ouch, really ?
i guess people exist with multiple tastes in life !

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10abuse

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Hi Anibal,

Why ouch? And yes I do have a wide array of tastes thank you.

Apologies if I came off as snobby in my opening post as that was not the intent.

But I still have unanswered questions if someone can please offer some insight.

Thank you,

Duy

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00abuse

Do not sign any contracts with any cell carrier in Paraguay. In the case of TIGO, after you sign if you decide to cancel they make you go their main office in Asuncion. Then you have to give them a Three Month Notice! That;s right Three Months! I cam to the conclusion that any and all contracts on Paraguay screw over the Consumer, so stay away from the Contracts just Mini Load at any Convenience store or Gas Station.

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10abuse

As far as Carriers its all the same crap. The market is dominated by that rich Mexican dude, you Carlos Simms. You know how he got that deal "Greasing the Corrupt politicians, if you can call them Politicians! Good Luck!

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00abuse

Thank you for your prompt response aramiss.

It does not surprise me when you say the market's dominated by a corrupt entity and their deep pockets keep them in control of our "politicians" worldwide.

I was told a phrase years ago that I will never forget: All "unilateral" contracts are designed to cheat you (vs. a "bilateral" contract which involves two parties' signatures).

I have looked at Movistar but they do not provide service in PY unfortunately. Claro I've heard some odd things about (how inconsistent their service is), in your experience what company would you consider the "best" all-around in PY?

Also, how about wifi/home internet services? I hear PY has drastically improved their home internet speeds over the years, but am wondering how good/reliable is their coverage outside of the bigger cities?

Thanks in advance and God bless,

Duy

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00abuse

Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

o.k., I like you is constantly moving from the USA to Paraguay and back. I have only used TIGO for Cell Service, Cable TV and Internet. in Asuncion.The service is compatible with that of the USA but for a lot more money. But the service is decent. Now once you leave Asuncion well that's a different story. In the City of Encarnacion Tigo also has service but its not quite as good as Asuncion. I mean the Cable TV part is still a mess and their Cable Modem made by Alcatel is constantly burning out due to the power surges. But Tigo cell works just as good in Asuncion as well as Encarnacion. But on the Ruta there are sporadic interruptions as you go through town to town. I have used both the service with a contract and service without a contract they seem to be of equal quality. Hope this helps!

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00abuse

Hi Aramiss,

Yes your advice seems to be very helpful thus far, thank you again good sir.

As for the power surges which causes the cable modem to burn out, do people there use "surge protectors" to prevent this?

Also, I don't have interest in Cable TV as people in the states for the most part "stream" movies/tv via Internet nowadays and have dropped their cable TV service.

I suppose for the most reliable/fastest internet I would have to stay in Asuncion?

Thanks in advance

Duy

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00abuse

Hello again, In Asuncion there is digital cable and internet available from TIGO, their service is quite good honestly. We were in a Condo building located in Downtown ASUNCION, never had any problems with their equipment. Now Encarnacion, they use satellite internet which is really not that good, and their cable modems made by Alcatel really keep burning out. We have tried electrical current equalizers. We did not find surge protectors for 240v system. Oddly, both services are owned by TIGO. Like you we were planning to move in November but after my wife was robbed at gun point, forget it. Also, the local police just take over any road they wish and set up roadblocks which gets to be quite annoying, Lastly they have also a ZERO tolerance for DUI, I mean ZERO as opposed to the States that have a .08 tolerance. How can you not go a restaurant and have one beer? Honestly this is why Paraguay is poor and will always be poor. Good Luck!

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10abuse

Hi Aramiss,

Did you mean your wife got robbed in downtown Asuncion or Encarnacion? And how did that effect the November move date for you two? Seems like I would have to look for the "nicer" areas of Asuncion if I am looking for safety?

I'm suprised to read your post about not being able to find 240v surge protectors locally there.

Unfortunate to hear about the random road blocks that police setup there, the same thing is starting to happen in the US as it's becoming a "police state".

With DUI's... would a person riding a pedal bicycle be guilty of this offense?

Also, does anybody here shop on eBay for things? Does anybody have experiences with international shipping through online shopping? Yes I know there's an import tax but how much is it around?

Bummer about not being able to have one beer and drive (in the States even a commercial truck driver has a .04 tolerance, sigh).

Also it's unfortunate to hear that while PY's economy is growing, it is growing for the rich as the poor stay poor. This is happening throughout the world, rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

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00abuse

Hello again, my wife got robbed and pistol whipped at gun point in Asuncion and her belongings taken. Their investigative units are a joke, there is investigations, no accountability, etc. Nothing was ever done, nothing, nada. How did this affect my decision not to move? The safety of my family is paramount. In regards to roadblocks in the USA, there are significant differences; the USA have more stringent rules. For instance, roadblocks must be advertised in the newspapers and online, etc. There must also be an avenue of escape and there must also be a sign posted "Roadblock up Ahead" displayed before you drive up to the Roadblock. And there must be a flashing yellow warning light, this also a requirement that mustbe in place before you arrive at the checkpoint. And even then not every single car is stopped but even if you are stopped the police only have a few seconds to determine if you are indeed DUI or not. If not you are on your way after producing a DL, Reg and Insurance. But in Paraguay they do whatever they want, when they want and how they want. Big difference from the USA. Regarding EBAY and such, I have never used them but I did try to import some merchandise to Paraguay via DHL. But Unfortunately, the Paraguay Customs stole all of my items and the only produced the outer boxes.My merchandise, gone! I lost $15,000.00, never again. I learned then that corruption in Paraguay is alive and well. But you can try NetBox service out of Miami but they do require special fees, ID's and a Miami mailing address or a they can rent you a PO BOX which they provide as well which at an additional cost.I would stay away from going around anything in Paraguay but again use the Services of NETBOX they are pretty good at explaining. BY the way TARGET does not ship anything in this manner, go figure! Good Luck my freind but I am staying in the good old USA!

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00abuse

Does Paraguay sounds cheap for you ??
Be smart, move to Portugal.

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10abuse

Hi Aramiss,

While I'm not suprised to hear about the lack of police investigation in PY, I'm afraid I can't say confidently that the U.S. police would put much more effort if I was mugged to be honest (the "justice" system seems to have priority to those with money lol).

And you are 100% correct about the U.S. roadblock policies, however that is changing and police are starting to not abide by them and it's going to get worse I'm afraid (part of the reason I'm leaving).

Dang, that sucks to hear about customs stealing all your goods you ordered. That's the breaking point for me and why I should go to UY instead.

I love the U.S. and my life that I have lived here, but I can no longer stand the political climate and what holds for the U.S. in the relative near future (we are $100 trillion in debt and things are going to get ugly as China starts to demand repayment).

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00abuse

Hi Anibal,

I appreciate the advice, but I prefer to be in South America.

and @Aramiss, thank you kind sir for your valuable insight and stories.

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00abuse

Hi Anibal,

I appreciate the advice, but I prefer to be in South America.

and @Aramiss, thank you kind sir for your valuable insight and stories.

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00abuse

No its not cheap but depending on your lifestyle. The restaurants are as or more expensive than in the USA. The groceries are also very expensive. Don't be fooled by all those "thousands" in regards to their currency, Paraguay is indeed very expensive. Now if you can live in the rural areas than you could live a lot cheaper but then your safety comes into play. Police are too busy stopping cars therefore no time to investigate crimes. Good Luck!

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01abuse

Not a problem glad I was able to help. Sorry about the bad news but there is some good and its the Paraguayan people.

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00abuse

You can find "surge protectors" or power strips in most hardware stores here. But I wouldn't buy them or use them as such as they are the cheaply made Brazilian ones which are crap. Just google 240 V surge protector and you'll find many sources of mail-order quality surged protectors to use here. About $20- $30. I would not hook any electronics directly here as the power fluctuations caused by blackouts and brown outs are notorious for "eating" appliances.

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00abuse

Move to Equador or Costa Rica!

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10abuse

Been to Costa Rica, it's more expensive than the US and has many of the "negative" aspects of living in Latin America (corruption, lack of gov't competence, etc….). It did have fantastic scenery and lots of touristy stuff to do though, so it's on the top of our list for a vacation location.

Haven't been to Ecuador but from sites like this I see it's not so cheap and its been a premier destination for expats now for the last couple of years so that's probably an indication the best times have already happened there…..

Paraguay won out for us based on cost, safety, ease of residency and being "off the beaten path". Not so many ugly gringo's and Euro trash living down here and making the country "more like home" for themselves, and thereby ruining it for the locals and expats that want to actually integrate with the locals. Paraguay is heating up as an expat destination though, with more and more starting to show up over the last 18 months or so. Thankfully most are wusses and would never dare venture outside the confines of Asuncion. And hopefully it stays that way %^) !

Keep in mind though, that just like in any country there are things that are going to be expensive due to their not being produced "locally". In Paraguay that means that all cars are very expensive. Normally about 100% more so than the prices in the US. Gasoline and diesel is also expensive as it is all imported. Gas is around $6 a gallon for premium now, diesel about the same.

Other things are much cheaper here than in the US or Europe, such as utilities. Paraguay produces more electricity than they use via hydropower. Our large house with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths a pool and guest house normally runs at most $150 a month when we are in the middle of the summer and running A/C constantly. Water is cheap and abundant, a normal month's water bill is around $15.

Food in a supermarket runs about 50 - 75% what you'd pay in the US. It'll be closer to 50% if you use less of the expensive "processed' gringo foods and buy local fresh foods (veggies, fruits, meats, dairy) and closer to 75% if you try to recreate a "gringo" processed food diet. You can actually spend more than in the US if you go to the one or two super expensive markets specializing in imported US/Euro processed foods in Asuncion. Guess the diplomats and the rich need someplace to go for their fixes of frozen pizza and german deli meat.

Health care is cheap if you 'pay as you go" with first rate doctor visits running about $50 a pop and surgery's costing insanely less than in the US. My father in law had his gall bladder removed using the latest "pin hole" arthroscopic surgery at a private hospital that ran just under $3K for everything to include a 2 day hospital stay. But of course you have to be in an urban area to get easy access to first class care.

You can get first class health insurance for much less than in the US. Our family of 3 gets by on a premium of $250 a month for complete coverage, no pre-existing conditions clause policy.

Cell coverage is the same as int he US and you have about 3 major providers to choose from. Costs are all over the place and you can pay more or less or about the same as in the US. Or you can do it on the cheap and just get a phone and "pay as you play".

Internet and satelite/cable tv is similar to the US and is constantly evolving/upgrading and costs are all over the place. We get high speed internet via an "over the air" transmission receiver at the house that includes satellite tv (high definition) for a cost of $80 a month. That includes english language stations (Fox/CNN/BBC/ESPN/HBO package)

Rent for houses and apartments is something else that is all over the place. Asuncion is in a real estate "bubble" right now so it's a sellers market. The further you get from the city center the cheaper it is and even more so outside the gran-Asuncion area. You just have to check prices on line via the newspaper classifieds to get a feel for what's available though.

If you buy or build though, that's where there's big savings available in Paraguay. But as I mentioned that "real estate bubble, you certainly don't want to have to be buying a nice place in an exclusive neighborhood of Asuncion right now, it's just crazy as prices have gone up 100% in some areas in the last 2 years or so. But 25 Km's outside the city it's dirt cheap.

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10abuse

What about the administrative path ? Willing to move out is not enought, one have to find a "friendly" country in order to stay there legally.
so?

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00abuse

Hi,
I found it interesting to read some comments on this thread that internet, at least in the capital, can be good. I was looking online, at sites such as http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries/ and per my web browsing internet speed in Paraguay is actually well below international averages. I work with internet and this is a big concern...is it possible to get internet that allows for clear skype calls? both video and audio or just video? and also I am wondering what people think about safety in a "good" area of Asuncion is compared to say Chile or Uruguay safety levels? Thanks

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00abuse