Ola Uruguay Real Estate and Investments

In Uruguay, particularly outside of Montevideo, neighborhoods provide an eclectic mix of homes, both in style and value, and a variety of neighbors. On the short four-block street where we live, houses range from a large brick home with lots of expensive decorative brickwork located on a meticulously landscaped lot, to the home of one of our immediate neighbors—a hodge-podge of small buildings and extensions. The yard, enclosed by an extensive metal fence in need of paint, is overgrown and littered with rusting bits of metal things. There is a pile of gravel from some project never completed. There are no well-laid walkways, no gardens, and no manicured lawn spaces. This is the home of Julio.

Julio is not wealthy. He is a single man nearly seventy years old. He was born in Uruguay, the child of Italian immigrants, and is educated. He speaks Spanish, Italian, and quite good English. We have heard he once worked in a bank. Whether that is true or not, it is clear that now he lives a reclusive life on very little money. We have come to know him over time, and he is friendly toward us. He is honest, and ekes out a minimal living repairing and making things from metal. He cleverly crafted a metal door for our outdoor pizza and bread oven and recently repaired the metal door to our pool pump house.

Julio doesn’t socialize much, so it took a while to get to know him. He is quite conscious of security and is always cautioning us to keep our gate locked and to avoid letting anyone know when we might be absent from our home. His own gate is always locked up. We have not seen much need to be that cautious in the more than three years we have owned this home, but we appreciate his concern and vigilance.

He loves animals of all sorts he tells us. In spite of his limited resources he cares for more than a dozen cats that have strayed into his life. He once owned a horse and sadly recalls her death a few years ago. He does not mind our dogs or even the noisy ones of other nearby neighbors.

When researching an article I recently wrote for Ola about Saving Money with a Solar System, I spoke with Julio about his own money-saving tips. He told me he avoids using UTE, the electric utility company. He cannot afford it, so he generates his own energy. His total cost for generating his electrical power is approximately 450 pesos ($22.50) per month! How does he do this?

Firstly, he avoids many things we consider necessary. He cooks on an old-fashioned wood stove using wood he has collected himself in an open nearby wooded area. He has a small, simple fridge. He has no other appliances. He washes clothes by hand and dries them outdoors. His television is on less than three hours any day. He rarely has lights on, even in the evening. He does, however, have electrical tools and a welding machine.

He has several generators. The simple ones, like the one that powers his television or the one that pumps water from his well, are gasoline generators. He has a large, old, well-maintained diesel generator for significant uses of power. He also has a storage battery.

He used to spend more. He used to have to heat water with electricity. However, after we installed a solar system on our roof, he came one day to ask if he could look at the system. He studied it and asked questions. Busy construction sounds emanated from his workshop and soon after a rudimentary homemade solar system began to take shape on his roof. The main component is coils of black plastic water lines enclosed in a circular glass-topped metal framework that lies flat on the roof. The water in the lines is heated through absorption of sun’s rays through the black plastic and enhanced by a greenhouse effect produced by the metal and glass encasing. This is complemented with a series of lines and holding tanks. The best part is that the system works. Now, he only uses electricity to heat water when there is no sun.

Obviously, his lifestyle is not one that would be chosen by expats moving to Uruguay. However, it is a reminder that not everyone in Uruguay has the resources of an immigrant, no matter how frugally that immigrant chooses to live, and that more simple, modest way of living is often the reality for many Uruguayans.