The stories of how people come to choose Punta del Este as their home are as diverse as the number of people we talk to. At our store a few days ago I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie (Raymond) who says that in several years coming here he never met an expat of the gringo variety.
He is now in our mailing list and will surely be attending one of our meetings in April, when he returns. In the meantime, here´s his story:
Yes, it is true I am from the Rancho-- western Kansas. I assume that is why I like space, since I grew up with miles of vistas and great food from our own gardens, cattle, chickens, fish from our bordos and river, and dairy products. My family was European and maintained many of those values, including education. So, I had many educational advantages due to family efforts to seek out those venues... even if that mean driving miles. College was always assumed as the normal route and I proceed through the BA in Kansas and then to Colorado for my MS and PhD. This experience lead me away from the ranchlands and to New York and Washington where I had new experiences through private and governmental work, including the White House office of the first President Bush. During those years, especially when relocating to the west coast in California, there were many opportunites for travel to Europe and to Mexico. But, I had started keeping a file on Punta de Este since an article appeared about 15 years ago in Town and Country magazine. And acquaintances who were social friends spoke of this part of South America, including their bird shooting and fishing trips. And, a very close friend whose father represented General Motors in South American spoke of the number of days travel to fly on a DC3 from Buenos Aires to Boston where she attended Smith College. And, I reminisced about my flights on a DC3 to college from Kansas City to Denver with several Kansas rural stops where it seemed to me the navigation system was to align the plane with rows of corn that were planted in front of the approachs. However, since flights to Europe were always so cheap compared to South America, it was not until several years ago that I came to Buenos Aires and then to Uruguay. I was then living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where I have a real estate company which is associated with Sotheby´s International Realty --and had become a Mexican citizen (dual)-- but I immediately found Uruguay my new found home: it reminded me of my younger days when I was in Europe and admired the way of life. It is such a contrast to Mexico; the amenities here in Punta del Este would be difrficult to duplicate any other place in the world. To me, it has the best features of the best world options as a place to live. I always ask myself "why did I not come years earlier." My realtor called one day in January 2008 and said the new YOO building is open and selling out quickly: are you interested? I wrote to say, YES, and buy one for me-- which we did that day and now it is announced occupancy will be in April of 2010. It is a great location for all services with the Shopping Center and Devoto within a short walk. And the beach at Parada 8 with the dunes that remind me of our beach home we had in Carmel California. But, I have my eye on an old Pathfinder or Defender Range Rover for driving out to the beaches and to the campo. I don`t know many people here and I now live alone as I have no immediate surviving family members. I am looking forward to meeting others who have experienced the same attraction to the beauty, the culture, and the language of Punta del Este. My biggest regret of the moment is that it is difficult to travel with my dog who would truly love evening walks along the beach or the tree lined streets. I look forward to the coming years of residency. I return in May 2010 to take YOO occupancy. (Raymond) Leslie Dugan
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