[ssiguy]

CityWatch..........

You showed Buenos Aires as a great place to live but I think the average Argentinian would beg to differ. The economy {once again} is imploding and poverty rates are now at nearly 60% as it's hyper inflation rips to shreds people's incomes and savings. I think pre-1960 BA would have been a very viable option but after decades of Peronism, crushing corruption, and staggering from one economic crisis to another with the plunging standard of living that comes with it, BA is a wasteland unless you have a lot of money and only in $US.

Montevideo Uruguay on the other hand is a completely different story. Uruguay, which was traditionally somewhat less affluent than Argentina, now has per-capita GDP twice Argentina's. While AR suffers from 200% inflation, Uruguay's is at 4% with strong economic growth. Uruguay enjoys Latin America's highest per-capita GDP, highest standard of living, least amount of corruption, largest middle class, solid democratic institutions, an excellent human rights record, and a comprehensive social welfare safety net. It's standard of living is on par with Czech, Slovenia, and higher than Portugal, Poland, or Greece all with a very pleasant climate and low relatively low crime rate. Of course, Montevideo being the capitol and home to half the country's population, offers all these benefits along with a clean and vibrant city with a lot of historic character.

Uruguay is what every other Latin America countries wants to be when they grow up. While Buenos Aires was ONCE called the Paris of Latin America, Uruguay is STILL called the Switzerland of Latin America.........enough said.