#917 – The Economic and Lifestyle Realities of Expat Life 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 out to play and now 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 All right time to catch up on some emails swim from our old expert English teacher buddy, mr. B And of course, you'll be giving his expert testimony and how you can do it too at my upcoming expat insider seminar And just about two weeks now, you know, he consistently makes over 20 bucks an hour

[00:48] Just teaching English to Chinese kids online. He does it from Guatemala, but you can do it from anywhere in the world You've heard me talk about that before and you've heard me say that earning 20 bucks an hour in Latin America is like being in the top 1% in fact anyone who makes over 20 grand a year here in Latin America is in the top 1% of earners Oh and by the way I got an email the other day from a listener who is making fun of the $20 an hour figure saying he makes that in Something like three and a half minutes. He's a professional up in the States and he was serious. I'm sure he does I mean look up in the States If you're a doctor lawyer or any kind of business owner 20 bucks an hour is kind of laughable to you But then again, if you laugh at 20 bucks an hour, you think it's the Joker's beneath you Look at the price you have to pay for being in the upper brackets. I know I was there

[01:34] It was no fun though. Everyone else says hey, I wish I made that kind of dough So you put on a confident ever happy face though inside you really ain't so happy. Why? Well, it's pretty typical You're on the treadmill. You're on five at 50 meaning five prescription drugs at 50 Which is the average for Americans up in the States and that seems to be true whether you're making average or well above average though Well, let's just say living the first-world life and making first-world dough comes at a pretty tough price Physically and mentally and that's one of the big reasons people are opting out for a plan B Somewhere in the third world mostly Latin America. Hey, I ought to know I was on that treadmill I was in that rat race. I had carpal tunnel high blood pressure and arthritis in my knee all at the ripe old age of 30

[02:21] Notice I said had yep a couple of decades ago That was my life and what was I looking forward to more stress a faster treadmill and a steady deterioration of my body I know and I know that's gonna happen to all of us eventually the deterioration part anyway But how can you explain the fact that I'm in better shape now a couple of decades later? And I was when I first left for Latin America and I was making the big money So in a way that's the trade-off that is if you have a plan B and you end up living it out Some of us leave the States Canada Europe Whatever knowing our savings won't last forever and we know eventually we'll have to get a job do something keep plugging away And for a lot of gringos and expats 20 bucks an hour looks pretty damn good And you know 20 bucks an hour for the average Latino is to kill for turns out only certain business owners and professionals

[03:12] The top of their game make that kind of dough Why do you think so many unskilled Latinos ditch everything and head for the so-called land of milk and honey? And it's not even for 20 bucks an hour. It's for minimum wage. Yeah Hey, I've spoken to plenty of people who've slipped into the US illegally and got deported and their big dream was to get a minimum Wage job not 20 bucks an hour. You know what minimum wage is Seven eight ten twelve bucks an hour, whatever it happens to be right now. It certainly ain't 20 bucks an hour So then why do they ditch everything? Well because in most Latin countries, that's what unskilled laborers make in a day It's what gringos make in an hour or two working minimum wage in the States. So 20 bucks an hour I never laugh at that. There's nothing demeaning about it

[03:58] The fact is if you make 20 bucks an hour down here teaching English to Chinese kids and you only work a half a week 20 hours that's 400 bucks a week or 1600 a month now to a first-world person that doesn't seem like a lot But that's more than most doctors and professionals make here in Latin America you've heard me say many times that you could hire a doctor fresh out of medical school for around a Thousand bucks a month. Yeah, that's right You could have your own personal physician working for you just like they do for the big so-called important big wigs up in the States You know dickheads like Jamie Dimon the Koch brothers Bill Gates and that bag of puss Hillary Clinton and that human blood clot George Soros They've all got their own personal physicians at the cost of at least 200 grand a year

[04:45] And up in the States even if you had your own live-in nurse that cost you maybe 50 grand a year probably a lot more Now think of it if you were to hire your own personal physician here in Latin America for a thousand bucks a month If you worked a regular, let's say 40 hour shift That's 160 hours a month a thousand bucks divided by a hundred sixty works out to six dollars and twenty five cents an hour Yep, six dollars twenty five cents an hour for your own personal physician. I know it's almost impossible to believe It's as if we're talking about some imaginary parallel world, but it really does exist That's why I never laugh at or make fun of twenty bucks an hour turns out That's a massive salary here in Latin America Now if you're the kind of person who can't get past that figure you're embarrassed by it because you know

[05:31] You equate it to a kind of a grunt salary up in the States You're thinking your mailman and your garbage man make more than that Then you probably shouldn't be setting your sights on Latin America because with an attitude like that You will be looked upon as an ugly American and really there's too many ugly Americans down here already and funny enough You'll find them almost always smack dab on the gringo tourist trail Sometimes bragging a bit dropping names and resorts They've been to the vets the beavers the Ferraris they've had the upscale schools They've sent their do-nothing bratty kids to flashing their jewelry Rolexes designer labels All the kind of stuff that as long-term gringos and expats don't give it about or gave up on a long time ago Sure, I'll give you there's a time and a place for all that stuff But it ain't down here in Latin America

[06:17] If that's what you're into then you probably should remain up in the States on your treadmill Because down here the really happy gringos and expats don't have much need for that kind of stuff and truthfully if that's the kind of Stuff your value most of us don't have much use for you. Anyway, don't get me wrong We all like nice stuff and you know It feels twice as nice when it's actually paid for and not on the minimum monthly payment credit card plan It's the superficial garbage and the keeping up with the Jones's and the mortgages and the credit cards and revolving debt The stuff that keeps us all stressed out and on the treadmill that we're all trying to get away from All I'm saying is if you happen to live that kind of life up in the States Try not to bring too much of that baggage down here with you though It is true. If you do come down you will find people like that to hang with but generally those aren't the kind of people

[07:04] I want to hang with it just reminds me of people up in the States. I'd rather stay away from and unfortunately upscale Latin gringo wannabes down here who live life just for the show then again Who am I to tell you how to live your life as for me? I got lucky finding Latin America so many years ago was kind of like winning the lottery And though it did at the time break my heart to sell the luxury cars the big house with the indoor swimming pool Yeah, I had all that and of course back then in my late 20s I was playing the debt game so many Americans play that is I was heavily mortgaged So when I sold everything off, I didn't make a dime Oh, I looked like I was kicking ass, but man, I was just treading water But looking back was the best thing I ever did. I really mean that and looking back I know it saved my life because for one thing and probably the most important thing I got my health back

[07:53] So my message to everyone who's sitting on the fence and has not made the plan B leap yet Worried about all that stuff you have in those so-called friends who after all are on the same health destroying timeline and treadmill You are the fact is after you make the leap it will take a while to get into the new and slower rhythm of things But the great thing is you'll always maintain your gringo advantage Because you were born and you grew up in the first world and you'll always have those first world standards permanently Imprinted in your brain. So if you do end up starting a business here in Latin America There's a very high probability you'll really kick ass and it's true You'll jump from your first world treadmill to a third world treadmill, but it'll be a treadmill light That's how it always seems to work out That's a very good thing for happiness and longevity, too

[08:41] Now I know a lot of expat wannabes and gonna bees say Johnny I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I jumped off the treadmill. I think I'd die of boredom Well, it's like this you will find something cool and rewarding to occupy your time You just don't know what it's gonna be yet. You won't know till you get down here and start scum things out That's what having boots on the ground is all about However, in the meantime, you could always teach English to Chinese kids online from anywhere in the world and make over 20 bucks an hour Believe me, that's nothing to sneeze at not to mention many gringos and expats find it very rewarding because you see I'm told that Chinese kids are unlike spoiled Entitled American kids turns out they have old-school respect and admiration for teachers

[09:28] My what a novel concept, but I digress. Where were we? Oh, yeah talking about mr. B's email. He says Johnny Back in the states. We had a paint called kills KILZ it would cover bad smells from the surface and cover some mold created by moisture, etc Here in Latin America where I live my walls have a little mold on them Especially in the rainy season and when it's over you got to do something about I want to kills my walls to make them Look decent again. Do you know if Guatemala or any other place down here has kills? I can't find it. Do you know if there's something equivalent to kills here in Guatemala where I live? Alright, that's what just came in from mr. B. Here's my take on it I'd say about five years ago you longtime listeners might remember I did a whole show about moisture problems here in Latin America

[10:16] I mentioned how I just don't get it Columbus landed over 500 years ago. That's 500 years of building gigantic churches Monasteries forts aqueducts, you name it still after half a millennium Latin American builders and architects still have not conquered the moisture problem. Are they just denser? Do they have crap standards? Well, I'd say a little both question is how come we've conquered the problem so well up in the states We use various techniques like vapor barriers and plastic films foams and sprays We know how to seal walls and roofs airtight But somehow Latin architects and builders though they copy everything else from the first world They just can't solve the moisture problem or candy, but they just don't give a shit I don't think I've ever been in a building that's over 10 years old here in Latin America

[11:06] That doesn't have a mold or moisture problem yet contractors and architects are supposed to be following first world building techniques Which should and do prevent moisture seepage and mold. I know what they're doing wrong. It's tradition They just dig a hole start pouring the footings in the foundation without figuring proper drainage They don't use the proper vapor barrier materials In fact, they rarely use a designated vapor barrier as called out in first world construction at best Just paint some kind of cheap tar asphalt coating on cement and block that goes below the grade that lasts a while a couple of Years, but that's it then it degrades and you've got moisture problems And since it's earthquake country you get hair light and cracks in foundations all the time But that shouldn't matter if you've got a proper vapor barrier placed on the outside wall before you backfill it

[11:54] That's why I say if you're gonna build a place you gotta be there and watch them do that stuff or it's just not gonna Get done always remember labor is cheap, but not the construction products and materials themselves and believe me a contractor or builder Won't spend an extra dime on things You can't see like below grade unless you specifically ask for it and are standing there while they're doing it So in the end, maybe it's a really good thing They don't have basements here in Latin America because every single one of them would seep and leak Hey, I'm not saying my construction projects have been perfect either and generally I know what the hell I'm doing after a while Every last one of mine has developed some kind of mold or seepage problem, too And that's not because I didn't specify the right products It's because I trusted the damn builder and architect to do it right and they didn't However, I found that there's one really good fix

[12:40] In fact a cure for all of that But you can only do it if you build a house if you're renting it's not gonna happen And that is make sure every single room in your house has a skylight or at least one big window That gets direct sunlight just a couple of hours of sunlight a day will burn off all the humidity and eliminate probably 90 to 95 Percent of your mold, but you know, that's only gonna happen if you build your house and specify that because when you rent You're stuck with what you've got Unfortunately, you almost never see a rental unit with adequate skylights By the way skylights are called Duomo's here. That's domes in English Duomo's So then why haven't architects and builders caught on well because skylights cost more than just doing a straight roof Though compared to first-world skylights the ones they use down here are extremely cheap

[13:29] But still Latinos even wealthy Latinos don't want to spend the dough I guess they'd rather suffer with humidity and mold or maybe it's just that They're so used to it. It doesn't register with them like it does with us It's part of life for them Fact is I priced out the usual suspects up in the first world Vela and Anderson skylights and they're all double and triple pain You know and very expensive. Yes, you can get them down here. You get everything just order them through Amazon or Alibaba Whatever you can get them and down here There are big hardware stores where you can order skylights from the US and Europe people rarely do it But you can order them on just for a comparison a four by four foot opening with an Anderson or Vela skylight from the states Double or even triple pain will cost at least a thousand bucks Whereas if you order a four by four foot Duomo from a skylight company here, they're not glass

[14:16] They're made of leksan Oh, and they look like plastic bubbles kind of cool looking actually and the cost for a four by four opening less than 200 bucks That's 20% of what you'd pay if you bought a US skylight And the reality is you don't need a double or triple pain skylight not here in Latin America The question is if they're so cheap and they do so much for humidity and mold problems in the home Why do so few people install them? Oh sure when you're driving around sometimes you'll see one here and there on a roof But only in nice high-end neighborhoods So once in a while you'll see a modern upscale house with a few skylights people with dough and I suspect maybe it's because the Next-door neighbor has one and therefore the guy in the adjacent lot has to have two yet When you walk into one of their houses, they've still got mold and seepage. It's an epidemic

[15:04] Doesn't matter how rich a poor you are You're gonna have leaks and seepage and mold, but note it does not have to happen that way But as a renter you'll always be fighting that battle, which is why mr. B talks about that paint called kills Which I've never seen down here in Latin America, but of course you could order anything off Amazon Anyway, there are lots of waterproofing paints and coatings here in Latin America and most of them suck Seems like the favorite waterproofing paint here in Latin America is from a company called Lancome It's a Mexican company LA NCO seems every hardware store carries it They've got a variety of products some for flat roofs Subsurface walls the inside of water tanks and they've got a line of regular paint too But the problem is it's all water-based stuff. I've used it. It works for a couple of years But then it starts deteriorating and bubbling and wearing away. It's just not a long-term solution

[15:54] Of course, they give you a 10-year guarantee something like that What good is it if after three or four years they give you a couple of replacement gallons? Then you have to have someone scrape it all off again and reapply it and go through the same thing in another couple years I'm sure you've heard the saying we don't have time to do it, right? But we have time to do it over Well, that's not exactly true. Most Latinos just give up and of course There are some US brands down here like sure and Williams. They sell waterproof coatings even waterproof paint for your pool And guess what their stuff lasts, you know, why because it's not water or acrylic based It's oil or polyurethane based and you know how bad that stuff smells it can stink to high heaven for a month You know, they use that polyurethane stuff to paint parking lots and floors of gas stations and stuff It's really tough, but it's twice to three times as expensive as the Lancome crap. Hey, you get what you pay for

[16:43] It's the 11th commandment Just like this show. Oh, and there's another good company called Sika. It's a European company That's penetrated the Latin market heavily They make all kinds of specialty construction chemical products like adhesives and coatings and such good stuff, too But expensive for example, they got a special two-part epoxy coating for the inside of cisterns pools and water tanks That stuff lasts forever But man, you'll die of asphyxiation when applying this stuff if you're not wearing a mask that's got a carbon filter I tried it once and had to give up I let my maintenance guy finished a job and he didn't like the mask so he did it without I don't know how they do It they've got more balls and brains and they're tougher than iron But that's just the way it is here in Latin America And why you see welders and grinders without masks or protection simply because that bothers them more than the sparks flying in their eyes

[17:34] Sure, it comes at a cost of eventually ruining their health, but they don't really care about that They're living for the moment in the next paycheck and personally as a libertarian I feel you should be able to choose whether you're gonna wear some kind of protection or not But that's just me if you want to ruin your health have at it. You're the captain of your own ship. Not me That's one of the reasons by the way, I don't at all like the idea of a national health personally I don't think free health care is a civil right and if you're at the perfect weight you exercise You don't drink or smoke and that's almost never end up at the doctor of the hospital Why should your tax dollar be used to pay for couch potatoes who never exercise suck down Cheetos and beer and end up needing stanter bypass surgery at 48. There's something really wrong with that picture The other more important reason why I think having a national health care system is nuts

[18:21] Is that the government screws up everything it gets its paws on name something they've done, right named some department bureau branch Whatever that isn't an utterly complete bankrupt disaster And now we're gonna give him another gigantic bureaucracy to oversee called the National Health. However, I also think today's insurance Pharmaceutical industrial complex is utterly corrupt in a disaster, too However, if I was king for a day Well, we won't get into that except to say I'd send every senator and congressman for a month's vacation in Venezuela I'd make them send their kids to public school after that I'd force them and their families to get health care only from the VA that ought to jog their stagnant brain cells a bit But I digress as usual Back to mr. B's question about humidity and mold, etc

[19:08] The big problem is in closets that have no light or ventilation Which is why so many gringos and expats will complain that their clothes really suffer from mold mildew and especially belts leather fake leather and shoes Solution number one pop a skylight into the closet, but if you're renting forget about it Though you do have two other choices You can work out some kind of system to get ventilation in that closet like leave the door open a little bit or put some Slats in the door that'll help a lot but not completely The other thing you could do is put closet cleanup by your cleaning ladies to-do list In other words about every two or three months have her empty out the closet wash or clean up the clothes shoes belts Whips chains handcuffs garter belts, whatever you got stashed in there Now, of course, the first thing that gringos and expats do when they see that problem is they'll run out and buy a dehumidifier

[19:58] That's almost always futile Because dehumidifiers only seem to work efficiently in a well sealed room and nothing's well sealed in Latin America So note if you do get a dehumidifier It'll be producing water all the time and it'll never shut off and those things use a lot of juice So your electric bill will suffer and as you longtime listeners know Electricity is one of the only things that ain't cheap in Latin America Which is why I spent a lot of time on this show talking about how to go solar and get off the grid Now as far as trying to waterproof your wall ceilings floors, whatever the real problem is whatever system you use It's only gonna work as long as the guarantee last Maybe and that's a big maybe if you apply it to a virgin cement wall floor or block In other words apply it to a surface that's never been coated or painted before

[20:45] Then there's a good chance it'll last a couple of years at least and you know Those conditions will only occur if you buy or rent a brand new place Otherwise it's been previously painted right and believe me even if the old coating is flaking or bubbling off and That's why you're at the hardware store looking for a solution right now You're never gonna be able to scrape it all off and get to the fresh cement or block again So you'll be applying your coating on top of a lot of old paint too So that's a guarantee it's gonna fail sooner or later. Probably sooner So my final words for mr. B are this if you don't plan on staying in that rental too long Go ahead and get the usual suspect lane Co and clean the wall as best you can and slather on a few coats It'll hold for a while. Maybe a couple of years, but don't expect much more than that

[21:31] unfortunately Latinos view mold Infiltrations leaks etc as part of life, which is why you could be sitting in a million dollar house Surrounded by spiral staircases banisters pictures with gilded frames Shandeliers beautiful molding marble floors the works yet somewhere in most rooms and closets There'll be water stains paint peeling and mold now If you had a lot of money and had a house like that up in the states It would be a cause for embarrassment. You just wouldn't invite people over till it was fixed But down here it just simply gets ignored and goes unnoticed and no one gives a second thought to it And the more you see that kind of stuff the more you say to yourself At least I do that guy's got a cleaning lady a gardener and a maintenance man and still no one attends to that stuff It just doesn't make sense. Now. I know you longtime listeners have heard me say this many times

[22:21] Noticing stuff like that is part of your gringle advantage and some people say you shouldn't let it bother you You shouldn't worry about such things But I say if you got the dough a cleaning lady in a maintenance guy Why not live in an environment? That's as nice as you can make it The question is why aren't they seeing what we're seeing? I don't get it But leave it to expat Eddie to offer a simple explanation He once said to me Johnny next time you're in an elevator standing next to a well-dressed Latino man or woman Sporting a big hairy mole on their face or neck. You can ask yourself the same question They're all dressed up nice shoes nice clothes out for the day. You know what? I'm thinking I don't know about you But the first thing that comes to my mind is you know what but I'd see a doctor about that At least I'd trim it up before I hit the mall

[23:07] So what do you think am I being too picky here? Hmm? I wonder all right. Here's an email from less He says hi Johnny. I wrote you an email yesterday using my brand new proton email account But then on your show you pointed out that Gmail won't allow certain encrypted emails to pass through So I guess I'll have to start all over. Thanks for the help and the tip on a cryptid email and VPNs I signed up for both. He says in fact, I stumbled upon your podcast about a month ago I quickly became addicted and now listen to your podcast starting from the newest working my way back great stuff And it falls along with my general plan that I began about a year ago when I started reading International living but I always felt they were trying to sell me something and they weren't doing it out of the goodness of their heart

[23:54] But then who really does but I feel your show is giving us the real deal not the deal That's gonna make international living their percentage now Johnny He says I don't think it's practical or possible for me to make it to your coming January seminar But I hope you are still around in July as I will plan to make that one for sure in the meantime I can start with your online program and maybe make a few online Skype sessions that way I can get my paperwork going for a Latin residency problem is Johnny I can't get through on your old email web address the expat files plan B site and the new expat website Neither of those two websites goes through anymore. It's just dead air. Then he says I'm a pharma Biotechnology clinical supply chain manager, and I'm looking to get my test All certificate as I think teaching English that gig would work great for me if the market's not too saturated already

[24:45] I'd like to have some way to help to supplement my social security and 401k plan when I retire in a few years Something I could get started on now So I have a good handle on it by the time I actually need it He says looking forward to working with you and get my plan B off the ground. Thanks less PS Keep up the great podcasts, and I'm glad I found them all right less. Thanks for that Yes less those tool websites you mentioned are dead in the water. That's because some months ago now I discontinued my expat essentials course why well that's because someone who shall remain unnamed But used to be close to me hijacked my site You know how sometimes you trust somebody and it does not turn out. Well well What's worse is when someone you know well and you like?

[25:30] Recommends someone to you like for example a family member you take them on based on that recommendation And they proceed to steal from you or stab you in the back then you find out later that you're not the only one that Got scammed hey it happens to the best of us So that's the reason I shut down that program, and I will be revising it shortly probably a little later into the new year So stay tuned for that of course I'm doing my seminars and phone consults and special reports I make available now and again too But as for now the expat essentials course and the new expat website have been discontinued until further notice So for now the only legitimate website. I have is The expat files calm so stay tuned for future developments. I'll keep you posted don't worry by the way

[26:16] Just to let you know that person. I'm referring to was not a Latin person, but a gringa It just goes to show that here in Latin America There are many many gringos and expats who are Conmen and scammers, and I'm not immune from getting taken myself if you remember I told you a story of how a Canadian partner ripped me off in Costa Rica And how I got ripped off from a half Canadian half Belgian partner to those Canadians Hey, and they come off so nice most of them really are oh and speaking of my January 2020 seminar coming up in a couple weeks This is the last call for it to sign up and get on board go to www dot the expat files calm and click on Johnny's Seminar link for full details and sign-up info when while you're there at the expat files calm website You can also pick up my 100 page Latin American health care report. There are things in that report

[27:07] You won't find anywhere including actual real-life examples of Latin American insurance policies Including what they cover what they cost and translate it into English So if you're anywhere along on your plan B You'll want to get your hands on it because you know everyone coming to Latin America eventually will need health insurance The thing is all those policies and explanations are in Spanish so get that report. You'll need it You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America if you need some help with your own plan B We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat Insiders seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B

[27:54] Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com