Expat Files - 07/20/14

-Now for a small report on the latest Expat Wisdom seminar. Since this show was recorded on Saturday, the day after the official last day “boots on the ground” experience- it’s still very fresh in in the minds of the attendees.  

-Locals are complaining about Venezuela’s new $20 Airport “air quality” travel tax levied at Caracas International airport. Its ostensibly to pay for the new ozone air purifiers installed in the terminal- never mind that the airport bathrooms have no water or TP, the escalators have long since ceased to function, there are packs of stray dogs actually living inside the terminal and there are 70 plus broken windows all over the place. Duh? The only good thing is that most gringos and expats will never ever venture near the place. (Unfortunately I recently did)              

From the “be careful what you wish for department”: First world people believe many Latin countries are socialist or have a heavy socialist bent. In fact, most halfway intelligent first-world folks know the names of a certain few standouts: Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador (and maybe Nicaragua). Then what about the other 15 Latin countries? Where do they stand politically? Well, sorry to say, they are all socialist leaning countries to varying degrees (yeah, like yours isn’t?) Here’s the scoop on that…       

-Cameras are starting to pop up in all Latin American big cities. Many busy street corners now have them. Are we being tracked and cataloged? Should expats worry? Here’s the real story.  

-When gringos and expats pass through Latin airports they’re almost always pleasantly surprised- find out why.   

-Do follow the link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com to schedule a private phone, Skype or Mumble consult 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.