I have been having this debate and ultimately chose Paraguay as second permanent location:
Reasons:
- very low population density.
- hardly any taxes.
- minimal government intrusion in private and business affairs.
- no land ownership restrictions.
- easy access in and out of the country (open border with Brazil, direct MIA, GRU, EZE flights)
- good financial infrastructure.
- easy permanent residence.
- good basic emergency healthcare.
- friendly people.
These would be completely different reasons from why I chose Argentina.
Its like comparing apples and onions.
Argentina, especially Buenos Aires, appeals to people whose primary considerations are cultural.
If what you want is a cheap place to live alone without being bothered, Paraguay might work.
Not even on my radar.
The advantages to Argentina, to me, include an educated, hip and worldly population, interesting art, music, literature, fashion, film, dance,architecture, and design communities, an expanding food scene, the cultural and historical uniqueness of a hybrid European/Latin American country, a unique world class city, and personality.
I have been approached by several friends of mine in the USA who are preppers, doomsday fantasy fans, anti-government right wing types- and I always tell them, Argentina is not what you want- its the opposite, in fact.
I understand there are several websites oriented towards that market that are pushing Ecuador these days- my most recent inquiry, from a gun loving Obama hating blacksmith friend of mine, had been told that Ecuador was the new destination.
I think that aside from Paraguay, ALL south american countries are a lot more "socialist" than right wing America-flee-ers can conceive of, and if they actually moved to Ecuador or Peru or Brazil or Bolivia, they would be in for a big surprise- but in most cases, its just a fantasy anyway.
