#653 – The Expat Files: Life, Legalities, and Living in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right. Let's start out with little email from the altiplano drifter. He says hey, Johnny Just started watching some of your YouTube shows for the first time sending my kudos that words right up there with the a word That you don't like

[00:46] That would be mmm awesome. By the way. Thank God. It seems to be petering out of the vernacular Only thing is you have to wonder if whatever is gonna replace it's gonna be worse So the altiplano drifter says Johnny kudos to your YouTube channel Especially to whoever does your picture selections some really priceless photos and cartoons there. All right. Thanks for that Mr. Drifter and you know, I've got more than a hundred and fifty YouTube shows up there So do check it out Just go to YouTube and plug in the expat files and our master picture phrase and cartoon selector is Also our expat concierge lady leader my chief expat insider logistics lady and master sergeant of those famous John Galt trips

[01:32] Yep, she's German American like my mother who used to say we can do anything but cook But in Jan Galt's case, she's actually a master chef. She's gonna kill me for that one So if you like those youtubes, it's mostly because of Jan. Oh and she also runs the new expat.com website That's of course where you can sign up for my expat insider seminar Next one coming July 2017 It'll be in and around Guatemala again at least 90% off the gringo tourist trail and unlike those other big cattle call seminars that International living puts on where there's 250 people in a room and you don't get any meaningful boots on the ground and just Hotel boots on the ground and slippers on the carpet. All right. All right So as not to be so nasty and for full disclosure, that's not to say they don't have any boots on the ground at all

[02:20] They almost always have a nice real estate outing so they can pump their gringo priced pet projects I've heard that story from everyone who's attended one of those seminars. So what's different about mine? Well, we give you classes in the morning and at noon we're on the road and man That's when you really start drinking from the fire hose and it's true by the end of each day. You're totally worn out That's the point we really pack it in and it's something you won't forget. Yep It's a real one-of-a-kind education in the good the bad the ugly and the great owner Remember, we're the only seminar in the world that offers the great little bonus of killing two birds with one stone Meaning come down to the seminar and get your permanent or temporary residency started in Guatemala and why Guatemala? Well, that's where we're doing the seminar and our seminar lawyer who is also an intellectual property specialist

[03:09] Has his law firm located in Guatemala City and he'll be hanging with our group 24 7 Every single day of the seminar and a couple of days before and after too. He's fully bilingual So any questions you have about any legalities? He'll be right there for you and he'll be giving a segment at the seminar explaining things like banking corporations trusts passports residency drivers licenses contracts shipping land purchases rentals vehicle purchases business requirements taxes hiring and firing employees and the basic legal and court processes Well, you get the idea. It's all about those legal things We need to know things that are a bit different than how they do things up in the States However regarding killing two birds with one stone, you know coming down to the seminar and getting your residency started at the same time

[03:59] I gotta warn you it takes about a month to get your own paperwork together up in the States Sure, there have been some who could do it in a day or two But that's not normal usually a couple of weeks to a month unless you live in a very big US city That has a guadamal and consulate nearby where you can just walk right in and depending on the traffic wait five minutes or five hours And skip all that time it takes to go back and forth with your documents through the mails So anyway The bottom line is if you're coming to the seminar and planning on starting the permanent and temporary residency process to give yourself some Breathing space you pretty much have to sign up for the seminar at least by the first week in June And then you'll be in good with our seminar lawyer and he can walk you through the process and advise you of the necessary Paperwork you're gonna need and how to get it notarized and authorized depending on your case because you know

[04:47] Not all cases are the same. For example, if you have social security income, you can apply directly for a permanent residency However, if you're getting monthly income from a trust real estate an annuity or another kind of pension You can skip temporary residency and apply for permanent residency, too Though you'll need to present your paperwork in a certain way So when you arrive for the seminar, which starts on July 8th, our lawyer will be ready for you to sign some more paperwork You'll have all your correct documents in hand too. You'll have an appointment at immigration He'll hold your hand and take you there and you're on your way Anyway, getting all that paperwork gathered and authenticated now will save you the time and expense of a trip down at a later date Yep, you really should do it now while there's still that window of opportunity

[05:33] One thing we know for sure the regs and requirements will get tougher. That's for sure Let's face it the way things are going up in the States anything can happen. So I'll ask this question again How's your plan be coming now? One of the most amazing things about having your plan B in Latin America is that you can forget about hungering down and becoming a prepper Why would you need to in your own backyard could be a Garden of Eden? You could get off the grid if you're in the Alti Plano There'll be no heating or air conditioning bills And if you're homesteading or live in a gated guarded community, you'll almost always have your own well So you'll never run out of water not to mention in the rainy season. There's way too much water But you knew that already right? Oh and one thing I've noticed too even with the people living in the crowded dirty nasty big city

[06:20] Every one of them has one or more family members who's a farmer in fact during Eastern Christmas holidays The city's virtually empty out. It's as if there's no traffic at all It's like the 1960s and what do you think most of those people go? Well, some of them go to the beach, of course But most of them go back to the old small-town homestead where they came from Sister Gabriella or Uncle Tio's farm grandpa chepe or cousin Hakko's cattle ranch Don't you see down here if the feces hits the ventilator in a big way? The city dwellers all have some place to retreat to where they're growing food In fact practically every Latin you meet in the cities is only about one generation removed from being a farmer Contrast that with people up in the states and in Europe you talk to the average guy on the street you find out

[07:09] They've got pretty much zero family members who are farmers up there when a crap hits the exhaust fan and the big city shut down The average person has no family members who have farms or who live out in the boonies producing food You know, I'm talking about you guys in New York Jersey, Milwaukee and Cleveland, you know It is said things are gonna implode, you know But everyone's in denial about it The average guy has no place to retreat to a place that has adequate renewable food resources Do you any farmers in your family? I kind of doubt it and the stats bear that out in the first world 2% of the population is devoted to farming here in Latin America 20 to 30 percent depending on the country you live in

[07:54] So when the poop hits the exhaust fan, where would you rather be? Now, of course, you know by now if you're gonna have any kind of reasonable plan B You have to have a residency in another country preferably a Latin country Then in most cases after five or so years You'll get your nationality and passport and at that point it really won't matter what kind of capital controls or travel restrictions They put on US citizens because you'll have dual citizenship and if you want to travel or do business whatever you can do it with your Latin passport because of course you do know that in most all the world Americans are persona non grata and if you think that's gonna change for the better. Well, just pop another Zoloft Face it people in most foreign countries and their governments just don't like us anymore The huge glaring exception to that rule being Latin America where gringos are well

[08:46] Let's put it this way. They all want to be just like us And you know, there's one real easy way to prove that point if you're down here with some boots in the ground You'll see all over the place Latin people of all social stripes wearing clothing that has the American flag or the red white and blue I love New York, New Jersey, my jammy Seattle, LA Disneyland Vegas Hollywood, Orlando, you name it. They're exhibiting that all encompassing I love everything about the US and its people syndrome Now what you don't see down here is Latin is wearing t-shirts and sweatshirts and hats that say I love London Paris Japan Germany and Russia You just don't see that now you won't see people in Europe or the Middle East with American flag and USA

[09:34] paraphernalia plastered all over themselves In fact, I dare you to wear a simple old American flag t-shirt in Paris or Munich If you do you're asking for trouble or maybe even a fatwa you get the point but down here where I am People just love anything that's got the red white and blue I'm telling you and that includes t-shirts hats mugs bikinis and condoms that say I love New York or my Jammy or any place in the States And if you're watching this on my youtube channel right now got some really cool pictures to prove it to you pictures I've taken myself now I get around go to a lot of events and I'm way off the gringo tourist trail So if I'm going to some kind of concert or fair or shopping deal beachfront event motocross car bike race Whatever you can't walk through any crowd without seeing people with the red white and blue

[10:24] These are latins not gringos and man Are they proud of that piece of clothing and you know before they started fabricating and mass producing all that I love New York and American flag stuff down here in Latin America I'm talking maybe 10 years ago or so back then the only place you'd get that paraphernalia was up in the states and then bring it down Well, I had a nice New York Yankee cap and back then I can't tell you how many times I was at some kind of event And a guy'd walk up to me a Latin guy Of course and you'd say how much he liked my hat and make me an offer and I'd always be thinking details details man Would you buy someone's grizzled old greasy cap from him? But that's another story anyway, the point is the time will come and it's actually upon us already where your American passport is

[11:11] Not something you want to flash around not when you're traveling And if you flash it at a bank these days It'll certainly get you a quick walk to the exit because banks won't open accounts for Americans anymore Just too much hassle meaning any smart person that's looking at the future Really does have to have a second passport in his or her strategic plan You know something's coming and it's not gonna be pretty but you knew that already Which is why a lot of you up north are getting your plan B and your ducks in order by signing up for my expat essentials Course at expatplanb.com not to mention I've been doing more and more personalized plan B phone consultations In fact, I'd say I'm doing twice or even three times as many phone consultations compared to last year Now don't be fooled into thinking it's because Trump's in office

[11:57] It's certainly not the Democrats or the people that hate Trump that are working on their plan B That's for sure. In fact, if anything, it seems that for a while there up north There was a lot of hope when Trump got the nomination But now the twisted manipulated media the deep state and the so-called pundits They're all making them out to be either a lunatic a dunderhead or a clown Meanwhile, the US is heading for a cliff like a freight train out of control But you knew that already too, didn't you? Alright, let's talk about living here in Latin America Which means you'll have to rent buy or build unless you're gonna live on the beach in a tent or crash at your friend's houses Of course, they won't be your friends for long You know how that is, but that said people say Johnny, you know You're talking about this big real estate bubble and you're saying it's a renter's market because people are still building and building

[12:48] Hoping that some buyers will step in but they won't They just can't because you see the thing is all through Latin America The big money is gone into high-end projects and expensive houses houses over Let's say $200,000 are going up everywhere But the average person can't even afford a house worth 40 or 50 grand But you see it's the cash money driving this thing It's the money outside the banking system that Latins can no longer put into banks Safely that's driving that bubble even bigger meaning, you know You can't walk into a Latin bank any bank anymore here Just like you can't in the States or Europe or anywhere in the world with a suitcase full of dough and say hey Put this in my account. They have those know your customer laws and they stick to them So anytime you want to deposit over 300 bucks

[13:36] They pull out the forms and you have to write down the origin of that money That means people with a lot of cash like for example thieving politicians and narcos, etc they put their dough into one of the last seemingly legitimate enterprises that would be building construction because Architects and contractors will always take cash. So it's my recommendation It has been for some years now is to just rent Buy your time and wait for those desperate sellers to start dropping their properties on the market But you're not gonna find any of those deals surfing the net whilst sitting on your sofa up in Cleveland In fact, you probably won't even find any good rental deals sitting on that sofa Searching the net because searching from there you'll be going through a middleman agency That's converted all those Spanish ads into English and he or she's gonna take a big cut

[14:25] Plus when properties are listed on English real estate websites The brokers and middlemen know what the real estate's worth up in the States and they know for example if the average new 2,000 square foot house in the burbs in the States is worth let's say $250,000 similar houses in places like Guatemala Nicaragua Columbia and Ecuador should obviously go for less but how much less? Well, it depends those ads might snag a few gringos as long as the price remains 20 or 30 percent below What an equivalent house would cost where they live to them. It looks like a pretty good deal However, if you went down to Ecuador yourself and got boots on the ground hired a bilingual driver drove right up to that house Knocked on the door bypassing all the local middlemen realtors and the guys on the net

[15:11] You're likely to be able to work out a deal for half of what you saw it for on those real estate websites in English Now speaking of real estate in Ecuador. I want to read this little email narrative to you It starts my friend said what a dump while we looked at a middle-class condo for rent in Guayaquil Ecuador but through my eyes the place looked okay Then he says typical for Ecuador clean and safe cheap 300 bucks a month and well located then the narrator said that would have worked for me But not for this guy. You see he was used to luxury high-end first-class Waterfront living in the USA. So we kept looking around for different rentals and we looked and we looked

[15:57] but as we visited the higher-end luxury places for rent in Guayaquil then Salinas then Cuenca He noticed one thing. He said there isn't much true US standard high-end stuff here to choose from is there and if you do find it as he put it jeez This luxury place is even more expensive than the same place would be in the US where I come from Alright, it's me Johnny again Now remember what I've said over and over again as soon as the gringo is start piling and up go with the prices I mean Costa Rica is the perfect example of that. Alright, meanwhile back in Ecuador the narrator goes on It's true. There is a current lack of supply and growing local demand for higher-end places

[16:43] Particularly in the big cities of Ecuador like Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil That causes the high-end luxury properties in Ecuador to be very expensive In fact often more expensive than a similar style property would be in the US these days But note for cheaper middle class and lower class stuff That is middle and lower class Latin style. There's a ton to choose from. Alright, it's me Johnny again Remember how I mentioned many times the definition of middle class lower middle class and upper middle class in Latin America is Different from our experience with those definitions up in the states What we'd call a starter home or lower middle class is solid middle class Latin style what Latin's would call upper middle class housing is solid basic middle class stuff to us and

[17:34] Latin luxury style is upper middle class to us and to prove it remember what I said in a past show Middle class Latin houses. Those are middle class Latin style rarely are plumbed for hot water That means they have cold water lines running everywhere But if you look under the sink You'll see there's just a connection to the cold water faucet and the hot water valve on your sink or shower Is connected to that same cold water line So you get cold water or what they call agua tibia Which is room temperature water from either tap cold or hot doesn't make any difference coming from the same pipe And then they put those crazy dangerous looking point of views shower ahead hot water heaters where they want warm water and Latin's call That middle class living. Would you call that middle class living up where you come from? No way that wouldn't even pass muster for a low

[18:22] Class white trash starter house. He says now if you're willing to scale down your lifestyle to middle-class Ecuadorian style what we're talking about right trust me for the most part It's a bit of a drop-off from a middle-class American lifestyle now He's saying exactly the same thing that I've been harping on for what years now, right? Yep It's me John again, and the question is should you or shouldn't you I say don't do it Don't lower your first-world standards unless you absolutely have to I mean look one of the main reasons you have a plan B And you move to Latin America is because you want to maintain your first-world style of life on a small pension or social security check Which you'll never be able to pull off up in the states not anymore I know people tell me the average social security payouts around 1400 bucks a month and that barely covers rent and utilities in most big cities up in the states

[19:11] All right, he goes on to say now luxury places are few and far in between in Ecuador But decent middle-class two-bedroom apartments that would be middle-class Ecuadorian style in decent areas of cities in Ecuador rent for 250 to 450 bucks a month and are plentiful and easy to find However in the countryside it can be cheaper and it's true My electric bills often run less than 10 bucks a month for a two-bedroom apartment It's me John again Obviously the guy lives in the Altiplano and does not run a seat or he lives on the coast and sweats His ass off all the time cuz you know, they don't call it Ecuador for nothing It's on the equator and that means by virtue of geography one of the highest places on earth by the way every single Latin country

[19:58] subsidizes electric bills for the poor that means anyone who uses 200 kilowatt hours per month or less which could be three to five cents a kilowatt hour That means you use a hundred kilowatt hours to pay three to five bucks a month And in the US the average family of four uses between 500 and a thousand kilowatt hours a month Meanwhile the other 20% of Latin population whose bills are over 200 kilowatt hours a month That's s gringos and expats too and we pay inflated bills to support those subsidies those subsidies Of course being blatant bribes to keep the traditional ruling classes in power Same thing with the public transportation and the entire chicken bus transportation system throughout Latin America Which is why on many public transportation and chicken bus lines

[20:43] It'll cost you from 10 to 25 cents to take a ride versus a ride on public transportation up in the States or Europe What's that cost a couple bucks right and still up in the first world? They subsidized public transportation, too You're not paying the real cost, but you knew that right? All right back to the email then the writer says heck My water bill is often around five bucks a month. All right me Johnny again, you know why it's five bucks a month It's municipal water and it's not on 24-7. You heard me discuss that on a recent show Although if you rent or buy and you're on municipal water It might seem like you have water 24-7 if you have a nice cistern in the house Usually sitting on your roof and the builder made good provisions for municipal water outages

[21:28] But in actuality almost no municipal water supply in Latin America provides water to anyone's house 24-7 It's been rationed like that for decades and not principally because cities and towns are depleting their water tables, though There's a lot of that but because at least 50% of the water in the pipes is lost to leaks and poor engineering and lack of maintenance or what I like to call maintenance by crisis So it's true if you live in middle or lower middle class Latin style housing You will undoubtedly be on the municipal water supply and your bill could very well be three five or at maximum Ten bucks a month. In fact, I'd say at least half the people I municipal water supplies in all of Latin America are not even on meters And if they are there is no meter readers in most cases. You just pay a flat fee

[22:17] For example, my maintenance guy who lives lower middle-class Latin style. That's kind of tin shack style Last time I asked him he said his water bill was around a dollar fifty a month. Hey even back in the 1950s USA people's water bills were more than a buck fifty Oh, and did you know the typical household water bills in large US cities ranges from 25 to 70 bucks a month Depending where you live. Oh and my water bill in a gated guarded community with our own well Yep, they read the meters in gated guarded communities because you buy like I mentioned in a past show a paha or half a paha Water paha being 30 cubic meters a month and you get billed if you go over that if you use less It doesn't matter you still pay the contracted rate in my case where I'm living right now

[23:05] I pay about 15 bucks a month still just a little over half of the lowest typical household water bill in large US cities Hmm now, it's obvious that the guy writing this email from Ecuador He's living middle-class Latin style, which is lower middle-class first world style and he seems happy with it and that's perfectly fine Whatever floats your boat, but if you're a typical first world person who's kind of a stickler for cleanliness and details You're gonna be disappointed and irritated at times living in a house like that in that kind of neighborhood What he's describing here is not a strict middle-class first world living now I know a lot of gringos who came down years ago to Latin America as backpacker types No problem going to those five or ten buck a night hostels where there's six people to a room sharing one bathroom

[23:52] Some of you know that drill fact is I never traveled that way myself I always had my minimum standard, you know my own room in a bathroom, but it seems to me It's a fine lifestyle when you're in college and you're traveling through the world during summer vacation and such So when coming down to live permanently in Latin America middle-class Latin style Which is lower middle class or kind of white trash first world style is a definite step up from the backpacker life However, my life plan and objective is never to live lower than middle-class first world standards So the guy writing this email well if it works for him great But it's just not up to my standards and so many other first world gringos. I meet they don't want to go backwards They want to stay even or get ahead and the proof that the author's email

[24:39] Has slightly lower standards that I think you and I are you serious that he says next I don't have a car because I really don't need one with so many cheap taxis and buses around that'll take me anywhere I need to go for sometimes two bucks. That means no car payments insurance parking or maintenance costs All right. There again a lot of expats and wannabes and gonna bees are gonna think man, you know How can you survive without a car? I don't know. That's a minimum standard for most of us gringos You got to have your own wheels. It's independence, right? Even if you've got a two or three thousand dollar junker or a motorcycle in the carport Most of us find that's a necessity However, I know if you lived in center city, chicago or new york, many people find they don't need a car They don't even have their driver's license So maybe for people who lived all their life in that groove that works just fine

[25:28] But not for me in the vast majority of permanent expats For example, what if you live in the alti plano and you want to shoot out to the beach one weekend? What do you do sweat it out on a decrepit smelly overpacked chicken bus not recommended But there are always clueless gringos and low budget backpackers who do so then he says and guess what? I don't pay for any other insurances either with health care costs. So cheap. I also pay out of pocket for that when I need to Yep, it's me. Johnny again for that I say it'd be nuts if you didn't get on one of those very cheap healthcare insurance programs You just wouldn't believe the deals you can get for 50 to maybe 200 bucks a month There are so many different plans you can choose from some of them the virtual equivalent of the old blue cross blue shield programs

[26:15] Which were considered solid gold way back when oh, and by the way i've just updated my 100 page latin american Healthcare report it shows you just how to get first world medical care South of the border at third world prices and that includes the insurance coverage angles, too Now I know one of the latest greatest fads up in the first world is Medical tourism in mexico and other places south of the border But let me just point out that in most cases if you do the medical tourism thing You'll end up going on a website and hooking up with the first world english speaking medical tourism broker Who's gonna set you up with the flights and the hospitals and hotels and all that and he's gonna take a pretty good cut Well, my report shows you how you can do all that yourself How to find first world hospitals and clinics and top notch latin doctors and specialists that were trained in the us

[27:04] Anyway more on my updated 100 page health care report in an upcoming show. So stay tuned Okay And finally the email concludes by saying if you can handle the scaled down from us middle class living to ecuador middle class living That's ecuadorian style. You can actually stretch your pension much farther down here But if you're used to a luxury lifestyle in the us and would like to maintain that style in ecuador You might just pay more than what you pay in the states 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 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

[27:50] Go to www.xpatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos