Uruguay

There’s a lot to recommend Uruguay. The climate is temperate, the population highly literate. It’s public health system, one of the best. Uruguay is middle class, well-developed with few extremes between rich and poor. The standard of living compared to the rest of South America is high.

Want more? The country has a solid democratic tradition and is about as stable a South American country as you’ll find. Finally, the population has kept the army from taking over and spends little on the armed forces. This has made it possible to fund its enviable social reforms.

The second smallest country in South America, it has only gone to war to defend itself. It abolished the death penalty long ago and is the first country in Latin America to legalize divorce and allow women to vote. For what it’s worth, Uruguay has the most homogenous population of any South American country, a population that’s mostly of Spanish and Italian origin.

The word Uruguay comes from the old Indian term meaning “river of the painted birds.” There are still gauchos riding on the unending miles of cattle country, and land is cheap if you’re looking to settle here.

Why go? There are superb beaches, good food, old cars in Montevideo, and it’s a great boat ride getting there across the estuary from Buenos Aires. You can also email uruguay@saexplorers.org with your questions.