About tim85251

Status:

Repatriate 

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

Arizona, United States

Citizen Of:

United States

Some Forum Posts:

Uruguay: Electricals:

Definitely take your laptop, video camera and perhaps the projector if its not too big. The cellphone charger will work - but will your cellphone? If you use Verizon or Sprint it cannot be made to work there, just isn't compatible. Of the appliances you listed all should have a dual 120/220v power supply except maybe the printer. I'm assuming you're talking about an inkjet and not laser printer :) The printer may be a hassle anyway unless it's a real generic HP model because the selection of ink cartridge types available locally is not as wide. Sourcing a projector bulb there will be difficult - might have to have it mailed to you. The projector may or may not display color when fed a local video signal because Uruguay and Argentina sort of do their own thing compared to the rest of the world. Your best bet for a plug adaptor will be the European 2-pin variety as it will fit 2 of the 3 most commonly-encountered outlets. Plug adaptors are quite cheap and very commonly available. For local appliances there's a store called Carlos Gutierrez that has their own brand called Panavox. They would be a good bet for a TV, air conditioner or refrigerator. They service what they sell, too. Electricity is very expensive there. You'll catch the tail end of winter... It was a bit unsettling for me to deal with propane heaters indoors at first and I bought a little electric heater for like 18 bucks in a supermarket. I used it to keep warm for a month until the electric bill came - and it was US$150 more than expected. Also keep in mind the more electronic crap you have with you, the more likely you are to get inspected, questioned and perhaps taxed by customs. Good luck with your move.

Uruguay: Adjusting to Expat Life in Uruguay:

These are the main things I'd share: It depends where you live in Uruguay. If you're living in a high-rise apartment in Pocitos your level of culture shock will be a bit less than if you lived out in the countryside. Absolutely learn Spanish. You can live in an English bubble just fine but it's very isolating. Do not leave your home without a small dictionary with you. If you're a guy remember these two words: ladies first. Into the elevator, into a bus, whatever. If you go first you're going to hear about it :) Getting established with local ID, banking etc. can seem to be a giant task. Put it this way - don't expect you're going to be able to do everything to start your immigration file in a week or even three. Don't expect that you'll be able to get five or six things done in a day. The pace is much slower relative to elsewhere. The two most important things to keep in mind about visiting government offices are this: 1) try to be there BEFORE they open. 2) Don't let your exasperation show. :) Be careful with your nest egg. When you get a house or apartment you generally are getting just the walls and the windows. Setting up house might be more expensive than you expect. You will almost certainly need the services of a plumber, an electrician and a locksmith all in the first week or two. Be VERY certain that the electrical installation is properly grounded - especially your hot water heater. Consider at the outset whether it's your goal to have 100% of the creature comforts (hot water in the kitchen or air conditioning in the bedroom for example) that you had where you previously lived. It may be more expensive than you anticipated to do those things. Especially with air conditioning the cost is quite a bit more than the price of the unit from the store! You will almost certainly be paying UTE (electric utility) a one-time fee to upgrade the amount of "potencia" you can draw without causing the main breaker to trip. Have a local friend arrange the services for the locksmith, electrician, etc. You can certainly call and do this yourself but when they hear your accent you will pay more. If you live in an apartment building without a "portero" (doorman) consider carrying a small flashlight on your keychain. Think twice before you rent or buy a place with a "claraboya" (skylight). All the heat will rapidly escape from the area underneath it during winter. They are also difficult to secure. When you're homesick for ethnic food like Indian, Thai or Chinese it's a bit of an adventure to figure out how to make it yourself. You will find the selection of spices in the supermarkets isn't quite up to the job. "Casa Singer" on 18 de julio will likely have all of them, although you should figure out what the spice is called in Spanish. Casa Singer also sells locally-made peanut butter - "manteca de mani." It's cheaper than the US$5 small jars of imported peanut butter sold at Tienda Inglesa @ Montevideo Shopping. The locals have a love-hate relationship with ANTEL. I found the level of service to actually be quite good. Dedicado not so much. If you live in a rural area (as I did for awhile) it's a very different experience from the city. Your neighbors will be quite curious about you, put it that way. They may ask lots of personal questions. Think before you answer because it's pretty likely it'll get repeated many times over. Our elderly neighbors were very "chusma." (gossipy) If you live in a rural area having an outside dog is a good idea because it will bark when anyone approaches.

Date Joined:

9/19/2009

Total Posts:

2

Posts/Day:

0.00