Expat Life in Latin America: Relationships, Health Insurance, and Cultural Challenges

Episode Summary

In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the complexities of expat life in Latin America. He discusses the challenges of romantic relationships between gringos and latinas, the importance of private health insurance, and the cultural integration issues expats often face. Johnny shares personal anecdotes and listener stories to provide insight into the expat experience.

Johnny begins by introducing the episode, stating it's about the experiences of living, working, playing, and retiring in Latin America. He acknowledges the common belief that bringing a Latina back to the States or Canada is a recipe for failure, but highlights exceptions like Dave, who is married to a Colombian and living in Canada. Dave shares his story, emphasizing the long-term success of his relationship and his plans for a balanced life between Canada and Mexico.

Johnny also addresses the issue of Canadian expats losing access to national health care if they stay abroad for more than six months, suggesting that private health insurance in Latin America is a viable alternative. He discusses the importance of obtaining private health insurance before turning 65, as once enrolled, expats are locked in for life as long as they pay the premium. He shares a personal anecdote about his brother, who was initially concerned about being rejected due to his health issues but was eventually accepted by a private insurance company in the Dominican Republic.

Johnny highlights the leniency of insurance companies in Latin America, especially for those under 45, and provides details about the insurance options available, including the Humano insurance company. He also touches on the social challenges expats face, such as age gaps with their Latina partners and the difficulties of maintaining relationships when expats return to their home countries. He emphasizes the importance of private health insurance for expats, especially those from countries like Canada, and the potential consequences of not having it.

In another segment, Johnny discusses the challenges expats face in Latin America, particularly regarding cultural integration and health insurance. He highlights how expats, or 'gringos,' are often easily identifiable due to their clothing and behavior, and how this can lead to both humorous and problematic situations. He shares a story about his brother's experience with private health insurance in the Dominican Republic, emphasizing the 'gringo advantage' in securing coverage despite pre-existing conditions.

Johnny also shares a personal anecdote about being pulled over by a motorcycle cop and using the 'clueless gringo' card to avoid trouble. He mentions that even with pre-existing conditions, such as implants or surgeries, expats can still be accepted into insurance plans, as seen with his Latina friend who had multiple cosmetic procedures. The segment highlights the 'gringo advantage' in Latin American health insurance systems, where pre-existing conditions are often overlooked.

In the final segment, Johnny discusses the challenges expats face when applying for private insurance in Latin America, particularly regarding pre-existing conditions. He highlights how insurance companies often ignore such conditions if they are not disclosed on the application form. He explains the 'pre-existing condition exclusion' clause in insurance policies, which typically excludes coverage for the first year of the policy. Johnny notes that while it's advisable to disclose all medical history, in practice, insurance companies rarely follow up on such information.

He also touches on the social challenges expats face, such as age gaps with their Latina partners and the difficulties of maintaining relationships when expats return to their home countries. Expats often face social judgment and jealousy from friends and family due to the age gap with their Latina partners. Johnny concludes by emphasizing the importance of setting boundaries and learning how to say no to avoid becoming a financial safety net for their partners' families.

Episode Notes

For more episodes, seminar information, resources, and the full archive, visit ExpatPlanB.com.

Keep exploring

Related episodes

Search the full episode archive Browse practical guides Explore the Expat Insider Seminar Ask about a consultation

Topics

Expat life in Latin America, Romantic relationships between gringos and latinas, Success stories of expats, Health care access for expats, Private health insurance in Latin America, Pre-existing conditions and insurance eligibility, Insurance options in the Dominican Republic, Johnny's personal experience with insurance and his brother's story, Cultural integration for expats, The 'gringo advantage' in health insurance, Personal anecdotes about expat experiences, Insurance and pre-existing conditions in Latin America

Chapters

00:00:00 Opening
00:00:14 Introduction to the Expat Files Podcast
00:00:26 Overview of the Podcast's Content
00:00:33 Starting the Episode with an Email
00:01:21 The Common Wisdom About Keeping Latinas Down on the Farm
00:01:39 Dave's Exception to the Rule
00:02:04 Dave's Success Story and the Exception to the Rule
00:02:48 Dave's Exception to the Rule and His Personal Story
00:03:03 Dave's Gratitude and Closing Remarks
00:06:12 The Importance of Private Health Insurance Before 65
00:06:20 Advise for Expats on Applying for Private Insurance
00:07:29 A Story About Insurance and Health Conditions
00:11:57 The Gringo Identity Crisis and Cultural Integration Challenges for Expats in Latin America
00:13:29 The Gringo Advantage in Health Insurance: A Personal Story of Approval Despite Health Issues
00:17:46 The Gringo Advantage in Health Insurance: A Latina Friend's Experience with Cosmetic Surgeries and Insurance Coverage
00:21:00 Age Gaps and Social Challenges for Expats
00:23:43 The Secret to a Successful Expat Marriage with a Latina
00:25:24 The Normal Occurrence of Supporting Extended Family in Expat Relationships

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 as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad 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. Here we go. Let's take an email This one comes from Dave. Well naturally and I'll paraphrase this and cut out the boring parts I say naturally because I've got so many Dave's writing to me. He says hey Johnny me again long time

[00:49] No, right, but I'm still a big fan of your show and listening to every episode I know I'm not Dave number one But I'm thinking I must be up there since I've been listening and occasionally writing since 2015 he says this Dave thing seems like it must be a generational thing a lot of Dave's in certain generations and a Shortage of Dave's and others. I remember there were five Dave's in my second grade class That said Johnny. I'll get to the point. He says I know that if you have a latina way for a girlfriend Keeping her down on the farm in Latin America is the accepted wisdom for success That is you've stated that many times yourself and probably good advice in most cases Especially when you're dealing with clueless green gringles coming to Latin America and hooking up with latinas. Yep. Keep them down on the farm

[01:39] That's good advice, but I guess and I'm here to tell you I'm one of those exceptions I'm happy to report. My wife is still the same kind loving honest hard-working and beautiful woman I first met in Colombia back in 2008 I married her in 2010 and brought her to the Great White North in 2011, you know, Canada One of my best friends up here is also married to a Colombian for almost the same amount of time as me So now Johnny you indirectly know about not one but two romantic success stories That beat the odds and I going strong up in the first world. All right me trying to hear just a little comment Your longtime listeners know Whenever we hit on the subject of love romance mating and dating in Latin America That is gringos coming down and hook up with latinas or gringas coming down and hooking up with Latino guys

[02:29] You'll almost always hear me and others say that it's the kiss of death to bring them back to the States or Canada to live From all the stories I've heard it almost never ends Well, you've heard me say I don't know of anyone who's ever had success with it long term and that It's what Dave is referring to here He's saying he and his buddy are the two exceptions to that rule Then Dave says for what it's worth Johnny there is a 13 year difference between me and my wife and a 15 year difference between my buddy and his Colombian wife Anyway, thanks as always for what you do Johnny Cojela suave and above all stay uses the a word here. Awesome Signed you're still married to a Colombian and living in the first world

[03:15] podcast pal One of the original Dave's Dave W PS he says great to hear those expat Eddie stories are coming again. Keep him coming Sorry to hear things went bad though with his Novia Claudia. Oh, and he's got another PS PBS a little update on my Situation he says in case you're interested. I'm 61 and my wife's is 48 We both work for the same company, which went fully remote during the pandemic in March 2020 We took advantage of that. He says to work from Mexico for six months from 2020 to 2021 But then the company restricted the work from anywhere thing to six weeks per year He says I'm about two years away from retirement. I'm saving furiously and my wife Will have to work another two to four years longer than me

[04:03] We'll wait to get out of that until my meager government pension kicks in but also We are supporting her parents and partially supporting her sister's family in Colombia, too Our main plan he says is to escape the Canadian winters for five to six months per year Then spend the rest of the year up in Canada He says, you know how us Canadians are hamstrung the velvet handcuffs of the so-called free health care often make us stick around We can never cut the cord completely or we'll lose our national health care And that often makes us who want to get the hell out stick around anyway. Oh And he says there's also the fact of our ridiculous housing bubble if we ever sold our condo I don't know if we ever could afford to buy one back at a later date

[04:48] Anyway, he says we're just trying to work out a balance between the best of both worlds Alright Dave, thanks for that you did hit on a couple of additional points. We really have to discuss here number one The fact that Canadians anyway because you have a national health care system Have got the problem that if you leave the country, what is it more than six months a year? You lose your health care Permanently, right? I hear that from Canadian expats and part-time Canadian expats all the time. That's a huge concern of theirs They just don't want to lose that free national health care and to me, you know, unless you're really old and in rotten shape It appears you've completely bought into that socialist mind virus That promise of free stuff from your government like national health like it's a golden calf

[05:36] You just can't live without well, I'm here to tell you you can live without it You shouldn't let that guide your life. You should never let anything government does guide your life I'm saying that because anyone can come down to most any Latin American country and pick up some Absolutely first-class private insurance coverage Equal or better than anything you can get up in Canada or the US. Oh, but it will cost you It's not free mine cost me. I'm guessing now about $80 a month the thing is though you won't be able to pick up any of that cheap private first-class health insurance if you're over 65 or in noticeably terrible health like for example if you're obese or Have uncontrolled diabetes Which is why I always advise gringles and expats who are somewhere along on their plan B

[06:24] To come on down and apply for private health insurance before they turn 65 Because once you're on it once you're locked in you're locked in for life as long as you pay the premium though There are some Latin American countries where you can get private health insurance if you're over 65 But of course your options are limited. In fact, let me tell you a little boots on the ground story that happened to my brother Just in case you're thinking you'll never get accepted by a private insurance company here in Latin America because well You're a typical American or Canadian and have just way too many things wrong with you Let's say you're 50 pounds overweight or have too many pre-existing conditions You know, I hear that a lot especially from Canadians They're saying look I got this great national health care system And I know if I apply for private insurance in Latin America or anywhere. There's no way they're gonna accept me

[07:13] I'm taking five prescription medicines. I've had my gallbladder taken out knee surgery a couple of stents I'm 55 and there's no way any insurance company is gonna accept me as a client if that's your line of reasoning Well, obviously you don't know too much about how they do things here in Latin America Just listen to the following story One of my brothers remember I told you in a previous show Happens to be the stem cell poster child He's the one that went down to the Dominican Republic a few years back to get stem cells Of course, I was there holding his hand all the way and he liked to play so much He started going back and forth especially since he met a girl down there and they became an item Well after about a year or so of him going back and forth to visit her They got pretty serious and we're talking about marriage. My brother said look, I'm gonna retire in the DR

[08:02] But if I do what happens with my health insurance, he said he has really good coverage up in the States But they're probably not gonna cover anything if he gets sick in the DR and I said well Let's check out the private insurance companies in the DR and see if they'll cover you one of the biggest ones in the DR is called Humano H-u-m-a-n-o that's human with an O at the end of it It's a very good high quality private insurance company in the DR and other places around Latin America I know lots of gringles and expats who are living in the DR who have that very same insurance and they swear by it They've got five or six different plans to choose from two like a VIP Platinum plan all the way down to a very basic plan With prices for a single person ranging around 40 bucks a month to 200 a month with gringles and expats

[08:52] generally picking the plan that's second from the top the top plan covers you worldwide and Costs for a single around 200 bucks a month the second from the top Which I think is called the maxi plan It's around 90 bucks a month, but only covers you when you're in the DR By the way covers 80 to 90 percent of everything with get this no deductible So anyway, I mentioned this to my brother and he says wait a minute. Wait a minute. You forget I'm on 11 different prescription medicines and he said I'm about 25 pounds overweight He said no insurance company is ever gonna accept me. Well, he was lying. He was about 50 pounds overweight You know how people lie about the stuff like that. Anyway, I said Let's give that insurance thing a try. What have you got to lose?

[09:39] You know, the only real hard and fast rule they have for cutting people off is by age if you're 65 or older They won't take you. I said I know lots of guys even fat totally out of shape guys obese guys Who've applied and were accepted after all this is Latin America and the insurance biz down here is sort of new The private insurance companies at most have five percent of the population signed up So they're always looking to sign on new clients. So we went down there He filled out the forms or I should say I helped him out and fill out the forms They were in Spanish now when we were filling out the part about pre-existing Conditions and man, my brother's got a ton of them That's the part he thought would disqualify him completely. He figured his application would never fly So why bother now? Remember he was complaining that he was on 11 different prescription meds

[10:29] Well before the stem cells, he was on 20 different prescription meds and the docs at the stem cell clinic Caught him down to about half. I Mean look he was taking pills for high blood pressure for arthritis for various skin conditions for gastritis Night sweats and night terrors. Yeah, that's right night terrors Whatever the hell that is. He was taking pills for insomnia vertigo high cholesterol and on and on Many of that sound familiar So anyway down at the insurance office when it came to filling out the forms We conveniently failed to mention any of that we left that section blank so far so good next step The physical you longtime listeners have probably heard me say that here in Latin America

[11:14] Insurance companies are ever so lenient when it comes to signing up new members So lenient in fact that if you're under 45 years old normally, there is no physical involved at all But my brother was older than that. So next step to get in the physical I went into the doctor's office with him again because he spoke no Spanish She gave him a cursory inspection and took a urine sample Now my brother was wearing the usual gringo uniform khaki shorts Which by the way always strikes me funny that Latinos wear pants full long pants even long-sleeved Shirts even in tropical zones like Panama or the DR Costa Rica, etc Where it's 90 degrees during the day, but gringos we can't handle that So we dress like gringos and shorts and the locals they can spot us a mile away

[12:03] By the way, if and when you do get a Latina girlfriend, she's gonna try to change that She will try to make you un-gringo eyes your look Now admittedly most of us do need a little help in the fashion department So go ahead let her change your look to a point just be aware though She will throw it lots of the stuff you have in your closet So hide those guns and roses and Metallica t-shirts now My brother has had various operations on his knee and shoulder cartilage The doctor immediately saw the scars on his knees and asked que paso. What happened there? My answer to her was not a lie I told her my brother played a lot of sports and had some arthroscopic procedures longer than one passed Then she took his height in his way asked a few questions about family history like any cancer heart problems or

[12:51] Respiratory diseases in the family are your grandparents and parents still alive things like that. The appointment was quick It was over in 10 minutes on the way out the insurance broker said We'll let you know in two weeks whether or not you've been approved check your email. Well, guess what? Four weeks later. This is Latin America, you know That all-important email came welcoming him into the humano insurance family Yep, my brother who is 50 pounds overweight on 11 different prescription medicines a guy who routinely Asks for a wheelchair when he's taken an airline flight Was accepted into a very good first world style insurance plan in the DR a plan that pays 80 to 90 percent including prescriptions

[13:37] with no deductible Talk about the gringo advantage, huh? As a matter of fact when we were in the big insurance building and walked in and took a number Waiting to get called it must have been a hundred people sitting around We were the only two gringos in there now the reason why I tell this story Well, you know the reason why to impress the fact upon you weenies out there who are dying to get that plane be going But you just don't want to leave the country and lose that all-important insurance, especially you Canadian weenies I know I know for you Canadians. It's a big step to dump your national health care It's been sort of part of your national identity since you've been born, right? I get that sort of however My advice is come down to Latin America apply for private health insurance like my brother did once you're connected and on board

[14:24] Well, then who cares about being on the national health care system the country you no longer live in it You just have to cover your bases and plan ahead Now, of course, I understand. It's a different story if you're in really rotten shape But man, I'm telling you it'd have to be in terribly rotten shape to be disqualified in a Latin American health care plan, man I'll tell you you just couldn't be in worse shape than my brother. Now. I know I know I get it You're thinking he lied his ass off on the form, right? Well, not really. He just played that clueless dumb gringo card that serves us so well and oh so many circumstances In fact, I just played the clueless gringo card myself a couple days ago found myself going the wrong way down a one-way street Now normally I'd never do that, but it wasn't marked You see that all the time down here one-way streets that aren't marked or they're marked every seven or eight blacks

[15:15] How are you supposed to know especially if you're approaching that street within the part? That's not marked Anyway, just my luck. There happened to be a motorcycle cop coming right at me He signaled for me to pull over I did Started reading me the riot act pulled out his ticket book explaining to me in Spanish It's a one-way and I was going a wrong way and me I just rolled down my window struck my shoulders and gave my best clueless gringo grand and said low ciento I Don't speak Spanish. No hablo espanol me tourista Well, he quit talking for a second rolled his eyes wave me on and said bette bette, which means get moving

[16:00] Man, I can't tell you how many times I pulled off a repeat of that scenario 95% of the time it works like a charm That other 5% is when you're on the gringo tourist trail like Costa Rica believes most of Mexico on the tourist trail where the cops Speak a little English that clueless gringo act rarely works. Oh and once only once in all these years There was a lady transit cop that spoke no English She pulled me over and actually tried to communicate with me using her Google Translate app and she still let me go But back to the point what if for example, you're in a car accident you end up in the emergency room They do a CAT scan on you see that you've got a few unnamed things lingering from the past Maybe your spines been fused with titanium or you've got some heart stents

[16:48] And you didn't put that down on your form when you applied for the insurance a half year ago Well, guess what doesn't seem to matter at all because once you're on a policy you're on it In fact, I know a girl a very beautiful Latina extremely voluptuous to the point You don't see those kind of bodies coming out naturally. I mean, it's not natural to have those kind of curves Well, guess what? She's on that very insurance policy. My brother's on she's had implants a nose job I surgery to lip injections a dozen plastic surgeries that works Just recently she ended up in the emergency room with some kind of gastritis or gastric problem She went through all kind of tests cat scans barium contrast injections to check her kidneys many many different tests Well, it turns out she has colitis and a heliobacteria Infection and some other nasty gut and intestine problems. She was in the hospital for a week insurance covered it all 80 or 90 percent

[17:40] Anyway, and guess what when they did all those exams and scans was only then they found out She had those implants and fillers nose job BBL, you know Brazilian butt lift liposuction and more it came to light She had all kinds of surgical procedures and pre-existing conditions to that She never bothered to mention or put on the form when she applied for the insurance Now guess what happened when all that came to light when that hidden stuff came out and finally was entered on her patient record And files guess what the insurance company did? Nothing no one not the doctors the nurses are the insurance company mentioned a thing now I don't know what would have gone down if that would have happened up in the States But down here it seems to me. There's a disconnect the insurance company really doesn't care all that much

[18:29] What you put on your forms as long as you're not obese and have uncontrolled diabetes cancer or AIDS They'll bend over backwards to accept you in other words It seems to me once you're in once you pay your first premium you're in for keeps On top of that with every private insurance policy I've seen here in Latin America They do talk about pre-existing conditions. They have a paragraph in the policy that says quote Pre-existing conditions will not be covered during the first year of your participation in the insurance program Now a few years back when I asked my insurance broker what that was all about He said that exclusion is in there because some women who know they're pregnant But don't show yet. They don't have insurance. So they'll rush out and try to get some so basically he said that's our pregnancy

[19:18] loophole In other words, you have to be on the policy for at least a year before we cover pregnancy Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying when you apply for private insurance here in Latin America You shouldn't put down your pre-existing conditions I'm not saying you shouldn't put down all the surgeries you've had and those 56 meds you're taking I'm not saying if you don't put that stuff down, you won't get called out on it It's just that I don't know anyone whoever has been called out on it Oh and another thing when you apply for insurance, it will be a section on those forms Asking about your doctors and you put down the names of your previous doctors, etc Now you can do that be honest about the fact is you should have no fear if you do because they're never gonna call those doctors They'll never send an inquiry to the doctors you had up in the States or Canada

[20:07] Your ducks up there wouldn't give out that information. Anyway, no doctor's office up in the States or Canada would send information Based on an inquiry from a secretary in a doctor's office or insurance company in a foreign country Besides that 99% of the people at your new insurance company in Latin America Don't speak English fact is it takes almost an act of Congress for you to get your own records from your doctor in the States It's that patient doctor privacy thing You'd not only have to go down there personally and show them an official government idea You'd have to fill out all kinds of release forms and sign confidentiality statements, too Alright, alright enough said about that, but we're not finished with Dave and his email He mentioned another couple important things in his email, but I bet you weren't paying attention

[20:52] They went right over your head. It's about the peculiarities of having a Latina girlfriend, man. Those things certainly resonated with me Number one the big age gap Dave mentioned that both he and his buddy are 12 to 15 years older than their Colombian wives Now Dave you guys are up in Canada, but I know where I come from in Chicago It doesn't matter who you marry if you got a 10 to 15 year age spread on your lady You're gonna be taking heat gossip and people talking behind your back about it the rest of your life Especially if she's a hot Latina or foreigner and you're just an average old five or six yourself Now, of course, that's not something people would ever bring up to you in your face Except maybe your friends and relatives and your guy friends They're just gonna be jealous and for sure the girls the ladies in your extended family will not be amused

[21:42] They'll usually say you're robbing the cradle and all that. She's a gold digger, whatever So get ready for that But here's the thing according to what you told me about your ages when you met and got married in 2008 and 2010 That means your wife was around 33 when you met her. In other words She's a more mature woman lots of guys gringles and expats go down to Latin America find themselves a Latina of their dreams So they think they marry or bring her back to the States and the guys maybe 45 or 50 years old and she's 20 to 25 You know, there's a big maturity difference between a girl That's 20 to 25 years old versus a girl That's 30 to 35 years old that goes for Latinas and American girls Especially in today's world when young 20 some things are addicted to tiktok social media and fashions

[22:28] You see the failed relationship stories I always hear about when gringles bring their Latina girlfriends back to the States It starts out with the fact that once back in the States or Canada guy goes back to work a 40-hour work week Usually and that young Latina bride is stuck at home. She knows no one He generally doesn't speak English either and when she goes out to the grocery store the air dresser Whatever who does she bond with people who speak Spanish who of course are all billionaire brain surgeons, right? Wrong We're talking about body culture more like baggers and tellers at the grocery store besides that She's probably quite young and beautiful and guys will be hitting on her all the time at the grocery store the laundromat In parking lots strip malls and if you the gringo guy work 40 or 50 hours a week

[23:15] And when you come home, you're dead tired guys usually are when they're on the treadmill Suddenly, you're not the free easy happy guy you were when you were down in her country on vacation She finds soon enough She's married to a serious working dude who's got to put in his time every week on the treadmill to crack his nut Meanwhile his beautiful 20-something Latina bride who certainly Doesn't know enough English to get a decent job is stuck at home all day and when she's out and about all by her own So she's in a strange new world with lots of temptation So I'm thinking the secret to your success Dave in your marriage with your columbiana is that when you met her She was already in her 30 So therefore more mature and grounded not susceptible to young guys hitting on her all the time And as you mentioned, not only does she have a job. She's working with you at the same company very unusual

[24:04] She's not sitting at home bored with no friends glued to Latino social media watching soap operas and on tiktok all day Which happens to be the fate of probably? 95% of the rest of gringles and expats who find their quote soulmate in Latin America and bring her back In other words 95% of those stories do not end happily ever after So Dave I congratulate you on being one of the five percenters or maybe even one percenters You seem to have dodged a bullet there And I think it's because you found your wife when she was in her 30s and you got her into the workforce working with you Right off the bat. I wonder though Dave when you first brought her home How did your friends and relatives deal with it? I mean not just to your face I mean, what were they saying behind your back when you win lottery friends and family will smile on your face

[24:52] But deep down they often resent it Oh and Dave this one last thing you mentioned in your email that we should touch on you said You're about two years away from retirement and saving furiously You said my wife will likely have to work another two to four years longer than me Until my meager government pension kicks in you said but also and here it is because we are supporting her parents and Partially supporting her sister's family in Colombia Now I don't suppose early in the show when I first read that part of your email I don't suppose many of our listeners picked up on that at all, but That as it turns out is an extremely normal occurrence when a gringo or expat hooks up romantically with a latina I don't suppose I could think of a single instance where a gringo and expat is not

[25:41] Supporting somebody from her extended family most often her kid or kids from a deadbeat dad Hey, i'm not saying it's a bad thing or that you shouldn't do it I'm just saying as much as you might not like it It's going to happen and even if you don't end up supporting her mom or dad or sister or brother, whatever You'll feel obligated to help out with many expenses along the way that you never planned on for example. Uncle Julio dies You'll be asked because you're the rich gringo to kick in for the funeral or for the headstone Junior's at the dentist. He needs braces. You'll be asked to kick in for that too Then there's little sister's quinceaños party. They'll pass the hat around for that. Of course, you don't have to bite You don't have to kick in But man, i'm telling you when you're sitting in grandma's house in the barrio And they're living like white trailer trash up in the states and not complaining a bit

[26:28] Well, it's a hard thing not to donate as you know, you should You know if you kick in 50 or 100 bucks It won't put a dent in your style of living at all The problem is you can't get nickel in time to death One week grandma's tv takes a crap the next week. It's her refrigerator It happens all the time and it's just so hard to say no It's a fine line, you know between helping out the extended family and starting to feel like a cash machine The big problem though as I see it is it starts fostering a kind of dependency On you the gringo expat within the family. You didn't sign up to be a safety net My advice learned how to say no Diplomatically. Oh, and i'm not even talking about when cousin rafa approaches You had a family get together and asks to borrow 100 200 500 even a grand that will happen

[27:14] Just remember if you do it, you're probably never going to get it back So the question you have to ask yourself is this Do you want to have cousin rafa pissed off at you for a day or two because you said no Or lend him the money and when he doesn't pay you back You just know that every time you see him again and you will there'll be an awkward silent moment 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

[27:59] No spambos