When my family arrived in Asunción, they were worried because they did not know what they were going to find. I had been here for several months, but I suspect that they did not give much credit to what I told them to calm their misgivings.
In particular, my Mario, the little one, frowned and looked at everything with suspicion. The oldest was more curious, but the youngest at first did not want to leave me or his mother.
To this day, even older, even my children tease each other and laugh at their own fears when they came to what they now consider their home. They made friends at school, they were very well received by the neighbors and they did not miss any comfort they were used to. This is why it is important for us to give all the possible information: to prevent any unfounded resentment through knowledge.
We came for the economic benefits, especially tax, that we found, but we stayed for the warmth of its people and for the quality of life.
Paraguayans feel hospitality as a national feature of which they are very proud and hence the effort they make to make the visitor feel at home is a cultural feature.
As I had been in Asuncion for six months, I was able to apply for a residence permit, which is here called Permanent File, providing a series of documents (criminal certificate, such as the logical, birth certificate, among others). For the children, they also asked us for an affidavit, which surprised me at first, but then I understood that, if you think about it, it was more a measure of protection towards minors than anything else.
Any management has always been facilitated by the common language. The most spoken language is Spanish, with a few twists that at first quite sympathetic to several misunderstandings (usual, words that sound like a taco and then they are not or vice versa) in both directions were provided. Of course, you get used to it in two afternoons and, since then, “we are”.
In addition, Guaraní is also spoken, especially outside Asunción, but it has never been a problem, the other way around. Of course, I recognize that there are some words in the Guarani language that I have never managed to pronounce well.
The next step we will take will be at the end of this year, when we will fulfill three from the Radicación in Paraguay, which will consist in requesting the double nationality and thus obtain the Paraguayan passport. We do not renounce anything from Spain and at the same time we can travel with him around the world with complete freedom, as well as ensure the investments of our savings so that tomorrow, when they are older, Mario and Gustavo can enjoy them, without having to pay a quarter in taxes.
A couple of years ago we met some Italians who had already acquired dual citizenship: for them it was a fast, safe and economic procedure, especially if we compare it with the same management in many other bureaucracies of the world.
At first, my in-laws and my father had not seen him. Then they realized that, being from different parts of Spain, neither would be able to see their grandchildren every day and instead talk to them even often through Skype, or you can tell a story with audios Telegram . Mario always falls asleep before the story read with the voice of his maternal grandfather is over, but he is perfectly aware that the next day he can ask again.
Now, having come a couple of times to visit us, and with the arrival of retirement, my in-laws begin to consider moving here as well. Not with us, but with Asunción. They will enjoy their Spanish pension, earned after a life of effort and sacrifice, but without the increase in the cost of living that reduced their purchasing power. They have a system of enviable health, with a cozy atmosphere, with much more liquidity than they would in Santander, with a style of quiet and safe life will be surrounded by lovable people and, indeed, very close to the deal …
Anyway, whether they decide to or not, we will continue on this adventure and this second life that only cost what it cost to overcome the initial suspicion and would do without hesitation, because we keep all the good that we had in Spain and we won another country more.
