#757 – The Expat Files: Costa Rica to Nicaragua, Gold Coins, and Immigration Insights

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 up to play and now as 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 All right, been getting a lot of emails about the situation that's developing in Nicaragua now You longtime listeners have heard me mentioned Nicaragua many times I'm not real big on it never was for a lot of reasons that I went into on past shows

[00:46] But it's a great place for gringos who've been scammed in Costa Rica to just slip right into because it's got a border with Costa Rica Turns out as you heard me say many times before Costa Rica is very expensive now I just talked to a guy living there just three or four days ago He said it costs more to live in Costa Rica like a first-world person than it does to live in New York City And who did that of course? Well all the gringos flooding in for sure I mean when they flood in they want gringo niceties gringo franchises gringo imports gringo food appliances and Costa Rica Doesn't have a manufacturing base. So they have to import everything Naturally, it's gonna be more expensive than if you bought it up in the states a lot more expensive Why because you'll be paying Costa Rican import tax plus having the stuff shipped from the states or China or whatever

[01:35] So it's been many years since Costa Rica has been off my list and people have been scammed in Costa Rica A lot of scamming a gringo there. They know how to twist us when I live there I got scammed myself for around 25,000 bucks But that was small time compared to some of my friends who got hit for over a half a million Almost always on land in building projects The locals have had tons of practice scamming gringos and there are plenty of con men there and believe me Planeloads of naive gringos are piling in daily and you don't have to swing a dead cat to find one who's been gouged or Nailed in some kind of real estate deal. That's the most common ripoff scheme So what do gringos and expats do after they've been ripped off a few times or gouged heavily? That depends. Well, there are countless cases of gringos and expats in Costa Rica whose financial resources have been drained

[02:24] Problem is oftentimes Costa Rica was their final destination They sold many things up in the states or have nothing up there So they can't go back and relive that first-world lifestyle They just haven't got the cash or the income. Hey, I've met quite a few of them myself So instead a lot of disgruntled gringos who've been gouged have opted for slipping into Nicaragua Which in a way is like Costa Rica was 20 or 25 years ago So many of them did relocate there and they're still doing it and then came that promised Second sort of Panama Canal clone. Remember that about three or four years ago That was hot on everyone's radar right and that was sort of one of the precursors to what's happening in Nicaragua on the streets Right now protesters everywhere people dying in some places martial law, but I'll get to that in a little while first

[03:10] I want to hit some emails here. All right, this one comes from expat Edgar and he's talking about gold and silver He says dear Johnny You've often said that you keep a gold Canadian coin with you for emergency cash at all times You've said you could take it to any Latino or Latin bank and exchange it for cash in emergency situations At least that's what I think he said and you know I was recently exchanging messages with a Latin lawyer about doing the same thing with US silver coins Having some on hand for when the next shoe falls the crap hits the fan and we're in another depression like situation Well, anyway, Johnny the lawyer said I'd have to find that Newsmismatic Club somewhere because banks likely would not accept silver coins I think you might have said something like that yourself, but the old kavesa can't always keep everything straight these days

[03:57] Meanwhile, I'll be on the lookout for Latin American Newsmismatic clubs muchos. Thankos expat Edgar. Well, Edgar You're right I always carry a one ounce Canadian maple leaf with me had the same one in my little secret pouch for the last 27 or so years now just in case of an emergency an emergency that hasn't come yet because I still have the coin In fact, I've got two coins I've got a one ounce silver maple leaf and a little quarter ounce silver maple leaf tucked away in that little pouch in by The way a separate little plastic wrapper with a rubber band around it pinned inside my little stealthy pouch by the way That's a little trick. A lot of people use with passports and wallets and stuff They wrap a rubber band or two around them put them in their pockets never back pockets

[04:42] Of course, remember and those rubber bands will cause a lot of drag or friction every time you want to pull your wallet or passport Out in fact, sometimes it'll be such a pain You'll wonder why you put the rubber bands on it in the first place But that's also a tremendous deterrent for any bad guy or girl that might happen to slip their hands into your pockets Believe me if you've got rubber bands around that stuff, you'll know when someone's tugging near your private parts So try it. It's the cheapest kind of anti pickpocket and theft insurance you can buy. What do they cost a penny apiece? So anyway, I've got that little pouch with a one ounce and a quarter ounce Canadian maple leaf with two little rubber bands around it One of those rubber bands clipped through a little safety pin Which is then clipped to the inside fabric of that little pouch and you know You'd be surprised how much that little package with that one ounce and quarter ounce gold piece weighs

[05:29] Even though it's only about an inch by an inch by an eighth of an inch wide And believe me when I first started carrying it around many times I thought what if this thing by its own weight because I'm sitting down or laying on couch or something Happens to slip out and my zipper in that little passport pouch is open a ways Sometimes you'll notice when you're taking stuff in and out of it the zippers open a tiny bit Maybe even an inch or an inch and a half just enough for one of those pieces of gold slip out now That's very infrequent, but you're jostling around all day So it's bound to happen once in a great while though It's something you don't want to happen, which is why again I've got the double security of rubber bands and a little safety pin. Hey, it's lasted me 27 years and probably like 90 countries now Oh, but not the safety pouch. I have to change that about every five or six years and surprisingly enough

[06:20] It's usually not the zipper that craps out It's the pouch itself the fabric and sometimes the loop that goes around your belt It's slowly deteriorates like anything, especially since there's a little sweat You're gonna have a little of that if you got that tucked in your pants or whatever because that's how it's done There's a loop that wraps through your belt Then it drops into your pants and the humidity in Latin America, especially if you're traveling in tropical zones That'll definitely deteriorate the cloth and the stitching on that little pouch Oh, and by the way, if you want to know the one that I'm currently using had this one maybe three years now I changed from a Samsonite, which was a really cool pouch that they don't make anymore to one That's almost exactly like it but with only one zipper instead of two Anyway, just pop me an email the expat files at gmail.com and I'll send you the link and how to get that thing

[07:08] I think it's only 12 bucks I'd say it's the second cheapest insurance for pick pocketers and such that you can buy and the best number one Why rubber bands, of course, but back to expat Edgar's question about silver and gold coins in Latin America. It's true You're not gonna be able to go into a bank even in the States and pull out some silver gold coins Even if they're very recognizable like Canadian Maple Leafs or US dimes quarters or half dollars pre 1965 Whatever the fact is most bank tellers these days were born after 1964 They've never actually touched one or seen one with their own beady little eyes And they'll probably just have a look at them for historical interest and think you're a bit nuts That is unless the reset button has been pushed and that depression

[07:54] Recession type situation kicks in then you can be sure most banks will be closed So you probably wouldn't even get a chance to flash this stuff However, every large and medium Latin City in small towns to have news is Miss Maddox Club Yes, they're very popular down here and you'll always be able to go on the Internet and find one of these places They're usually combined with antique shops or pawn shops Just like up in the States In fact all Latin American countries at one time did have their own silver and gold coins that Floated freely in circulation just like they did it up in the States and they slowly pulled them out Replaced them with useless base metals as the US did 1965 with silver and long before that 1933 with gold actually outright Eliminating gold in circulation all together and leaving basically silver except for nickels and pennies

[08:42] Of course and even US pennies are not copper anymore Just scratch one on the sidewalk and we'll see what I mean beneath that coppery color is not copper at all I believe it's zinc much cheaper than copper because you know, there was a time around 20 years ago I believe now when a real US penny when they were all made out of copper was actually worth more than one cent Which meant back then if you collected enough of them and took them to a scrap dealer You could make money Just by buying them by the roll at one cent apiece in a bank and turning them over to a scrap dealer who melts them Down and gives you slightly more than what you paid for them at the bank and it's not you know Called money for nothing. It's called government induced inflation and you know what people were doing that So that's why the Treasury eliminated copper pennies though, isn't it funny?

[09:30] They still copper flashed the outside of them just so people wouldn't say hey what the hell happened to my pennies They're not copper anymore In other words, it was the government once again trying to pull the wool all of your eyes making you think They were copper and they're really not just like many the coins You'll find when you're traveling around the world in various countries take the euro coins. For example They're mixed with an alloy that makes them look shiny and bright light gold at least when you first get them and they tarnish after a while of course and for sure they did that to make you Think there's some kind of sparkling intrinsic precious metal value to them like gold. Are we that stupid? Well Some of us are in fact with the saddest moments of my life came when my mother told me Johnny Do you realize that 50% of the people in the world are below average that is having a below average IQ?

[10:19] Man that makes you look at every other person in a different light and worse yet She said Johnny they don't even know it to which I said mom You know, maybe it's a good thing. They don't so expat Edgar brought up an interesting subject What do you do if you got gold and silver coins? And I always recommend very very obvious and common ones like Canadian maple leaves and US silver and gold currency Because you know, let's face it if you walk into a pawn shop or a news mismatic shop if you hand him a Chinese panda or an Austrian feel harmonic or Australian whatever he's gonna look at it analyze it and give you a little less than if it was a US or Canadian Coin or maybe just maybe if it's already crisis time the reset buttons been pushed the feces says hit the ventilator

[11:06] Well in that case he might not want to buy or trade or barter For your Chinese pandas or Austrian feel harmonics at all because you know There's a lot of counterfeits going on even now in fact I have a very nice report on how you can tell if any gold and silver coins you might be buying or handling Have been counterfeited, you know, it's a huge industry in China now What isn't and all you guys and gals come into my July 2018 expat insider seminar will be receiving that report I wrote it myself. Well, most of it anyway, so these days you really have to look up They're even counterfeiting silver coins now used to be once in a while a gold bar ring It would turn up counterfeit or partially counterfeit, you know They'd drill out the inside fill it with a base metal or mercury or tungsten

[11:52] Whatever it takes to get the weight back up to do the mass and displacement measurements they take to see if it's real That's one good reason you never want to buy a gold or silver bar or ingot You can never really tell if it's been tampered with deep inside But now the Chinese are even counterfeiting US silver dollars and half dollars I mean look modern silver dollar is worth what in silver maybe 15 bucks so you might think it's worth it to go through all that trouble and make fake ones Well for the Chinese it is cuz they're doing it and believe me you and I could never tell by just looking or handling them But in that little report I have you'll find there are ways the common guy like you and me can tell Instantly if it's been tampered with or completely fate Which is why you want to buy all your gold and silver at a pawn shop that's been around for a while or a news

[12:38] Mesmatic outlet or any one of the big internet metals dealers They'll never carry the counterfeit crap only the high-grade stuff because they're smarter than that. That's their business Anyway, speaking of my July 2018 expat insider seminar. There's still time to get in on those early-grade discounts I'm holding them till the end of the month. That means in June 1st regular price again $500 more So for all the details and sign up information go to www.thenewexpat.com and click on Johnny's seminar link By the way when you sign up You periodically get an interesting little seminar message from me There's six in all kind of staggered over the weeks and they'll answer all the questions You might have about coming down what the seminars all about what to bring what to pack what not to pack those six messages address

[13:23] Just about anything you might be thinking about before coming down because you know We make it a point of holding your hand through the whole process once you land at the airport, man We're there would take you right through it to the very last day and of course the very last night Which is at a very neat restaurant and we call it the Last Supper All right now comes a cool email from a guy named Dave who came down here and went through the Guatemala Permanent residency process, you know a lot of people send me emails saying Johnny Sounds like a big rigmarole. Sounds like someone's gonna have to hold my hand through it I don't know any Spanish and they say what I've heard Johnny is it takes a big chunk out of your life You got to stand in sweaty long lines for hours at a time and sometimes when you get to the window They close it and say hey come back tomorrow or the next day or go to another office or worse yet

[14:11] You wrote on the wrong line or dotted the wrong eye and they'll tell you to come back with new paperwork. Ouch Anyway, a lot of people thinking about the residency process And of course if you come out to the Exped Insider seminar You can kill two birds with one stone and apply for it and go to the seminar at the same time So now let me read you an email from Dave who came down and did the process He says hey, Johnny. I just wanted to say that as of Wednesday. I am now a permanent resident in Guatemala I also wanted to tell you how much time I spent in either the immigration office or Renap, which is the place where you stand in line hurry up and wait get another line get your fingerprints taken Hurry up and wait get a picture done fill out some more forms. Actually your Latin lawyer or lawyers assistants will do that

[14:58] That's called a re nap in Guatemala. Ari and AP which stands for reistro national de las personas Translation national registry of persons and wouldn't you know it re-naps always in a different building than the immigration office So you be shuttling back and forth That's how it goes down in all Latin countries when you're getting your temporary or permanent residency and remember every Latin country has an immigration office and a Re-nap building or two or three and you'll have to shuttle back between both of them as you get your papers processed For permanent or temporary residency. Anyway, here's what Dave says and how it went for him He says Johnny my first appointment with immigration was at 8 a.m I stayed overnight at a big hotel, which is across the street from my lawyer's office

[15:45] Then he says Anna the lawyers assistant took me to the immigration office in her car and we got there right at 8 a.m She walked me up had someone take pictures of me with a cell phone and then I sat down while she talked to Everyone around the office. She floated around and seemed to know everyone there I waited for a bit and was called up to the counter where I signed my name a few times and then we left One hour later. I was back on my motorcycle at 10 a.m Amazingly and was out of Guatemala City in around 15 minutes By the way me Johnny here when you walk in one of those offices, you'll see hundreds I'm talking about hundreds of people just mulling around sitting in chairs standing in lines Organized chaos at its finest Which is why it's so important to hook up with a Latin lawyer to walk you through it because for one thing like Dave

[16:31] Just said the lawyer or the lawyers assistants knows Everyone in that office and that's kind of like getting cuts a free pass to the front of the line All right, then Dave says a week and a half earlier I had my second appointment with immigration at 10 30 a.m And the office was crowded and I figured I was in for a long haul Well, Anna the lawyers assistant brought me into a small room on the side where someone took my pictures again with a computer this time I got fingerprinted signed a few more things then I went out and sat down in the waiting room and Off goes Anna again walking around and talking and schmoozing and mingling I figured I'd have to go up to the counter again this time. My name is stuff Sooner or later, but nope, she was just handling something and I don't know what she was doing. But in about 10 minutes

[17:20] She said let's go Unbelievable two times I expected to be there for hours and hours and so far the total time I was there was about an hour and 20 minutes. Wow, no biggie But it's not over yet Dave says two days ago I found out at 10 30 a.m. I have another two thirty appointment at Renapp. Oh, no I'm far away in Panachell couple hours at least good thing. I've got a motorcycle Well, I just high-tailed it over there. And since I've made the trip a bunch of times I know just about every pothole and tumolo that would be speed bump on the route first time I did that ride I did in four hours I was able to get it down to three hours since I ride on the side of the road in Chichi, Maltenango

[18:05] Like every other motorcycle rider does. Yep. They know the shortcuts. All right legal or not I got to the office in just over two and a half hours this time I even had time to go across the street and get something at McDonald's before my Renapp appointment Hmm Dave shame on you unless of course Dave you just went in there to buy some of that fine Guatemalan coffee Yes, they serve Guatemalan coffee and McDonald's the best stuff, too Oh and this might blow your mind Did you know that throughout Latin America wherever there's a McDonald's if you buy a combo or complete meal, whatever happy meals Who knows I never buy that stuff, but I've been in many Latin McDonald's to have little meetups You know, those are centralized places where people who are meeting up will often say hey Let's meet at McDonald's and do this their logical choices because everybody knows where they are in their nice safe and centrally located

[18:57] Doesn't mean you have to put that crap in your body However, they do have 100% high-end Guatemalan coffee for like a buck and a half now, where was I going with this? Oh, yeah in all the McDonald's and Burger King's in such a Latin America when you order one of the combo or deluxe plates It automatically comes with tortillas. Hey, come on, try getting tortillas at your McDonald's in Cleveland, but I digress man Did I digress? Anyway, Dave goes on to say this time Johnny. I walked with Anna the lawyers assistant right through reneb How long was I in that re-enep office this time about 45 minutes? That means I spent only about two hours with three different appointments in the Guatemalan bureaucracy. I'm gonna call that a win Johnny, I can't imagine the insane amount of time

[19:45] Guatemalan has to deal with if they wanted to migrate to the US legally I'd say and it's me Johnny here again. That's certainly why so many of them prefer just jump in the fence Then Dave says so I was truly expecting the worst but it was so frickin easy to immigrate here Well, as long as you have the right people on your side walking you through and holding your hand All right, everyone How's that for a boots on the ground story and what it takes to get your permanent or temporary residency in Guatemala? Then finally Dave says Johnny It's ironic that I got all this done just before I'm leaving to go back to Florida for a little while I've got to tie up some loose ends and get rid of all my stuff and storage I'm going to work for a bit there so I can come back with more money and get a better place

[20:33] This time in Antigua, Guatemala Now the lake area that I was living in Lake Atitlan often called the most beautiful lake in the world is Extra nice, but there's not a lot to do there I went native and started doing exactly what you said Johnny in a recent show, you know hitting the gringo bar at noon Can't believe it 49 years in the US and I rarely went to bars and I never did it alone But here at the lake, it's like living in the sitcom Cheers Everyone knows who you are and you can go to just about any gringo bar and you'll know almost everyone in there, too By the way, Dave's talking about the first little town you end up in when you're coming off the big main Pan-american highway when driving to the lake Atitlan region that first little town is called Pana Huchel

[21:19] Turns out you know there are around 12 other little towns around the lake But you have to take a boat or a little lancia a launch to get there So the place he's talking about can be reached by car or motorcycle Which is why it's got that kind of gringo eco backpacker style about it And in fact, some people never get beyond that little town to see the rest of the other towns around the lake because you see You have to take a boat makes things a little more difficult that's why so many laid-back gringles and expats end up in Pana Huchel and become flesh-and-blood Jimmy Buffett songs and Finally Dave says by the way Johnny my motorcyclist for sale if you know anyone who's looking for one It's a 2017 Suzuki 125 that I Rejected for a higher altitude and did oil changes and adjusted the chain every thousand kilometers

[22:06] Maintenance they call that maintenance Dave and only gringos do that. That's why Latinos love to buy stuff from us Then he says I have just under 6500 kilometers on it now. He says Johnny I paid just under two grand for it and we'll sell it for around 1,400 bucks Then he attached a few pictures for me. He says anyway, Johnny Thanks for all your help and advice via the show and responding to my emails This last year has been way better than I thought it would be and he capitalizes way well Dave Thanks for that play-by-play and blow-by-bow Immigration story. I'm sure it'll ease a lot of people's minds as to how it gets done. However, just one thing Dave Do you have some kind of a death wish or something? Driving a motorcycle on the highways in Guatemala or anywhere in Latin America, especially on a small bike like that

[22:57] What's it 125 CC's right? Well, I have to say you have more cojones than I'll ever have However, my grandma used to say when you hit 50 you should do something on your birthday You never would have done at a younger age because well, it just scared the hell out of you Like for example skydiving and then she said when you hit 60 do another scary birthday stunt like hang gliding then she said when you hit 70 if those other two stunts didn't kill you paraglider scuba dive or Perhaps go to Japan and eat one of those crazy poisonous puffer fish meals And if you reach 80, how about a nice high oascha trip for your birthday? What she was saying was as you get older take more risks not less at least on your birthday Hey, I'm all for that. You know what I'd like to do. I'd like to take the vomit comet

[23:45] You know that plane that simulates weightlessness for what's it like half a minute at a time and I give you 15 tries I understand the traditional vomit comet from a NASA runs around five grand But there's a new one from a Swiss company called Swiss Space Systems. It's only two grand Hey who wants to come with me? All right. Let's do another email. This one's from Don Don He says hello, Johnny Mueller. I plan to arrive the first week in June in Guatemala Thanks for all the great tips now. I was listening to the 316 2018 show number 742 about internet plans with a hundred and fifty gigabytes from a company called Tigo for 30 bucks now that doesn't sound right to me he says a hundred and fifty gigabytes is a massive amount of data and

[24:35] Unlikely to be available for only 30 bucks a month as you say he says looking at the Tigo website That's T-I-G-O. That's one of the cell companies here The best plan I can see is 20 gigabyte a month for around 70 bucks And he gives me the website link then he says same with the movie star company. That's M-O-V-I-S-T-A-R That's a European cell company that does internet here in Latin America. They give you a hundred hours of YouTube included for free Which is like an extra 50 gigs, but actually you only get around 20 gigabytes of 4g at $70 a month It's a very competitive plan. He says the best I can tell then he gives me the links there Then he says you also mentioned a Tigo plan That's T-I-G-O that has unlimited internet for 30 bucks a month, and I don't see it on their website

[25:24] Some unlimited calling plans are there and unlimited music streaming, but none for unlimited internet Maybe with a smartphone they give you you get unlimited on your phone That would be good if you use your phone as a hotspot with your laptop or Android So he says that's what I've found Johnny. All right. Thanks for that Don Donnie But let me give you the true scoop on this. I am right now as we're speaking using a 75 gigabyte per month upload and download capacity Movistar system that caused me exactly 22 bucks a month and if I want to upgrade to 150 gigabytes It'll cost me slightly more than 30 bucks a month You see the thing is Don Donnie you have to walk into these stores and talk with the salespeople and they don't speak English

[26:10] Believe me the thing is this is Latin America So you I can't always go by the promotional pieces or what you see on the internet by the way I also know of a couple people who are using Tigo modems and getting unlimited internet Like I said, you have to walk in there in person and let the salesman pitch that stuff to you Now it all depends if you're on a contract plan or not. I'm not that means I walk in there every month and pay cash However with a contract plan, that means you have to give up some dats, you know, he passport and stuff That's where little photoshopping comes in handy. By the way Then you see they tie it to your bank account There's a monthly electronic withdrawal or you can go in every month and pay cash, too But as for me, I prefer to remain anonymous and thus use non contract plans

[26:55] So as it turns out there are many plans to choose from in both the contract and non contract planes And I found that the unlimited internet option pretty much is exclusive to the contract plans But it seems every three to six months. There's a technology upgrade and things change So what I'm telling you right now might not exactly be correct in two or three months. So bottom line I hope you speak Spanish or you have some bilingual someone to tag along with when you're checking out those plans Oops, we're getting towards the end of the show now So I won't be able to finish that bid on Nicaragua, but I'll do it next time. I promise You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B, you can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me But first download my free plan B questionnaire at www.thenewexpat.com

[27:45] Better yet if you want to get your plan B going from right up there in the States Just sign up for my 9-hour expat essentials course get the perfect plan B blueprint by going to the expat files comm Academy