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A guide to moving to Latin America, finding work, and settling in.
Episodes
Monday Aug 13, 2012
Monday Aug 13, 2012
- How to handle yourself when you visit those gigantic, chaotic, Latin American indoor/outdoor shopping markets.
-If you own a car in Latin America you really need to consider having very, very dark (the darkest possible) window tinting installed. There are some very good reasons for this that may not be obvious (since Big Brother doesn’t allow such things in the states how would you know?)
-Some expats (like Eddie) have had their cars broken into multiple times, but luckily the cars themselves were NOT stolen. There are certain things that make a car appealing to thieves and here are some tips on how to keep a car safe from break-ins.
-How experienced thieves can easily disable your car alarm; and a few simple things you can do beforehand to thwart the bad guys.
-Expat Eddie gives some tips on how to get even more for your money at those big Latin produce and food markets (remember, he’s in the restaurant biz and buys a lot of that stuff daily)
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Friday Aug 10, 2012
Friday Aug 10, 2012
- An open letter from a 50 year old man who lost everything in the 2007 financial blowout. He explains how, as a last resort, he went down to Latin American with only $65 and a backpack and proceeded to find his version of paradise. Yup! The “gringo advantage” rides again!
-In first world news reports we are bombarded with horrific crime statistics about Latin America that routinely scare the snot out of average US tourists. So they don’t come. Its time we look at some of these numbers and see what they are really implying
-The scoop on bicycling down here. Bikes are good, cheap, green transportation but are they practical for Latin America? What about long very distance bike trips?
-Did you know that the average bus fare for a Latin American city route is only 25 cents? How is that possible? It’s because heavy bus fare subsidies are a strictly maintained age-old tradition. Dirt cheap fares are so engrained that just proposing a 5 cent raise in fares often results in civil unrest and mobs taking to the streets destroying buses (like they aren't worthless pieces of crap already) .
-What’s it like for expats who own motorcycles? It’s a great way to get around especially weaving through city traffic jams, but are they really recommended?
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Monday Aug 06, 2012
Monday Aug 06, 2012
-In response to many, many emails about expats owning cars in Latin America, here’s some of the pointers and do’s don’ts when buying, owning and driving
-In Latin America it’s a very common to see people hoofing it down the highway with an empty coke or water bottle. Are they saving the empty for a deposit? Maybe, but just as likely they scouting a gas station- they’re out of petrol. For locals, running on fumes is an epidemic (but not us expats- I hope). Not that we’re any smarter, we just don’t make a habit of putting a dollar’s worth of gas in the tank. Even in the year 2012, millions of Latin drivers do exactly what you and I did back in high school- throw in a buck and hope it lasts till you get home (though back then gas was a buck a gallon!)
-The details concerning the very lucrative business of buying wrecked late-model cars (in the USA) from internet auction sites, then performing the expensive bodywork and mechanical repairs with ultra-cheap labor down in Latin America
-Latin America is not a good destination if you have germ phobia. A phobic guy like Howie Mandel (who never ever shakes hands) would not survive here long. His head would explode if he were to just sit down in the average Latin’s car.
-Used car shopping in Latin America- how to terse out the car ads- how to spot a lemon or a major problem just by the way an ad is worded
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Friday Aug 03, 2012
Friday Aug 03, 2012
-When dating a Latina, get ready for the serious sit-down you’ll be expected to have with her father. Just like in an old white-bread Hollywood 50’s movie, you’ll have to explain your “honorable intentions” to him (yup, that’s same guy who has likely been cheating in his own wife, your best gal’s mother, for years). So when he gives you his fatherly advice, please try not to laugh out loud, ok?
-Because its such a macho society, there are some glaringly extreme ironies and hypocrisies that us long term expats see on a daily basis; things that just would never fly in the first world. But these things are such a tradition that they don’t even register with the locals as regressive and damaging at all; and they probably never will.
-Its surprising to know that many Latin men- who are notorious for their drinking, wife beating and womanizing- actually have prayer and bible meetings at each other’s houses every week or so. Eddie and I and most long term expats have been invited to these more than few times. And I know the experience would be wonderful grist for the Expat Files Show, I just can’t do it. I’d never be able to keep a straight face.
-Have you heard of those famous “quince anos” parties? That's the big bash every Latin family, rich and poor, throws when a daughter turns 15 years old. These are parties that all expats eventually get invited to(and are bored to death by) so here’s the low down on what to expect from that scene.
-Expat Eddie has a neat little trick that discourages Latin friends (and his girlfriend’s relatives) from hitting him up for cash loans (which BTW, is an occupational hazard for all so-called “rich” gringos).
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Monday Jul 30, 2012
Monday Jul 30, 2012
Sexist macho guy social activities like government employee beauty pageants are actually organized and supported by local Latin governments, where govt women workers are encouraged to show how "hot" they are. Events like this pervade all countries south of the boarder and in macho societies no one complains about the kind of stuff that would cause quite a stir up in Cleveland.
-I’ll bet you a shot of tequila you never knew that if you date a middle-class Latin American woman, and she really really ikes you, you'll not get invited to her house to meet the folks (or for a sometimes revolting dinner) for some weeks or more. Don’t even try to guess why- it’s not at all what you might think.
-Why are there so many beautiful Latin women wandering around Wal-Marts and the big shopping centers; all dressed in skimpy skin-tight clothing and handing out everything from free Pepsi Cola to Doritos (even shots of Jack Daniels)? Its because the pay’s good and other perks! Sure, being born middle-class and beautiful anywhere is often a winning ticket to a higher social class (if that beautiful he or she plays their cards right), and nowhere is that more evident than in Latin America. But unfortunately most of the pretty ladies in that position have a few great years but just DON’T play their cards right and lose the lottery in the end
-The continuing saga of Expat Eddie; he’s between a rock and a hard place again and this time he wants me to supply the Vaseline.
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Friday Jul 27, 2012
Friday Jul 27, 2012
-Expat driving license problems and questions. Can you use your Ohio or New Jersey, etc., license in Latin America? If so, what happens after your first world one expires, do they toss you in the slammer with the Latin skinheads and the neck-tattoo boys?
-Why are there are about six times as many Latins with driving licenses as there are actual vehicles on the roads down there? (in the USA it’s about one to one)
-How the “Gringo Advantage” works when you get pulled over by the cops and flash your USA driver’s license (expired or not!)
-The real truth about those international driving licenses as advertised on the internet and elsewhere (like the ones they sell at AAA club in the USA). Should you get one? Are they a scam? The art and practice of using one, as well as the best place to get one (if you want).
-Expat Eddie’s twisted insight on Latin cops
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Monday Jul 23, 2012
Monday Jul 23, 2012
-The 2nd most difficult thing about becoming a permanent expat is keeping a low profile- since generally, gringos have so much more disposable dough than the average Latin and can really afford to splurge on an extravagant lifestyle.
-The MOST difficult thing becoming an expat is just getting off the couch and making a decision to come down.
-Some tricks on how to fly way under the radar by using Latin S.A. anonymous corporations
-Expat Eddie’s tips on using and abusing ATM machines, both in Latin America and the rest of the world!
-A report on a person who just might be the only incorruptible country president in recent world history
-A very new libertarian development in Uruguay that is already starting to shake up the rest of the world
-Some email questions about Cartagena, Columbia. It’s on the tourist trail- kinda- but I still recommend it.
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Friday Jul 20, 2012
Friday Jul 20, 2012
-All Latin American medium and large cities have all the same big international hotels we have up in the first world- including the usual convention centers for big events. But who in their right mind would hold an international convention in Bogotá Columbia or San Pedro Sula Honduras? You’ll be surprised (well maybe not). Either way, the chances are… you are paying the bill!
-More depressing news on the US financed war on drugs; the war that we lost a long time ago.
-Some interesting facts from the court testimony of a Mexican hit man/killer with 39 murders to his credit
-Many part time expats only visit their Latin American homes a few months or weeks a year. What should they do about security when they are NOT there?
-What if you live in Latin America permanently but have to leave for just a few days, weeks, or a month at a time? How do you handle security then? What if you have dogs or pets to feed?
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Monday Jul 16, 2012
Monday Jul 16, 2012
-The three things all new expats and expat wanabees worry about most; money, money and money. Newbees are always calculating how long their nest egg or savings will last thinking they might fail to get a job or start a successful business. But they almost always find (when they’re off the tourist trail) that they vastly underestimate how far their dollars will go. Its something they have to figure out for themselves.
-A few thoughts on adjusting your own spending habits once you get down here
-If you think you’ll never make it on $15k a year down here just remember that tens of thousands of first world teachers are down here right now teaching English and working at the unheard of salary of between $300- $400 a month ($4000 to $5000 a year). And many love the life so much they stay on for years! Ever wonder how they do it?
-There are signs that the economies and currencies of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela are about to take a dive. That means a real estate blowout too. Should you buy in when the dust settles? Maybe not.
-What’s up with all those first world Christian do-gooders flying down and trying to make an impact on the poor in two whole weeks? I guess its ok… as long as they feel good about it and have good photos to take back to the congregation back home.
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.
Friday Jul 13, 2012
Friday Jul 13, 2012
-Bottled water, ice machines and water cooler issues in the first and the third world. Water quality and water purifier questions addressed.
-What H2O filter units do I personally use and/or recommend in the home/office and on the road?
-When in Latin America, always drink out of bottles- use ice cubes and pour your beverages into (apparently) clean glasses and cups at your own risk.
-Ingenious scams; how Latin lawyers skin certain gringo clients in gringo saturated areas. And how those expats keep getting milked over and over again, yet they keep coming back for more!
-Corporate taxes: how the local Latin govts will tax your business (i.e.,very, very lightly).
-DYK that in Latin America you can write off ALL of your expenses? Not just the legit business deductions but all of the personal ones too. Unlike the IRS, down here there is no such thing as a disallowed deduction! As long as you have a receipt (called a factura) you can write it off!
-Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a 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.