Uruguay cost of life updated 9/2008

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Long time no see, here I come again with an updated list of what's the cost of life in Uruguay these days, when the american dollar is cheaper and cheaper, and uruguayan peso stronger. I've recently moved,..again, still with my girlfriend, and making plans to get married this summer, so my budget is in crisis...again (it's been almost three years already since the cost of life post... im getting old). It turned out that the info about how much does it cost to live in Uruguay did seem to help, and it even got mentioned in a book, or so I've been told.

 Let's start by the beginning, right now the exchange rate is about 20 pesos for 1 american dollar, and rates are expressed per month. So without further ado, here is the table:

Item	Peso UY	USD	Comment
Lunch at restaurant	from 100 to 200	from 5 to 10	Places where you sit, and there's a waiter
Dinner for two in a fancy restaurant	from around 500 to 1200	from around 25 to 60	appetizer, main course, dessert, good wine for both
Lunch at Mac Donald's	120	6	MD is not considered a cheap meal
Movie Theatre/Cinema	from 50 to 105	from 2.5 to 5	105 weekend price
Theater	around 300	around 15	expensive
20km taxi drive in Montevideo	around 350	around 15	from carrasco to ciudad vieja
Urban bus ticket	13.5	0.675	government is making it cheaper
1 lt of gasoline	32	1.6	got a car now
Renting a one bedroom apartment in a fancy neighborhood	from around 6000 to 8000 plus common expenses	from around 300 to 400	neighborhood being pocitos or punta carretas
Renting a two bedroom apartment in a fancy neighborhood	from around 7000 to 12000 plus common expenses	from around 350 to 600	for some reason real state bubble hasnt burst here, again this is per month.
Electricity bill	around 1000	around 50
Phone bill	from around 1500 to 3000	from around 75 to 150	five person house, one teenager
Water bill	around 300	around 15
cable tv bill	around 600	around 30
internet broadband (256k download)	from 200 to 600	from 10 to 30	at least some things are less expensive
Kilo of Potatoes	around 20	around 1
Kilo of apples	around 30	aroundaround 1.5
Kilo of bananas	around 25	around 1.25
1 lettuce	around 12	around 0.6
Kilo of fatless grinded meat	around 138	around 6.9
Kilo of beef loins	around 170	around 8.5
1 lt milk	18	0.9
1 loaf of bread	18	0.9

As you can appreciate everything is much more expensive than 3 years ago, specially if you rely on dollars (which I dont). The perspective of moving to Uruguay might not seem as cost effective as it used to be, at least not to americans.

I don't have the mean income info, but if i have to guess it, i'd say for 70% of the population it's below 1000 usd/month.
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Hillwalking in Uruguay, Pan de Azucar

There’s a hill in Maldonado, Uruguay, called Pan de Azucar (sugar loaf), that you can easily spot if you drive by, it’s the one with a cross on top. This place hosts a national park, suitable for picnics, a zoo with typical Uruguayan fauna reservation, and of course the hill. Not being a particular animal lover, I find the hill itself to be the main attraction, since it makes for a very enjoyable hillwalking tour.

I went last Friday, and it was like the fourth time I climbed it in my life. I did it a couple of times with my parents, as a kid, and about five years ago with my girlfriend, and it’s remarkable how it mirrors aging for this time was the first time I really felt the exercise.

The hill is 423 meters high, and is actually the third highest in Uruguay. It’s a two to three hour trip, to get to the top and return. It’s not difficult but it’s not trivial either, some parts of the trail are pretty steep to be done walking, and you have to help yourself with your hands to make sure you don’t slip.

On top of the hill there’s a concrete 35 meter high cross. It has a staircase and you can climb to the arms of the cross and enjoy a panoramic view of the coast of Maldonado, including piriapolis and punta del este.

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