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South America
02-11-2011, 09:13 PM
Hi guys i'm new on this Forum and I greatly appreciate most of your posts so I decided to ask for your advice.
I'm a 21 year old European guy who has lived for about 2 and a half years in Asia, I work as a freelance Marketing Consultant and do some long distance jobs. I'm so tired of Asia and have just spend a few weeks in Eastern Europe (cheap cost of living, beautiful women) but it's not my kind of place. I lived in Thailand - Philippines - China and i'm looking for something different because I just feel more attracted to Latina women lately and I should really improve my Spanish language skills so I decided to move to South America for a year or more. As a matter of fact I love Latinas I meet around the world, any type except the short, chubby, round, flat nosed ones.
My question is... Where to live CHEAP, SAFE, learn Spanish, meet great locals (especially girls) and live a comfortable and entertaining life in South America?
I found Asuncion the capital of Paraguay to be an interesting place although a little bit small (about 700k people). The cost of living is cheap but I heard theres nothing much to do in week days when it comes to nightlife... I checked the women OnLine on some dating websites and most of them look good to me, rental prices for houses and apartments are extremely low for what you get in terms of living area, for a capital city.
Anyone some advice? I would like to go to South America as soon as possible but i'm stuck with this thing... Where should I go?!
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South America
02-12-2011, 07:21 AM
Brasilia, São Paulo...
Deixa que essa fase é passageira, amanhã será melhor você vai ver a cidade inteira seu samba saber de cor!
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South America
02-12-2011, 10:06 AM
Most people speak Portuguese in Brazil. I'm not interested in Panama. I've heard Colombian women are difficult? Argentina seems interesting. Has anyone here ever been to Asuncion in Paraguay?
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South America
02-12-2011, 11:14 AM
Quote: (02-12-2011 10:06 AM)Tommy Wrote:
Most people speak Portuguese in Brazil. I'm not interested in Panama. I've heard Colombian women are difficult? Argentina seems interesting. Has anyone here ever been to Asuncion in Paraguay?
Um Colombian women are WAY easier than the Argies.
Here is where id go.
Santa Marta Colombia - nice beaches only a short distance away. Tons of hot girls in Barranquilla if you cant find nothing in Santa Marta. Then Cartagena is only a short bus ride away.
San Jose, Costa Rica - insane options with sick beaches only a short bus ride away. hot girls. good nightlfe. meet tons on travelers.
Lima, Peru - great nightlife, tons of DTF girls.
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South America
02-12-2011, 02:52 PM
Quote: (02-12-2011 11:31 AM)Tommy Wrote:
Quote: (02-12-2011 11:14 AM)Dash Global Wrote:
Quote: (02-12-2011 10:06 AM)Tommy Wrote:
Most people speak Portuguese in Brazil. I'm not interested in Panama. I've heard Colombian women are difficult? Argentina seems interesting. Has anyone here ever been to Asuncion in Paraguay?
Um Colombian women are WAY easier than the Argies.
Here is where id go.
Santa Marta Colombia - nice beaches only a short distance away. Tons of hot girls in Barranquilla if you cant find nothing in Santa Marta. Then Cartagena is only a short bus ride away.
San Jose, Costa Rica - insane options with sick beaches only a short bus ride away. hot girls. good nightlfe. meet tons on travelers.
Lima, Peru - great nightlife, tons of DTF girls.
Interesting. What are DTF girls? Also my Spanish is not good. I can understand it a little bit because of my French roots but I have a hard time making myself understandable. I'm sure in a few months i'll be at an average level and probably fluent after a year. Is that going to be a problem in Colombia or Peru (i'm not interested in Costa Rica, I think too many Americans go there on holiday). I'm not really a kind of backpacker guy. I like a decent lifestyle, eat out almost every day, bars, clubs, and ofcourse girls all at an affordable price. If the cost of living is close to living in Europe or USA then i'm not interested.
For example: I used to live in Cebu, Philippines. Got laid atleast 4 times a week by different girls. Used to go out there everyday to eat, drink, "party". Beers 1.20$ in a decent place 2$ in a more upscale place, cocktails 2.5$ in a decent place up to 5$ in a more upscale place. Rented an apartment nearby the city centre. Used taxis atleast 2 to 4 times a day. This all for about 1000 US$ a month. What place is similar in South America when it comes to Cost of Living? (approximately)
DTF = Down To Fuck
Well ur spanish is gonna be a problem anywhere. So just study and after some time u will be alright. So dont let that influence anything.
As far as Costa Rica goes, all the tourists leave San Jose bc its not a "tourist" destination and its perceived crime problem. So you could rent an apartment and stick to the local spots and not be around many Americans ect. But Colombia is a better option anyway. You can find options in all those cities with that budget.
Id do Colombia if I was you. Or if you didnt care about the beach and stuff than Id pick Lima Peru.
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South America
02-12-2011, 03:09 PM
Tommy,
"For example: I used to live in Cebu, Philippines. Got laid atleast 4 times a week by different girls."
How about breaking down a Data Sheet on Cebu?
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South America
02-12-2011, 03:18 PM
Thanks for the replies. What about Asuncion the capital city of Paraguay? I checked the cost of living there is amazingly cheap, but there isn't much about this place on the Internet. So it might be very conservative and not alot of DTF girls and that's what i'm affraid of.
I don't care about beaches. I'm more into city life at the moment.
- Asuncion, Praguay
- Lima, Peru
- Any good city in Colombia ...
Hard choice... Help me on this one guys, Thanks!
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South America
02-12-2011, 03:56 PM
Quote: (02-12-2011 03:18 PM)Tommy Wrote:
Thanks for the replies. What about Asuncion the capital city of Paraguay? I checked the cost of living there is amazingly cheap, but there isn't much about this place on the Internet. So it might be very conservative and not alot of DTF girls and that's what i'm affraid of.
I don't care about beaches. I'm more into city life at the moment.
- Asuncion, Praguay
- Lima, Peru
- Any good city in Colombia ...
Hard choice... Help me on this one guys, Thanks!
I wouldnt risk Paraguay, not info info on the place.
Dude for citylife, nightlife, and DTF girls you onliy have one option.
Bogota, Colombia.
Although Lima, Peru is a good choice too.
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South America
02-12-2011, 05:49 PM
Ok great. So is Bogota dangerous?
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South America
02-12-2011, 08:27 PM
To your question, yes Bogota can be dangerous. Use your head and dont go to places you don't know and you will be fine. It is def. more dangerous than most Amercan cities and like anywhere there are great super nice areas and there are areas that you don't want to be at night. The only real different with a place like Bogota is that there are simply more neighborhoods that are potentially dangerous than an american city.
I dig Bogota mucho, but a lot of people in the USA sort of hate on it because it's not hot, sunny and there are no beaches so its not like your tpical vacation spot that people think about Colombia. Most people hit Medellin where IMO the most difficult women are but its like 80 all year so the weather is great.. Then you have Santa marta, Cartegena etc. which is beaches, real hot and more carribean / afro Colombian feel.
To me Bogota is like New York and Santa Marta / Cartegena is like Miami. Bogota can be overcast , its mountainous, the people are whiter, mixed or Indian looking instead of semi afro/caribean looking like on the coast. You might need a light jacket at night or sweater but despite Colombians calling Bogota "cold" its never been less than 70 in the day time when I was there.
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South America
02-12-2011, 08:30 PM
Despite past reputation, Bogota is quite safe all things considered and in-comparison to other South American capitals.
La Candeleria, the old colonial district, is actually rather dangerous at night despite being the touristy area of the city. There are many crack addicts who rob tourists throughout the dimly lit streets at night, so it is wise to walk with a companion after dusk. In the day, there are no problems though. I never was robber there though, but several people I knew were, and I found myself in a few uncomfortable situations at night in the neighborhood (maybe it was paranoia, who knows). In my four months in South America, I only was robbed in Rio.
But like I said, Bogota is not so dangerous. I stayed in an apartment in a middle class neighborhood 10 minutes from the central areas. It was an area where no tourists were expected, so maybe that actually helped.
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South America
02-12-2011, 09:14 PM
Great information! Bogota is a big city. I used to live in China so i'm quite used to that, but the safety factor is quite different. I lived in Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou for example, cities with over 10 Million people living there and never had any safety problems. So if there are safety problems, I might be a little bit worried.
The weather is fine to me, i'm not going to SA just for the weather. I'm going there to learn Spanish and learn more about the culture.
My final choice will definately be Colombia to start in South America. I'm wondering, are there any other smaller cities where it would be good to stay a while for a European?
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South America
02-12-2011, 09:16 PM
So how do I spot these street robbers in Colombia? Are they alone? Could I bash them up with some muay thai moves and run away? Do they have knifes, guns...?
and if someone has information about Asuncion the capital of Paraguay, please throw it in this thread! The cost of living is extremely cheap in ASC.
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South America
02-12-2011, 10:33 PM
A good friend of mine from Brazil is dating a girl from Paraguay. He went down to visit her and said just about everyone there is ugly, though his girlfriend is very pretty. It's very cheap because it's a very poor country, it's landlocked. I have no desire to ever visit Paraguay. As far as these countries you are talking about being dangerous, yes, most of them are more dangerous than most american cities, but is it a huge deal? are you for sure gonna get mugged? and should it stop you from traveling there? NO! From what I've read, Vitoria, the city I stayed in is the 3rd most dangerous capital of brazil, more than twice as dangerous as Rio, and the town my hotel was actually in, serra, is supposedly the most dangerous city in Brazil, but I never got mugged and never really saw anything that made me panic. Did I get lucky? Yes and no. Yes I was lucky not to be robbed because you can use your head and still be robbed, but if you use your head, your chances of being robbed go down quit a bit. Don't walk around with nice jewelery, clothes, after 10 by yourself. These things are just common sense if you're in a third world country. Just be smart, and to answer your other question about using Muay Thai, the answer is NO! Don't try using Muay Thai! That doesn't fit into the whole "being smart" thing I was talking about. "Do they have knifes, guns?" Who knows, but I wouldn't be down with getting stabbed or shot to find out. Use your wishe judgement. If someone comes up to you drunk with his fingers making the shape of a gun asking for money, slap that bitch, but if the dude seems serious, don't fuck around. Just don't carry more money than you need on you. I know my life is worth more than $200.
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02-12-2011, 11:05 PM
Actually, I take that back. I wouldn't walk the streets alone if there aren't other people walking around, but that's usually gonna apply in smaller cities. In Rio, use the 10 o clock rule though since even after 10 there should be a decent amount of people walking around.
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02-13-2011, 01:20 AM
Go to Bogota! It fits all ur criteria! u will have a blast!
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02-13-2011, 12:09 PM
Bogotá isn't that safe.
There are robberies here ALL the time. There's the basic knifepoint robbery at night, which is pretty common, but especially if you're alone there are groups of guys who will just grab you, throw you against the wall and take all your shit, not using any weapons. I actually saw this happen the other day right outside my window, in the middle of the day, while other people were around. It only takes a few seconds for this to all go down.
Most people in Bogotá walk incredibly fast. It seemed ridiculous to me at first, but now I realize that people here know alot better than foreigners, and that avoiding getting robbed is a constant consideration, even during the day in crowded places.
Now I have a good time here and enjoy it, but really if you're saying you're worried about saftey this city could drive you nuts.
Spotting robbers, well, it's difficult. There isn't really a type. There are lots of people who panhandle here, so people are ALWAYS getting up in your shit. 99% of the time they are just begging, but you never know which might be the one to just try to get close enough to you to pull a knife out. There are also plenty of groups of young kids who just walk around looking for people who look like good victims.
If you're clearly white, the clothes you have won't matter in Bogotá. Just for being mono (anyone with light hair, which means non-black) people will assume you have money, even if you dress modestly.
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South America
02-13-2011, 12:18 PM
Sounds very strange to me. I always have a phone and credit card on me, like usual. It would indeed drive me nuts... Are there any safer places?
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