Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the growing urgency for expats to prepare for uncertain times. He discusses the challenges of living in Latin America, the importance of having a 'plan B', and the potential risks of retiring in the Caribbean and other countries. Johnny also touches on prepper culture and the viability of tracking down preppers as a business model.
Johnny begins by discussing his upcoming seminars for expats living in Latin America, highlighting the growing urgency and unpredictability of global events. He reflects on how the planning process for his seminars has evolved over the years, noting increased demand and the need for quicker decision-making. Johnny expresses concerns about the potential for economic and social instability, citing various global issues such as negative interest rates, immigration trends, and rising tensions. He suggests that these developments could lead to severe travel and financial restrictions, making it increasingly difficult for people to leave their countries. Johnny concludes by emphasizing the importance of having a 'plan B' and a network of connections, while also acknowledging the challenges of preparing for such uncertain times.
In a separate segment, Johnny discusses his sister, a prepper who has stored a variety of survival supplies in her basement, including dried food, medicine, and weapons. Despite her extensive preparation, her children mock her and dismiss her concerns about potential future crises. However, after experiencing life in Latin America, her perspective has shifted, and she now believes the end is near. She plans to move to Johnny's location, but he is hesitant to bring her extended family, especially her spoiled and problematic children, fearing they might disrupt his paradise. Johnny also touches on the broader topic of preppers in the U.S., noting that the estimated five million preppers are largely known to authorities due to their purchases and subscriptions to survivalist media.
Johnny then discusses the potential viability of a business model centered around tracking down preppers, emphasizing the value of information in times of crisis. He warns that as societal collapse becomes more likely, having access to preppers' resources could become a valuable commodity. He also highlights the importance of preparing for the future by leaving the first world and moving to countries like Latin America, where one can secure residency and a better quality of life. Johnny stresses the need to have a valid passport with at least five years of validity to facilitate the process of obtaining residency and naturalization in these countries. He also mentions the potential for increased restrictions on passport issuance and the importance of being prepared for these changes.
In another segment, Johnny critiques the idea of retiring in Caribbean islands, emphasizing that while some articles and blogs may suggest these places are ideal for retirement, they come with significant risks and limitations. He highlights issues such as food and water scarcity, lack of manufacturing, and high costs of living. Johnny also critiques a recent article from Investopedia that claims $200,000 in retirement savings can last 30 years in several countries, including Belize and Panama, calling it misinformed. He argues that such assumptions ignore the realities of living in these regions, especially for older individuals with health concerns.
In a final segment, Johnny critiques the idea of retiring in certain countries like Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Spain, arguing that the cost of living is too high or the quality of life has deteriorated. He also discusses the trend of wealthy individuals moving to Latin America as a safer alternative to the first world, highlighting the cultural and economic resilience of Latin American countries in the face of potential supply chain failures. Johnny contrasts this with the first world, where he believes people are unprepared for natural disasters and economic collapse. He concludes by suggesting that Latin America is a better 'Plan B' for expats due to its cultural and economic adaptability.
The episode concludes with Johnny inviting listeners to engage with his content and services. He mentions his YouTube channel, encourages subscriptions, and promotes his consulting services. The tone is upbeat and humorous, with a promise of humor or a refund if the listener doesn't find it amusing.
Topics
Expat life in Latin America, Global economic and social instability, Travel and financial restrictions, Preparation for uncertain times, Plan B for expats, Prepper culture, Family dynamics, Survivalism, Expat life, Social and political commentary, Prepper business model, Societal collapse and preparedness
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:30 The Growing Urgency of Seminars 00:01:48 Global Instability and Its Implications 00:02:47 The Need for a Plan B 00:04:37 The Importance of Preparation and Connections 00:05:32 Avoiding Religion and Prepper Mindset 00:05:38 The Prepper's Inventory 00:07:14 The Prepper's Plan and Family Dynamics 00:10:03 The Prepper's Dilemma and the Broader Context 00:11:03 Introduction to the Prepper Business Model 00:11:10 The Viability of Tracking Preppers 00:11:15 The Impact of Societal Collapse 00:11:18 Access to Prepper Information 00:11:22 The Value of Prepper Data 00:11:29 The Sale of Prepper Information 00:11:32 The Power of Information 00:11:38 The Value of Preparedness 00:16:30 The Need for Legal Advice in the Dominican Republic 00:16:35 The Paradox of Expertise 00:17:00 The Risks of Retirement in the Caribbean 00:17:30 Food and Water Challenges in the Caribbean 00:18:31 Lack of Manufacturing in the Caribbean 00:20:44 The Misinformation in Retirement Planning Articles 00:21:43 Costa Rica: A Mythical Retirement Destination 00:22:01 Costa Rica: A Destination to Avoid 00:22:05 Malaysia: A More Viable Option 00:22:43 Spain: A Flooded Destination 00:23:39 Latin America: A Safer Alternative 00:25:44 Latin American Resilience in Crisis 00:26:51 Americans and the Supply Chain Collapse 00:27:20 Encouraging Content Engagement on YouTube 00:27:25 Humor and Refund Promise 00:27:30 Subscription Call-to-Action
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 my seminar week starting right about now people are coming in from the four corners of the u.s And elsewhere and I'll tell you strange things have been happening for all my other seminars, and this is my tenth now It started about five years ago I would generally announce the seminar about two months before it got off the ground
[00:48] So people couldn't make their plans find dog sitters possibly send grandma who's living in the spare room off to Vegas with a sack Of quarters I thought if people had two months to sign up that would give them plenty of time to lock up the liquor cabinet I had the Xanax and the Prozac bottles and that ounce of weed that was bought in 1982 because as a rule when the parents are away the kids will play I know I did but back then pre Xanax and Prozac All parents had in the house was booze Which was probably a good thing Anyway as far as the seminar for the first couple years people were able to sign up about two months before the event And then I got people sending me emails pleading to give them another month That would make it three months before the event because some people needed to give notice of their vacation time way in advance
[01:37] That's what it's been like up to now as far as scheduling However strange things are happening And I've been getting a lot of emails lately from people thinking that the world is gonna kind of implode Within the next six months or so because all the signs and symptoms are there and I tend to agree since crazy Economic and social things are happening at a breakneck speed now Just check the news Bailin's negative interest rates Britain leaving the EU Massive influxes of illegal Muslims and Latin Americans to first world countries more of more bombings and terror strikes Escalating talks of war and war drums in the Middle East and elsewhere Bitcoin doubling in value in one month silver and gold starting to inch up and on and on that said as you might know I do two seminars a year one in July and one in January and
[02:25] now for the first time since I've been doing these things like I said more than five years now people are sending me sort of Desperate emails asking me to take their money right now for the next seminar And of course, I'm not really set up to do that I didn't even pick the exact dates yet But I assume it's gonna be probably the first or second week of January and to tell you the truth the way things are Shaping up socially and economically up in the first world This very well could be my last seminar because remember my seminar is a fast track to formulating your plan B And there might not be a chance for you to have a plan B If just a few of those dozen or so tipping points crack and crumble then it'll be a domino effect All bets are off and all of us who are far far away Like for example down here in Latin America We can watch all that happen from a nice safe distance while the rest who feel that America's God's chosen country
[03:15] And you think that Trump or Hillary will be able to rescue it from the dumpster Well, you'll be able to see what happens next first hand. So what am I getting it? Well, I'm telling you right now I think my next seminar is gonna be filled to the brim before I even announce it And so for all you listeners out there who want to put a deposit down or pay for the seminar right now Well, I'm not really set up to do that But I'll at least set the dates and probably start taking payments and deposits and reservations I hope in the first week of August Like I said, it's something I've never done before because it's never been so pressing But now it is people who've been on the fence a long long time are jumping off They sense something bad is happening and you know, it's not that I don't want to keep giving these seminars It's just that the problem is going to be with people getting passports and flights and more. It's becoming increasingly difficult already
[04:04] There's gonna come a time very shortly where you'll have to have permission to leave the country Not to mention if you owe back taxes are delinquent on certain bills or government loans You won't be able to leave whatever rotten or bad scenario you can think of it's out there In fact, many many people in the know believe that when the next shoe drops banking crisis economic crisis terrorism Whatever there'll be some very severe restrictions placed on travel and it's happening already And of course, there'll be even heavier restrictions on trying to get your money and assets out of the country, too That's already happened and well underway, which is why I put together these seminars in the first place To give you a chance at a fast-track trial-by-fire boots on the ground seminar So you can make some good connections and formulate the final stages in your own plan B
[04:53] Everyone's is different, you know, but you do need a network and some good connections to get it off the ground Let's face it nearly everyone with half a brain would agree You'll need a safe place a haven some people say a bug out place when things are no longer tolerable up in Seattle Or Cleveland where you live while I'm at it. Let me address all you preppers out there I know a lot of you listen to this show and you're thinking I'd love to come to Latin America But that's just not possible right now, but I'm ready. I'm prepared I've got my bug out bag in the back of my car and to that point I have a sister up in a Chicago Who's a prepper a fallen Catholic and now an evangelical Christian and believe me with her I try to avoid the subject of religion at all costs. That's the only way we can remain friends Anyway, I was speaking with her the other day and she told me she still has a basement full of dried seeds beans legumes pallets
[05:45] Of water generators ham radios ammo and about a thousand dollars worth of medicine and antibiotics Well past their due date and that was all the stuff that she accumulated and stored for the year 2000 y2k non-event and she told me the other day she went downstairs and took inventory and found out that Almost all the beans and rice and dried edibles were just fine In fact mice had broken into the non-gmo corn and we're still eating it gave her the willies She said and the medicine well it had to go but it was good insurance while it lasted So what's she gonna do now? She said get this I'm gonna replenish all the antibiotics and stuff and when the poop hits the ventilator I'm coming down by you Johnny and I'm gonna leave my cellar and all that prepper stuff to my two kids
[06:32] Who are totally addicted to cell phones LinkedIn? What's up Facebook Twitter? You name it? She said truthfully Johnny no matter what proof I can show him They never believe me when I tell them big problems are coming on the horizon In fact, they laugh at me sometimes and refer to my stash down in the root cellar It's kind of a running joke to embarrass me in front of their friends. Okay, okay So I was wrong about the white 2k thing and she said, you know Johnny everyone knows the story of Superman, right? His dad built a tiny little ship for the kid and everyone said he was nuts and now we have Superman and the rest of krypton perished, but she said as sure as the Sun rises one day They're gonna thank me for that stash in the basement That should last them quite a while if they don't do something stupid they can have it. I'm coming down by you Johnny
[07:19] Which was quite a change in attitude for her. She'd never said that before even back in 1999 when she was accumulating all that y2k survival stuff I said, why don't you just come down to Latin America? Now by then I'd been down at least 10 years However, she'd never visited sure. I tried to get her down. I tried to get my whole family down The only one who would come was my mother So anyway, my sister the prepper still a subject of y2k ridicule. I mean, come on who remembers that? Well her kids do Anyway, her kids like all 20 something kids believe the world will just trudge on and things won't change much Except we'll have more and better technology in which to immerse ourselves completely Then in 2013, I actually coerced my sister into coming down to Latin America for a vacation
[08:05] She saw what it's really like in Latin America. She experienced the gringo advantage She was frankly amazed by the whole thing and now since she too is firmly convinced the tipping points are about to fall Most certainly within the next year. She's got her plan be in motion and that's to come down by me Okay, so I can handle that my family can come down. However, I'm a bit selfish I don't want all of them especially not her kids In fact being the typical upper-middle-class mom She spoiled the hell out of her kids all while complaining that other people's kids were spoiled and intolerable Meanwhile under her own roof her kids needed to get beat over the head with a selfie stick at least once a week But that never happened since in the states these days kids have the power they can call the cops and have you hauled away Luckily her daughter turned out to be a really good kid
[08:52] Even though the parents were divorced early which does take its toll on the kids But her son if he were mine, I'd break a dozen selfie sticks over his head a week He's the poor entitled 20-something kid who never graduated University Because he just couldn't get up in the morning for those early classes crashed three of his daddy's brand new cars and then Because their parents couldn't stand him living in or trashing the house anymore Gave him the down payment and bought him one So I'll take my sister and my mother and my brothers But I don't want the extended family to come down here and ruin my paradise And if you're thinking blood is thicker than water in this case It ain't because you see the other day my sister called me crying and said She went down to the basement to check out her little golden silver stash a requisite of all good preppers
[09:38] Guess what missing gone missing it had been nicely hidden and the only two people who know where it was Her two kids and her daughter beyond reproach because for the last five years She's lived six states away with her husband and kid I tell you that's one of the big advantages of being a couple of thousand miles away from Dysfunctional family ground zero and I don't want to import that stuff down here So there you have it an enlightened preppers story now It's been estimated that there are over five million preppers in the US in various stages of preparation Of course and where that number come from and how can you determine whether a person's a prepper or not? I mean, they're supposed to keep that stuff secret, right? Or at least part of that plan is to have a stash that no one else knows about
[10:25] Lest bad things happen and your unprepared neighbors get wind of it and start pounding on your door Well, would you believe that five million prepper number comes directly from email lists from companies that advertise prepper type products on Alternative radio shows and shows like Alex Jones, etc So when people order that stuff and they do they automatically get on lists So Homeland Security NSA and all the other alphabet agencies know who all the preppers and survivalists are Doesn't that give you a warm feeling? So don't think your stash is safe and that nobody knows about it except you and perhaps a few select members of your family In fact one smart internet geek that came down to one of my expat insider seminars who lives in the nearby El Salvador area now
[11:10] He thinks tracking down preppers could be a viable business model. How about that? It'll be more viable as things really begin to crumble up in the states He says you'll be able to go to the net or on your ham radio or whatever And get a very detailed list of all the people in your neighborhood or the vicinity who have been prepping and stocking up All that info and data will be for sale. How do you like that? Information is power. And if you got that kind of information, you got a hell of a lot of power like he said Suppose your family was hungry and you had a case of toilet paper a couple of propane tanks A camping stove a gun in a Coleman lantern What would you trade to have a list of all the people in your vicinity who have stockpiled a year or two's worth of food? You might trade that propane tank, but you wouldn't trade your gun now, would you?
[11:56] Unfortunately, whether you want to believe it or not, that's what it's going to come down to now I know it sounds dire and bleak and negative but man wouldn't you rather be laying in a hammock sitting on the beach or Staring at the toucans and the coffee fields in the mountains while all that's going down up in the states Bottom line the only way you're ever going to maintain a reasonable quality of life Is to get that plan b going and get the hell out of the first world And you know what finally longtime fin sitters are starting to make the leap Which is why I believe my next seminar is going to fill up before I even announce it officially Unfortunately, I can only handle small groups no more than 25 Remember we're doing and seeing things that the average person who comes down on their own Would never know about or get a chance to do much less know the opportunity to visit these places even exists
[12:43] So my advice to those of you who want to come to my January 2017 seminar I know it's going to be balls to the wall So I suggest you try to get on the list early with all the flood of emails I've been getting lately from people saying they know Something bad is going to happen within the next six months something real bad All I can say is you better be pretty far along on that plan b or there's going to be a huge Chaotic rush to the exits and you don't want to be caught in that mess In fact my brother up in the states has a friend who works for tsa at chicago o'hare airport And this guy a real insider told my brother there's going to be an incident or two or ten and when it does happen think Katrina think katrina not just in louisiana, but every state. I know I know that's a pretty sad thought
[13:31] So bottom line if you want to get on my January 2017 seminar list do send me an email I'll keep you posted and we'll see what happens my advice Check the expiration date on your passport. You better have one Make sure you've got at least five years left on it And if you don't have one by all means run out and get one now Because they are at least for now good for 10 years And I understand they're going to knock that back to five years So get in on it while the getting's good and why do I say you should have at least five years on your passport? Well, that's because if you come down to a latin american country and apply for residency As long as you've got five years or so left on your u.s Passport when the time rolls around for you to get your passport and naturalization in your new latin country You'll have to show them your u.s. Passport is valid. So it's kind of like having insurance
[14:18] You'll be able to use the very same passport when you go down and get your passport and naturalization in your new latin country Now let's say your passport is only valid for two or three years That means as you run through the years on your temporary residency waiting to get your passport in your latin country You'll have to go out and get a new u.s Passport because yours will have been expired and none of us knows what kind of new restrictions they could slap on people When they try to get passports in the future as things get worse up north and more of uncle sam's sheep leave the barn Who knows what they'll impose for example? They could quite easily make you go back to the u.s To renew and get a new passport could be they don't issue passports anymore from an embassy in a foreign country They might make you go through an interview process and you might fail that interview
[15:05] But you have to know it's going to get harder and harder You'll have to give out more and more personal information There'll be many more hoops to jump through and by the way now that you know, you commit three felonies a day Remember that book it's been proven true. And if you're watching youtube right now, you'll see the cover to that book I suggest you read it if you feel like getting thoroughly depressed Anyway, since all you citizens up in ovomit land commit at least three felonies a day That means at any time if the state department wants to block or revoke your passport They can round up the usual suspects and find a few felonies and do so Not that they couldn't do that when you're down living in another latin country But once you've got your residency in a latin country or any foreign country that affords you a bit of protection Even if somehow your passport gets revoked or it expires while you're out of the country
[15:55] You will still have that permanent residency and permanent residency card So that'll buy you some time and some breathing room Now, of course we go into this a lot more at the seminar because some of this stuff Well, it's a little touchy to talk about on the air not to mention. There's so much disinformation out there, too In fact, it seems every time someone gives you some kind of fact about for example getting residency Let's say in dominican republic seems like for every blog telling you the steps and procedures There's a blog that'll tell you different ones give you different guidelines or time frames Meaning if you want to get the true skinny from the horse's mouth You have to come down and talk to a latin lawyer yourself and we provide that at the seminar. Of course I think it was einstein who said for every expert there's an equal and opposite expert
[16:41] Which really isn't a very comforting thought now, is it? Anyway more and more people are emailing me These are people who are getting off the fence And in that regard just this morning a person sent me an email and a link saying that yahoo travel and usa today published a list of the best retirement havens in the caribbean Now to me that's all well and good if you expect the world economy to just kind of chug along as it's been going and you don't Expect some big calamity in the future then, you know If you have a nice retirement income or nest egg And you think the dollar and the rest of the financial system is going to hold up and just be fine For the remainder of your life. Anyway, go ahead knock yourself out move to a caribbean island However, if the world economy is not stable. There will be some big problems if you live in the caribbean number one food
[17:30] Islands generally do not grow enough to support their own population They have to import lots and lots of food because most caribbean islands are pretty much desert or at least half of the island is desert Or untillable rock. I know I had a house on the island of Montserrat And there were three or four kinds of food that were fairly cheap That was the stuff that was growing on the island and the other 50 or 60 types of food that you might want to buy were all imported and very first world expensive And i'm talking like 30 years ago now So guaranteed if there's any kind of first world calamity at all You're going to have trouble getting food because it'll have to be shipped in on boats that use diesel So if there's any kind of kink in the supply chain, there goes your imports Number two almost all at caribbean islands have a water problem now a freshwater problem. Sure
[18:17] There's water everywhere, but it's salt water So these days they're digging some pretty deep wells down hundreds and hundreds of feet just to pull out the water for the residents Number three near the all caribbean islands. I don't care which one you pick. They do not have manufacturing Oh, they might have a good year tire plant or a beer or rum distillery and a coca-cola plant consumer items like that But they don't produce build or design washing machines or microwave ovens power drills fans motors cars, etc etc Meaning everything that we buy that kind of makes us the definition of first world Well, it's all imported and heavily taxed too So if there's a kink in that supply chain that stuff won't be available either then there's that little thing called electricity Just a little detail, but it's always three times as much as it is up in the states and you'll probably need air conditioning
[19:03] 24-7 well at least all night though islands can occasionally have a nice breeze If you're in a closed room or have any kind of business even a small office You'll be running your air conditioner all the time. I lived that island life for a couple of years I know and you know what the most expensive item in my whole repertoire was My swimming pool it wasn't even a big one But it was costing me a hundred bucks a month for chemicals and maintenance electricity the pump the water bill And that was 30 years ago And you know unless you have beachfront property and can jump into the ocean every day when you're miserably hot If you don't have your own pool You soon enough find someone who does and that gets old after a while if you know what I mean Another great reason not to live on an island is that they almost all have diesel electric power plants
[19:50] And have to import all the diesel necessary to run those plants Yet another big logistics problem if there's a break in the supply chain But I digress as usual. Where were we? Oh, yeah We were talking about how internet articles and blogs can really mislead you like einstein said for every expert There's an equal and opposite expert now just today someone sent me a link to an article in investopedia You ever hear that one? I didn't tell today It's an article entitled eight countries where two hundred thousand dollars in retirement savings will last you 30 years Starting with number one ecuador, which I think can be done to nicaragua very possible number three thailand Number four belize and there's the glitch because I believe it's totally impossible unless you pretty much want to go native
[20:36] Because like I said, you're going to need air conditioning all the time and belize imports practically all its manufactured goods So you will eat cheap if you eat the local stuff they produce But you're not gonna live like a first world person on 200 000 for 30 years. No way The writer is terribly misinformed there not to mention if you've been listening to this show for any length of time You'll know it's not a good place if you're over 50 and have any kind of health issues at all So yes, you can live like a beach bomb or go native and belize for that kind of money But I don't think most of you listeners are doing that backpacking thing anymore number five on the list panama Well, it's absolutely irresponsible to say that you could live in panama with a 200 000 retirement savings and make it last 30 years Have you been there lately? I have I must have been there 50 times already in fact
[21:24] I lived there for a while Again, if you want to go native live backpacking style never have air conditioning Probably never have a car and live way out in the boonies in a one-horse town Then you could cut your expenses a bit, but the gringos have invaded everywhere else In fact, it's the banking center of all latin america. What do you expect number six costa rica? Well, there you have it that proves this article is just full of bs Because you cannot retire and live a somewhat first world life for under 20 or even 25 000 bucks a year So there goes that nest egg in less than 10 years. How do I know that? Well, I live there a couple of years myself and you couldn't do it back 25 years ago Okay, let's drop costa rica. Don't even want to go there ever Number seven on the list malaysia. Hey, I understand you can't live very cheaply there
[22:10] I guess 200 grand in retirement savings. You probably could live 30 years though. I'm not the expert I'd say richard martin's the expert on that so i'll have to check with him the last one on that list number eight spain Now a few years back you could never have said that spain was only slightly less expensive than other european countries About as expensive as in the states But now since spain has gone down the toilet With a lot of other european countries like ireland and portugal greece cypress prices have dropped dramatically But what I recommend living in spain Well, I was there last year and I can tell you it's flooded with muslim refugees If you want to live under those conditions be my guest and although there are some very nice tremendous scenic places in spain
[22:55] All you have to do is walk a couple of blocks away from the main drag where things are really nice And it looks like the kazba and it smells like it too. Have you ever been to the kazba? Well, even if you haven't i'm sure you can get a mental picture of it Suspicious looking guys in fez's standing around chain smoking hand rolled cigarettes store after store full of cheap asian trinkets with every other store of middle eastern restaurant or a hero joint Last year when I was in barcelona the main tourist drag called la rumba one of the best diverse people watching places in the world Unfortunately, you just walked two or three blocks on either side of that historic rambla and you really did feel like you were in the middle East so would I ever move to spain? Well, if I won a castle in a card game and a hundred acres of land i'd sell it and stay in latin america
[23:45] By the way more and more first world people with mega amounts of dough are moving to latin america and buying up big tracks of land Seems like they've got their plan to be well underway. However, they don't normally like to talk about it Why would they some of them of course have inside information will never have And some are high profile media people and just can't help showing off like for example anderson cooper Who is on the cover of architectural digest magazine this month? The premier architecture magazine in the world showing off his new fantastic digs. Guess where? In brazil. So why didn't he pick london or the south of france or hawaii or the italian riviera? Because at the first whiff of big trouble in the first world
[24:31] He could slip on down to south america and watch it dissolve from a safe distance Where things will pretty much go along as usual Speaking of things going along as usual once in a while when i'm with an upscale even wealthy latin guy or his family I'll notice just how first world those people have become They watch first world tv shows in spanish, of course They go to walmart and costco and buy first world products They even eat first world diets and junk food and pepsi and coke cheetos doritos kelax cornflakes fruit loops All that junk and I used to wonder when upscale latins become addicted to a first world style of living You know severe gringo wannabes just what's going to happen to them when the first world implodes and their supply chain breaks down Well, I had that discussion today with a fairly enlightened upscale latin guy and you know what he said?
[25:20] I'm not worried. We're not worried. Our families aren't worried because you see almost all of us who have a nice living these days Came from backgrounds where our families were basically salt of the earth. They weren't rich though Some were a small percentage But probably 90 to 95 percent of upper middle class and wealthy latins Came from poor stock and worked their way up became successes and all that And this guy said all of us grew up on rice and beans and tortillas when we were kids That was what we had in the house. We didn't have doritos and cheetos and pepsi and kelax cornflakes, etc Which is why he said when the supply chain fails we go back to tortillas and rice and beans, etc Which is what happens when there's a big earthquake or a volcano or a hurricane
[26:06] The people in the area just turn the clock backwards and go into that survival mode that they were used to when they were kids And that's a stark contrast to the people up in the states Middle-income people upper middle class and wealthy americans. You gotta wonder what's going to happen to them when the supply chain breaks down Like one famous agronomist put it americans are nine meals from chaos Did you grow up on rice and beans and tortillas when you were a kid? When I was a kid I knew what rice was but I never even tasted tortillas or refried beans That's another good reason why latin america should be part of your plan b Everyone from the poorest of the poor to the very wealthy know how to handle calamities and natural disasters They've all been through it and they know how to turn the clock back and survive Can americans do that? Not likely think about your own situation. What happens when the supply chain ends in your town?
[26:59] Well, you could call up my sister She's got a seller full of y2k food slightly out of date But I don't think she'd like it if I gave you her number All right, we're towards the end now Don't forget to go to www the new expat dot com and check out the amazing john gault who has his boots on the ground all Over central america and you'll see some stuff by me there, too Of course And don't forget to check that youtube channel of mine to see the great slides and photos that go along with the audio Everyone could use a good laugh these days. And if you don't get a chuckle you get double your money back Do subscribe it's free south of the border 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 the expat files at gmail.com
[27:46] 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