Cost of living in Montevideo vs. Mexico

delesseline: My wife and I are currently in Piriapolis, Uruguay. We spent 6 days in Montevideo before coming to Piriapolis and this Saturday we will travel to La Paloma for a week. We will then return to Montevideo and leave for the US on the 27th. We came here to see if we wanted to move here from our home in Florida. The answer is a resounding NO! It is very expensive! Much more than we ever thought. I have been a member of International Living for 5+ years and read everything I could get my hands on about living in South America. We have been to Argentina some years ago and enjoyed it. Though about Ecuador but it has some drawbacks that gave us reason to look further. Uruguay was touted as the safest country in the Americas'. Housing is cheap, cost of living is cheap. They have cell phones, Internet, cable TV and much more. They just don't tell you what it doesn't have! Most roads are unpaved. Major roads are nice and some 4 lane. Sidewalks in Montevideo are broken, filthy, dog poop not picked up, trash everywhere, homeless sleeping in doorways or on the street. A simple breakfast for 2 cost 270 peso ($14.36)plus tip. Lunch in Punta del Estes, $58.00 and they tell me when hi-season (Dec.Jan.Feb) comes the prices get higher. The beaches are rocky and not very clean. They allow their dogs to run and play on them and nobody cleans up after them. There are some new building and new construction going on but most buildings are old and in need of repair. I would suspect that to buy a nice house in the better part of Montevideo you would be looking at $300+. A car, forget it. The paperwork is a nightmare and will take 3-4 months. Cost is unbelievable for the car. Example, a taxi(Corolla size) cost $35,000.00 plus fees. Take 2 weeks, come look for yourself before you decide. It didn't take us that long but it was an easy decision. There are just too many things that they don't have that we have been so use to in the US. I spent 11 1/2 years overseas during my military career so living overseas is nothing new to me or my wife. We have about $10K a month to live on but there are just some things you can't get. The attitude is typical Hispanic slow so be prepared for that. Hope this gives you some insight! Good Luck!
PS: sites online you might try-Uruguaynow.com