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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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Being poor: Paraguay case studyWhen deciding where to relocate many people look first and foremost at the property price. Some inquire about the crime rates and environment issues in a particular country or region. Almost none look at the health issues related to different climates, e.g. possible allergic reactions to local food and pollens. Even less potential investors are concerned about the general level of poverty or affluence; they seem not relevant to the issue of buying property. Provided the population is not violent towards foreigners, the laws are clear, there are no hidden catches, and the property seems gaining in value, everything looks bright and rosy. Some destinations are particularly interesting BECAUSE of their poverty, which assumes lower property prices. It's another point that poverty also could mean lack of a strong property market, but few seem concerned about this looking at the $30,000 mansions with blue pools. Taking Paraguay, or the Sleeping Beauty as we called it in the past, as a case study, let's understand what does really mean to be an investor in a really poor society, i.e. being surrounded constantly by really poor people. At least two facts should be taken seriously from the official statistics about this country, because many others couldn't be relied upon. These two facts are the number of people living by agriculture, determining the level of modernization, and the electricity consumption per capita, which determines the use of electric tools in everyday life. Paraguay is still peasant society, with 45% of the active population occupied in agriculture. Usually such high percentage of peasant population implies lack of mechanization, tractors, harvesters, and also no or minimal use of fertilizers, except by the largest farms. For most of the peasants they still live not in 21st, even not in 20th centuries, but somewhere before the age of industrialization. The electric consumption per capita is also among the lowest in the world and almost 10-15 times less than in the most developed countries. For an average American taking a cup of coffee means: putting the coffee beans for some seconds in an electric mill, then for seconds in the coffee machine, and that's all. This procedure is identical for people in NYC and for those in smallest communities in any American state or European country. For an average peasant in Paraguay the prime concern will be to get water, because there is no water pipelines. The coffee beans, which are usually baked by every household, will be milled mechanically, using no electric power. The same will apply when boiling the water. What would take minutes for an average American or European could be an adventure in itself somewhere else in the world. But what does this have in common with the investors who will buy European or American looking houses in Paraguay, plugged with power, water, phone, and even cable TV. From a distance it seems that they will enjoy life similar to that in their native countries. The problem is that this only looks like from a distance, in fact many who already have passed through this tell different stories. When you break your electric mill in the States or Europe you either go and buy a new one from the nearest shopping mall or go finding someone to repair it. In Paraguay if you live far from the capital city Asunción your chances to find what you're looking for are dim. In a society when so many people live in pre-industrial age, there is a shortage of technical specialists of any kind. In a society where there is no strong demand for industrial goods, there is no need of network of repairing shops. Where they exist, usually the parts you need most are missing and you can't just order them from the Internet. At the end you are forced to limit your search for best property deal within the capital city, not because the properties there are less expensive but because you can't afford living in pre-industrial age elsewhere. Many things the people in the most developed countries take for granted are in fact not. The nice looking grass outside our houses doesn't cut itself; human beings with technology must do this. Water also doesn't fall from the mountains or from the rivers into our tap; the pipes and filters are needed. And not only needed but constantly maintained and modernized. Without constantly upgrading our technological artifacts we are doomed to fall into another dark age; an age of misery, starvation and despair, an age that has nothing to do with the popular Hollywood clichés.
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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Paraguay.
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