Roaming South America

Finding the Quiet: Why My Shortlist for a New Home Ignores the Coast

March 5, 2026

What is it about coastal towns that makes them pretty much always "messier"? I'm talking specifically about these countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Chile, and Uruguay. The vast majority of interior towns are almost always cleaner, friendlier, prettier, etc.

I'm not imagining it. This pattern shows up everywhere I've been, and that includes 7 countries and over 300 towns/cities (in South America), and it’s not a cultural coincidence. It’s geography, economics, and human behavior piling up in the same places.

Here’s the straight, unsentimental anatomy of why coastal towns skew messier, while interior towns often feel cleaner, calmer, and more human. The comparisons below are to be taken with a very general understanding.

My South America Journey - A Brief Summary - Part 3

November 26, 2025

I’ve finally settled into Roldanillo, Colombia, where I’ll be for at least five months. Maybe longer, maybe not, residency is technically an option, but I doubt I’ll spend my days wrestling with immigration offices when I could be drinking coffee in the plaza. Besides, residency in Perú and Ecuador is easier than in Colombia. Before I get too comfortable, I want to rewind and share the trip that brought me here: a winding route through Peru, Ecuador, and into Colombia.

Sant'Ana do Livramento, Brazil

May 25, 2023

Sant'Ana do Livramento, Brazil, has a population: 75,000. Livramento has become an extension of the city Rivera, Uruguay. Livramento was founded in 1857 while Rivera was founded in 1867. Now, the two are one city with the border splitting them right down the middle. "The border" is nonexistent here, people can freely pass from one to the other with no need for checking in at border crossings or immigrations. There is no wall, no fence, nothing but a few markers (see the photo album) spread out along the line where such things would be.

Quaraí, Brazil

May 20, 2023

Quaraí, Brazil, has a population: 24,000. It is located on the border with Uruguay. Their economy is supported mostly by cattle and sheep, rice production, and trade. The river Quaraí seperates Quaraí from Artigas, Uruguay, forming the border between Brazil and Uruguay in this region.

Sáo Borja, Brazil

May 19, 2023

São Borjas, Brazil, has a population: 60,000. It is located at the eastern border of the Southern Region, across the Uruguay River from Santo Tomé, Argentina. Two former Brazilian Presidents were born here so the city was nicknamed "Land of Presidents". The city has two museums of former Presidents artifacts in their own former homes. There are two other museums, one that displays local artifacts from the town's history and the other display early missionary and indigenous collections. The main church at the center plaza is interesting not because of its antiquity, its not old, but because it reminds me of hobbit houses, check out the pic in the photo album. (Note: The São Borja sign above is not my pic, I walked all over this city and couldn't find that sign, I think it must be located somewhere out on one of the roads entering the city.)