Aside from the appeal of its beaches, climate and nightlife, Punta del Este has always attracted affluent South Americans because Uruguay allows nonresidents to hold offshore accounts in U.S. dollars — insurance against periodic economic crises and the roller-coaster values of the Argentine peso and Brazilian real — and to buy dollar-denominated real estate. A stylish but quiet place in the ’40s and ’50s, Punta del Este has become a small city, with a growing number of high-rise apartment buildings downtown. As a result, those in search of tranquility have been moving north along the coast to La Barra and José Ignacio or inland to the lush grasslands of gaucho country.