looking for folks who will spend money there, helping their economies, but not cost them too much to keep housed and healthy.

When I first started looking around to see where I might move in retirement, I was pretty naive. I thought that I could pay less or even no tax to Uncle Sam.

Fat chance! Uncle Sam has long arms, and they're always outstretched, palm up. Whether you agree with what he does with your taxes or not, you're not going to keep that money away from him. About the only people who can do that successfully are the one percent of the one percent.

You're also going to still be affected by economic conditions in the States, in case that's something that concerns you.

If I'd decided to emigrate when I was in my teens or 20s, I might have had a chance at picking a place, and developing job skills that were in short supply there. That's how you get welcomed.

But I didn't. And from what I can see, unless you build a career and a life from scratch in another country, it's kind of tough to split permanently from the States. The IRS doesn't want you to move out, and other nations don't especially want you to move in (unless they can see a way you'll be of short-term benefit to them), so your options are somewhat limited.

I'm not trying to discourage you from moving to Uruguay or wherever - heck, I'm far from discouraged myself - but you should be realistic about how (1) what you need in order to move; and (2) how completely you can "unplug" from the US.

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very wise info hoppinjohn thanks!

>When I first started looking around to see where I might move in retirement, I was pretty naive. I thought that I could pay less or even no tax to Uncle Sam<

If you earn income outside of the US you are entitled to a deduction of around $100K. You would need to check this #. The only way to not pay any taxes to the IRS is to turn in your US citizenship. US is one of the few countries that tax their citizens even though they live outside of the country.

>You're also going to still be affected by economic conditions in the States, in case that's something that concerns you.<

This is a very solid true statement and one which many people miss in their excitement moving abroad and one that gets you later when all is done.

I dare to say very few expats Americans are able to split permanently from the States or have giving this much thought specially if your income is based on US investments like property rent, small business etc. Even SS at some point may not be available to expats. This is something to keep in your mind and be sure you keep abreast of changes in the US laws and how they may affect the income that supports you abroad.

>I'm not trying to discourage you from moving to Uruguay or wherever - heck, I'm far from discouraged myself - but you should be realistic about how (1) what you need in order to move; and (2) how completely you can "unplug" from the US.<

Very wise recommendations for all of us newbies considering expatriation. Again thanks. I agree totally and feel this is the most difficult hurdle to overcome in our decision..

I would add to that #3 How much of your present living conditions are you willing to let go?

This is more than I don't need all the toys,I can live a simpler life answer.

This can be huge if you are older or have a medical condition that needs very special care or quick medical response.

As an example I can cite the dreaded stroke (that can happen at any age) and the outcome depends on the speed of PROPER medical attention and the drugs available.

For example here in the US they are using a drug that is miraculous treating this condition but very very few hospitals have access to it yet.

And there are a host of other things that in MHO are totally NECESSARY in one's life. I for one are healthy but I take over 30 supplements and herbs that keep me this way and would not be able to let go. Some of these supplements are very complex formulas and some even have ingredients prohibited in other countries. I have these shipped to my home monthly and would definitely need this to continue.

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>My name is Laura

Hi Laura

>and for political reasons, along with
>cultural reasons, I would like to
>leave the United States and move to
>the southern hemisphere. Uruguay
>looks like the best choice. I currently
>work for the California Department
>of Transportation as a civil engineer
>and am 52 years old and divorced.
>My plan is to get a TEFL certification
>in January and then arrive in
>February in Montevideo. My
>research indicates that 6 months
>TEFL jobs are available starting in
>March. So my overall plan is too
>spend about 7 months total doing
>three things: Learning Spanish,
>evaluating the culture and politics,
>and looking for an engineering job.

I think it's unrealistic to come here and get a job in engineering. If you spoke spanish fluently already... maybe. I think there'd have to be a severe shortage of civil engineers. But I think that's not the case. Jobs here are often given based on who you know... long-time personal relationships. Without that, it will be very difficult to find a job like that.

I'm not sure what the licensing situation is here for this sort of thing either. But transferring licenses in the medical field for example definitely isn't a given.

>I am currently studying Spanish with
>an online program, rocket
>languages, and it is going quite well.
>I would appreciate comments and
>questions on my plans, specifically
>comments regarding TEFL job
>opportunities and requirements.

Compared to civil engineering in the US, teaching english will feel like flipping burgers from an economic perspective. Salaries are very low here. And many expats arrive with the hopes of teaching english. Luckily, there's still a demand for english teachers. But the pay is still very low. You might have a hard time supporting yourself (and qualifying for residency) on only that income.

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Brian thanks! As usual the hard and honest truth of reality in UY. This is needed to save many newbies like myself from making a costly error in the excitement to move abroad.

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