-These days, in most of the 20 Latin America countries, regular gasoline is now around $5 a gallon. However there are a small handful of oil producing Latin countries whose governments (not just Venezuela) heavily subsidize gasoline at the pump. And though it sounds like a dream come true for the locals its created some dark, unintended consequences…

-And now a true incident  I witnessed as so-called government VIPs (truly ass-wipes) embarrassed and demeaned a young worker at a local Latin gas station. Things like this give real working folks plenty more reason to despise politicians and government jerks of all stripes…. from any country.

-Gringos often wonder why Latins don’t seem to be bothered by unsightly garbage and ubiquitous litter dumping. For the average guy, tossing trash in bins or cleaning up the yard or the neighborhood does not seem to be on the radar until its so bad someone complains. And while Latins don’t notice or care about the mess they create, gringos and foreigners seem too embarrassed to call them on it. Meanwhile, its the efforts of gringos and foreigners that keep up the pressure to act ;like adults.

-Driving a car in the rainy season can be a harrowing experience. That's when might come across a temporary lake (that used to be a road a day earlier), and yet there may be no alternative but to trudge forward into the unknown. But my advice is to wait for some brave soul or two to slogging through ahead of you first. Let him be your “canary in the coal mine”...the scout that finds the hidden underwater potholes along the way, not you!

-There are some very insulting Spanish slang words that you should NEVER use yourself;  forbidden slang when speaking to a Latin person of any social class. And even if you hear Latins using them now and then (and they will) you should still keep them out of your vocabulary.

-What about the catch-all word “gringo”? Is it a compliment, an insult, or just plain neutral? Well, its mostly a compliment, but it can be all three of the above... depending on how its being phrased…….

-Follow the link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com to schedule a private consultation with me. If you want to discuss the details of living, working, playing, doing business and/or retiring in Latin America, now you and I can talk about your situation one on one.

-And while you’re at www.ExpatWisdom.com don’t forget to pick up your free reports!

-Should you, or shouldn’t you, bring your pets down to Latin America? Well, along with the hassle and stress of getting them on an airplane, through customs and immigration, many animal-loving wanabees wonder if Spot, Rover or Obama can really settle in comfortably and get the kind of 1st world treatment they were getting back in Cleveland. …

-Now for the real story on pet food products in Latin America. And yes, nearly all of the first world brands are available, but choosing the one Rover liked to munch on in Cleveland is not as simple as you think, even though its in the stores, and here’s why….

-Dog, dogs everywhere. Yes, Latins do love their dogs… and the poorest of the families always seem to have more Rovers (and kids) than they can possibly handle. And yes, those critters do spend the day roving the neighborhood since their owners don’t have food to spare and rarely have extra dough to buy real dog food. That means you’ll see a lot of sad looking skinny dogs giving you the hungry eyes, So if you’re invited for dinner, its ok to stealthily drop a few morsels under the table

-Today we discuss a few more sure-fire business ideas for expats, this time dealing with pets and animals. The “gringo advantage” rides again in that department too!

-Like Richard Martin says on PRN’s “Wake Up Call” show, I too am very much convinced that enlightened first-world people must get out of Dodge before Big Brother closes the window completely. Many smart people in the know think that door will shut tight in the next year or so at most. So, If you don’t make your plans very soon you’d better buckle up and get ready for the worst ride of your life. The American dream has moved to Latin America. There will not be better days up north and It will only get worse.

-Follow the link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com to schedule a private consultation with me. If you want to discuss the details of living, working, playing, doing business and/or retiring in Latin America, now you and I can talk about your situation one on one.

-And while you’re at www.ExpatWisdom.com don’t forget to pick up your free reports!

-Did you know that with Panama’s new airport taxes, additional charges and fees work out to anywhere between $250 to $500 on top of (but included in) the ticket price?  I found it out the hard way when recently hit with $260 extra on a flight a few weeks ago. Word has it that the most expensive first world airport departure fees and taxes are incurred when flying out of Canada,but even those bloated govt charges don’t match Panama’s new blood-sucking rates.

-And now a few things you should know about the high cost of living in Panama and the cash crunch its having on expats who are in the Panama “pensionado” program… a program once considered a very good deal especially to expats living solely on a social security check.

-Few people realize the Chinese now own the Panama Canal outright (and made local politicians millionaires in the process) but even fewer folks outside of Panama realize the extent of the Chinese penetration and influence in the Canal Zone, and beyond. Now for some examples that may just blow your mind…….

-Let’s demonstrate how predictable the “lag time effect” is in business and how it gives us expats a special leg up. You just have to keep your eyes on what’s been hot or fashionable up in the states and you can bet a badly done Latin version will eventually follow, usually a few years later. So what’s stopping you from being the first (or one of the first) to introduce something thats old hat in the US and do the job right?

-Latin American fashion is all about …fake eye colors, tinted hair, sexy cloths and ultra-high heels. Well how about those Latin ladies and their occasionally outrageous sense of fashion? Though some aspects of the Latina dress code may seem extreme especially to newbee expat women, those transplanted gringas soon realize it’s a cultural thing and get over their first impression that many young ladies are skanks. Nope, they’re not skanks at all according to local standards… just in sexy competition with each other.

-Here’s a new report on my latest trip to yet another Decameron, one of the oldest of their “all inclusive” resorts in Panama. Its less luxurious and more basic than the newer Decameron resorts I’ve seen in other countries but It's got its charms. And I bet you’ll get a kick out of what happened to me when I recently spent a few days there.

-Follow the link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com to schedule a private consultation with me. If you want to discuss the details of living, working, playing, doing business and/or retiring in Latin America, now you and I can talk about your situation one on one.

-And while you’re at www.ExpatWisdom.com don’t forget to pick up your free reports!

-Some thoughts on some ingrained first world gringo traits we never seem to completely lose no matter how long we live down here.

-How do big first-world business franchises like for example, McDonalds, Sears and Office Depot, deal with chronically tardy Latin employees? Though local businesses tolerate lateness as a fact of life, first world franchises do run on time, and live and die by the clock… even in Latin America

-I’m looking at the massive Panama real estate bubble first hand (its already twice the size of many of the other Latin bubbles) and I have to say that when it blows it won’t be pretty. Trust me…you don’t want to be there when it pops. Even though the deals will be stupendous, Panama is fast running out of electricity and water and they have already started announcing new water rationing schedules in the papers and on TV!

-A hot report on how just last week, at the peak of the bubble, some lucky Canadian friends accidentally turned a $140k Panama property into a half million bucks (and then they high-tailed it out of Panama directly after cashing the check!)

-Report on the horrors of the newly installed mega-million dollar Panama Big Brother airport immigration operation. Its so intrusive and scary now, that you’ll never want to go back to that little privacy compromised country again

-Did you know that TSA can tag you, then take your computer and smart devices for 30 days. They’ll copy your data and use anything they deem incriminating to prosecute you. I personally know of three people who have had their laptops confiscated by TSA lackeys in the last year.

-Follow the link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com to schedule a private consultation with me. If you want to discuss the details of living, working, playing, doing business and/or retiring in Latin America, now you and I can talk about your situation one on one.

-And while you’re at www.ExpatWisdom.com don’t forget to pick up your free reports!

My Latin American “Expat Wisdom” seminar ended with a bang (a very good bang) and here are a few of my comments about the crowd that made their way down. For one thing, this  group were not a bunch of “tire kickers”. Most of them see the light dimming up in the states and are very, very intent in leaving Dodge… permanently.