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A guide to moving to Latin America, finding work, and settling in.
Episodes
Wednesday Apr 20, 2011
Wednesday Apr 20, 2011
The Right Car To Drive, Car Theft, and How To Deal With Traffic Cops - Part 2: - When thieves steal your car and negotiate over the phone. - Why there are so many hit and run accidents (er,… I mean the other guy actually running away on foot!). - How and why a collision can be 100% your fault, and NOT your fault at all! - Expats, breathalyzers, drinking and driving and the state of the DUI laws. - Expats, radar, and speed traps. - Why 1st World safety violations don’t mean a thing down here. - Why the Macho society kicks into high gear when women Expats face the cops, and/or the legal system. - Why Expats bearing small gifts make for big favors when dealing with cops.
Monday Apr 18, 2011
Monday Apr 18, 2011
The Right Car To Drive, Car Theft, and How To Deal With Traffic Cops - Part 1: - Why it’s smart for Expats to “temporarily” go native (when it comes to cars). - Why Police roadblocks are everywhere, and they love stopping Expats. - What to do when you get pulled over and they search your vehicle (illegally). - The fine art of bribing the police, and why you won’t have to ask (they will). - When cops bond with Expats, just play along (and try not to laugh). - A simple $5 way for Expats to totally foil a car thief.
Wednesday Apr 13, 2011
Wednesday Apr 13, 2011
Electric Utilities, Power Outages, Part 2, - Your undecipherable utility bills part 2… just like in the 1st World, only worse (since they’re in Spanish). - How Expats handle power outages. - Where and why power outages do and don’t occur… And it’s not just a roll of the dice. - The truth about portable generators, and what you’ll really need in a pinch down here. - Total 3rd World energy self sufficiency? Can Expats really get off the grid and stick it to the oil companies (well, almost, but not yet).
Monday Apr 11, 2011
Monday Apr 11, 2011
Understanding Electric Utilities, Part 1: - 3rd World utility bills,… And you thought nothing was more confusing than your 1st World utility bill! - The secret cult of Kilowatt hours explained (almost) in 30 seconds… Hey! Watt the hecks’s a watt anyway? - How big power subsidies for the poor distort an already terrifically screwed up energy market… And why energy’s practically the only thing that ain’t cheap down here. - Why its no use fighting it out with a 3rd World utility company. If you think your bill’s wrong, its best to take a few deep breaths and just pay it(and then have a couple of margaritas). - You know those little yellow “Energy Consumption” appliance stickers? They have them down here all right, but they’re all in English (duh!). - The age old Latin custom of tapping into a power pole and stealing juice.. not recommended (but done all the time). - Clandestine cable TV hookups, and other lessons learned while living in the land of the pirates.
Wednesday Apr 06, 2011
Wednesday Apr 06, 2011
When Expats go into Business Part 1: - Reasons why Expats succeed in business without really trying (or lying). - Why nearly every 1st World franchise that lands has the midas touch,.. even ones that, by rights, shouldn’t have a chance. Example: Starbucks - King of the sandbox,... A psychologic breakdown of the medium and upscale Latin consumer, and why their misguided perceptions work in your favor. - Why Expats (outside of the tourist areas) tend to get the royal treatment, whether they deserve it or not. - Analyzing that oh so common “hey, I can do that!” pipe dream that so many tourists and Expat wannabes down here have when they spot a nice Expat owned hotel , bar, or restaurant (and why it really is a pipe dream).
Monday Apr 04, 2011
Monday Apr 04, 2011
On Banking, Credit Cards and more: - How not to get clipped when changing dollars or euros into (or out of) the local toilet paper (but quite pretty) currencies. - Credit cards -vs- cash, watch out! - Visa/MC plastic issued on 1st world banks -vs- Visa/MC issued on banks down here, they look the same but there are major differences. - What to do if your bank statement seems wrong, you're spoiling for fight, and your 2nd grade Spanish is failing. - How to spot an ATM scam. - Getting robbed on the beach, and how to avoid it.
Wednesday Mar 30, 2011
Wednesday Mar 30, 2011
On Backpackers and Skinflints (especially you ladies) – Part 2: - Why blonde backpacking ladies (especially Euro-ladies) have more fun. - When 1st World ladies on vacation meet those Latin six-pack surfer boys...Then look out! - Confessions of a Latin six-pack surfer-boy Gigolo... Or, how to milk those starry-eyed 1st world ladies in one easy lesson. - When 1st world girls meet those Costa Rican surfer boys... a variation on a theme. - When 1st World guys on vacation meet hot Latin ladies...Fuggedaboudit! (no fast action cuz they've got your number, you're on vacation Bud, and they're not that stupid!). - Hot water and Hotels (its complicated). - Scorpions and Hotels (and I’m not taking about the rock band here).
Monday Mar 28, 2011
Monday Mar 28, 2011
On Backpackers and Cheapskates, a Reality Check (especially you ladies) - Part 1: - Why backpacking through LA is not just a slightly more rustic version of last year’s hike through the south of France (and will never be). - Watch out! Those obliging locals are NOT what they seem. - The backpacker’s code of honor, and the universal ethics of skinflint 1st world travellers. - How to test the honesty of your hotel staff (you should do this BEFORE you get robbed, not after). - A near surefire way to prevent your valuables (money, passport, plastic) from theft, and even if you do get robbed, you actually won't! (you let em’ have the decoy).
Wednesday Mar 23, 2011
Wednesday Mar 23, 2011
Water Wars - Part 2: - Pulling a fast one with bottled water labeling down here - lies and more lies. - Sun-baked bottled water,... that’s exactly what you’re drinking (but they won’t put that on the label). - Two very excellent (and dirt cheap) alternatives to bad bottled water (though one’s ugly and one’s pretty). - Why many dirt poor rural dwellers have cheap (or even free) access to ultra-pure water when better-off city dwellers continue to drink the swill (and don’t even know it). - Email questions on detailing a house in exotic hardwoods (and other high grade materials unavailable to the common guy in the 1st world), and all for the price of cheap pine.
Monday Mar 21, 2011
Monday Mar 21, 2011
Banks and Bank Accounts - Part 1: - Why opening a simple passbook account can be as simple as brain surgery. - Traveling to LA any time soon? Leave your kids at home...PLEASE! - Changing money without getting gouged. - Counterfeits, counterfeits everywhere. How can you tell the real thing? - Those ‘know your customer’ banking laws have just landed down here, courtesy of a tsunami of narco money and thieving politicians. The result?... a blizzard of paperwork (just like in the 1st world). - Having a lawyer open a bank account for you... good idea or not? - Transferring money using your lawyer’s escrow account a good idea or not? - Why you absolutely need a debit card from a local bank, and how to get one in a hurry.