In the last 5 months, our readers have gotten a sense of who we are and where we are on our journey. Now it’s our time to learn about you. Please take a second and answer the question below.
This will be a regular feature on the urmovingwhere.com blog. Stay tuned for our next polls. We’re going to have some fun with this!
(polls)
We signed Geneva up for SUAT Emergencia Móvil service yesterday.
She had pinkeye again and I also wanted to get her ears checked since she had an ear infection last month. We did not like the idea of spending another 4 hours and U$S 120 at the Hospital Britanico, so we started looking into the alternative – one of the many Emergency/Urgent care services in Montevideo.
These companies offer Policlínicas (urgent care clinics) as well as ambulance service and in-home doctor care. It is essentially a Minute-Clinic with actual doctors on staff who also make house calls and can bring you to the hospital if needed.
We were thrilled with the service at the SUAT Policlínica just a few blocks from our house. Within 10 minutes of arrival, we were done with the sign-up paperwork, paid and in an exam room seeing a doctor. We had a quick exam and we were out again in about 30 minutes total, prescription in hand. Brad ran down the block in the other direction to the pharmacy, stopped to get some empanadas and was back with the eye drops and lunch in hand after only 10 more minutes (he claims it was only 6 minutes, but I digress…)
The amazing thing is the cost: about U$S 10.50/month for full-service membership. Yes, that is about $125 per year for emergency and urgent care. We got in a 6-month promo, which is only approx $5.30 per month ($ 127 pesos).
Many families that we’ve talked to here have this type emergency service membership for the entire family, in addition to their hospital or mutualista membership. Others have the additional emergency service just for the kids – for those unexpected “kid” incidents.
We’ll probably just keep it for Geneva right now. It’s the peace of mind knowing that we can call in the middle of the night and a doctor will come over, all paid with our monthly membership.
A few of the most popular Emergency service providers are SUAT, SEMM, UCM, and Emergencia UNO.
*We did learn at the SUAT Policlínica that we did not need a prescription for Geneva’s eye drops, but with a prescription, we can get a discount at the pharmacy. We may need to check that out because unfortunately, now I have pinkeye as well ;(
There are many Yoga centers in Montevideo, Uruguay. In fact, there are three yoga centers that I know of within a few blocks of our home in Pocitos. Since my Spanish is not great yet, I felt intimidated just walking into one of those locations and taking a class…
I found the perfect solution: Yoga in English with instructor Charla Cooper.
Charla teaches an excellent yoga class that I have been attending for the past 6 weeks. The class is small so you can get a lot of individual attention, the location is great, and it is a fabulous mix of yoga styles with Kundalini, Ashtanga and Iyengar. I had never practiced Kundalini yoga before this class and while it took a little getting used to, now it’s a part of class that I really love.
Cost is UY$ 150 per class or UY$ 1000 for a month pass.
Please see the Yoga in English website for more details and any updated class information. You can also email ccooper495@gmail.com for more specific questions. Hope you can join us!
Except that my redheaded friend Danny traveled throughout UY and Patagonia about 6 months ago. He’s the first guy you see coming down the aisle in this fantastic video. You have to watch it! It will just make you feel good. 
UPDATE: This video JK Wedding Entrance Dance had about 2000 views on YouTube when we posted it to our blog yesterday. It’s now at about 200,000 and we’re sure it will hit 1 million very soon. The bride and groom will be on Good Morning America and the Today Show on July 24th and 25th.
We left our native Minneapolis, MN in March with snow on the ground and arrived here in Montevideo, to gorgeous summer weather. That summer weather lasted about 8 weeks and now we are enjoying the cool, crisp winter days with chilly nights. It’s still beautiful here…many clear, sunny days with the smell of burning fire wood heavy in the air. It seems so strange to have winter in mid-July. Opposite seasons in the southern hemisphere will seem surreal for a while.
It is common for many homes in Uruguay to rely on wood burning fireplaces as a source of heat. The cool, damp air is penetrating and like ours, many homes do not have central heating. It is time for us to master the fireplace. Our fireplace is open with no damper and no doors, so the learning curve has been high. There’s been adventure with not-so-dry wood from the supermercado and the fireplace not venting. Besides filling the room with smoke a few times and smoke detectors beeping frequently, it’s been fun and we are now semi-skilled at the art of fire making.
After getting our fireplace cleaned, purchasing a screen and some tools (all courtesy of our landlord), we were set to order our first load of firewood. We planned to order quite a bit so we’d have some left over after heating season to use in our outdoor parilla. We ordered 1/2 ton of mixed wood for delivery. That is a whopping 500 kilos for the low, low price of $1450 (approx U$S 60) which included an extra $100 pesos to bring it to the back of the house. It was delivered yesterday and neatly stacked for us, but there was a mix-up. The delivery was all large split logs of astilla and none of the other types of wood we had requested. After calling back, we opted to get another 1/2 ton of the additional kinds of wood, and they would still deliver the same day: leña de monte, rolos secos and atados for an additional $1250 pesos (approx U$S 52). Now we know exactly what a ton of wood looks like!
There is something very comforting about not only a real wood fireplace, but the stacks of beautiful wood ready to give us heat in the cold evenings. We’ll continue to hone our fire making skills and hopefully Geneva won’t have to say “Beep, beep, beep!” anymore to mimic to the smoke detectors.
Our wood came from La Costanera. They were excellent. We worked out the mix-up in wood types quickly and they came back the same day with the additional order. The young delivery guys were very fast and courteous.
Firewood delivery :
La Costanera
tel: 601 4074 lacostanera@hotmail.com
We’ve had many people contact us through our blog and have made great friends as a result. One family in particular that contacted us through this blog before they arrived in Montevideo is now settled here and blogging about their experiences. They can be found at www.exploringuruguay.com.
Brian and Chrystal Johnson, along with daughter Zoë, currently live close to us in Montevideo. Zoë is just 5 months younger than G and the two girls love to play together whenever given the chance. The Johnson’s experiences in Uruguay are a little different than ours and you might want to check out exploringuruguay.com to see Uruguay through their eyes.
Some of the more notable differences about us/our blogs are:
Brian and Chrystal also have some great photo and video links on their site about Uruguay. Enjoy!
BTW: Thanks Brian and Chrystal for the write-up about us…and a good format, too!
A conversation over lunch on Friday continued over dinner Saturday and got me thinking: We have never really explained why we are here and what we are hoping to accomplish.
So here goes without writing a novel:
Who we are/our love of travel: Brad and I had talked about moving abroad for the 12 years we’ve been together. Brad did several study abroad trips through college and I had traveled to Europe a few times before we met. My mom was born in the Netherlands, so there has always been a strong tie to family abroad. Our love of travel brought Brad and I to Spain together for Spring Break 1997 after dating for only two months. We’ve traveled pretty extensively ever since.
As technology improved and our careers morphed from being employed by someone else to starting our own companies, a few pieces started falling into place. We started researching different locations and we felt that Buenos Aires, Argentina was the place for us. One book in particular that validated the decision we already made to live abroad was “The 4-Hour Workweek“. This also gave us some new ideas how to conduct business remotely.
Brad and I sold our house in Minneapolis that we had been in for nearly 7 years. We were expecting Baby G at the time and moved into a condo for a year while we got our business and personal lives in order. We sold most of our larger possessions and sub-leased our office space. All the while, we were still researching possible locations and talking to people. Our focus turned from Argentina to Uruguay as a very family friendly, safe and stable country.
We joke that we spent our 20′s acquiring stuff and our 30′s getting rid of it all. We did leave many sentimental items and valuables in MN for the time being. We’ll figure out if they are coming here or staying there soon.
In March 2008, we took an exploratory trip to Uruguay with G, who was three months old at the time. We loved Uruguay and knew this was the right place for us. We told our families of our plans to move a few months later.
Why we are here: It’s a huge contradiction. We want to lead a simpler life. We don’t want the big house with lots of fancy things. I don’t like to shop and I am turning into more of a hippie all the time.
Only because of technology, though, can we be here and do what we do. We need our computers, our VoIP phones and high speed internet in order to work.
We avoided getting a mobile phone here for the first several months and just broke down and got one last week. We have a nice TV that came with the furnished house, but no cable or antenna, so we can only watch DVD’s. We check news and weather online when needed. We have no car and no immediate plans to buy any material possessions. We do not necessarily want the same standard of life here that we had in the USA because there were so many distractions attached.
What we want to accomplish: We want to have a life rich in experiences without being encumbered by lots of physical ‘stuff’. Our desire is to travel through South America and see both the cities and the countryside. Sure, I want to have some luxuries along the way, but I’d rather have a good wine, a meal with friends or a massage than a new table for the kitchen or a purse I saw in a shop window. Let’s lead the simple life in regards to “stuff”, but rich in services and experiences. Services are inexpensive here, so we are living well on a much smaller amount of money than we lived off of in the USA.
I want Geneva to learn Spanish and the Uruguayan culture. I want her to learn to appreciate travel and be comfortable around people and situations that are different to her. I never really liked the 9-5 business world where I may only get to see my child for a few hours every day. Thanks to self employment and a culture that sees kids as a welcome part of the family instead of something you have to leave at home when the sun goes down, we can do that.
I’m not saying a move like this is right for everyone or it’s easy step to take, but there are options and this option of living in Montevideo, Uruguay is right for us right now.
We have had a great response to our blog and receive email frequently from people who are interested in moving to Uruguay and are looking for more information.
I’ve been corresponding with a woman from the United States who was looking for info about a possible move here with two kids. I wanted to include a few excerpts from our email conversation regarding the most expat-friendly neighborhoods and costs of goods/services in Uruguay.
Thanks for the note! To address your questions about the Pocitos, Punta Gorda and Carrasco neighborhoods:
We love the Pocitos/Punta Carretas areas. They are considered higher end, safe and very expat friendly areas that are still close to downtown. We live on the border between the two “barrios” listed previously and are within walking distance to just about every service and store that we could want. Cabs and public transportation are excellent, so we have no problems in this area without a car. There are a lot of high rises in this area and nearly all the buildings are attached to each other. While we know of a few people with small yards here, it does not seem to be common. Our house does not have a yard. Instead, we have a small front garden and a back patio.
Carrasco is gorgeous, with big houses and large yards that feel more like any United States suburb. You would definitely need a car in Carrasco it is around a 15-20 minute drive from where we are living (on a good day with no traffic). Punta Gorda is one barrio/neighborhood closer to downtown Montevideo than Carrasco and from what I hear, it has a similar feel to Carrasco.
If you click on Google Map Montevideo, you will see the names of the different neighborhoods (you may have to zoom in) and you can get some perspective to their relationship to one another. The little pin on the map is between Punta Gorda and Carrasco. If you follow the coast to the left you will find Pocitos and next to it at the point near the bottom of the screen, Punta Carretas.
To address your question regarding items that are less or more expensive than the US: Cars and gasoline here are very expensive, as is most technology including computers and home electronics. Kids/baby stuff here is also extremely expensive (2-3x more than what you’d pay in the US). I just looked for a potty seat for my daughter at a local shop and the only decent one I found was a Safety 1st model that is $50 here but only $23 on Amazon.com. On the flip side, food, most services, child care and medical are all much cheaper than what we experienced in the US.
The lifestyle is definitely different in Uruguay. We love it but we also know people here who are having problems adjusting. They expected it to be more like the US or Europe, I guess. With such a small market in Uruguay, many consumer goods are not the quality that you’d get in the US and the imports are insanely expensive due to all the import and sales taxes. Plan trips to Buenos Aires or the US to get anything you can’t find here. While you technically could ship anything here, there is a very hefty price tag attached!
Good luck with your decision and feel free to email with any more questions-
Lisa
If you have any specific questions and would like to email us directly, please use the ‘Contact’ link at the top right of the site, or feel free to leave a comment on this or any of our posts. Thanks!
In my world there is no such thing as coincidence and everything happens for a reason.. So why are all signs pointing us to Palermo?
When we started hearing of the Palermo barrio of Montevideo, it was simply in passing. Then I learned of the Ecotiendas store and mentioned it here on May 16th, not even knowing where it was located at the time.
Brad and I talked that the next place we should live in Montevideo should be a bit closer to the water, still very walkable as we have no intention of having a car, and not as “uptown” as the typical expat barrios of Pocitos or Punta Carretas. But where? Palermo looks really nice on the map… With borders of ’18 de Julio’, the Rambla, Parque Rodo and Santiago de Chile/Ejido, Palermo is nicely tucked between the park and Centro.
Then an article came out about Palermo on the Total Uruguay Guide and Brad and I started to talk about it some more.
This past Thursday, my Spanish tutor told me about a small Asian grocery called Bambu. Where else? Palermo. Okay Bambu is right outside of the border of the Palermo neighborhood, but within a block or two.
On Saturday, we couldn’t avoid the signs any longer and decided to use Ecotiendas and Bambu as our excuse to check out Palermo and Centro. We visited each store and were impressed by both. The 116 bus was a straight shot into Palermo from ’21 de Setiembre’ and we walked back through Parque Rodo.
Ecotiendas, while large in size, is somewhat small in offerings. It is similar to a small co op that you would find in the USA. We went there specifically for more ecologically friendly cleaning products and found a few nice options. They also have organic meat, cheese and produce. Located at Maldonado 1390, esq. Santiago de Chile, Montevideo. Telephone 900 6560
Bambu was amazing, with a collection of asian noodles, sauces, spices, and foods that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the city. We picked up tahini, rice and soba noodles, oyster sauce and several other items. Located at San Jose 1290 esq. Yaguarón, Montevideo. Telephone 902 7720
Our impressions of Palermo were excellent. The buildings are generally lower than in Pocitos, which means more sun. There are many of the old colonial houses that I adore along tree lined streets. Some parts were grittier than Pocitos or Punta Carretas, but that is okay with us. Taking into account it was a Saturday in the middle of winter when a lot of people are on vacation, the area was quiet.
Palermo is not a typical expat area and as Elaine addressed in the Total Uruguay Guide, this may make it harder for an expat to integrate into the community. I anticipate speaking fluent Spanish will be much more important here than in Pocitos. Costs in Palermo are also generally lower than Pocitos or Punta Carretas.
This is an area that I think we will return to often to consider whether it is a place we would like to live. Our current lease is for nine more months, so we have some time to look, explore and dream.
The time had come to renew our temporary visitor’s permits for Uruguay. Some people call these a visitor’s visa, but they are not technically visas. Uruguay gives you 90 days and then you have to leave the country and re-enter to extend your permit. We knew about this and were planning a weekend trip to Buenos Aires with the extension in mind.
We didn’t want to go to Buenos Aires quite yet and had heard a mention of extending your permit for the first time at the Uruguayan immigration office in the Ciudad Vieja barrio of Montevideo. We looked at the forums for information about this and found very little. Well, it was either the immigration office or an impromptu trip to BsAs for the weekend, so we thought we’d try here in Montevideo first.
The Dirección Nacional de Migración office is located at Misiones 1513, esq. 25 de Mayo in Ciudad Vieja. When you walk in, take a number which is on a large column and wait in the main area. Even though the place was packed with people, the numbers flew by. Pay attention as it is not posted anywhere what number they are on.
Our number was called, we went up to one of the desks, sat down and told the clerk that we need “Prorroga de permanencia temporaria” (temporary extension of stay). After they typed our information into the computer, out came official looking forms with our names/passport numbers, etc. We brought the forms to the caja (register), paid UY$356 each (about US$15), then took our papers and passports to a third desk where we received stamps all over the sheets (but strangely not in our passports) which will extend our stay for another 90 days. All done in about a half an hour. I bet immigration in the USA isn’t nearly this easy!
If you’re late in renewing your temporary status here, don’t fret. You won’t be kicked out of the country but you will pay a fine. According to the Dirección Nacional de Migración website price list, it looks like the extension of an expired stamp is only US$8 more than the valid extension.
You can make this trip to the Immigration office every other time you need to extend your visitor’s status here in Uruguay. The original stamp in your passport is good for 90 days. At the end of 90 days, go to the immigration office as described previously. At the end of the next 90 day period, you MUST exit and re-enter the country to renew your temporary status in Uruguay.
The visit to the immigration office is a great alternative to those who do not want to travel often, cannot afford it or simply don’t have the time to travel when they need to renew their visitor status. Compared to other governmental services here, we found this process to be quick, inexpensive and efficient.