Barra do Garças, Brazil

With a population of 72,694, Barra do Garças is hardly a sleepy backwater. In fact, this city in Mato Grosso has a dark history - in 1980, a pilot deliberately crashed his plane into a hotel, killing six people. The locals didn't take the tragedy well, shunning and harassing the pilot's wife until she allegedly committed suicide. Bureaucracy is also a persistent headache, as evidenced by the official's convoluted explanation of the crash. Overall, Barra do Garças seems ill-suited for those seeking a peaceful life abroad - the drama and hassle here may be more than many expats bargained for.