I got a lot of mail, then I moved to Uruguay

Did you know the mail is handled differently everywhere? I did not.

There are a number of postcards I would like to send. Sadly, due to some political nonsense, there are several countries not currently offering standard mail to the US, which makes sending even a few small notes financially impossible.

So if you haven’t heard from me… I probably have a postcard tucked away for you.

This mail challenge isn’t a Uruguay problem, it’s a US tax code problem. But it did lead me to learn a little more about mail here and I can share this:

First impressions

When we arrived in Uruguay, we stayed in Montevideo for 10 days or so. When I think back, I don’t think I noticed much about mail or addresses - we used GPS to find our way around and we were all truly exhausted from two weeks of packing and shipping and driving and flying.

But when we got to our next few Airbnbs along the absolutely gorgeous beaches of Piriapolis, we noticed houses had names instead of numbers. We also noticed there were no mailboxes, something that is regulated pretty strictly in the US. I thoguht maybe because we're in a vacation rental area, here's no need for mailboxes. But then our longterm rental had no mailbox and I got curious. We've seen our address written a few different ways on utility bills and other items, so we tried to send test mail to our address.

It did not arrive. 😂

If you send it properly, I am assured by local friends, it should be delivered.

Learning how mail works

The postal service here is called Correo Uruguayo. While you can go to Montevideo and see the beautiful El Palacio de Correos, many of the locations I have been to look a little more like a business offices. People are really only using mail here for important documents or packages, which is kind of nice because it cuts down on garbage mail. 

Fun fact: when you become a UY Resident, you can take your cédula and your thumbprint and register to purchase cannabis at your closest Correo location.

When we need something important, we send it to a DHL or FedEx local office and they hold it for us. Depending on the size of the facility, they’ll hold it longer. The Punta Del Este DHL has held mail for us for up to a week, and FedEx in Montevideo up to two weeks. We have only sent ourselves important documents required for residency at this point.

What about my packages

When we place an order from a local business or grocer, we do it through WhatsApp and send a location pin, the name of our house, and the cross streets. This has become muscle memory after 10 months in Uruguay.

Another interesting item, Mercado Libre has drop locations in neighborhoods all over Uruguay, like bus stations, bookstores, convenience stores, and even the local vet. Mercado Libre is a Uruguayan online market that is frequently compared to Amazon but also has a “Facebook Marketplace” type component. You’ll find lots of businesses use this platform, like dealerships listing used cars or local skincare companies selling directly.

Mail culture is different

It seems like mail culture is just different here - I don’t see birthday or holiday cards at the grocery store or pharmacy, I don’t see mail boxes on many street corners. What I thought were baskets for packages turned out to be trash deposits to keep garbage away from pests. Utility bills can be paid online or at the closest Abitab or RedPagos location.

I am bummed it's no longer convenient to send my cousins and friends little cute birthday packages. But the reality is that none of these things have been life altering, and some of them are even more convenient. For example, packages don’t get stolen when they’re waiting for you at the drop, and there’s no junk mail to stack up on your flat surfaces.

I'd love to hear from you

What’s the mail like where you live? Is it changing? If you live outside of the US, can you still send a regular letter from your local post office to the US? If you live in the US, are you still getting a metric ton of junk mail? Tell me in my form!

← Previous StoryBack to Stories