#1357 – The Expat Files: Gringo Advantage, Stem Cell Treatments, and Social Media’s Impact

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

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now 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 back in the saddle again All right dig it into the email pile. Here's one from George in Colorado. He says Johnny You were talking about Argentina homes and hotels cetera having bidets I'm personally so glad we got a bidet attachment best 30 bucks

[00:48] I ever spent on Amazon easy to install to everyone ought to check it out It's one of those things. You never thought you needed until you first tried it then soon enough. It becomes something you can't live without Then he says speaking of Argentina. I'm wondering Johnny. Does the gringo advantage work in Argentina? Especially since a tall white guy like you does not stand out much Signed Colorado George. Wow George good question about the gringo advantage You know, you've heard me report on how the gringo advantage fades away as you get on the gringo tourist trail Sadly your gringo advantage turns into a dollar sign as far as the locals are concerned Not good. So being on the tourist trail is actually a gringo disadvantage Yet while off the gringo tourist trail, which is like 95% of Latin America your gringo advantage is alive and well, believe me

[01:42] However, Argentina is a special case because it's a very white country, man. It's the whitest country I've ever seen Now I could have said that about a place like let's say Canada 30 or 40 years ago, but now Since then Canada has opened its doors to all kinds of darker skin folks So Canada's no longer lily white, but Argentina sure is just take a look at any photo of their world-class soccer team Including their managers and such there's something like 40 or 50 guys in a photo and everyone's lily white funny, too That's how Canada used to be. In fact, I remember back in the 80s I visited both Montreal and Toronto Don't recall ever seen a single black person. Of course, it's very different now But as for Argentina a very very white country

[02:29] What that means is gringles and expats do not stand out at all. We blend right in though. It is true I noticed that Argentine people are a bit shorter than the average American white guy or gal still short by US standards It's not Latin American standards. Argentines aren't nearly as short as the people of Central America. Hey, I'm six feet tall And you longtime listeners probably remember me talking about getting into elevators where I'm almost always the tallest guy in there I found that true in almost every Latin American country I've ever visited except one the Dominican Republic There are many Dominicans who are taller than I am and some of them. I'm thinking if they were born in the States They've got the physical stature and body style of a pro basketball player or pro football or baseball player

[03:17] just bad luck of the dry guess for them having been born with that kind of physical stature in the DR and Not Europe or the US. It's rather rad. I still can't figure it out. Why so many tall? I mean really tall Dominicans and the other 19 countries in Latin America Why did they get the short shift? No pun intended average height for a guy maybe five foot four. I Guess it's no wonder why there are so many professional baseball players in the States from the Dominican Republic I understand the ball teams regularly send scouts down there They don't bother doing that in the rest of Latin America because everyone's so damn short and that doesn't work Well in American professional sports though, obviously it works for a soccer check out that Argentine national football team photo again

[04:05] You know soccer what they call football down here But for standard American professional sports like baseball football and basketball you got to be big and tall But about that gringo advantage question as far as Argentina is concerned. Well, it's complicated You know a big part of your gringo advantage in the rest of Latin America is the fact that you can be spotted from blocks away You're just taller whiter lighter hair you dress differently, etc. Etc Well in Argentina gringos completely lose out in that respect because we look just like them us white gringos do anyway And really one of the only ways you get called out as a gringo in Argentina is when you open your mouth when you speak So as for truly having the gringo advantage in Argentina, not so much don't be counting on it It's gonna happen only when you open your mouth or for example

[04:51] If you're renting or living in a neighborhood and the word gets out that there is a gringo and living in the building well, then Little by little you will have somewhat of an advantage with the locals, but it won't be much Anyway, not like it is in the rest of Latin America, especially when you're off the gringo tourist trail speaking of comments about Argentina Here's an email from mr. Dee longtime listener and great friend of the show. He says hi, Johnny I'm enjoying your reports coming from Buenos Aires He says you might recall that I live there in Buenos Aires for five years Mr. Dee says there's a lot to like there and much to dislike though. I did enjoy living there for the most part I will be returning there in September with an eye to stay for a while He says as for me Buenos Aires is the best place outside the US. I've found for persons with disabilities to work and live

[05:41] It's certainly not perfect, but they treat people with disabilities more as normal person All right, mr. Dee Johnny here for a comment I can certainly vouch for the fact that they treat their street people with much more kindness and dignity Then how I see them treated in most other countries throughout the world Not to mention the street people seem to have a little more class than the street people in other countries, too Isn't that funny? Maybe those two things go hand-in-hand But back to the email then he says Johnny. Can you talk about stem cell medicine there in Argentina? Especially compared to Central America. All right, mr. Dee. Let's hit on that right now Yes, mr. Dee They do have stem cell clinics and around the same price as they are in Central America If you elect for those treatments, you won't be saving any extra dough by going to Argentina

[06:28] If you're coming from the States or Canada, you're better off in Mexico or Central America because a flight to Argentina is eight hours Oh and you're also much better off going to a stem cell clinic where it's not flashy and glitzy You know waiting room all gringo eyes with waterfalls and Japanese gardens Sprinkled with fashionable sculptures and beautiful art because you know what you're gonna pay extra for all that When a stem cell clinic becomes high-profile and advertises to gringos, you know, you're gonna pay a lot more than you have to It's all because of the marketing So even here in Latin America, there's a huge range of prices for stem cell clinics There are clinics that use the exact same stem cell source You know placental cells from newborns coming from the exact same maternity hospital yet one clinical charge twice

[07:17] What the other one does simply because they've been able to tap into the gringo mark So that's kind of a gringo disadvantage In other words when you walk into the lobby or waiting room of a stem cell clinic and you realize there's not a single gringo There except you it's a sure bet you're paying a lot less for your treatments then at a place with a waiting room full of gringos I've been to quite a few of these places and I see the same thing over and over again And of course price is not everything but it's a lot because insurance companies do not pay for stem cell treatments Nor do they pay for ozone or chelation therapy either and for those of you who say to me Johnny I'd love to get stem cell treatments. I feel like shit in whatever way. I Read up on it and I just know they can help but the treatments are way too expensive

[08:03] Well, you know what? I've got no sympathy for you Personally, I don't buy that because Everyone I know every gringo I know anyway has wasted so much money in his or her life on frivolous thing The list is endless. I've spent money on stupid things, too Perfect example not in my case But in most American cases is the iPhone every year you gotta have a new iPhone, right? What's it cost two grand? Is this year's model so much better than last year's model lets you just gotta have it You know, it's not true, but you get sucked into the mindset Think about over the years how much money you've dumped into that kind of junk Whatever happened to buying a new piece of technology when the old one actually fails or breaks Same thing with cars. Come on. How many times have you bought a new car just because you're kind of sick of the old one

[08:48] It's boring. But why go on we all buy so much stupid extraneous junk. Oh, yeah But stem cells are way too expensive. I'll just live with those bad knees until they get so bad I need a joint replacement because then my insurance will pay for that. Happy days, man. I don't get it What's wrong with people when they let insurance companies who are only interested in money make irreversible health decisions for them But let's get back to the rest of mr. D's email Concerning Argentina. He says Johnny. Is it true that a single person can live on $1,200 a month in Argentina? That certainly was not the case when I left for the US in 2013 Well, mr. D. I don't know where you got that number that

[09:35] $1,200 a month living expenses in Argentina. I Didn't say that did I hope not it's certainly not true now In fact, I estimate in Argentina to live a first world life a basic solid first world life Not extravagant not crazy Just basic first world standards It'll cost you about twice as much as it would cost in the rest of Latin America off the tourist rail You've heard me say before that off the tourist trail in Central America I can live quite easily on 1,500 bucks a month though I'd say these days it's more like two grand a month, but I could easily knock that back to 1,500 and not suffer But as for Argentina turns out everything but rent and public transportation is way out of line way more expensive than the rest of Latin America

[10:21] you could trace it all back to the way their federal government dove deep into socialism and massive money printing to pay for those social programs and the fact that I've been told at least one in four Argentines either works for the Government or does business somehow with the government that would be like a 200 pound guy going about his daily life with a 50 pound Tumor on his back Anyway, I noticed just about everything in Argentina's twice as expensive as in the rest of Latin America that goes for appliances Furniture clothes except leather leather goods are pretty damn cheap But hey, who do you know that it's got a closet full of real leather goods? That's great. If you're a biker or hooker or have a leather fetish But for normal people it mostly doesn't apply and food too is really expensive unless you're eating at a steakhouse

[11:09] Isn't that funny? Anyway, you heard me talk a lot about that on a recent previous show and Finally, mr. D says you're right Johnny that women here in Guatemala. Mr. D's in Guatemala right now are much more caring and more Tolerant of men than almost any other part of the world Of course, that does not mean that relations between men and women can ever be truly harmonious Men will be men and women are women so nothing will ever change that he closes by saying be well Johnny signed mr. D Alright, mr. D. Thanks for that And as you say it's sad to mention that the world has shrunk and has gotten more difficult to negotiate Since that Covid it crap, I'm sure history will not be kind to the two-faced asshole bureaucrats who had us under their thumbs

[11:54] During that sad sad window in time But you knew that already, right? All right moving on from mr. D's email, but not too much Since he mentioned that Guatemalan women are pretty special and very forgiving I thought it would be a good time to read this email from Stephen Kay He titles it in the subject line the problem with dating American women He says dear Johnny. I've been divorced twice and single now for six years. Not bad divorces. It's just not good situations One was broken by constant money problems and the other just fallen out of love I guess. Oh And Johnny since marrying my second wife within five years. She'd put on probably 50 pounds Yet Johnny, I was having the best sex I've ever had not with her

[12:42] Of course, but we do live in a college town wink wink. Anyhow Johnny. That's my abbreviated fractured love life story Now Johnny ever since I've been listening to your show about six years now like a lot of wannabes I just could not get off the pot Every time I hear one of your shows I get re-energized into the thought of moving to Latin America Then Monday rolls around. It's the same old same mole and the thought fades away So anyway, Johnny, I've been dating in the big city USA for the past few years It's opened my eyes on those red flags we ignore or typically just don't notice in the women because we're either used to it or we have been conditioned to them or More likely like me. I have a weakness

[13:27] I'm mesmerized by a new woman's beauty or hotness or sexiness and it obscures my thinking and We just ignore those little personality quirks and annoyances that will drive us nuts later He says I'm a fun loving and active 54 year old and although I enjoy the company of women I find most over 45 women are still locked into their old marriage and Lifestyle they're still focusing on the problems they had with the guy they divorced Yeah, you know the stats 95% of guys and ladies over 45 are divorced anyhow in the last few years I've been out with many American women They all seem to assume that all men act like and have the same defects as their significant other did they look for the signs that we harbor those triggers to and

[14:15] They believe eventually they will seep out of us in time as for me. I'm an easy guy I'm adaptable and willing to change to conform more to the woman I date then vice versa But jeez Johnny even that seems not enough for the women out there in the dating pool today Johnny you wouldn't believe it. I've dated 50 year olds who think they have some kind of Outlandishly high mating value as if they were still in their 20s in their prime Funny thing too, and this was really unexpected About 90% of the women I break up with or quit calling for whatever reason sometimes after the second or third date Guess what Johnny they end up calling me and wanting to get back together That never happened to me in my younger years a girl chasing me that would have been unbelievable

[15:03] Fact is Johnny. There are many ladies. I won't even ask for a second date. They've got so many red flags I've even been on first dates with an American lady where I'm already looking for the exits and the restaurants after that first glass of wine I Can absolutely see your point about getting the heck out of Dodge in a big way Not just get out of my town in the States, but move to Latin America permanently, I'm still flummoxed is how to let a girl down who starts chasing after me when I've cut it off I Can't get over it. I never thought of women as stalkers until it happened to me in my 50s For me he says it's so unusual to see how women over 40 Can act every bit is let down as a man does over rejection sometimes even worse

[15:50] By the way Johnny, I put my vacation bonus aside to pay for your next seminar So I need to know when that'll happen. I'm dead serious this time about getting the heck out of dodge, so I'll be there Signed Stephen Kay from Kentucky Well, thanks for that Steve and all I can say is that humans are up Just when we think we've got everything figured out. It's back to the drawing board Though I have to say as you get older you accumulate a certain amount of wisdom We recognize the same kind of potholes up ahead and don't step in them well not all of them anyhow anyway Steve I still know and keep in contact with a lot of old friends up in the states most of whom are married and Sadly most of them tell me secretly they wish they hadn't done it in the long run they say it wasn't worth it

[16:37] Not because of the marriage institution itself, but because they say they didn't marry the right one They jumped in too early etc etc Thing is I know a shitload of divorced people too and guess what I know Zero divorced people who said they wish they hadn't divorced and most say they just wish they hadn't waited so long lots of regrets speaking of regrets Consider this I know lots and lots of people who did not get the jab You know at my seminars. I asked people did you get the jab or not and at least half will say no And the rest will say they didn't want to but they had to cuz otherwise they'd get fired or couldn't fly on a plane etc etc So believe me. I met hundreds of people who declined the jab by the way

[17:26] I'm one of those can you guess the number of jab? Decliners who now in 2024 regret that decision personally. I've met zero on the flip side of that I run into people all the time who tell me they got the jab and truly Regret it we can only hope a day of reckoning will come for those bureaucrats like Falsy and his pack of liars, but it probably won't though Certainly the friends and relatives of those jerks Statistically half to be suffering the secondary effects of the jab blood clots embolisms cardiac problems Brain fog sudden death. I'll tell you if I was one of those asshole toe the line big pharma jerks I Wouldn't want to be sitting at a party facing my friends and relatives because some of them

[18:13] Certainly have suffered some of those devastating secondary effects because after all you were the expert medical professional You were the one that said all along don't listen to those anti vax wackos on the internet trust the science You must get the jab. Oh and the only science We want you to trust is the science revealed to you by Scientists who work for the government and who by the way have conflicts of interest because they receive funding on the side from big pharma Something they're not required to tell you about never will until surprise surprise it gets revealed years later in a foyer freedom of information request That's when you find out Tony Falsy and his scientific butt buddies own pieces of Vax patents and get royalties on jabs

[18:59] But you knew that Ernie right at least the facts are being revealed now a little late But they're being revealed the sad thing is though the average American's got a short memory And they're not even mad about it except of course those whose immediate family members have been damaged All right enough said about that way too much said about that, but back to the generally unsatisfying mating and dating situation up in the states a Situation that happens to be the cause of many first world American guys at least To throw in the towel and move to Latin America where they almost always find greener pastures now This is my opinion, but shared by so many gringo expats. I know I find American guys are pretty stoic in general So 99% of the time when they're in a somewhat unsatisfactory relationship up in the states

[19:44] They're not complainers, so they say I'm fine with it They say nothing's perfect and there are some good times and as for the bad times and dramas they just kind of suck it up and Sucking it up remains their go-to strategy for relationship adversity After all us guys keep hearing over and over again from the countless Relationship experts that there will be big and small bumps in the road. There'll be moments of chaos and disappointment So American guys and this includes my friends and brothers up in the states They traditionally learn to accept that that is until that twisted thing called anti social media came along Here's what I'm seeing and hearing from my own friends up in the states Sometimes when a guy gets a glimpse into someone else's relationship via

[20:30] What they post on social media by way of Facebook and selfies etc Where everyone I mean everyone puts their best foot forward right when the average guy who's got kind of a bumpy relationship Or maybe he's in just a static or not very exciting relationship Anyway, when he gets a glimpse into someone else's apparently very cool and enviable relationship He naturally compares it to his life. You know the fraudulent filtered lives people constantly post on social media Well, I know for a fact that makes the average guy feel a tinge of envy and jealousy Even though what he's comparing his life to is a fraudulent setup I know for a fact it does go through the average man's mind. Why can't my relationship be like that? Did I pick the wrong woman? Am I just unlucky? Why isn't my wife or girlfriend is not outgoing hot and sexy like those social media girls?

[21:23] I'm telling you. I know so many American guys who look at their partners and think why am I in this stagnant relationship with this boring lady? It's social media that's created this kind of anguish Guys are always comparing their situation to better ones. They see on the internet I'm sure American women are doing that too aside from that though I must know a half-dozen couples who are in pretty loveless relationships I'm talking about American couples up in the States and expat American couples down here their body language tells it all But they keep it together because it's less destructive and stressful than breaking it up Again, that's why social media is so destructive When an average slub sees some hot filtered photoshopped woman hanging out with her guy at a nice restaurant Disneyland

[22:10] Resort or posed with a happy grin at any nice getaway when the average guy sees that his comparative brain kicks in Social media is why many guys and women feel shitty about their own situation They're always comparing someone's photoshopped filtered posed fake book Look at me post to their own less than glamorous workaday lives Yep, that's right. Even though people know social media is fake the brain still compares That's why the more you're addicted to tiktok and fake book, etc The more you keep swiping the more your existing relationship feels worse than it really is It's a cruel poke in the eye for sure and why I personally never use x fake book insta crap What's up or dick cock now, of course, I have lots of listeners

[22:57] So some people cut and paste little social media snippets and send them to me But most times when I try to open the link I get a message saying you must have an insta crap or fake book account to open this link Please sign up here. Then they give me another link which I never click man I'll tell you my life is much less complicated than people think And it all has to do with the fact that I'm not on anti social media I mean think about it. How many people do you know use their phone almost exclusively for phone calls and text messages? By the way, I do read a lot of ebooks and watch a lot of youtubes, but not on my phone I much prefer to do that stuff on my laptop Projected to a 42 inch flat screen TV monitor. Oh

[23:45] I get all the Netflix and other programming I want through various pirate sites after all in a former life I was an engineer and I have lots of nerd friends who get everything they need from pirate sites to nerds and engineers I like that, you know, we've got sort of an unofficial club We don't like to pay for things on the internet that we know we can sort of get around By the way, ever wonder why nerds and engineers are extremely over represented in the crypto millionaire class It's because we're in that unofficial kind of club that normal people even very smart normal people never quite wanted to be in For me it stems back to engineering school the nursing students to psychology and business art journalism majors They'd never mingle with us. They'd sit in a different part of the student union or the cafeteria and sort of make fun of us

[24:36] We didn't really care all that much. We had our own inside jokes about them You know people following easier more popular traditional careers We didn't mind all that much except for the fact that it was very hard for nerds and engineering students back then to get a date I remember so few of us nerds and engineers had actual girlfriends Of course, I did because I played in a band without that advantage I'd have been just as love-lorn as the rest of my so-called dorky engineering buddies We were definitely the most love-starved undergrads in the whole school Even today, we still kind of keep to ourselves. We remain in the same circles the same groups Which is probably why so many of our family members with traditional careers Did not listen to us when we told them in 2012 2013 2014 about this thing called Bitcoin

[25:27] Funny thing is to most people never really heard of Bitcoin till about two or three years ago When it hit 20,000 bucks of Bitcoin, that's what it became big news However, if you had an engineer or a nerd in the family, you heard about it 10 or 12 years ago back when it was a hundred 200 300 bucks now if you ask my nerd or engineering friends What happened when they brought that up at home with the family members and they all did bring that subject up multiple times Way back when at certain family gatherings until they got shut down enough Dismissed enough or simply laughed at enough. They just simply drafted quit talking about until years later when it hit 20,000 that's when so many of my nerd and engineering friends said their family members actually got irritated at him for not pushing it hard enough

[26:13] Not wanting to remember that long ago. They were so negative and dismissive. Yep. Sometimes with family members. You just can't win Alright one last thing before we close out here, you know last couple of shows I was talking about divorce in the United States and down here in Latin America. Oddly enough just yesterday I got this strange email from Chester in London, England. He says Johnny, you know in England We keep very strict records births deaths injuries murders suicides Going all the way back to the 1400s. The Royals set that system up He says I was looking at some of the recorded civil stats in London from years ago lots of surprises like for example, did you know in the year 1809 the year Charles Darwin was born in

[27:00] The entire United Kingdom. There were only four Divorces registered in the whole country four divorces Meanwhile in the year 2023 the UK's Office for National Statistics reports over a hundred and fifteen thousand divorces for that year versus four in 1809 so what do you make of that Johnny? Hmm Chester good question for starters in 1809 no iPhones no fake book 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 dot com

[27:45] 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. No spamos