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How ""prosperous" is Uruguay?
| How ""prosperous" is Uruguay? I'm used to seeing ridiculous statistics about Uruguay manipulated in deceitful ways in order to sell properties and investments in this "exotic, tax free utopia". However this ranking looks to be a little more genuine so I'd like to know what people's opinions are...Uruguay ranked 33rd overall out of 104 countries, but when broken down into specific topics Uruguay ranks - 67th on economic fundamentals - 53rd for entrepreneurship - 35th for democratic institutions - 43rd for education - 28th in terms of health (only one step below the USA ranked 27th!) - 26th for safety/security - 31st in terms of governance - 14th for personal freedom (Patrick I thought you'd especially appreciate that one!) - 60th for social capital. Does anyone agree or disagree with this representation of Uruguay? Personally I think it may (in reality) rank even lower for entrepreneurship. Corruption may not be really bad in Uruguay, but bureaucracy, delays and necessary contacts and networking are certainly now a welcoming environment! The study says it takes 10 formal procedures just to START a business...then you have to try keep it alive! The link below shows the full listing, if you click on Uruguay you will get more in-depth details. |
Comment #111/04/09 12:13Rural east Colonia departmento | "Prosperity"
It all depends on what they mean by "prosperous." Is a 3rd worlder with a debt-free home and plenty to eat more or less prosperous than a 1st worlder with a huge mortgage and a leased Merc? The former would surely sleep better :-) I love the ROU for the personal freedoms it offers... but I can only see tenuous connections between that and prosperity. The tedious multi-layered bureaucracy is there to prevent corruption but whether you prefer speedy corruption or slow fairness is more a matter of personal choice. I love the place dearly and researched the whole planet before moving here but I wouldn't try to start or run a non-agricultural business in the ROU unless it was extremely small or very large. |
| "Standard of Living"
I know what you mean...in my opinion Ireland is one of the most incredible countries in the world, and is in many ways a fantastic place to live - but not for ANY of the reasons listed on any index. On the contrary in fact- as Ireland has become more "prosperous", and rapidly climbed the rankings for standards of living, I truly believe that the people have become unhappier, more stressed and more indebted. If that is the measure of prosperity than may Uruguay long stay where it is!There are SO many measures of "happiness" and "prosperity", and the way in which people judge what is and isn't a "high" standard of living is very personal. As has been pointed out on this forum many times, Uruguay offers many things that other countries do not - a lot of untouched countryside, a relaxed "tranquilo" attitude, less materialistic consumerism etc. The expats living here rank these things as much more important than the availability of take-away frothy coffee. |
| "frothy coffee"
Elaine and Patrick, I just read both of your postings in this thread and I have to say you could not have articulated my own feelings and thoughts any better, about why I have decided to spend my retirment --partly-- in Uruguay, after a lifetime living in the USA.Also, I totally agree with you that happiness and prosperity can be quite subjective. For some people, for instance, peace and tranquility are true assets, and genuine love and close friendships are far more important than the accummulation of material possessions. Having said that, I am totally addicted to my daily morning dosis of Starbucks Venti Cappuccino to-go, and will probably miss it a little, even though the Uruguayan version of cappuccinos, cortados and expressos are pretty damn good too. :-) |
| "is 1 good or bad?"
These lists are also very bad because its never clear if the objective is to have the highest or lowest number for a ranking!For example, some people make a list of the cheap places to live and being #1 would be what most people are looking for... others make a list of the more expensive places to lives, so being #1 on that list would be exactly the opposite! Of course all those #'s are completely meaningless until you've lived someplace for a year or more to see how you actual feel there. |
Comment #504/08/10 19:28Rural east Colonia departmento | "frothy coffee"
This afternoon I took my sister to the airport. The new terminal has McDonalds as its only caterer and I did my very best to obtain a cup of cafe con leche without foam... but it couldn't be done. I tried to order a double black coffee (OK) with a portion of cold milk sin espuma but they claimed not to have any :-) I find it hard to understand why the authorities decided to spoil an otherwise wonderful building by allowing McD's inside it. OTOH a visit to McDonalds helps to give me a degree of understanding as to why terrorists feel it their duty to blow things up :-) Patrick McDonnell (not McDonald) :-) |
| "San Andres Colombia"
Seems to be the only place without a McDonalds... and I agree they RUINED the airport having such a place in it.Compared to say Puerto Alegre where you can eat a nice buffet meal... decent food and decent prices... something like that helps make an airport real. McDonalds makes it a place you want to avoid! The United States of America should be ashamed to have created McDonalds. |
Comment #704/08/10 23:19Rural east Colonia departmento | "Slipping standards"
I find it very strange especially as much Uruguayan culture is food based and you really can taste the quality of the raw materials. Why exclude the glories of Uru-food and replace it with expensive and taste-free pap? It seems to happen everywhere whenever a new terminal is built... out goes the quality and in comes Colonel McBurger in his various guises. |
| "burger franchises"
Don't we have enough of them on this planet already? Apparently not... I found out yesterday that La Pasiva of Ejido and 18 was recently sold to Burger King and will be closing in approx. two years. What a bummer! To me, that particular La Pasiva is not just a place to eat but a point of reference for montevideanos in general, and specially for those who love Uruguayan fast food (like I do). I dunno...I'm sorry but a delish chivito can never be replaced by a tasteless burger. |
| "Rankings"
The interactive capability is pretty amazing. You can even re-weight the assessment factors according to your own personal priorities, a very nice feature. I do wish they would show raw scores instead of rankings; by showing just the rankings, they are throwing away useful information. |
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