Episode Summary
In this episode, Johnny Mueller dives into the state of healthcare systems in the United States and Canada, highlighting the inefficiencies and long wait times in Canada's public healthcare system. He contrasts this with the more efficient emergency care available in Latin America, where patients are seen within minutes regardless of the severity of their condition. Johnny also shares the story of a U.S. physician who moved to Central America, specifically Guatemala, to pursue residency due to burnout from the U.S. healthcare system. He discusses the prevalence of prescription medication use in the U.S., noting that the average American receives 12 prescriptions per year, with some states having significantly higher rates. Johnny also touches on how American TV networks operate in Latin America, often broadcasting in English for a specific audience of expatriates.
Johnny challenges the common narrative that Latin Americans are returning to their home countries due to economic hardship in the U.S. He argues that this is a misconception, citing personal experience with individuals who have been deported but still dream of returning to the U.S. The discussion then shifts to medical care in Latin America, comparing prescription usage and drug availability between the U.S. and Latin America. Johnny highlights that while prescriptions are more common in the U.S., Latin American countries have a different system where pharmacists often dispense drugs without prescriptions. He also discusses the cost of medications, noting that while generics are cheaper in Latin America, proprietary drugs can be expensive. Johnny suggests using online pharmacies in Canada, Europe, and Australia for accessing medications, emphasizing the importance of a valid prescription and the ability of Latin American doctors to communicate in English.
The podcast segment also discusses the challenges of ordering medications from online pharmacies for expats living in Latin America. Johnny highlights common issues such as the difficulty of contacting doctors, the inefficiency of customs (called 'aduana'), and the high costs of shipping directly to a Latin American address. He recommends using mail and freight forwarding services based in Miami to bypass these problems, as they handle customs and shipping efficiently and at a reasonable cost. The segment includes a personal anecdote about an expat who successfully ordered medication through a Canadian pharmacy and used a forwarding service to avoid customs delays. Finally, Johnny promotes his upcoming expat seminar, emphasizing the benefits of planning for residency and making money online.
The segment also discusses how to start an online business and the importance of planning for expat life, including practical advice on managing finances while traveling in Latin America. Johnny introduces a special guest who is an expert in online business and mentions an upcoming seminar in Guatemala. He also shares a cautionary tale from Dave, a listener who is preparing to move to Guatemala, about the importance of informing banks of travel plans to avoid issues with credit and debit card usage. Johnny discusses the challenges of currency exchange in Latin America, highlighting countries that use the US dollar as their currency and the implications of such economic ties. He then addresses concerns about Ecuador's government policies, including a capital control tax on cash and assets over $1,000, and provides advice on navigating these challenges.
In the final segment, Johnny Mueller discusses strategies for expats in Ecuador to navigate the country's tax system and obtain a credit card. He explains that while a 5% tax was initially imposed on credit card purchases abroad, it was later reduced to apply only to purchases up to $5,000. He emphasizes the need for a local Ecuadorian credit card to avoid currency conversion fees and highlights the challenges of obtaining a bank account or credit card for foreigners, suggesting residency or a legal entity like an SA corporation as potential solutions. Johnny also touches on the difficulties of starting a business in Ecuador due to legal complexities and the government's tendency to target certain industries, advising expats to consider alternative income sources if they plan to live there long-term.
Topics
Healthcare systems in the U.S. and Canada, Migration of U.S. physicians to Latin America, Prescription medication use in the U.S., American TV networks in Latin America, Migration trends and economic conditions in the U.S., Prescription usage and medical care in the U.S. vs. Latin America, Drug availability, cost, and access in Latin America, Use of online pharmacies for medication access, Challenges of ordering medications in Latin America, Customs and aduana issues, Mail and freight forwarding services, Cost-effective shipping solutions for expats
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:08 The 34-Hour Wait in Canadian Emergency Rooms 00:02:21 Efficient Emergency Care in Latin America 00:02:39 A U.S. Physician's Move to Guatemala 00:05:59 Disputing the Myth of Latin American Return Migration 00:06:25 Prescription Usage in the U.S. and Its Implications 00:07:28 Comparing Prescription Rates in the U.S. and Latin America 00:09:48 Accessing Medications Through Online Pharmacies 00:11:18 Verification Process with Doctors and Language Barriers 00:11:47 Customs Delays and Language Challenges 00:12:42 Using Mail and Freight Forwarding Services 00:13:44 Real-Life Example of Medication Ordering 00:15:20 Personal Story of an Expat's Residency Journey 00:16:10 Promotion of Expat Insider Seminar 00:16:46 Introduction to Online Business and Expat Life Planning 00:17:33 Managing Plan B and Financial Planning for Expat Life 00:20:02 Currency Exchange Challenges in Latin America 00:20:58 Ecuador's Government Policies and Financial Implications 00:22:29 Legal Workaround for Credit Card Use in Ecuador 00:23:27 Challenges for Foreigners in Getting a Credit Card 00:25:20 Legal Requirements for Starting a Business in Ecuador
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 I was talking to a u.s. Based physician the other day. She came down here looking for her plan B to set tell ya She says the American medical system is irreparably broken She also said most of the national health care systems the world are broken to like the one in the UK and Canada
[00:49] Now she said she knows a lot of Canadian positions and she receives this quarterly report It comes from the Canadian government national health care system and it lists a lot of medical stats and dads Then she took out her smartphone got on one of the Canadian national health care websites and showed me that report pointing out last quarters Canadian health care emergency room stats turns out and you're not gonna believe this but I saw it for myself There's a 34 hour wait if you're a walk-in to the average Canadian hospital emergency room. So what happens if you're in really bad shape? Well, if you arrive in an ambulance or are unconscious Having a heart attack full of blood or your guts or eyeballs hanging out
[01:35] You're put on a priority list and could get in right away or in a couple hours But if you just broke your leg or arm or sprained your wrist fell down had some serious gastric problems Whatever and came in under your own steam or with a family member. You're looking at an average of a 34 hour wait That sounds totally unbelievable, doesn't it? Now? I understand those are quarterly Statistics for the whole system and sometimes it might be a 15 hour wait Sometimes 40 bottom line if you're in Canada and have a very serious injury do call an ambulance go to the emergency room You'll get in right away However, if you're sprained an ankle or need some stitches You might as well walk right into the waiting room of the nearest doctor's office Don't make an appointment over the phone because that'll be a couple weeks to Now just contrast that to the emergency room of a first-world style hospital here in Latin America
[02:21] No matter what your problem is if you're a walk-in you'll get taken within five minutes And if you come by ambulance, so it's very severe. You're in there even faster So you might ask what's this female position doing down here in Latin America? Is she a do-gooder? Is she on some kind of mission? Is she with doctors without borders? Well 25 years ago, she did all of that But now she says after being on the u.s. Medical treadmill so long She wants out before she's totally burnt out on the paperwork and obama care and whatever trump care turns out to be So she's down here in central america looking to get her residency. Guess where? Guatemala Yep, she's been listening to the show So by her own admission, she's nearly burnt out on medicine and she's only 48 years old
[03:07] Oh, and here's what else she told me according to jama. That's the journal of the american medical association In america, and there's 330 million americans right when talking about prescription medicine There are 12 scripts that is prescriptions written each year per capita So do you get your quota that is 12 prescriptions a year? We're not talking about over-the-counter stuff like pep to bismol or preparation h 12 prescriptions a year per capita Hard to believe Well, maybe not And those stats are broken down state by state the worst state You wouldn't believe this Kentucky with something like 16 prescriptions per capita written a year and the states with the least prescriptions written Alaska for one, but you might have figured that so with 12 prescriptions being the average
[03:55] That would mean some people don't get any prescriptions at all and some double or triple that So who's taking all those prescription pills? Is that old geriatric people in nursing homes? The overweight the obese maybe not In fact, it looks like the whole damn population up there is addicted to one pill or another They certainly push that crap hard on tv. It's like every second or third commercial, right? And how do I know that well, that's because down here in latin america They get all kinds of american tv stations. Yep. The network stations abc nbc cbs too Of course, they're getting the feed not from albany new york or minneapolis, but from my jammy Yep, would it surprise you to know that the us abc nbc cbs affiliates are all coming from my jammy
[04:42] The exception to that rule is if you have cable tv and live in mexico Then those big three us networks have their affiliates coming from la Makes sense. Those are the biggest latin population centers, right? And funny enough the feeds for those stations come down here to latin america live. So there's no subtitles or translations They're all in english So then you might ask why would they have these stations on tv's here in latin america when they're not in spanish? Who'd watch them? It doesn't seem economically feasible Does it and where are they going to get the ad revenue? And it's not like you have to pay an extra premium to get them either You get those three english speaking channels bundled in with 50 or 100 spanish language stations with every basic cable tv package So why is that again?
[05:27] Well, it just so happens. I know a few people that work at big tv stations down here and one guy told me They run those three network stations in english because there's so many latins deported from the states Mostly from the florida texas and california area They speak enough english and live there long enough that they long to stay Connected to the friends and families they left up there And by the way for all of you who've heard this rhetoric about how latins in the states are starting to migrate back To their home countries here in latin america because it's no good economically up there for them anymore They can't find jobs and such. Well, I don't know who's pushing that propaganda or who started that rumor, but it ain't so Well, I can tell you from personal experience I've met a lot of people who've been deported in every single one of them dreams of sneaking back up to the states and
[06:13] Reconnecting with that life and those are the guys who are watching those big three network channels in english But I digress as usual where were we oh, yeah talking about how in the u.s Doctors write on average 12 prescriptions per capita per year now. I for one think that's pretty scary. Does it scare you? It should now that topic naturally got me and the female doc talking about medical care here in latin america Then we discussed the pros and cons of not needing a prescription for practically anything here in latin america Then I said, you know if there's 12 prescriptions per year per person on average in the states I wonder how many prescriptions per person per year here in latin america Then I said I bet because you can get any kind of medicine without a prescription
[06:58] You couldn't even find any good data on that and she said, oh, yes, you can but you won't get that info Through doctors down here, but if you ask the pharmacists, they'll give you the story And it's true pharmacists here in latin america dispense most of their drugs without a prescription though Some prescriptions come in daily Because people do get sick and go to the doctor and docs will then write prescriptions And according to our female first world doc who'd done her duty as a do-gooder doctors without borders type She said about one or two prescriptions per capita per year here in latin america would be more like the norm In other words, she said americans take probably seven to ten times more prescription medicines than latin americans Of course, she said where you'll find gringos. You'll find a lot more prescriptions. For example in costa rica
[07:46] She said she'd spent some time there some five or so years ago and noticed that every time she stepped into or walked into a pharmacy There were always more gringo customers in the place than local latins Oh and one more thing about getting prescription medicines She said that here in latin america even well off the gringo tourist trail You can get all the proprietary medicines available at your stateside pharmacies But since down here there are so few prescriptions written for very expensive high-end medicines And low demand means low turnover. So they might just carry one proprietary brand and no generic So it's true. They carry most all medicines here But you might not be able to get that very inexpensive generic And if they don't have the generic you'll pay first world prices for the proprietary brand Like for example, she said up in the states common heart blood pressure medicine
[08:34] If they have a generic it could be half as expensive as the proprietary brand though still quite expensive when buying it up in the states You know drug costs are extremely high up there However, she said the generics here in latin america are much much cheaper than the very same generics up in the states So it is all about supply and demand So if you're down here and you're taking an oddball kind of medication You'll be able to find it. All right, but you may get stuck buying the original brand name, which could be expensive So as for common prescription medicines like antibiotics Very very inexpensive down here. You won't believe it. I mean really how about a weak supply? That means a full course of amoxicillin or tetracycline or catholics for around five or ten bucks Now I know some gringos pop antibiotics like candy
[09:21] Not good and you know why builds unwanted pathogen resistance, but we won't go into that except to say up where you are Antibiotics are vastly over prescribed but not down here That said suppose you're down here in latin america and you do take a very expensive Arthritis medicine. Well, hopefully just being down here. You'll have less stress and you'll eat a lot better Maybe you won't have to take that medicine anymore. But if you do You just might be paying first world prices for it at the pharmacy However, there is a nice way to work around that you can check out one of the dozens and dozens of online pharmacies that exist These days i'm sure you've seen the pop-up windows and a lot of those ads have landed in your spam box Now this lady doc said stay away from the mail order drug houses in india But the ones in canada europe and australia are just fine
[10:09] And they'll sell the proprietary drug and all the available generics too Most times if you shop around you'll find them at amazingly low prices However, you'll have to send a doctor's prescription to him So does being in latin america pose a problem there? Most of those online pharmacies will accept the prescription from a costa rican mexican or any latin doctor The problem is most of those places will insist it's in english Which is not a problem either Since most latin doctors speak english, by the way, they can call in the prescription too Online pharmacies always have a toll-free number. So how would that normally work? Well, you get your prescription scan it Send it as an attachment via email to let's pick for example, a canadian online pharmacy Then you use paypal credit card some even take bitcoin. Yeah, and they'll send it to your mailing address
[11:00] Now there's two little complications here I've known people who've done that from here in latin america and here's what happens Suppose you're living in honduras and honduran physician wrote a prescription You scanned it send it to the canadian pharmacy website. They reply say they got it aok you pay for it Now sometimes the online pharmacy will call the doctor whose phone number is on the prescription to verify it's legit Fair enough except the doctor generally doesn't answer his phone It's the nurse a receptionist who speaks nothing but spanish That could hold things up and you'll get an email saying they couldn't get through to the doctor Then you'll have to have your doctor call them. Luckily, they have a toll-free number And of course your doctor will speak some english almost all medical doctors do here So that's a glitch that's easily remedied now
[11:47] The second problem could be much more difficult to resolve Now after they've got your prescription from the doctor and you've sent them the money v semester care, whatever You'll have given them your mailing address and such, but I suggest don't have it sent directly to the latin country You're living it because most of the time it'll get stuck in customs called the aduana again the aduana Where by the way, there's generally no lazier fat ass bunch of government slugs And once it lands there it could be stuck there for weeks Meanwhile, you'll be waiting and waiting and if there's a phone number to call chances are it'll be busy all the time And if someone picks up it'll be in spanish I mean do you ever try to call a government office and get anything done over the phone? Much less in english if I get about it Now eventually you'll get a notice to come down and pay something or maybe not and of course there have been
[12:35] Situations where things just get lost in the aduana and just never show up again So how do you get around that easy? You have your medicines sent to one of those mail and freight forwarding services Most of them are in miami by the way And the cool thing is they're virtually 100 guarantee to get your package through and in past shows I've mentioned how they work in great detail. So do check out the archives So those freight and mail forwarding services out of miami will handle all that aduana stuff out of sight out of mind for you Not to mention since shipping is their business They have a special relationship with those government pinhead slugs and generally get your stuff through in a couple days Now as you might remember from a previous show I told you these freight forwarding companies charge by the pound
[13:20] Most medicines that goes for vitamins and supplements to weigh under one pound So if you use one of those mail forwarding services that charges, let's say six to eight dollars a pound That's all the extra dough you'll pay for bringing a medicine in from one of those mail order pharmacies Hey such a deal, huh? In fact, I know a lot of expats who've used that method and are quite happy with it So again using this arthritis example is a real case of someone who just went through ordering that stuff from an online pharmacy So in this example for 90 pills a 90 day supply It's something like 600 bucks because in Nicaragua where they live, they don't have the generic So he's got to pay for the original brand name However, my friend located the very same medicine at a Canadian pharmacy called best price rx.com
[14:06] Of course, that's not the only outfit that carries it, but he said they had the best deal 90 pills 150 bucks and that includes shipping anywhere in the states So he had it shipped to his mail forwarding service in Miami, which has a flat fee of 750 a pound And in a couple weeks it came through a okay, not a single problem However, he said it could have been a nightmare if he had it shipped direct to his latin address By the way, a lot of people think well, why don't you just ship it ups or fedex? Yes, they're here in all the latin countries except you're going to pay at least 50 to 100 bucks just to get a letter a document or a small package through yes It's outrageous But if you need something in two or three days or if you're shipping a very important document they can do the job
[14:52] So those are the little things the ins and outs you learn once you've had some boots on the ground here in latin america And believe me, I know gringos who've been here in latin america three four five years Who are still shipping their stuff down to their latin home address? Thus having to deal with those idiot customs and aduana guys all the time both on the phone and in person But some guys just don't listen. They have to make every mistake themselves. Don't let that happen to you Now about this relatively young first world lady physician I was talking about Well as it turns out for her She said she just got a divorce about a year and a half ago and that was enough to push her over the edge Though she was always thinking about a plan b. It was the x significant other that just didn't buy into it
[15:38] She said he was a two-timer That is a two-time obama voter that explains everything and now that as she says she's jettison at dead weight She's back in the groove again and coming to my july 2017 expat insider seminar But she's here right now just for a week or two to get that guadamalan residency started Then she says she'll be back to the states to have a couple of rubbish sales and clear up a few details and be back Again, and maybe never leave she says so you can follow her lead get your own plan b started by coming to my july 2017 expat insider seminar just go to www.thenewxpat.com click on johnny's seminar link and you'll get all the information and sign-up details That along with some information that tells you how to kill two birds with one stone
[16:25] How's that? Well, that would be applying for your temporary or permanent guadamalan residency while you're down for the seminar Oh and don't forget as mentioned on the last show at this seminar We'll have an extra business segment given by a very special guest entitled making money online Because so many expats don't have a big nest egg and need to make money when they get down here So how do you get started online? How do you make money online? This is a better question Well, let's just say our special guest presenter is quite an expert at making that all happen Being for a time. He was the single biggest one person advertiser on google So if you come down to my july 2017 expat insider seminar You'll get some golden nuggets on how to start an online business from one of the best So again, we'll be in and around guadamala 90 percent of the time will be well off the gringo tourist trail
[17:15] In fact, there'll be days when you'll never see another gringo at all Except maybe a do-gooder or perhaps a backpacker or maybe a pus bag embassy weenie They're in every country, you know in any event You'll get to see amazing things the average gringo visitor never gets to see that's a promise. It always works out that way However, I do know a lot of you would like to move along on that plan b, but just can't get boots on the ground yet That's why for you listeners and all the expat gonna bees and wannabes out there I put together my expat essentials audio course if you want to find out the best ways to manage your own plan b It's a great primer and exactly what you need to check out before you get boots on the ground. That's expat plan b.com All right. That's it. Here's a little cautionary tale from dave another radio guy who's working on his plan b
[18:03] If you heard his voice, you just might recognize him. Anyway, he says johnny I'd spoken to you a few weeks ago about using a visa Mastercard or debit cards in latin america now you can do that. Just a word of warning You should really advise your banks beforehand about your travel plans In fact, I called to advise one of my banks and they said I had to come in and tell them the dates that i'd be traveling However with my other two credit cards, I was able to advise them of a travel notification right on their website If not, the banks were denied my withdrawals when I was traveling until I personally contacted them to tell them I was in another country So what i'm saying is you really have to advise your bank of your travel do it before you travel
[18:52] That'll make things go much more smoothly if you're using credit or debit cards Then he says by the way johnny i'm really excited about coming down and booked my own flights already I'll be down there on may 8th and i'll be staying in one of the places you recommend He says I can't believe i'm getting so much accomplished so fast It's really taking the apprehension out of this trip Thanks to you gen gult from the john gult trips and expat concierge service And peter the lake acted land landlord contact you gave me for rentals. Thanks again. Johnny dave. All right dave Thanks for giving us a heads up on what the banks are doing now dave in the last six months or so I've heard other stories about banks refusing credit card transactions when someone was traveling outside the states
[19:38] And later that person would get on his bank or credit card website To explain he was traveling out of the country and then things would be activated again You know what? I think the words of neil armstrong ought to be updated here How about this one small slap in the face for man and one giant step backward for mankind? You know dave life used to be so much easier, huh? Even now in the last six months or so It's become harder and harder to turn your us funny money into the local latin funny money Though the big latin banks will still let you walk in whip out your passport and they'll change a hundred to two hundred dollars a day Even that's getting tougher to do which makes it a lot easier to hang out in countries that use the us dollar panama, el salvador, belize and equador
[20:23] Meaning you could take a decent wad of us dollars down to one of those four countries And you don't have to change it to the local funny money because you've got that funny money right in your hands the us dollar And the downside of other countries using us dollars as their currency is that they're way too connected to the us government They have to be because if they use the us dollar as their currency Their central banks are intimately tied into the creature from jekyll island the federal reserve Now as mentioned equador uses the us dollar I get a lot of emails about equador You know, it's always been on my list as a very good place to be an expat, but it's slowly losing that position It's all about those thieving money-hungry government bureaucrats again
[21:10] Just listen to this email sent to me by an expat insider seminar attendee kelsey Who's in and out of equador among other latin countries? And i'll paraphrase this a bit the email says If you go to equador don't forget to take a good look around Because everything you see as of last year 2016 The equadorian government owns five percent of it. I'm talking about everything Even the cash in your pocket over one thousand bucks How can you say that? Well, that's because the government put a capital control on society Mandating an instant tax of five percent when attempting to take your money out of equador
[21:56] It could be a bank wire western union No matter even if you have cash in your pocket at the airport You'll be hit with a five percent tax on all your cash over a thousand bucks and any assets you have And if you don't declare the money and they catch it you could lose all of it Then the email says what if you're heavily invested in equador because you didn't see the warning signs and now you want out Without getting hit with that tax. Well, there's no legal quick fix You're simply going to have to pay that tax Especially if your time is limited and you want to get your money out fast However, if you have plenty of time, there is one legal way to beat this situation at least for now That is to get a local equadorian bank credit card and use that for all your purchases even abroad
[22:43] Now remember it's a us dollar country. It'll be a us dollar credit card so you can use it anywhere no currency conversions Here's the thing and many don't realize this but the new five percent tax was passed in may of 2016 Then when they realized how truly draconian it was they pulled back just a little in july The government rolled that tax back just on credit card purchases abroad up to five thousand bucks So you can spend up to five grand on credit cards anywhere without accruing this tax At least for now, so get that equadorian credit card and spend away pay with equador us dollar money But you have to get that credit card, right? So how do you get a credit card in equador if you're a foreigner? Well, it's not easy at all
[23:33] Hmm. Hey, it's me john again You know the only way to get a bank account these days In any latin country, that'd be any foreign country is first You have to have residency or have applied for residency Then your lawyer can take you down to the bank and get an account and get a debit or credit card You know, of course if you're spanish sucks You'll have to have a lawyer maneuver things for you and even if your spanish is good You'll need someone to sign for you Preferably a professional person like a doctor an accountant or a lawyer to give you what they call a carta de recommendation That's a written recommendation that you're good on is trustworthy guy or gal and all that By the way There is another way to get a bank account and a credit card if you're not a resident or have been applied for residency And that is to get yourself an sa corporation which will then get that bank account
[24:20] Along with credit cards and debit cards in that corporation's name and you being a signatory owner or employee of that sa corporation You can have a credit or debit card and to get all that going You will absolutely need a latin lawyer So that's the workaround to get a bank account if you're not a resident However, if you're a resident it's fairly easy, which begs the question. Where are you on your latin residency? Trajectory that window of opportunity is closing and it's getting harder and harder to get those things accomplished So I do hope you've got that plan b moving forward That said for all you listeners interested in becoming an expat in ecuador I've been reporting on the increasingly problematic tax situation there over the past few shows
[25:06] And from that email, you can see their intent on milking gringos because who else is going to send money out of the country? Oh, by the way, speaking of having a business in ecuador a startup. Here's something i'm sure you didn't know But it's kind of scary too Did you know that ecuadorian law requires all private companies? That would be you if you started a legit company there to distribute 15 percent of your pre-tax profits to your employees every year What have you ever heard of such a thing? So what does that do what I can tell you it? discourages gringos from starting businesses that are on the books Which is why so many gringos and expats end up with internet businesses because they're in the ether
[25:51] They're not brick and mortar and they can exist off the books or at least in other jurisdictions Oh, and here's another reason gringos don't like to have businesses on the books in ecuador this quote I got from an ecuadorian business journal It says in general the legal complexity in ecuadorian law resulting from the inconsistent application and interpretation of existing laws complicates enforcement of contracts and increases the risks and costs of doing business in ecuador Business disputes with u.s companies for example can become politicized especially in sensitive areas such as energy mining and communications In fact, there are now ongoing many high level investment disputes involving u.s companies
[26:37] Some of which are now under international arbitration Then it says ecuador's economic commercial and investment policies are contradictory and subject to change Note the regulatory framework has specifically targeted the banking and media sectors negatively affecting these industries and frequent changes in ecuador's tax codes make business planning Difficult. All right So there's the bad and the ugly for anyone thinking of going to ecuador and starting a brick and mortar business You know bed and breakfast hotel restaurant However, most parts of ecuador are still up there on my list because it's a very nice laid back place to live play and or retire As long as you have an outside source of income like a pension or social security and or a nice nest egg
[27:23] That's not dependent on you making a living in ecuador. It's not that you can't have a nice business there It's just that the government's making it harder and harder South of the border 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 the expat files 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 three videos. See you