South America as an Alternative

Here are a couple of letters from old friends who tried Belize, and the Panama, and are currently south of there!!

> Hi Rick
> What a surprise to see you in Tombstone. We have been there before but missed the shootout at ok corral. Havent been on the Belize site in awhile and saw that you had moved there

> We have taken a few forays into South America and really like it. My first was with a friend that was planning to move to Uruguay and I loved it specifically Montevideo and the coastal towns. Milt and I ended up getting residency there that was so easy so if we ever needed another country we would have one. South America is very European full of italians and Germans and some French. We also visited Argentina as friends have farms in the Mendoza province near the Andes. Our first trip Milt was ready to move. He really liked it but I just got back from a month trip and no way. That old adage to live in an area for 6 months before buying sure applied here. As time went on Milt said he was glad we didnt and after being there one month no way. I much prefer UY. Its inexpensive and San Rafael is really nice as towns go but it is high desert, 4 seasons, dry, dusty and I dont like the architecture. UY is much more temperate and visually attractive. I did make it to Medellin Colombia and was that impressive. Could live there in a heartbeat. Interesting in that drugs are legal there but their problem is alcoholism not drugs.

> We have been here long enough to see people come and go for various reasons. For us, we totally love it. We now have a fantastic bilingual church that started 2 years ago. Roger is fluent in 4 languages and preaches the pure gospel. Have seen many saved, marriages restored. Its been amazing to see God at work. I am so grateful he isnt caught up in all the crap going on in the US churches. But then we wouldnt be going there. We have seen Panama go from a very safe place over all to murders, home invasions with people in them, and other acts of violence. The Panamanians hate it as much as the gringos as they are targets as well.  Gangs have moved in, corruption has increased dramatically under Torrijos. We are all so happy he is gone. Looks like Martinelli is really working on Panama and has a 86% approval rating. Since he is a wealthy business man he takes no salary and has divided it up amongst several charities. He is taking a hard line on corruption and has cleaned house with the customs people. He is also putting in free WiFi thruout the country with 10 cities to have it in 2010. And best of all he is changing the justice system. Started with a curfew nationwide. Children under 18 are free from prosecution in most instances so they are used in robberies. That's changing. 

What's scary is that say you have an accident in which someone is killed or injured you go to jail until it is sorted out. That way for all crimes. You are not charged, but stay in prison until your case comes up or there is sufficient evidence you are not at fault. No bail. Even worse is that the system is corrupt and everything can be bought and paid for including witnesses. Whoever has the most money usually wins. That even happens if someone wants your property. They show up with a "title" and tell you to move especially in Right of Possession property. So like anyplace else it is not perfect and dealing with govt agencies can drive you nuts. No corner on that. We have been fortunate not to have those kinds of problems. We are happy to be here.

> Thanks and I hope all is well with you.

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