Moving to South America

Possible move to Punta del Este, Uruguay

May 2012

we might have a potential move to punta del este/ jose ignacio, uruguay, in the future. what are the schools like there? general quality of education?, . we have 9 and 13 year old boys up for a life adventure and i am just looking for feedback on living in uruguay............ regarding pretty much anything that you BPN posters might feel like advising us on. the wife and i have passable spanish language skills and the boys have little. thanks in advance.

My then-boyfriend, now-husband and I lived in Punta for 8 months while working at a resort down there. While I can't speak to the quality of the schools, I can tell you a little bit about living down there.

The town is very busy from Christmas through early March, still alive but quieter during the shoulder season, and completely empty from Easter through Thanksgiving. Stoplights stop working, shops get boarded up, restaurants close (or if they open, it's only for Thur-Sat). It is what I imagine Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard would be in the off-season.

Uruguayans are wonderful people- friendly and very proud of their country. They know they live in the shadow of Argentina (a bit like Canada w/ respect to the US) and seem surprised and appreciative when others choose to visit or move to their country.

Your money goes a long way down there, which is wonderful. (We rented a 3+ bedroom apartment on a high floor with daily maid service, 1 block from 1 beach and 2 blocks from another, for $1000/mo.) Jose Ignacio is smaller but charming and will be even quieter than Punta in the off-season.