The following are some of my impressions of other Latino countries. Take it as just one mans opinion. There's always exceptions.
Caribbean Islands: The poverty in the general populace is enough to make you cry. Many of the blacks just want to smoke pot and "make love" all day long (which is evident by how many children many unwed moms have). Modern goods are scarce there. Hurricane alley. If you can live with next to nothing on the beach then go for it.
Mexico: Mexicans are much more predisposed to violence (or generally just being overly defensive) than other Latinos. They have the worst gutter Spanish of all Spanish speaking countries. Some remote beach retirement centers are OK if you have the money. Import duties are low for low weight imports.
Costa Rice: here's a comment from someone who moved from there in 2012: "I'm from FL, moved to Costa Rica 5 yrs ago, the prices have skyrocketed triple with utilites, housing, food, restarants, but more importantly is like living in the US, maids sueing you, $230 parking tickets, $600 traffic tickets, so I'm outta here." I made the mistake of moving there back in 1997. Here's my gripes about the place: gripes
Central America: Very rainy. Lots of parasites. Too much aluminum in the soil which gets absorbed into the plants you eat which causes people to accumulate toxic levels of it in their bodies which is bad for health. Very third world countries (Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala).
Venezuela: I heard that in the capital you are guaranteed to be robbed if you walk unassisted by a guard in the night. Economical problems since many presidents have left office along with all the countries monetary resources to live in luxury in a Caribbean island. From there to about mid-Brazil is the hottest part of South America (humidity/temperature combined). The import tax is high.
Columbia: I lived in the city of Cali for two months and loved it except for the fact that most people weren't friendly to strangers. Probably because only 10 years ago there were bombings in the streets. So they are still shell-shocked and suspicious. Other than that I loved it. You can choose from many climate zones, public transportation was great (air conditioned buses), relatively clean cities, no one tried to rob me although I walked in old downtown after dark. Right now it is my #1 choice. I moved back to Paraguay only because I have a son there. If not for that I would of stayed in Colombia.
Chile: The most Catholic southern country and so the people are very conservative. This report made it their #1 choice but what irked me is the over-abundance of dogs and dog shit. I hate dogs.
Bolivia: Very poor and polluted.
Brazil: Pretty and better organized but much poverty and disease and most input I've received is that if you live there then you should stay where there are many foreigners and less blacks. I personally dislike their Portugese language and their music. The import taxes for resale items is 60% which is bad for business.
Uruguay: OK but it's economy has drastically gone downhill along with its neighbor Argentina. I almost moved there instead of Paraguay but noticed that there was no private mail service to Uruguay from the USA. But now SkyBox has service to Uruguay. It is hot and flat like Paraguay.
Argentina: The people are more modern but have a rather arrogant nature. The economy is super bad now which makes foreigners a likely target for robbery. 60% of the population is now poor and street protests and mass break-ins of grocery stores is commonplace. Import taxes are 40-60%.
IMPORT TAXES
ARGENTINA: 40-60%
BRAZIL: 60% on items for resale
CHILE: 15-35%
MEXICO: low cost import duties are based on weight instead of the value. example: 5-10 kg is $48
PARAGUAY: Zero for pkgs under $100. Officially 30% for pkgs above $100 but about a third of that if its done under the table.
PERU: 20-50%
URUGUAY: 30-40% on packages valued above $50
VENEZUELA: 30-70% on packages valued above $100
ECUADOR: no tax on personal use items if package is less than 8.8 lbs and under $400 value (make sure original invoices are included or pay a $60 fine). 32% tax for resale items.
I emailed one person and said I didn't care about the politics in Paraguay (when I lived there) as long as they continue to leave me alone and he replied about the neighbor countries: "I have never been to Uruguay except for the airport. It sounds like a real nice country, however their record on leaving people alone is not real good. Brazil is pretty bad about not leaving people alone. I knew a guy who lived in Paraguay for like 15 years, previously he lived in Brazil. In fact he married a Brazilian, and yet he had a lot of trouble working in Brazil, that's why he moved to Paraguay."
I lived in Paraguay for 4 years but it was really hot for 6 months each year and it was flat and not real pretty. That's why not many gringos were interested in moving there.