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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Colombia: Attention, attention, attention!Without any doubt Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. It's dangerous for anyone, for its people as well as for the foreign tourists and for the expatriates. Several terrorist and revolutionary organizations, drug cartels and paramilitary gangs operate on its soil. Each year thousands are killed or wounded or kidnapped for ransom. Other people try to move to safer and more developed countries. Many governments warn their citizens not to enter Colombia. Hollywood has offered to the public around the world an image of a country on the verge of chaos. Yet 41 million are still living there. Maybe there are some places where the life is quite normal, where people can forget about the fact that they are living in one of the most dangerous countries? Colombia has a large territory and most of the armed and criminal gangs operate traditionally in well-defined areas in northern and southern parts of the country. Some guidebooks suggest the international tourists to stick firmly to the big cities and to the tourist areas and to pay close attention to the news. Indeed this is essential for survival in Colombia but it isn't enough to be safe. The capital city of Bogotá is one of the criminal capitals of the world even if it's far from the main battle zones. With great popularity the criminals in Bogotá use the incapacitating drugs, which they put into the drinks, the cigarettes or the gums of the naïve tourists or simply blow them as powder in their faces. Such techniques are used in many countries around the world, but perhaps in Colombia they have reached their climax. Before going to Bogotá the foreigners with heart or respiratory problems should speak to their doctors because the high-altitudes could stir their symptoms. More or less safer is the life in the archipelago San Andres and Providencia. One of the reasons the tourists prefer this archipelago is that it lies at 750 km northwest of Colombia mainland and at only 230 km east of Nicaragua. The relative tranquility has a price and the properties on this archipelago are in general more expensive than in the rest of the country. Talking about the real estate prices, Colombia isn't an expensive country. In Bogotá, Cali and Medelin the houses, both new and old, can be found for far below the $100,000. Very surprising is the fact that almost identical properties in one city have very different prices, such as $20,000 and $100,000. If the property itself isn't a key to the answer, then probably the exact location should solve this enigma. In a country such as Colombia perhaps there are too many reasons for one property to be underestimated and many of them have nothing to do with the noisy neighbors. So instead just of "location, location, location" the individual investors should constantly pay "attention, attention, attention". Among the other countries in the region Colombia doesn't offer more liberal procedures for legal immigration, which further hinders the international relocation. The retirees from abroad who want to receive residence permit have to prove a monthly income exceeding twice those earned in Colombia. Without such income or an investment of $50,000 made to the Central Bank of Colombia you can't expect to receive the right to pass the rest of your life in the country where are based some of the most prominent illegal organization in the world.
Colombia profile: --------------------
See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Colombia.
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