My pleasant surprises in Paraguay

Paraguay Expat and Travel Articles

My pleasant surprises in Paraguay

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After spending some time in another country in South America, I knew it was time to move on. Not that the other country was bad, it just wasn’t a place that I could see myself living permanently.

I decided that my next country would be Paraguay. However, I really wasn’t sure what it would be like there. There are almost no books available on Paraguay, very few expat blogs, and the little bit that anyone “knew” about the country was mostly based on decades-old news or third-hand stories.

However, they do have an easy residency process, and I did know someone living there. So I packed my bags and caught a flight to Asuncion.

I caught a taxi and headed to my friend’s apartment. That’s when I had my first pleasant surprise. The apartments here are much bigger than I expected, bigger than what I had back in the US. Instead of trying to stuff as many people as possible into small lots, resulting in 45 square meter homes, you can actually get a place big enough to move around.

The next day, we went to a nearby supermarket, so I could get some food and supplies. Besides the fact that it was huge and had a wide variety of local goods, it also had an aisle full of imported products from back home. No more missing my favorite foods!

The day after that, I needed a part for my computer. I headed over to the local shopping mall and wandered around for a while, looking through several stores that had electronics and computer equipment for sale. I found what I needed and paid a reasonable price for it (thanks to the fact that import duties aren’t insanely high here).

Of course, I’d been eating at restaurants, and I discovered a wide variety of them. Korean food, Texas BBQ, Mexican food, buffets, Chinese food, churrasquerias, and much more.

Then I started the process to apply for residency. I’d been warned about staying safe downtown. From everything I had been told, I knew that if I walked around with more than one dollar one me, I’d be mugged, stabbed, and left for dead. Then, the police would come by and arrest me for being a vagrant.

Of course, the reality was much different. Sure, there are good parts of town and bad parts of town. There are street vendors selling “Rolexes” for twenty dollars. It looks like there are probably even some homeless people. But not once did I have any problems – no muggings, no stabbings, and no arrests.

After all the fearful warnings, I didn’t find Paraguay to be a place to fear. Instead, I’ve found a country with a wide variety of people and interests. A place I want to explore more.

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Tags: • apartments • asuncion • texas bbq • korean food • expat blogs • chinese food • mexican food • south america • import duties • shopping mall • local shopping • favorite foods • street vendors • residency process • computer equipment •

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• <a href="http://article-library.totalparaguay.com">Paraguay Expat and Travel</a>
• <a href="http://article-library.totalparaguay.com/asuncion">My pleasant surprises in Paraguay (asuncion); Paraguay Expat and Travel Articles</a>

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