A recent poll conducted during the Madrid real estate fair by an Argentine market research firm revealed that Punta del Este + Uruguay collectively represent the top choice in terms of real estate investment for the next 12 months among attendees at the Salon Inmobiliario de Madrid, 77% of whom were Spanish.

Uruguay was mentioned spontaneously by 15% and Punta del Este by 12.5% of the 284 potential investors surveyed, for a grand total of 27.5%, followed by Brazil with 22%, U.S. 10% and Miami 7%. None of the respondents mentioned the spontaneous intention of investing in Argentina.

The average amount those surveyed intend to invest over the next year is around 200,000 euros (some US$290,000).

See the entire survey results in Spanish at Reporte Inmobiliario or follow my blog, www.puntadelesteexpats.blogspot.com.

Living in a country not one´s own, at whatever stage in life, presents an early and vital choice: shall we make the effort and learn the language, or just try to get by without it?

I've been reading lots of expat forums, blogs, etc. over the past couple of years, and I find a lot of it is geared towards the "incredibly cheap real estate" or "beach paradise real estate."

Having lived in five countries over the past two decades, including a couple of beach paradises, I would like to stress that a decision on where to relocate should not hinge exclusively on the price of real estate or the availability of postcard quality beaches. In the last place I lived, in Turkey, for $600 per month I rented a three-floor, 5 bedroom villa with communal pool and stunning views of the Mediterranean and the Greek island of Samos.