Uruguay Living: Waiting for the Goldrush in Piriapolis

May has been been a beautiful month so far out here on the coast of Uruguay. Considering the great weather we've experienced so far, since our arrival in September, the weather here is completely manageable. The nights have been getting a little chilly, we kick on the heater or throw a few logs on the fire and enjoy the heat, gathering around the hearth.

Today was a beautiful, sunny, warm day in Punta Fria. Ethan and I took a bike ride after dinner, down to the Mini-Mart on the Rambla for some alfajores. The orange glow of a fading sunset slowly sinking in the west. As we rode past the houses, passing maybe twenty that were unoccupied and only two that showed signs of life, I had to ponder. Why isn't anyone else here to enjoy this? By US standards, the weather is mild, as mild as the coast of the Carolinas in wintertime no colder.

The Expat phenomenon is a misnomer, "Expats" are not really unaffiliated, for the most part we are Americans with a global perspective. Many of us don't need to be living in the States, either we work online, or have retirement incomes that aren't subject to Uruguayan taxation. The traditional alternatives in the USA have pretty much filled up Florida, Arizona, California, the Carolinas, all of these destinations are now overrun with malls and development and gated communities. Now we see Costa Rica, Panama and the Caribbean, being overdeveloped and losing attractiveness as well.

What a discovery we made, when we stumbled onto the coast of Uruguay. We feel particularly lucky to have found Piriapolis, and Punta Fria is an amazing jewel. You certainly don't need a million dollars to live here, but you would have to shell that out to get this return anywhere along mild coastal areas inside the US. We really do feel lucky and discussions with well travelled settlers to these parts confirms our suspicion; that we happened upon Sutter's Mill, and it just turned New Year's 1848.

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