#702 – The Gringo Advantage and Life 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 up to play and now as I wander 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 You know, I'm always talking about the gringo advantage and I actually think I came up with that phrase now Just the other day. I was talking with a rather famous gringo expat You've heard me talk about him before captain mango He came down to one of my very first expat insider seminars and he's been here ever since I think it's four years now

[00:51] Maybe more we got to talking about another weird Latin concept what I call south of south of the border That would be not south of the US border, but south of the Mexican border big difference and I'll explain why You see I often run into gringos and expats who spent time in both Mexico and south of the Mexican border the rest of Central America and South America and man if I've heard this Observation once I heard it a thousand times. They say something happens people feel it or they have a certain sense Immediately as soon as they cross south of the Mexican border. There's a different kind of lighter ambiance They say the people are more laid-back more genuine the cops nicer way fewer gringos, too Which means of course the gringo advantage is much stronger However, I've heard people say that south of the Mexican border the Montana time syndrome is even worse and the roads even crappier

[01:42] I know what they mean I can vouch for that Some gringo say if you think it's like going back in time when you visit Mexico you ought to go south of the Mexican border Hey, nothing wrong with that in fact. It's a good thing I mean come on who of you living up in big brotherland really wish they couldn't turn back the clock So what's that mean for gringos and expats well in the overall scheme of things that means in the first six months Or so you're gonna be pissed off a lot your blood pressure is gonna rise You'll be frustrated and irritated with slow-moving latins and the way they do things But once you readjust your own internal clock And we all can do that a little bit and you realize that when you're on time for things you're way too early Eventually if and when you can get over that big hump You'll fall in the groove and your blood pressure will drop and you'll relax and be a little less wired

[02:31] Just realize you will eventually get used to the more laid-back style of life Kinda and that's where you really want to be halfway between Latin style and halfway between first world gringo style So the object is not to go native gringos who go native Don't live like first world gringos here in Latin America the way they could and on a very low budget, too Now I don't mean to say the way I think they should I'm just saying when you come down here to Latin America You don't want to lower your first world living standards You don't have to and there's no need to and you know the gringos who I've met that have gone native Most were freewheeling backpacking do-gooder hippie types whose minds never got out of the 60s now They're not all old codger dead heads who never grew up either

[03:16] The fact is Latin America is the perfect place for shift list types to just kind of exist and hang out in Chicago There's an old saying if you're gonna hit the skids do it nice weather like Hawaii or Florida So you find a happy medium one foot in the Latin world and one in the gringo world that seems to work out best That way you still maintain your standards, but you live a longer happier life after all That's one of the big reasons a lot of gringos and expats come down to Latin America in the first place They're way too stressed out and they're on way too many prescription meds At least that's true for most of the over 50 crowd They know if they remain with that stressed out treadmill lifestyle up north They'll frazzle and burn out way before their time and it's true I see a lot of gringos and expats arriving in a pretty frazzled state as it is

[04:03] And I know very very few that want to remain that way though Admittedly, some people thrive on stress or at least they say they do but it gets them in the end In fact, I'd say probably a third or more of all the gringos and expats who have been arriving at least in the last I'd say five years have unfortunately health care issues Yep, I see a lot of them come down here with a fishing tackle box full of meds And I'm not talking about vitamins and supplements either though a lot of people come down with those, too And you know, it was back in the 60s and 70s when this first world people first start hearing about the glories of living Retiring or just hanging out in Mexico. And of course that was true back then But now unfortunately Mexico is a completely different animal than points south

[04:50] It's been artificially distorted in a lot of ways by virtue of the fact that it shares a border with the US Which no other Latin country does and every Mexican in the known universe wants to live in the states And as you know, it's ridiculously easy for them to pop in and out across the border and it's true They're afraid of Trump and they really hate him and although under him Deportations have been stepped up quite a bit. The border itself is still wide open. In fact Enforcement of it. It's a joke among Mexicans Don't believe it. Listen to this crazy story. It's titled uber assists in illegal immigration It says in this article according to Mexico's National Institute of migration Transporters of undocumented that is illegal immigrants are using uber private ride-sharing services to cross border points without being detected

[05:41] Then it says traffickers of Latinos going to the United States are now Diversifying their operations by using uber vehicle services to back this up It says statements were made last week after four uber cars were stopped in a state of Zacateas on their way to Durango it says cases like these are becoming more and more common as Transporters find new ways to circumvent immigration regulations and by and large. It's mostly Mexican young men who are traveling back and forth across the border with impunity Sure, there are plenty of women and older folks too, but the statistics bear out that young Mexican men outnumber the others by five to one In fact, I was at the car mechanic shop the other day and I spoke to a young Mexican mechanic whose English was fairly good

[06:29] And he's been deported now get this four different times in three different states And he says as soon as he gets enough dough, he's going back. Why not? Then I asked him a dumb question I said, is it worth it? He said of course man, when you're a mighty kind of there ain't crap for me here, man I make 20 bucks a day as a mechanic in the states I get a hundred a day easy and you know in his world that makes sense. So you've got this very uneducated unsophisticated Unworldly superficial macho society who want everything all with toys and such that the US has to offer and of course They see all that on TV day in and day out Yet over 98% of the population have a high school degree or less like for example that little mechanic guy He said he made it to the 10th grade. Oh and comparing school systems. We all know the US school systems a complete disaster

[07:17] I know in Chicago. Anyway, the public schools are graduating kids with third and fourth grade reading skills. Yep It's the age of social promotions ain't that nice which aids in fulfilling that Bible prophecy You know the one the stupid shall inherit the earth or is it the sheeple? I can't remember Falling Catholic that I am I should know that But as for Mexico and the rest of Latin American school systems I'm talking about public school systems now the education is even worse and in fact dismal And now some facts that might startle you did you know that in Latin American K through 12 public schools There are two shifts the morning and the afternoon shift and when they register the kid or the parents get to choose For example, if you're morning K through 12 you go from at 7 30 to 12 30 with a half hour break for a snack

[08:06] So add it up. That's four and a half hours of school a day And if you're on the afternoon shift you go from 1 30 in the afternoon till 6 30 with a half hour break Again adding it up. That's four and a half hours of school a day Now I remember way back when when I was in grade school in Chicago and man I don't know about you, but I hated school top of my class, but I hated school Go figure come to think of it back then only the girls seemed to like school. Oh 8 in the morning to 3 30 with I think a half an hour hour lunch Can't remember in any event even with an hour off for a lunch I had six and a half hours of school time a day and looking up the stats and deaths in the u.s

[08:52] For school kids these days the average amount of time per day in school is six and a half hours still with 180 days a year in school now compare that with your average Latin American kid who spends four and a half hours a day in school with about 150 days a year in class Hmm something's wrong here So why is that well Latin's have a ton of free days mostly religious where they get time off at school? They have the same traditional holidays that we have Christmas New Year's Independence Day and a ton of religious holidays because there's no separation of church and state here for example Christo Negro Day That's black Jesus Day. Oh, no, don't ask me to explain that one Then there is the very Hindi Guadalupe. That's the Virgin of Guadalupe day

[09:38] How about this one? El dia de candelaria that's candle day also known to the kids down here as tamale day because everyone eats tamales on that day Don't ask me to explain that one either what candles and tamales have in common I'll never know and how about this according to a new World Bank educational study? Public school students in Latin America and the Caribbean are deprived the equivalent of one day of class Every single week as compared to first-world students and the study it says is based on unprecedented research involving the observation of more than 15,000 Latin classrooms in 3,000 primary and secondary schools in seven different Latin American countries Then it says not only do Latin school kids have a much shorter school day than first-world counterparts

[10:25] But teachers are poorly prepared to do the job too. They have low skill levels most of them with only two years of college and this study says the Majority of teachers have weak leadership skills all of which combine serve to cheat Latin students out of a basic preparatory Education those facts are brutal, but figure it out That's exactly the educational level of the young adults who've been sneaking into the states illegally by the millions for the past What 20 30 40 years what that means is they're woefully unprepared to enter the modern sophisticated? computerized first-world workplace Which is why they end up as maids gardeners roofers drywallers and meat packers or worse

[11:12] Criminal gangbangers and why their own countries are considered underdeveloped in third world, but there is some progress You know recently I was checking one of the bigger Honduran newspapers And I checked out the largest Guatemalan and Nicaraguan newspapers, too I was checking out the help wanted ads I noticed all three countries were actively recruiting young men for their police academies They were hiring new cops and surprise surprise since a couple of years ago all of them have raised their standards To apply now you need the minimum of a 10th grade education Don't laugh a few years ago. It was an eighth grade education, so there is some progress So where am I going with all this well? It's part of that gringo advantage I'm always talking about since the average gringo gringo or expat that relocates to Latin America

[11:57] Has at least an undergraduate degree for what that's worth these days So even if the Latin and the first world school systems were equal and they're definitely not based on what I just told you You're at minimum six full grade levels ahead of the average Latin persons education So naturally especially in business and organizational skills You're light years ahead of the average Latin person and as far as breadth of knowledge Latins are impossibly inadequate there not that most American high school kids are much better, but they are Comparatively speaking that is and these days that ain't saying much of course when I'm talking about on PC facts like this I know I sound like a jerk in a total a-hole to some people, but let me remind you again I'm here to tell you the good the bad the ugly and the great about Latin America

[12:46] And I'm not gonna pull any punches So we started out this conversation today talking about how there's such a thing as south of south of the border That would be south of the Mexican border where things become as opposed to the experiences people have in Mexico Nicer kinder and simpler and well just more real and honest now I know every time I diss Mexico on one of my shows I get a lot of hate mail from gringles and expats who retired there or have some kind of investment there because you know They're all in they bought into the idea that Mexico was the place to live work play and or retire and you know 10 20 even 30 years ago. It really was but things are constantly changing in Mexico for the worse every day And for all you listeners out there living in Mexico who send me emails saying Johnny

[13:31] It's not as bad as you think yet. I've never once heard any of them say Johnny. It's getting better Cuz it ain't it's getting worse by the day Which brings us back to why there appears to be such a palpable change in the feeling and the general Attitude of the people once you've gone south of south of the border Well one expat gringle friend of mine who used to live in Mexico and now he's in Nicaragua He thinks he's got the answer. He says look Johnny Mexico is a big country It's got a hundred and thirty plus million population and as soon as you hit south of the border There's little laid-back police less than a half a million people then there's Guatemala only around 16 million people then there's Honduras population around 9 million in other words as soon as you hit south of the Mexican border

[14:20] You're talking about countries with miniscule populations compared to Mexico. In fact, my gringle friend made this observation He said it's like being in Germany and driving to Austria or Switzerland Huge difference in the feel and the attitude of the people both countries have miniscule populations compared to Germany yet They share a border just like there's a world of difference between the feeling and the attitude of the people from let's say Residents of Chicago versus Minneapolis or Boise, Idaho Anyway, that's what one expat guy says who spent lots of years in Mexico and now lives in Nicaragua country with a miniscule population compared to Mexico with a much slower laid-back feeling and he says more honest and real people All right, agree or disagree that said our boots on the ground story for today comes from the famous captain mango

[15:07] We haven't heard from him in a while, but he's been around he's casting a rather large shadow in and around Guatemala His stomping grounds now, of course Everyone coming to my January 2018 expat insiders seminar will get to meet him and perhaps tip a few margaritas with him along The way with Thor without booze your choice. Hmm. What would that be then a virgin margarita? I guess sounds a lot like another latin holiday But hey, let's not give Latin governments any ideas However, before we get to captain mangoes, very interesting and informative boots on the ground story Let's talk for less than a minute about my upcoming January 2018 expat insider seminar you can check the itinerary and sign up, you know by going to www.thenewexpat.com and Remember if you sign up soon you can get in on those early bird discounts and again repeat offenders

[15:57] Get a big discount too. Why? Well, they're repeat offenders and have seniority Seems that every seminar we always have a few and if that isn't a fantastic seminar seal of approval I don't know what is anyway, it'll be in and around Guatemala 80% of the time way off the gringo tourist trail Exactly where your gringo advantage is strongest. So what are you waiting for? If you wanna really get on the fast track with your plan B attending My seminar gives you a fantastic head start and of course you could kill two birds with one stone That is come down to the seminar and apply for your temporary or permanent Residency in Guatemala right now one of the easiest countries in the world to get that done Now one of the cool things about Guatemala Residency is that you only have to stop in the country one day a year to maintain it then after five years

[16:44] You get your nationality and passport But remember if you're coming down to the seminar and starting your residency process It'll take you about a month sometimes much less depending if you're in a big city or not To get the necessary paperwork together to bring down when you come to apply for residency So don't wait to the last minute to sign up for the seminar So it's not to be rushed or pressured you should to get on the stick and sign up as soon as you can And for those of you who just can't get boots on the ground right now or just can't swing come into my seminar You know what the next best thing is right taking my nine hour expat essentials course Which will show you exactly how to get your ducks lined up for your own plan B So just go to expatplanb.com and check out my free video that explains the whole thing and don't forget

[17:30] I do one-on-one phone and Skype consultations all the time You know people have different needs wants and desires and when they're setting up a plan B They often call me to help them sort out those things So if you're thinking about that just go to the new expat.com website and download my free phone Consultation questionnaire form do check out the questions and observations I have on that form You won't want to skip any details. So do check it out Oh, and if you sign up for my expat insider seminar, you automatically get a free one-hour consult with me People tell me that's a big help, especially people who've never been to Latin America before Especially people who've never been off the gringo tourist trail Oh and don't forget if you're coming to the seminar You should be thinking about adding extra days at the front or back end of the trip

[18:18] Why because you won't want to miss getting on board for one of those famous John Galt pre or post seminar trips Now of course for sure at the seminar every afternoon and evening will be getting extensive boots on the ground Now those optional John Galt trips are 100% boots on the ground and frosting on the cake Anyway, that's what so many of my seminar attendees have been telling me over and over again Which brings us back to good old Captain Mango now, you've heard me say many times You should never drive at night here in Latin America unless you absolutely know your way around You've driven that road before and still though the potholes and those giant speed bumps called Tumulos might be forever etched in your memory because you've hit them all during the daytime

[19:03] Don't get too cocky because at night. It's a different thing all together Sometimes they'll be fogged so thick you can't see ten feet in front of your face Especially if you're in the altiplano because during certain times of the year, especially at night You're in a cloud forest then there's that ever-present problem of people running across the road drunks Staggering down the road and cows and driveway chickens meandering the road to and believe me I've had a lot of close calls at night And you don't want to hit a cow or a drunk for that matter now Of course there are times when you must drive at night could be you're driving home from a beach vacation and you hit some heavy traffic or maybe it's a plan that you have to pick something up or You've got a phone call and you're gonna make a quick run to do something and it's at night And if you're a gambler a disco dude or a bingo babe, that stuff's always at night

[19:51] Now you may have heard me mention this before but Latin America is not handicap friendly nor is it pedestrian or even car and driver friendly Meaning Latin American road crews and such rarely put up guardrails or road hazard warnings Unless there has been repeated accidents or deaths at a particular spot in the road That's typical in Latin America action follows crisis now in a way That's good because you have to take responsibility for things yourself And you know by just looking around that there's no such thing in Latin America as a nanny state And though foolish first world countries keep donating millions and millions to Latin governments earmarked for Infrastructure and road improvements and such even so the safety measures never seem to materialize because well the dough gets stolen

[20:39] One thing's for certain though Every time a green gringo comes to Latin America for the first time as soon as he or she walks out of the airport Doors grabs a car a taxi whatever it's practically a given There's a lot of white knuckle in it on the way to the hotel or wherever their destination is because as you seasoned expats Well, no city traffic is terrible No one obeys or actually knows the rules of the road many many vehicles including government vehicles like cop cars are pieces of junk Worse yet most big roads have gigantic very deep ditches running alongside of them for water to flow into during the rainy season and that's where cars will go to If the driver is not paying attention or he's driving at night and doesn't know the road because those things are unmarked

[21:25] Which is why every so often I'll see a car that's fallen into one of those ditches and only a tow truck or maybe five Or ten guys lift in the car is gonna get it out I repeat if you slide in there'll be no way to get your car out without help and your tire Jack will forget about it almost always it'll take a tow truck Which is why it's an absolute must that you get liability coverage on your car It'll only be about a hundred fifty bucks or so a year and with that you'll get complete triple-a style coverage One phone call they'll be over in 20 minutes and pull you out of that ditch. No charge And if you blew your tire bent your rim axler frame because you dropped in at a fairly high speed or slipped in at a bad Angle they'll tow you to the repair or body shop at your choice And if you're worried or panicked at the time or you don't speak Spanish

[22:11] They have an authorized list of repair shops and such that they'll have on hand and I suggest you pick one close to your home By the way, I suggest you stick with an insurance company that's got coverage throughout Latin America, too So if you happen to fall into one of those ditches and you're in Honduras and your home is in Nicaragua Or for that matter, you've got any other emergency. No problem. It's a network Someone will come to help in a hurry and get you out So then what happens if you drive into or fall into one of those deep roadside ditches and I mean they're deep if you're watching This on YouTube you'll be seeing some real-life photos. So do have a look Oh, and I can't tell you how many times I picked up a fresh green gringo at the airport first time in Latin America And as we're driving, he's saying, oh my god, look at those trenches and there's no guardrails

[22:57] Yes, I've heard that refrain from many a fresh gringo backseat driver I've even had a few very nervous backseat drivers stiffen up and dig their nails into my shoulder while telling me that and Usually and this is predictable. The next thing and they'll say is Johnny. I'm not gonna drive down here Then a few months later and this is predictable, too They got a car and they're full on with first-world road rage Aggressive as hell and duking it out with the rest of the maniacs. Yes under the best and even the worst of conditions Sex-pat gringos are infinitely capable of lowering our standards, which brings us to my new old friend Captain Mago Yep, I said new old friend because that's what all my expat insider seminar attendees are They're my new old friends, especially the ones who have pulled the plug up north and end up staying here

[23:45] Anyway, Captain Mango like almost all gringo expats has been known to tip a few now You don't go out on the town during the day, right? That's why they call it nightlife and that's why Captain Mango who's really a karaoke monster in disguise Will often drive at night now This might sound awful hard to believe because this could never happen up north where you come from Nor could it happen in Mexico because you know, we are south of south to the border Anyway last weekend about 11 o'clock at night or so Captain Mango after a few too many was driving around in his pickup truck and he slipped off the edge of a highway Where there was no guardrail and should have been of course He struck bottomed out as he fell into one of those very deep trenches

[24:30] He and his truck temporarily disabled both for different reasons now to set this up This happened on a highway on the fringes of a big city. Now. Here's the amazing part Suddenly out of nowhere Someone opened the door and pushed Captain Mango into the passenger seat The same guy jumped into the driver's seat naturally Captain Mango was totally astonished and surprised What the hell was happening? Then he realized there was a truck in front of him pulling him with a tow chain Turns out some guy driving commercial truck hauling big bottles of propane gas saw the truck in the gutter Didn't know Captain Mango was in it. Of course, it was dark and I'm sure at first he didn't know the guy inside It was a gringo either Anyway, the perfect good Samaritan stopped his truck to help and others stopped to help too

[25:20] Meanwhile, Captain Mango was kind of passed out the front seat They pulled him out of the trench, but someone had to steer while he was being towed So one of the good Samaritans jumped in and they drove for about a half a mile He said all the while, of course, Captain Mango thinking what the hell's going on? Am I getting saved or am I getting kidnapped? Anyway about a half mile into the trip and they're in a pretty good neighborhood now The guy towing him the guy in the propane delivery truck pulled into the guard shack of a gator gator community The guards opened the gate and let the guy who was towing Captain Mango in along with Captain Mango in his truck While there they got Captain Mango oriented back on his feet Made sure the truck was in working order that it was able to get him out of there and back home

[26:05] Okay, and of course Captain Mango was flabbergasted He couldn't thank him enough and when he asked him why they went out of their way to do all that 11 o'clock at night for someone they didn't even know they didn't know he was a gringo Of course until they opened the car door and looked in so in this case at least at first it had nothing to do With the gringo advantage. Well the driver of the propane truck told Captain Mango better We get you out of there then to let the cops show up screw around with you for a couple hours and maybe throw The book at you. So it wasn't just the driver of the propane truck. That was the lone good Samaritan There were a lot of other good Samaritans, too Now I have to admit when Captain Mango told me the story first thing I thought now there's the gringo advantage on steroids, but I was wrong It was just a natural goodness of the locals in the area

[26:51] Willing to help some guy any guy who was having a bit of bad luck on the road Now let me ask you this if you're up in the states and you have been a drink a little too much and your Car fell into a ditch up in the states. You'd definitely be spending time in the lockup Do you think in the dead of the night someone would hook up a tow chain and pull you out? Well, there'd certainly be a gapers block, but I wouldn't bet on it However south of south of the border that is south of the Mexican border things like that are pretty common They're just happy to help and they don't want anything in return. They've just got that mindset Of course, it's not like that with everybody But the vast majority of latin's south of south of the border are happy to oblige for the sake of helping This is the expat files living in Latin America

[27:38] If you want me to help you out with your own plan B Just schedule a one-on-one consult send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan B from right up there in the states go to www.xpatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos