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A guide to moving to Latin America, finding work, and settling in.
Episodes
May 17, 2015
May 17, 2015
28 min
- On the other side of the globe, the Philippine islands have the closest thing to a Latin American culture. They were once conquered and colonized by Spain so they have many of the same traditions… with some important differences…
-When you come to Latin America, for all of you who enjoy walking and exploring, note that there are different categories of “safe”. For example there are, #1, safe places to walk through day and night, #2 safe places to walk in the daytime only (questionable at night), #3 places that are considered unsafe to walk in both day and night. Then there's the question- what if you're walking alone or with two or more in your group?
-In Latin America the cars and trucks do not respect pedestrians at all. That’s why so many thousands of peopel on foot are killed or maimed with impunity each year. You also know for many reasons the chicken buses and most other public transportation methods are not recommended. Today we’ll be mentioning another generally unsafe place you don’t want to walk on, or through. Its called a “paserela” (pedestrian bridge or catwalk). There are many such useful but ugly monstrosities in every Latin city. They’re constructed to allow pedestrians to safely cross over large heavily traveled highways ,yet ironically sometimes it’s much safer to just take your chances and dodge the cars. You’ll hear why…
Fresh new expats are always intimidated when they first get behind the wheel in Latin America. Though, after a few months one does inevitably get used to the organized chaos of it all since the traffic does sort of move along in its own meandering way. But note, soon enough you’ll be bending and breaking a lot of traffic laws you’d never dreamed of flaunting back in Cleveland. Sometimes following the crazy moves of the guy in front of you is the only way to go with the flow. If you want to prevent a hemorrhoid flare-up you must adapt and be flexible. Besides, cops almost never ticket for moving violations… not to mention, most cops actually like gringos and just love to BS with you about Miami and Disneyland when you break a traffic law.
-TAKE PART IN ONE OF MY LIVE “WEBINARS”:
Check out www.Expatwisdom.com and sign up for one of my free one hour live “webinars”. They will take place about every two weeks for a very limited time so sign up now to listen in live and contribute your own thoughts and questions about Latin America.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans today for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar. Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
May 15, 2015
May 15, 2015
27 min
-Would you like to take part in on one of my live “webinars?
Check out www.Expatwisdom.com and sign up for one of my free one hour live “webinars”. They will take place about every two weeks and free for a limited time so sign up now to listen in live and contribute your own thoughts and questions about Latin America.
-Some Latins, especially upscale Latins, don’t like the term “3rd world”. They much prefer the more PC term “developing nation”. In fact, to call someone a “trecer mundista” (a 3rd worlder) south of the border can be a harsh insult to some of the more sensitive educated Latins- though its often mouthed by Latin bosses to employees who have made errors on the job or have done something the chief bottle washer considers stupid. Use the 3rd world thing at your own risk...
-Latin Employees, their work ethic and what expats can expect from them as employers:
Expats, wannabees and gonnabees are always hiring Latin employees. You probably will too- and your first hiring experience almost always begins with a cleaning lady, gardener or maintenance man. There are certain cultural things you should know in general about your new employees before you get mad, angry, disappointed or even blow up at them. Yes, impatient, wound-up, “type A” gringos (used to certain standards and often cracking the whip on the job back in the states) have been known to boil and rage at some of the work habits of their Latin employees. Nope, it doesn’t have to be that way. Just knowing and understanding a few subtle and not so subtle Latin social and cultural differences can make all the difference. The key words are train, monitor and adapt...
-What about Latin professionals and their work ethic? Here’s the skinny on that often sore subject…
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans today for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar. Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
May 10, 2015
May 10, 2015
28 min
-Would you like to get in on one of my free live “webinars?
Check out www.Expatwisdom.com and sign up for one of my free one hour live “webinars”. They will take place about every two or three weeks for a very limited time so sign up now to listen in live. Contribute your own thoughts and questions about Latin America.
-Seems like everyone who’s been any kind of traveller at all occasionally checks in with the “Trip Advisor”. If you don’t know what the Trip Advisor is then you probably live in your basement. So today we have some comments, the pros and cons of using (and trusting) it as a free public service. Remember, you usually get what you pay for(including this show!)
-How “Trip Advisor”, big retirement magazines websites and vacation bloggers have slowly but surely put Roatan, Honduras smack on the gringo tourist trail. It’s not a good thing by any means. Adios Roatan! Formerly one of the best inexpensive, secret island paradise getaways. Guess we won’t be vacationing there anymore!
-Many inquiries come in from boat owners wishing detailed info on guarded/gated marina communities. Boat owners (and wannabees) are interested in places they can dock and live 24/7. They’re searching for 3rd world marinas that have adequate first-world style amenities in order to live out their dream life…. at 3rd world prices of course.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans today for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar. Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
May 8, 2015
May 8, 2015
28 min
The descriptions for... EXPAT FILES SHOW #457-05-08-2015 (FRI):
-Tips on packing and protecting your prescription drugs, vitamins and supplements. What to keep in mind when packing for trips to and from Latin America
-Would you like to get in on one of my free live “webinars?
Check out www.Expatwisdom.com and sign up for one of my free one hour live “webinars”. They will take place about every two or three weeks for a limited time so sign up now to listen in live. Contribute your own thoughts and questions about Latin America.
-Now for a disturbing recent eyewitness in-your-face report on drones and chem-trails in Coast Rica and Mexico.
-Having invested in some “dud” Latin deals over the years myself, I’m very tuned in to the fact that there are many Latin business and so-called pure investment opportunities that seem to be specifically aimed at gringos. Note they’re not necessarily scams- but let’s just say are often way too optimistic from the get go. Latins are nothing if not overly optimistic about everything- including life itself! Why then you might ask, are the majority of these “fantastic” linited time only, land, agricultural, real estate and/or mining investments, etc., etc., most specifically aimed at gringos and yet they're rarely advertised or targeted to the Latin public in the Spanish language media? Easy, because gringos are gullible and easy to sell. We come ambling south of the border with rose-colored glasses and often an urge to invest in what's touted as a tropical paradise in a strong growth phase. True, we often have the available dough to invest... and if we lose a few grand, it’s not the end of the world to us or lifestyles. Not to mention, if the thing goes sour, we’re generally back in Cleveland some 2000 miles away and can’t do anything about it. Don’t forget, most gringos can’t speak Spanish well enough to start an action against the principals, whoever they are. Oh and did I mention that most Latin court cases can take years to settle and judgments are often never satisfied even when awarded? Sure, there are great investment deals down here but just be careful.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans today for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar. Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
May 3, 2015
May 3, 2015
28 min
-Easter week in Latin America (called Semana Santa) can be a truly crazy and some say, nerve wracking experience for gringos and expats. Here’s why….
-Because the “gringo advantage” is alive and well especially off the tourist trail, eventually you will meet a Latin person with a gringoized name that seems so tacky or wacky that you think it must be some kind or nickname or inside joke. But don’t assume. Don’t assume anything! Just try not to laugh… that would be rude.
-Just a few comments on the latest theft in Mexico- another truck containing highly radioactive material. Are these just odd mistakes, or should expats be worried? This is the fourthreported incident of its kind in the last two years.
-Today we discuss advanced stem-cell therapies as well as blood/platelet therapies now available throughout Latin America
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans now for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar. Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
May 1, 2015
May 1, 2015
28 min
-Today we have a disturbing email from a female public high-school English teacher(in the states) hoping beyond hope that she can last just two more years and get her pension. Then it’s get the hell out of Dodge and down to Latin America.
-It’s not Carnival time, so why are there hundreds of thousands of people marching in the streets of Brazil? Here’s a hint… the Brazilian president’s popularity is at an all-time historic low of 13%. Yes, it’s a political corruption of massive proportions (again) but this time the media and the people have solid goods on the crooks in office. The snakes won’t easily buy or squirm out of this one.
-Each year many tens of thousands of Nicaraguans immigrate illegally to Costa Rica and Panama. They easily find low-end, basic grunt work jobs working for less than crap wages. However, even as local Latins hire Nicas, take advantage of them and get away with the practice indefinitely… if a gringo hires one, look out!
-Banking and US dollar withdrawal problems are on the upswing in Latin America. Today we have the story of a Canadian citizen down in Mexico who cannot get his US dollars from the Mexican branch of his very own Canadian bank.
-The Philippines do have a solidly Latin based culture, very similar to Latin America. But note there are some disturbing differences that make it a very volatile place.
SIGN-UP FOR JOHNNY’S WEBINARS AT WWW.EXPATWISDOM.COM: Get in on live discussions and ask some questions of your own.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans now for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar. Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
Apr 27, 2015
Apr 27, 2015
28 min
-Today we tie up some loose ends in the process of transitioning from temporary residency in a Latin country to permanent residency. Specifically the subject of getting the required police report for the transition- a clean police report, that is.
-All big Latin American cities have hundreds if not thousands of parking meters, mostly in the business and hotel districts. And you plug in the average of 50 US cents an hour. It’s a way for municipalities to make dough, naturally. However it’s impossible to figure out how any Latin city can hope to even break even when the parking meter crews- the slugs that empty the change from the meters- often consist of six guys riding around in a single golf cart emptying those things. It’s a one man job for sure, but this is Latin America!
-Some disturbing “boots on the ground” facts concerning unwed teenage mothers and the ever-present Latin baby boom: In getting to know middle-class Latin families, and also just walking around and observing Latin society, we expats soon realize there are a lot of very young pregnant women and young unmarried ladies with kids living at home with their parents. Why is it so widespread and why are Latin parents so forgiving (and happy?) when their underage daughters making “mistakes’ like that?
-Big pharma is trying to get a foot in the door in Latin America via drug reps. Its an old page from the same first-world drug company playbook, but a brand new game down here.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans now for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar (and get in on the early-bird discount). Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
Apr 24, 2015
Apr 24, 2015
28 min
-Would you like to get in on one of my free live “webinars?
Check out www.Expatwisdom.com and sign up for one of my free one hour live “webinars”. They will take place about every two or three weeks for the foreseeable future so sign up now to listen in live. Now you can contribute your own thoughts, insights and questions about Latin America.
-What’s inflation like in Latin American countries? Do their governments lie through their teeth just like first world governments? Of course they do. And even with the 30 to 50 percent drop in gas prices, there seems to be no deflation in sight down here.
-Latin TV stations have been making bad copies the old Jerry Lewis MD telethon playbook for some years now. Nope, Latin telethons are NOT for Jerry’s kids. They’re just a glossy, happy, sanitized pretext for Latin promoters to skim big dough with zero transparency. It never fails, every year there’s a newspaper exposé or two describing how some good Christian telethon promoter has bought a yacht or disappeared with a large chunk of cash. And they always get away with it too! In Latin America, public memories are extremely short (sound familiar?) so right around the Easter season the telethons start anew with another round of sad, malnourished, sick, disabled kids exhibiting their symptoms on TV. Don’t fall for it!
-Autism in Latin America. Yes, autism does exist. However it’s quite a strange phenomenon in that it’s somehow much more prevalent in the entitled children of the wealthy (spoiled kids at the helicopter schools). Whereas teachers of middle and lower-middle class Latin kids are aware of the condition but seldom see it in their school kids …
-Only 16% of Latins have a permanent internet connection in their homes. Meaning in the next few years there will be an automatic and unstoppable growth in Latin households hooking up to the net. That means starting any business that has a heavy internet presence will give you a big leg up.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans now for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar (and get in on the early-bird discount). Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
Apr 19, 2015
Apr 19, 2015
28 min
-We’ve been getting conflicting reports on the situation in Argentina. Some long term expats living there say it’s deteriorating rather slowly while others say its in the fast lane heading for a nearby cliff. Some say its heaven and other say hell. The answer all depends if one is flush with US dollars or stuck dealing day to day with the local peso. Though all agree there has to be an all-out economic calamity of sorts, what with a 40% yearly inflation rate and near general prohibition of US dollar use. Even if Argentina faces somewhat the same fate as Venezuela (they’ve been through it many times before) it’s still a land of opportunity for expats … but not for the inexperienced or faint of heart. At least for now, it can be recommended only for more adventurous chance-taker expats- and of course the wealthy folks who can buffer themselves in exclusive areas far from the maddening crowds. Note, they’re getting madder and madder by the day.
-Drones in Latin America: glimpsed my first Latin American drone last week, it flew right over my head- and you’ll never guess where. Because they’re so very rare down here (at least as of now) it’s amazing how Latins just go ga ga over them. So even when it comes to drones the “gringo advantage” rides again.
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans now for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar (and get in on the early-bird discount). Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.
Apr 17, 2015
Apr 17, 2015
28 min
-Part 2: Obtaining Residency in a Latin country (as of April, 2015):
Today we finish our discussion on the complete, unabridged, very up to date, step-by-step process of applying for and receiving temporary and permanent residency in Latin America… leading to naturalization, citizenship and a passport.
Here’s the tail end of the complete process describing the hoops and hurdles a gringo must go through… to get residency. In this, our real-live case study, Guatemala is the country selected specifically because many prospective Expat Wisdom seminar attendees have been inquiring (and wondering) if they can come down for the seminar this July and apply for residency immediately afterwards. Some want to get started and forgo a second trip down to avoid taking yet more time off their treadmill. Yes, it’s possible to do the Expat Wisdom seminar and start the residency process all on the same trip. And here are the remaining steps one needs to accomplish before coming down….
JULY 2015 -LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR NOTICE: Make your plans now for the next Latin American Expat Wisdom seminar (and get in on the early-bird discount). Just go to the www.ExpatWisdom.com main page and click on the Latin Seminar link for full details. The seminar will take place from Saturday, July 11th through Thursday July 16th, 2015.
-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL: Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.