'General questions and thoughts' Life  

General questions and thoughts

Life, Uruguay

fvansan from pennsylvania - 10/01/08 08:29

If the water is fairly coolish in the Uruguayan summertime and too cold to swim in the ocean past March, where area/city is it best to live if one preferred to live near the beach?

If one lived in a beach house, what type of weather can they expect from March to December, or more specifically are they going to get a lot of damp, cold, wall penetrating wet wind that leaves windows with a salty film? Maybe it is best to live a few blocks away from the beach?

Atlantida looks on paper to be preferred over Punta del Este as the local taxes are lower and it is less crowded in Jan-March. Alantida is also a shorter drive to Montevideo for your medical care. Do people agree with this?

I also wonder how far do you have to live away from Montevideo to have blue clear ocean water as opposed to the brownish hue that is present closer to Montevideo?

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Comment #1 Lee from Pocitos - 10/01/08 09:42

Well, Montevideo is on the Rio de la Plata not the Atlanic (though there is a tide, waves and it is salty). The official dividing line between the River and the Ocean is Punta del Este.

One side of the point is the river and the other the ocean!

The brownness of the water in Montevideo varies considerable over the year. Dec-Mar feels like summer in Michigan/Pennsylvania/New York. Usually with a good breeze.

We lived on the Rambla (blvd that goes along the coast) in Pocitos. We never had a any film on the window... but there was a lot of dust... maybe from the buses...

Comment #2 fvansan from pennsylvania - 10/01/08 12:53

Hi Lee and thanks for today's input and previous comments too.

I'm guessing the summer climate is closer North Carolina in both winter and summer. Hot summers and mild winters with a possible freezing night, but not very often. Michigan has quite cool summers mostly in the 70 and below since it is so far north. (Exceptions are Detroit and Chicago.)

So far, I like everything I have researched on Uruguay, but I wish the ocean surface water was warmer. I hate cold water. I used to live in Maine and it was rare I would ever go in the ocean, but some lakes were fine in the middle of the summer. I guess there really isn't any place on Earth that is affordable, safe and has warm ocean temp.

I guess I need to come to Uruguay to look around.

I wonder if there is much air pollution from Auto exhaust in Montevideo? After all, it is a city. Perhaps the ocean breeze pushes much of it away.

Comment #3 Steve Bowman (68.220.57.206) - 10/01/08 16:35

As Lee said, Puta is where the Atlantic starts.

However, the water really starts to change in Piriapolis. The water is often very clear, but at times, the Rio backs up in the area. Overall, very nice. Piria is about an hour and twenty minutes from MVD and 30 minutes from Punta.

Stop by the website for pics and other info about Piriapolis.

• Coastal Uruguay

Comment #4 Frank from Pennsylvania (69.248.31.120) - 10/01/08 19:51

Thanks Steve,

I do like what I know about Piriapolis. Quaint town, but I am concerned with living in a remote place after the "action" dies down after March. My wife is a city girl and she will go nuts in a place that is too quiet. If the ocean was warmer, it would be a no-brainier.

I am attractive to health care possibilities and the price of the British Hospital Health Plan makes living in MVD practical . I have not seen anything like that in Piriapolis. If it is there, I don't know it.

On the other hand, I wonder what the air is like in MVD with all the auto exhaust. I really need to visit and perhaps next year I can, but I don't want to go during the Uruguay summer, as it will be so nice it may just distort my vision.

We can't afford to retire until 1/2015, so I have a lot of time to choose. (Okay, don't laugh too loud with my long lag time. Unfortunately, we have to do this retirement thing right the first time since we won't have enough finances to allow errors, especially since the USA market keeps tanking and real estate currently is a challenging investment.)

Everyone's feedback is very helpful.

Thanks again.

Comment #5 Lee from Pocitos - 10/02/08 06:08

Montevideo is full of tree lined streets and usually a good breeze... wonderful in the summer...

I've never found the air to be a problem and never desired air conditioning (though many have it). I find the issue of insufficient heating in the winter to be more of a problem.

We did the same thing... came in the middle of winter and just stayed.

I've never really gone in the water here... but really enjoyed the Beaches in Florianopolis, Brazil. Of course Florinoplis is still too far south to be tropical year round.

Comment #6 Randy (63.176.159.60) - 12/26/08 10:28

What are the jobs like in Uruguay?

Comment #7 fvansan from pennsylvania - 12/26/08 13:20

What are the jobs like? What is any job like, depends on the boss and particulars of work. It is universal!

Comment #8 Lee from Pocitos - 12/27/08 04:31

You might find that pay is generally lower and hours generally longer.. and that many often work 2 jobs.

The doorman at our apartment works from 10am to 10pm six days a week! That is really a long shift and he used to work less, but the morning guy got sick so he took over both shifts.

He said that if he wasn't working a double shift he would have a second job.

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