Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the complexities of living in Latin America, from the legalities of driving with a foreign license to the cultural nuances of law enforcement. He explores the challenges expats face with bureaucracy, the role of English in police forces, and the practicalities of obtaining a local driver's license. Johnny also touches on the rising costs of expat-focused travel packages and the importance of cultural awareness in navigating life abroad.
Johnny begins by welcoming listeners to The Expat Files, a show that explores life in Latin America. He addresses common concerns about driving with a foreign license, the confusion of date formats, and the nature of law enforcement in the region. Johnny highlights the challenges expats face with legal documentation, the potential for misunderstanding due to date formatting, and the generally accommodating yet sometimes corrupt nature of local police. He also touches on the unique cultural aspects of law enforcement in Latin America, including the influence of tattoos and the use of broken English by some officers.
He then discusses the perception and reality of English language skills among police officers in Latin America. He notes that many officers who speak English are often those who were deported from the U.S., and that speaking English is seen as an advantage in certain contexts, such as applying for police academy positions or call center jobs. He also shares a story about a Salvadorian cop who dismissed the idea that U.S. police have rigorous recruitment processes, like polygraph tests, suggesting that such practices are fictional. Johnny further comments on how Latin Americans often misunderstand English media and pop culture, using the example of a young man wanting to become an FBI agent, which highlights the confusion around titles and roles. He then shifts to discussing the practicalities of driving in Latin America, noting that while having a U.S. driver's license is not a major issue, it can be problematic in tourist areas like Costa Rica, where officers may be more likely to notice expired licenses and exploit gringos for bribes.
The segment then discusses the challenges of obtaining and maintaining a driver's license in Latin America for expats, particularly focusing on the bureaucratic hurdles and the common workaround of renewing a U.S. license while visiting. Johnny outlines the process of renewing a U.S. license in one's home state, even if the expat is not a permanent resident, and highlights the risks of lying about residency to avoid legal issues. He also mentions the anxiety expats feel when their documents are expired, contrasting it with the more relaxed attitude in Latin America. The segment concludes with a story from a listener who decided to get a Nicaraguan driver's license after his U.S. license expired, emphasizing the importance of having a valid license for legal driving.
Johnny then discusses his experience trying to renew his driver's license in Nicaragua, highlighting the challenges of proving residency without a U.S. address. He explains that most U.S. states consider a driver's license as proof of residency, which complicates the process for expats. Johnny mentions the various requirements, including a blood test, vision test, and a psychological test, which he found difficult due to his limited Spanish writing skills. Despite the challenges, he managed to pass with the help of a helpful assistant who corrected his mistakes. He also shares anecdotes about being asked personal questions during the process, which he finds common in Nicaragua.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses his experience trying to obtain a driver's license in Nicaragua, highlighting the bureaucratic hurdles and the cultural context of the country. He reflects on the 'gringo advantage' and the irony of the situation, where he had to go through a series of tests and classes in Spanish, despite the lack of enforcement of traffic rules. He also mentions the low income of government workers, which explains why they rely on the chicken bus for transportation.
Johnny recounts his experience obtaining a driver's license in Nicaragua, highlighting the challenges of language barriers, the leniency of the licensing process, and the absurdities of the system. He notes that even with basic Spanish knowledge, explaining traffic signs and rules can be difficult. He also discusses the low pass rate for the exam, the lack of proper testing for certain vehicle classes, and the bureaucratic hurdles like needing a chest x-ray for the license. Despite these obstacles, he ultimately passes the exam and receives his license, though not without further complications.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller addresses listener inquiries about the rising cost of the de-cameron club package plan, which allows expats to live in Latin America for a year. He explains that the cost has increased from around $10,000 to $30,000 due to the expansion of the de-cameron resorts, which were originally a Colombian company and have now been acquired by Avianca, a major Colombian airline. Johnny also discusses the RCI hotel network, which is affiliated with de-cameron, and notes that staying at these hotels can be costly due to point deductions. He concludes by promoting his expat essentials video course and seminar as resources for expats looking to plan their move.
Topics
Living in Latin America, Legal issues for expats, Cultural differences, Law enforcement in Latin America, English language skills in Latin American police forces, Perception vs. reality of U.S. police recruitment processes, Cultural misunderstandings of English media and pop culture, Driving in Latin America and the implications of having a U.S. driver's license, Driver's License Renewal, Expatriate Legal Issues, Bureaucracy in Latin America, Expats and Legal Compliance
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:32 Email About Driving and Licensing in Latin America 00:01:06 Date Format Confusion Between U.S. and Latin America 00:01:57 Importance of Correct Date Formatting for Car Ownership 00:02:52 Accommodating Nature of Latin American Police 00:05:29 English as a Marker of Deportation Status in Latin America 00:06:35 The Salvadorian Cop's Dismissal of U.S. Police Recruitment Rigor 00:07:36 The Confusion Around FBI Agent Titles in Latin America 00:09:04 The Practicalities of Driving in Latin America 00:09:46 The Context of the Problem 00:10:06 The Bureaucratic Hurdles 00:11:20 The Workaround: Renewing a U.S. License 00:12:43 A Listener's Experience 00:13:59 Introduction to the License Renewal Process in Nicaragua 00:14:15 Requirements for Renewing a Driver's License in Nicaragua 00:15:18 The Psychological Test and Language Barriers 00:16:28 Passing the Exam with Help and Personal Questions 00:17:44 The Gringo Advantage and Bureaucratic Hurdles 00:18:43 Insurance and Traffic Regulation in Nicaragua 00:20:09 Traffic Rules and Enforcement in Nicaragua 00:21:04 The Need for Spanish Language Skills in the Licensing Process 00:21:57 Passing the Exam Despite the Challenges 00:23:19 Receiving the License and Further Bureaucratic Hurdles 00:25:08 Cost Increase of de-cameron Club Package Plan 00:25:15 Reasons Behind the Cost Increase 00:25:43 Expansion and Acquisition of de-cameron Resorts 00:26:25 Point Deductions for RCI Hotels 00:26:53 Promotion of Expat Essentials Video Course
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 out to play And now that 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 Here's an email that should interest everyone who's thinking about driving a car or buying a car down here in Latin America You know every fresh green gringo that comes down to Latin America wonders about his own driver's license Is it legal to use your US Canadian or first world license here in Latin America and if so for how long?
[00:50] What happens when your US license expires? Do you have to get a local Latin license? How about when the cops pull you over and you whip out that Colorado license? The vast majority of Latin cops can't speak English, much less read it So what happens then? And speaking of that, you know in Latin America things are reversed, verb and noun, also dates, month and day So if you're looking at your Vermont driver's license and it says it expires February 5th, 2020 It'll say 2-5-2020, right? Well when Latin Americans read it, it won't mean the same thing The day and month are reversed, it won't be February 5th, to them it'll be the 5th month, the second day May 2nd, yeah I guarantee you'll get caught in that trap for a while till you get used to it
[01:40] So you really have to watch out when you sign your name or date of birth on anything Remember to switch the day and the month around on any paperwork that's in Spanish Or there could be no end of confusion down the road What do I mean by that? Well suppose you're shipping or driving a car down from the United States You know you can only drive your car around a Latin country from 30 to 90 days before you have to pay taxes and get it licensed Well, if you screw up on the dates it could cause you no end of trouble in trying to get that paperwork done In fact, I've seen that very thing happen and you don't want to get caught in the middle of it You get the point Anyway, if you end up living down here Latin America and don't go back to the States much anymore or never, like some of us Sooner or later your Cleveland, Ohio driver's license is going to expire
[02:26] And it's true, you could drive around down here on that thing a long, long time Especially off the Gringo tourist trail Even if it's a year or two or even five years expired Gringos do it all the time and if and when Latin cops pull you over Most of them barely have a high school education And a high school education Latin style, you know what that's worth Then again, you know what a high school education Gringo style is worth too Not to mention Latin cops are generally very accommodating to Gringos, especially off the tourist trail And the funny thing is if you play dumb, that is, no hablo español You'll see off the tourist trail that'll work wonders too Even if the cops are simply out for a bribe, they have to be able to communicate that efficiently and accurately to you, huh?
[03:13] By the way, I've met a lot of nice but dunder-headed cops down here You know, a guy that should have never been a cop but got the job anyway Hmm, sound familiar? And that's not to say because they're rough and tough, real hard-ass guys Just the opposite They're just softies Who took the job pretty much because it's a steady paycheck and they get to wear a uniform Yep, women here in Latin America still love a guy in uniform Huge lag time there, huh? The Vietnam War killed that phenomena up in the States, didn't it? Yeah, sad to say, cops down here are not the best and brightest Then again, that does have its advantages, for us Gringos anyway In other words, a lot of cops down here, especially off the tourist trail Who aren't the sharpest tool in the drawer Or as they say down here in Spanish, falta un burrito por la fiesta
[04:00] Which translates Lucy too, he's one burrito short of a fiesta You gotta love it And you know, one of the amazing things I've discovered about cops down here is that On occasion, when you run into one that speaks some English And believe me, off the Gringo tourist trail, you don't meet many of those Though on the Gringo tourist trail, like in Mexico and Costa Rica Cops do speak enough English to be able to extort a little Christmas money out of you However, some Latin guys who slipped into the United States illegally And learned a bit of street English by working on an Uncle Julio's drywall gang Or leaf-blowing service Well, many of them who've been picked up and deported Have parlayed that English-speaking skill into a nice, respectable job in their home country
[04:46] Working for Latin America's finest Yep, I've met a few of them myself Yep, a lot of guys, when they get deported, and their English is pretty good They head down to their local police recruiting office And their so-so command of broken English Will actually kick their application to the top of the pile Of course, they'll have to have other qualifications too Like, for example, no obvious face or neck tattoos But the rules down here are quite flexible This is Latin America, you know In fact, I remember when I was a kid, to be a cop in the States You couldn't have a tattoo at all But now, well, you can hardly find anyone of recruiting age That doesn't have one, or a half dozen Now, everyone on the police force here in Latin America knows That if one of theirs speaks English
[05:31] It's because he got picked up and deported in the States Yep, those are some of the high standards universally practiced in all Latin police forces Now, let's look at the sequence of events here You sneak into a country illegally, which is a crime Once there, they get false licenses, paperwork, social security documents Continuously lie and use false pretenses to get government benefits and such Another series of crimes Meaning, if you're in the US illegally, every day it's lie Compounded on lie, compounded on crime However, any bit of English you learned along the way is a good thing Especially once you've been shipped back home and go for a call center job Or if you happen to apply to a Latin American police academy
[06:17] Yes, you get extra points if you know English Oh, by the way, I had to laugh when just recently One Salvadorian cop told me When they watched those US cop shows on cable TV Like Chicago Law and CSI and stuff He said none of the Latin cops he knows Thanks to recruiting process is real It can't be that tough, he said It's got to be fiction He said no one believes they have to have drug tests and urine samples And polygraph tests up in the States to become a cop Latin's laughed, they think that's hyperbole He said no copper politician could ever pass a polygraph test They'd be disqualified after the first three questions Like for example, have you ever driven while drunk or stolen anything Tried illegal drugs or lied to someone in a position of authority, etc, etc
[07:03] I mean, come on, he's right Who could pass that test? Whether here in Latin America or up in the first world You know, many Latins who speak English aren't so dumb, not at all They're questioning a lot of what they hear in English What they see in the media, cable TV and such, that filters down here They want to know what certain words and phrases mean Especially when those English words apply to media, fads and pop culture For example, I'll never forget a couple years ago at a Christmas party When a young Latin college kid told me that his goal in life Was to go to the States and become an FBI agent I said, what? Naturally, it threw me off guard He didn't want to be a rapper or win a lottery He wanted to be an FBI agent He said, you know, a special agent
[07:49] And that's when it hit me Every time you see an FBI agent on TV He introduces himself as special agent so and so Which is why Latins don't say FBI agent They say special agent Well, I say what's so freaking special about him Do they have a special badge? Special shoes? Special underwear? I don't know, it doesn't matter Because Latin people, in fact the whole world Believes the FBI has nothing but special agents However, like my grandma used to say If everyone's special, no one's special So think about it Every time an FBI agent shows up on TV Someone introduces him as special agent so and so I mean, come on Are there any not so special FBI agents out there? Where are all those guys and gals who are just plain FBI agents?
[08:38] Well, certainly not on TV Yep, it looks like even in the FBI Everyone gets socially promoted No dickhead left behind and all that Got the stupidity of it all, huh? Now, there's a skit for Saturday Night Live But I digress Man, did I digress? Let's see, where were we now? Oh, yeah We were talking about using your own first world driver's license While driving down here Or getting a Latin driver's license Or not Should you or shouldn't you? That is the question Well, as mentioned in a previous show A long time ago If you get pulled over by the cops down here And you don't have a license at all They don't take your car or haul you away They just find you something like 50 bucks Those are off the gringo tourist trail prices, by the way However, on the tourist trail As is in places like Costa Rica
[09:25] Look out No, they probably won't take your car away Or haul you in But you're looking at maybe a $500 fine Or maybe half that if the guy's fishing for a bribe By the way, cops in Costa Rica Know enough English So that if you're driving on an expired U.S. license They just might pick up on it And they do look at gringos as cash cows Especially around Christmas time Now, the problem with getting a real Latin country license Is that you have to be a permanent resident first And after that, stiff up her lip And get ready to face the bureaucracy By the way, once you get through it the first time And you have to renew your Latin license down the road It's much, much easier Anyway, because it can be such a time-wasting pain in the ass
[10:11] And since many long-term expat gringos pop back and forth To the states every once in a while Even if it's every couple of years The prevailing wisdom, lately anyway Is just to get your driver's license renewed In your own state back up north In other words, next time you're up visiting Grandma Or you're at Aunt Tutti's funeral Stop by your local motor vehicle department And renew your U.S. license Now, of course, to do that you're going to have to lie to him And tell him you live in the states And give him a home address and all that You can use Aunt Tutti's, she won't snitch on you Because generally, as a few expats I know have found out If you say you're no longer living in the states And you've got residency somewhere else Sorry bro, you can't get yourself an Illinois license anymore Because you're not an Illini
[10:58] In fact, one gringo I know got the real brush off He went to his motor vehicle department in Minnesota And told him he was living in Panama And when he mentioned it, one female government slug Called him unpatriotic and said Why would you want to go and do that? To which he almost answered To avoid f***ing wipes like you So anyway, that's one way to keep on driving legally Down in Latin America without getting a Latin country driver's license Just keep renewing the old one up in the states Not telling you to do anything illegal here Just telling you what so many gringo expats do And you know some state driver's licenses are good for 10 years So that's a good long while Now I mentioned that you could drive a long long time For years on an old expired U.S. driver's license
[11:44] But often, gringos from Milwaukee, Cleveland and Seattle Brought up to have a certain amount of respect for the law Most who were brought up in the leave it to beaver days They do feel anxious, nervous and kind of uptight When their documents are expired I'm sure you know the feeling In fact, you know when a cop car pulls up right behind you Even if you've done absolutely nothing wrong It ain't a good feeling Studies show systolic blood pressure will rise 5 to 10 points In the states that is But not here in Latin America Used to be when I was a kid The neighborhood cop was officer friendly Man, how times have changed, huh? In fact, long ago there was a quaint pristine time When you could go to school in the morning And not pass through a metal detector
[12:29] In fact, when we were kids, metal detectors were something you used To find dimes and quarters on the beach But I digress again Anyway, eventually, if you're down here long enough You're probably going to go for a Latin country driver's license And we got an email from a guy who just did it In Nicaragua This one's from Steve and he says Johnny, you've been listening to your show a long time Decided to move to Nicaragua about 6 years ago now Because I really thought the canal was going to go through Yep, the Chinese came down They had 50 billion dollars to spend But I guess the guy with the deep pockets lost his fortune And now it's over But at least I accomplished step number one On my plan B mission That was to vote with my feet and get the hell out Anyway, I wasn't paying much attention to the dates on my Georgia license
[13:16] And it expired So now if I go back to Georgia I can't just walk in, pay the fee and renew So I decided I'm going to get my Nicaraguan license Because I am a resident Now Johnny, like you pointed out You can drive in Nicaragua on your country of origins driver's license As long as it's not expired At least that's the rule Again, you got to wonder who's checking And I've been pulled over a few times And my Georgia license, even though it's expired, has served me well However, as time goes on That expiration date weighs heavily on me In fact, last time I was pulled over I handed my Georgia license And an international driver's license I had just for backup Both of them were expired But the guy smiled and waved me on through Now get this About three months ago I went back down to Georgia
[14:02] Because I had some family stuff to take care of And I tried every trick in the book to renew that license But since I have no real residence in the states anymore And I didn't want to outright lie I'm not really good at that They required me to give them proof of where I lived in the state And now, most US states consider having a driver's license as proof of residency And as a requirement to file state taxes Anyway, getting my license down here in Nicaragua Required many trips back and forth And many lines of standing So you will waste a lot of time if you do it legitimately However, there are some shortcuts And I'll get to that in a second Either way, shortcut or not In the end, if you persevere, you'll be successful
[14:48] For example, I offered to take a driver's written exam But wanted to skip the class But they wouldn't let me out of it Even if I paid for the class and didn't attend They wouldn't let me take the test However, I understand if you go to one of the driving schools I'll actually guarantee you a license But being the kind of low budget former backpacker type I wasn't about to drop 80 or 100 bucks I'm the kind of guy who has more time than money First of all, there are some odd things you have to do Like get a blood test and a vision test And get this A psychological test Hey, I'm thinking not a bad idea The way people drive down here But obviously It certainly doesn't weed out the nut cases Come to think of it, if they did that up in the States No one would pass, would they? Luckily where I live
[15:34] Where we have in Nicaragua The greatest concentration of gringos in Granada There's a red cross center That'll take your blood Instead of having to go to a doctor Cost? 10 bucks or so Probably double that If you went to a regular doctor who had a lab Now my Spanish is so so About a 5 out of 10 But taking a psychology test A written exam Was very difficult Because you know We might think we're a 5 out of 10 But that's just in conversational Spanish As you probably know Most of us gringos who can speak Spanish Can't write it worth a shit But thankfully The people there were helpful They wanted me to pass When they saw me struggling They gave me a young man who helped And who I assumed would speak some English Turns out he didn't
[16:19] But when I'd answer questions That looked to be wrong to him He would correct me right then and there You know Hint hint So I passed And then someone came over and asked me Some verbal questions Some traffic questions In Spanish again Like for example What would I do if I got in an accident Then they asked me a bunch of personal questions The usual Latin thing Because well Nothing really formal down here In fact One very short but cute young lady Asked me if I was married And was looking at the ring finger on my hand When I told her no Almost like she was sizing me up for a date In fact I think she was She said Do you have any children? And when I said no She gave me a face like Oh I just can't believe that
[17:04] A tall strapping gringo like you And no kids And Johnny You have to know That's not the first time this has happened to me In fact Many times in stores And offices And government buildings Especially when I'm standing in line Next to a lady or two I get the same drill In fact when I went and jumped through All those hoops to get my residency here The same thing happened At two different windows I was standing at The lady who was shuffling my papers Signing them and putting stamps on whatever Started asking me if I was married How many kids I had and all that Stuff you could never get away with If you were going through a government line up in the States Again it was flattering and all And again what you'd call The gringo advantage Especially when I take an objective look at myself in the mirror I'm 62 years old
[17:51] About 6 foot tall with a bit of a spare tire A lot of gray hair Crooked smile But I've got those all important Blue eyes That is Lasix corrected blue eyes But don't tell anyone All my life up in the States A solid 5 on that 10 scale But not down here Too bad I didn't find that out Until I was 55, huh? So anyway after taking that sort of Dating slash morality test I had to pay a bunch of costs for several things And all the little charges came up to under I think 25 bucks or so Around 700 cordobas They have their own funny money, you know? And they don't take dollars Then I had to give them certified copies of my Red Incidency Card My old license Papers for my car And get this Proof that I had my car insured
[18:38] Strange they asked that of resident gringo Since 99% of Nicaraguans who drive Don't have insurance though it's the law Then I had to actually go to a driver's class In Spanish A 1 hour talk on alcoholism The guy who gave it seemed to be drunk too And 3 hours covering traffic regulations As if anyone here in this country even the cops Know anything at all about that Hell half the cop cars here Are missing a headlight or tail light Or both Oh and by the way I have to tell you I was there till the end of the day Around 4 or 4.30 And I noticed a very odd thing No one who worked there Had a car You get it? No one in the motor vehicle department Drove They all took the chicken bus
[19:23] Easy to understand That's because they only make 250 to maybe 350 a month And who can afford a car on that But you can see the irony right? But I digress just like you Johnny Anyway after that little sit down class They give you a test So you'll need to buy one of those Little traffic regulation books At any one of the little stores around there And it looks like they directly copied A USA traffic rule book Only changed everything into Spanish For example the stop signs look the same But they say alto or para Instead of stop The other signs such as yield signs And train crossing signs Are basically the same However there are some odd ones So be on the lookout for that And remember The number one traffic rule in Nicaragua As they tried to tell me
[20:09] Is don't cross a solid line Don't pass By the way pass is Rebasar Rebasar Why they stress it? I don't know because Everyone does it anyway Everyone breaks that rule Chicken buses Taxis Even cops Which is why there are so many Near head on collisions And chicken buses Rolling down embankments And falling off cliffs So anyway after the class We were given a couple hours for lunch And time to study for that big exam I studied like crazy You do that when your Spanish isn't so great They gave you exactly 30 minutes to complete it Exactly 30 Latin minutes With a coffee and pee break thrown in To hang around and discuss answers with everyone If you wanted to Now the shocker was that Except for a few true and false questions
[20:57] That were poorly written And therefore a toss up They were ridiculously easy However do note You'll not only need to know the answer But how to explain it back in Spanish If they ask you about it So one or two years of Spanish in high school Or junior high Will not do it for you For example Como son señales horizontales Meaning what are the horizontal signals for? En caso de accidente explica Tres cosos para hacer Which means in case of accident Explain three things you should do And how about this one Si tienen un le sensia tipo be cinco Es posible para tener mas que ventes cinco pasajeros In su vehiculo Which basically boils down to saying
[21:44] If you have a type 5B license Can you have more than 25 passengers in your vehicle? Well of course the answer to that is no But this is Latin America Where 25 can often mean 50 or more So in the end I did pass By the way I was the only gringo in the class But less than 10 people out of 30 passed So maybe 30% And it was fun to note that everyone there was smiling and happy Even the ones who failed But for me the trials were not over A couple days later I had to go back And take the actual driving exam Again I think it was the gringo advantage Or they felt sorry for me or something We only drove a couple of blocks Then we pulled over and sat there And I listened patiently as he talked about his relatives
[22:32] Who were living up in the states And his own dreams of going up there to live himself someday Yeah right you know what that means And the officer filled out the form saying I'd done everything right Nope I didn't parallel park Do a right or left turn Didn't even get to use the turn signals at all Never even backed the thing up Now someone told me they're tougher on Nicaraguan locals Because they're getting their first license And probably don't have a car And little or no experience in driving and such Well less gringos have a reputation of having two cars in every garage or more We were brought up with cars We get our first ones at 16 Sometimes even earlier In fact most of us have probably spent more time behind the wheel of a car Than we did at school So okay I passed Then I went down to the police station They took my photo And soon enough I got my real Nicaraguan driver's license
[23:19] Good for five years However as it turns out The machine that takes your photo And makes the license was broken that day So I went back only to discover I also needed a chest x-ray How about that? I had a chest x-ray for a driver's license exam Why not a proctal? So I went to the first two places on the list they had Where you could get an x-ray And wouldn't you know it Those two places had their machines down for repairs too By the way after going through all this Others have told me There are some driving schools It costs around a hundred bucks But with an extra forty dollar more as a bribe You never have to go to class or drive a car All you have to do is get the blood taken by the Red Cross Oh and by the way Some say the hardest part of the exam is the eye exam Which is pretty useless
[24:05] They use one of those old handheld devices Optometrists used to use Except they don't work if you wear glasses However if you have a US license Old or new That has a glasses restriction on it They'll let you slide And of course you'll have to explain that to them in Spanish Oh and one final thing When you apply for your license They'll have boxes you can tick for different classes of driving You know regular car, motorcycle, truck Delivery driver, taxi, semi Just check them all Because you see as it turns out There's no special driving school Or special exam you take For driving a big rigged truck Though there really should be Judging by the way these guys drive And how many you see getting into accidents Well that's about it Johnny
[24:51] Gotta hit the road now This time legally for a change Well thanks for that very cool report Okay I've been getting a few emails from people About that de-cameron report that I gave not so long ago Some listeners want to know why the cost To live there for a year for a couple Has gone up from around $10,000 Some years ago to around $30,000 today Well as it turns out There is a very good reason for that Besides the fact that people are overusing the plan Mostly Latins who went to the States many years ago As illegals and then they got legalized And they know no such deals like that Could ever be found up in the first world Well as mentioned Those de-cameron resorts started in Colombia They were a Colombian company Of course now they've expanded to more than 10 Latin countries
[25:38] And after growing so much And being so successful in their niche market They were just bought out by the airline Avianca That too is Colombian and one of the biggest Latin airlines So they've kind of whipped some sort of first world fiduciary Responsibility into the de-cameron system That said Although it's still a very good deal To take advantage of that de-cameron club package plan It's not nearly as good as it used to be And by the way People have asked me about those RCI hotels Because you know if you buy that de-cameron club package You can stay at over 2,000 hotels That are affiliated with RCI Kind of like Best Western In fact some of the RCI hotels are Best Western However if you use those in the club plan
[26:23] You're going to be hit pretty hard with points And remember it's all about subtracting points From the total that you purchased for the year So for example you might recall You could stay at a de-cameron hotel For around 9 or 10 points a day If you stay by the week or month But chances are if you wanted to go for example to Europe And stay at an RCI hotel They might subtract 30 points a day So you won't be able to go globe trotting To RCI hotels Without depleting those points quickly Alright we're towards the end of the show now And we're coming up fast on my 2017 expat insider seminar Yes we're all filled up And for those of you who couldn't get in Remember you can go to expatplanb.com And get started on that plan B Right from where you're sitting Yes just go to www.expatplanb.com
[27:12] To get the right ducks lined up for your own plan B It's the very next best way to get started Without actually getting boots on the ground Of course you'll need to do that later But here's a fantastic place to start Yes it's my very own 9 hour expat essentials video course Check it out at expatplanb.com This is The Expat Files living in Latin America If you want me to help you out with your own plan B Just schedule a one on one consult Send me an email at theexpatfiles at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan B From right up there in the states Go to www.expatplanb.com And check out my 3 videos See ya! Noes vemos!