Reason for Writing
Paraguay continues to see a growing number of expats and nomads flock to its borders for a slew of reasons, admittedly great reasons. There is a cheaper cost of living, hot weather, less restrictions, lots of water, fresh meat and a territorial tax regime. This is not to mention that some truly great people are flocking to the country. In fact, I wrote about Paraguay’s benefits on here before.
However, I am here to tell you that the place is not the hidden gem that many allege it to be (in fact, that is one of the many scams perpetrated here to engulf in unsuspecting Westerners). Here is a collection of my experiences, frustrations, investigations, stories I have heard or witnessed & simply news findings derived from a combination of research and inquiry. I won’t put anybody on the spot–but I’m sure others can testify this to be true.
Unfortunately, this post has been so lengthy I’ve decided to divide it up into two segments. Feel free to scan throughout, though I do encourage you to read carefully to get a better understanding of what I’ll say is the “real” Paraguay. At times, I felt like not posting this because it can be unpleasant at times to read…but I am too angry with the Westerners f*cking over other unsuspecting Westerners that I believe the truth deserves to be presented.
Once again, some of these things may be a deal breaker for you and your family–but this should serve as a post of honesty and warning rather than an advisory “stay clear”. The main motivation, ironically, is for you to be better informed to avoid falling for empty promises and lies about the country by other foreigners. I avoid discussing the many positives intentionally.
These findings are presented, randomly:
No Business Sense
This may actually give you a chuckle:
- Two cheaper items will be cheaper than the same larger item (in other words, they do not understand product per unit); the explanation from a Paraguayan is that the business folks know the “their local customers are too stupid to realize”<– true story
- Tipping. We had yet to find another who could calculate a 10% tip. Usually they settle for 10,000 PYG (1.40 USD). I don’t care that tipping is not common, I’m more annoyed that they cannot do 10% of a number.
- They are perfectly content with having an apartment or business setting remain empty for no money on the chance they could steal or rip you off instead of charging less, but receiving some cash flow. “If I can’t rob someone, nobody gets paid”
- They are constantly over or understaffed. It is easy to see in any [strip] mall.
- About a dozen times I’ve been met with sighs, eyes-rolled, lack of replies to “hello, good day” and a sluggish attitude when requesting service or inquiries. The attitude is “You made me get up to do something and I hate you for that”. It’s clear in most transactions. The laziness is staggering, and everyone I’ve spoken to agrees, even for Latam standards. In one instance, we have had a man drive erratically as a tantrum once he found out halfway through our trip across the city we were paying in card instead of cash (as he can’t squeeze more money out of us). We hit our heads off the roof at one point and our luggage smacked against his window.
- Prices are wildly set. Places will request more money for less and also be willing to give far more for less (by the same person!). The sense of value is truly not in the psyche. There are some things that you will receive absolute heaping amounts of food for a few dollars (essentially free food), others, you’ll pay out the nose.
Speaking of that… we had a hard time convincing people that gold was valued at ‘X’ amount of Guarani or USD. I guess “good as gold” doesn’t translate into the Guarani language. - Their ability to handle change (in money) is very slow and staggered. Most Paraguayans prefer to just use card, which honestly, I feel that a CBDC could be easily accepted and used here. The staggering increase in cash usage vs. card tap is tremendous.
- Banks, according to their own laws (not governmental) will reject transfers in and out of the country for no valid reason. Banks do not understand that possession of funds is their main method of doing business and more money is in fact better for them. They are often are extremely disorderly with respect to client service and cards. More on banks below
- Opening hours on events (such as Valentines Day) may be LESS than usual. In other words, the best time for restaurants to be open (normally 8 hours) they’ll only have a 4 hour window and receive less clients who would be eager to go out that night. Other times, a random Tuesday night they’ll have 8 waitresses and empty seats.
- Finding anybody to answer a phone or email is impossible; WhatsApp is the go-to-method but they are always eager to send you off to someone else. In fact, nobody has ever answered an email, ever.
Both Foreigners and Locals say that Paraguayans do not think outside the box and from my point of view–this is the most accurate description. Anything that requires cognitive processing, working memory due to a nuanced, specific or unconventional situation, is not known how to be handled. They resort to their basic software mode, one of 8 replies they use for the workplace. Essentially, they are great at doing their job within their established framework but unable to deviate from this to accommodate you.
I can speak for myself that I have had to correct the work of immigration 5 times throughout the process–I can see why they want computers to replace people. It’d work here, no doubt…but wait I’m just getting started…
Leading to a Crisis in Business
BLOW TO THE ZUCCOLILLO GROUP: GOVERNMENT ORDERS TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ALL BIGGIE OUTLETS
Many foreigners have said how much they hate Biggie due to the fact that the line ups are incredibly long, service at the counter is very slow and some have called it filthy. However, matters have really hit a point where the government has stepped in to suspend all (263 Biggies) indefinitely while they conduct a full inventory audit of their materials in a number stores.
I have personally come across a number of times where certain items being sold were expired but they remained the shelf. However, the cause for a complete shutdown of one of the largest retail stores in the country is due to allegations of something more serious. Allegedly, it had become commonplace in Biggie stores to remove the sticker or sticker over the existing expiry date with new, updated expiry dates to conceal the real date for consumers. This is likely to limit losses and ensure less production of their own Biggie products (less expense); but obviously create a legal and hazardous situation for Paraguayan residents.
Biggie for those who don’t know…is like 7-Eleven
Unhealthy Mode of Distrust
Paraguayans way of offering something is deprived of truth, loyalty or honour; they will confidently tell you yes or no with something that is 100% false, incorrect or regarding a topic they know absolutely nothing about. In essence, it is a country of friendly liars and you’re never quite sure where you stand. In this sense, words, have no meaning and everything is uncertain until it goes wrong
It never really matters what you agree upon, it will end up changing back to their favoured outcome later on. In the other words, if you say that a payment cannot be made in a 6 month period, you must meet at 9AM because of X,Y,Z, you must upload something and require a document or you don’t want to pay in cryptocurrency–they will be more than happy to proceed with you until you’re about to continue with the service or sign a contract at which time they will disregard absolutely all pre-agreed upon terms and continue as before. I have included this here because I have not only experienced this about 3 dozen times, mostly with renting matters but I’ve witnessed it from friends who wanted to create something, or import items.
An important meeting that’s agreed upon may never happen, despite being agreed upon beforehand through numerous individuals. It is literally a 50% chance as to whether somebody will show up or not and if they do, you don’t know whether they’ll understand your side of the arrangement, your wishes or situation. As I said, you never really know where you stand. “Do they understand what I need done?… will they show up? …Did they copy the address properly… do they understand I cannot pay with X, Y, Z?” Everything is a guessing game as they simply are not up to 1st world enterprise standards.
I thought getting my marriage status, name and occupation wrong was bad…but can you imagine getting the color of the car import wrong that is sitting right in front of you. Yes this happened.
In fact, I found myself being inherently distrusting of other things without having a valid reason of thinking so. In other words, after a little bit, this paranoid line of thought wears on you and I don’t think it’s very healthy (but that’s my problem).
Paraguay is cheap, but prices have risen dramatically. What do you expect when there is a monopoly on grocery stores given the poor quality and inventory of the competitors? And did you know that credit card processing fees range between 5-7.5%? The country is going to get more and more expensive…and for what?
Remember all those asylum seekers you didn’t like, ´Merica? Welcome to Paraguay!
A MUST READ! This is one of the most stupid decisions I have seen by any government in a long time… https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/08/signing-of-a-safe-third-country-agreement-with-paraguay Paraguay decides to take all of the deported people from the United States, all the top citizens…you know, the illegal criminal-types.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is very poor–and it’s a damn shame because so many buildings have a great colonial vibe to it. When the city rains heavy for 4-6 minutes, the entire streets flood (turning it absolute rivers) relegating it difficult to drive through and impossible to get anywhere walking. There simply is no drainage system or way to cleverly manage this, despite it happening frequently. If the rain persists for longer than 10 minutes, cabs, ubers and bolts stop working out of fear their cars will get stuck and any longer, businesses stop working given that they won’t be able to hold any customers.
Nurses forced to act as plumbers INSIDE of a surgery room as the governmental and private services do not respond
Likewise, you may have heard that a real estate “boom” is hot in the city. In fact, I don’t know if there’s a city with this amount of active construction projects in a city of this size. Rumour has it, from pre-planning to nearing completion, there are 400 apartment condo complexes being built (I believe it). However, numerous complaints have been made by those with architectural or engineering knowledge saying that the materials are thin, weak, and cheap for most projects. I have heard from a source (a smart realtor) that the construction companies are deliberately making apartments sized smaller to fit in less expenses and to move onto the next building contract. We have seen this to be true after viewing dozens of apartments (the old buildings, often in poor areas, are far larger and more soundly built by the way).
The nicest and largest lake in the entire country (I thought this place was really great, calm, quiet, tranquil)–is a toilet, literally. As a result of the proliferation of toxic algae or cyanobacteria, as well as nearby livestock farms, residential areas, large-scale deforestation, and land development, the lake is the most polluted in Paraguay. Due to the contamination, the lake has turned green and swimming in the lake is not advised.
I was only made aware of this after finding out from a European that she was very upset she couldn’t swim in it. This is not a recent problem either, research indicates this has been going on for decades. The area has suffered from algae blooms and high rates of fecal coliforms — indicators of contamination with human and animal waste. A beautiful, getaway vacation in Paraguay.
Soapbox is the fun, free speech platform you can use to monetize your words!
Create a free account today and get posting!
At the time of writing, the City-Hall of Asuncion owes 2.7 trillion guaraníes ($336m USD). This is more than double the 1.1tn guaranies ($138m USD) it received in revenues in 2024; it has a major debt problem that even if it were honest about their infrastructure liabilities–it simply cannot be paid without drastically raising taxes. So why all of the new builds??
Unrelated to infrastructure but just to reiterate this point; we have noticed that many buildings have features and attributes that are functionally useless but they are used to bid up the selling price. For instance, we have seen the following:
- Balconies than cannot fit a chair to relax on it
- Bathrooms without a large enough counter for creams, soaps, perfumes or towels; cool looking sink bowls that are the size of small salad bowls
- Pools that can only fit 1-2 people at a time at most, with no swimming capability but are to service the entire building
- Kitchens designed with no place for a washing machine/dishwasher/microwave; we have seen one expensive property with no cupboards or drawers
- Gyms that can only accommodate 1 person at a time
This is not to see the variation that the owners offer with furniture–instead, the design of the apartments are very much “here’s your living space, be happy with it”. Hence, the quality is very poor for what you can get in other cities now, for sometimes similar prices. I believe this is a crucial point because many foreigners are deliberately aiming to escape the “Eat Ze Bugs” and “You will own nothing and be happy” ethos–but they are merely being treated the same way in Paraguay!
In short, the value [of the infrastructure] is simply not worth it. I have compared the AirBNB prices in Asuncion to that of areas of Punta Del Este (not in high season), Budapest, Hungary, Portugal, Guadalajara, Mexico and it simply doesn’t stack up–especially that these cities are FAR superior in their offerings and the quality of the building or apartment is far higher quality (expect the minimum and poor quality when renting).
Aside from Biggie, two grocery stores
Even some grocery store items I’ve been told are cheaper when in Denmark and Germany. This is something you won’t hear about often because prices have increased radically within the last 12 months; due to a combination of newcomers, local inflation, trade problems and heightened credit card fees. Of course, real estate is not exempt from these high prices.
Banking/Phone Experience
Some banks are very reliant on technology to the point that it is impossible to open an account without a cell phone (your presence will never justify an account). We bought a SIM card from one of the 3 available carriers to fill this requirement.
One, works but there is a problem sending text messages from the bank to this cell phone provider. The bank blames the communications company who blames the bank–and nothing gets done. Classic.
The other phone carrier company will not accept any of my identification documents required to create an account (it is uploaded digitally and if the computer doesn’t verify it, then that’s it…)
The other had a similar problem where we were unable to proceed with activiating the SIM card. We called the number for assistance and the first thing she said was “Did you try to activate it following the instructions?” which is hilarious because the only way to view the number is after reading the instructions.
We explained the problem and the woman asked for the number we’re trying to register and the name to simply say “well you have to go through the instructions on registering the number you have in front of you”. We asked why did you bother to take our number and name in that case to which she answered that she wanted to verify the number was Paraguayan (oh yes, that’s right, get used to being treated like you’re an utter imbecile once and awhile…). She then insisted that the malfunctioning steps we were given were the only way we can register the number. We asked what the phone number support was for if she cannot register us manually and she said “in case you have any questions”. We realized we were dealing with a complete moron and gave up.
The second option ended up working after using an old ID. Rumour has it if a carrier doesn’t tune into a Paraguayan cell tower within a 2 month period, they destroy your number too. That remains yet to be seen by me.
Above is the most luxurious area of the country…Yep. No Joke.
More Business (Personal)
I had sought to set up some businesses in the country. One was a charcoal trading business, one was a cool golf idea (before I found out something that killed my idea) and the other was a mini golf (which doesn’t exist in Paraguay). However, it went nowhere. I was met with people who showed no interest in doing business with me and only fed me changing prices week to week. It led me to believe that give the prices in the charcoal business were only made possible from near slave labour or theft. My friend had also warned me that this sector is often a cover for drug trade.
As for mini-golf, it had existed from some Paraguayans who lived in New York. After doing a deep dive they had assumed their losses (I happen to enjoy mini golf and they had done a heck of a job by the look of it) and converted everything into an American burger and beer bar. I had come to the realization that there was zero interest in any game or alternative form of entertainment outside of football, alcohol and padel. Is this an isolated instance? I don’t think so…
I hadn’t pursued it, but also had the interest in building an application that could be specifically operating in Paraguay, one that hadn’t been prominent in the city. Of course, as part of this search, I wanted to see what people were interested in buying in terms of applications of platforms on their phones. I reviewed Google PlayStore and Apple Store. What do you think I found?
Every single paid app in Paraguay was for one purpose; divided into two different categories. It was for entertainment which was split between video streaming/television shows (very strong likelihood this is security guards, if you know, you know) and games. In other more competitive and motivated societies (USA, Russia, Germany, UK) you’ll see that many of these apps are about time management, about tracking appointments, diet, exercise, about reading or connecting for social or professional reasons, etc. There is a complete bifurcation in the attitudes, interests, motivations and cognitive prowess between the cultures; take that for what you will.
Terrible Air
A completely different note… sure you’re free from radical leftists or rightists (whichever you hate more), but you’re not exactly breathing the best air. Sometimes they’ll be odours and cloudy air on a day with no clouds in the sky.
Everybody talks about bribery openly as though it was a mundane topic like the weather; bribery & corruption is not a moral issue, it’s expected for quality service
I’ll keep this one brief
Despite requiring a number of different steps, the immigration departments do not talk to each other or have a database to refer towards. Plus they are immensely slow & bureaucratic. Some documents that require stamps (that may be done by a random lady in her dining room, again, no joke) need to be done in one area, then 7km away another person needs to stamp that her stamp is the correct one and then 5km away there needs to be another stamp that the 2nd stamp was legalized and correct. In effect it’s not about the candidate in the least… it’s about checking a box and presenting a document in a certain manner; the purpose of the document does not matter.
The purpose of the system is to do what it does
We had run into trouble regarding this because of a formality where the person applying demonstrated they were not a criminal in 4 different ways, one document twice, but because of one fine print statement saying “recommended renewal for criminal record checks every 90 days” it was rejected. It had nothing to do with being a criminal or not, it was a matter of matching papers.
It’s also the only place where I have seen 3 policemen and 3 policewomen spend 70 minutes chatting inside of the bathroom. Work break anyone?
Join as a member to hear about my story AND inside information with respect to acquiring residency yourself in Paraguay as a Plan B.
I have had to correct my own application during the process (from beginning to end) 3 times, with the last error being a double error as they even spelled the masculine/feminine version wrong (so they were DOUBLE wrong)!
Paraguay’s countryside is a place where someone can graze your property like cattle, feel free to eat off it as freely as cattle and camp down on it like cattle–except they may be armed. Private Property doesn’t exist, especially in small towns.
One law in Paraguay states that if the person can reside 12 months on your property without notice, they are entitled to ownership of that property
When Renting Expect
Here is a collection of my own experience and others:
- Them wanting 12 month contracts or you pay all 6 months up front
- Contradictions in documents; spelling mistakes; errors with your information and their own (potentially making the contract voided). Some photos being for DIFFERENT apartments.
- Repair men showing up 4-5 times to complete a job correctly
- ALL new apartments (which will be located in the places you’ll want to live outside of Centro) will have next to no insulation for weather and noise; it will be common to hear footsteps, televisions bathroom activity and bedroom activity clearly in your own apartment. Again, these apartments are NOT built with use in mind, rather, they are part of a larger scam.
- Common to read clauses that open up excuses for you to be evicted and owe rent indefinitely; or, pay penalties of 2-3 months with your security deposit of 1-3 months going to the owner
- Owners are never involved. The order of operations is you, the realtor, the realtor company, the building representative (if an apartment), then the owner. Your ability to solve a manner in a quick and fair agreement is taken from you
- Them changing their statements radically and often given the fact that they are working for their company who is employed by the building who is working for the owner. Numbers agreed upon are always shifting at the last minute and there is no moment of security as people are incentivized by saying “si”.
- Three contracts said we have to paint the entire place at the end of the 6 month contract and one added that we must resupply the furniture if desired by the owner. I am not joking.
- Them to push hire priced apartments that may have bad quality (they will all take a 50% commission of 1-2 month rent). Rumor has it that real estate agents continue to take a small slice of your rent as well (or, extortion in common law).
- Legal contracts that are illegal; signing them could have significant consequences for you and your ability to renew residency. It’s not uncommon to find places that have been illegally built and signed off by notaries who are paid to do so (and not check anything). Farmland properties are often not listed as the ones on offer and assets are not transferable at the end of the day because the owner is incapable of proving ownership of the assets he wants to sell (farmhouses, cattle, goats, lumber, etc.)
- Dogs, Dogs and more Dogs. They’re relentless. Parties will span all hours of the night too (dependent on region), with some people turning music ON at 1:30AM. Paraguayans for some reason turn the music up and down all of the time, too.
- A total distrust; we did find some reliable realtors, they’re out there. Just a word of caution.
- Always expect a natural trend to return to the first price even if you agree upon another arrangement.
I can confidently say that after a rigorous search (in a country with the most real estate development I have seen in my life with buildings everywhere you turn) for 8 weeks, we hadn’t found an apartment we could rent due to unavailability, lies, missed appointments, scams, criminal rental contracts, planned theft of our items, double payment, lack of returned funds (security deposit), extreme capital requirements, all of it we have experienced). I am NOT the only case who has experienced this, highlighting to me that despite literally hundreds if not thousands of rentals in the city there is genuine difficulty in acquiring a suitable living place. This is a mix of having no business acumen, nor any honesty in ones work and greatly disrupted my own personal plans.
Notary’s are paid according to the value of the asset; not their task assigned. It’s in their interest, like real estate agents, to sell (homes or rentals). The buyer never comes into the equation. If you ask questions, delivery a nuanced situation or challenge the legitimacy of clauses set out in contracts, you’ll be ghosted as there’s always another person to push a sale upon.
What is more interesting is that without even trying, just by speaking to others we found out we were not the exception, but rather, the rule to this. We couldn’t find a foreigner who quickly found an apartment they were happy with, an agreement that they felt was secure, at a price that didn’t involve heavy trickery and extortion. I personally found a case a set of clauses in contracts we were offered were illegal confirmed by a lawyer.
Haven’t Figured This Out
How so many Germans have decided that Paraguay was the place to flock to because it is very antagonist to their nature. The Paraguayan way is to often cancel, not show up, or show up tremendously late. I have had lawyers not show up for meetings and know of others who haven’t showed up to make payments.
The disgusting part is that everybody knows the true nature of this place but they try to sugarcoat to try to make it appear acceptable. It’s so widespread and experienced that any Paraguayan who feels close to you will always caution you to never trust Paraguayans.
Corruption
I strongly suggest you read my article here:
Cognitive output in this country is such that they are incapable of handling corruption (Please click PART 2!!!). The temptation to “live in the moment” and act totally in self-interest is so strong that developing an in-group, united, far-looking plan for everybody’s best interests is near impossible. In other words, moral understanding of right and wrong are incomplete and hence, can never be acted upon from within. This is not solely regarding Paraguay of course, but worth noting that Paraguay reliably clocks an IQ of around 82.
Shocking Story
Health professionals can be offered large pays to fill enticing big responsibility positions only to receive a quarter of what pay they were promised; the rest is either withheld or stolen and cannot be provided anymore. It’s not uncommon for professionals to end up working for free as money just “goes missing”. A nation of liars; even for the professional class.
#StayOnTheBall
Social Blogging Just Got Better