The following are some of my impressions of other Latino countries. Take it as just one mans opinion. There's always exceptions.

Caribbean Islands: The poverty in the general populace is enough to make you cry. Many of the blacks just want to smoke pot and "make love" all day long (which is evident by how many children many unwed moms have). Modern goods are scarce there. Hurricane alley. If you can live with next to nothing on the beach then go for it.

Mexico: Mexicans are much more predisposed to violence (or generally just being overly defensive) than other Latinos. Some remote beach retirement centers are OK if you have the money. Import duties are low for low weight imports.

Central America: Very rainy. Lots of parasites. Too much aluminum in the soil which gets absorbed into the plants you eat which causes people to accumulate toxic levels of it in their bodies which is bad for health. Very third world countries (Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala).

Venezuela: I heard that in the capital you are guaranteed to be robbed if you walk unassisted by a guard in the night. Economical problems since many presidents have left office along with all the countries monetary resources to live in luxury in a Caribbean island. From there to about mid-Brazil is the hottest part of South America (humidity/temperature combined). Chavez, the president, is like a dictator. The import tax is high.

Columbia: Great if you want to live in a war zone (police fighting the drug cartel). On the matchmaking sites there are more Columbian women wanting to leave with a gringo than any of the other southern countries. They must have a good reason to want to leave in droves.

Bolivia: Very poor and polluted.

Brazil: Pretty and better organized but much poverty and disease and most input I've received is that if you live there then you should stay where there are many foreigners and less blacks. I personally dislike their Portugese language and their music. The import taxes for resale items is 60% which is bad for business.

Uruguay: OK but it's economy has drastically gone downhill along with its neighbor Argentina. I almost moved there instead of Paraguay but noticed that there was no private mail service to Uruguay from the USA. But now SkyBox has service to Uruguay. It would be my second choice after Paraguay but I also have to consider what's good for my business of importing/exporting.

Argentina: The people are more modern but have a rather explosive nature. The economy is super bad now which makes foreigners a likely target for robbery. 60% of the population is now poor and street protests and mass break-ins of grocery stores is commonplace. Import taxes are 40-60%.

Chile: More orderly than most Latino countries but very "catholic" . (for example it is illegal to get divorced since the church doesn't permit divorces.) The people are generally emotionally colder than most Latinos. The capital is heavily polluted and half of the country is rather cold climated.

IMPORT TAXES
ARGENTINA: 40-60%
BRAZIL: 60% on items for resale
CHILE: 15-35%
MEXICO: low cost import duties are based on weight instead of the value. example: 5-10 kg is $48
PARAGUAY: Zero for pkgs under $100. Officially 30% for pkgs above $100 but about a third of that if its done under the table.
PERU: 20-50%
URUGUAY: 30-40% on packages valued above $50
VENEZUELA: 30-70% on packages valued above $100

Click here to read more details or research other Latino countries.

I emailed one person and said I didn't care about the politics here in Paraguay as long as they continue to leave me alone and he replied about my neighbor countries: "I have never been to Uruguay except for the airport. It sounds like a real nice country, however their record on leaving people alone is not real good. Brazil is pretty bad about not leaving people alone. I knew a guy who lived in Paraguay for like 15 years, previously he lived in Brazil. In fact he married a Brazilian, and yet he had a lot of trouble working in Brazil, that's why he moved to Paraguay."

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