Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the intricacies of expat life in Latin America, from the challenges of car ownership to the cultural nuances of bureaucracy and relationships. He shares insights on his upcoming Expat Insider seminar, the financial and emotional aspects of expat relationships, and the practicalities of living in countries like Panama and Costa Rica. Johnny also touches on the global presence of Peruvian flute bands and the complexities of AI bias. A must-listen for anyone navigating life as an expat in Latin America.
Johnny begins by discussing his upcoming Expat Insider seminar, which will take place in Guatemala and El Salvador from November 13th to November 20th, 2026. He highlights the early bird discount of $1,000, available until October 15th, and explains the rationale behind the discount, emphasizing the need for a guaranteed headcount to secure hotel and event bookings. He also touches on the challenges of owning a car in Latin America, including the lack of enforcement of mandatory car inspections and the annual registration process that requires a visible sticker on the windshield.
The conversation then shifts to the common practice of not displaying matriculation stickers on car windshields in Latin America, suggesting that it's a way to avoid the visual clutter and potential fines. Johnny explains that the stickers are often permanent and can be stored in the glove compartment instead. He also talks about the process of obtaining these stickers, which requires paying taxes and fees, and how this can be done online or at a bank. Johnny shares a humorous anecdote about a traffic ticket he received for running a red light, which later resulted in an unexpected fine when renewing his car registration. He highlights the cultural tendency in Latin America to procrastinate and the frustration of dealing with bureaucratic processes.
Next, Johnny discusses the financial consequences of traffic tickets in Latin America versus the United States, highlighting the significant differences in fines, points, and potential license suspensions. He emphasizes that even if a ticket is unjust, paying it is often more cost-effective than fighting it, which can waste time and effort. He also notes that while many Latin American countries have point systems similar to the U.S., enforcement is often lax, with people accumulating points without facing consequences. The segment transitions to an email from Steven, a U.S. expat in Panama, who shares his experience of breaking up with an American girlfriend due to her financial irresponsibility and the burden of a costly wedding. Steven contrasts his current happy marriage to a Latina, emphasizing the practicality and cultural values of his new partner, and highlights the financial differences in wedding costs between the U.S. and Panama.
The segment then recounts a story about a man who lost a $4,000 engagement ring during a Cancun vacation, which he had initially thought was a third of his budget for a car. He later bought a much cheaper $500 ring for his Latina girlfriend, who was happy with it. The man reflects on how his previous American girlfriends were more entitled, and how moving to Panama at 50 changed his perspective on life. He explains that he moved to Panama due to his military service and a comfortable pension, allowing him to live comfortably there. The segment then shifts to Johnny's commentary on American expats' romantic stories, highlighting the often sad endings and the stress of life in the U.S. Johnny contrasts this with the more relaxed and manageable lifestyle in Latin America, especially off the tourist trail, emphasizing the community and slower pace of life.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the common complaints expats have about living in Latin America, such as traffic, bureaucracy, and the rainy season. He acknowledges that many expats complain about these issues but clarifies that he personally does not complain about Latin America and considers living there to be the best thing that ever happened to him. He also mentions that while some expats complain, others are more accepting and enjoy the culture. Johnny also touches on the topic of expat culture, particularly those who try to recreate their home countries in Latin America, which he finds frustrating. He then shifts to a lighter topic, discussing the presence of Peruvian flute bands in various parts of the world, including Australia, and the mystery of how they manage to work in different countries despite the visa and work permit challenges.
The segment concludes with Johnny reading and responding to two emails from listeners, Mr. PF and Horacio. Mr. PF expresses his dissatisfaction with the political correctness of AI models like Chad GPT, preferring Grok for its straightforward, less politically correct responses. He also discusses his concerns about the influence of Muslim culture in the USA, comparing it to what happened in his home country. Johnny acknowledges Mr. PF's concerns and agrees that Grok has less bias, though it can be unreliable due to high demand. Horacio, on the other hand, congratulates Johnny on his podcast and shares that he has published two books, one in English and one in Spanish, inspired by Johnny's content. Johnny praises Horacio's achievement and reflects on the difficulty of completing a book, sharing a story about a friend who wrote a book for his child despite poor writing skills, highlighting the value of the endeavor.
Finally, Johnny recounts a story about a friend who asked for his honest opinion on a book he was writing. Johnny, being a good friend, gave a diplomatic but honest assessment, suggesting the friend hire a professional editor. The friend then offered to pay Johnny to edit the book, but Johnny declined, instead connecting him with a friend named Eric, who was a literary major and former newspaper editor. Eric was too expensive, so the friend self-published the book on Amazon, selling around 500 copies, mostly to friends and relatives. The segment then shifts to a warning about cryptocurrency wallet hacks, specifically mentioning that Trezor and Ledger wallets have been hacked, with the attackers gaining access to users' email addresses and mailing addresses. Johnny advises listeners to be cautious of fake emails and letters from these companies, as they are scams.
Episode Notes
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the challenges of car ownership in Latin America, the cultural nuances of bureaucracy, and the financial and emotional aspects of expat relationships. He also shares insights on his upcoming Expat Insider seminar and the complexities of AI bias. A must-listen for anyone navigating life as an expat in Latin America.
For more episodes, seminar information, resources, and the full archive, visit ExpatPlanB.com.
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Related guides: Moving to Guatemala · Cost of Living in Latin America · Residency in Latin America · Renting and Buying Property · Safety and Scams
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Topics
Expat Insider Seminar, Car Ownership in Latin America, Matriculation Stickers in Latin America, Cultural Practices and Bureaucracy, Traffic Tickets and Fines, Expatriate Experiences in Latin America, Traffic ticket costs in Latin America vs. the U.S., Cultural differences in marriage and wedding expectations between the U.S. and Latin America, Financial and emotional consequences of relationships with American vs. Latina partners, Engagement ring loss and replacement, Cultural differences in relationships, Life in Panama and expat lifestyle
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:50 Owning Cars in Latin America 00:04:34 Avoiding Visual Clutter with Stickers 00:05:12 The Cop's Perspective on Stickers 00:05:55 Procrastination and Bureaucratic Rush 00:06:28 Expats and Traffic Tickets 00:07:56 The Cop's Frustration and the Ticket 00:08:19 The Cost of a Traffic Ticket 00:08:48 Traffic Ticket Costs in Latin America vs. the U.S. 00:10:10 Transition to Love and Romance Email Pile 00:13:25 The Punchline of the Engagement Ring Loss 00:14:34 The Best Chapter of His Life in Panama 00:16:09 Living in Latin America, Off the Tourist Trail 00:17:33 Expats and Their Complaints About Latin America 00:18:59 The Contingent of Gringo and Expat Complainers 00:19:37 The Mystery of Peruvian Flute Bands 00:21:16 Introduction to Mr. PF's Email 00:22:14 Mr. PF's Concerns About Cultural Influence 00:22:55 Johnny's Response to Mr. PF's Email 00:23:40 Introduction to Horacio's Email 00:24:33 Horacio's Book Publication and Congratulations 00:25:12 Johnny's Reflection on Book Writing and Authorship 00:25:26 The Honest Opinion Requested 00:26:15 Warning About Cryptocurrency Wallet Hacks
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] Alright, first things first, let's talk about my upcoming Expat Insider seminar. People have been asking for this one, it's been a long time coming. And we've got the dates firmed up. It's a week long, starts Friday, November 13th, and goes through Friday, November 20th, 2026. It'll be in Guatemala and El Salvador. For full details and all the sign up info, just go to expatplanb.com and click on the seminar link. That's expatplanb.com. Click on the seminar link. The link's in the middle of the page. Oh, and as usual, we always have repeat offenders, and they get a $1,000 discount off of the early bird price. By the way, the last day to sign up and get that early bird discount is October 15th.
[00:45] So basically we're running that early bird discount, which is $1,000 off the regular price for a month. So on October 15th, we're back to the normal price. So why am I doing that? Why a big discount for signing up early and just for one month? Because everyone wants to save $1,000 and get in on the early bird discount. And with all the seminars I've done in the past, 95% of the people who sign up do so during the early bird discount period. That gives me a pretty good headcount to work with when I'm booking hotels, transportation, and events. Because you see, hotels like to book groups far out, far in advance, at least a month or two. Because when you book close to the launch date, oftentimes the hotel's already full and we have to put people in two hotels. We don't want to do that. We want a nice happy family in one hotel.
[01:31] And yes, in past seminars, that has happened before. We have had to put late signups in a different hotel. So again, that's the main reason for those early bird discounts. To get a close headcount, to put everyone in the same hotel. So again, to get all the sign up info and details, go to expatplanb.com and click on the seminar link. All right, let's start out with a question about owning cars in Latin America. Yeah, if you own a car down here, all I've got to say is welcome to another expat adventure because owning a car down here is unlike owning a car up in the States. For one thing, although some Latin American countries have mandatory periodic car inspections called, by the way, revision technica vehicular or inspection technical mechanica. So assuming that you'd think yearly the government would be checking safety
[02:17] features, the mechanical conditions and the missions, but guess what? Only five out of 20 Latin American countries enforce those rules. That'd be Chile, Columbia, Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. So the other three quarters of Latin American countries, that's 15 countries have those laws on the books, but no one enforces them. And most all Latin American countries exempt new vehicles for the first one to five years, though, after owning many cars here in Latin America, I think I've owned in total 15 or so. I've never once had to go for an emission or mechanical check, except one time, many years ago in Costa Rica. And that was when I bought a car to transfer the title. Having that vehicle inspected was mandatory. And guess what? It flunked the emissions test. So then did I get a fine? Did they hold back the title? Did I get a reprimand?
[03:04] No. I got a little paper that said I had 15 days to fix my exhaust emissions, which I never did. And I asked my lawyer there, will that put me in jeopardy when I renew the license yearly? And he said, nope, don't worry about it. No one cares or does anything about it. That aside, though, every vehicle in Latin America has to go through an annual matriculation or vehicle registration process to get a sticker. They call them Marbetes. Marbetes. That's that ugly yearly sticker you see plastered to everyone's windshield. And also a way to tell how old the car is, too, because year after year, people plaster them one at a time in a line in a row, down the far right side of the windshield. They've got a certain kind of glue on the back. And when they're stuck on, man, they're stuck on.
[03:49] And since there are lots and lots of older cars here in Latin America, those things really add up. Not to mention they're ugly and make your car kind of trashy looking. And really, you don't want to do that if you've got a nice new car, right? Paste an ugly sticker on your windshield. So here's what you can do. Even though when you get that sticker, it says you must place this on the windshield of your car, which, by the way, in a first world country, that's a violation. You can't put anything on your windshield. Because anything stuck there will impede the driver's vision somewhat. But down here in the third world, no one seems to care. Also proving what kind of low IQ idiots are in charge of government. Now, let's say you have a brand new car, a nice car, a Range Rover, a Forerunner, a Tesla. Some of us are thinking, that's a really crass sort of trailer cord thing to do with a brand new car.
[04:36] Slap one of those terrible stickers on your windshield. They are permanent and permanently trashy, and they stack up year after year. Well, there's another rule that's heavily bent or mostly never enforced at all. Even though when you get that Marbette, that matriculation sticker, it says it must be placed on the right side of your windshield. Guess what, you don't have to pull off the sticky back at all, just stick it in your glove compartment. If you ever get stopped and a cop asks you why that thing's not on your windshield, just pull it out of the glove compartment and show it to him. And say, I haven't stuck it on yet. I'll get to it. Because, you see, just the fact that you have one means you bought it and paid the tax, so that's all they really care about. It's worked for me every time. And the cops don't even bat an eye. So bottom line, if you don't want to uglify your car and windshield with that stuff, just let them stack up in your glove compartment.
[05:22] By the way, before you get that annual matriculation sticker or Marbette, which, by the way, in almost every Latin American country, you can get at a local bank. So why at a bank? Because to get it, you got to pay taxes, fees, and outstanding tickets you may have accumulated over the past year. With more and more countries, you could make those payments online. But you'll still have to go to a bank with the receipts, and they'll print it out for you. The circulation or license, tax receipts, that is. Oh, and by the way, each year there will be a deadline for your renewal of that thing. And if you pass that deadline, you'll pay a fine. And Latin America's just full of procrastinators. That's why the day of and the day before that deadline occurs, you'll see massive lines in front of banks. And the fact that people don't mind standing in line for an hour or two,
[06:09] that's another strictly Latino and Latina thing. Regarding that line thing, there's sort of a running joke amongst gringos and expats. Expats will joke that if a Latino is walking by and sees a line, he'll just automatically get in it. Which reminds me of a traffic ticket I got down here in Latin America a couple of months ago. I believe I've only had two traffic tickets, and all the 30 plus years have been down here. So it's worth mentioning, and this one will get you. Once again, this kind of stuff could only happen in the third world, specifically Latin America. A couple of months ago, I was in a big Latin American city. I was coming up to some street lights, they call them semaphores here. There was a green light to keep driving straight ahead, and a left turn arrow. So naturally, if you wanted to turn left, you'd pull up and
[06:57] stop and wait for that arrow to turn green. Well, there was a guy in front of me moving along in the left lane. He obviously was gonna turn left, but he didn't wait for the green arrow. It was still red, and he turned left. He ran the red light. Now, I was about a half a block behind him, and by the time I got to that left turn arrow, it switched to green. So I didn't stop, I didn't have to, I just took the left turn. And when I made that turn and got onto the next street, about half black down, there was a cop, and I saw him walk out in the street, wave the guy down who was in front of me, the guy that ran the red arrow. But the guy who ran the light just swerved around him and kept going. In fact, he sped up, just ignoring him completely and giving him the finger and saying, I'm not gonna stop for you. Well, the cop was flustered and pissed off, and guess what?
[07:45] Since that first guy stiffed him, he jumped out in front of my car and I stopped. He walked up to my window and started writing me a ticket. In other words, since he couldn't actually tag the guy who really ran the red arrow, he decided to get me as his second choice. Well, the fact is, he was pissed and had to take it out on someone, and that was me. And no matter what I said, I just couldn't talk my way out of it. So I took that ticket, crumpled it in a ball, and threw it in my glove box, and there it sat for some months. Then, the last time I tried to renew my car's Marvette at the bank, when I tried to pay the fees, there was an extra $18 charge, and that was for that ticket. Now, I understand you can fight traffic tickets here in Latin America. There is a procedure, and some people do it. And guess what? You usually win. But you have to go down to the designated government building,
[08:31] wait in a huge line until your case gets heard. So basically, you lose a half a day of your life just to save 18 bucks. So I gritted my teeth and paid the fine to renew that circulation, that Marvette. But here's the thing. Imagine if you had that kind of a violation in the states. Let's say Miami. Well, I looked it up, and that kind of left turn or right turn violation on a red arrow is 186 bucks in three points. Now, if it would happen in New Jersey, every state's different, it's 86 bucks in three points. Plus, a 30% late fee after 30 days. And if you don't pay it up within the year, a license suspension. So look at it this way. If you get a traffic ticket here in Latin America, even if you're completely innocent or feel you don't deserve it,
[09:18] you might as well pay it. It's going to be peanuts compared to a ticket like that up in the states. Besides that, if you want to fight it, which you might win, you'll for sure waste a half day of your life. It's not worth it. By the way, most Latin American countries now have point systems like they do up in the states. But guess what? It doesn't seem like in most countries people are keeping track of that either. Believe me, I've talked to a lot of people, even truck drivers and Uber drivers and cab drivers. Who are getting tickets all the time. They tell me they've had tickets and racked up massive points. Way over the so called suspension limits and nothing seems to happen. In fact, one Uber driver told me that he'd racked up 13 tickets last year. And right before he was supposed to get a circulation renewed, as Mar bethe, he went to traffic court and got the whole works absolved. But then again, he wasted four or five hours down there.
[10:05] But I guess if you've got 13 tickets, that might make it worthwhile. All right, let's move on to the love and romance email pile here. People love that stuff. This is from Steven who moved from New Jersey to Panama a couple years back. He says, Johnny, five years ago, I broke up with my American girlfriend. We were going together three years up in New Jersey. I wanted to marry her. It would have been my second marriage, by the way. I wanted to marry her until I found out how much credit card debt she had. 40,000 bucks. It was a secret she had kept from me until she had missed so many payments. She started getting notices in the mail. I'd see him around the house. Turns out Johnny, when we finally sat down and discussed it, that was two years after we'd been going together.
[10:51] I found out she had such a low credit score, not only would her bad credit prevent us from buying a house together, but she was also expecting me to pay for a huge wedding well outside my financial abilities. The wedding estimate, 30 grand. And that was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I live in the city of Cologne, Panama now. I got lucky and now I'm married to a really great, grounded and beautiful Latina. A girl I met three years ago, a teller in a bank where I have an account. What a relief getting the hell out of judge and hooking up with the beautiful and practical Latina. He says, Johnny, the trick is to marry a girl from outside of the US where family unity is still considered one of the most important things. I found out with Latinas, grounded Latinas that is.
[11:38] With any kind of gift you give her, even a $5 one, is much appreciated, even cherished. Of course, Latinas want a nice wedding too, but they won't ask for one that breaks the bank. By the way, when my Panamanian wife made up her side of the wedding guest list, she invited 30 people. And I only had five people, so the whole wedding only set me back about 3,000, 3 grand. I just looked it up, Johnny, the average cost for a wedding in the United States with from 30 to 50 people is $17,000. You know, Johnny, I've been married before, and as far as I'm concerned, we could have done the courthouse thing. But it was her first marriage for a woman that's a big deal. I'm not saying it was the best three grand I ever spent, but it sure made my wife happy. Anyway, to see the look on her face every time she brings it up,
[12:24] it was worth it. Of course, no one's perfect, certainly not me. But the girl I married, she did have some baggage, a 10-year-old kid. It's true, Johnny, as you've alluded to many times on your show, trying to find a Latina over 25 that doesn't have a kid is sort of a miracle. Oh, Johnny, I forgot to mention, as far as the girl I almost married in the States, I paid more for her engagement ring than I paid for my whole wedding in Panama. When I was engaged to my ex, I paid $4,000 for her engagement ring. And I thought she would be ecstatic about it, but in reality, she was disappointed because apparently there's this thing called the one-third rule. Have you heard about it? It was invented by De Beers, the diamond guys. I had never heard about it, I had no idea,
[13:10] but all of her American girlfriends sure knew about it. You see, at the time I was making about 60 grand a year, so one-third of that is 20K. She imagined that's what I should spend on an engagement ring. 20K, man, that's a decent car. The punchline is that $4,000 engagement ring she lost it on our Cancun vacation. And since we were out of the country, no insurance coverage. Of course, she felt bad for a minute. Then, just a day or two later, she started talking about a replacement. Perfect timing for that one-third rule to kick in, right? Fat chance. Don't laugh, Johnny, but I bought my Latina wipe-up $500 engagement ring. She was overjoyed and even cried a little. Looking back now, Steve says,
[13:57] I see clearly that all of my past three or four serious American girlfriends compared to Latinas were absurdly entitled. But how's a guy to know that unless he has something to compare them to? I had no other scale of comparison until I moved to Panama. That's why before moving to Panama at 50 years old, I thought all the exciting parts of my life were behind me. I thought for a while when I hit 50, my life was almost over, just sort of waiting to grow old gracefully if possible. But chapter number two in my life in Panama is turning out to be the best thing of all. Almost like you say, Johnny, winning the lottery. So why did I wait till 50 to get out of Dodge?
[14:43] Well, two kids from my first marriage when I was young and stupid at 22. That's water under the bridge, but I tried to be a decent father and waited until they were off and on their own before I made the move to Panama. So why Panama? I was deployed there in my much younger days in the service and I loved everything about it except the heat. By the way, John, if you're wondering how I can support my Panama move at 50, I'm a retired firefighter, 20 years and out with a $3,000 a month pension. Plenty good enough to live like a king since 3K a month's about 10 times the minimum wage here. Signed long-time listener, first-time writer, Steve S. in Panama. All right, Steven, thanks for that. You know, when you American guys write me about your own personal love and romance stories
[15:31] up in the States, honestly, it always sort of shocks me. Nobody seems to ever write me with a happy ending, you know? I knew the mating dating thing was getting more complicated. After all, I've got brothers and sisters up there who report that stuff back to me too. Every last one of them has a sad story or two as well. Now, if I ever had to go back to the States, they'd probably have to ship me back in a coffin. But seriously, if I really had to go back to the States for some crazy reason, after all the crazy stories people have told me about living up there, I'd probably end up being a hermit. Which brings us back to what this show is actually all about, living in Latin America, especially off the gringo tourist trail. I'd say perhaps the greatest attraction to living down here has less to do with the climate,
[16:16] the colonial architecture, even the cost of living. Then with the simple fact that life here is much less stressful, much more manageable. Once you get down here, especially when you're off the tourist trail, you're back in the world you used to live in 20 or 30 years ago. A world that's much more manageable. It's a more leisurely life in all respects. You can leave your house or apartment in the morning and within a half hour, hit a coffee shop, a bakery, a pharmacy, sit in a park, feed the pigeons, catch a tuk-tuk, and greet a dozen smiling familiar faces. Meanwhile, a half a dozen people you don't even know will say buenos dias or buenas tardes. Really, you guys and gals living up in the States, when's the last time someone you don't even know said good morning or good afternoon. I mean, sincerely, not just a forced thing.
[17:03] But then again, there are many expats coming down here who have a hard time adapting due to their own severe inflexibility. And a constant need to bend Latin culture to fit their agendas. And yet, they talk about legal and illegal aliens up in the States not wanting to assimilate. Well, most gringos and expats down here don't wanna assimilate either. They wanna bend Latin culture to fit their style. Those are the people sitting in expat bars and coffee shops complaining about things other expats just tolerate and get used to. Like the traffic and the lines, mañana time, bureaucracy, the rainy season. Gringos and expats are always finding something to complain about. Now, you might be thinking, Johnny, you're such a hypocrite. You complain about Latin American things all the time.
[17:50] Well, you know, I'd say if we were to hang out for a day, you might not hear me complain about anything except maybe the traffic. That's a never-ending sore spot with gringos and expats no matter how long you've been down here. But the thing is, this shows about living in Latin America. So, you're gonna hear all the complaints, the good, bad, the ugly, and the great. But as for me personally, I don't necessarily complain about Latin America at all. Living down here is the best thing that ever happened to me. And if it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm explaining what you will encounter once you get down here. I certainly wouldn't wanna change Latin America except maybe traffic and the garbage part. I mean, the way they handle garbage, like we did back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, back when they didn't yet find you for being a litter bug. You know, if Latin America changed and got more and more like the first world,
[18:36] for example, if the cops suddenly became alert and strict, the potholes and infrastructure got fixed, the bureaucracies less stagnant and lard-assed. If Latina ladies like American ladies started blaming men for all the evils in the world, and manana time were suddenly to evaporate, I'd have never moved at all out of a state in Chicago. You get the point. No doubt about it though, there is a big contingent of gringo and expat complainers. I try to avoid them myself, they're downers and bummers and party poopers. Who needs them? Though, there is certainly a big part of expat culture, especially on the tourist trail. I'm not talking about tourists now, they love it down here. But expats who have settled mostly on the tourist trail, the ones that are always trying to create their own little version of Milwaukee or Cleveland
[19:22] or Minnesota. Come on, you dumbasses, what's wrong with you? You can go back home and be miserable. Enough said about that. Remember a few shows back, I was talking about those little Peruvian guys that are in every central park in the world blowing their flutes? Got a lot of feedback on that one. Like this one from Ben from Down Under, he says, Johnny, yes, we do have those talentless Peruvian flute bands in Melbourne, Australia too. Not sure why, but their new found natural habitat is the Queen Victoria Market. Cheers, Ben from Down Under. Yeah, Ben, it's a mystery to me too. Nope, I still don't get it. How those little guys have infiltrated every country in the world, how they get the visas in plane fare, it's beyond me. And there's the fact that in every first world country,
[20:08] like Australia, the US, Canada, and every country in Europe, you have to have a legit work permit to make money, like playing in a street band even. And for a foreigner to get a work permit, you gotta jump through massive hoops. In fact, I was just talking to an entertainment lawyer down here in Latin America. He's trying to put together a Caribbean and South American tour for that famous Latin crooner, Ricardo Arrona. You might never have heard of him, but every single Latina and Latino knows that name. Oh, and he's got a kid, a daughter, who's engaged to that Aquaman guy. What's his name? Jason Momoa. Anyway, this entertainment lawyer guy. He told me he's been trying to get this tour together for over two years, and it's still not coming together. He says he can get the star, this Ricardo Arrona, a special work permit to travel
[20:55] different Latin American countries because he's sort of a superstar, but he can't get some of his roadies and crew guys who are Mexicans. He can't get him legit work permits because they don't qualify. They can't jump the hoops necessary for countries like Argentina, Chile, and the DR. Yet these little Peruvian guys are working in central parks everywhere. I just don't get it. All right, here's an email from Mr. PF. He says, Johnny, I'm listening to your show and dreaming of a change sooner than later south of the border. He says, I've become an avid AI user and I've come to use Grok almost exclusively. I like the personality of the AI engine. It seems to give me hard facts versus massaged facts like Chad GPT. In other words, less politically correct. In fact, I did a comparison between Grok and Chad GPT
[21:42] on a topic of transgender women in biological women sports. Grok felt it was wrong because transgender women, he says, have a physical advantage over biological women even if they do the full conversion. While Chad GPT waffled around the topic and summarized it as just being complicated with no firm answer. I wanted a yes or no answer and Grok gave me one. Chad GPT did not. Anyway, he says, Johnny, keep up the great work you do and we hope to make it down not to this following seminar of yours, but the one after. I think more gringos will be looking south of the border as things continue to deteriorate here in the USA. Now here's the part I want you to pay attention to. My Middle Eastern wife warns of the Muslim influence
[22:30] rising in the USA and says the same thing happened to her country and pushed the rights of women back 200 years. Europe is already full bar in many countries, which means F'd up beyond, well, you know. He says, I saw the change coming when I first went to Europe in 2011 to live and much worse on my recent trip a year ago. With best regards, Johnny, Mr. PF. All right, thanks for that, Mr. PF. Yep, Mr. PF, I was in Europe too for the whole month of May and it seems to me it's unlivable and being overrun by just the kind of people you don't want in your country. People who have no desire to assimilate. People who want to shove their religion and their customs down your throat. But to this AI thing you were talking about,
[23:16] Grok versus Chad GPT. You know, I have Grok, Chad, GPT and anthropic all set up on my computer. And when I'm doing an inquiry, I plug it into all three AI engines. And you're absolutely right, Grok has the least bias. Only it seems that Grok is so popular these days. Oftentimes it'll just kind of lock up and say, I'm too busy to answer right now. Too many users, hold on. Oh, and then comes this email from Horacio. He says, hi Johnny, hope all is well. I just finished listening to show number 1516. I never get tired of your episodes. Thank you for all the material you've shared over the years. Speaking of books. You do speak of books once in a while, Johnny. He says, you now have an expert listener who just published two titles on one topic. One in English, one in Spanish.
[24:03] In English it's called Chasing Summers on a 401K. And in Spanish, Persigiendo Verranos. Both available on Amazon. If you're a Kindle Unlimited member, he says, you can read them now for free. If not, and if you're interested, I'd be happy to send you the PDF files. After all, Johnny, you've given me so much information throughout the years. This is the least I can do. You also gave me the idea to publish books in Argentina. I'll start working on that. So enjoy the summer and keep up the great work. Signed Horacio. Well, Mr. H, kudos and congrats for publishing a book. You know what they say, everyone's got a book in them. But only one and maybe a thousand, even 5,000 people actually completes one. In fact, one of my very good expat friends who sorrowfully passed away at a young age of about 64 maybe.
[24:52] He told me a few years before he died, when he was still quite well, that one of his great goals in life was to write a book and get it published. Not for any personal glory or money, he was quite well off. He said it was something he wanted to do for his kid, so that his kid would have sort of an everlasting living memory of him. And guess what, he did it. He wrote a book. And before he published it, he sent it to me. Great storyline, great theme, terrible writing, terrible phrasing. Now, of course that was way before AI and AI would have cleaned it up for him very nicely. And you know, there was some push and pull going on in my brain when he asked me what I thought of it. And being good friends, I knew I had to be honest, but I didn't want to crush his spirits either. So I told the truth in a diplomatic way. I said, great storyline, great plot,
[25:39] but I think you ought to hire a professional editor to sort of tighten it up a bit. And he said, fine, would you like to take a shot at it? I'll pay you for it. I said, no, no, no, I'm way too busy, but I know someone who's very good at it. So I hooked him up with my buddy Eric, who's a literary major and a former newspaper editor in New York, but my buddy said he was too expensive. I think he wanted 2,000 bucks to edit the book. So he self-published it on Amazon. And I think maybe he sold 500 or so, you know, lots of friends and relatives. All right, before we sign up, one more thing, concerning those hired cryptocurrency wallet hacks. Just want to mention that Trezor and Ledger have been hacked. No, not the wallets, not the seeds. Someone hacked the mailing addresses of people who bought Trezors and Ledger.
[26:25] That means if you bought a Ledger or Trezor within the last couple of years, your email and home mailing address are out there floating around on the internet. So be on the lookout for fake emails from Ledger and Trezor, trying to get you to download and click on shit. It's not real. Trezor and Ledger will never send you anything. They claim they never will. In fact, I'm on that list, at least once a week I get some kind of scammer send me an email. And I even got a pseudo-official letter to my Miami mailbox. So just be aware, if you ever get an email from Ledger or Trezor or something in the mail that looks official, it's not from them. It's a scammer, ignore it, don't bite.