That's an interesting question and one I tried to answer on the www.uruguayliving.com forum like this;

 

I’m just back from a house hunting trip to Punta del Este so I thought I’d try and put a few impressions together.

My wife Alice and I visited last year to get a feel for the country. I’d got pretty excited about the place from research on the net but I must admit that our initial impressions were a bit negative. There was nothing wrong with the country, it was just……. a bit dull! So we forgot about investing and just enjoyed a wonderful holiday. The funny thing was that at the end of our nearly three weeks Alice just said "I’d like to live here”.

Having hopefully sold our house in Spain we returned to Uruguay earlier this month, this time with my 20 year old daughter. After 2 days she said "I don’t understand why you like this place so much” and I must confess I knew what she meant! Yet a fortnight later the magic had worked again and she was talking about coming back at the first opportunity with or without us fogies.

So what is it that makes Uruguay so special? The Southron described it as a "meat and potatoes” kind of country and I think that is the root of the appeal. I know there are plenty of places that are more immediately spectacular and exciting but there is perhaps a lot more depth to Uruguay’s appeal. Solid, important things that matter in every day life that can’t be counted and aren’t always obvious, make it a great place to visit and presumably live.

To begin with the country seems to work. For example the roads aren’t jammed with traffic and don’t get washed away when it rains and the electric doesn’t go of in storms! There seems to be some method and organization in the way things are run and whilst the paperwork may be a pain in the neck it does seem to be intended to work towards a result. Here in Spain where I live now by contrast Catch 22 is frequently the order of the day and obstruction the norm.

Another appealing feature is that Uruguay seems clean and unpolluted. A country that is cared for and where the environment is respected (despite the occasional truck putting out more pollution than your average Chinese coal fired power station). Something we have noticed on both trips is the wonderful variety of birds to be seen in Uruguay. Lots of countries probably have as many varieties but I have never been anywhere else that they seem so tame and unconcerned by the presence of humans.

The greatest attraction however is the people. Everywhere we went we found people extremely friendly and very welcoming. Nothing over the top but there was a genuine warmth that made us want to stay. And no one could typify this friendliness and helpfulness more that Arrancopalito who endured my constant questions with such good will and who’s supply of blankets saved us from becoming the first people to die of hypothermia in a Punta del Este summer.

So when the sale of our Spanish house finally goes through we will be back. Permanently.

 

For responses visit http://www.sociedadsouthron.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=1195