Here's a thread for you. Why Uruguay's not so hot.

I tweet about this country regularly. I love it very deeply - please bear that in mind throughout this thread. It's just that, like all places, it has its issues: plenty of them. And they're not well known outside the country.

A bit like how Uruguay isn't well known outside the country - meaning that tourist guidebooks, expat websites etc completely miss much of what I'm about to set out. In a globalised world, it's amazing how much isn't commonly known about this place: good and bad.

1. Cost.

Picture the scene. In 2012, I was wandering through Montevideo's old city between classes, doing some maths in my head. Via currency conversions, I was working out how much I was spending in Uruguay compared with my former life in the UK.

Then, I stopped dead.

Because I'd realised I was somehow paying MORE here than there - despite salaries being half of those in the UK at best. I kept checking and rechecking: surely this couldn't be correct? But it *was* correct. Uruguay is an insanely expensive country to live in.

It has only 3.5m people: much of which are either pensioners or kids. Many of those of working age leave for better opportunities in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the USA, Europe or Australia. Because they just can't earn enough to make real steps forward.