Accommodation in Uruguay: Renting an apartment in Montevideo

One of the biggest challenges when moving country is first finding somewhere to call home. I arrived on Uruguay's fine shores with no job, no apartment, no specific plans, no contacts here - nada! Starting from scratch can be quite a challenge...especially in Uruguay!

From what I have experienced there really isn't a rental culture here like there is in the USA or Europe. You won't find a great deal of furnished apartments and it is considered very unusual to share apartments with people you don't know (as is done by students and young professionals elsewhere in the world). As the wages are so low and employment opportunities are harder to come by, many young people live with their families well in to their twenties and in a lot of cases until they are engaged or married. The only young Uruguayans I have met who rent apartments are those who are from the interior and have moved to Montevideo for university or work and do not have any family to live with.

As such, the apartments that are available are aimed at a different group of people (families and couples rather than students and young workers). I found that the number of furnished apartments in Montevideo is quite low because the laws here tend to favour the tenant which has made landlords incredibly wary and they are choosing not to kit out their apartments with breakable/steal-able furniture. This makes it difficult for us new-comers because furniture here is expensive and often of poor quality (with an import tax somewhere in the 50-60% mark you'll find that even shoddy chinese imports are overpriced!)

Also in Uruguay they will ask you for a garantía (a guarantee, ie. security deposit or collateral). In many cases landlords ask that this garantía be in the form of a property in Montevideo! At first this really confused me as I asked "why the hell would I want to rent your apartment if I already own one around the corner?!". I then realised that Uruguayan's deal with this request by having their parents or a family member act as a guarantor, but obviously as a foreigner I did not have such an option and so had to look only at apartments where the landlord accepts a cash deposit (which only further decreased potential places to live!)

I think the "legal" limit a landlord can request for a garantía is the equivalent of 4 months rent. However, like most rules in Uruguay this is bend-able and many asked me for up to 6 months rent that would be held in a joint account for the duration of my lease. With most furnished apartments in Montevideo renting at around US$500 a month I close to passed out at the request of a $3000 deposit in a country where $400 monthly wage is considered good! I think some landlords will hold a 1 or 2 month deposit for a short term lease (6 months or less) and a larger garantía for longer period.

Also be aware that in Uruguay you will have to pay something called Gastos Communes (communal building fees). These can vary from 400pesos anywhere up to 12,000pesos! As far as I am aware they always include your water bill. After that they can include heating, a 24hour doorman ("portero"), building cleaning and maintenance, built-in air-conditioning and more, or none of these things! ...it really depends on the building. Make sure when you are renting an apartment that you know the cost of the monthly rent, the garantía and the gastos communes (and what this covers) so as to avoid any surprises later. Oh and if you use an inmobiliaria (a real estate agent) then expect to pay them half a months rent for a 6 month lease and a month's rent commission for anything longer!

Like many things here in Uruguay you have to just keep searching until you find what you're looking for. BuscandoCasa (although completely in Spanish) is the best resource you'll find for renting an apartment in Montevideo. It has the most recent listings and most of them come complete with prices, pictures and a decent amount of description and information. It also clarifies if they are furnished or not and you can search specifically by this requirement which is handy.

Another resource is the classifieds section of El Pais Newspaper called Gallito which can be accessed online. I found these listings to be significantly less reliable. Many don't have pictures or prices and do not provide all the details about the properties but sometimes they have apartments that aren't listed on buscandocasa so when you're at the bottom of the barrel its nice to have somewhere else to go!

Here are my tips for finding an apartment to rent in Montevideo:

- Familiarise yourself with the Barrios (neighbourhoods) of Montevideo and the main routes of the city. The most central areas are Ciudad Vieja, Centro, Cordon, Barrio Sur, Palermo, Tres Cruces, Parque Battle, Parque Rodó, Punta Carretas, Pocitos and Buceo. The last 4 listed are the most upmarket areas often recommended to expats and tourists but these are also the most expensive and also the most snobby.


There are advantages and disadvantages at both ends. Ciudad Vieja, Centro, Sur and Palermo all have a great character. They are very central, steeped in history and culture and are to me the "real" Montevideo, however poverty is more visible here and the flashiness of expensive clothes or cameras is not recommended. Parque Rodó, Punta Carretas, Pocitos and Buceo are a little further from the thick of things but very well served by buses or a good pair of legs :) They are beautiful areas with lovely beaches and green areas but there is a distinct sense of American suburbs and snobbery that you won't find in the older parts of town.

- Do your research. I know information is hard to come by but do as much reading as you can before you come. Ask questions, get answers and make contacts on either of these discussion forums: Total Uruguay and Sociedad Southron. Look at what is available online at buscandocasa and elsewhere, contact the owners or inmobiliarias that have listed properties - although be aware that they may only speak Spanish so you should at least attempt to write in Spanish if you expect replies.

- Book yourself some short-term accommodation for at least the first few days so you don't have to worry about where you will sleep each night!

- If possible arrange in advance to view apartments when you arrive and look at as many as you can in order to get a good idea of what is available, where, and at what price.

- When you arrive take the time to walk around each neighbourhood to get a feel for where is best for you. Some find Centro too hectic, some find Buceo too far away etc. Stroll around the streets and keep a note of what you see, how you feel and then decide what area is best for you. Don't simply go on what other people tell you - remember that people often recommend the most expensive areas to foreigners, if you don't have the money to live in luxury then you need to be informed!

Residency in Uruguay: The Infamous Cedula

If you are thinking about applying for Uruguayan residency then make sure to come prepared with lots of patience and an ability to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all! I started my residency "process" - if you want to call it that - back in Ireland. You first have to get a certified copy of your birth certificate from the relevant body in your country of birth. You also have to get a police certificate of good conduct saying you've been a good boy or girl. Depending on what country you're in the police may take their time running this check, especially if you have lived at multiple addresses, so don't leave it too late to ask for it!

When you have both of these documents they must be "certified" ie. stamped (they love stamps!) by the Embassy of Uruguay in your country. This "certification" cost me €121, I also had to pay for all the documents to be translated in to Spanish which cost €30 per page. (If you need a translator once here I recommend Maria Rincon - maria.rincon@gmail.com - she is lovely and speaks perfect English, she may also have other contacts such as escribanos if you need them). If there is no embassy in your country there should be a consulate office. If not you should contact the country you are closest to that has an embassy and they will direct you to the appropriate person (if you're lucky! The staff at the embassy in London we awful to me over the phone). Here is a list of all the Uruguayan Embassies worldwide.

So, here was me arriving in Uruguay with all my prepared documents thinking I was great...I was wrong! These documents must also be "legalized" here, you know what that means - MORE STAMPS! I can't remember how much each of these legalizations cost, I just remember 50 pesos here, 80 pesos there, 65 pesos for something else...it feels never ending and you lose track after a while (because keeping track may easily cause you to lose heart!). Here is some extra info about legalizing documents here in Uruguay. It is written as "American specific" but it applies to everyone looking to legalize documents here.

Once all that is done you have to prove your income. This is all fine n dandy if you fit into the little pidgeon hole they have - ie. you have a Uruguayan job in a cookie cutter Uruguayan company. If you are self-employed, work online, live on a rental income, make money from stocks, whatever it is, you have to go about proving that income. For this you must find an escribano (notary public), I highly recommend you make it your priority to find a FRIENDLY one because otherwise they can really make you jump through hoops.

The one I used was nice enough (though I wouldn't go screaming from the hilltops about him or anything). His name is Fernando Alvarez Turpia, his email is feralva2004@hotmail.com and his numbers are 00598 99 180 919 (cell) and 005982 6141652 (fixed line). He doesn't speak any English but his daughter Alejandra does and she can translate if you need that. If you email him I recommend an attempt at Spanish. However there really is no shortage of escribanos here so don't feel that you are limited, this just happened to be who I ended up using.

Everyone applying for residency must have a full health check here in Uruguay. There are a few different companies who provide this service. I had mine done at UCM and paid about 1200 pesos (about $50-$60) but you can do it for cheaper (I found this out afterwards of course!). They will weigh you, measure you, look at your teeth, take a small blood sample, and you must also have a tetanus shot if you cannot provide documentation that you have recently had one. You must also undergo a sexual health examination (I don't know if thats just for women, I assume its for everyone). If you provide recent documentation from your own doctor that you have had a sexual health exam in your home country then you may be able to avoid this. Once you have been poked and prodded to their hearts content they will give you the Carne De Salud (basically a health card which must be presented later with all your other papers).

One you have your assortment of documents (it starts to look like your life's memoirs after a while!) then you get to enjoy my FAVOURITE part - the immigration office! This office is just unbelievable. You have to take a numbered ticket, wait in line, have them stamp one piece of paper, go to the caja (a separate cash desk) to pay for anything, then take another ticket, wait in another line, then go to the desk with the computer, have them re-type all the information on the paper in to their computer, sign this, they stamp it and send you back to where you started! This process feels like groundhog day! The staff go well out of their way to avoid anything resembling work and you will find that bureaucracy and rubber stamping are very much alive and well in this building!

You must first go to Immigration (on Missiones 1513 in Ciudad Vieja) to request a date to present all your papers (in order to request this date you must of course wait in line for an hour!). You will return on this given date and time with your multi-stamped, certified and legalized police certificate, your passport and a photocopy of your passport, your health check card, your letter from the escribano regarding your income and the accompanying documentation (mine was a work contract but other items may also be used). They will cover your fingers in lovely sticky tar paint and take all your fingerprints the old fashioned Sherlock Holmes way...they then give you pathetic made-in-china wetwipes to try and remove it, basically you'll be smudging the stuff everywhere for a whole day after! Oh, and of course you have to pay for this, 872 pesos when I did it.

Once you go through all of this you have to go to the OTHER office to request ANOTHER date upon which you can return to have your picture taken. Oh yes, they like to make sure everyone is employed by the state here in Uruguay, and each employee is armed with their own rubber stamp! So I went to the other office on Rincón, presented my multi-stamped birth certificate (which I had to get stamped and signed one more time upstairs in this building before I was allowed to present it- I kid you not!). Then I paid again, just for requesting a date!

I returned a week later, stood in line once more, got my picture taken, and although Uruguayans are allowed collect their card that same day, I was told to return 3 days later to collect mine....but alas, I had the card!

The final stage? (oh, thats right, its not over!) This cedula is "en tramite", in order to get my proper one that lasts 3 years I had to take my birth certificate to the "Registro de Estado Civil" on Uruguay 933 in Ciudad Vieja to have it filed and be given a Uruguayan birth certificate (if you're married you must also do this with your marriage certificate). When I went to do this the woman started yelling incoherently at me, saying I was missing some vital part and I had to go to the Ministry of Exterior Affairs...I went there, waited, took a number etc etc, and they couldn't decide what it was that wasn't quite right about my birth cert. In the end they seemed to decide that they wanted the individual who signed and authorised my birth certificate on the day I was born to sign the legalisation they had done (I kid you not!).

That was the point where I gave up. I was still riding on a relative high after getting my temporary cedula, I knew I had to sort my birth certificate before I could get my permanent one a year later, but I just didn't have the energy for anymore...maybe SOME day I'll get around to finishing the job.

I write this post NOT to put anyone off coming to Uruguay - usually the people who find themselves in this little hidden gem of a country do so for a pretty specific reason - however if you are toying with the idea of getting residency "just for fun", DON'T! It is not a process to be entered in to lightly as you may just lose your sanity somewhere along the way! Have a good reason for wanting it.

Here is a discussion thread I found of 2 expats who also applied for the residency here in Uruguay. You'll also find plenty more information about the residency proces in the free ebook at Total Uruguay.

The Uruguayan Menu: Eating Out & Restaurants in Montevideo

I am a foodie! I love to cook (which is sometimes challenging here with the lack of certain ingredients and the Uruguayan tendency to only have a hotplate or microwave in the kitchen!) so when I get frustrated its good to have a favourite safe haven to cheer up a hungry stomach :)

These are my recommendations so far but this list will certainly grow so check in again for updates!

If anyone knows how to do meat, it is the Uruguayans. Let's just say that a friend of mine once ordered chorizo (sausage) and when he asked what comes with it they offered him a steak!?! Many tourists and newbies are pointed in the direction of the big Mercados (Mercado Artesal- no! just avoid it! WORST PARILLA EVER! and Mercado Del Puerto is nice but significantly overpriced and often over-run with tourists from the cruise ships!)

Really the Ultimate Uruguayan Parrilla is to be found at La Otra (in Pocitos, 758 Tomás Diago, on the corner with Juan M. Pérez, apparently open "everyday" but this IS Uruguay so watch out for all those holidays they take! from 12-4pm and 8pm to 1am).




Here at La Otra you will find really tasty meat of every variety and some really nice sides too (which is rare!) They actually use a variety of leaves in their green salads and the dips which come with the bread (parsley and LOTS of garlic, and a mysterious semi-spicy one) are AMAZING!


SUSHI!!! Yes, that's right, I have found genuine (made by an adorable Japanese family) and fresh sushi here in Montevideo! For those of you who live here (and have moved from a thriving metropolis filled with tasty international cuisine) you may find the choices down south a little limiting sometimes. As such I am delighted to share this one with you.


Their whole menu is available online in pdf form on their website, I recommend their sushi teishoku box (great value but only available at lunch time), the california rolls are good, try the temaki (seaweed roll...ask for salmon). I'm working my way through the whole menu one maki at a time!

You'll find Sumi Sushi on Patria 699 (on the corner of Jose Figueria) on the Punta Carretas side of Parque Rodo...and they do delivery but charge 50pesos if you're outside the Punta Carretas, Parque Rodo or Pocitos areas.


To taste Uruguay's favourite, the traditional empanada (pastry pouches filled with yummy ingredients) I have to recommend La Taberna Del Diablo- "Devils Tavern". This place is great! Choose from a wide range (39 on last count!) of empanadas with vegetable, meat, chicken, ham, cheese or sweet fillings. I highly recommend the pollo suprema (chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce) and chop suey verduras (soy vegetables). You can have them fried (frita) or baked (al horno)...better al horno in my humble opinion, and better for your health too!


They also make great pizzas too (which is rare here in Montevideo where "pizza" means just dough and sauce and common "muzzarella", or cheesy pizza, is about as close to real pizza as cider is to champagne!). The "mediterranea" pizza with calamaris is pretty amazing and for one person costs just 70pesos (about $3) and empanadas are only 25pesos ($1) each! If you're a dessert person give the dulcelate empanada a try, you won't regret it! They all taste great with a cold bottle of Patricia beer which they serve in glasses from the freezer, love it!

La Taberna Del Diablo is very close to Parque Rodo on the corner of Avenida Gonzalo Ramirez and Pablo de Maria. Check out their website here (all in spanish as per usual!)

My newest find (thanks to Shirley and Santiago!) is the Chinese Buffet! Those missing the sticky sauces and satisfaction of a cheap chinese take-out will be delighted to hear that you can get an all-you-can-eat (spring rolls, sweet and sour chicken, beef with blackbean sauce, fried rice, the lot...and ice cream) for 210pesos! Its in Centro, on San Jose close to Paraguay.

And last, but MOST DEFINITELY not least, is my favourite...Las Delicias! For incredible creamy ice-cream this is the one stop shop. You'll find it in Pocitos on the corner of 21 de Setiembre and Ellauri and it is heavenly! Try all the flavours to find your favourite, currently I'm loving Las Delicias (chocolate with crunchy chocolate nutty pieces, yum!) and cheesecake (tastes exactly like a great cheesecake with fruits of the forest). The best way to do it is order the "buffet", this way you can choose all the flavours you want, and you get to guess the weight...if you guess correct its free! Even if you have to pay it ends up cheaper than getting a big cone (just avoid all the toppings and extras they try to sell you!)



Still on my list of food places to go/discover...the creperie in Ciudad Vieja on Bartolomé Mitre, the authentic but scary looking Korean places in Ciudad Vieja beside the Radisson, the "best paella ever" recommended by my room mate that is apparently to be found in Mercado Del Puerto....and I'm on the look-out for an Indian restaurant or India cooking supplies, if anyone knows of a secret location PLEASE share the details!


Bon appetite! ¡Buen provecho!