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How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Uruguay?

One bedroom apartment in a good neighbourhood in Montevideo about USD 600.00 and up per month.

A three bedroom house with woodburning fireplace and yard in any of the really charming provincial cities about USD 500.00 per month

How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?

A two hour bus ticket in Montevideo is currently about USD 1.25

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?
What is your monthly budget for groceries?

If one shops in the upscale stores and ignores the sales, probably $100.00 per person per month.聽 If one shops in the open air market and shops the sale, much less.

How much does it cost to see a doctor/dentist/physician/specialist in Uruguay?

Uruguay is semi socialized medicine.聽 The cost will depend upon the socialized medicine plan to which one adheres.聽 By law hospitals cannot refuse the indigent.

How much does it cost to fill up your car鈥檚 fuel tank?

Petrol is expensive in Uruguay.聽 Currently, one litre of petrol will run about USD 1.25.

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?

Internet is a government monopoly.聽 Basic service will run about USD 30.00 per month.聽 There are different telephone plans all in the same range as the Internet.

How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

A really decent cortado as they are called will run between USD 2.00 to USD 3.00 in a coffee shop called confiter铆a and less in a neighbourhood bar called boliche.聽 I highly recommend the boliches of Montevideo.聽 In Montevideo, you are determined by the kind of boliche that you frequent and by the football team that you cheer.聽 There are great videos on youtube about the boliches of Montevideo.

Uruguay is expensive, everyone says so but here is an idea of just how expensive it is:

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Uruguay?

Rent is around $20,000 Uruguayan pesos minimum for a 2-bedroom apartment in the center of Montevideo. You will need to add the utilities including, electricity, water, gastos comunes (these are building fees that not every building charges), etc.
Also, to keep in mind is that when you rent in Uruguay they usually ask for a warranty that you can get from places like Anda, Contaduria, etc. I guess some owners will accept cash advances as warranty but it鈥檚 not the common practice and they may refuse it or be higher than normal.

How much does it cost to buy an apartment or a house in Uruguay?

If you鈥檙e buying, prices will vary depending on where you would like to buy. Montevideo, for example, is more expensive then Canelones but at the same time in Montevideo you have more employment opportunities and more services then in Canelones.
A 2-bedroom apartment in a relatively safe and close to everything neighborhood like Cord贸n prices are around $120,000 US Dollars and up.
A house in Atl谩ntida, on the South side (there are huge differences in price in Canelones depending if the house is South or North of the Ruta Interbalnearea. North is cheaper but it鈥檚 also not as safe as the South side in most places, this is as a rule of thumbs, obviously some people will disagree but that鈥檚 the reason for the price differences) a 2-bedroom house could be found starting at $100,000 and up.

Also, to keep in mind, a lot of houses and apartments have huge debts with the mortgage company and this debt will be transferred to the new owner. You should always ask as well regarding any debts the house may have with the council, lots of properties are behind paying the council tax and this will add to a lot if not careful. The other thing to look for is if the house has all the paperwork in order, some don鈥檛 have the planos (blueprints) registered and legalized and this can be costly if you have to do it.

How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?

In Montevideo the normal bus ticket costs $36 Uruguayan pesos and it goes up every year usually.
Tickets to Canelones and the rest of the country depend on where you are and where you鈥檙e going. From Atl谩ntida to Montevideo costs about $60 Uruguayan pesos.

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?

Bread (1 French baguette) costs $40 Uruguayan pesos approximately depending on where you buy it.
White rice costs $35 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
Pasta (dry pasta) cost $30 Uruguayan pesos approximately depending on the brand.
Corn and sunflower oil 2 liters $110 Uruguayan pesos approximately.

Meat:

Normal Ground beef 1 Kg $135 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
Chicken Supremas (breast meat) 1 Kg $290 Uruguayan pesos approximately
Pork 1Kg $175 Uruguayan pesos approximately

Vegetables you can get 鈥渃heaper鈥� at the local farmer鈥檚 markets depending on the weather, if it rains to much or we don鈥檛 get enough rain prices skyrocket. Here is a general idea of prices today:

1 Kg of onions $60 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
1 Kg of green pepper $90 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
1 Kg of carrots $55 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
1 Kg of red potatoes $60 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
1 Kg of tomatoes $100 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
1 Lettuce $45 Uruguayan pesos approximately per unit.
1 corn on the cob $40 Uruguayan pesos approximately per unit.

The most expensive is the hygiene products:

Cheapest shampoo 1 liter $140 Uruguayan pesos approximately, Head and Shoulders will cost $160 and up.
Cheapest 4 toilet rolls for $40 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
Cheapest soap bar $35 Uruguayan pesos approximately. Dove costs $45 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
Woman鈥檚 pads, the cheapest ones for 8 or 10-unit costs $20 Uruguayan pesos approximately. The better ones (in my opinion) cost $90 Uruguayan pesos approximately and the pack has 16 units.
Huggies Natural Care Size M 68 units cost $625 Uruguayan pesos approximately.

What is your monthly budget for groceries?

I don鈥檛 keep an exact account on how much we spend but I鈥檒l say that a family of 2 adults and a child could easily spend $3,000 - $5,000 Uruguayan pesos a week approximately.

How much does it cost to see a doctor/dentist/physician/specialist in Uruguay? How much do you pay for health insurance per month?

In Uruguay we have a new system in which if you鈥檙e working legally (this means paying all the taxes such as BPS, DGI, IRPF, etc.) you can include the health service for a percentage of your wage, this is called FONASA and it鈥檚 included automatically by your employer when you get a job. With this you get the benefit of getting health care with any health service provider (some exceptions are the British Hospital that doesn鈥檛 take patients from this program) but you鈥檒l need to still pay for medicine, doctor鈥檚 appointments, etc. Just a lot less than you would if you鈥檙e just walking in. The prices vary depending on which company you go with, they go from expensive, like, La Espa帽ola to cheapest, like, ASSE (this is the government service) or Medica Uruguaya. In a medium ground like it鈥檚 COSEM the prices are, to see a general doctor or a gynecologist cost $100 Uruguayan pesos per visit. If you鈥檙e seeing a specialist, it鈥檚 $350 Uruguayan pesos approximately. Medication varies depending on which medicine it is and so do special tests.
Just so you have an idea, a pregnancy scan is about $400 Uruguayan pesos and to have a yearly blood check-up costs about $1,000 Uruguayan peso.

You can also have private insurance and the costs depends on the place. For COSEM the private insurance (You鈥檒l get this if you鈥檙e not working) costs about $3,000 and in includes dentist.
Note that most insurances don鈥檛 include dental coverage on their basic FONASA plans.

How much does childcare cost on average per month? What is your child's schooling budget per month?

Education in Uruguay is free after they turn 5 years old, depending on where you live this is a great option or not, I know that are a lot of people that don鈥檛 like public education, but my opinion remains, it depends on where you live.
Prices and let鈥檚 calling quality of private education varies depending on which school you go to.
I don鈥檛 have a lot of experience paying for a private school, but I do have experience teaching in one and the only huge difference with the public service is that the classes are smaller (10-20 students per class versus 35-40 in public schools) and this obviously influences the attention your child is getting but that鈥檚 about it.
There are obviously private schools that are great, and they offer a lot more than public schools but it all depends on how much you鈥檙e willing to pay.
Also, to keep in mind, most schools that tell you they鈥檙e bilingual aren鈥檛 with some exceptions like the German School or the British one, the rest are usually calling bilingual to having English classes which is not bilingual.

How much does it cost to fill up your car鈥檚 fuel tank?

1 liter of normal petrol cost $50
1 liter of premium petrol cost $52
1 liter of gasoil cost $41

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?

There are people that pay more and people that pay less but this are the real costs for a family of 2 adults and a baby (my experience):

Electricity (all year around without turning on AC or heater) $2,300 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
Water (all year around without filling in a pool or watering the grass) $500 Uruguayan pesos approximately.
Cell phone $500 Uruguayan pesos approximately each line.
A 13 Kg gas canister $580 Uruguayan pesos approximately.

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?

Internet and the pone line (this is the best plan, not fiber optics) $1,800 Uruguayan pesos approximately. This is the price without using the phone line.

How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?

You can get a cheap one for about $200 Uruguayan pesos approximately.

How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

Between $130 - $200 Uruguayan pesos approximately.

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?

$230 - $290 Uruguayan pesos approximately.

How much does a gym membership cost in Uruguay?

You can get gym memberships for about $1,200 Uruguayan pesos a month in Montevideo.

Considering that the minimum wage in Uruguay today is $13,430 Uruguayan pesos, this is a very expensive country.

I am living in Punta del Este and usually shop at Marco Mercado. Where would you suggest to shop for food for the best prices? I have a car so I can drive to places outside of PdE like Maldonado city, Punta Ballena, Pirapolis, etc. for a good deal.

Hi there, well Punta del Este is usually more expansive than the rest of the country, I'm sure you've noticed. You can always go to farmer's market for the veggies. They probably have some around your area or if you drive anywhere like San Carlos you can probably find a market, they're usually on on Sundays but that varies depending the area (Ours is on Fridays)
When it comes to meat you should go to a butchers or a smaller shop, not a main shop (like Macro Mercado or Tienda Inglasa) since they usually have some offers, again, find one that's not directly in Punta del Este since those will be more expensive. We have one shop near us that has a promotion of "buy 2Kg of minced for $140 pesos the Kg if you buy 2 or more Kg."
There are shops called Mayoristas as well that will be cheaper to buy in bulk (things like pasta, oats, cereal, rice, oil, etc.), kind of like Macro Mercado but different, the only thing is that some won't sell to the public and some will sell only if you buy certain amount of money worth of food but if you're going say, once a month, then it may be worth it. I'm not sure where you can find one near you, I'm not very familiar with the area and as you probably know an online search won't yield any results usually, Uruguay is still in the process of trusting the internet I think.
Let me know how you get on, hope that helps a bit!

We really like living in PdE because it is quiet (most of the year) and it is pretty safe. That being said all of our friends are in MVD and we would like to be closer to them. Are there places around / close to / in MVD that are safe and quiet like PdE that you would recommend looking at? Right now we pay 1,200 USD per month for renting a house (with gardener and pool maintenance) in Jardines de Cordoba so we would want to stay around the same if possible.

There are quiet places near Montevideo like Costa Azul, Bello Horizonte, Las Toscas and Atl谩ntida (a bit busier but that also means that it's a bit safer, always on the South side of the Interbalnearea), there is an area closer to Montevideo like Parque Miramar (in Avenida de las Americas) that is lovely, it鈥檚 busy since they鈥檙e right by the airport and noise may be a problem, but they鈥檙e the closest to Montevideo with a nice balneario feel to it, if you know what I mean. Also, you may want to look into La Tahona and Barra de Carrasco.
Not sure about the pool since most houses around here won't have one and if they do, not sure if they'll include the maintenance for it. We pay a gardener $700 pesos to cut our grass but the price depends on the size of the lawn. About the safety, lately it鈥檚 been a bit complicated since there are robberies everywhere, mainly in houses that are empty but still.
Rent prices are usually cheaper around here as well but it all depends on what you need, how many bedrooms/bathrooms? Does it have to be a house, or could it be an apartment? Do you need fiber optics?

Thank you for answering and asking more questions to better help me. I really appreciate it. To answer your questions:
3 bedrooms (we work from home so need 2 offices and a bedroom)
house (we have a large dog)
we didnt want a pool it just came with the house
we do all our work on the internet so better internet is preferred. We never had fiber in the US so it is not a requirement but we do use a lot of bandwidth and use video chat all day.

I have looked at la Tohana but it seems to be very expensive to me (2.5kUSD and up rent a month and 300k+ to buy.) I am not sure if that is normal in the safer, nicer areas or not.

Sorry for the late response! Ok, so a house is more expensive in La Tahona since they're usually big houses. In Atl谩ntida you can find a 3 bedroom house for about $34000 a month. You should look in Mercado Libre, they have rentals as well as for sale properties. Just make sure that the house is in the South side since it's usually more people living here all year round and there is a bit more security. I hope this helps you search around.

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No thank you. I am looking to either buy land or build in Punta.