Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the daily realities of life in Latin, from the labor-intensive world of coffee production to the challenges of navigating local markets and the importance of choosing the right car for the region's rough roads. He also shares personal anecdotes about cultural misunderstandings, expat experiences, and the affordability of technology. With a mix of humor and thoughtful reflection, Johnny offers a unique perspective on living and traveling in Latin America.
Johnny begins by welcoming listeners to 'The Expat Files,' a show that explores life in Latin America. He humorously introduces the topic of coffee, noting that it's a significant part of life there, with manual labor involved in planting and harvesting. He also touches on alternative treatments available in the region, which may be illegal in the first world, and mentions the affordability of high-quality coffee. Johnny then shifts to discussing the importance of choosing the right car for driving in Latin America, emphasizing the need for vehicles that can handle the rough roads and potholes. He shares a personal anecdote about realizing he was driving the perfect car for the region, especially during the rainy season.
In this segment, Johnny recounts a humorous and somewhat chaotic experience in a Latin American market where he accidentally sat in someone else's car, causing a brief moment of confusion and embarrassment. He also shares a story about being robbed in a Burger King parking lot years ago and a recent incident where he was unable to complete a transaction due to a lack of change in a market setting. Johnny reflects on the cultural differences in customer service and the challenges of navigating such environments as an expat.
In this segment, Johnny recounts an experience at a chaotic market in Latin America where he attempted to buy dog paraphernalia but was shortchanged. He discusses the challenges of navigating such markets, the importance of hiring porters to carry goods back to cars, and the cultural norms around haggling and payment. He also reflects on the economic conditions of the local vendors and the role of cell phones in their daily lives.
In this segment, Johnny discusses the affordability and prevalence of cell phones in Latin America, highlighting how even people in poor conditions can access them. He contrasts this with the United States, where smartphones are more common but more expensive. Johnny also touches on the lack of bank accounts among many Latin Americans and the political corruption he often comments on. He then responds to an email from a listener named Mark, who is planning to move to Nicaragua with his family and is seeking advice on bringing his children there. Mark is concerned about the safety of his kids and the potential for them to interact with local youth, but he is also excited about the cultural and educational benefits of living in Nicaragua. Johnny acknowledges the risks but also highlights the welcoming nature of the people and the opportunity for his children to learn Spanish and experience a different culture.
In this segment, Johnny discusses the motivations of Latin Americans who seek to migrate to the United States, framing their actions as driven by economic hardship and a desire for the American dream. He critiques their intense patriotism, suggesting it is irrational and often disconnected from their actual living conditions. He also highlights the economic disparity in Latin America, noting that many people would be content with a minimal wage to stay in their home countries. Johnny argues that the migration is not always about political asylum or persecution, but rather about escaping poverty and improving their quality of life.
Topics
Coffee in Latin America, Alternative treatments in Latin America, Choosing the right car for driving in Latin America, Cultural differences in customer service, Expat experiences in Latin America, Challenges of navigating local markets, Market experiences, Cultural norms and haggling, Economic conditions of vendors, Use of technology in daily life, Cell phone affordability and prevalence in Latin America, Political corruption and lack of transparency in Latin American countries
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:26 Overview of Life in Latin America 00:00:58 Manual Labor in Coffee Production 00:01:21 Alternative Treatments in Latin America 00:01:47 Affordable High-Quality Coffee in Latin America 00:03:32 Choosing the Right Car for Driving in Latin America 00:04:52 Personal Anecdote About Driving in Latin America 00:05:35 The Umbrella Boys and Courteous Service in Latin America 00:06:12 The Shock of Sitting in the Wrong Car 00:08:06 Being Robbed in a Burger King Parking Lot 00:11:17 Shortchanged at the Market 00:11:49 The Benefits of Planning Your Market Visits 00:16:33 Affordability of Cell Phones in Latin America 00:17:35 Cell Phone Prevalence in Latin America 00:17:54 Prepaid Cell Phones and Financial Infrastructure 00:18:00 Lack of Bank Accounts in Latin America 00:18:27 Email from Mark: Planning to Move to Nicaragua 00:20:05 Safety Concerns for Children in Nicaragua 00:21:10 Political Corruption and Transparency in Latin America 00:22:27 Why Do They Leave? The Paradox of Nationalism and Migration 00:23:53 The American Dream and the Reality of Migration 00:26:20 The Economic Motivation Behind Migration
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 I wonder 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 All right, Johnny here again. Just finishing up my morning coffee enema No, not really, but like I said so many times before I'm living in the land of coffee In fact, I'm broadcasting right now right from the center of a gigantic coffee plantation
[00:47] Actually, it's one big coffee plantation in about six or seven mom-and-pop Small coffee plantations have a couple of acres each. Oh, and by the way coffee planting and harvesting involves 100% manual labor. There are no machines involved at all until they get to the sorting husking and roasting process Oh, what about those coffee enemas? I like to make fun of I know it's always been a kind of a California new age Woo-woo treatment, but there are believe it or not people who come down to Latin America Because there are all kinds of strange weird and even somewhat conventional alternative treatments Available here that may be completely illegal up in the first world and can get a doctor or practitioner in hot water They could lose their license get a big fine or even end up in jail But down here anything goes that said you must use due diligence and buyer beware and all that
[01:38] Anyway, you had another reason to put Latin America on your list for a plan B escape route And by the way, if you are price shopping for coffee whether for oral or anal purposes It did take me a long time, but I found some of the very best coffee in the world for around five bucks a pound Yep, it's the very stuff They sell at Starbucks and high-end coffee shops for 30 to 50 bucks a pound So then you might ask how can you get some of this stuff yourself? Well, I'm not gonna ship it to you though There would be a great gringo business opportunity there Believe me, but do note if you come down to my next expat wisdom seminar I'll lead you directly to those coffee farms where you can get it yourself and Maybe you didn't get that little boutique coffee export businesses here is going in fact I'm ready to give you a few tips on that just come on down to my next seminar
[02:23] Which is gonna be this second week in January coming up more on that in a week or two So stay tuned now remember I can get it for around five bucks a pound in single pound units Now if you buy 50 or a hundred pound sack, you probably can get it for three or four bucks a pound Remember this the kind of coffee they sell in those very high-end shops in first world countries like Japan For up to $50 a cup. No, not a pound a cup which begs the question I wonder if your colon would know the difference. Well, I'm not gonna test that theory though I have met some mr And mrs Natural first-world types down here who would certainly do the honors and a YouTube video and if it went viral Possibly a shot at a reality show who knows and I can think of the perfect guest star. How about Kim Kardashian?
[03:09] Episode one was she not born to play the part on second thought in her case. It might cause brain damage That's it, or maybe it should have been left unsaid. How about another absolutely true story that happened to me? Well, just a couple of days ago now I always mention the cars that you shouldn't shouldn't drive down here in Latin America And when I mentioned that the ideal car is usually a couple of years old a very common Workhorse kind of nondescript thing that bad guys just aren't interested in not a junk by any means But something with zero glitz factor then people say but Johnny I understand roads are so crappy in Latin America that you have to have a four by four to get around because when you hit one Of those potholes or one of those things you call two molloes which are massive concrete speed bumps oftentimes unmarked
[03:55] Just know that many a small compact cars undercarriage has been completely destroyed by these things So then what should you buy? Well, if you're spending almost all of your time in a medium or large-sized city You don't need a pickup truck or a four by four because the potholes aren't that Gigantic in the cities they're being repaired all the time and the two molloes are rather small because so many cars have bottomed out On them that most of them are only half as dangerous as they once were however if you do a lot of highway and booney driving a four by four or a pickup truck is a very good idea and Even though I'm against SUVs because they're targets down here They do ride a lot higher. So they'll get you over the humps and the potholes and the two molloes just fine Even so no matter what you're driving You'll hit some teeth rattlers every so often and you'll even spill your beer on occasion guaranteed
[04:43] Which is another reason I don't recommend driving at night because new massive potholes and two molloes will pop up when you at least Expect them anyway It was a couple of days ago when I finally realized that I was driving the absolute perfect car for Latin America Turns out it was a very rainy day This is the height of the rainy season by the way And I was picking up some stuff at a local office depot and when I finished shopping I ran out of the place in the pouring rain and by the way a lot of Latin businesses Especially in upscale neighborhoods and most all first world franchises will have during the rainy season parking lot guard playing double duty 99% of the times these little guys in uniform and they are little because this is Latin America We'll be standing there with one hand on the unloaded shotgun and the other hand scratching their butt
[05:31] So in the dry season, they're standing around doing nothing and in the rainy season They actually have a mission they're glorified umbrella boys who will walk you to the car and keep you out of the rain It really is a nice courteous service though It is a paradox only in Latin America might you find almost zero customer service inside a store? But when it's raining and you're out in the parking lot You're extended all the courtesies suddenly you're a valued customer. I don't get it Anyway, I ran out of the office depot the guard opened the umbrella and walked me to my car I got in sat down and that's what I noticed to my surprise There was a young Latin lady in the passenger seat clutching her baby giving me that wide-eyed frantic Look as if I just walked into an occupied stall in a lady's restroom. Yep. That's when I realized I was in the wrong car
[06:20] So it turns out that my car is so common so ubiquitous So milk toast run-of-the-mill that though I scared the crap out of this lady I was kind of pleased with myself So it wasn't Alzheimer that led me to the wrong car It was just that there were a couple of cars exactly like mine in that parking lot So again, it wasn't Alzheimer's at least that's what I keep telling myself now. Where was I? Hi, I'm Johnny Mueller. Welcome to the expat files living in Latin America. Just kidding Oh, yeah, and I gotta tell you that that momentary look of shock on the lady's face Dissipated almost instantly when she saw I was a gringo in that split second She knew I wasn't gonna steal her car or her baby gringos Don't do that at least not down in Latin America after about two seconds
[07:05] She actually smiled and I probably could have sat there and had a conversation with her But naturally I felt pretty stupid and figured I'd better get out of there fast Less the jealous husband return and then I'd have some explaining to do now I don't know if that kind of things ever happened to you up in the first world. Maybe it has I remember once up in a parking lot I walked out of a building up to a car I thought was mine and tried for about a minute and a half to open it the key didn't work because it wasn't my car That's when you look around and hope no one sees what a horse's ass you are But note that little office depot incident was the very first time I actually made it into someone else's car and sat down meaning of course my key worked in that lock How about that? So the lesson here is when you buy a car, maybe you should have your lock registry changed
[07:52] But that's not all there's another episode in the making a fool of myself department this week now for all you longtime listeners You probably remember way back when probably 300 shows ago when I explained the two times I was physically robbed down here in Latin America Both of those incidents happened over 20 years ago when I was really fresh and green and kind of deserved it I guess now they didn't get much in one case I lost a cheap nogahide briefcase that had a crappy cell phone in it worth maybe 25 bucks And the other case I was robbed right in a Burger King parking lot in broad daylight And they got about 50 bucks from me now remember that was over 20 years ago Well guess what as the dice will roll I got robbed again at least I think I did but maybe not
[08:44] Here's what happened a couple days ago. I was in one of these giant chaotic central markets the way these things are set up There are row upon row upon row of a stationary little kiosks And you see the same sellers day after day selling the same things some sell vegetables some sell nuts or pirated CDs Or purses or locks electrical supplies or even chickens So if you visit the same market you'll see the regulars over and over manning their little kiosks now If it was just people selling things out of kiosks it wouldn't be crazy and chaotic like it is You got just as many people perhaps more Walking with their little trays and shoulder bags and harnesses loaded down with crap that they're selling, too So they're walking right along with you across from you and in front of you yelling out what they have and their prices
[09:32] Now you see some of these same people too over and over But there are so many of those hawkers and walkers as I call them you might spot a few you recognize But most of them are just a blur now remember these guys are selling everything and anything a lot of them are walking drug stores Selling penicillin and ampicillin and all kinds of stuff Tetris cycling even rat poison sometimes from the same bag Oh, and if you're interested they sell Viagra 2 and all its generic offshoots But my advice buy no drugs in those central markets. Anyway, there was this little guy Well, they're all little guys walking around selling all different kind of doggy products harnesses chains Chew toys stainless food bowls. Yep. He was just loaded down with that stuff
[10:17] Just walking around yelling out prices etc And I did stop him because he had a chain I was interested in he started the bidding at four bucks and remember This is always a bidding haggling process and I got him down to two bucks and we both were happy But wouldn't you know it? I didn't have any change and I pulled out a 10 and he didn't have any change because as you've heard me say in so Many previous shows Latin vendors are always at a loss for change. Even though up in the first world That's probably the second rule of doing business. Number one turn the lights on number two have change Well as I figured he said I don't have change I'll go get some now this kind of thing is so frequent It doesn't raise any red flags at all the guy I'll just walk to the nearest kiosks five or ten feet away and get some change
[11:05] Though maybe you'll have to hit two or three kiosks because they won't have change either So he checked at one kiosk. They didn't have change He then walked away and signaled to me that he'd be right back and he never did return I never got my change or my dog chain. At least I should have taken the dog chain, huh? Now I waited around maybe 10 minutes and remember it's chaotic. There's a lot of little kiosks There's a lot to see and check out so I wasn't really bored So after figuring 10 minutes was enough I walked up to the lady who he first asked change from and said do you know that dog paraphernalia guy that Tried to get changed from you and she said no not really but he is around occasionally When by the way, you'll like this when you do go to one of those gigantic fantastic markets like that You can plan it so that you only have to go every two weeks or so Then you'll really stock up and buy as much as you can because things are so cheap and in such quantity not to mention so fresh
[11:55] You won't believe it and in that case you'll find you just cannot carry that kind of quantity around with you For example, let's say you want to buy four watermelons normally around 50 or 60 cents each And you want four papayas and four musk melons 50 or 60 cents each too Well by then you're talking about 10 or 15 even 20 pounds and there's no way you're gonna drag that stuff around You're gonna have to haul it back to your car in a parking lot Three four five even six blocks away no fun at all because remember it's chaotic and you're always trying to avoid People elbowing through and being pushed and shoved in a nice kind of way, of course No one's aggressive, but it is in a word chaotic and when it rains look out So believe me I've tried that hauling the produce back and forth to your car and it's no fun Not to worry. You hire a porter little guys like that are available all over the place
[12:45] They're carrying ropes and little bags and they'll walk right up to you especially since you're a gringo and they love working for gringos because we always overpay and that little guy will tail you everywhere balancing things on His shoulders his back his head you name it and how much do these little guys charge? Well, I don't know if I mentioned this in the past, but generally they'll say whatever you want to give me I'm not kidding yet They almost always say that and to me and I found out this through some boots on the ground experience You should always settle on a price beforehand Because if you lead them on a wild goose chase through that chaotic market for 30 or 40 minutes Once you get back to your car and you hand them the usual rate, which is around 50 or 60 cents They'll kind of stand there with a sad look on their face and kind of beg for more and believe me
[13:31] These guys look undernourished and are one foot away from sleeping under a bridge Believe me, which is why you should always give them double or more the going rate, which is about 60 cents So yes a gringo will usually give a guy like that a buck or so However, I've been to these big markets off the gringo tourist trail and the only gringos I've ever seen there are the ones that came with me And if a gringo does happen to show up once in a blue moon You can spot them a mile away because they're always at least a head taller than everyone else So anyway, what I like to do is to make that deal at the beginning You know 50 or 60 cents and then when he finally gets back to the car and unloads I'll give him twice that or more So am I a nice guy gringo big spender or what a couple of thousand more trips to a market like that?
[14:17] Just might grease the skids enough for me to get into heaven I mean, come on, everybody's got lower standards these days, right? So anyway, the guy with the dog paraphernalia stiff me for ten bucks. At least that's what I'm thinking However, my little porter guy says he sees that guy around there once in a while And he told me that he'd get the chain for me and the change So we'll see what happens next time. I'm in that vicinity So the moral of that story is don't get upset when Latin vendors don't have change That's normal. And if a vendor in a stationary kiosk is running out for change, don't worry You'll get it because well, they're regulars and that's their kiosk But as for those walking hawkers when you buy something from them have correct change or nearly correct change And if they take off with your dough follow him
[15:03] So did he or didn't he rip me off don't know yet that day as I kept on shopping in the market and looking for that Guy out of the corner of my eye. I was talking to people and they all said don't worry Word will get around and you'll most likely get your dough back In fact, one guy said we get so few gringos through that it would be a shame if we scared off the scant few That came through and get this the same guy said they love it when gringos come through first of all because there's such a rarity And second of all because they never haggle. They pay what we ask And in that case, no one's ripping the gringo off either He's just being a bit clueless and doesn't know it now There might be hundreds even thousands of people in a market like that And you just might never see a cop and it really doesn't matter because those places are
[15:49] Self-policing with a kind of loose-knit neighborhood watch system if a vendor doesn't conform They'll just run them out on a rail or so I've heard Oh, and by the way when you're in one of those big chaotic markets You can't help but notice all the ladies with their young babies strapped to their backs Sometimes two little babies and a couple of kids in tow as well So there's mom with the kids and sometimes with a big basket balanced on her head doing a deal at a kiosk And at the same time talking on a cell phone and you might ask yourself. How could they stay on the phone so long? I mean, they're only making about 10 or 15 bucks a day well, as it turns out these days in Latin America cell phones are so cheap like around 10 to 15 bucks for the bottom and Ones that anyone even people living in tin shacks can afford them
[16:37] But then you got to wonder how can they keep gabbing away if they're on the phone all the time sitting in a little kiosk You'll see it when you're down there shopping and of course phone minutes cost, right? Well, it's because now there's so much competition within cell phone companies They have these new friend and family plans now when you buy a cell phone Many of the companies will allow you to plug in three or four of your favorite numbers and you can talk to them Unlimited so since your favorite two or three numbers are free. They're gabbing away all the time sound familiar In fact, I took a really nice photo in the market of an indigenous lady carrying two babies a huge basket on her head While talking at the cell phone at the same time I mean who'da thunk, huh? Here is a lady who washes her clothes in the river and yet she's got a piece of technology in her hands that cost
[17:28] 15 bucks and it's got more computer processing power than the first lunar landing module In fact, here's how it shakes out as of 214. There are more cell phones in Latin America than people That's a half billion people with over a half billion cell phones now That's about the same per capita as the US. So how could that be you ask? Well in the US everybody's got expensive smartphones and in Latin America 90% of all phones are those prepaid throwaway types and here's the real striking difference I'll bet you didn't know that 60% of adult Latins do not even have a bank account And of course that would be the dirt poor people living in shacks, etc But you know, you have to admire them for that because banks and bank accounts
[18:14] Well, all that did up in the first world back in 2007 and 8 was lead to a world of hurt and ruin Okay on that note, let's take an email. This one comes with this subject title that says Guess what? I just had a Johnny is right moment and it comes from mark It says Johnny your show is amazing and hilarious I've been obsessed with Latin American ever since I was in Mexico over 10 years ago I hope to get down there in the next 18 months to live with my family number one I just wanted to share a testament to everything you say about Latin American governments I always found it entertaining to hear you describe the politicians and how corrupt they are But part of me always wondered if they could really be that bad Well, guess what?
[19:00] I sat next to a Latin guy on a plane last week and when I asked him where he was originally from he said Nicaragua the same place I'm looking to go to live for a while and I'm actually going to get some boots on the ground there in a few months to Check it out So he got really excited when I told him I was going to Nicaragua and then we got to talking Get this he was on his way back home from a protest at the Nicaraguan Embassy in my jammy He said he left 22 years ago from Nicaragua after being tortured and almost killed for speaking out against the government When he was younger, he now lives in Chicago But is apparently fairly well known as an anti-nika government activist in Nicaragua When I asked him about Ortega now that really got him going anyway
[19:49] It was a fascinating conversation and it just made me realize that everything you say about scumbag politicians is true and now for a question as I mentioned I'm planning to get down to Nicaragua within the next 18 months with my wife and four young kids now I've heard you recommend against bringing kids down there But one of the main reasons you mentioned was so they don't hang out with those spoiled helicopter school rich kids We homeschool our kids and will probably continue to do so so I don't see that as a concern for us If we choose Nicaragua, for example, I know the people are very welcoming of children My kids would certainly learn Spanish and it would be an experience of a lifetime for them It seems to me there are lots of benefits to bringing kids down both My wife and I have experienced living in a third world
[20:36] So we speak decent Spanish and think we are up for the challenge Are there any other reasons you might advise against lugging kids down there? Also, my son the oldest child would be about nine if for some reason we found ourselves staying down there into his teen years Should I be concerned with what might happen with a teenage gringo amongst a bunch of teenage Latinas? Because that's another concern. I know that's a lot of stuff, but thanks for considering this email Well, sure mark and thanks for the kind kudos. Oh and just one more thing about maggot-brained sociopathic politicians They're everywhere every country not just in Latin America, but they do stick out down here simply because there's about zero Transparency and these guys with their self-esteem in the gutter have to show off everywhere and every place they go
[21:26] I mean, you know, they have to have the helicopters and the bulletproof SUVs and let's not forget the entourages of pot-bellied pompous bodyguards With long-range halitosis on par with their political charges that it seems is a prerequisite for the job Oh, and by the way, you know, what really irks me. I know I know nothing irks me, right? Oh, yes, it does Well, what you might not know is in August and September a lot of Latin American countries have their independence day and get this All the TV news stations down here show live on the spot reports of their own illegal citizens up in the states Partying and carrying on waving their Latin homeland flags from far away, Chicago, New York, Cleveland and my jammy Terry Iden said longing for the country they abandoned
[22:13] Waving banners and carrying on for the folks back home So when thousands of Latin neighborhoods in big cities up in the states throngs of illegals are celebrating With tears in their eyes over tacos tamales chicharrones and beer So then you have to ask if they're so nationalistic and so damn sad about leaving Why in the hell didn't they stay? Of course, it's all in pursuit of that fantasy They call this when yo a maricano the American dream So those local Latin TV channels that do those reports are providing priceless PR for millions of other Uneducated poor low-class Latins who are convinced they have to get a piece of that Swann you a medicana themselves and the truth is they really don't want to blend in they want to create their own little piece of that
[23:00] Honduran Guatemalan Nicaraguan Salvadorian ghetto wherever they land Chicago my jammy Cleveland, New York And if you think that's a racist statement, we'll just talk to my brother up in Chicago He's in the construction business and he says he meets second generation Latinos all the time That means they've been born in the states and our citizens that speak so little English. They need an interpreter now I'm not digressing here But let me just point out that the other day I ran into an old expat friend of mine who I first met when he Came down to one of my expat wisdom seminars. He calls himself John Galt and has a very excellent blog He's a man of many talents. In fact, I want to be just like him when I grow up Anyway, we were discussing all the locals we meet down here and their desire to get a piece of the American dream as they
[23:48] Perceive it they all want to somehow escape to the United States and many of them have already and have been deported We run into them all the time Anyway, I mentioned to mr. Galt that in the last year or two I've been talking to local Latins asking them why they have this burning desire to go to Chicago in my jammy now I know they all love their country They go nuts during their independence celebrations and they're crazy about their soccer teams They've got more stupid illogical patriotism in their little fingers than a whole busload of Americans I tell you they buy their flags put them on their bikes their houses their cars They cry when they sing the national anthem and celebrate like there's no tomorrow when they have their independence day In fact, some of them don't go back to work for a week because they're nursing such bad hangovers
[24:33] Latins are really the poster children for irrational patriotism Their country slogan should actually be asked not what your country can do for you because if you do your leaders will just laugh in your face And yet they risk everything to sneak into the states for the so-called American dream And then once they get there they try to create little Nicaragua and truthfully They really don't want to go to the United States, but it's all about the money Believe me all the stuff you've heard about people going to the United States for a political asylum and because they're being tortured and Narcos are after him. Whatever. Well, that's because of one plain fact the poor sweaty masses of Latins who live in tin shacks with no hot running water Etc. They live in the absolute worst neighborhood ghettos, which are rife with crime
[25:20] Why wouldn't they be so if they made more money they could move out, right? And that's what they all tell me so I say then considering that the average wage in Latin America is about two to three hundred bucks Now depending what country that's anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of the population So when you ask them because they're so patriotic and they actually would love to remain in their own countries What would it take for them to stay they say, you know, if they had more money They could move out of those bad neighborhoods. So what you hear up in the first world that the six o'clock news is correct They're all trying to escape some kind of terrible condition now They all say if they made more money, they'd move out of those terrible neighborhoods, but who knows? So when talking to the sweaty masses the 40 to 60 percent that want that American dream and you ask them
[26:08] What would it take? What kind of minimum salary would they be happy with to remain in their own country and have no more desire to leave? For the states. Well, you know what the standard answer is 500 bucks a month. That's it. They say that on about twice what they normally make a month now they'd be able to live with dignity and nicer neighborhoods and Wouldn't have the desire to head up to the states now. No, that's not a pie in the sky wish They're asking for a 500 bucks a month, which is still less than half of poverty wages up in the states. Come on Nope, they're not saying they'd stay in their own countries for two grand a month or even a thousand a month. They're saying 500 bucks a month. That's a hundred twenty five bucks a week and even though when you break it down
[26:53] It's only three dollars an hour. It does make sense That's why it went up in the states illegals can send a hundred or two hundred bucks a month back to their families in Nicaragua Guatemala, whatever though to us it might sound like peanuts The truth is the illegal family member up north becomes the instant hero and savior of the family Why because he's kicked up the family household income to guess what that magic number? Around 500 a month. Whoops. We're getting towards the end now So I'll comment on the rest of Mark's email regarding the pros and cons of bringing kids down to Latin America on next week's show So stay tuned You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border
[27:42] Email me the expat files at gmail.com And if you want me to help you sort out your own Latin American plans schedule a one-on-one consult with me Just send an email and let me know at the expat files at gmail.com. Nos vemos