#1129 – The Expat Files: Work Ethic, Sun Protection, and the Gringo Effect

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

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you 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 All right, the seminars over and everyone's gone home Well, I take that back some people decided they're never gonna go home and I don't blame them They're in Guatemala and Salvador right now hanging out getting that plan B underway The big advantage they have now is they've got a network to lean on but you knew that already, right? Oh

[00:51] And of course at the seminar lots of things happen crazy and amusing things too Like for example, I was sitting at the pool one night in a little resort in El Salvador It was me alone sitting at the pool around 11 30 at night All the seminarians passed out in their rooms after drinking from the fire hose all day And suddenly this couple comes over a married 50-something Latino couple They sat down in the beach chairs right next to me right away. They recognized me as a gringo they themselves had t-shirts on with English sayings on them and the guy turns to me and says and Barely good English. How are you doing? Where'd you from and we've made with the pleasantries turns out he's living in, New Jersey He escaped El Salvador 30 years earlier Came across as an illegal and through one of the frequent amnesty plans got his green card and eventually his u.s

[01:41] Citizenship turns out he and his wife come down to El Salvador for four months a year To visit the relatives hang out in the resorts and such they've been doing that for years ever since he got his green card They come down during the winter months. They live up in New Jersey and get this and this is such a cliche They own a lawn service Anyway, we got to talking and he started telling me how things are falling apart up in the US. Yeah, like that's new news, right? He said he's got a big piece of land in his building a nice big upscale house in El Salvador They're getting ready to retire and when they do they're not going back to the states But one thing he says the property taxes on his house in New Jersey are $19,000 a year, but here's another thing. He said the business conditions up there stink

[02:28] They weren't so great before kovat, but now they're even worse Oh, and he told me something extremely sexist and racist if it had come out of my mouth But he can get away with it cuz he's Latino. He said he's the owner and boss of his lawn service company His entire lawn crew of 20 people consist a hundred percent of illegal aliens and that's how he wants it He said it's a lesson. He's learned over the years by hiring all kinds of regular Americans and Second and third generation Latinos and he's found the illegals work the best they work their asses off They're glad to have the job and they don't complain and he said they don't take days off and they show up on time Hmm, I guess my neona time doesn't translate north of the border all too. Well, huh? Anyway, then he said white guys black guys and second and third generation Latinos just don't have the same work ethic

[03:17] They can't hack it He said they like taking breaks finding places to hide and punching away on their cell phones more than they like to work In fact, he said his own three kids who were born in the States don't have all that great a work ethic themselves He said America made himself. They prefer not to work He said and they love that free money that's been dished out to everyone during the pandemic They got used to it He sort of addressed the day his business will be turned over to one of his sons who he thinks in time will run it into The ground and his other two kids who both graduated from college with useless degrees He said they don't want anything to do with their dad's lawn care business. They're sort of embarrassed by it He said I mean it is a cliche, right? Even though that business put food on a table gave him a good house a nice style of living and paid for their college

[04:03] Education's in fact, he said one of his sons married an American gringa And he never let on what his dad did for a living until they were engaged Oh and one more thing he said he sort of knew many years earlier that America was slowly But surely going down the tubes When he discovered that during those four months a year He'd always have off during the winter season when there was no lawn service or yard work to be done He could collect a big unemployment check for doing nothing In fact, he said at first he used to feel guilty about taking that check cuz he didn't need it He made plenty of dough during the rest of the year and understand why people get paid in the United States for doing nothing But he said you don't turn it down So he's been taking that dough for the last 25 years thinking every year when he'd cash those checks Something's got to give more and more people are getting paid by the government for nothing

[04:50] It just can't last he thought and that's why he kept sending remisses down to his family in El Salvador Instructing them to put some of it into land and like he said with some sadness He's been watching the USA deteriorate year over year And he's moving with his wife when he retires in just a couple of more years to El Salvador where he was born Where the weather is better life is simpler less complicated less government and much less expensive Oh, and he said they've got Walmart Costco Home Depot and Amazon down here to that He said is what sold his wife on moving down By the way, his wife is Puerto Rican and when I asked her why not Puerto Rico She shook her head and said everything that's going wrong with the United States has already gone wrong in Puerto Rico And remember she said I was born with a US passport Puerto Rico is a US territory, you know and citizens automatically get one

[05:40] Anyway, I thought you might like that little boots on the ground story from a former illegal alien who made good up in the states Now you long-time listeners know how I can't help but comment when I hear an oddball or crazy ass name And I wonder what the hell their parents were thinking That said I got into a yellow airport taxi the other day and you know They've got a little identification tag posted on the dashboard this guy's name Hercules baskets, I don't know. I think that's asking for trouble. It's kind of like naming your kids Superman or Samson Imagine growing up with that name up in the states Hercules kids are gonna test you especially bullies and I did ask him in Spanish, of course because where I hang out in Latin America I'm way off the gringo tourist trail where most people do not speak English

[06:27] Anyway, I asked him if the name Hercules caused him any grief throughout his life He said what do you mean? Like what I said, you know other guys, especially when you're growing up trying to test you You know Hercules his dad was Zeus So he's a demi-god superpowers and all that and he said no one messes with me. I'm a Golden Gloves champ So he really didn't answer my question, but then again, I guess he did But still I have to say my favorite name for the month is remember that taxi driver who picked me up. His name was wanderer W-a-n-d-e-r-e-r You know, that's what you call an aptonym You ever hear that term a person is an aptonym when his name describes or is directly Related to his career or choice of occupation like a brain surgeon named dr

[07:13] Stroke dentist named dr Moeller attorney named slick or a politician named lizard or ticket. Those are aptonyms I'm sure you've run into a few but a taxi driver named wanderer. Not a good sign Alright now an email from an Australian lady named Jackie. She says dear Johnny good day Mmm, they always say good day. Even if it's night. Anyway, Jackie says you always say that governments don't do anything, right? They screw up everything they touch the VA the army the IRS the welfare system Education Department Social Security. I agree with you Johnny. They're all hopelessly broken in every which way and bankrupt, too But there are exceptions to every rule and I found one here in Australia

[07:59] Don't get me started on what a hopeless case Australia is, but they really seem to have done one thing, right? You might remember well, baby boomers do anyway that back in the 70s and 80s New sources were reporting that the ozone layer that protects the earth or more precisely humans from too much UV sunlight That ozone layer that we really don't hear too much about anymore Was deteriorating and the worst place on earth to be was Australia because there was a big hole in the ozone layer that Seemed to be centered there even without a hole in the ozone. The Sun is wicked in Australia Because most Aussies are of northern European mostly British descent like me She says most of us are dead white some of us even pinkish looking after all

[08:45] We were famously a British prison colony, you know, and you have to admit the Brits in the Irish are pretty pacey looking Anyhow, it was determined that because of this opening in the ozone layer Australians had four times the worldwide average incidence of skin cancer In fact dermatologists are doing a land rush business Everyone's got people in their own family who've had Pre-cancerous or even cancers lesions burned off or removed by using that quick and dirty liquid nitrogen spray therapy I had a few spots sprayed with nitrogen myself doesn't hurt a bit But what doctors charge for that one-minute treatment? It's a sin says Jackie Anyhow before we go calling Australia a completely failed fascist state I'm writing to tell you they may have done one thing, right?

[09:31] Maybe you see with all that talk of the big hole in the ozone over Australia The government decided to do something about it. So they set up sunscreen stations. Yep. They've got little pumps Dispensers a lot like those kovat hand goop dispensers. You'll see everywhere anyhow on certain public beaches You can walk right up and get yourself some free sunscreen as much as you want So you can skip the overpriced Hawaiian tropic stuff and use the free stuff the government supplies. Yes I know nothing's for nothing But this may just be the one and only case in history where governments actually done something right on the cheap end has benefited Almost everyone, but you know the road to hell is paved with good intentions And quite possibly that benevolent free sunscreen program isn't working out so well after all

[10:18] There are some recent studies out there saying that sunscreen itself as carcinogens in it Even so and even if that benevolent program does work one-third of Aussies will get skin cancer in their lifetime And Johnny one particular study says because the sunscreen is free and you can get as much as you want People slather way too much of that stuff on themselves. And if that stuff's carcinogenic I think in inquiring minds can see the problem It's something akin to going to a party where there's an open bar. That's asking for trouble in Australia Anyway, Johnny missed your latest seminar due to the lockdown fascist kovat crap here, but come hell or high water I'll be at your next one. So put me down and tell me how to send a deposit Yes, what's this sound like down there in Latin America being that it is in the tropics

[11:05] There has to be some kind of a skin cancer problem there, too Alright Jackie. Thanks for that slightly unusual email and yes, you're absolutely right Latin America The Sun is very strong. However, as you push on through South America and go further south through Argentina, Chile, etc You get your four seasons back and the Sun is not nearly as intense as you might think But it's very intense in Central America, though It doesn't seem like it especially in the Altiplano where it feels much cooler It's deceptive though when you're up a mile high the air is thinner and the sunlight is more penetrating intense and direct So the air temperature could be at 70 or 75 degrees perfectly comfortable But when you're in the Sun, it's intense and you burn in a hurry without even realizing it and Jackie

[11:51] I've got exactly the kind of skin you're talking about I've had six or seven skin lesions treated with that nitrogen stuff myself and it works fine in a couple of weeks They were all healed up and they were not problem areas any longer though I do have to check in with a dermatologist every year or so. It's no big deal In fact, I'm thinking about buying one of those little liquid nitrogen spray dispensers myself I check him out on Alibaba the very same ones the dermatologists use are around 250 bucks and any hospital supply company will charge it up for around 10 bucks when you need a liquid nitrogen refill If I were you I wouldn't try it at home, but I just might remember in a past life amongst other things I was a biomedical engineer So I know a little bit more than the next guy about that kind of stuff, of course engineers do stupid things too We like to wire things live without turning the power off. Hey, I've been shocked by live wires a hundred times

[12:43] Yep, engineers get overconfident and do that kind of stuff. We keep getting shocks, but we're used to it We never learn but I digress. Where were we? Oh, yeah So yes, if you're moving to Latin America, especially the Altiplano in Central America You want to avoid the Sun or protect yourself with sunscreen hats all that stuff, but oddly enough There's almost no skin cancer in the Latino population because they're a little bit darker colored They've got a certain amount of indigenous blood in them. So they've got the melanin to resist UV damage But as for me and many other lily white gringos I personally avoid the Sun as much as I can and when I go to the beach resorts or beaches in general Never purposely lay out in the Sun to get a tan Oh and by the way when you're down here in Latin America and you spot a beet red gringo or gringa that usually screams Tourist or a newbie gringo expat seems like every vacationing tourist

[13:31] Wants to get a tan in the worst way and they overdo it because they're not used to how strong the Sun really is and as For a long time gringos and expats they almost never stay out in the Sun too long. You don't see him beat red They know better, but we all somehow go through that trial by fire when we first get down here Now I don't personally avoid the Sun completely. I like to power walk five miles takes me about an hour five days a week I like to do it around five or six o'clock at night right before the Sun goes down You know the Sun goes down in most of Latin America specifically Central America Between six and seven o'clock every night Latin American countries do not follow daylight savings time Because they're closer to the equator and the Sun does not arc that much So unlike in the States, especially the northern parts like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Seattle

[14:20] Depending on the time of year the Sun could set at four or eight But here in Latin America, especially Mexico down through to Colombia The Sun almost always sets between six and seven o'clock at night. You can count on it That's why I take my power walk between five and six at night. It's cooler The Sun's very low in the sky. So the UV light is minimal. It's not a problem However, once in a while when I'm on a mission to go to a bank or a store during the middle of the day I'll combine it with a power walk even when the Sun's high up in the sky and very intense in that case I'll carry a telescoping umbrella, you know a shorty Now just a word about umbrellas You might not think this is a big thing But believe me if you live down here in Latin America, you're going to need one Remember the rainy season six months long and I found personally I just don't like those long full-sized umbrellas

[15:09] You know the kind that double as a cane. They're just too big and bulky and inconvenient I really like those shorty telescopic umbrellas, but most of them are flimsy pieces of junk sure They work all right for a while But if you get a medium or high gust of wind if it comes from the wrong angle it will blow your umbrella inside out You know what I'm talking about sure you get a soaker But worse yet your umbrella could be completely ruined because when it's whipped inside out like that the umbrella support lattice Often gets bent and broke or just completely deformed. I'm sure that over the years I've gone through at least 20 shorty umbrellas and most of them ended up in the junk heap after just a few big rains I've left or forgotten a lot of them in parks and restaurants, too Oh, well, and you know for a while before Amazon I'd get pissed off at the poor selection of umbrellas

[16:00] We're always junk. I'm talking about what was available locally in the stores However, when Amazon first started delivering to those mailboxes in Miami, and I could get stuff within a week I actually ordered the top six rated telescopic umbrellas According to some consumer reports page on the internet. That was a couple of years ago now I got them and put them through the test and one just one of those six umbrellas stood out from all the rest It's the only one that did not fail after many uses and heavy storms and rains and there was an actual physical difference They all look the same but this one particular umbrella was much heavier than the rest And I thought man, there's some substance here In fact, I've come to think of it as a hell of a good defensive weapon, too Not that I felt any particular danger of being assaulted or robbed while walking that's never happened to me

[16:51] But believe me when you're holding the handle of that umbrella You know if you whooped someone upside the head with that thing, they'd be out cold Good to know a ladies So in effect, it does give you a little measure of confidence just walking with it And it's small totally comfortable in your hand and only about maybe 14 inches long Again, I don't make a dime for telling you this, but I think you should order one right away They're only like 20 bucks too. It's got a funky name too. You gotta love it It's called kung fu smith the kung fu smith umbrella. I'm looking at mine right now I've had this one for three years since going strong and i've got a spare too Just in case I happen to forget it at a restaurant or a park Listen, I can't recommend this thing enough It's just too well made. I mean really how many things can you say that about?

[17:38] Now as an addendum to that story, you probably know most engineers are obsessed with gadgets Some women are obsessed with shoes some guys with watches or cars rappers obsessed with gold teeth and ass crack pants Well, I got to tell you most engineers love tools and gadgets And when I found out that just a couple months ago a brand new telescoping Defense umbrella hit the market. I just had to have one even though it cost get this 250 bucks what 250 bucks. Hey, don't tell my mom So then what's it do besides deflect rain and why do they call it a defense umbrella and why is it 250 bucks? Well, that's best left to the imagination. Oh, yeah, and batteries are not included So about a month ago it arrived and it's everything they said it would be well for 250 bucks

[18:26] It better be and now no matter where I walk The only thing i'm afraid of is forgetting it at a restaurant or on a park bench That would be a tragedy By the way, if you want one of these things and man, what a conversation piece Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and i'll send you the link though for 250 bucks I don't think i'll get many takers But it's nice to know something like that's out there Especially you guys living up there in detroit chicago new york l.a. San francisco atlanta any big city Tell me one of these things wouldn't come in handy By the way, it's totally legal and it's not a firearm and You can carry it with you on an airplane because when x-rayed it shows up just like a regular old umbrella By the way, did you know you cannot take a full-sized umbrella on an airline, but you can take a shorty like this one

[19:16] Maybe I shouldn't have said that you never know who's listening All right now another email from a good friend of the show. He calls himself the six-foot pole Oh By the way, mr. Pole's been living in mexico. So let's hear what he has to say says johnny Thanks again for your water filtration setup diagrams. I already put it together in my rental It was simple and quick to do it yourself from parts readily available in the local feta terria. That's hardware store I may or may not take it with me to my next rental here in mexico That'll be in approximately six months. It's easy enough to build from scratch again I did order the electronic descaler from alibaba for under 40 bucks and will be taking that unit with me Just because it takes a long time to get here. Oh, and by the way, mr. Pole entitles his email

[20:04] One more reason not to move to mexico and remember he's writing this for mexico Then he says I left the states for good and i'm not planning to go back I don't know if i'll stay in mexico and i'm trying out different places Renting for six months at a time as you repeatedly suggest on your show I'm loving the altiplano, but I want to try chiappas next and later guadamala Oh and incidentally johnny, whatever you say about mexico. It's still better than the states Anyway with this email. I have another request for you on a different topic this time I'm not a resident and i'm currently using travel insurance for emergencies travel health insurance that is But I will apply for residency eventually wherever I settle in for my plan b I was talking to local gringos about medical options here in mexico and these seem way off the scale too expensive

[20:53] Way more than your guadamala insurance quotes To prove it i'm including some quotes And I hope you can comment on the differences between mexico and guadamala medical costs and maybe medical costs in different parts of latin america Then he says i've been running into many gringos who say they can't afford to buy medical insurance here in mexico So they live without any keeping their fingers crossed that nothing bad or expensive will happen to them With some gringos, I know suggesting to have a slush fund for your own medical emergencies The amounts vary but a consensus of gringos has it that one should aim to put aside as much as two to two hundred and fifty Thousand us dollars. Wow. He says can you believe that? Then he says my immediate neighbors in their 70s now are paying

[21:39] 11 000 a year for two With twenty five hundred dollar deductible. We're talking about medical insurance here in mexico, too Another gringo. I know he's paying almost 10 grand a year. He's a single guy aged 78 And I know a couple in the 40s who are paying $4,000 a year for both Of course premium is increased almost annually for all age groups and certain pre-existing conditions won't buy you insurance for any money at all As for actual treatments in surgery, I know about a month ago a neighbor here paid $7,000 us for heart stents and another gringle paid six grand for knee surgery I know that might not mean much because we don't have the details on what was done But i'm still young enough myself not to worry about medical issues

[22:24] But I would love to hear what you think about that signed the six foot pole in mexico All right. Thanks for that. Mr. Pole all good questions Now you probably haven't listened to all the shows i've done i've been doing this 11 years now I guess maybe eight years ago or so I did a show where I talked about how mexico having a border with the us taints So many things kind of creating a twisted sort of hybrid including a sort of artificial price structure when it comes to professional services In fact, I mentioned eight years ago or so that dental costs in mexico are twice as high even more Than in any of the latin countries south of south of the border. I also mentioned that back then Mexico was the only latin american country and there's 20 of them where I saw lawyers with 800 numbers advertising on tv

[23:12] Like they do in the states. There's none of that south of south of the border Well, I take that back costa rican lawyers are doing that now But costa rica is another high-bred gringoized country where first world prices prevail The problem is in mexico there are over 2 million first world gringos and expats who go down to mexico either part-time and rent Or are retired and live there permanently That gringo effect jacks up all the prices especially in the medium and large sized cities even worse in towns and cities close to the us border Where gringos and expats pop over for dental and medical care And they think they're getting such a good deal because it's half off or less Than what they'd pay in the states, even though if they go south of south of the border Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia

[23:58] It'll be half or much less than half than what you'd be paying for professional services in mexico Now this stuff is really fresh on my mind because just last week when I was doing this seminar I spoke for about four hours on health care and health insurance I went through a number of health care plans for gringos and expats at least five or six different ones And there wasn't a single full coverage plan for gringos and expats that was over 200 bucks a month With some very good and quite acceptable plans between 80 and 110 bucks a month We're talking about for the average 45 to 55 year old male Oh and all these plans have amazingly low deductibles and co-pays In fact, I went over a couple of actual bills from gringos who'd been to the emergency room under their plans With the total bill for an entire day at the emergency room all the tests and all the fixings

[24:45] Coming in around a thousand bucks now in the states an emergency room visits surely going to cost you 10 times as much 10 grand look it up Look up the average emergency room visit for one day 10 grand or so Yet the two emergency room bills I highlighted a grand and after the insurance paid their portion the gringo paid his call payment Which was 40 bucks So then you might ask what about those deductibles in the states? You got 2,500 5 000 10 000 deductibles. Well down here in latin america. It's a little bit different With most plans you go to their designated hospitals and clinics They pay 100 and if you go to one that's outside of the clinics and doctors outside of their plan They pay a flat 80 or 90 percent depending on the plan you get and your co-payment

[25:30] 10 or 20 percent of the total cost So most plans down here don't even have deductibles. They just have a co-pay and zero co-pay If they use their designated clinics and doctors better yet most insurance plans have a maximum yearly outlay For example suppose you end up in the hospital 10 times in one year. That's possible if you're old and decrepit. Well, most insurance plans have a $2,500 yearly maximum. So as soon as your accumulated co-payments hit 2,500 bucks You no longer pay that means down here in latin america There's almost no chance if you have health insurance Even if you have a chronic condition and have multiple hospital stays a year You'll never even come close to being bankrupted by health care costs again I'm talking about south of south of the border the country's south of mexico

[26:17] The thing is most health care plans down here have an age limit of 64. That's the enrollment date limit However, after you're on the plan, you're good to age 99 So then what if you're over 64 where there are some insurance brokers that can get you in plans But they're going to be more expensive maybe twice as expensive Then the normal plan you could get in if you're 64 or under could be two three even 400 bucks a month But if you're under 64 Man, the plans are cheap and you've got full coverage too in fact in an upcoming show i'm going to give you the details on my own personal insurance plan and Tell you a story on how my brother, you know The one that was on 22 prescription medications and has had three or four knee and shoulder surgeries already Our stem cell guy i'm going to tell you the story on how I got him on a very excellent latin american health care plan

[27:04] Even though we thought when he took the physical and got the blood test he failed it miserably For some reason maybe it was part of the gringo advantage. They accepted him in the plan without Disqualifying him for any pre-existing conditions stay tuned for that story So then what's his monthly payment? How about 80 bucks a month would have been a hundred a month But if you pay a whole year in advance you get 20 off latin america, you gotta love it. By the way How's your plan be coming? 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