#1404 – Episode 1404: Johnny Mueller Returns, Discusses Expat Insider Seminar, and Critiques American Exceptionalism

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 wander Hello there all you expat 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 Alright back in the saddle again, missed a couple of shows last week, I'm sure you realize that For Just Cause though, one day it was laryngitis, the other day it was way way out in the jungle They were judging from some of the emails I get

[00:46] Some people are hoping I have laryngitis as a permanent condition By the way, just an update for all of you who are wondering about my next upcoming Expat Insider Seminar Well, originally thinking about late March but have not decided on that yet Because I'm accumulating a list like I always do, people who are dead set on coming What's stalling us a bit here is I have not got enough people signed up on that list yet to make it worthwhile It'll happen eventually, you can count on that, we'll keep you posted Speaking of emails, how about this one from Wilmer God, who names their kid Wilmer? No offense, Will But just plain Will would be fine with me if my parents named me Wilmer So then, a guy would be Wilmer, right? And a girl, Wilma?

[01:35] Like Fred Flintstone's wife? Hmm, I wouldn't name a girl Wilma either, would you? I think she'd take some heat for it So anyway, Wilmer titles his email American Exceptionalism I think not He says, Johnny, you hear the term American Exceptionalism all the time Mostly from people who haven't traveled out of the country, by the way He says that ubiquitous, we're number one American philosophy blinds us to our subpar deteriorating conditions And if you don't travel much, you just don't notice it It's like the Chinese water torture, one drop at a time He says, I used to be proud American, and I've been saying this for years There will be those who blindly defend the US at all costs

[02:22] And they call me names for not agreeing with it, but I'm not wrong He says, if America is truly number one, as so many people believe Why are we not number one on any metric, on any list that matters? He says we're not number one in health, not even number ten Neither in cost of living, health care, happiness, education, science, engineering, math The list goes on and on On all things that matter, we don't even rate in the top ten, twenty or thirty In so many things, we're at the bottom of the list in developed country But you still hear that same old tired expression American Exceptionalism Though we are number one in bad health, obesity, and anything on social media that captures the heart's minds and attention From the real important issues in life

[03:09] He says, I even remember as a kid in Catholic grade school We were told by the nuns, don't go to XYZ country They don't like us there It's way better here in the USA Greatest country in the world, greatest country in the world, greatest country in the world We were told that over and over again Remember, during the Cold War, Soviet kids were told that about their country too Don't get me wrong, Johnny, in no way do I dislike America No one I think dislikes the country they were born in Not even Cubans or Venezuelans They all leave for good reason and say someday they'll be back for a retirement And why with all this talk of American Exceptionalism When I go to any other foreign country, people are happier and nicer With the exception being some of the European countries

[03:55] Who are definitely not nicer and happier Then he says, just look at your monthly bills Tell me we are number one Tell me about American Exceptionalism He says, you can look it up More than a hundred other countries in the world have freedom that's not unique to us In most all Latin countries, you have the same property and civil rights In fact, he says, in many Latin countries, you can own as many guns as you want As long as you have permanent residency He says, Johnny, as an industrial engineer and consultant, I've worked in a number of countries Free healthcare is great until you need it I often see Canadians getting heart surgery in Spokane, Washington Because they have to wait months for it in Canada He says, I personally got very sick in Australia while working there on a six month contract

[04:43] I had to stand and then ended up sitting on the ground in a line for four hours at the clinic He says, there were eight people ahead of me in line and they all said, this is just normal But it's free I remember though, he says, I couldn't stand up from the fever I had And when the nurse came out to tell the clinic was closing She informed me that she'd call the pharmacy up the street several blocks away And knock on the back door to get the attention of the pharmacist To give me something to hold me till the next day So in the end, I waited four hours at the clinic and still did not get seen Thank God the nurse hooked me up with the pharmacist down the street When the pharmacist finally came to the door, he got me the meds I needed to get me through the night I went back to the clinic the next day

[05:28] I got seen within the hour and I spent the next week in bed And yes, what you always hear is first world countries are much more civilized than third world places like Latin America Yes, of course, because in first world countries, there are so many free things And so many ways to get paid for time off and for doing nothing Especially in Europe where you get free medical care and cheap transportation Yes, Johnny, I lived in Europe. It's so much more civilized So civilized that they take about 60% of your income for taxes And people don't even gripe. It's that Chinese water torture again, drip by drip It doesn't kill you, but it slowly cauterizes your brain

[06:13] So Johnny, that's my rant about American exceptionalism I feel like an expertly comment on it because I spent around 10 years living in Europe Yet when people ask me about it, I say I'd never recommend it First of all, it's getting invaded by North Africans, Muslims, and people from India and Pakistan So crime levels are way up Besides that, when World War III comes in, it will come That's where the fuse will be lit Some say it's already been lit Just lately, he said, I spent some time in Portugal Seems on the Algarve coast there are lots of gringos and expats moving there Predictably a few years back, real estate prices were very cheap About half of what they were in the States But now with the rise of the expat population, prices are on par with the States and then some

[07:05] So don't think there's any deals to be had The good news about Portugal is old news now, don't believe it Used to be a very crime-free country too, but not anymore As for medical care in Portugal, yes, it's basically free But I've never found it easy to access By the way, Johnny, if you're going to Europe and think you're going to get a job, think you're going to work Forget about it, Americans do not get jobs in Europe Waiters and bartenders in resort areas like Ibiza, sure But jobs in your career, your profession, uh-uh Not unless you get pulled in as an outside contractor with a transnational company like me Point is, there's a great deal of xenophobia And a lack of opportunity if you're from another country

[07:51] Even if you're highly skilled, you're not going to get hired Oh, and if you think you're going to start your own business, a restaurant, a tourist agency, a bike shop Look out For entrepreneurs with a brick and mortar place in mind The permit process and red tape is unimaginable Oh, and in Europe there are lots and lots of worker strikes There isn't a day when you pass a major government building Where there aren't crowds of protestors with bullhorns and signs There are even apps you can download to see which streets are going to be closed tomorrow for this or that demonstration Oh, and Johnny, by the way, my last contract was in the UK I estimate everything cost about 1.6 times what it did in the US Food, rent, restaurants, appliances, cars, etc

[08:39] That said, Johnny, when comparing Europe to the US, you'd think I'd be making a case for American exceptionalism Well, you almost could, if not for the existence of a place called Latin America I've done many month-long consulting stints in various Latin American countries, too I'm retiring at 59, Johnny, that's three years from now Guess where I'm moving Well, it's a toss-up between Guatemala, Salvador, and Argentina So American exceptionalism, uh-uh Latin American exceptionalism, si señor Signed Wilmer, three years and counting Alright, on the heels of Wilmer's rant, how about this email from Candy, California She says, Johnny, I went to Panama on vacation about three weeks ago and accidentally went without my asthma inhaler

[09:29] All I had to do was walk into a pharmacy with no prescription required And Albuterol was 11 bucks In the US, with my required prescription, it's about 150 bucks Sure, my insurance pays 70% of that But Johnny, my co-pay is twice as much as it costs over the counter in Panama You're absolutely right about healthcare and medicine in Latin America Little instances like mine prove how out of whack the healthcare system is in the United States Signed Candy, Long Beach, California How about this email from a listener in the UK from Heath He says, Johnny, I live in the UK and work in the public sector, which is unionized I get holiday leave, free healthcare, and retirement packages that are all phenomenal

[10:17] But even better, if I get really sick with something serious, I get six months paid leave Plus, I still get all my holiday leave and holiday pay when I get back to work Oh, and we get a full year or more of maternity leave if the wife gets pregnant Husband 2, signed Heath from North London Well, Heath, thanks for that, but I don't know if you're saying that's a good thing or a bad thing Kind of sounds like you're bragging I hear you saying we get all this free stuff and time off and you don't Is that maybe your version of European exceptionalism or UK exceptionalism? Now, Heath, you're a government worker, right? What I'm getting from this is that's why our previous e-mailer, Wilmer, says It costs about 1.6 times as much to live in the UK than it does to live in the average city in the States

[11:06] So, I don't know, Heath, you aren't telling me the other half of the equation How do you get all that free stuff? Who pays for it? You get all that time off, free medical care As a government employee, you have a massive safety net The question I have to ask is, in your country, how does anything ever get done? If people are forever on sick leave, maternity leave, and month and two month long vacations Doesn't sound like a place I'd want to live or do business And you don't mind paying a 60% tax rate? Oh, by the way, that's not enough European governments are all broken bankrupt like the US So, obviously, a 60% tax rate is not enough Oh, and Heath, not to rain on your parade That embarrassment of perks that you've fallen into whilst working for government Perks that nobody in the private sector ever gets

[11:53] Not to rain on your parade, but how long do you think that's going to last? How long can a system that pays out those kind of benefits exist in the real world? I mean, there is this thing called supply and demand And competitiveness, it's how things get made, paid for, and distributed in our society You know, people in the private sector produce useful things, useful services Things people want to pay for because there's a demand What you do is get a paycheck and all those perks for producing nothing that people want, demand, or will pay for Have you thought of that whilst bragging about all that time off you get paid for and all the shit you get for free? I mean, the fact that you don't produce anything that people really want? Or am I wrong? Come on, fill me in

[12:39] You know, I haven't checked lately, but I don't think people want to pay high taxes Just to have millions of people sit on their dead asses, cell phone in one hand Scrolling through Instacrap and TikTok The other hand, moving stacks of useless papers from one pile to the next I think you guys need to burn the place down and start over I could be wrong, but I doubt it Alright, let's take one more email regarding this American exceptionalism thing This one's from Richard, 67 years old also, born and raised in California He says, Johnny, me and the wife and the kids lived in Brazil for seven years Obviously, before COVID started I was sent there for work-related reasons I worked for a well-known transnational corporation He said it took a while, but we got rather used to the easy-going ways of the Brazilians

[13:30] Though adapting to the language, especially on the street, was quite difficult for me But it finally kicked in He says, although there are significant social issues in Brazil and crime There were some substantial advantages, too Such as the lack of highly processed foods All the major supermarkets have them, of course But they're in a small section called imported foods, mostly from the US What's that tell you? He says, the real reason why I'm writing this email Is because me and my family found repatriating to the US after my company contract was up Was a very horrible experience I had never realized how much the US had changed for the worse During the COVID years In fact, readjusting to the States landed me in mental health therapy

[14:18] I just can't deal with the way America has changed So me and the family are preparing to leave America for good Will it be Brazil? We have not really decided yet, but it will definitely be a Latin American country By the way, Johnny, the wife and I figured a budget for living in Brazil for two people Is around $2,700 a month I'm not talking about living like an average Brazilian They can live on $800 or $900 a month I'm talking about living like a first world American $2,700 US a month for two That would include everything Ran insurance, food, utilities, medical, everything but a car payment Oh, and going out once or twice a week for dinner and not splurging on the booze Did I mention no car included in that $2,700? Transportation costs, yes, but no car

[15:05] You see, if you live in a big city in Latin America, you don't need a car They've all got safe, cheap metros and subways And Ubers and Lips are about half what you'd pay for the same thing in any big US city Anyway, Johnny, I just thought I'd throw my two cents in about Brazil Since you don't talk about it much All right, me, Johnny, here, let me stop you there One of the main reasons I don't talk about Brazil much at all is because, well, most people Gringos and expats, that is, have a very hard time adapting to the Portuguese language I know I did when I visited So when I'm talking to Gringos and expats who have a plan B or going to Bs and wannabes And they ask me about the difference in languages, Portuguese versus Spanish Well, guess what, of the hundreds of Gringos and expats I've met personally I'd say a good 20 to 30% of them took Spanish in high school or college

[15:55] Not that they're fluent or any good at it, really Funny thing is, in all those hundreds of expats I've met, I've never met a single one Who elected to take Portuguese in high school or college That said, very few people, almost no people, who I've talked to and had a plan B in mind Have expressed interest in moving to Brazil I rest my case Hey, but in no way am I ruling it out, it's a nice place to visit Do get some Brazilian boots on the ground if that's what you're thinking about If you don't know any Spanish, you're Spanish really sucks and you're bad with languages Even if you're good at languages, Portuguese does not come easy Besides that, very few Brazilians speak English Oh, one more email here I forgot about This is from JJ, he said, Johnny

[16:43] Sometimes you talk about the fact that Latinos living in the United States will eventually get legalized, get their papers They'll work a job in the States for many years, then retire Their objective being to move back to Mexico or their Latino country of origin Build a house, a very nice house in the old neighborhood and live like kings and queens Well, Johnny, I thought I'd add a little twist to that story Because I happen to be related by blood to over a hundred people who've immigrated from Mexico to the US over the past 60 years Most came here quite a long time ago, so they're legal and naturalized Have families, kids, grandkids Believe it or not, some of their kids and grandkids, my cousins and uncles, are so Americanized they can't even speak Spanish

[17:29] Less than 10% of them have ever returned to live back in Mexico And practically none of their children have decided to move to Mexico Even though they could live like kings and queens there As for the original group that came over and achieved the American dream If you were to ask them why, most would say they would have preferred to have stayed in Mexico if the conditions were right But they had little alternative Because economic policies of the people who control the government and the economy of Mexico Tend to keep people entrenched in poverty So definitely I'm talking about older generations of Mexicans who came to the States for a better life Not the mix of Latino gangbangers who are sneaking in now I have another Latino family member, 100% American, whose wife is from Mexico

[18:14] On their two incomes they make a very good living They have one house in California and one in Mexico City They live and work in California, but go back and forth to Mexico For vacations, reunions with her family there, and health care and dental care And a few nips and tucks and plastic surgery for her too As a couple they have a great income So they have the funds to live in a nice safe neighborhood In practically anywhere in Mexico they choose Then he says I understand that many many retired white Americans are moving to Mexico You've said there's over a million, right Johnny? But one should never think of moving to Mexico unless he has a nice nest egg Or a constant retirement income While it's easy for someone from Mexico to get into the US and find work

[19:00] With or without papers, legal or illegal A North American foreigner moving to Mexico will find it next to impossible to find legal work There are not many good paying jobs in Mexico as it is And the pensions that Mexicans get from their government jobs or private sector jobs Are generally not enough to live on He says I have relatives in Mexico who worked a steady factory job there for 30 or 40 years And after all those years of service their pension was still only $300 a month So Johnny the way I see it there are two American dreams for Mexicans living in the United States Dos sueños Americanos It's like this, if you were born in Mexico and living in the United States now

[19:47] Your American dream is to make enough money to move back to Mexico and live in style in your retirement years Back in the safest part of the old neighborhood However, if you're a second or third generation Mexican living in the United States Your version of the American dream is like every homegrown American Live out your retirement years in the USA Florida, Nevada, Arizona, or in a condo by a golf course Hmm, alright JJ, that makes sense But you never told us your personal version of the American dream I bet I can guess though it's the reason why you're listening to this show, right? Your plan B trajectory is somewhere in Latin America By the way, speaking of Americans retiring Well, I'm looking at a rather depressing article from Moneywise magazine

[20:33] The article's headline says If you want to retire in your 60s, not so fast Because 45% of Americans who hang it up at 65 go broke And what do you think are the three main reasons, according to this article Why 45% of Americans who retire at 65 go broke? Number one, offering too much financial support to their adult kids who should be out on their own Often, retired parents wreck their own lifestyle by co-signing loans for their deadbeat kids And grandkids, house loans, car loans, student loans That's trap number one Second biggest mistake retired people make is buying luxury toys Like luxury cars or boats

[21:19] Because, you know, luxury toys have luxury maintenance costs, gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs And their resale value usually drops like a rock Hey, they're not saying you should deprive yourself of the finer things when you get to be an old codger If you're going to buy a luxury item like a boat or a Lamborghini, pay cash, don't take a loan The third biggest financial mistake retirees make And why 45% of people who retire at 65 end up broke? Of course, we're talking about retirees up in the States, people who don't have a plan B Well, it's not saving enough or planning ahead for future medical care The article says, according to Pew Research If a person retires at 60 years old up in the States, they'll pay anywhere from $128,000 to $150,000

[22:05] In extra health care costs out of pocket over their remaining lifespan Now, for some of you listening to this show right now, that statistical loan should be enough to get you going on your plan B Because remember, once you get down here to Latin America Provided you're not 65 already because then it's very hard to get on a private health care plan However, for example, if you come down here and you're 64, you can still get on a really good private health care plan for more or less $100 a month Matter of fact, just last week I paid my upcoming six month premium I don't pay by the month, I pay six months ahead Because when you do, most plans here in Latin America will give you a 5 or 10% discount And if you're wondering, I paid about $520 for the upcoming six months of my plan That's under $100 a month

[22:52] About $86 a month to be more precise And as is usual with private health care plans here in Latin America, mine pays about 80% of everything With a yearly hospitalization deductible of $250 Yep, $250, not $2500 or $5000 Oh, and by the way, when I say it pays 80% of most everything Remember, hospital, doctor and surgical costs down here are about a quarter to a fifth of what you pay up in the States So, for example, let's say you needed a heart valve replaced You know, they do that now with a catheter, they don't have to cut I don't know why I brought it up, but probably because my mother had that recently up in the States And the cost up there in Chicago, between $100,000 and $200,000 Down here in Latin America, it's about $25,000

[23:37] Of which your private health insurance will usually pay 80% So 80% of $25,000? $20,000, which means you'll pay the other $5,000 out of pocket, right? Well, not so fast Almost all Latin American private health care policies Set a limit on what a patient's out-of-pocket costs for the year will be In my particular policy, it's $2500 So with that heart valve replacement surgery, I wouldn't be paying the cold pay of $5,000 But only $2500, because that's the limit for my out-of-pocket costs As indicated in the policy All right, moving on, you know how much I hate Google And every company they're associated with I know, I know, some of you think I'm a hypocrite because I have a Gmail Well, the only reason I have that Gmail is because when I first started this show in, what, 2012 or something

[24:25] Everyone sort of trusted, liked, and admired Google Everyone I knew, even the nerds and geeks, had a Gmail account Who knew what kind of f***ed up spies and data thieves they turned out to be? Anyway, the other day I was talking with a bunch of my nerdy friends And one of them brought up the fact that he believes Google will be out of business very shortly And I was thinking, as much as we'd all like that, how is that possible? Well, he said, listen, he said almost all the engineers and software developers in the world Are now using AI to ask their questions on the net to do their searches Which does sort of completely eliminate Google's usefulness Then I thought to myself, you know, he's right Great example, just the other day I was checking out electric cars Trying to decide which was the best for driving around here in Latin America

[25:10] Where they've got those deep potholes, street corners that flood out in the rainy season, et cetera, et cetera I thought, you know, if I'm going to buy an electric car, I want the one that's got the most road clearance So you pick and choose your search engine Could be Startpage, DuckDuckGo, Brave Browser Or Google, which I wouldn't do And look up every electric car model and find out what their road clearance is You know, the distance from the road to the chassis That way you'd know how much leeway you have when you drop into a pothole Or hit one of those two milos, you know, speed bumps You like to know if you're going to bottom out The vehicle with the most road clearance is less likely to bottom out And you know, that's more important than ever in an electric car Because the batteries are at the very bottom of the chassis So if you bottom out, hit a piece of concrete, man

[25:57] You don't want to do that to your frame, much less the batteries, which are mounted right on the chassis So as mentioned, I could have gone to a search engine, like Startpage or Brave And searched all the electric car manufacturers to find out that clearance Could have taken some time Instead I asked AI The AI called Leo on the Brave Browser I said, list the electric car SUV road clearances In three seconds it spit it out Hyundai IONIQ 5, 7.3 inches Audi e-tron, 8.3 inches Tesla Model Y, 8.3 inches Ford Mustang Mach E, 8.2 Rivian R, 15, 14 inches Jaguar One Pace, 8.4 inches It also says, Tesla Model Y has a variable road clearance

[26:43] You just hit a button It also says, please note that these ground clearances may vary depending on the trim level and configuration of your vehicle So just that AI search feature in itself is going to kill Google Not to mention if you use AI, like Leo Or Grock, there's no pop-up windows Also no cookies placed on your computer to target you for ads, etc Oh, and by the way, AI is going to kill call centers Imagine having a totally calm, genius-level call center guy Actually an AI robot Giving you the absolute best customer service you've ever had No Hindu accent, polite as can be Along with the perfectly correct answers to your questions instantly If you're thinking AI is a bad thing, think again

[27:28] By the way, when Google dies, I hope it's a miserable death No spambos