½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

@FridayNightDinnerMama  I live in a building with an indoor pool, and outdoor pool, gym, etc... great and recently built.  There are apartments for rent short and long term....  I love it here in Punta del Este....  The guy who manages some of the rentals (he is the person I rented from)  is Federico and his whatsapp or mobile number is +598 99 404 892.  If he does not have what you want, there is another person arranging rentals also... ask Federico for his number....All the best! 

@FridayNightDinnerMama Let me know when you arrive!  I am American, but have been here for more than a year... first visited Uruguay decades ago.  Retired and involved in various projects here....enjoying life.

Hello, Shelley!

Congratulations on the decision you have made to move to Uruguay!  I truly hope you will like it here.

Sorry I did not see your post earlier.

From what I heard from others, importing a kitchen is a pain ... you will have to pay duty on it.  Other than that importing things is not bad, although all containers are inspected and the inspection is prepared by private contractors whose employees are the only people I have seen in Uruguay that are not respectful.  The receiving moving company I had is another aspect that I would avoid at almost all cost. 

Punta del Este is most likely the least modest of all places in Uruguay, but you have bought there so you most likely know more about Punta del Este than I do.

You are not restricted to expats, the Uruguayos are very welcoming.

Enjoy!

Armin

Hello, Shelley!

Congratulations on the decision you have made to move to Uruguay!  I truly hope you will like it here.

Sorry I did not see your post earlier.

From what I heard from others, importing a kitchen is a pain ... you will have to pay duty on it.  Other than that importing things is not bad, although all containers are inspected and the inspection is prepared by private contractors whose employees are the only people I have seen in Uruguay that are not respectful.  The receiving moving company I had is another aspect that I would avoid at almost all cost. 

Punta del Este is most likely the least modest of all places in Uruguay, but you have bought there so you most likely know more about Punta del Este than I do.

You are not restricted to expats, the Uruguayos are very welcoming.

Enjoy!

Armin

one more thing:  wanting to contribute is excellent as Uruguay deserves it.  It is a wonderful country to call home and the people very, very special.

A last thing   -   So I guess more than one more thing   ;-)

It seems you will do renovations here.  Be sure to supervise well.  The constructions workers I have dealt with are kind and willing but not well trained.

@AnitaDH

Thanks!

How hard is it to get residence. I was reading that you have to pass a medical for the government and then pass another to be able to get a health card which is a requirement for residence.

one if us in a couple years will be 62 the other 58. are there age limits?

I am 68, no problem with either.

@wbraithwaite The medical is no big deal and there is only one for you medical card (carne salud) which you will show for your residency. You just pick up a pot from the clinic or buy one from a pharmacy for your urine sample which has to be taken in the morning before eating or drinking anything.

Sorry to disagree,

but my medical for the Carne Salud also involved an interview by a doctor, an eye test, an examination by a dentist. As I mentioned no problem, but it is more than an urine sample. Of women a pap test and a mammography are required as well, those go far beyond the more comfortable tests we men get away with. These exams were done at the British Hospital, they know what they are doing (this is not to be taken as an endorsement of this hospital, I actually did not like the treatment I received by some staff there, just a reference to the fact that they do 100 of these exams a day).

Even people from the Andean states need to have a dentist sign, and there are some strange requests some dentists make before signing ...

If you want to go beyond the ASSE (governmental insurance) you have to do another test with the private competitors and at least some of these are releasing much later so that you actually have a waiting period that takes care of pre-existing conditions without disclosing it.

While wait times for walk-ins at the ASSE clinics are often many hours (I am used to that from Canada already), I received same day medical attention with appointment both by a dentist (pain) and a doctor (new prescription) at my mutualista (health co-operative).  In all fairness I should mention though that many people - including expats – swear by the governmental system, as in the rural areas the same doctors work for various systems including ASSE and the governmental clinics are often larger than the private systems including the mutualistas. 

Most mutualistas are only regional but are in associations / service networks that cover you nation wide as ASSE does.  So not to worry.

I hope this clarifies things a little bit about the tests and why people go for a second one.

May we all not need the services offered.

Armin