Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into a range of topics affecting expats and travelers in Latin America and beyond. He begins with a discussion on Ecuador's Supreme Court ruling, where the court declared the government's state of emergency declaration during the pandemic unconstitutional. The court argued that the emergency measures, including curfews and restrictions on gatherings, violated civil liberties and were not justified by the pandemic situation. The ruling suspends restrictions such as curfews and driving bans as of January 3rd. Legal and health experts in Ecuador had predicted the court's decision, arguing that the government's emergency measures were based on unsubstantiated projections and fake science. Business organizations in Ecuador applauded the court's decision but expressed regret that it did not come sooner, as it affected their operations during key periods like Christmas and New Year.
Johnny then shifts to a broader discussion on political corruption, highlighting how politicians in the U.S. and Latin America often prioritize their own interests over the public good. He criticizes the self-serving nature of politicians, noting that every member of Congress is a multi-millionaire, including Bernie Sanders, and criticizes the stimulus bill for being more about pork barrel spending than helping the average American. He also touches on the recent implementation of a luxury home tax in Costa Rica, which targets expats and gringos, and explains how the tax is complex and burdensome for property owners. The segment includes a humorous and sarcastic tone, with Johnny making light-hearted remarks about racism and cultural stereotypes, while still emphasizing his broader critique of political corruption.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the widespread corruption in politics, highlighting how politicians are often seen as a 'putrid pathetic class' and how people tend to defend their local leaders despite their flaws. He shares a personal anecdote about his own hypocrisy in using political connections for personal gain, such as getting a zoning waiver through his sister's godfather, a US senator. He then expands on the broader issue of systemic corruption, mentioning how big corporations and lobbyists influence politics, and how politicians often become billionaires despite their corrupt practices. He uses the example of former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, who is now living in Belgium under a Belgian passport, to illustrate how politicians can evade justice. Johnny also touches on the topic of cryptocurrency, responding to an email from Stan who is considering investing in Bitcoin after its price reached $30,000. He acknowledges the potential of Bitcoin but also highlights the risks and the importance of understanding the underlying technology and market dynamics.
In a more personal reflection, Johnny admits to going through a phase of materialism in his early 20s, where he bought luxury items and got into debt. He eventually liquidated his assets and left the U.S., which he considers the best decision he ever made. His idea of fine living is not about material possessions but about enjoying nature, great weather, and a peaceful, secluded home. He shares wisdom from his mother and uncle Bernie, suggesting that having no bills to pay is the key to a stress-free life. He then shifts to discussing cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum, and advises listeners to consider investing in Ethereum as a gateway to other crypto projects. He highlights the importance of listening to those who are ahead of the curve in the crypto world, even if they're initially dismissed as 'cracked.' Finally, he responds to an email from a listener named Bill, who requests a show on the Latin American dating scene for expats and gringos, promising to address it soon.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses the challenges expats face when trying to find a partner, particularly in the United States versus Latin America. He shares a story from a listener named Kurt, who recounts an experience with a Latina woman who asked for money and eventually blocked him. Johnny highlights the differences in dating culture between the U.S. and Latin America, noting that in the U.S., men often face rejection or even hostility when approaching women, while in Latin America, women are generally more approachable and kind to expats. He also warns about the prevalence of 'gold diggers' on dating apps, especially in Latin America, where many women may be looking for financial support rather than genuine relationships. Johnny offers practical advice for expats looking to avoid scams, such as requesting video calls, location checks, and unposed photos to verify authenticity.
Episode Notes
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores recent legal developments in Ecuador, the political corruption in the U.S. and Latin America, the new luxury home tax in Costa Rica, and the dating challenges expats face in the region. With a mix of serious analysis and light-hearted humor, Johnny offers insights for expats navigating legal, political, and personal landscapes.
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Topics
Ecuador's Supreme Court ruling on the state of emergency, Pandemic restrictions and civil liberties, Impact on businesses and travelers, Criticism of government overreach, Political corruption, Government self-interest, Luxury home tax in Costa Rica, Cultural stereotypes and racism, Expats and gringos in Latin America, Personal hypocrisy, Systemic corruption, Cryptocurrency investment
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:04 Ecuador's Supreme Court Rules State of Emergency Unconstitutional 00:01:25 The Court's Decision and Its Implications 00:02:46 Businesses and Legal Experts React to the Ruling 00:06:16 Contagion and Corruption in Government 00:06:38 The Stimulus Bill and Pork Barrel Spending 00:08:03 The Luxury Home Tax in Costa Rica 00:11:59 The Putrid Class of Politicians 00:12:49 Hypocrisy and Personal Connections 00:13:55 Corruption and Escaping Justice 00:15:25 Criticism of Politicians and the Crypto Debate 00:17:29 Materialism and Personal Growth 00:18:39 Financial Wisdom and Stress-Free Living 00:20:12 Cryptocurrency Investment Advice 00:22:46 Latin American Dating Scene for Expats 00:23:15 The Gold Digger Story and the Gringo Advantage 00:24:08 The Fear of Rejection in the U.S. and the Gringo Advantage 00:25:11 The Prevalence of Gold Diggers on Dating Apps
Transcript
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 that 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 Finally Latin American governments are starting to think with more than a half a brain What I mean is you've heard me say in the last couple of weeks and months that Latin American countries will start loosening up and dropping Restrictions with this Covid it mess when they finally realize it's not the pandemic. They thought it was it's more like a
[00:49] Regular flu season on steroids. That's steroids light not heavy ones Now, you know, Mexico Costa Rica Dominican Republic and a few other Latin American countries They've already eliminated that stupid PCR test on entry into the country And now you've got Ecuador following suit in a big way. Listen to this an article that came out just yesterday It pretty much says it all and points to the path that most other Latin American countries are soon to follow Listen to this by the way, if you hear some blasting pounding and hammering going on in the background Well, that's because there's some heavy-duty construction going on nearby and I just can't do anything about it So anyway, the article's title is get this high court in Ecuador rules. The state of emergency is Unconstitutional it says pandemic conditions do not warrant any
[01:35] Restrictions at all man have we been waiting for that kind of news for a long long time The article starts by saying and I'll translate here. It says Ecuador's constitutional court ruled Saturday night that the government's current state of emergency is Unconstitutional the emergency declared by President Lenin Moreno based on fears that holiday events and new more contagious COVID-19 variants would lead to an increase in cases and possibly overload the country's health care system is unfounded and Unconstitutional and then it goes on to say among other things the state of emergency in Ecuador imposed a nationwide night time curfew plus restrictions on the operation of private vehicles in the sale of liquor and It restricted all gatherings to less than 10 people But the Supreme Court ruled Saturday that the state of emergency was a violation of civil liberties that did not conform to constitutional standards
[02:28] Hmm. Do you think the US Supreme Court has the balls to actually follow the letter of the US Constitution or You think they'll keep sucking up the big business big pharma and dr Falsy or will they do the right thing? Hell? No, they're just a bunch of spineless manipulated weenies But I digress anyway The article states that a number of legal and health experts in Ecuador had predicted the court's decision when president Moreno declared the emergency claiming the pandemic conditions are improving in Ecuador and that the order was based on Unsubstantiated projections in other words bad or fake science stating factually and pointing out that the number of kovat 19 cases in Ecuador and Hospitalizations and death has been steadily declining since July
[03:16] No matter what the talking heads are saying on the news. Those are the facts Meanwhile, it says business organizations applauded the court's decision, but expressed regret that it did not come much sooner It's the correct response says Jaime Iglesias spokesman for the Quito Association of restaurant and hotel owners But we needed a decision like that weeks If not months ago Our businesses were shut down for the best time of the year Christmas in New Year's for at least a third of our businesses It was the final nail in the coffin And now we hear formally that suddenly the government says its action was illegal But the news is way too late for many then it says according to Ecuador attorney Andre Benvidez He says that Moreno's reason for the emergency was questionable from the very beginning The court made it clear in August way back when that it recognized the need to return to a level of
[04:07] Normalcy to provide employment and business opportunities to the population not to mention there are many medical professionals also Questioning the basis for the emergency order and they're at the front lines Then it says according to Paul Cardenas professor of microbiology and researcher at the San Francisco University in Quito He says the government always says follow the science, but clearly they did not and do not He says the pandemic conditions in Ecuador have been improving day to day and the numbers in the science prove it yet The government continues to maintain old restrictions and introduce new ones that just cannot be justified So in its decision the Supreme Court said quote it's not indifferent to the consequences of response capacity of the health care system and even if the trend of
[04:52] hospitalizations increases Which it hasn't it's just the opposite the government does not provide the proper Justification to deny citizens of their constitutional rights and civil liberties The Supreme Court statement also said that the government is justified in all efforts to implement and enforce rules that protect the public health As long as do not infringe on constitutional rights So as a result and the court's decision being final and unappealable the national police said that the 10 p.m. To 4 a.m. curfew and Driving restrictions and other controls on personal movement and the hours of business openings and all the previous lockdown Restrictions are now Suspended as of Sunday January 3rd with the police command issuing in print a statement to that effect
[05:40] Hmm, you know you gotta applaud Ecuador's Supreme Court for that better late than never but you know it goes beyond that it proves another thing that most of The rest of the world's governments are just a bunch of spineless dickheads because you know if you dig a little deeper It does seem to boil down to the fact. It's all about power control and money, but you knew that already, right? Anyway, that's really good news for travelers and hopefully the real science and logic Contagion will continue to infect and spread throughout the bumbling corrupt Congress's and Supreme Court dickheads everywhere But then again, let's not be too optimistic I mean look since when did any government anywhere do anything to help anyone besides themselves their friends their cronies and their political donors
[06:25] Case in point every single member of Congress is a multi-millionaire including Bernie Sanders yet They spent weeks and weeks Debating a stimulus bill that'll give 600 bucks to the average American when in reality What's really all about porking up that bill and giving massive freebies to their friends have you read some of the fine print in that bill? It's pathetic, but then again you voted for those Kids so it really is true you get the government you deserve. Oh by the way did you know Joe as vice president made? $396,000 in 2016 but just four years after leaving the Obama White House He somehow made more than 15 million bucks In fact Joe scored more than 10 million bucks for a book No one read and his wife Jill made 3 million for her book that no one read then of course
[07:15] There's Hunter who scored mega millions from the Chinese and if you're one of those guys like me who doesn't vote because you know They're all corrupt Pustulant maggotist dickheads then your only alternative is to go down with the ship or get the hell out of dodge So my question to you is how's that plan be coming? Meanwhile in Latin American news that'll piss you off Here's reason four thousand eight hundred and twenty six why I'd never recommend working playing and or doing business in Costa Rica or as Canadians like to call it Costa Rica turns out you see as of January 1st 2021 just a couple of days ago Owners of homes villas condos, etc in Costa Rica whose construction value exceeds the equivalent of two hundred and seventeen thousand Bucks that means practically all gringos and expats live in gated garter communities
[08:03] We'll now have to pay a brand new tax known as the luxury home tax Wow, talk about killing the goose to lay the golden egg According to the new law which was published in the Costa Rican newspaper la gazeta in English the Gazette So anyway, they passed a luxury tax specifically aimed at gringos and expats Because you see the locals who do own houses don't own houses Worth over a hundred grand. In fact, I recently read that the average middle-class Costa Rican lives in a house apartment a resident that's worth between 60 and 70 thousand bucks So obviously that law is directly aimed at gringos and expats, but to add insult to injury Francisco Villa Lobos managing partner of ISC Abogados
[08:50] That's a lawyer group told in an interview in Costa Rica's largest newspaper La Nación the nation that unfortunately Homeowners will find this tax very complicated very difficult to calculate because first you must estimate the value of your property and then add the square meters of the common areas Etc. That means if you live in a condominium complex, you'll pay even more you'll be paying tax on the common areas, too So in effect, we're talking about double taxation In fact triple quadruple and depending how many people live in your condominium or residential tower complex Every owner will have to add the common area square meters to the evaluation of their property to determine whether you have to pay the Luxury tax. So then what does that mean? Well, suppose you live in a residential tower and your property has a value of
[09:39] $195,000 then you wouldn't qualify for that luxury tax, right? Well, not so fast because the common areas like the parking lot and the roof terrace the lobbies the balconies the elevators Well all that area and footage has a value too, which will be calculated and added to the value of your property So if you think because your property is worth 195k, you're Scott free think again You'll probably end up paying that luxury tax and you pay it yearly by the way. Oh, wait a minute Did I say Scott free that's racist, isn't it? As is the phrase Welsh thing on a bet that'd be racist against the Welsh, right? Oh and you can't say here comes the paddy wig then again, if you say it's the luck of the Irish I guess that's racist too. But in a good way, hmm
[10:24] Who'd have thought there could be good and bad racism according to the race police in the US that is hmm. I'm confused Wouldn't be the first time but I'll tell you certainly extremely happy I don't live up by you and you know for me finding Latin America That wasn't the luck of the Irish because well my parents were German which in Spanish is Ali man Who down here are noted in the hospitality business as being tight wads skin flints and all-round bad tippers And in Spanish, all those pejorities are combined into one word that can yo that can yo t a c a No, and the n is a n. Yay You know the end with a little squiggle on top and there's a physical gesture or movement Latinos make to indicate a takani Or tight wad without saying a word So if you ever see a latino or latina hold out their arm and touch their elbow with the other hand
[11:14] It means the same thing skin flint tight wad or cheapskate. So when you're down here Meandering through the coffee fields and shopping malls, whatever if you see someone touch their elbow You're witnessing one latino calling another one a tight wad by the way speaking of Ecuador Here's a bit of definitive news that really hammers home Just how corrupt these slime bag politicians are of course, you know every single one of your governor's senators Congressman president cabinet, they're all a bunch of sociopathic power-loving scumbags They end up being millionaires sometimes billionaires sucking off the public trough, too But you knew that already and of course, you know Latin American politicians and politicians in general are all spawned from the same toilet bowl They're in a putrid pathetic class of their own
[12:02] And if you have any doubts at all about that and believe me I've heard people at parties up in the states and here in Latin America defend their guy their mayor their governor Whatever trying to tell me that he's different. He's trying to do a good job Bullshit, but that's human nature if you're friends or one of your family's a politician He's always the exception to the rule right because you're connected. Hey, I was guilty of that myself When I was building a house right outside Chicago I needed to get a zoning waiver and my sister's godfather happened to be a US senator Who do you think I called to make that zoning thing go away even though way back when more than 30 something years ago? I hated and despised politicians just as much as I do now But it's human nature when you've got one in the family to ask for a favor once in a while. So guilty as charged
[12:49] I'm a hypocrite too. So shoot me. What would you have done? Oh, and he was the guy that got me the summer job I'm the Chicago Street Department too wasn't a good job I was the dead dog crew but just one phone call from my dad to him and I was in and in a way though This is hypocritical It'd be nuts not to take advantage of your connections and that's exactly what's wrong with politics And that same thing is playing out tens of thousands of times every day all around the world Not to mention big banks big pharma and big military have all those lobbyists and then you've got all those Corporations that are big-time contributors and they're just buying favors It's a disgusting corrupt system, but you can pretty much opt out by having a plan B However, everyone knows politicians lie skim and well They become billionaires at the trough or when they get out they get it pointed as million dollar dummy figureheads on
[13:41] Reports, but even the scheming and the thieving has its limits In fact, I've heard more than one politician off the record say Stealing or skimming 20% about the limit when they steal much more than that Sometimes the sweaty masses get pissed and take to the streets Like for example the recent case with ex-president from Ecuador Rafael Correa Who's on the lam right now in Belgium? He can be there for the rest of his life because he's married to a woman who's got a Belgian passport So he's protected protected from what you might ask Well, the courts in Ecuador have thrown the book at him and because they know he'll never come back to face the music And he's living like a prince or the Sheik of Arabic in Belgium right now Get this the tribunal of the National Court of Justice in Ecuador Ordered the seizure of his real estate now remember this guy came from humble beginnings
[14:31] He was a man of the people like o vomit. Oh, and if you've been paying attention No doubt, you'll know that Obama has three or four properties worth ten or fifteen million apiece How'd that happen? Anyway, former president Rafael Correa just had his properties in Ecuador sees You know, he's got properties everywhere, but they're only able to see is the ones they had jurisdiction over in Ecuador Here's the list that tribunal found 87 properties listed in his name and 44 vehicles he's facing get this 38 different charges of corruption Worse yet, they caught his cronies burning the majority of the evidence against the former president While there were massive protests in the streets against the government of Moreno Turns out they figured it was a good time to destroy the evidence during that chaos. That was in October 2019
[15:21] Well, anyway, I just wanted to demonstrate once again What skunks blood clots and puss balls these politicians are but you knew that already so I'm preaching to the choir Sorry about that. And now let's hit some emails Dear Johnny. This is from Stan. He says Johnny you've been talking about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies here and there for a long time now I'm one of those guys you talk about that hurt it all but never pulled the trigger and I'm very pissed off at myself about that My question is Johnny now that bitcoins hit 30,000 and above do you think it's too late to get in? Is it over and if it is you have any other recommendations besides Bitcoin? There's tons of other coins out there signed Kicking myself every time I see the crypto news Stanley all right Stan and again as a disclaimer
[16:07] I am NOT a financial analyst, but being an engineer in a past life I know some extremely brilliant nerds and geeks who are much smarter than I am In fact, sometimes in their presence, they make you feel kind of small Not intentionally though. They're usually not at all out to impress. I mean guys whose brains are really operating at a different level They're not materialistic. They're not into the I'm better than you game They're not out to impress anyone. In fact, that's what I really like about the early adopters the geek and nerd crowd They're only in it for well the pleasure of being in it being the first being the innovators now Of course a lot of the early adopters went out and bought Lamborghinis and stuff But you know why that happened because way back when in the first run-up of cryptocurrency back in 2017 when it hit 20,000 Bitcoin I'm talking about the Lamborghini people were
[16:55] Extremely smart and on the cutting edge. They were the very first car company to accept Bitcoin as payment for their cars No other car company did that's why you always hear about people saying I'm gonna get my Lambo It's because you didn't have to go to an exchange like Coinbase trade your Bitcoin for cash pay fees Lose a lot of money and slippage port it to the IRS and all that all you had to do is send your Bitcoin Directly to Lamborghini So it wasn't for them about having the coolest car on the block was just a way to spend your crypto I mean really if you're living in your mother's basement, and you suddenly have millions in crypto What do you spend it on and nope? I don't have millions and nope. I don't have a Lambo You know I never was much of a show-off though I did go through a phase in my early 20s when I got money way too fast So I got myself heavily into debt like all my other pretentious idiot friends
[17:44] But I grew out of it and by the time I was 30 I liquidated everything and that's of course when I left the states for good best thing I ever did so yes I went through my classic car Mercedes and Rolex phase in my 20s. Thank God. I grew out of that I have absolutely zero jewelry zero watches zero necklaces No tongue studs or gold teeth no hot or expensive car or clothes at all My idea of fine living is perfect weather great views in a great house But far off the beaten path enough so that no one can see my spread from the street Now I may be a blowhard, but I'm just not a materialistic show-off in that kind of way like I said I went through that phase in my 20s and believe me when I cashed out I had so many mortgages. I just about broke even I had the typical American sickness lots of stuff and lots of payments
[18:31] But as my mother once said the only people who have low stress and really sleep Well are people who don't have payments do at the end of the month and my uncle Bernie once told me The luckiest guy in the world is the guy who can wake up at seven o'clock in the morning Look outside and say hell. I don't want to go to work I'm just gonna lay in bed all day and the only guy that can do that without any stress or secondary Effects is a guy who's got no bills to pay at the end of the month because he can roll over and sleep it off The guy who's got bills to pay has to drag himself out of bed and go into work because if he doesn't He won't be able to crack his nut at the end of the month you get it Oh and my uncle Bernie my godfather also said the only thing worth going into debt for is The house you live in and he said that's where cars never go into debt for a car
[19:16] Buy what you can afford with cash and then later on in your life You'll have enough cash to buy a really nice car someday. All right so much for the homespun wisdom, huh? Hey, we're not living in that world anymore. Are we well, some of us are a lot of you listening to the show are Anyways, Dan about that question. Is it too late to invest in Bitcoin? Well, guess what Stan when Bitcoin went from 200 to 800 dollars People sent me emails saying Johnny It's too late to get into Bitcoin and then Bitcoin went to 1200 and I got emails saying it's too late to get into Bitcoin Then I got emails when it hit five thousand and eight thousand and twelve thousand saying the same thing Johnny. Is it over? It's too late to invest in Bitcoin. I get that same question every time Bitcoin makes a new high So I guess you get the point my projection by the way for 2021 is that Bitcoin will hit?
[20:02] 50,000 and as I do this show, it's 32 5 right now and Stan about that question. Is there something better to get into another coin besides Bitcoin? Well, you know about aetherium, right? It's the second biggest crypto behind Bitcoin all of the hundreds of so-called shit coins out there The ones that actually matter that might have a use case They're all based on aetherium. In other words to get in on those coins and projects You have to buy or stake aetherium first. That means most all other coins besides Bitcoin are hooked to aetherium So in the end the theorem has nowhere to go But up since you have to have aetherium to jump on board those other platform and my projection what I'm hearing from the smart nerds That is aetherium, which is at about a thousand bucks as I record this could very well be
[20:47] 5,000 bucks by the end of 2021 again, that's not financial advice I'm just telling you what lots of people who are a lot smarter than I am are saying and believe me These guys live and breathe crypto These guys aren't weekend warriors. In fact, if you look at the computer that they've always had turned on 24-7 It's nothing but charts graphs and crypto stuff It's their life and I get my info direct from the horse's mouth So Stan, maybe my answer wasn't straightforward But you can almost never go wrong when you listen to people who are a lot smarter than you are thing is you know Guys that are way ahead of the crowd like that at first people laugh at them They think they're cracked which is why perhaps 95% of people who get into any investments at all Get wrecked. It's the 5% who everyone said was cracked at the beginning that make all the dough in the end
[21:34] They're just ahead of their time even really smart guys get it wrong sometimes. Remember what bill gates said He said the internet was a fad. It's really not gonna go anywhere. Yeah, right bill I suggest you double mask up and vaccinate yourself a couple times. How about it? After all you were so clairvoyant about the internet, right? Alright now an email from bill. He says Johnny just listen to your first 2021 show Actually, i'm glad to hear you postponed your seminar to march or april I'll be much more likely to attend then Still waiting for a show with more robust descriptions of the latin american dating scene for gringos and expats Let's face it for us older guys. It's a big draw for heading south of the border Love and romance, you know, hope you have a whole show on it soon. Take care. Johnny signed bill Okay, here we go
[22:20] You know, I get all kinds of emails from people asking me about the mating dating love and romance thing Yep, and I get those emails from gringos and gringas It's not just lopsided on the gringo hook me up with a nice latina scale I don't want to turn this into a lonely hearts club show, but I could now wouldn't that be a great podcast? A gringo's guide to latin american mating dating love and romance man. Would that be popular? Well bill don't worry i'll be doing a show on that very soon But just to show you what kind of emails I get all the time. Here's one from listener kurt. He says yo, johnny Haha, you were right one of the first cute latina girls I matched with online Asked for doe almost immediately first. It was for her haircut
[23:06] Then it was for her mom two days later when I said no I'm available to date not to be her bank. Then she asked for a loan I said no and she said well, I guess we've got nothing to talk about then and she blocked me Boo hoo. I had to laugh when I thought of the episode you did when you said that just might happen Bottom line gold digger avoided i'm in guadamala right now lake at atlanta tomorrow By the way, your seminar logistics lady rita is fantastic signed kurt All right, bill and curtain all you other thousands of people who send me emails about mating dating and hooking up The thing is there's only about two ways to have first contact for mating and dating Number one, the best way is to meet a person face to face, you know
[23:52] Moesian through a mall walking down a busy street standing in a line in a bank Those are always the best ways to meet a prospective person of the opposite sex That is if you're looking for the opposite sex, but it works the other way, too The thing is though and i've heard this story from many gringles and expats They're gun shy of walking up to a girl because in the states you almost always face rejection and it can be severe Especially these days in the first world where white males are considered to be the cause of everything that's bad in the world Now if a guy goes up to a girl, he doesn't know in the states You just might get that cold don't bug me stare You may even be viewed as a stalker and get a face full of pepper spray though. Chances are you'll just get ignored Whereas in latin america, I guarantee you no latino is gonna ever treat you like that Somehow they've all been brought up to be kind and nice, especially if you're a gringo
[24:41] Remember you've got that gringo advantage thing going for you That means if you're a five on the ten scale you're an automatic seven the gringo advantage is worth two points Unless of course you're in a place like costa rica on the gringo tourist trail Then you're just a dollar sign now if you're playing b is to come down to latin america But you're still up in the states and you're looking to play the mating dating game You'll probably end up searching for a mate on one of those dating apps and believe me That's a real minefield because i'd say at least three quarters of the ladies on those hookup sites Are really just looking for a payday and they might have 10 or even 20 gringos They're playing that same game with And if they're able to extract 50 or 100 bucks from each of these guys It's pretty lucrative For some of those girls squeezing money out of gringos is a job And they most likely have a boyfriend and a family already because if they're a good looking hot latina
[25:30] You don't think there's some good looking macho latino boyfriend behind the scenes somewhere? Hey, my own brother got sucked into that on a latin dating site In fact, he said he never met a single latina that didn't ask him for money within the first three days Now I know we're getting towards the end of the show and we'll continue this later But here's my recommendations for getting on what's up or any one of those dating sites If she asks you for some money because you know Almost all the latinas are broke or have a kid or two and they really do need money for the basics even I mean Look, this is covet and they've locked down all over latin america, too So everybody's hurt if you're gonna let's say send 50 bucks by western union Here's a tip tell her you've got three conditions one You must be able to do a video call with her that is face to face online video And if she gives you some excuse like her internet's bad or whatever dumper and blocker
[26:17] She's lying because remember all latinas have high-end cell phones better than yours Even broke and lower middle class ladies do and they've got very good internet down here So she's lying to you next you tell her you'll send that money But you need her to take a photo of her passport or sanadula and send it to you first And if she box at that you say well in order to send money on western union You got to produce your passport It's only good manners and reciprocal that you see hers if she won't dump her and block her then and there If she passes that test next tell her to hit the location button on her What's up so you can see exactly where she is when she's making that call And of course, you'll do the same for her and if she won't do that She's lying about something about maybe where she lives Maybe even about the country she lives in there are groups of lonely heart scammers out there
[27:02] If she won't give you the location hit that location button on what's up something's really fishy So you should dump her and block her then and there And finally you ask her for a video of her in her house with her family her mother kids, whatever In other words, you want to see just how she lives and you want to see unposed pictures because you know All the pictures they send you on dating sites are posed and staged and if she bucks at that She's playing you and probably 10 other guys to dump her and block her then in there. All right We're at the end. So to be continued 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
[27:50] 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 No spamos