#1002 – The Expat Files: Plan B, Political Climate, 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 wonder Hello there all you ex-pat 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 Now remember a couple of shows ago when I said I listened to practically all podcasts at a higher speed Sometimes even at 2x and my question to you guys out there is how many of you are listening to me at ultra speed? Well, the emails started rolling in like this one from mr.

[00:49] A esquire attorney-at-law, you know, and people add esquire to their name That usually means attorney or in the case of the UK British nobles and the upper classes often have esquire attached to their name ESQ you don't see that much in the States But you see it in Europe quite a bit by the way I was once at an art show in New York where you signed the book when you walk in, you know Put your name in there and when I had a few moments I looked at the thing and flipped a few pages back and there was one name followed by an esquire ESQ it said Richard Starkey Esquire now, I know that guy's not a lawyer but something completely different. Anyway, mr A esquire says Johnny. I always in caps listen to all in caps podcasts at least double speed

[01:35] I can't imagine it any other way normal speed sounds just weird to me Now used to drive my Romanian girlfriend crazy because English was her fourth language Well, mr. A I gotta say I don't listen to a hundred percent of podcasts on a hyperspeed not like you Anyway, you're a better man than I am because some guys talk exceedingly fast and packing lots of info Like for example Ben Shapiro if you listen to him and I listen to him sometimes depending on the guest He's interviewing of course because you know these political Podcasters and influencers if you let them just ramble they're kind of one-trick ponies No matter how smart they are or nimble with the language. It's almost impossible to keep political material interesting for Extended periods of time. I mean look all day long

[02:23] They're just finding new ways to describe the swamp and the massive amount of feces accumulating there But with a guy like Ben Shapiro, he's rapid fire like a machine gun So when I do listen to him, it's at regular speed and there's this British crypto guy I listen to once in a while to his name is the martini guy. He's non-stop rapid fire, too I mean look some guys minds operate at warp speed. This is one of them. That's why guys like Ben Shapiro never lose a debate I'd never want to go up against him but as for 95% of the other podcasters lots of dead space there and According to mr. A Esquire that includes me. Oh and there's more to mr. A's email. He says Johnny Enough with the solar stuff I use my solar RV and even enjoy the topic but you've done more than enough on it now

[03:09] Your show is not the right forum for deep dives on the subject if folks want that info They can get it elsewhere. And finally he says Johnny. Yes for me I'm making my way through South Dakota and Nebraska right now for the first time America is a big a word f in place, dude Yeah, mr. A you're absolutely right about that and that's kind of the same tune even excuse I hear from so many would be gringo expat gonna bees and wannabes. They say Johnny I get all that plan B stuff, but I haven't even seen a tenth of the USA yet They say I want to see the USA in my Chevrolet first Then I'll be shifting gears into a plan B They never really think about the main reason to have a plan B anyway as an insurance policy, you know against chaos and disaster Sort of precisely the kind of stuff we're seeing right now, huh? Yeah, you know what?

[03:58] My dad used to say the very same thing about foreign travel Not about a plan B because such a thing didn't even exist way back when he was around I'm talking about the idea of traveling outside the USA because well There are a million one places to see and things to do in the US. Hey, we've all heard that a million times, huh? But in a way, you know that pervasive attitude is why so many Americans have such a narrow vision of the world and really don't much Care what happens outside the US For example, you know 30,000 people could die in a tsunami in Madagascar And that will be a three-minute blip on the nightly news Meanwhile, if five people in a dog die in our California brush fire, they'll make a movie out of it or Netflix So make a miniseries So anyway a plan B is an insurance policy or a hedge against things like chaos and general government

[04:48] Stupidity and moronic covid it regs made by spineless bureaucrats In other words, just the kind of thing we see happening all around us right now So your plan B is an insurance policy like other insurance policies You really have to have for example physical assets like silver gold Bitcoin and land or property in a foreign jurisdiction Those would be your hedges against monetary stupidity and chaos That's your disaster insurance against economic shockwaves and believe me. We're just at the beginning There's a tsunami coming now speaking about getting the hell out of Dodge Did you happen to see the news or the YouTube that went viral about the sheriff? I think it was in Texas who's offered to set up a go fund me site for all the Hollywood and sports Celebrities that have vowed to get the hell out of the United States if Trump gets reelected, you know last time Trump got elected

[05:39] I was a little bit scared. I was thinking there'd be a flood of Hollywood dickheads to Latin America Now that would be trouble in paradise Thank God, they're a bunch of lying weenies You know not one of them out of the hundreds that said they would leave if he got elected the first time ever went Good news for all us guys who got out of Dodge, huh? By the way Do you know what the acronym is for get out of Dodge? Good. G. O. O. D. Cool, huh though? It's better than good But I just think it's funny that this old sheriff guy is calling him out on it. Don't get me wrong Hey, I'm not saying at all that. I'm for Trump I think all politicians are sociopathic lying scumbag blood clots But it seems to me the Democrats the SJWs and BLM crowd have taken the lies and deceit to a new level

[06:26] And it is nice Believe me to be watching the circuits play out from a nice safe distance a few thousand miles away Thinking of getting out of Dodge. I remember when I was a teenager My dad had a bumper sticker on his flesh colored rambler ambassador. It said America love it or leave it That was in the early 70s and I remember one of the neighbors had the same bumper sticker on his car only He was driving a Honda Accord Can you see the irony in that and I remember my girlfriend's dad was the superintendent of the Chrysler plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin? Hmm until a month ago whoever heard of the place, huh? Yep That's where American Motors was in Kenosha, Wisconsin Then it was bought by Chrysler. I think in the 70s and they started producing jeeps there. Yep. Those were the days pre rust belt

[07:13] And I remember that same neighbor all pissed off telling my dad that Chrysler had a rule that Employees could only park American cars in the parking lot. No foreign cars allowed They had a point but it makes you wonder if that was legal or not Problem was around that time Honda and Toyota started producing cars in the states and the cars became a jumble of parts from other countries Like Indonesia Mexico, etc But back then, you know The initial signs that the US was losing its hegemony was when Japanese cars started eroding the Detroit market in the end Snuffing them out even so forward thinkers in the US never thought about having a plan B They were just pissed off about all the foreign products coming in and the outsourcing thus the America love it or leave it and buy

[07:58] American bumper stickers, but the fact is, you know, we're seeing a new phenomena Advanced countries that are in various stages of decline like the US Europe Canada tend to lose their best and brightest in the first wave of getting the hell out of Dodge People don't even see it but it's true. All you have to do is look at Venezuela and believe me I know lots of Venezuelans and every last one of them just can't believe what's happening up in the United States They can't believe young people are so stupid. They can't see what's happening right in front of their eyes Venezuelans will come right out and tell you that what's happening in the states is a slow burn version of exactly what happened in Venezuela Now you've heard so many Venezuelans have escaped. Well, who's left? Well, they're the ones in the military people working for government

[08:44] Fearful people that is sheeple people who don't stick their necks out for anything Then you've got a huge population of people in Venezuela who are just plain dummies That is people below average who just don't look beyond day-to-day existence Then you've got a large group of people in Venezuela with no dough or passports By the way, it takes two years for the average citizen to get a passport in Venezuela However, if you've got two to three thousand bucks, you can get one in about a week. Yeah, that's right I know people who've done it now There are some people in Venezuela getting paid in dollars working for international agencies In fact, I personally know a very smart Venezuelan guy in his 30s who's the head or at least he's quite high on the Bureaucracy of the Red Cross in Caracas Venezuela and I've asked him many times why he doesn't get the hell out

[09:33] He says it's because he makes a grand a month in US dollars That's dolled out by Red Cross International and with those dollars He can support his family and his brother's family and they live in two beautiful pan houses Now, of course you and I know a person making a grand a month in the States is just basically one step away from living in a cardboard box under a bridge and Yet this guy on a grand a month supports two families nicely However, he said don't get any ideas about coming to Venezuela Thinking that maybe living on your fifteen hundred dollar a month social security or disability check will put you in the pink Don't get the idea. He said that things will be good for you because you know, he's Venezuelan and he knows all the angles He knows where to change his dollars in the black market

[10:20] He knows the good and the bad guys and people don't take advantage of him The problem is he says there are so few gringos and Europeans in the country The ones that remain stick out like sore thumbs and are targets for crimes like assault and theft since everyone assumes gringos have dollars and dollars are in huge demand and he says when you're walking around no matter how dense the Population is you'll never see an American or a gringo walking around Not like you're used to when the oil business was booming And when they do spot when people say to each other, what the hell's he doing here? Is he nuts? So he says you might think if you're the chance taking type That now would be the perfect time to come down and scoop up a lot of really cheap fantastic real estate For 10 or 20 cents on the dollar and yes that can be done, but it's no longer a safe place

[11:08] Especially for gringos and expats who stick out and if you don't speak spanish, you're really sol But for sure in a few years, there'll be some tremendous opportunities for gringos and expats in venezuela But not now now, of course when socialist hugo shavas first got in in the year 2000 He started promising and giving away lots and lots of free stuff and that attracted thousands of unskilled immigrants Most of them from columbia Sound familiar? I mean look for 15 years in venezuela You could fill up your car's gas tank for around 10 cents to a buck And everyone in columbia who were paying the market rate knew that and they were irritated if not somewhat jealous So because of the boom in the giveaways in venezuela columbians rushed in they wanted to cash in on the subsidies sound familiar

[11:57] But in the end someone has to pay for that free stuff and of course, that means productive people are handed the tab But there comes a point when they get so pissed off the smart ones get the hell out of dodge But the thing is at the beginning in most every case The first inclination of people who get pissed off is to look for a better corner of their country in which to live Generally, it's a location a state city or town where the taxes are less Housing price is cheaper. The crime is lower and the level of freedom seems greater After all people don't really want to leave their country people who are born in a country have such patriotism and nationalism They're not into just getting out and cutting all their ties or where shit go to a place or country They don't speak the language that's especially difficult and worse if you're a little bit older

[12:43] However, people who are productive people of means catch on fast as we're seeing with the california dysphoria now They just want to free themselves from the heavy tax burdens of their state government that's handing out all the freebies So in the end and at this very moment pissed off people like californians who choose to make a partial exit to places like Texas nevada florida, etc Well at some point in the future their new adopted state will become just as oppressive By the way people who get the hell out of dodge I mean completely out of dodge that is leave their country and head to latin america. Whatever They know damn. Well, their move will not be popular with their friends and relatives Even before they ever leave and they throw out the idea as a test at parties and get togethers

[13:29] They usually get lots of backlash a thousand questions That's why most of them don't talk about it much They go ahead with the plan. All right, but silently and over the years The thing i've found is that many people who try to throw up roadblocks? Sort of inferring that you're a coward because you're running away and not sticking around to try to fix things Well, I found that most of not all of the negative people are somewhat jealous or even envious because you can do it And they can't though. I have to admit in the last few years more and more people have said man You're so lucky. I can't do it because i've got too much baggage here, but more power to you go for it There really is a big change in the general attitude people are less and less likely to say you're nuts or poo poo the idea Though some will still make a face and sort of give you the evil eye

[14:17] And your real friends the honest ones will generally give you the high five and wish you good luck It's a whole different attitude compared to 20 even 10 years ago Remember the old saying no one wants to be first or last but everyone wants to be next That's the way it is with getting the hell out of dodge too Though fortunately for governments and unfortunately for the general public abuses of government come in drips and drabs not all at once That's how first world governments have been able to get away with it for so long It's just a little bit of distress and trauma at a time And most people accommodate to it. They tolerate it. They complain and gripe about it All right The point is everyone has his or her particular tolerance the straw that breaks the camel's back though It said humans could adapt to almost anything. That's the problem

[15:05] And you know presently only the smart rich and productive are getting the hell out of dodge Though the recent trend moving to texas or florida is only a halfway measure So right now you've got tens of thousands of mostly californians and new yorkers and other high state tax domiciled people They're moving All right But the vast majority of them aren't moving out of the country And as far as actual gringos and expats getting the hell out of dodge that is out of the states There are just thousands per year not tens or hundreds of thousands not yet, but it's coming So right now people truly getting out of dodge are making a fairly quiet exit However, people moving out of high tax states are making a huge splash in the news now like joe rogan A lot of tech billionaires and sports figures too. So right now, I think it's good to spotlights on them and not us

[15:56] But here's the problem. There are some forward thinkers in government. I know that's hard to believe The truth is I always fall back on a particular story One of my engineering professors told our class i'll never forget it. He was an extremely good professor. Dr Cohen i'll never forget when he said look you're all trying to graduate in the top 10 of your class because you know You'll get the choice pick of the tech jobs But unfortunately as life would have it He said half of you guys are going to graduate in the lower 50 of your class and 10 of you right at the bottom That's statistics the bell curve, but not to worry You'll all get jobs engineers always do and for you guys in the bottom half of your class There's always government and he didn't say it as a joke either that he says is the default setting government

[16:42] He said it's just loaded with professional mediocrities Though he said you will always find some very smart people at the top The cream always rises and that small little group. He says are mostly the manipulators and the sociopaths It's where control and power freaks reside Now I remember back then when he was laying that spiel on us almost none of us really got the point. We didn't care Though at the time we were confused because we thought look NASA is the government and they've done such great things only to find out later. NASA was a big bureaucratic black hole mess, too Problem is when you're in university, all you want to do is graduate get out and get a job Meanwhile in this day and age governments have fired their warning shots They're slowly barring the exits to you and your assets and those manipulative sociopaths at the top

[17:33] They see the beginnings of a bad trend an expat brain drain or more to the point An expat tax drain Yep, all those self-serving sociopathic maggots in high office saw it coming the expat brain and wealth drain They set the stage for it. So what did they do? Well back in 2001 They started passing all the necessary legislation to remove all the restrictions needed To literally close the doors on americans looking to get their ass and assets out of dodge First came the patriot act of 2001 then the national defense authorizational act of 2011 So all the president has to do is declare a state of national emergency and we're pretty much there right now, aren't we? Then you and all your dough will be permanently trapped within the borders of the u.s

[18:21] Obviously the best insurance against what's inevitably to come Is to get some if not most of your assets out of the country before big brother really clamps down And of course, that means getting some boots on the ground and not in touristy destinations That won't help and while doing that you have to create a network for yourself people and professionals You could ring up on short notice or meet up with in person We got a problem or need some answers because you know, if your plan be as active and you do come down You'll be working on and setting up an entirely new life for yourself. So you'll have a 1001 questions In fact, you might be embarrassed by some of the questions you have they seem moronic and stupid like for example What propane gas company should I use because you know, most everyone here in latin america cooks with propane gas

[19:06] And most upscale folks have gas hot water heaters and gas dryers It's not like in the states just hooking up to the natural gas pipe in your house That stuff doesn't exist here in latin america You got to buy the tank or tanks and the regulator valves and know how to work them And contact one of the companies to come over and change your tanks out when empty and if you don't speak spanish Where do you start? Well, you call up some in the no gringo expat tap someone in your network for the info Same thing for example If you're going down to the internet provider and getting a modem for your house Internet plans down here are completely different than those in the states. So where do you start? Well again, if you don't know spanish, you'll check with your gringo network Not only will they be glad to help they might even hold your hand through it

[19:52] Same thing goes when you're buying car or health insurance So the question is how do you establish a nice gringo expat professional network that you can draw on? Well, that's one of the big advantages of coming to my expat insider seminar by the time your week is done You'll have your network in place and it'll be the proper network, too You'll certainly avoid being one of those fresh green gringo targets for exploitation Though thankfully that kind of stuff mostly seems to happen on the gringo tourist trail Thank god, but you knew that already, right? Oh and speaking of my upcoming expat insider seminar Kicks off second week of january. Well, you know, the early bird discounts are in effect You could say 500 bucks off the regular price. However, the clock is ticking on that offer November 15th is the cutoff date for the early bird discount

[20:38] So that means you got about two weeks from the day this show goes out on sunday, october 30th After that prices go up 500 bucks. So Time to get off the fence and make a move Oh, and don't worry if you sign up using the three payment plan You still get in on the early bird discounts as long as you make your first payment by november 15th Oh, and now i've got a short email from boris Man who but a russian would name his kid boris. Hey, don't laugh. I've met a few latinos named boris How'd that happen? Then again just last week. I met a latino cab driver whose first name was gravy Man, someone should have slapped his mom Anyway, boris says johnny you were talking on a previous show On how gringos live in on the tourist trail like to get together and create committees and clubs and get together groups

[21:26] I know exactly what you mean. My aunt has a condo in boquetti panama and man I saw that kind of gringo action everywhere And you're right It seems that all the leaders and organizers of these things suffer from what you might call the frustrated student council syndrome I know it well Seems like every one of those middle-aged gray-haired organizers movers and shakers Were members of the high school student council and missed that 15 minutes of fame Funny thing johnny when I was in high school and college We all used to laugh behind the backs of those people. We thought what an uncool lame thing to do But now looking back I realized they were all destined to be bureaucrats So in high school and college, that's how a pathetic bunch of egomaniacs turn into a pathetic bunch of bureaucrats and do-gooder club organizers

[22:16] To me, it seems kind of a scourge to gringos and expats who prefer to have a low profile Seems they just can't help trying to rope you into some kind of project or committee And they try to make you feel guilty if you don't participate I say Come you're totally right. Johnny when you say never try to remake your new destination into the You left behind signed boris part-time resident of bokeh te panema. All right. Thanks for that boris. And by the way For those of you who want to know exactly what it's like for a small community to get inundated by gringos Visit bokeh te panema to me. It's like a gigantic tropical senior citizen compound I think the average age is around 82. Thank god for 300 a month live-in lpns and nurses

[23:05] Hey, nothing wrong with that. It's an excellent way to fade into the sunset If you're living let's say on a small pension or just a social security check Oh, and by the way on the famous olx.com latin american craigslist I'm noticing in the covidean age in the help wanted and classified ads There's just an explosion of young ladies posting there for jobs the great majority of them Offering their services as maids nannies nurses and caretakers for the elderly in fact right now I'm looking at the site and these ladies post their pictures so you can see What their general appearance is like and credentials etc And some of them who want to be live-in maids etc asking for as little as a hundred and fifty dollars a month Plus room and board of course and for those ladies just wanting to pull an eight hour shift

[23:52] And of course a half a day on saturday because that's the normal work week here in latin america Well, they're going rates around three to five hundred bucks a month And of course in the age of covid it's salary is very negotiable. Basically people are strapped. They're not working You gotta eat, you know now upset about that You know i've got an observation about people coming down here to live in latin america talking about gringos and expats The thing is, you know, any place you rent or buy in latin america is going to have all kinds of defects We've discussed that on past shows us gringos and expats compared to latinos are sticklers for detail That means even if you move into a brand new house, it's supposed to be finished and fixed in every way You're going to see defects like little paint spatters on baseboards windows and light fixtures a kitchen or bathroom faucet

[24:38] That's not secured properly. So that when you turn it on the whole thing moves You'll have kitchen cabinets and doors that don't quite line up That can be easily adjusted if you're just a little bit handy The thing is if you don't have a decent toolbox and don't touch up a few things yourself You'll be forever phoning up the contractors. The thing is though even contractors don't bring the proper tools In fact, I can't tell you how many times a contractor has asked me to borrow something that he doesn't have in his own toolkit I'm telling you these repair guys and contractors they never come 100 prepared That's why when you come down one of the first things you should do Is go to one of the big hardware stores get yourself a toolbox load it up with the basic stuff like a hammer Assorted screwdrivers hacksaw wrenches caught gun c clamps vice grip tape measure builders square

[25:28] Assorted screws and nails by the way, if you want me to give you a complete list of the tools I deem Absolutely necessary the basic stuff that you really need in your little toolbox I'm talking about once you're down here in latin america Anyway, send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and i'll ship it off to you by the way It's not a good idea to bring your tools on down with you unless you have a favorite professional set of tools like uh Bosch grinder Makita drill lincoln welder Because you see you can get every kind of tool down here because they've got all the first world style hardware stores And if you need something special you're looking for a special brand Just go ahead and order it from amazon It'll come in through your courier box in about a week or two And remember anything that you buy under 200 bucks should pay no taxes on but as usually you'll get charged by the way

[26:15] Which could be anywhere from two to four bucks a pump so you don't want to go ordering anything that's really heavy That means air compressors table saws or sledgehammers if you know what I mean Though you really have to do the math. For example a gringo friend of mine just ordered one of those party boom boxes, you know One of those big speakers with handles you put out at parties and beaches They've got lithium batteries. So they last 10 or 12 hours on a charge and their bluetooth and all that Anyway, amazon was having a special on these jbl model 100 party speakers They're extremely high powered and have some of the best ratings by critics now down here in latin america You can find those things for around 500 bucks and normally on amazon. They're 350 bucks, but there was a special They ran for a couple of days where it was 250 bucks However, the shipping weight was 30 pounds. She did the math and realized that the shipping would cost around 100 bucks

[27:06] She went with it because 250 for the speakers and 100 for shipping 350 bucks beat the hell out of 500 bucks She'd have to pay if she bought them down here in a latin american audio store But then you might say well, it's over the 200 limit. So you'll have to pay taxes on top of that, right? Technically, yes But believe me there are hacks and ways around that and you guys and gals coming to my expat insider seminar Will be privy to those tricks and much much more 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 vemos