How you doing? Here in Uruguay the first wave finally seems to be falling but more slowly than we would have hoped. I really hope you're doing well where you are.
Despite the fact that Uruguay no longer has the exemplary pandemic numbers that we did throughout 2020, there are multiple indicators that the number of North Americans and Europeans planning to move to Uruguay or at least come and check it out once the borders open is going to be significant. Colleagues in real estate are selling properties site unseen for the first time ever. I've been interviewed about the phenomenon in the national business press and on radio with Daniel Castro, one of Uruguay’s night-time news presenters (both links in Spanish).
Uruguay can be a great place to live if you've got your source of income (pension, independent, working remotely) sorted out. But if you don't, it’s not a country where well-paid employment opportunities abound. That's why it's so important to get informed, disinterested advice—as well as visit.
And that's why I offer a one-on-one consultation service for people who are doing that due diligence. Sometimes unfortunately, the hard truth for some who make the investment and consult with me, is that Uruguay is not a good fit for them (for all sorts of reasons). It can feel like I'm smashing someone's dreams, but I wouldn't be doing justice to my clients if I didn't provide them with unvarnished feedback regarding their particular case.
But I believe that given the opportunity—and thoughtful information—we have the chance to shape our lives and dramatic change is possible. So maybe you can imagine the exhilaration (and I’ll be honest, not a little relief) I felt when Anne-Marie from the UK wrote to me two years after our consultation.
Anne-Marie wrote:
“We would like to thank you for putting us in touch with the financial reality that a move to Uruguay would be. After we had talked to you it hit us like a speeding train how unprepared we were/still are. It was both an incredibly disappointing anti-climax and yet also a good dose of reality at the same time.
At the time we believed that was it for our dreams of retiring to Uruguay so, we switched our endeavours to other parts. In 2019 we spent a month in Mexico south of Guadalajara. There are many expats there – mainly Americans and Canadians – but a few Europeans as well. It was a great getaway but we also discovered that it wasn’t for us, on many levels. However, it has spurred us on to make further plans, savings and pension projections for our future retirement. Over the past two years since we spoke we’ve been researching retirement options in Mexico, Portugal and France [editor’s note: Same countries as risk assessment expert Glenn put in the balance before deciding on Uruguay] but our research has brought us full circle back to Uruguay as being the most favourable on many levels. So much so that we believe it may be possible to revisit our hopes of retiring there in 5-7 years time.
With that in mind we hope to visit Montevideo and the Atlantic coast in your winter of 2022.
In hindsight we are really grateful to the consultation we had with you. Your pertinent questions about pensions were the reality check we needed.”
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