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Uruguay: Questions about Artigas Area:
Hi,
I am addressing this to Peter, in the hopes that he can respond to the gentleman from Alabama with more insight than I on this particular point.
Do you really think a foreigner, especially an American, would find anything but hostility and constant robbery if he moved to Artigas?
I don't think an "estranjero" will find a pleasant life trying to integrate anywhere in the interior.
We Americans seem to think we are welcome everywhere, probably because we have such a big country and no matter where we move within it we feel we can carve out a nice little niche for ourselves. Which is pretty much true in the US. But this does not extend to the rest of the world.
So, Peter, if these Americans have no connection to anyone in Artigas, and they move there, do you really think they will be okay?
I don't, but I am an estranjero who settled in Pocitos, so my perspective may not be completely accurate. I would be very interested in your insights.
Elena Valentine
Uruguay: Uruguay -vs- Argentina:
Hi,
Uruguay is calm and stable. And from here, Argentina looks really wild and crazy. Uruguay is a lot safer both financially and physically.
The legal process here in Uruguay follows the laws that are in force. In Argentina, laws are a bit irrelevant. It is the opinion of those currently in power that guide which laws will be enforced in Argentina. In Uruguay, if it is written in the law, it will be eventually enforced. i.e. no one can confiscate your land in Uruguay if you made sure you followed all the rules, got all the paperwork done properly, etc. when you bought it ... nor your car, nor your business. Not so in Argentina.
Then there is the violence. People say crime is terrible here in Montevideo. That is because burglary, mugging and robberies are increasing. No one gets stabbed, shot, or beaten here, that all happens across the river in Argentina.
Here is something to consider, if you are traveling for the first time to this part of the world and have narrowed your search down by studying statistics and using the same criteria you would to pick a place to re-locate in the US, you will be surprised to discover that in the rest of the world, dropping in without some connection to a neighborhood is weird. No family here? No employer sent you? Why are you here then?
You may think you want to move right in to a cute little neighborhood and start mingling with the locals, but you will be a target of the burglaries and the neighbors won't look out for you like they do each other because it is so suspicious for someone to be unconnected to people where they live ... to be without a history.
My advice would be to find connections. Find a locale that is full of foreigners.
Mendoza in Argentina is a touristy area and has people from around the world living there.
In Uruguay there is Carrasco, Pocitos, and Punta Carretas. I would also recommend Punta Del Este for off season living. There is quite an interesting mix of expats living there happily.
Good luck.
Uruguay: Contemplating a move to Uruguay:
Hi Cory,
Just one thing -- you have to learn Spanish. It is a Spanish speaking country and if you are going to stay in an English speaking bubble why not stay in the US? You can have a nice social life speaking English with your ex-pat friends, but don't you want to talk to your neighbors?
Plus, prices quadruple when you don't speak Spanish. You think Costa Rica takes advantage of foreigners -- here you quickly get in the habit of counting your change all the time.
Robbery, muggings, and short changing are rampant, but no one gets stabbed, shot, or beaten. I am from Los Angeles and I would call this place crime free, in spite of the fact that I have been mugged as have most everyone I know.
Good luck in your plans, but consider that your entire perspective of Uruguay depends on understanding what is going on, and that requires understanding Spanish.
Elena Valentine
Uruguay: Living cost in Uruguay???:
When I moved to Uruguay in 2006 I got a beautiful place three blocks from the beach in Pocitos for U$S 280 per month. July 2007 an income tax was implemented and inflation has been very high ever since. I was not able to renew my lease and now my current rent in a smaller apartment nearby is U$S 750 because I know the owner. Other people in the building are paying over U$S 1000.
So, bottom line, things have changed.
It is no longer cheap to live here, nor is it as safe. Robberies and break ins are increasing.
I recommend moving to Uruguay because you like the culture and the atmosphere here, not because you want to live a Beverly Hills lifestyle on a Compton budget. That is still doable in places like Belize and Nicaragua, but not here anymore.
Good luck,
Elena
Uruguay: Live/Work UY:
Hi,
You can´t make a living teaching English unless you know how. Many expats make a little extra spending money leading conversation classes, which are just that, conversation. Unless you have some background in teaching ESL how are you going to explain a predicate from a gerund? If you do have the understanding of English to be able to actually teach it, you might be able to make a living at it. A better idea would be to teach at one of the bilingual elementary or high schools. Which requires a BA and some credentailing which you can be in the process of completing when you are hired.
And about renting out a room to an Uruguayan student, this is not Illinois, children live with their parents till they marry, and if they do go to a University away from home they stay with a family member. And since everyone in Uruguay seems to be realated to everyone else, it is not difficult to find a family member to stay with.
From your posting I might guess you have never been here. I would suggest you visit before you begin to make assumptions about the possibilities open to you here.
Good luck.
Uruguay: help with work in uruguay:
You don´t need a certificate to teach English here. Being a native speaker is a great asset. But how are you going to teach English if you have no training? You can apply at Berlitz and they will train you and then pay you less than US$ 3 per hour. That is a good way to meet people, get to know the country, and make a little extra spending money if that is your goal.
But if your goal is to support yourself and make the ´big bucks´ or rather ´pesos grande´ you need to know what you are doing when you get here. It doesn´t take much to get a TOFL or TEFL. Contact your local Community College there in the US. You can actually get one here from the Anglo Institute, but it is a one Saturday per week class for one year.
If you get in with the right company, or take on free lance clients, you can make between US$ 12 to US$ 25 per hour. But you have to know grammar construction and be able to explain why certain word order is wrong, and simply being a native speaker does not give you that skill.
Good luck!
Uruguay: TV & movies:
Hi,
As in most Spanish speaking countries the movies are in the original language and subtitled in Spanish, except for the big blockbusers or kids movies (kids can´t read that fast)
And of course there are TV stations in English. When you picked UY you picked the most sophistocated of the Latin American countries, the safest, and the one with the least corrupt government...safe banking, I could go on and on. When you live here, you notice more the consequences of a socialist government (strikes and slow government workers) than anything which might deserve the title ´third world´.
Uruguay: apt maintenance fees:
Hi,
Apartments here are usually condos that people are renting out and thus have common expenses (homeowners fees), there is also a door tax, etc. I wouldn´t set your sights on such a cheap place, unless you have some connection to UY and can live near people you know or who know your family. An ´estranjero´ living alone needs to live somewhere within a few miles of the coast and needs to live somewhere with good security.
Count out at least $800 for the apartment and apartment related expenses.
You said you saw a listing for annual rents, think about how one rents in the US...they run your credit report. As a foreigner you don´t have such a thing here, nor any sort of collateral. Are you going to get your residency papers? Will you have an account in a local bank? How can the owners be sure you aren´t going to trash the place and disappear?
I paid for the full year of my first apartment here. I have since moved and am now paying month to month. It depends what you can work out with the owners, same as in the US.
Uruguay: Spanish lessons:
Hi,
Montevideo is the capitol city of UY and the seat of the Mercusor. This is as sophistocated city as Chicago or St. Louis. Of course you can take Spanish lessons with a group, or alone, you can go to a language institute or have the teacher come to you. And you can pay anywhere from US$ 50 per month to US$ 50 per hour and anything in between. You can go to a University, or a small language institute, or find a private teacher working independently.
Uruguay: airport bus to downtown:
Hi,
May I ask why you are staying downtown? If you want a good, central, place to stay which is safe, try Pocitos. It is the trendy upscale area of town and it is pretty much in the middle of Montevideo. A taxi from the ariport to downtown will be expensive. You can hire a remise at an hourly rate and it will be safer and cheaper.
There is a kiosk that changes money in the airport, but don´t get too much changed there because they have terrible rates. There are ´Casas de Cambo´ all over town which will give you a good rate.
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