Virginia USA
In the year 2003 my husband and I were visiting my daughter Andrea in Virginia. At that time she lived in Goochland with her husband James in a cute little house with a huge deck and lots of land. My husband Ferdinand and I were thrilled because it always had been our dream to own some land and plant trees, bushes and to have our own vegetable garden. Well - here it was affordable. That's how it all started.
Montevideo
After our trip to Goochland we were considering the possibility of immigrating to the US - but one morning - I was still half asleep - Ferdinand, my husband, looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "What??" I asked sleepily. "Guess what I have dreamed this night?" - Well - how could I possibly know that? He said only one word - MONTEVIDEO. Aha - URUGUAY....We were both very interested in that country and began to learn as much about Uruguay as we could by reading and searching the internet. More and more we were drawn to that country. Finally we just bought a ticket to Montevideo....
Our trip to Uruguay in the year 2010
In 2010 we travelled to Montevideo. We were so excited!!! And it was love at first sight. We rented a car and drove along the coast to Barra del Chuy, Rio Branco and Lago Merín. I can only recommend this journey. On our trip back we travelled to San José and "coincidentally" ended up in Kiyú. And here - at the beach of Kiyú, below the "Barrancas" both of us knew - that's where we want to live together.
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| At the beach of Kiyú, below the Barrancas |
Immigration in 2012
The whole immigration process means a lot of paperwork and you really can use some handholding. We were lucky because we found Irene Recknagel
(http://uruguay-erwartetsie.blogspot.com.uy/2015/07/auswandern-nach-uruguay_40.html)
who took care of us. With her support we felt save and we knew we could always contact her. We were amazed by her reliability, efficiency, her humor and friendliness. Thank you so much Irene!! She speaks Spanish, English and German.
People here are so friendly and helpful that we felt totally relaxed just from the start. Thank you dear Uruguayos!! You are so amazing!!
The landscape is fascinating and I couldn't believe that you can walk for hours at the beach here. The sun sets are breathtaking and - when the weather is fine - the clear starry sky is stunning. This unique spectacle of nature is something you can't buy for all the money in the world.
The purchase of a house here is not difficult at all. In case you are into house shopping, have a look at http://www.van-bevern.com/. I know the lovely couple in person and I can only recommend them. The notary (escribana) Patricia Rivas who speaks Spanish, German and English helped us through the paper work when we bought our house. She is absolutely reliable and we are happy to know her. Her contact: http://uruguay-erwartetsie.blogspot.com.uy/search/label/NOTARIAT%20Rivas
It's not recommendable to immigrate without Spanish knowledge. I don't know if it applies to everybody, but after my husband and I had acquired some basic Spanish we ordered the CD by Cri-Cri at Amazon.com. The listening to the songs and reading the text - and of course also singing together were a big help for us. Apart from this it was so much FUN!!
Example from the internet, have a look, it's so cute (Caminito de la escuela)
And here you can read the text:
After all these years I can truly say: we have had a lot of experiences. I haven't changed my mind about the country and people. Most people I have got to know are likable, warm, modest and wonderfully uncomplicated.
As we have been constructing since a couple of years, my husband and I had to negotiate with construction workers, chimney constructers, window factories and a lot more. Mostly we have made good experiences with honest people. But be careful (ojo), not all of them are honest. Trust is good, control is better.
We always came away with a black eye or with some annoyance.
It's very important to confirm everything by letter and to seek advice from a professional.
Never give money in advance if you have a contractor. Once they have got their money, there are some who aren’t interested in finishing their job. (We had someone from a window factory who assembled the doors at two of our tiny houses. After some time the doors popped open all the time. Because he had got his money and we didn't ask for a guarantee, he never showed up again.)
But all in all - we are quite happy with our progress and we think that also unpleasant experiences are important.
(http://uruguay-erwartetsie.blogspot.com.uy/2015/07/auswandern-nach-uruguay_40.html)
who took care of us. With her support we felt save and we knew we could always contact her. We were amazed by her reliability, efficiency, her humor and friendliness. Thank you so much Irene!! She speaks Spanish, English and German.
Our first impression of the country and the people
People here are so friendly and helpful that we felt totally relaxed just from the start. Thank you dear Uruguayos!! You are so amazing!!The landscape is fascinating and I couldn't believe that you can walk for hours at the beach here. The sun sets are breathtaking and - when the weather is fine - the clear starry sky is stunning. This unique spectacle of nature is something you can't buy for all the money in the world.
Purchase of a house or land in Uruguay
The purchase of a house here is not difficult at all. In case you are into house shopping, have a look at http://www.van-bevern.com/. I know the lovely couple in person and I can only recommend them. The notary (escribana) Patricia Rivas who speaks Spanish, German and English helped us through the paper work when we bought our house. She is absolutely reliable and we are happy to know her. Her contact: http://uruguay-erwartetsie.blogspot.com.uy/search/label/NOTARIAT%20Rivas
Language
It's not recommendable to immigrate without Spanish knowledge. I don't know if it applies to everybody, but after my husband and I had acquired some basic Spanish we ordered the CD by Cri-Cri at Amazon.com. The listening to the songs and reading the text - and of course also singing together were a big help for us. Apart from this it was so much FUN!!Example from the internet, have a look, it's so cute (Caminito de la escuela)
And here you can read the text:
Our new home in Uruguay
In 2012 we moved to Uruguay and we still are loving it. I can only say that we are happy to live in this beautiful country. Thank you Uruguay - te queremos!Update after five and a half years:
After all these years I can truly say: we have had a lot of experiences. I haven't changed my mind about the country and people. Most people I have got to know are likable, warm, modest and wonderfully uncomplicated.
As we have been constructing since a couple of years, my husband and I had to negotiate with construction workers, chimney constructers, window factories and a lot more. Mostly we have made good experiences with honest people. But be careful (ojo), not all of them are honest. Trust is good, control is better.
We always came away with a black eye or with some annoyance.
It's very important to confirm everything by letter and to seek advice from a professional.
Never give money in advance if you have a contractor. Once they have got their money, there are some who aren’t interested in finishing their job. (We had someone from a window factory who assembled the doors at two of our tiny houses. After some time the doors popped open all the time. Because he had got his money and we didn't ask for a guarantee, he never showed up again.)
But all in all - we are quite happy with our progress and we think that also unpleasant experiences are important.
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