#907 – The Expat Files: Hidden Gems, Stem Cell Treatments, and Trusts in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started It's a funny thing. I have listeners from all over the world, and I guess that's not so unusual But you have to wonder why would people from countries other than the oppressive states of the US Canada and Europe? Why not get the hell out of that too? Well some might say almost all first world countries have become so expensive to live in and they've saddled their citizens down with so

[00:51] many stinking laws Not to mention a ridiculous number of taxes that people once have a brain Anyway are looking for options like Latin America take this email that just came in it starts. Good day, Johnny Greetings from Melbourne, Australia. I wish I could read the rest of the email that way, but I'll crack up while doing it Anyway, it says I've been listening to your show for the past two months or so and in honor of not wanting to do things Arse about I've started from episode 1 which means Johnny. I've got some catching up to do Arse about gotta remember that then he says fortunately sort of I'm being checked out of Hospital after a heart surgery today, so I've got a few weeks of recovery listening ahead Those first shows like episode 1 are so bloody long ago

[01:39] He says that you probably don't even remember But I'd be interested in seeing the list of towns in Latin America You do recommend moving to the ones that are big enough to offer good life, but not overrun with other gringos. I Look forward to more listening Johnny And I might even hear you read my own email out loud when I catch up in about five years Cheers might sign Ben from Melbourne Australia. All right Ben good question You know when I first started the show, what was it now nine years ago? I did put together a little report called Johnny's 17 best hidden Latin American cities in place or something like that Where I outlined my top 17 picks in Latin America for safe low-cost low-profile living So I picked 17 places you might even call them paradise is to ride out the coming economic storm

[02:28] And it is coming you know Though people do always pick on you when you're ahead of the curve They give you crap until it happens then all of a sudden you're a clairvoyant anyway bad about that report Well, it was great for its time nine years ago But things have changed mightily in the last nine years though I still firmly believe more than three-quarters of those picks would still make that list today Though some of them like for example Margarita Island Venezuela you know anything in Venezuela is off the list and Granada Nicaragua was off the list to anything in Nicaragua is off the list and Roatan Honduras is off the list not because it's not a great place It's just that it's almost first world expensive now, and we're looking for bargains right low-cost living The other problem is the gringos are piling in

[03:15] So if you did visit Roatan way back when and you happen to revisit the place recently You'd figure out pretty quick why the prices have been jacked way up It's being in undated with cruise ships and of course they dumped their passengers off for the day They swarmed the island suck down vast quantities of umbrella drinks for $10 a pop when they used to be to Rent a rickety beach chair for four hours at 20 bucks a pop Well, it doesn't take long for the other vendors on the island No matter what they're selling to see they can get away with gouging the day trippers You get the picture so I guess in the end over nine years my best 17 list has held up pretty well I can honestly say there are only three I would strike off that list Oh, and by the way nine years ago, and I made up that list There wasn't a single town in Mexico on it nor was there a single city or town in Costa Rica or Panama on it either

[04:08] Clairvoyant right no, it's just that even back then I had 20 years boots on the ground And I lived in Mexico Costa Rica and Panama whereas most people in fact the vast majority of people who make up lists You know lists are pretty popular like the 10 or 20 best of whatever Problem is in most cases practically all cases authors almost never actually live in those places They might just pop in and out for a couple of weeks, but they don't stay live and mingle there long term for example in my Case I lived in Costa Rica for two and a half years Owned two places there one on the beach and one in the capital of San Jose and I had a business Oh, it was great at first But believe me after about a year and a half and seeing what the gringos tourists and dollars had done to the place

[04:54] I couldn't get out of there fast enough then lived in Mexico about a year lived in Panama year Colombia Peru Honduras and my favorite of course, Guatemala Anyway bottom line I have a to-do list and I promise to revise my 17 best picks I guess after nine years, it's way overdue. So stay tuned for that It'll be coming out in a special report in the spring. Oh, and by the way, speaking of Australia I've been getting all kinds of emails and reports from people saying that it's even become a Worse big brother state than the US if that's possible They've got currency controls heavy bank restrictions little by little eliminating the use of cash all kinds of crazy stuffs happening And I can see why astute intelligent Australians are looking for that plan B and not a one of them

[05:39] According to the emails I've been getting wants to get out of dodge and move to the east like India China, Indonesia Japan Thailand or Vietnam. They tell me it's way too much of a culture shock and as for the Philippines Well, it's half Muslim and they're warring against the Christians Not to mention the language barriers almost impossible to overcome and of course many do speak English because there are many former English colonies there However, it's still they tell me almost impossible to assimilate You just never fully accept it not like you eventually are in Latin America Of course, you're never gonna assimilate completely in Latin America unless you speak Spanish But if you live off the gringo tourist trail, and you're not a complete slug that will come eventually Alright now due to popular demand. We're gonna do a little update on the stem cell thing

[06:26] Remember our lady who first reported in about three months ago or so that she'd gone to one of the stem cell clinics that I've been Recommending she went to the one in Puerto Vallarta Mexico Oh, and you might remember the lady that reported in is from Canada I first met her at one of my expat insider seminars She really is a fantastic person who's just about ready to make the permanent leap to get out of Dodge in her case Dodge, Canada Anyway, a couple of days ago I asked her if she can give me a little update on the stem cell thing because a lot of you out there are waiting to Hear what's happened with her case. Remember she was diagnosed by her Canadian doctors as Absolutely in need of a hip replacement. So without further ado-doo. Here's what she says Hey Johnny melody reporting in my stem cells are amazing

[07:14] It's been three months now, and I'm healing every day. My range of motions has doubled I can actually tie my shoes normally now It's been four years since I've been able to bend over and tie them from a sitting position I'm able to do a whole lot more exercise now, too I started out on my pre-core exercise machine at level one resistance and incline Before I can only do about five minutes a day every three days now I'm up to level three resistance and incline on the machine and can do 30 minutes every day without any real discomfort I'm also noticing that my sleep is fabulous. That really helps with the healing now I'm working on the muscles around the hip as they Deteriorated a lot over the past five years of limping around as my muscles are getting stronger

[08:02] I notice it's easier and easier to do all kinds of other stuff. The level of energy I have is remarkable I saw a friend for the first time in two months and she was open-mouthed at how great I looked She said I looked so much younger and wondered what was I doing? I laughed and told her about the stem cells and the intermittent fasting I'm doing too I believe the fasting also helps quite a bit Then she says Johnny by the way, how did your stem cell adventure go? All right me Johnny here Let me explain that a little bit now a couple of months ago I put together a little trip for myself my mother and my two brothers to go to a stem cell clinic my mother because Well, she's already had a knee replacement and they're talking about a hip replacement Now my one brother who's 10 years younger than me had a series of stents put in his heart in his early 40s

[08:51] And the doctor is saying that his injection fraction is so low He may soon be on the list for a heart transplant So that makes him a great candidate for stem cells and my other brother also younger than I am by about four years He was absolutely nuts about sports. In fact, he was such a good hockey player The National Hockey League came around to scout him out when he was 17 a senior in high school Then when they were about to sign him up, he blew out his knee and his specialty was goalie consequently He had two knee surgeries and a rotator cuff surgery So the hockey thing fizzled and today after all that in the great American diet He's a mess overweight severe case of arthritis high blood pressure on eight different prescription medications Pretty much the average American adult statistic now as far as me. I've got no issues at all. I'm not overweight

[09:39] No prescription meds my only problem intermittent migraines, but I figure hey the more the merrier Let's all go down to the stem cell clinic problem is about a month and a half ago My mother fell down and screwed up her leg and broke her arm in three places So we have to wait till that heals and she's out of rehab for the leg And I've got my seminar coming up the 10th of January So I think we're not gonna make the voyage to the stem cell clinic till February or March But I've been in contact. It's all set up and it's gonna happen. All right back to the rest of Mel's email She says Johnny I haven't had time to listen to your podcast lately as I'm busy painting the house to get ready to sell it in the spring That means we'll be down seeing you guys again soon. So Johnny. Thanks again so much for the stem cell information

[10:25] It's really been a life-changer for me and my husband I can shovel snow again, not that I want to but it allows him to take a break from it this year Cheers melody. All right. There you have it another boots on the ground progress report on stem cells here in Latin America By the way for you new listeners if you want all the information I've gathered on stem cells and the place to go here in Latin America the ones I know of and have been fed it out and recommended Just shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com and mention the stem cell thing And by the way, I make absolutely nothing by giving you these referrals. So then what do I get out of it? Well emails like melodies Come on if getting an email like that doesn't make your day or you're weak, then you really do have a problem You just might be a sociopath your only option then

[11:13] Politics. All right now comes this obtuse but funny email from a lawyer named Kelly He said Johnny I heard you mentioned trusts a couple of times on your show Well, have you know trusts are right up my alley setting up a trust You know is one of the number one ways to protect your investments in capital from lawsuits and the IRS believe it or not Though I'd be willing to bet in Latin America. Most of the trusts are not set up at all to do any of the F4 mentioned things That's why I should have titled my little email here Why one percenters in Latin America set up trusts or how wealthy Latinos protect themselves from their no-good children? So Johnny what's that supposed to mean? Well, it's like this on its own the title or the name trust or even the word trustee the person handling the trust

[12:05] Is completely neutral and has no negative connotations Then he says from a legal perspective a trustee was nothing more than a fancy title for any individual Usually a lawyer was legally obligated to look out for another's personal affairs to be trusted So to speak and he says in the United States trusts are the stuff of wealthy wasps Whose trustees would watch over the inheritance or trust funds as you might call them They'd set up for their idiot sons and daughters because you see Johnny parents who have great wealth or big businesses They realize sooner or later, which of their kids are truly idiots or spend thrifts and or incompetence You know the saying there's one in every crowd or family thus a trust Johnny can often save a company or even a legacy

[12:55] Now most trusts are operated under strict guidelines that have been set forth by the parent wasps or Industrialists who fear what they had built up would be pissed away on Ferraris yachts leer jets and crack cocaine So they set up how much money could be dispersed when and how then if all went well and according to plan Their idiot sons and daughters wouldn't get their hands on the bulk of their wealth Until they were old enough to accept the fact that they were truly idiots then there would still be enough money to run the business or continue with the legacy while limiting their idiot offsprings ability to live in a wasteful and useless fashion Speaking of trusts in Latin America The reality is there is so much old money in Latin America that was either earned or stolen

[13:41] Generations ago you wonder how it is that the money wasn't pissed away through multiple generations of idiot offspring Well, that's because the businesses and huge farms They own are so massive and generate so much wealth that they still operate under 19th and 20th century Monopolistic practices. So even if they're poorly run, they're the only game in town For example, you often find within a Latin country or region There's only one maybe two beer cement or pineapple brands to choose from and the local citizens are firmly bonded to those brands That kind of accumulated wealth is hard to destroy and often even with a few generations of slacker Entitled kids there will be a few stars that will emerge making sure the company's moving in the right direction and

[14:29] These days the real money is often not made with the old enterprises like sugar, tobacco or cement But the renewal and more modern acquisitions, for example McDonald's Wendy's Subway and other first world franchises and cell phone companies in Latin America It's not the hard-working man on the street who's pulled himself up by the bootstraps Scratching up enough to buy a McDonald's franchise. That's not the way it happens in Latin America It's a fact that all of the major franchises you recognize from Taco Bell to Home Depot Were snapped up early on by old money looking to diversify All right Then Cali goes on and talks about how gringles an expense can set up a trust to project their capital and investments here in Latin America though he mentions it's not really necessary unless you have idiot moron kids who are expecting an inheritance or you feel you have to

[15:20] Maintain with a certain lifestyle because you know, they can never do it on their own once you're gone He admits in the vast majority of cases you won't need a trust But just an SA corporation if you have a good amount of wealth or property Because you see here in Latin America an SA corporation that's society dot An anima will give you 100% protection against personal lawsuits Whether the suits or demands are coming from within the country or a place like Europe or the US Plus the way SA corporations work a lot of people set them up have the corporation open a bank account Have the corporation buy a boat land cars investment property businesses Whatever and then when they sell that stuff or turn it over to their kids if that's what they're gonna do They just turn the shares of the corporation over to that person or to whoever they're selling it to

[16:08] The deal is done and they pay no income or capital gains or inheritance tax Because it's simply a transfer of the corporation from one person to another and whatever the corporation owns goes along with it All right Now here's something to ponder Kelly mentioned that trusts are often set up by parents who know their kids are idiots or morons he mentioned how some entitled kids of the rich swill piss away the dough on Ferraris yachts leerjets and crack cocaine and Suddenly for a second. I started thinking about a Time magazine cover I saw I think was in the 80s on the cover was a crack, baby Man back in the 80s and 90s people were talking about crack babies all the time and on talk shows you had doctors Sociologists psychiatrists talking about how it was gonna be a huge problem in the future when these kids came of age

[16:56] Well guess what if you do the numbers, they're of age right now So where are all the crack babies and what are they doing? Where are they working? Where they hanging? Maybe that's why the world's so fucked up now. There's a sociology masters theses whose time has come Huh, they'd be in their late teens 20s and 30s, right? No, I'm no anthropologist or sociologist, but let's see crack babies. Where are they now think? Rappers Regga toneros think reality shows gangbangers guys with neck tattoos think prisons So then what about female crack babies? Where are they now? Well think multiple face piercings Facebook and insta crap addicts Young kids with the attention span of a titmouse. I

[17:44] Personally noticed there are amazing number of young people up in the states not here in Latin America But mostly up in the states. They don't look you in the eye at all when you're talking to them Then you've got your Walmart and store attendance that no less about the products They sell then you do I'm sure you've had that experience you go into a store and ask an attendant What aisle something or another is in and he shrugs and just kind of wanders to the store looking for it himself I mean, come on These are people who work eight hours a day in a place and don't even know where the stuff is Former crack babies you be the judge, you know, if you just go back and look at recent history We're in the age of the young adult crack, baby. You think you'd be running into them all the time Well, maybe you are maybe that's why we have countless morons and mental midgets demanding free everything

[18:30] Might their damaged brains be the explanation for reality shows for the new wave of everything free social democracy Things like minimum free income from the government. Of course, I could be completely wrong about this It's just a theory but you tell me where are the crack babies? It's the mystery of the ages Oh and why all of a sudden the proliferation of ass crack pants? I think we're on to something Let's think this thing through ass-crack pant babies Hmm. Hey just connecting the dots here, you know Then again, I could be completely wrong because it seems the ass crack pant thing is strictly a male phenomena You just don't see ladies celebrating Well, whatever ass crack pants are supposed to be celebrating In fact the ass crack pant thing for women goes completely against fashion

[19:19] Since there are whole racks even walls full of pants and jeans in women's clothing stores selling nothing, but but lift pants In fact, there's a famous franchise clothing store coming out of Columbia It's called Columbia jeans and that's the only thing they sell but lift pants or as they're known in Spanish Pantalones lavanta culo Which begs the question What up with that by the way jeans in Spanish are jeans You know speaking of entitled rich kids. Here's a story. I think who'll amuse you now you longtime listeners No, I played in various rock and party bands throughout Latin America And for a while for a couple years anyway, I was in this very tight little group In fact our lady lead singer. We had two singers a guy in a gal

[20:07] She went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for what that's worth Anyway, I was the only gringo in the band and all the other guys just by chance were children of the Latin rich That's how I learned how the stratified 1% lived by the way It's interesting to note that we played gringo party music gringo rock That is almost exclusively because the bars and discos and such on the tourist trail like Cancun Costa Rica Tulum Playa del Carmen Rio Panama City a lot of the beach resorts Well, those places always cater to gringo tourists So there was always a great demand by drunken gringos for a very good rock band specializing in English music You know as easy top Guns N' Roses Aerosmith and of course 60s and 70s classic rock music

[20:52] But you know, there's nothing worse than listening to a really good rock band specializing in English language rock music and the singer or singers have a Spanish accent that kills it for everyone the gringo audience anyway Well, that was one of the reasons I was in that band I was a gringo that could whip the singers into shape, you know train the accent out of them Anyway, we played a lot for around two years and one night after a gig our drummer had too much to drink He had a pole with his car and died So the band dissolved for a couple of months and suddenly one of the guys called me up said Got a new drummer and man, what a handsome guy. He was an Antonio Banderas type except when he stood up Let's just say he was well over four feet high now talk about the children of the wealthy This guy's dad owned one of the biggest beer companies in Latin America

[21:41] The Pepsi Cola franchise and the biggest most popular bottled water franchise So you might ask was this guy snooty? Did he have his nose up in the air? Well, not really except around the help which can wear on you Oh and what help am I talking about? Well, every time he'd come to band practice He'd arrive in the biggest blackest shiniest bulletproof Chevrolet suburban you ever saw along with two bodyguards Pretentious you say sure was except we like the idea of the bodyguards because they were our roadies Awful nice having people lug your equipment around for you guys and suits and earbuds. No charge Anyway, one day the big suburban pulls up in front of the house for band practice The two bodyguards get out followed by a really beautiful young Latina and the bodyguard said we'll be back

[22:29] We're gonna drop her off at home. So they left and I said to the drummer who's that girl? And he said nonchalantly my father's girlfriend Now I'd been over to their house a number of times or I should say their mansion mom and dad were together and by All measures. It looked like a nice happy family except for the fact that daddy had a mistress and his son Our drummer didn't mind it at all In fact, he covered for his old man in the meantime a couple months later the drummer introduced me to his fiance Good news. He's getting married beautiful girl from Colombia went to school in the States got her master's degree in San Francisco I think in marketing or something and so for the next month or so she came to everyone over our gig She was kind of bonding with his family getting to know everyone setting up the wedding details and all that then one day

[23:16] During one of the breaks at our gigs She came over and started talking to me for some reason it seemed like she'd rather talk to me than the other guys in the band I don't know Maybe cuz I was a gringo and she spoke almost perfect English that and the fact that she'd lived in the States something like Six years and went to university there Whatever it was. She'd like to sit and talk to me, but this time she just wasn't making small talk She told me she'd had it she was gonna cut it off call it quits with Eduardo Even though all kinds of dough was spent and all kinds of arrangements were made and all kinds of trips, etc Back and forth from Colombia to Guatemala, etc. She told me she just could not stand his family and I said well What's the problem? She said basically that they were superficial Jerks and they treated the help like insects and though they were filthy rich and her parents were too

[24:04] She said there was a big difference between wealthy Colombians and wealthy Guatemalans. She explained they had no class no culture She did not want to marry into a dysfunctional family. So in the end she dumped him and told him his family were a bunch of jerks Because you know what they say you marry a Latino or Latina you marry their family, too Oh and by the way after they broke up the same face He took off for a month or so, by the way, he was a brand new freshly minted architect I believe he went to the University of Texas Daddy paid for that of course and I understand he wanted to bring a bodyguard, but school wouldn't let him Imagine that now picture this he's a freshly minted architect now I know for a fact that in Latin America even in the States when you graduate from architecture school you end up working for another

[24:51] Architect is kind of a slave draftsman for a while pay your dues Sometimes you don't even get to work with another architect you end up working at a building supply outfit Anyway, it takes years to pay your dues enough to have your name on a shingle and actually start building any kind of projects But not so with Eduardo his dad was so well connected and so loaded When I asked him what he was gonna do now that he'd graduated He pulled out a tube with some architectural drawings and said I've got this new hotel project I'm working on in I think he said Nassau Bahamas and in that minute I thought to myself man these Latin guys these one percenters are point one percenters are living in a bubble within a bubble In a different world, of course, they're not all like that. I mean look at the girlfriend that dumped him

[25:36] She came from high rollers, too But she had culture and values which brings me to the guitarist in my band man He was a hell of a player while the band was together He got married too and one day after a gig he got plowed and he liked to drink and he said Johnny You know what? I feel guilty. I've only been married two weeks and I've already cheated on my wife, man What can you say to that? But why he said Johnny? It's a Latino thing. It's in our genes My dad cheats on my mom my uncle's cheat on my aunt's all crap excuses But you know, it gets worse Latinos have big families It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor and these guys have sisters and their sisters believe it or not Sometimes even play wingman or at least they keep quiet when they find out their brothers cheating on his wife Who the sister is normally very good friends with but blood is thicker than water

[26:23] So it's the unwritten rule that sis never tells anyway That's one way I got educated about the one percenters Latino high society At least you could say I got to be an observer on the fringes of it all All right. Now a few words about my January 2020 expat insider seminar starts on Friday evening January 10th Ends the following Thursday night. Just go to www.theexpatfiles.com and click on the seminar link or go to the expatfiles.com Seminar that's where you'll get all the info and signup details And remember you can still get in on the early bird discounts till December 1st Then we're back to regular price, which is five hundred dollars more than it is right now And again, if you're looking for a roommate, normally we can hook you up and that way you can save

[27:10] $750 off the price of a single so right now there's no better time to get that plan B going and you know There's a question that always answers itself Tell me are things getting better up where you live or worse? You know as well as I do you need an escape plan plan B an insurance policy in case You have to get the hell out of that You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B we can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat insider seminar in central America Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com

[27:57] Nos vamos