'Canadians/canadiens' Expat

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Canadians/canadiens

So much of the commentary here, albeit helpfull, is very American. Je trouve la plupart des commentaires affichés ici d'un point de vue très américain.

I am thinking of moving to Montevideo and getting residency status. How did you find the process? C'est mon intention de devenir residant permanent en Uruguay. Pour ceux qui l'ont déjà fait, comment était l'experience?

I'm a Montrealer and have taken early retirement. Je suis Montréalais et à la prérettraite.

I think you may find that much of the English information about Uruguay and English speaking expats in Uruguay are American as they seem to make up the largest percentage of expats coming here, or certainly the most prominent members of expat forums.

I find that people who speak other languages (French, Italian, German etc) tend to learn Spanish faster and therefore ingrate faster in to Uruguayan society are not really to be found in expat circles. If you're looking for French speakers you're probably better off to search in French, I think there are a few blogs out there...

As for people on this forum giving American views....I'm Irish, Patrick is Irish, Tamara is Australian, Leanne and Claire are from New Zealand, Bruce is from Brazil, Jorge, Ana, Klarita and Esteban are from Uruguay, Wolfgang is from Germany, Jonathan is from the UK and his girlfriend from Argentina, Raul from is Barcelona, Spain, Dany from France, Brita is from Norway, Alejandro del Pino is from Argetina, ...the list goes on. Not to mention that many of the Americans on board have lived all over the world in Asia, Europe, South and Central America etc, don't think its fair to say that all the commentary is very "American".

Allow me to explain that after having waded through the commentary about health care I felt confused. I'm not sure if the Americans, or any of the other contributors for that matter, have a national health care program back home and it was unclear what the comparative difficulties they encountered are/were. I felt that getting the views of another Canadian would prove to be the the most helpfull.

It does seem, as you point out, that some of the English speaking folks have issues with integration. It's all part of the greater whole, isn't it? Learning another country's language is a defacto way of learning their culture, their political system, their social values etc.. Language is the door and by opening it, we have access to everything that lies behind it. I say that, I suppose, after having spent part of my career working with teaching integration skills to adult immigrants. Although I have another theory which is that most English speaking countries and their citizens have a tradition of assimilating others, not the other way 'round.

I have encountered French language blogs, mostly of French nationals who have relocated to Argentina. We share the language but they are as much like us as we are like the English .... not very.

Anyway, I have to stress how much I enjoy reading this blog and how helpfull it really is. You seem to be a great contributor. Just this weekend I saw a film "Julie & Julia" about a woman who blogs during a whole year that she works her way through Julia Childs' famous cookbook recipes. This exercise must have a valuable therapeutic aspect to it; a way to articulate one's related thoughts and feelings to the reality one is currently living. Not to mention the generosity of character to want to share it.

Thankyou.

I think you have to be working here and paying Uruguayan taxes to qualify for state health care here, as such not many expats are eligible and couldn't tell you the comparative difficulties. If you have specific questions about healthcare here I'm sure you could post them and you would get replies. Health services here are very good and monthly insurance is pretty affordable.

"It does seem, as you point out, that some of the English speaking folks have issues with integration"

I think the majority of people who are on expat forums (not just in Uruguay but the world over) are there because they haven't fully integrated or claimed that country as their new home. There are always the few helpful exceptions that speak the language and are totally integrated but enjoy helping fellow expats (or locals who enjoy helping foreigners).

Many of the people moving here are of retirement age and find the idea of learning a new language to a level of fluency very very challenging. Others move here very motivated but unless you cut yourself off from English and force yourself to speak like a 5 year old then English becomes a crutch. More than the language, it is difficult to cut yourself off from the supportive expat community because it can be challenging to immediately integrate in Uruguay. Uruguayans are very family focused and keep their friends from school and university or their workplace. Its not that they're unfriendly, they're lovely people, but many expats have found that unless you have a specific reason to have contact with someone (eg kids of the same age, mutual friend, family contacts) then it can be tough to get past the general niceties to an actual support network. Do you speak Spanish yourself?

As for blogging..I attempted to start a blog when I moved here to help other people find some info that I couldn't locate when I was planning my move in 2008. The problem is that is becomes something else to maintain, hopefully I can get back to it again someday because I've had a lot of feedback from it.

English is the language we used at home and we learned French in school although I had a set of great grandparents that were francophone who were long gone before I came along. I didn't really move to a part of Canada where French is the predominant language until I was in my late twenties. The official languages act means that both languages are posted for most services so I had to make a decided effort to understand the French rather than relying on my English. I did an immersion programme, then an undergraduate degree in French linguistics and then did a certificate to teach it.

I started Spanish back in the early 70s, the first time I went off to university. Like French, its a Latin language so there are a lot of similarities in grammar and vocabulary. I can read it easily enough but don't get much opportunity to practise it. There are plenty of Latinos in Montréal, but out of courtesy, I wouldn't encourage them to speak to me in Spanish as they're busy trying to perfect their French and learn some English. Although, re-learning Spanish is one of the motivations for going to Uruguay. I enjoy the experience of using a different language and all that it implies. However, I'm not sure that I want to return to school to become a Spanish teacher.

In fact, I am at early retirement age. Hopefully young enough still to make a painless transition if I decide to relocate, whether on a permanent or temporary basis, and still lucid enough to enjoy it. I love my country, but after awhile, 5 months of winter every year has started to lose its charm, especially living in the city; it's great in the country, though. I lived a year in Quebec City which is a lot more laid back than Montreal and really enjoyed life there. I'm hoping Montevideo will be like that. Well, I won't know 'til I go and check it out, as they say.

I'm not Canadian but I do know they are renowned for their healthcare, I also believe it is state run and paid via taxes no? You ask if the same comprehensive, univsersal payer health care exists here...but even if they use the same title for what they provide here, you can't really compare Canada and Uruguay, the GDP in Canada is 3 times higher, therefore tax revenue is much higher and public services are better.

Uruguay is technically a "third world country", but in comparison to most South and Central American countries the medical services and healthcare options here in Uruguay are excellent. If you are working here and paying taxes then you qualify for mutualista healthcare, however this doesn't apply for the majority of expats.

Private health insurance is available through many many companies and hospitals with a range of policies from the most basic to the most comprehensive. You can look up Hospital Britanico, Medica Uruguay, Hospital Evangelico, Associacion Espanola...all of these are very good companies which many expats have used.

I believe I clicked on the link to MedicaUruguay that you had in a previous posting and found lots of usefull info but for prices. Do you have any idea of the range of prices ... in general, just ball park figures for example?

The Hosptial Britanico site wasn't accessible but it may have been because I had cut and pasted the address from Lee of Pocitios and I think it was for their English homepage. For certain, I'll check out the other two you mention. Hospital Evangelico ... do you have to be an evangelist to go there?

Perhaps you can explain another thing. Recently, I have read on the cyber newspaper sites about an open period where you could change coverage from one "mutualista" to another without penalty. I took that to mean those who paid for their own coverage. Am I any where near right?

MedicaUruguaya 1100 pesos a month

Britanico 2600 pesos a month

If you work, then BPS (the government) pays your fee at MedicaUruguaya, Associacion Espanola and others, but not Britanico.

You already have, good information from qualified people that live in Uruguay.

I would like to add few extras. The Dollar in Uruguay right now is 19.60 and recently going up.

I watch on tv also about changing "Mutualistas" once a year, I believe it's like amnesty and if your not happy with the services you are able to change without a penalty. If I'm wrong, I know someone will clarify.

You don't have to become a Spanish Teacher but maybe a good idea would be a French Teacher. Check the Lycee Francais and others.

I learned French in the First and Second year of HS, they taught French before English in Uruguay a long time ago.

I had the oportunity to visit Montreal in 1975 and I loved it, even better I took a Bus to Quebec City and that was something to remember, beautiful.

I visited those cities in August and it was cool. I don't blame you for escaping the Canadian Winters. You will adapt to Uruguay fast if you stay in Montevideo(just my opinion)

If you like Soccer, become a Nacional fan, no Hockey in Uruguay.

Good luck

Again, as we've both said, Canada and Uruguay are apples and oranges, so trying to draw similarities is simply misleading so I won't try to liken the two.

As far as I am aware Mutualistas are the clinics which cater to tax paying workers who pay in to a mutual fund through their work. I believe these costs are shared between the worker and the employee. This set-up is not applicable to people who do not pay Uruguayan income tax, yet private paying customers can access the same clinics. For example CASMU is a well known mutualista and I use this clinic but hold my private insurance policy with pre-medica. If you get a job here then your employer will tell you what mutualista options are available to you, some companies have agreements or preferences for certain companies.

If you are not paying Uruguayan income tax then you will be looking for private healthcare, some of the well known providers I have listed above in other posts (and I'm pretty sure you don't have to be evangelist for Hospital Evangelico). As for the option to change companies - what you and Jorge spoke of was the option for workers who are assigned to a mutualista through their job. Private paying customers can choose to change depending on the contract they enter in to. If you sign up for a year then you can choose to change or renew after a year, they are different situations.

Just like the currency here... get used to it, don't convert every purchase to dollars and think in dollars... think in pesos.

Think in the medical system here. You pay your "hospital" of choice a monthly fee and use their services, or if you are employed "BPS" pays the "hospital" and your choice is more limited.

You can replace the word "hospital" with whatever word makes you happy: hospital, clinic, insurance, mutualista, etc. The essence of it is basically that the service provider is paid a monthly fee and there is no third party involved as with "insurance" in the USA.

Here there is a state funded healthcare system which is fairly basic in most aspects.

On top of this we have a "mutualista" system with numerous local mutual healthcare systems with their own surgeries, policlinics and hospitals which have agreements between themselves for different specialities. Here in east Colonia the two most popular are CAMEC and Evangelico. Both cost about 1200 pesos/month.

In MVD there are also posher options like the British Hospital but you wouldn't expect a paddy like me to trust the Brits with posting a letter let alone with medical matters :-)

A couple of years ago, our reforming government stepped in and funded mutualista cover for children and certain other groups. Because I am a uni-personal small farmer who pays BPS contributions, my CAMEC cover is paid by the BPS. As my BPS contributions are roughly equal to the CAMEC subscription costs, the new system saves me about 1200 pesos a month.

I would get some kind of International Medical Insurance until you settle in Uruguay.

Nothing is too too far in Montevideo. Uruguay is divided in 19 Departamentos and Montevideo is the smallest one.

It's a great place to walk, for that you are moving to the right place.

Also Uruguay has the French Bakery that I believe you will miss leaving Montreal.

When we visited St Marteen and we traveled to the French side of the Island I smelled the aroma of the Bakeries and said "this smells like home" meaning Uruguay.

That has to be a plus for you, how can you live without French bread ?

1000 FOTOS and EL PAIS 90 ANOS you will see some good pictures of past Uruguay and the World.

Wise words in my opinion.

Its generally easier to pass the mutualista's preliminary medical exam and gain full entitlement to all services before you reach the age of 60. Most mutualistas will continue your membership without imposing age-related contribution increases or service restrictions as you get older once you are inside the umbrella. I seem to recall reading that the Britanico did bad things wrt subscriptions for the elderly.

Its the Bank of Social Provision... a sort of free-standing bank/bureaucracy which acts as an employment contributions collection and social payments agency with various legal powers but run supposedly at arms length from the government.

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