Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the multifaceted experiences of expats living in Latin America, touching on a range of topics from social services in the U.S. to the practicalities of obtaining a driver's license and the availability of assisted living facilities. The episode begins with Johnny addressing an email from Marlin, a listener from Texas, who shares her concerns about the state of social services in the U.S. due to the increasing presence of non-English speakers. She questions whether this is the world her children will inherit, citing her own experience at a Social Security office where she was the only English speaker. She also mentions her son-in-law's experience with receiving benefits in the U.S. despite not having worked there. Johnny responds by discussing the political implications of these issues, including the reasons why many Latinos might support Trump, such as traditional values and concerns about immigration policies. He then references an interview with the President of Argentina, Malay, discussing the country's corruption and the impact of government inefficiency. The segment concludes with Johnny highlighting the contrast between government workers and productive citizens, emphasizing the need for reform.
Next, Johnny discusses the process of obtaining a driver's license in Latin America, particularly for expats and gringos. He shares a story from Clarence in Guatemala, who had to take a Spanish-written test to get a local license after his US license expired. Johnny also explains that while many countries have restrictions on foreign licenses, in practice, expats can often drive on expired US licenses, especially off the tourist trail. He highlights the lack of enforcement and the common practice of expats driving without a local license, noting that while it's technically illegal, it's often overlooked. Johnny also mentions the possibility of getting a local license without permanent residency by paying a fee and using the black market.
The episode then delves into the gray market for fake driver's licenses in Latin America, explaining how some are so realistic they can pass scrutiny, while others are easily detectable. Johnny attributes this to corruption within the licensing departments, where officials sell licenses for a price. He also mentions that obtaining a legitimate license is possible through government-connected driving schools, which guarantee licenses for a fee. Additionally, he talks about assisted living facilities for expats in Latin America, comparing the availability of such facilities in the U.S. and Ecuador, and highlights the growing trend of such facilities aimed at expats.
Johnny then discusses the differences in nursing home care between the United States and Latin America. He notes that in the U.S., nursing homes are common and have higher standards of care, often with private rooms and 24/7 support, but they can be expensive, costing up to $10,000 a month. In contrast, Latin American nursing homes are often repurposed houses with lower standards, and there is a stigma around placing elderly in such facilities. However, some higher-end nursing homes in Latin America cater specifically to expats and gringos, offering first-world care at a fraction of the U.S. cost. Johnny also highlights the cost differences and the potential for overcharging in some Latin American facilities.
Finally, Johnny discusses the cost-effectiveness of nursing homes in Latin America compared to private nursing services in the U.S. He highlights the significant price difference, noting that nursing homes in countries like Ecuador charge around $2,400 per month, while private nurses in the U.S. can cost $7,000 or more. He also mentions the emergence of first-world-style nursing homes specifically targeting expats in countries like Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and now Ecuador. However, he warns that these facilities may not be suitable for everyone due to the reluctance of loved ones to relocate and the lack of insurance coverage for such care. Johnny also touches on the potential risks of tattoos and piercings in Latin America, citing concerns about unregulated tattoo parlors and barber shops that may not follow proper hygiene standards. He concludes by mentioning an email from Josh who expresses skepticism about the safety of such practices and the behavior of expats in the region.
Episode Notes
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the complexities of life in Latin America, from social services in the U.S. to the practicalities of obtaining a driver's license and the availability of assisted living facilities. He discusses the political implications of immigration policies, the gray market for fake licenses, and the cost differences in nursing home care. This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering or already living in the region.
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Related guides: Moving to Guatemala · Healthcare in Latin America · Cost of Living in Latin America · Residency in Latin America · Safety and Scams
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Topics
Life in Latin America, Social services in the U.S., Political implications of immigration policies, Government inefficiency and corruption in Argentina, Cultural and political values influencing voter behavior, Driver's license requirements in Latin America, Expat experiences with local licensing, Legal and practical aspects of driving with an expired US license, Black market for fake licenses, Cultural and regional differences in enforcement, Fake driver's licenses in Latin America, Corruption in licensing departments
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:14 Welcome to The Expat Files 00:00:26 Introduction to the Show's Content 00:01:27 Marlin's Experience with Social Services 00:02:03 Marlin's Concerns About the Future 00:02:49 Johnny's Response to Marlin's Email 00:03:40 Reasons for Latino Support of Trump 00:04:52 Malay's Efforts to Combat Corruption in Argentina 00:05:53 Contrast Between Government Workers and Productive Citizens 00:06:16 The Challenge of Getting a License in Argentina and Beyond 00:06:21 Clarence's Experience in Guatemala 00:11:57 Getting a Real Driver's License Without Residency 00:12:08 Gray Market for Fake Licenses 00:12:13 Types of Fake Licenses 00:12:32 Corruption in Licensing Departments 00:13:22 Legitimate License Options 00:15:20 Assisted Living for Expats 00:17:20 Nursing Home Availability in Ecuador 00:17:49 Nursing Home Standards in Latin America and the U.S. 00:18:58 Higher-Level Nursing Homes for Expats in Latin America 00:21:41 Cost of Assisted Living in the U.S. 00:23:38 Cost Comparison of Nursing Homes vs. Private Nurses in the U.S. and Latin America 00:24:10 Expats Paying a 'Gringo Gouge' for Nursing Home Services in Latin America 00:25:31 Email from Josh: Concerns About Tattoos and Piercings in Latin America
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 up to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right today doing the show remotely again in and out of the jungle and the mic not really studio quality But you should hear me. Okay, I guess In any event, you're listening to the expat file show living in Latin America
[00:46] You're in the right place if you want to save the space where words cannot cause physical harm You're in a space where real men cannot get pregnant trees are not racist Capitalism is not evil You're listening to a show where we count only two genders not 54 Where George Washington John Adams and Tom Jefferson are not hateful bigots where we do not pull down statues of heroic figures You're in a place where no amount of drugs or surgery can give a person born with two X chromosomes Functional dick. So if you're offended by a new that boo-hoo Change the channel turn on CNN or rent a Disney movie Alright, let's take an email. This one's from Marlin from Texas. She writes. I'm close to the US Mexican border Johnny
[01:35] Where things are completely out of control. I was in my local Social Security office and I was the only English speaker in a place The obese pink haired girl with the nose ring filing her rainbow nails behind the counter Barely spoke English either and she works there John am I delusional or is this the world our kids will inherit? I worked for years to get my Social Security check and now I'm looking at all these non-English speaking tattooed folks in line with Me. Are you kidding me? It's bad Johnny She says and it's not just hearsay or rumor when you're sitting around with your senior citizen friends And we all have first-person stories like that stories that sort of make us sick to our stomachs Wow for example My own son's in-laws just retired from teaching and moved to the US from Argentina
[02:26] they're in the mid 70s and are now collecting food stamps and Medicaid and they both were teachers in a foreign country not the US mind you they never worked in the US How is that possible? Could I move to Panama or Mexico or Guatemala and sign up for Social Security benefits and health care over there? All right. All right Marlon me Johnny here Well, you could go to Mexican Guatemala or Mexico and try but they'd laugh at you Then she says Johnny have you ever seen those dozens of eyewitness videos of immigrants lined up at the border? most are young healthy Overweight males with hip casual clothes some with hundred-dollar Nike and Puma shoes and all with nice smartphones
[03:11] Better phones than what I'm using She says Johnny. I just can't watch the news or go into a government office anymore It's just too depressing makes it so hard to be a Democrat all my life I voted Democrat except this time I voted for Trump Seems a last-ditch effort our only hope Not that he's all that great. He's got a great team around him this time though Oh, and by the way, Johnny if people are wondering why so many Latinos voted for Trump this time Well, I asked my sons in laws. Remember they're from Argentina. They said number one Latinos have an old world traditional culture that values family and Christianity and Republicans actually invoke God and talk about going to church Democrats
[03:57] Spouse atheism even Satanism on occasion number two Latinos in the United States legally who can vote all Perfectly understand the negative effects of living with gangs and gang violence and the Democrats in their open borders Just invite those people to come and commit their crimes in the states Number three. Remember there are plenty of Latin Americans living in the United States legally who've lived through Socialist and communist nightmares They know exactly what it's like to live under those regimes. They've escaped what Democrats are trying to impose That's why so many Latinos voted for Trump Alright Marilyn. Thanks for that. Hey, did you see that interview with President Malay of Argentina and Lex Friedman just this week
[04:45] Speaking of Argentina where your kids in-laws come from that interview is golden. Everyone should see it on Lex Friedman Get this Malay said he's uncovered so much corruption in Argentina. There's an actual city For example where they've got so many people on welfare so many people at receiving a monthly welfare check They discovered there were more welfare checks issued to that city than people who live there Not only that Malay says every time he eliminates a completely inefficient government department people take to the streets Government workers block traffic stop production So he said he made an edict if you're one of those guys out there Protesting on the street and you're a government worker or you get a pension or you're on welfare Will automatically block your pension and your welfare check? Well, here's what happened the following week. They estimated a hundred thousand protesters
[05:36] We're gonna take to the streets only 3,000 showed up Think about that for a second all the people that take to the streets in Argentina are government workers Paper pushing parasites. They're not contributing to the economy at all. They take to the streets blocking traffic Reeking havoc in the lives of people actually trying to get to their real jobs making products and providing wanted and desirable services So if you're a government worker, wait a minute. Wait a minute. That's an oxymoron, huh government worker Let's rephrase that if you're a government parasite if you're a government parasite You might think Malay is harsh, but in just a year's time. He's completely whipped inflation It's never been done before in Argentina not in living memory anyway Alright now here's an email from Clarence in Guatemala. He says Johnny. I've been in Guatemala for years
[06:26] Finally got my residency approved First thing I did with my brand new residency card is go down to the Guatemala transit authority to get myself a Guatemalan license Unfortunately, my US license had expired so I had to take The physical road test and the written test to the written test by the ways in Spanish Johnny my Spanish sucks But thankfully my trustee lawyer said don't worry not a problem I can get you a copy of the test or more precisely He said I know a guy who knows a guy who can get you a copy of the test So you can study it and go in there and know the answers and guess what he did just that So I got all 20 questions, correct, but some of the questions were quite tricky. For example
[07:12] one of them said which passengers are required to wear seat belts a the driver B all occupants in the front seat see all occupants in the vehicle or D all of the above in My view he says both C and D are correct kind of tricky, huh? Didn't matter though because I had all the answers in advance Signed Clarence with a big happy face emoji Alright Clarence. Thanks for that You know over the years lots of people have asked me questions about getting driver's licenses here in Latin America You know, if you've got a US driver's license already and it's still good That is it hasn't expired yet If you're off the gringo tourist trail, you can drive a long long time on that thing even though
[08:00] Countries have certain driving restrictions when it comes to foreign licenses For example in some Latin American countries You can only drive 30 or 90 days on a foreign driver's license. Guess what? No, cop really gives a damn unless you're on the gringo tourist trail then they've been told, you know, nail a gringo for that Because they're good for a big fine and they'll pay it Now you might think this is crazy But I know gringos and expats who've been driving on expired, New York, Wisconsin Minnesota, California licenses for a year or two three even five years past their expiration dates and Sure in that time they've been stopped by the cops and nothing happened. The cops just waved them right on through again
[08:46] I'm talking about off the gringo tourist trail I'm serious if you get pulled over at one of those routine stops You know where they'll just wave you over and check your paperwork and stuff When they see you've got an Illinois or New York or California license, they won't check the expiration date In fact, they might just say something like hey, so you're from California, huh? I got a couple of cousins living there. So you're from Los Angeles, huh? Well, my cousin Julio lives there Do you know him? I know I know that sounds ridiculous Are you gonna know cousin Julio from LA? That's impossible. But you see Latinos have no idea how big the US really is Take a cop for example from Costa Rica who's never been to the States most haven't Costa Rica is about the size of West, Virginia
[09:32] That's their perspective in regards to the size of a country So that's tip number one if you've got a US driver's license and it's expired. You can still drive down here for years Without much worry at all. I'm talking again off the gringo tourist trail on the trail, you know, Costa Rica Panama Mexico You get pulled over. They just might check the dates and then you'll get nailed By the way a gringo expat living in Panama once told me he got pulled over by a cop his driver's license I think it was from Michigan was three years expired the cop called him on it The gringo did some fast thinking and said I applied for another one It just hasn't arrived by mail yet and the cop said, okay, no problem. Let him go So then what are you supposed to do if your American driver's license is really out of date?
[10:17] In fact, so old is falling apart. Well, you could go back to the States and get your driver's license renewed But it's not so easy and these days going back to the States They won't give you a driver's license unless you have a permanent address in the States if you're living in Latin America You're not gonna have a permanent address. I'm in the States unless you finagle a bit through a friend or a relative But that's a big asshole. So why not get a Latin American driver's license in the country you're living in? Well, that could be a problem because as mentioned Supposedly by law anyway, you can only get a driver's license here in Latin America a legal driver's license If you've got that permanent residency Sedular card. Oh and by the way, if you've got that residency card and a US driver's license, that's not expired Almost all Latin American countries will let you skip the driver's test behind the wheel and the written test
[11:07] You just go down to the license bureau fill out a bunch of forms show them your valid US driver's license and you're on your way So then that question always comes up What if your US driver's license has expired and you don't have residency then? Obviously, you're not supposed to drive and if you do you're doing it illegally, correct? well, as mentioned lots and lots of gringos do it especially off the gringo tourist trail and Nothing happens nothing at all But you know, there's always a percentage of gringos who do not feel good about doing that They're a bit paranoid thinking in the back of their mind. They're gonna get pulled over and busted or Maybe get into a fender bender then what well, I'll tell you even if that happens to you. It's only a fine
[11:52] You're not going to jail. But here's the thing in every single Latin American country You can get a driver's license the real thing even if you don't have permanent residency Yes, you can if you pay the price because you see in every Latin American country There's a big gray market for licenses obtained under the table Now I've personally discovered over the years. There are two kinds of fake Latin American drivers licenses fakes that under scrutiny can be spotted out as fakes and fakes that Absolutely match a real driver's license and properly registered in every way. And why is that? How can that be? That's because someone within the driver's license department itself where they actually produce the licenses is
[12:38] Dealing them out the back door for a price and that's what it's all about the price In fact right now I understand you could get a cheap pretty good driver's license for let's say 35 or 40 bucks and an actual driver's license one that'll pass muster in front of any cop even when you scan the barcode Those particular licenses cost a hundred bucks or so Again, I'm not suggesting you do anything illegal. I'm just telling you what lots of experts ends up doing now You might be wondering how well connected do you have to be to get one of those lights as well? Let's put it this way. If you ask your lawyer, he'll tell you well, you know, that's illegal You shouldn't be doing that But if you ask enough people you ask around long enough Somebody will have a friend of a friend who will be able to point you in the right direction Though there is another way to get a completely legit driver's license
[13:25] Even if you don't have your residency or let's put it this way It'll be completely registered as a real license in the municipality, etc And that's all you really care about In other words if someone scanned the barcode on the back of your license It shows up as the real thing now I mentioned how to do this a long long time ago probably six seven eight years ago now But it's worth repeating turns out just like up in the states down here in Latin America They have many many drivers schools, you know drivers and schools And they grow in rate to take a driver's ed classes around I'd say 150 bucks now I don't know. Maybe you get five or ten driving lessons out of it. Yeah Sit and listen to a lecture Anyway, as it turns out most of the driver's schools here in Latin America guarantee you a license
[14:12] I mean you're guaranteed to get one as long as you pay your money and take the classes You could be the shittiest driver in the world and still get that license. Why? Because almost all the driver's ed schools are owned by government officials who are high-level cops Or friends and family members close to high-level cops. In other words, they're connected It's not just hearsay either. I watch this in action myself I personally know two Latina ladies who got their driver's licenses that way Terrible drivers too. By the way about drivers ed schools down here. Most people don't go to them. Why? Because they've got a friend or relative to show them how to drive Why pay a hundred or 150 bucks when you don't have to but some people though, especially the children of the wealthy
[14:59] They fork up the door and take the classes because well, it's the better way to do things all around You get to learn all the rules. Anyway, not that they'll actually put them to use but you do learn the rules of the road Alright moving on, you know over the years have talked about Assisted senior living facilities here in Latin America, you know nursing homes now personally I'm not a big fan of nursing homes anywhere whether they're up in the States or down here in Latin America I've always been of the opinion if you're a gringo living down here in Latin America and somehow you get Incompasitated end up in bed or in a wheelchair, whatever you just hire a nurse 24 7 have her live in That'll set you back anywhere from maybe 500 to 700 bucks a month
[15:44] No, not a week or a day a month. You see that's what so-called wealthy Latino families do You know here in Latin America Sometimes you got three generations of people living in the same house, you know kids parents grandparents sometimes even great-grandparents You know, I can't tell you how many times I've been out for a Sunday brunch or something and I've seen a whole Extended family sitting down at a big table and of course you've got the young kids running around You've got grandma and grandpa and maybe great-granddad or great-grandma in a wheelchair Being attended to by a 20 something young girl in a nurse's outfit. Yep She's that so-called living nurse. I was talking about now You longtime listeners have heard me talk about how you go finding one of these girls, you know
[16:31] It's not as if you just look in the classified ads of the local newspaper You've heard me talk about going down to the nearest university on the medical campus go into the cafeteria or a lounge And you'll usually see a bulletin board there or there'll be a nursing information station And you just let them know you're looking for a full-time 24 7 live-in nurse Then do a few interviews. Anyway, they're not hard to find you could ask your own general physician Or walk into a hospital and ask a nurse if she could recommend someone Anyway, that would be my option if I somehow got incapacitated or was stuck in bed Though more and more there are assisted senior living facilities popping up here in Latin America In fact, I'm looking at one right now that just opened up in Ecuador aimed specifically at old-timer gringo expats
[17:17] I thought it might be good to give you the lowdown on it So, you know what they offer and what it costs etc. Alright first some facts according to stats. There's one nursing home facility for every 200,000 people in Ecuador that compared to US stats where there's one nursing home for every 11,000 people or to put another way There are 20 times as many nursing homes per capita in the US as there are in Ecuador Now I'm using Ecuador as a Latin American country reference because I have the stats and dads on it Those numbers seem to be pretty standard throughout Latin America about one nursing home for every 200,000 people and of course in the states It's normal for people that dump off their grandparents and great-grandparents into nursing homes in the states
[18:04] There doesn't seem to be any stigma attached but down here in Latin America There sure is when for example a Latin American family hears that someone's dumped their parents or Grandparents in a nursing home their eyes widen a bit. They're thinking Why wouldn't you take care of great grandma at home down here? It seems like cruel and unusual punishment However in the states its business as usual now, of course gringos and expats looking for a nursing home for grandma Or grandpa want a facility with a much higher standard of care than Latin Americans are used to You know I've seen some purely Latin American nursing homes in some of the big cities down here And I wouldn't want my relatives stuck there. Then again, there's my uncle Stanley who was kind of a drunken jerk But still I've seen the standard of care for Latin American nursing homes, and I wouldn't want to be stuck there myself
[18:54] Anyway, since gringos have been piling into certain places in Latin America Some higher level nursing homes have been popping up catering to and aimed specifically at gringos and expats Often owned and operated by bilingual Latinos who've gone to university up in the states So they do know the difference in what gringos and expats are looking for in long-term care I mean look up in the states. They do have degrees in geriatric medicine, for example, by the way some years back I checked out a few nursing homes in Guatemala set up for the locals though None of them set up for gringos and expats and they were run get this by nuns Catholic nuns gave me kind of a bad feeling like walking into a prison after all I went to Catholic school myself and almost all
[19:40] Of my grade school teachers were nuns One thing I've noticed is that most of the nursing homes down here in Latin America for Latinos that is are just big old houses that were converted into a nursing home facility And that's a terribly inefficient use of space when you're gonna build an elderly care facility It always would be better to build it from scratch. I mean look up in the states They've got architects specifically trained in that stuff down here. I don't know. I don't think so I haven't seen any elderly care facilities built to spec yet that is built for that specific purpose I mean, let's face it all the suites need a private bathroom. That's handicapped accessible You want to have big outdoor garden spaces and terraces and places for the residents to go outside and wander
[20:26] After all outdoor physical exercise is the best kind of therapy, right? The place should have a lot of outdoor activities That's a lot of outdoor space because if people are just sitting in their rooms around couches watching TV and eating bonbons They're just gonna vegetate all that much faster And that's what seems to happen when someone buys a big old house and makes a nursing home out of it Plus, you know, you're gonna need physical therapists and psychologists and again lots of activities And as you know a good nursing home up in the states one that you don't mind walking into and it doesn't smell like PPV piss poop and vomit in the Chicagoland area where I come from that's gonna cost your minimum six grand a month In fact, I know of some nursing homes in and around Chicago, which are kind of like country clubs They can run 10 or 12 grand a month. That's for people who don't need continuous care
[21:14] You know, they have these things called continuing care retirement communities where a person needs his own nurse 24 7 Now as it turns out if you're in pretty good shape and you don't need that on a nursing home up in the states a good one We'll usually have one nurse on call 24 7 for every eight residents now in case you don't know the exact numbers and I didn't the average cost of assisted living in the US is 4,500 bucks a month or 54 grand annually That's according to the US National Council on aging now again. Your average nursing home it's not one you or I would like to be in you walk in it smells like pee poop and vomit and By the way that 54 grand annually is only the base fee for a room and board and does not include personal care services
[22:05] Now according to the National Council on aging higher level nursing home care in the states averages around 6600 bucks a month for a shared room and about 10 grand a month for a private room That's for a very nice nursing home where no one complains and nothing smells like pee poop or vomit Again, those basic nursing home rates up in the states are for residents that are able to walk and do not need diapers Oh and another thing they have to be able to take a bath or a shower on their own Now I'm talking about one particular nursing home in Ecuador called Rio Quinto. They have some rates here They say this is set up for gringos and expats a much higher first world style level of care That's what they promise. Now. Remember I mentioned the average cost of assisted living in the United States is
[22:53] 4,500 bucks a month the Rio Quinto nursing home in Ecuador is a similar example for only 1,500 bucks a month again That's for a resident that can walk and does not need diapers and can take a bath or a shower himself Now here's where the gringle gouge comes in. I'm looking at this place Rio Quinto and it says if You can't walk or you need 24-7 care your own private nurse It's an extra 80 bucks a day or twenty four hundred dollar extra a month that raises that monthly price to about four grand To me, that's the gringo gouge Remember I told you before you could get your own 24-7 private living nurse for five to seven hundred bucks a month Yet they're charging 2400 a month here at this nursing home
[23:38] Of course, it might sound good to some because it's a hell of a lot cheaper than having your own private nurse 24-7 up in The states that would cost you probably 80 or 90 grand a year seven or eight thousand a month So 2400 a month seems like a pretty good deal. Yeah. Well, how does five to seven hundred dollars a month sound? Because guess what? That's what the nursing home in Ecuador will be paying the nurse They'll be collecting 2400 bucks a month from you For the resident that'd be you your wife your grandma all the while paying that nurse Five to seven hundred bucks a month. That's a gringo gouge if I ever heard of one But then again, some gringles and expats might be very happy paying that so bottom line is he's first world style nursing homes Specifically targeted at gringles and expats are popping up
[24:26] I know of a couple in Costa Rica Colombia Panama and now in Ecuador Though I know the biggest hurdle to get over is the fact that your loved one won't want to come all the way down here To Latin America and get shoved in a nursing home When speaking of coverage, it'll come out of yours or your loved ones pockets because insurance won't pay for it down here Again, I repeat though for that kind of dough. You could hire a living nurse 24-7 for a tiny fraction of that price But it all depends too if that senior care is for you or for a loved one Because you know if it's for a loved one and you have them living in your home Of course, we're talking down here in Latin America. You will be giving up a lot of your privacy But at least you'll know in the case of your loved one. Anyway, they won't be mistreated or overdrugged
[25:15] Unfortunately, you do hear horror stories like that all the time. By the way, when's the last time you visited a loved one in a nursing home? Hmm. What a wonderful experience, right? Is that how you want to spend the last chapters of your life? And finally, we have an email from Josh who seems not to like the idea of people with tattoos at all He says Johnny just got back from a visit to Latin America. Did it sort of backpacker style? But not totally. He says my first observation was I see tattoo parlors everywhere in Latin America It seems people just keep getting stupider and stupider. I think can you imagine how many Americans have subclinical HIV or spike Protein? He says what about hepatitis C from tattoo parlors that haven't been checked or tested ever
[26:02] It's the most popular thing in culture among the young and old now for at least the last 15 or so years But you have to trust that all these shops adhere to sterile clean guidelines in the States What about in Latin America? He says piercings and tattoos can come back to haunt you in many ways all the promiscuity these days and the acceptance of gender-bending lifestyles We all know that those are the people who get the most piercings and tattoos by far And Johnny when I pass tattoo parlors and stick my head through the door I see American hippie backpackers in all those tattoo parlors They're the ones lining up to get inked. You sure don't see guys in three-piece suits and briefcases
[26:47] Checking time on their Rolexes now to mention Johnny I see new barber places popping up where they do those fresh shaves with a single razor Very easy to get nicked and have blood transfer. Do they change the blades after each person? Do they disinfect things and clean up afterwards properly or they just haphazardly transfer it to other items? They use then to other customers not knowing any better He says even health care institutions in the states have a hard time following the regs Yep, people just seem to be getting stupider and stupider Especially the backpacker crowd always looking to save a buck signed Josh PS I might look like a backpacker, but don't confuse me for a one. It's the perfect low-profile disguise You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America
[27:36] If you need some help with your own plan be 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