Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the quirks of expat life in Latin America, discussing everything from airport etiquette and cultural differences in dress to the growing trend of medical tourism. He shares personal anecdotes and insights on navigating these challenges while maintaining a sense of style and awareness.
Johnny begins by reflecting on the discomfort of airport travel, particularly the experience of sitting next to people with unsightly facial features like moles or skin tags. He humorously comments on how these features are more common in older individuals and how it's a cultural observation rather than a personal attack. He also reflects on the decline in airport etiquette and personal grooming standards over time, contrasting it with the well-dressed seniors in extended care facilities. Johnny concludes by sharing his own experience of adapting to the local culture by keeping some formal attire for social events, emphasizing the importance of dressing well even in a relaxed expat lifestyle.
He then discusses the cultural differences in dress and expectations between gringos and Latinos in Latin America. He highlights that gringos often dress more formally and are generally more accepted in formal settings, while Latinos may be more casual and are often more concerned with personal appearance and possessions like smartphones. Johnny also touches on the stereotype that gringos have more money and can afford luxury items, which can lead to misunderstandings or comments from locals. Additionally, he addresses the topic of aging and the efforts some gringos make to look younger, contrasting this with the sudden shift in behavior when they receive senior discounts. Finally, he responds to an email about healthcare in the U.S., explaining how patient satisfaction scores impact hospital reimbursements and how this can affect medical care quality.
Johnny then shifts focus to the concept of medical tourism, expressing his disapproval of the term, which he believes undermines the legitimacy of medical procedures by framing them as vacations. He explains that medical tourism is a growing trend, particularly in countries like Mexico, where people seek cheaper alternatives to expensive procedures in the U.S. However, he warns that these tourism companies are primarily profit-driven, often signing contracts with doctors and clinics to ensure a steady flow of patients. He highlights the importance of being cautious and doing your own research, as these companies may not always provide the best care. He also emphasizes that while medical tourism can be beneficial for certain procedures, it's often overpriced and not always the best option.
He then provides a detailed cost comparison between medical procedures in the United States and Mexico, highlighting that while medical tourism companies advertise significant savings, the actual costs in Mexico are often only half to a third of U.S. prices. However, he warns that these companies charge at least 100% more than local providers or expats who arrange their own care. He emphasizes that he can connect expats with vetted specialists in Latin America, offering significantly lower costs than medical tourism outfits. Examples include dental implants, root canals, fillings, and more serious procedures like heart valve replacements and MRIs, all of which are much cheaper in Mexico when arranged through trusted local providers.
Finally, Johnny discusses the growing concerns about Medellin, Colombia, as a popular expat destination. He highlights the increasing murder rate, rising unemployment, and the closure of a major public hospital due to a national healthcare crisis. He also mentions the financial instability of the city's utilities company and the challenges faced by expats living there. Johnny shares a personal anecdote from a friend who has lived in Medellin for years, expressing dissatisfaction with the current situation. He concludes by promoting his resources for expats seeking alternative plans.
Topics
Airport travel, Cultural observations, Personal grooming, Etiquette, Expat lifestyle, Formal attire, Cultural differences in dress and expectations, Stereotypes and perceptions of gringos in Latin America, Healthcare in the U.S. and patient satisfaction scores, Medical tourism, Cost comparison, Ethical concerns
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:14 Introduction to the Show and Host 00:00:26 Overview of the Show's Content 00:00:31 Discussion on Airport Travel and Personal Discomfort 00:02:01 Cultural Observations on Facial Features and Grooming 00:02:47 Reflection on the Decline in Airport Etiquette 00:03:30 Contrast Between Old and New Airport Etiquette 00:04:16 Adapting to the Expat Lifestyle and Formal Attire 00:05:52 Dress Code in Latin America 00:07:31 Dating and Mating Advice for Gringos 00:09:09 Switching Gears: Healthcare in the U.S. 00:12:02 Introduction to Medical Tourism and Johnny's Disapproval of the Term 00:12:25 The Appeal of Medical Tourism: Combining Surgery with Vacation 00:13:08 Medical Tourism Companies Are Primarily Profit-Driven 00:13:44 Key Considerations When Using Medical Tourism Websites 00:15:21 The Cost of Medical Tourism: Twice as Expensive as Direct Procedures 00:17:45 Price Comparison: Dental Procedures in the U.S. vs. Mexico 00:17:54 Cost Comparison of Dental Implants in the U.S. and Mexico 00:18:40 Medical Tourism Prices Are Often 50% to 100% Higher Than Local Costs 00:20:40 Johnny Mueller Offers Lower-Cost Alternatives to Medical Tourism 00:23:35 Introduction to the Healthcare Report and Medellin Discussion 00:25:27 Medellin's Decline: Rising Crime and Unemployment 00:26:38 Healthcare Crisis in Medellin 00:27:16 Johnny's Personal Anecdote and Conclusion
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 as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat 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 Hey, how about this dear Johnny on the last show? You were talking about being stuck for a couple hours in an airport or in an airplane seat Sitting next to some disgusting or stinky person I think Johnny that happens everywhere even standing in customer service lines at Sears and if you're like me and I'm a detailed
[00:51] Oriented person which sort of makes me even more anal about that kind of stuff when I'm standing next to a person Who's got a mole on his face with a big hair growing out of it? That just totally distracts me and it always seems to be senior citizen men and women I just sometimes feel like yanking that hair right out and I'm thinking what other gross eruptions might be looking I really don't want to know but you can't help speculating at least I can't what about their cooking? Techniques in general hygiene. I think a long hairy facial mole is a pretty good indicator I mean to see that thing or maybe they choose not to see that thing looking back at them in the mirror every morning Where's yet sometimes you're sitting next to her standing in line with someone who has one of those bulbous skin tags or polyps?
[01:39] Growing out of their neck or face. What's up with that? And I'm thinking man, you got enough money to take an air flight But you haven't got a hundred bucks or whatever it takes to have that damn thing removed Oh, and by the way, Johnny, I just looked it up on YouTube There are a hundred do-it-yourself ways to eliminate those skin tags practice. So there's just no excuse now Don't get me wrong Johnny. I'm not particularly picking on Latin Americans or Latin American airports But really I'd have to say Greeks Turks and Eastern Europeans take the cake and win the lottery on that one Anyway, Johnny just saying that kind of stuff drives me over the edge, too And again, you rarely see that with people under 50 years old It's almost always in the senior crowd. It's like as some people get older
[02:24] They just don't give a rip anymore and don't get me started on ear and nose hair that drives me nuts, too Which is why to me anyway, it's so cool to see an older person Really well dressed polished and groomed like Thurston howl the third and his wife lovey walking around at airports But unfortunately that's more and more becoming a rarity, you know Johnny every time I take a flight I think whatever happened to the proper lady and gentlemen types because you know 35 years ago when I first started flying People dressed up to go to the airport They look good when they were going on a flight It seems as if as airport food gets crappier and crappier and customer service and the way TSA treats us less and less humane We to have lowered our bar our personal standards and our dress code
[03:12] I'll tell you Johnny for most people that flew a lot pre 9-11 going to an airport was a pretty cool experience now it's nothing but low-level stress punctuated by periods of panic and Talk about a cultural gap between the way people fly today and old-school flyers and modern manners and etiquette versus old-school Manners and etiquette I get a jolt of what it used to be like every time I visit my aunt in her extended care facility in Arizona Admittedly, she's with a higher class of people She pays around 90 grand a year to stay there and maybe because of that the seniors there are a cut above casual They even have formal Saturday dress-up events It's like walking into an old Cary Grant movie. I've never seen so many sport coats and tuxes
[03:57] Even the ladies and gents who are wheelchair bound are dressed to the nines But even when it's not a formal party night those old guys and gals really take care of themselves They look sharp, but sadly in a few years They'll all be gone too and all will really have left of that era will be those old Fred Astaire and Cary Grant movies Though Johnny when I finally moved down to Central America I certainly won't be hauling down a sport coat and tux the thing is I've said to myself over and over again when I retire Seven years from now. I'm giving all my ties sport coats and spiffy shoes to goodwill because you see Johnny I've had the kind of job for years now where I had to wear a suit and tie every single day Women will tell you high heels are torture I say try wearing a tie 40 hours a week for 30 years
[04:45] So much for my two cents Johnny. I'll be coming to your next seminar shorts tennis shoes and polo shirt signed Ralph not Ralph R-O-L-F Okay, Ralph. I've got two extended comments number one. It's not a good idea to ditch All-your-dress-up stuff when you come down to live here in Latin America. I did that myself when I first came down That was my mindset. I was a sport coat and tie guy up in the States, too In fact, I must have had a hundred freaking ties and just a closet full of suits Even one or two tuxes that I bought because hell I was just tired of renting them all the time I did find out in a hurry after I started getting invited to parties can say on yours Christmas anniversary parties weddings Hell you'll find out when you're down here you get invited to parties all the time and you'll also notice right away
[05:36] Latinos and Latinos really like to dress up for those things They love putting on the dog even your cleaning lady and maintenance guy living in a tin shack They'll have a set of dress-up clothes and I'll look really sharp when they get invited to parties And you know, I travel a lot and I found out a long time ago It's a good idea to pack a nice set of shoes and a dark kind of neutral go with everything sport coat and a nice Shirting a tie to go with it because you never know what kind of event you're gonna be invited to now The thing is many shirt and tie gringos who retired to Latin America and decided to ditch all that go casual the rest of their Life they've kind of made a bow to themselves It's not that you can't show up to a wedding or an upscale gig here in Latin America Totally casual doubt gringos dude all the time and Latinos and Latinas cut us a lot of slack
[06:21] It's that gringo advantage thing so we can be severely underdressed and won't take any flak for it But boy if a Latino shows up that way. Whoa. In fact to them. There's a lot of things They just don't get about us and they're confused by one example. Is that smart astute gringos don't wear bling And if we have a high-end cell phone, it's well hidden Of course the reason why is then we're not a target for people who would like to snatch that kind of stuff Whereas for the average Latino or Latina their high-end smartphone is often the most valuable thing they own and they'll take the risk It's a fact that the vast majority of Latinos with very high-end smartphones Don't even have hot water or a clothes dryer in the house. It's all about the show priorities priorities Oh, and if you're down here long enough, and you have a cheap old cell phone like I do
[07:09] You're bound to hear the comment especially from the Latinas. You're a gringo. Why don't you have a better phone? It's the stereotype that gringos have money and can afford everything. So why in the hell wouldn't we have an iPhone? 626 or have necklaces and rings of real gold bling Bottom line where gringos and they'll cut a slack on almost everything the gringo advantage rides again Oh and just a little advice for you casual under the radar gringo gals and guys who are in the dating and mating game If you're going out with a Latino or Latina don't ever expect to change or modify Their desire for bling and dressing to the nines. Oh, they have tons of bling All right, but at least it's not gold cuz they can't afford it. But if they did have the dough look out Meaning don't ever think you're gonna get them to dress down and look like the tree hugger that you are
[07:58] Even if you're into the overpriced LL Bean Timber Ridge and Banana Republic tree hugging duds Fact is trying to get your Latino or Latina better have to fit into that mold man It ain't gonna happen and though he or she will certainly want to dress and clash you up a bit It's futile to try to get them to dress down like a casual travel and gringo All right now for my second comment on Ralph's email. He mentioned senior citizen gringos Isn't it funny as people get older? They're trying to look younger dyeing their hair getting that Botox health club vitamins supplements Articles and blogs about staying young or getting younger tons of dough spent on anti-aging pills and creams Meanwhile as soon as a surgically enhanced
[08:46] Lipo sucked collagen injected over 60 type bounds into a building and he or she spots a sign saying There's a 10% senior discount somehow instantly that person kicks into old age mode He slows down stoops a bit voice changes and suddenly he's a geezer Man, what we won't do to get 20 cents off on a $2 subway ticket All right, switching gears, but not all that much About this email that just came in from mr. D Talking about health care up in the states versus down here in Latin America. He says Johnny I just got your health care report and read it in one sitting very very interesting and well worth it however, I'd like to mention something a lot of people don't know and Another reason to look for health care somewhere else and up in the first world
[09:37] Did you know that in the United States a large portion of a hospital's Medicaid and Medicare? Reimbursements are tied to the patient's satisfaction Then he gave me a link to this article. That's entitled. How does patient satisfaction impact medical reimbursement? Bottom line the article points out Medicare reimbursements are tied in part to patient Satisfaction portions of one or more surveys they fill out two of the main ones have the titles hospital consumer Assessment of health care providers survey and a hospital system survey known as H caps Then the article says poor evaluation survey results will forfeit some of the reimbursements for hospitals The centers for Medicaid and Medicare services currently withhold a percentage of Medicare payments
[10:28] 30% of which are tied to those survey scores according to the American Medical Association Journal of ethics Hmm ethics in medicine What a concept on must be something new anyway, mr. D continues with this example He says Johnny, let's say a drug-seeking patient comes to your local emergency room seeking pain or anxiety relief But he just really wants drugs if the hopefully highly diligent medical staff does not do what the patient demands in the moment Then the patient will likely give a bad or low rating to the hospital and the staff Then he says I know this Johnny because one of my best friends is an emergency room doc He told me he was forced out of a hospital because he didn't want to enable a particularly vocal patient
[11:18] Who wanted to receive opioids? He said the patient complained to the administration and my friend took the fall Now imagine most doctors with a couple of hundred thousand dollars in student loan debt And now they're out of medical school and our contract employees of a hospital Are they really going to be independent innovative and personalizing individual care? I don't think so How can they be? They'll be more worried about a government mandated patient satisfaction score Or just getting sued. So Johnny that's yet another reason to vote with your feet and your dollars Hmm. All right, mr. D didn't know that how about you listeners out there? Now as mentioned I get a lot of emails about medical tourism
[12:06] And you know, I hate the fact that tourism and medicine have been combined into a phrase like that It kind of takes the legitimacy out of the medical part, you know, it's like hey, let's go on vacation Let's take a tour a medical tour Oh, I can't wait to get my gallbladder out so I can convalesce by the pool sucking down my ties Anyway, medical tourism has been kind of a buzzword up in states for last maybe five or ten years now In fact, I get emails from and run into people all the time who pop back and forth to mexico To get dental work done or boob jobs stem cell treatments, which they call cellulose madres here It means mother cells and well just a whole boatload of elective medical procedures And you know if you go on the internet, you're going to find all kinds of medical tourism websites
[12:52] They're all in english, of course And you think they exist they're there because they're trying to help you find a good cheap Alternative to having something done up in the states that'll cost four or five times as much But the truth is and i've done a lot of research on this Those medical tourism outfits are only in it for the money. They're a hundred percent in it for the money They don't want to help you They want to hook you up with someone or something a doctor hospital clinic that they've made some deals with well ahead of time What they do is they sign contracts with doctors hospitals and clinics and beat them down on the price promising lots of volume Lots of gringo volume a steady flow of patients coming from up north who have the cash money for elective procedures
[13:37] In other words for the doctors, there's no monthly payment plans They get paid up front from the medical tourism outfit So there are a few things to keep in mind when you go on that medical tourism website That'll be in english looking to have your hernia repaired in guadalajara Of course medical tourism is all about pre-planned surgeries It never was about emergency surgery And yes, it's true. You get all kinds of alternative medical treatments here in latin america and most of it's completely legal Which is why it's also buyer beware and you have to do some research yourself However, those medical tourism companies are mostly geared towards people who are going to have traditional type surgeries They rarely get involved with alternative medicine stuff So anyway, there are three reasons why a guy from cleveland might go to a medical tourism website and check out gastric bypass surgery
[14:29] And how long you'll have to convalesce in that latin country before he can go home again number one. It's obviously about the money number two medical tourism outfits speak english You're thinking man, what a relief ain't that great? But that's where they get you Number three those medical tourism sites claim they've vetted out the doctor's physicians hospitals clinics, etc So you don't have to wonder about the credentials the professionalism and the history of the docs and the staff you'll be dealing with Number four the medical tourism sites will hook you up with the flights the hospitals the convalescing time and sequence And itinerary for whatever you're getting done and man, doesn't that sound good? They do everything for you It's a turnkey operation start to finish But here's what you didn't know whatever they quote you as the cost for the treatment itself
[15:18] It's going to be about a hundred percent more expensive That's two times more expensive than if you walked into that very same doctor's office yourself and scheduled the surgery with him So what i'm saying is you could save half again off the price of the treatment if you Did a little bit of the legwork yourself and skipped the english-speaking medical tourism site And since most first world gringos don't speak spanish coming down to latin american finding your own doctor all by yourself It's a scary thought but what people don't realize is most all doctors in latin america today Speak english in fact most latin american medical schools require That you speak english to even get accepted as a student, but let's get back to that price issue First question that always comes up is hey, johnny
[16:05] How much is lasik surgery for my eyes going to cost if I haven't done in latin america up here in the states? It's 6 000 bucks. Well, let's dissect that a little bit You just heard it said that whatever you're getting quoted for the actual medical procedure from start to finish Including the recuperation time and all that will be about twice as much As you would pay if it came down and walked into a doctor's office on your own and had him schedule your treatment, etc That said let me offer a little proof Exhibit a I have in front of me right now in english a pretty complete price listing of what one of these medical tourism companies That you can find on the net charges for quite a number of procedures In this case, it's a medical tourism outfit that'll ship you down to guadamala and ship you back to cleveland
[16:55] Now the prices quoted here are just for the medical procedures Including the medicine the hospital doctors auxiliaries and all that Not the flight or whatever hotel airbnb or fleabag backpacker hostel You choose to convalescent whilst waiting for follow-up appointments after your surgery Of course, I don't recommend fleabag hotels for 10 or 15 bucks a night Though the whole point of coming down is to save a ton of money, right? But some gringos just don't listen. All right Let's talk about some direct medical procedure price comparisons Right off a medical tourism website that'll ship you down from cleveland, mawake, seattle or wherever to have that elective procedure done In this case in a first world hospital or clinic in guadamala city
[17:42] All right. Let's first talk about dentistry It says in the usa the average porcelain crown is 1300 bucks If you use their service and have it done in guadamala, it'll be 412 dollars dental implants. It says the average price in the states 3950 bucks apiece in guadamala 1750 uncomplicated wisdom tooth extraction 375 bucks in the states 135 Using their service and having it done in guadamala single root root canal. That'd be a front tooth 540 dollars in the states in guadamala 150 bucks upper denture God, wouldn't that be miserable? 2500 bucks in the states 540 bucks if you use their services and have it done in guadamala uncomplicated white filling in a tooth
[18:30] 300 bucks in the states 70 dollars if you use their services in guadamala. All right, let's stop and analyze those numbers for a second If you do the math, you'll see that all of the prices Quoted in guadamala are a half to a third of what you'd pay for the same thing up in the states Sounds like a great deal, doesn't it? And that's in fact why these medical tourism sites can claim and it's true That for the price of having the work done up in the states You can generally get the entire trip flight hotels and everything paid for Basically get a free latin american vacation out of it. Good example. Talk about the dental implant 3950 in the states 1750 in guadamala using their service you're saving slightly over 2000 bucks man that will buy your flight and hotel for two weeks for sure
[19:17] But the dirty little secret is those medical tourism companies are charging at least a hundred percent more Than the local folks or you yourself would pay if you walked into the doctor's office and scheduled it yourself In fact, there's a lot of you listeners Know if you send me an email Sometimes i'm personally able to hook you up with the specialist that you'll need for whatever treatment you want to have done In fact, it just so happens that at every single one of my expat insider seminars and i've been doing them for eight years now Attendees have sent me emails in advance saying johnny Can you hook me up with a dentist or with a gp or a dermatologist or plastic surgeon? Yep, that happens all the time and we're usually able to do it And of course we make the arrangements for you because we or I should say mostly I Have vetted out first world hospitals clinics doctor specialist dentists
[20:05] And we or I should say I have a very good handle on latin american insurance plans So if you come down, especially to the guadamala area, I have a very excellent list of specialists. I could hook you up with All right. Let's take for example a porcelain crown for a tooth Estimated cost 1300 bucks in the states 412 bucks if you use this medical tourism company But if you come down by yourself do a little legwork or send me an email and you're in the area I'll send you to a top-notch dentist who got a specialty degree up in the states and he'll charge you 200 bucks for a crown That's less than half of what the medical tourism outfits will quote. Yeah. All right. Let's look at some other procedures How about lipo suction stateside average cost 19 750 bucks in guadamala with this medical tourism group?
[20:57] 5400 the real cost. However, if you're a local walking into a highly qualified first world trained cosmetic surgeon's office is 2,000 bucks again just about half of what a medical tourism outfit will quote yet. By the way Are you sad do you frown a lot? All right. How about a facelift? It says in the states 15 to 21,000 bucks in guadamala using the medical tourism outfit 5500 the real cost if you were to walk into the very same doctor's office 2,500 bucks less than half of what the medical tourism guys will quote yet All right. How about more serious stuff like a heart valve replacement average cost in the states? 170,000 bucks quoted costs with the medical tourism outfit 24 grand the real cost if you were to walk into that very same doctor's office and get that procedure set up
[21:46] $11,000 again less than half. Oh and how about this an MRI full-body scan in the states? 3,800 bucks if you go through the medical tourism outfit and have it done in guadamala at a first world hospital with a first world trained doctor 750 bucks the real cost 300 bucks in fact not so long ago one of my expat insider seminar attendees asked me Johnny Can I get it full scan MRI? Hope you can hook me up It's a couple of grand in Washington DC where I live and we did just that hooked him up with the doctors at the very Same hospital we take our seminar group through his cost 300 bucks again less than half of what the medical tourism outfit quotes for the same procedure now I could go on and on but I'd like to finish off by quoting a series of stem cell treatments in the states
[22:38] It says around 50,000 bucks, but if you have it done through the medical tourism outfit 8600 bucks meanwhile I have right in front of me a newspaper clipping out of a guadamala newspaper in Spanish Of course that quotes how much you'd pay for a series of stem cell treatments If you happen to walk into the clinic and hook up with one of their doctors 4000 bucks again less than half of what the medical tourism outfits will quote you So for any of you listeners who are thinking of coming down to have some medical Procedure done shoot me an email and I'll send you a list with a breakdown of treatments and procedures what they generally cost in the States and what the medical tourism companies charge and all you have to do to find out what the real
[23:23] cost of treatment is if you walked into that very same doctor's office on your own is to take that number and divide it in Half if you want the list. I'm quoting from just shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com Better yet much better yet is to go to the expat files comm slash healthcare to get my 100 page Latin American Healthcare report subtitled how to get first world health care at third world prices All right enough said about that now for all you people out there who believe the BS that International living in these other retirement rags are saying about Medellin, Colombia Which seems to be the number one hot spot in South America now for gringos and expats I know for a fact Europeans and gringos are pouring into Medellin the wealthy poblado region specifically
[24:11] Which has gringo English signs everywhere now and therefore gringo expensive Hey, it really is nice clean wonderful in the Ulti Plano and a really great place to live if you've got dough And here they said Panama would be the new Costa Rica. Well, it kind of is and now it's better In fact is there are a lot of little Costa Rica's popping up You got Cancun and all the little tourist towns in Mexico and every port of call the cruise ships stop People ask would I ever move to Medellin? Well, I don't like to be around gringos worse yet You have to hear what this article has to say just came out this week It's from a South American news source called Columbia reports dot-com now before I read this
[24:56] I have to let you know that I was never big on traveling in Colombia They have some really nice cities like Bogota and Cali Medellin and they really are pretty safe But traveling from city to city is not very safe at all because they got the FARC and various Knuckles that control the traffic routes out in the boonies, you know I just don't like the idea that you can't jump in your car and drive off aimlessly out into the countryside You can't do that in Colombia or Mexico, by the way, which is why if you're considering Colombia I want you to listen to this carefully the title Medellin's fantasy could be ending as murder rate and unemployment continue to rise It says many in Colombia the city that once boasted a prime example of positive transformation Registered a huge increase in homicides for the third consecutive year
[25:43] Mayor, Frederico Gutierrez appears to be losing control over the city's public administration with disastrous consequences for the municipal treasury economic development and public security pointing out that homicides have increased by 27% since 2015 Saying the increase in deadly violence is mainly due to a turf war between gangs loyal to the dissident para-military group Gattayanista and the self-defense forces of Colombia along with an unnamed local crime syndicate It says most homicides were registered in downtown Medellin where 107 people were murdered in 2018 And it says murders are increasing in other areas such as gringoized el poblado an area once considered quite safe
[26:29] Worse yet, it says unemployment in Medellin went up from 8.7 percent in 2015 to 10.8 percent in 2017 and listen to this carefully It says due to the fact the city's largest public hospital was forced to close its doors in December Because of an ongoing national health care crisis. Mmm Not to mention Mayor Gutierrez's right-hand man was recently sentenced to three years in prison That's par for that course not to mention there's a huge financial crisis in the public Utilities company EPM which is now being investigated for losing billions of dollars at the hydro took an angle damn project Meanwhile total homicides in the city of Medellin for 2018 are at
[27:16] 627 all right me Johnny here again, by the way The other day I was talking to one of my buddies who's been living in Medellin for a couple of years He told me at the end of our conversation. I hate to say this the dollar is strong in Colombia But it's killing off my paradise You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B You can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me But first download my free plan B questionnaire at www.thenewexpat.com Better yet if you want to get your plan B going from right up there in the states Just sign up for my 9-hour expat essentials course get the perfect plan B blueprint by going to the expat files comm Academy