Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores various aspects of expat life in Latin America, including cultural practices, communication security, and the realities of living on a low budget. He begins by introducing the podcast and its focus on the experiences of living, working, and retiring in Latin America. Johnny acknowledges the growing interest in Ecuador as a retirement destination and plans to dedicate an entire show to it. He shares a humorous story about Expat Eddie and his fiancée, highlighting the evolution of their relationship and the challenges of navigating expat life.
Johnny also discusses the importance of using encrypted communication tools like Mumble instead of Skype for private conversations, emphasizing the risks of using Facebook for personal socializing. He criticizes Facebook for devaluing the term 'friend' and encourages listeners to use Mumble for secure communication. The segment concludes with Johnny and Expat Eddie discussing a situation where Eddie had to fire a cleaning lady for stealing a deodorant stick, but eventually rehired her, highlighting the complexities of dealing with theft and the nature of their relationship.
The podcast then shifts to a discussion about the cultural practice of inspecting a woman's purse upon departure, known as 'Rivisando la Bolsa.' Johnny explains that this practice is common in Latin America and often causes discomfort for expats and gringos. He highlights the broader 'us versus them' attitude and the complexities of adapting to such cultural norms. Johnny also touches on the economic realities of lower-class Latin American workers, noting that many cannot afford deodorant and use alternatives like lemon.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the potential link between aluminum exposure and Alzheimer's disease, noting that aluminum is prevalent in the environment but not essential to the human body and can be toxic. He also touches on the mystery of how aluminum enters the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The segment then shifts to a lighthearted comment about identifying Expat Eddie by his scent, followed by a discussion about Ecuador as a popular retirement destination for expats.
Johnny highlights the marketing push for Ecuador as a paradise, but warns that the initial paradise effect is common among new expats and that it takes time to truly understand a country without rose-colored glasses. He shares his own experiences with Ecuador and mentions the abundance of stories and 'dirt' he has gathered there. The episode also touches on the changes in the expat organization landscape, noting that many organizations have shifted from providing genuine support to cashing in on the growing interest in expat life.
Johnny warns about the misleading information and unscrupulous individuals exploiting the situation, referencing a person living in Ecuador for eight or nine years who has seen firsthand the consequences of this trend. He draws parallels to similar patterns observed in Costa Rica and Chile, emphasizing that the situation in Ecuador is following a familiar trajectory of overhype and eventual disillusionment. He also discusses the challenges expats face when moving to countries like Ecuador, emphasizing the importance of verifying information before making decisions.
Finally, Johnny critiques the portrayal of expat lifestyles in retirement magazines and international living publications, suggesting that they often mislead expats. He expresses a preference for living like a first-world person and criticizes the idea of expats seeking out remote, 'perfect' locations like the altiplano, which he believes most expats never discover. He concludes by expressing a desire for expat file listeners to find the altiplano, while he himself hopes no one does.
Topics
Introduction to The Expat Files, Ecuador as a topic of interest, Humorous story about Expat Eddie and his fiancée, Discussion on secure communication tools like Mumble, Criticism of Facebook and the term 'friend', Discussion on dealing with theft and rehiring a cleaning lady, Cultural practices in Latin America, Expatriate experiences, Social dynamics and class differences, Workplace culture and employee relations, Cultural and economic realities of lower-class Latin American workers, Expats and their interactions with domestic workers
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:32 Ecuador as a Topic of Interest 00:00:57 Humorous Story about Expat Eddie and His Fiancée 00:01:53 Discussion on Secure Communication Tools like Mumble 00:02:16 Criticism of Facebook and the Term 'Friend' 00:04:33 Discussion on Dealing with Theft and Rehiring a Cleaning Lady 00:05:25 The Practice of Inspecting a Purse in Latin America 00:06:25 Expats' Reactions to Purse Inspections 00:08:11 The Broader 'Us Versus Them' Attitude in Latin America 00:10:28 The Deodorant Theft and Its Aftermath 00:11:21 The Economic Realities of Lower-Class Workers 00:11:48 Hygiene Alternatives in Low-Income Communities 00:14:09 Aluminum and Alzheimer's Connection 00:15:30 Ecuador as a Retirement Destination 00:16:27 The Paradise Effect for New Expats 00:17:47 The Shift in Expat Organizations and the Rise of Ecuador as a Destination 00:18:03 The Reality of Life in Ecuador and the Consequences of Misleading Information 00:18:58 The Emergence of Exploitative Practices and the Similarity to Costa Rica and Chile 00:20:49 The Consequences of Misleading Information for Expats in Ecuador and Latin America 00:20:57 The Importance of Verifying Information Before Making Decisions 00:23:17 The Reality of Living on a Low Income in Latin America 00:23:25 The Reality of Expat Life in Latin America 00:23:38 Living Like a First World Person 00:25:13 The Altiplano and Expats' Misconceptions 00:26:46 The Sign of Gringo Real Estate Agents 00:27:03 Gringos and Their Sources of Information 00:27:14 The Illusion of the 'Rose-Colored Glasses'
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:14] 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. Before I get into the meat of the show, the subject being Ecuador, a country by the way I get a lot of email on and people ask me all sorts of questions about, with some listeners actually asking me why I haven't spent more time on it, since all the retirement rags and international living and such have not only put it in the spotlight, they're promoting the crap out of it. That said, I'll spend at least a whole show on it now. But first, I think you might find this latest Expat Eddie story amusing.
[01:02] Now as you might well know, Expat Eddie and I have not exactly been on the outs, it's just that his Latin fiancé doesn't want us to hang out anymore. Seems I'm a bad influence because I don't much like driving around in a bulletproof SUV with a bodyguard and a driver. Anyway, that's the kind of girl she evolved into since being with Eddie some 5 or 6 years now. I mean, come on, from chicken bust to bulletproof SUV, yeah, that's normal, right? And who's fault is that? 100% Eddie, of course. But he's not the only one, believe me. He knows it, but he's just the kind of guy who's very non-argumentative and just can't say no, especially to a pretty face. Now of course, there's a lot more to that story and I'll get to it sooner or later,
[01:47] but here's what happened recently. I was mumbling with Expat Eddie the other day. Mumble, by the way, being a totally encrypted type of Skype service, which I recommend everyone use instead of Skype. That is, if you're going to say anything to anyone you don't want repeated or recorded or captured indefinitely for future use against you. Which by the way, is why I never recommend you use Facebook for your non-business petty socializing. Now I admit, using Facebook for business purposes is another thing. People do it all the time and it's kind of expected. But you already know, if you have a personal Facebook page, you're basically broadcasting your own third rate reality show 24-7 to the rest of the world.
[02:33] I take that back. It would be your fourth rate reality show because reality shows in themselves are, by nature, third rate brain drainers at best. And it's not that I don't want to be your Facebook friend. The fact is, I don't want to be anyone's Facebook friend, not even my own mothers. And by the way, on a sad note, I really lament the fact that Facebook has single-handedly devalued permanently the definition of friend. I mean, come on friend, that word will never be the same. Now it's nothing but a cliche really and practically an insult. I'd rather stick a USB up by a** than hear those idiotic words. Hey Johnny, why don't you friend me? Duh. So think about it. I figure by campaigning for people with brains out there to get off Facebook,
[03:20] I'm actually being a real friend to you. A real, not fake friend. So anyway, about those voiceover internet protocols, VOP, like Skype, instead, download Mumble, M-U-M-B-L-E. It's free and it's completely encrypted at both ends. So then you might think, well, if it's free and it's encrypted, then somebody's watching and they want you to have it and it was developed by scammers or hackers, even worse NSA types. Well, if you think that, you'd be wrong. In fact, the NSA and government types do not like Mumble at all. It was developed by paranoid privacy nerds to protect them while gaming from snoopers. Now, I don't know what you listeners out there know of the strange and dark world of obsessive gamers, but they're very secretive about their moves and strategies
[04:10] and they often place bets that they want no one but their opponent to know about. So they came up with Mumble to do all that. And you and I can freeload along on it too. Just go ahead and download it and see what I mean. And once you're in, pick a country, then jump into one of the rooms that's unoccupied and you're on your way anonymously. Anyway, I was mumbling with Expat Eddie last week and he said, Guess what, Johnny? I had to fire another cleaning lady for stealing. Though in the end, after thinking about it a while, I hired her back. And I said, what? Eddie, that's the number one rule. When someone steals from you, fire them and that's the end of it. He said, I know, you're right. When people steal from me at the restaurant, they're out. And by the way, I have to add here that I really know Expat Eddie.
[04:58] He's such a nice non-confrontational type. He can't fire anybody himself. He's got to have somebody else do it at the restaurants. Anyway, Eddie went on to say that she stole, get this, one of those deodorant sticks from his bathroom. Now note that if you have a cleaning lady that comes every day or doesn't live at your house when she leaves, as you let her out the door, she'll open her purse automatically and let you inspect the inside of it. Down here, they call it Rivisando la Bolsa, which means revising the purse. That's a very common practice just like it is at factories, I guess up in the States too. Though down here, you'll find it's automatic. You don't have to say anything. They'll just whip the purse open and expect you to take a look. So don't be surprised on that very first day when you employ someone
[05:46] when the same thing happens to you. Which, believe me, for us gringos is pretty embarrassing the first time out. We're just not used to that kind of directness. For us, just the act of them opening up a purse like that to be inspected is kind of an overt omission on their part that we think they just might be petty thieves. And believe me, us gringos and expats do not like being put into the position where it's kind of an us versus them thing. And that's what it feels like to some of us when that happens. That's why so many of us expats and gringos the first time it happens to us. We don't quite know how to handle it. It can be awkward for that split second. And that's why some of us, we just kind of stupidly shrug or have a knee-jerk reaction and say, no, no, no, that's not necessary and not bother to look in the purse at all.
[06:35] And heaven forbid, like one gringa told me, stick your hand into it and move things around. Because like this expat gringa said, my purse is my private property. Those are my things and somebody sticks their hand in my purse, I'll cut it off. And you know what? I believe her. In fact, I think a hand isn't the only thing she'd cut off. So like she says, she gives her cleaning ladies purse a cursory look from a few feet away but never gets near it. Now, when it comes to expat men, we're kind of embarrassed by that whole thing and we don't even look in the purse. We just kind of wave it off. The fact is, we wouldn't know if something was stolen or not if we rifled through a purse for two hours. I mean, come on, did you ever take a good look in a lady's purse and know what the hell you were looking at? And like expat Eddie says,
[07:21] if they really mean to steal something, they're probably not going to stick it in their purse anyway. I mean, come on, if down here in Latin America, the custom is checking a purse like that on the way out, who but a moron thief would put her goods in there for her boss to see? But I have had this discussion with many an expat lady too. They pretty much unanimously say it's the fault of the upper middle classes and the wealthy Latins. They're the ones that have created this kind of us versus them classes thing. And that extends way beyond the purse inspections. In fact, a number of gringa expat ladies have told me in so many words that from what they've seen firsthand, upper middle class and wealthy Latins treat their help like naughty little kids that need to be punished or disciplined at times.
[08:07] So that's the kind of pervasive us versus them attitude that us gringos and expats unknowingly walk into when we first get down here. That's why I'm telling you this. You have to know about it. So the question for gringos and expats is, should we buy into that? Should we inspect those purses? Well, personally, at first, you know, I was against it. However, the longer I've been down here, the more I see that it's such an ingrained thing in society that if you don't, there'll always be the odd disgruntled employee that'll take advantage of you. And let me point out right here that that person probably won't be disgruntled at working with you. Like I said many times before, the locals would much rather work for a gringo than a Latin. More likely, a disgruntled employee would have had some bad experiences
[08:55] with a horrible previous Latin employer. That means a lot of employee resentment at the grassroots level. And a handful of gringo is coming down and showing a good employer example isn't going to change that. You know, especially off the gringo tourist trail where the proverbial drop in the ocean, you know? Which really does in a way justify for some the us versus them thing. Let me tell you, there's a lot of that going around. Meaning you could be the kindest, gentlest, best employer in the world. And yes, you could still have some very good workers who were poisoned from past experiences. So now when the cleaning lady opens her purse, I actually look in it. Of course, I never stick my hand in, but I do look in it for a second. Okay, so back to Expat Eddie's dilemma.
[09:41] Now, like Expat Eddie says, the guy who owns a lot of restaurants and has had tons of employees. He thinks because upper class Latins have it in their heads already that their workers are thieves. A lot of workers then just throw in the towel and start taking things. You know the story. You call an honest person a liar long enough and hard enough. Well, let's just say it's not hard to predict that outcome. Anyway, Eddie's cleaning lady story doesn't end there. It turns out the other day when Eddie's fiancee inspected the cleaning lady's purse on the way out, she saw a ball of something or other wrapped in Kleenex. So she moved it around a bit as only a Latin lady of the house can do. Like I said, a gringa would be loathe to stick her hands in anyone's purse. And there, buried in the Kleenex,
[10:28] was a world famous Old Spice deodorant stick, palmed directly from Eddie's bathroom. So then immediately Eddie's girlfriend fired her. Then later that day when he got home from work and his fiance Vanessa mentioned the incident. Eddie thought about it a while and said, well, you know, as crazy as this sounds, she is a really good cleaning lady. Maybe we should just scold her a bit, let her have the damn stuff and hire her back. Maybe she deserves another chance. He said, look what she took. It's about personal hygiene. It seems like she's trying to make an effort, so can't really falter that much if it's about self-improvement. Or can you? Now, let me explain something here. What gringos and short-term expats generally don't know
[11:14] about the lower middle classes and poor Latins that end up working for you as cleaning ladies and gardeners and such, they often can't afford to buy store-bought deodorant. It's just way too expensive. In fact, for some cleaning ladies, a bottle of Biodio could work out to a half a day's wages. So then you might ask, what do they use, if anything? Now remember, I said they can't afford store-bought deodorant, meaning they do have other options. Well, the truth is, the tried and true deodorant for almost all the indigenous and lower middle class people throughout Latin America is, get this, lemon. Yup, they cut a lemon and rub it on their armpits and on other unmentionable areas, at least lower class women do. Though, unfortunately, not all lower class Latin men
[12:03] are into the practice and you can certainly tell sometimes, especially in taxis and elevators and bank lines and chicken buses, which is reason number 52, why it's a good idea to stay out of chicken buses. So anyway, for lower class ladies, lemons really seem to do the job, at least as far as I can tell, since they almost never have unpleasant BO. So, am I grossing you out yet? If you could take a hemorrhoid or a Viagra commercial, you can hang in with this. All right then, let's keep going. However, like I mentioned in a past show, any maids and gardeners and drivers, et cetera, will have a persistent smell of the boys' count camp because they cook with wood, which is not the case if you have a live-in maid or cleaning lady because obviously she'll be cooking in your home
[12:50] and you cook with gas or electric. Or maybe you're a vegan and you chew on roots all day long. Nothing wrong with that. I got a sister on that plan right now. So, what I'm saying is if you have a live-in maid or cleaning lady, there'll be no hint of the campfire girl smell about her. How could there be? However, if she goes home for the weekend or on her days off, you can bet she'll come back smelling like the Girl Scout Jamboree. So anyway, ex-pat Eddie and his fiancé made a hard decision and hired her back. Sure, she stole something all right, but like Eddie said, she's been with him a long time. She never swiped anything like jewelry or money. So, in the end, after some soul searching, they did forgive that little Old Spice misdemeanor for the sake of better hygiene for her husband, I guess.
[13:37] Oh, and by the way, I bet some of you are wondering now why Eddie bothers to use Old Spice. Nope, it's not because Eddie wallows in nostalgia and wants to smell like his grandpa, though it does have something to do with the old guy. As a matter of fact, it turns out, as Eddie says, those Old Spice stick deodorants are one of the only ones available that don't have aluminum or some kind of aluminum compound in them. That is, when talking about the usual suspects on the grocery store deodorant shelf. So, what's that got to do with anything? Well, I think most of you listeners out there know. If you check it out, you'll find aluminum almost always shows up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. And note that aluminum's everywhere these days.
[14:23] But oddly enough, the human body has no use for it at all. It's not an essential element, and in fact, it's a toxin. So then, how does it get in the brains of Alzheimer's patients? Well, nobody knows, but like Eddie says, there can be no good accomplished by applying it liberally to your armpits and other unmentionable areas. So, about that little theft, the jury's out on whether he did the right thing by hiring her back. Would you? Oh, and that's another little clue for you. If you're ever down in Latin America and you run into someone, you think is Expat Eddie. If he doesn't smell a bit like your own grandpa on a good day, and I mean that in a good way. Meaning, of course, the essence of Old Spice. It's probably not Eddie,
[15:08] though it could be his cleaning lady. Or her husband. Just kidding. About the husband, that is. Alright, so let's talk about Ecuador now. Why not? Everyone else is, including all those retirement rags and of course, international living. And I know you've heard a lot about Ecuador lately. How it's a great place to live and it's the new paradise and the next Costa Rica and next latest and greatest retirement haven for gringos and expats. However, here's what you didn't know. Even though it seems all those Expat rags and internet sites are pushing Ecuador, and I mean pushing hard and heavy. What I've noticed and what's obvious to me, there are lots of things they're just not telling you. And if you don't think the push is hard and heavy, to see for yourself, just do an internet search right now.
[15:54] Put in just two words, Ecuador and retire, and you'll get about two million or more search results. Now go ahead and put in Honduras retire, Nicaragua retire, or Bolivia retire, and you'll get half or less of the search results. And like Costa Rica, you'll hear stories from green gringos who've been down a few times for a couple of weeks or a month, thinking that they've really found some kind of paradise. Well, let me clue you in on a pleasant or unpleasant fact, however you want to look at it. That paradise effect seems to happen to every green gringo, no matter what Latin country they go to. Unless, of course, they got pickpocketed at the airport or something. Anyway, barring unforeseen events like that, or even in spite of them, it's an undeniable fact that fresh green gringos
[16:40] always seem to fall in love with the first tropical place that they land in. It happened to me the first time I went down to Costa Rica some 30 years ago. But the truth is, if you talk to any long-term expat, you'll know you have to be down here in rent at least six months, perhaps a year, no matter what Latin country you go to before you really see things the way they are without the rose-colored glasses. And of course, I've been to Ecuador and I know a lot of people who've been there and I've picked up a lot of stories and dirt along the way. Now, you know, like I always say, if you have money, any country in the world can be paradise. Now, as far as Ecuador, what you may have heard about the cheap cost of living and the ease of getting a visa or residency has changed dramatically in the last six months to a year. The fact is, a lot of these first world expat organizations
[17:27] have come down to cash in. Unlike just three or four years ago, now you've got articles and seminars and blog posts and retirement tours. Almost all of them thinly veiled to try to sell you some real estate. In fact, let me paraphrase a very smart guy who's been living in Ecuador for eight or nine years now. Here's what he says. Now that the real estate in Mexico Costa Rica and Panama have become first world expensive. The barrage of articles and blogs have turned to Ecuador. Retire in Ecuador. Buy real estate in Ecuador. Invest in Ecuador. Make money in Ecuador. Life is cheap and wonderful in Ecuador. Find your lost chakra in Ecuador. Blah blah Ecuador infinitum. While exuding their aura
[18:12] of professionalism, many started telling retirees anything that would get them to buy into Ecuador seminars, tours, and real estate deals. Often innocent and confused retirees eager to find their utopia on a budget started to heed the siren song of such pitches hurrying to enjoy before the rest of the world finds out what they were led to believe would be the near perfect life on the cheap. Less experienced retirees even believed that life would be just like in their home country except ever so much more affordable. A surge of what some have called economic refugees began heading to Ecuador a few years ago only to discover that the picture was very incomplete and way too rosy
[18:58] and often plain inaccurate. He says he and so many of his expat friends have lived long enough in Ecuador mostly in Cuenca, Quito, and Guayaquil to see for themselves what it's truly like for expats. He says frankly, me and so many of my expat friends are tired of watching so many innocent and hopeful retirees being misled and ending up frustrated. Now not only are there some organizations and individuals who are willing to use distortion to persuade you to head to Ecuador there are also some people who will actually wait for your arrival in order to offer services that are never performed or performed poorly. And even Simon Black a guy who's been all over the world the editor of Sovereign Man he says he's seen
[19:43] the same thing happen in Chile. Three years of constantly writing about the virtues of a place gets the word out and people start jumping on the bandwagon. And the downside is that it brings out all sorts of snake oil salesmen whose targets are precisely those inexperienced foreigners looking for a great deal. The ones with the rose colored glasses. Sounds like it's following exactly the Costa Rica pattern to me. Now like I said I've been to Ecuador too and I've seen all kinds of stuff on the internet saying that you could live for 600 bucks a month and I see an article that says you can live for $1,200 a month as a minimum figure or $1,600 a month to live comfortably but they never really do say the style of life you're going to be living. So when gullible expats arrive
[20:29] and see that those aren't really the proper figures not to live a first world lifestyle or somewhat first world lifestyle that they're used to anyway. Not to mention to live in neighborhoods or get housing they're accustomed to anyway. So when green gringos and expats finally land in Ecuador and they see those numbers just don't pan out what can they do about it? Nothing. So the thing to remember and not just for Ecuador any place in Latin America or in the world for that matter you have to check the references in the articles and the links to see if they're leading you or linking you with some kind of a real estate or development deal or even some kind of investment scheme like an avocado or teak or macadamia farm. Some kind of aftermarket sales pitch anyway.
[21:16] If they're not that's the only way you can really depend on those figures. In other words you can really only trust the people where there's no back end and they've got nothing else to sell. And believe me if you're searching the internet or getting free newsletters or pamphlets or even paying for that kind of information you'll be very hard pressed to find someone who's not trying to sell you something. Worse yet I'd say about 90% of all that stuff that's written all that great glossy supposedly free crap you get on the internet. It's written by people who haven't even got six months worth of boots on the ground in that area. So like I said how truthful and accurate can information be when I just said a few minutes ago the only way to know truly what an area is going to be like
[22:02] and what you can expect is if you rent for six months or so in the thick of things even up to a year. So I'm asking you what can you learn from someone who's only been down a couple of weeks or a couple months. Now I do know expats a lot of them who live on about 600 bucks a month down here in various countries throughout Latin America. Mostly off the gringo tourist trail where it's amazingly easy to pick up an English teaching job as opposed to when you're on the gringo tourist trail where most locals at least speak some English. Gringos trying to get English teaching jobs is not all that easy. Too few jobs with too many gringos. Supply and demand you know. And that's why by the way on the gringo tourist trail so many first worlders end up working at bartending jobs
[22:49] just for tips. Now most of the gringos and gringas who are teachers teach English at a private school and that's what they make about four to six hundred bucks a month. And even less as bartenders. So whether it's Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala or Salvador the average gringo down here who's trying to live on the cheap doesn't have much savings and is making between four and six hundred bucks a month and living on that by necessity. Yes it's true you can live down here on that like it says in so many of those internet articles regarding places like Ecuador and Bolivia for example. But on that you won't live a first world lifestyle that's for sure. At best it'll be a substandard blend of going native and first world. Take it from me I know people who are doing it
[23:35] and it ain't pretty. Not to me anyway I prefer to live like a first world person. Thank you very much. So what's that first world slash going native blend like? What kind of life do you think those guys and gals are living? Those expat teachers and bartenders and retired six hundred dollar a month folks. Well most of them don't have a social life and they don't eat out at all except for the occasional two dollar breakfasts and lunches at those street kiosks. You know the ones I never recommend because of all the flies and the cross-contamination and well just take my word for it it's disgusting and I won't get into it. Anyway the gringos and gringas I know that live on 600 bucks a month. They do have a TV but an old style boxy one. They usually don't have a car
[24:21] maybe a motorcycle and definitely no AC which you don't need anyway if you're in the altiplano. Though believe me about 95% of all gringos expats and expat wannabes and gonabes never end up in those perfect weather spots in the altiplano. Why? Because they just don't know about them. All those well-known retirement rags and international living just haven't featured them yet. So let's not give them any ideas okay? And you know I admit for a long time I was a stupid clueless gringo too. Took me five years to know the altiplano even existed. So suffice it to say 95% of all gringo expats and wannabes and gonabes end up in hot sweltering tropical places. And you know what I say?
[25:07] Good. Let them. I'm gonna be a real jerk here and say I hope no one finds the altiplano. Except of course all you expat file listeners. I like hanging out with you guys because well you get it. Screw that international living crowd. Let them have Costa Rica, Belize, Panama and Ecuador. But back to living on 600 bucks a month in Latin America like so many retirement rags say that you're supposed to be able to do. Suffice it to say for all those people down here living on 600 bucks a month they're always watching their pennies and have low watt bulbs all over the house and almost never leave a night light on when they're going out. And when they do go out to do things they go out bike riding and to free concerts in the park and such. I know I know
[25:54] nothing wrong with that who said there was? Oh and this is important. That means no cleaning lady or at most a couple hours a week. So when you hear you can live on 5 or 600 bucks a month you can't do it. I know a lot of gringos who do but it's pretty much just a cut above living backpacker style if you don't mind that. That said what about living in a small town in Ecuador? Let me talk about a very popular laid back destination called Vilcabamba. I know a couple of gringos who went through that town two or three years ago and they went back just recently to open a little business. It's a small town of like 5000 people high in the Andes. But what they've had to report lately hasn't been pretty. They claim now ugly Americans are starting to trickle in.
[26:40] And like I've said in a past show when gringo real estate agents start showing up in an area that's the time to get out. And that's just what's happened in this little town. And they said just since a few years ago prices in the area on real estate and stuff have tripled if not quadrupled. Yet the gringos keep piling in and when they ask gringos how they found out about the place they say international living of course. How about that? Now as one gringo said who's been back and forth to that place many times over the past dozen years nearly all gringo newcomers see the town with rose colored glasses then they come down from that artificial high and burn out quickly. Thus a lot of turnover with gringos and their businesses. They start out great guns
[27:26] and after a year or two they're gone. Anyway stay tuned for more on Ecuador next time. You've been listening to The Expat Files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border. Email me theexpatfiles at gmail.com and don't forget to check out expatwisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on Latin America. See you next time. Nos vemos.