Deep Dive with Shawn

Leaving America E4: The Latin American Dream

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Dreaming of a life where your morning coffee comes with a side of tropical birds rather than the military in your neighborhood? You're not alone. As more Americans find themselves struggling with rising costs and political tensions at home, Latin America has emerged as the promised land of affordable living and reclaimed time.

Mexico leads the charge as America's favorite escape hatch, with over 1.6 million US citizens now calling it home. With manageable residency requirements—roughly $2,800 monthly income or $45,000 in savings—Mexico offers diverse living experiences from cosmopolitan Mexico City to the beaches of Puerto Vallarta. Healthcare that costs pennies on the dollar compared to the US has many expats wondering why they waited so long, with doctor visits averaging just $30-50 and often available same-day.

Costa Rica's "Pura Vida" lifestyle attracts those seeking peace, natural beauty, and a country so chill it abolished its military in 1948. While no longer the budget paradise it once was, Costa Rica offers excellent healthcare, stunning biodiversity, and welcoming communities—even for those fleeing political tensions. As one LGBTQ expat couple shared, "The first note we got back was 'Costa Rica welcomes you and your wife. You'll make great citizens.'"

Colombia has undergone a stunning transformation from its narco-state reputation, now offering sophisticated urban living in Medellín (the "city of eternal spring"), colonial charm in Cartagena, and apartments starting at $400 monthly. Other enticing options include business-friendly Panama, budget-conscious Nicaragua, easiest-residency-on-earth Paraguay, progressive Uruguay, affordable Ecuador, culturally rich Argentina, and adventurous Brazil.

The real challenge isn't securing visas—it's adaptation. Learning Spanish becomes essential, along with embracing a fluid concept of time where "I'll be there at 10" might mean noon, and bureaucracy follows its own mysterious logic. Most expats discover that what initially frustrates them—the slower pace, the prioritization of relationships over efficiency, the general "mañana" approach—eventually becomes what they cherish most.

Featuring:

Tim Leffel

Xanthe and Dana

Richard McColl

Basil Elzeki

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Email: deepdivewithshawn@gmail.com

Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock



Aaron Martin:

Imagine living in New Zealand with your family. If that's your destination of choice, new Zealand immigration law is here to help. How do we do that? First of all, a deep dive diagnosis to ensure that you've got the right pathway and the pathway of least resistance. Because, let's face it, crossing international borders can be a nightmare. Borders can be a nightmare. We also look after you throughout the application process ensuring that that satisfies New Zealand government visa criteria and managing your application through the immigration process, dealing with the complexities and the issues that might be raised by Immigration New Zealand. I'm Aaron Martin and I've been working in the immigration space for 28 years, helping people settle successfully in New Zealand, and I'm supported by a team which collectively has 62 years of experience in this area. If you'd like to know more about me and my team and how we can help you, reach out to us on our website, wwwnzilconz.

Shawn:

Welcome back to Leaving America, the podcast, for those of you who look at the price of eggs, the military marching through your neighborhoods and the dwindling number of books on your library shelves and think surely there's another way. Today we're focusing on Latin America, and particularly on Mexico and Costa Rica. These two countries have earned their spot at the top of the American expat wish list not just because they're affordable and relatively easy to move to, but because they offer something rare a lifestyle that doesn't require a bulletproof vest just to buy some groceries. We'll also take a quick look at some of Latin America's lesser-hyped but equally intriguing destinations Panama, colombia, nicaragua, paraguay, uruguay, ecuador, argentina and Brazil, places where you can reinvent yourself dramatically lower your cost of living and, if you want, grow a man bun without drawing unwanted attention. And, of course, we'll wade into the murky waters of cultural integration, because, while fleeing America might sound romantic, living in a new culture with its own language, customs and bureaucratic quirks is not all beach walks and Instagram reels. Sometimes it's ants in your electrical sockets and visa officials who've gone on lunch break indefinitely.

Shawn:

I'm your host, sean C Fettig, and if you've ever paid $12 for a dozen eggs while billionaires shoot themselves into space and tank the economy and democracy. You're in the right place To stay updated on the latest episodes. Follow, like and share Leaving America on the Deep Dive with Sean podcast feed. Wherever you get your podcasts, and if you've made the move to Latin America, or if you're just wondering if you'll need a dehumidifier in Costa Rica, please feel free to email me at deepdivewithsean at gmailcom. All right, pack your bags. This is Leaving America.

Tim Leffel:

Well, I'll start with the Americas, because a lot of Canadians and United States citizens tend to stay in this part of the world because they can be on a similar time zone, which is really important for work purposes if you're still working, but it's also easier to connect with family and all that, and it's also fairly easy to get residency in most of the countries in Latin America. So in that part of the world the affordable places tend to be Mexico, guatemala and Panama, and then when you go down to South America, it's Colombia, ecuador, peru and then the southern cone. It kind of changes a little bit from year to year. So Argentina is sometimes a great deal, sometimes not. This year. Brazil is a good deal just because of exchange rate changes.

Tim Leffel:

Uruguay can bounce back and forth. Right now it's not that cheap, but those are kind of the main ones that people end up in. Some people go to Roatan and Honduras, which is an island. You know beaches and scuba diving and all that. Then there are other places that are popular with Americans, like Belize and Costa Rica, that are quite nice, but they're not that good of a deal. You don't move there to save money, you move there for the lifestyle.

Shawn:

That was award-winning travel writer and author of numerous books, including A Better Life for Half the Price, discussing Latin American options. He's also an expat living in Mexico, so let's start there. Mexico is a place Americans can't seem to stop going to, unless it's to complain about the people coming from it. Whether you're chasing tropical sun, lower living costs, better tacos or simply a life that doesn't involve taking out a loan to pay your health insurance deductible, mexico has emerged as the go-to country for US expats. As of this recording, over 1.6 million Americans are living in Mexico. Some are retirees, some are remote workers, some are fleeing politics, some are fleeing HOA meetings. Many are fleeing both. Let's walk through why and how you might become one of them.

Shawn:

Mexico, to its credit, doesn't make you jump through firelit hoops to get legal residency. There are two main paths. The residente, temporal or temporary residency is the starter pack. It's for people who'd like to move to Mexico but reserve the right to dramatically change their mind in two years. To qualify, you'll need around $2,800 in monthly income or a bank balance of about $45,000 held for the previous 12 months. This gets you a one-year visa, renewable for up to four, and after that you can convert it into the residente permanente or permanent residency. This is the. I'm not going back unless Texas turns into Sweden version. You can apply directly for this if you're over a certain income threshold, about $4,500 a month. Other routes to permanent residency include marrying a Mexican citizen, producing a Mexican child or, as I mentioned, holding that temporary residency for four years. A word of warning here, though Each Mexican consulate interprets these requirements slightly differently. One might ask for a printout of your bank statements, another may want those same statements translated, notarized, apostilled and blessed by three local saints. So bring patience and copies always extra copies when you're considering where to live in Mexico.

Shawn:

Here's where things get spicy. Mexico is not one monolithic expat experience. It's a gigantic country and it's many countries in one. Mexico City is urban, cosmopolitan, loud and creative. The city has neighborhoods like Roma Norte and Condesa, where you can find third-wave coffee. Like Roma Norte and Condesa, where you can find third-wave coffee, vegan tacos and people who use design thinking unironically. It's great for remote workers who want culture and chaos in equal measure. San Miguel de Allende is a hilltop colonial fantasy full of expats, artists, yoga instructors and people who are really into energy, and you just kind of need to know what they mean by that. Real estate is pricier here, but the streets are made of cobblestones and it really does feel almost like old world Europe.

Shawn:

Merida is in the Yucatan. It's on the opposite side of the Riviera Maya. It's hotter than hell's boiler room in the summer I can vouch for that I was just there. But consistently ranked among the safest cities in Mexico, it's affordable, calm and full of pastel-colored homes. Ajijic and Lake Chapala are for the 65 and up crowd who want mountain breezes and English-speaking neighbors. Oaxaca is a cultural jewel with a strong indigenous heritage, a deep culinary tradition and more types of mole than you could ever remember. It's also increasingly becoming home to digital nomads who arrive for the mezcal and stay for well everything else. And then there's Puerto Vallarta. It's a long-standing LGBTQ plus haven, particularly the Zona Romantica Think tropical Key West, but with better tacos and fewer Confederate flags.

Shawn:

As for the cost of living in Mexico, it varies where you live, but generally we could put it this way If you've ever looked at your bank account after a weekend in San Francisco and felt a small stroke, coming on, mexico feels like the medication. A few ballpark figures to consider Rent for a modern one-bedroom in Oaxaca will cost about $400 to $600 a month. Dinner for two with drinks is about $20 to $30. And if you want a housekeeper once a week, that's going to cost about $15 to $25. A private doctor's visit is about $30 to $50, and it's often same day. And then a note here on tipping it's encouraged, but it's not required, to keep the lights on in a service worker's home. So tip if you can, of course, but your waiter's not trying to pay off $60,000 in student debt while working three jobs.

Shawn:

Private healthcare in Mexico is one of its most attractive secrets, except it's not really a secret anymore. Many American expats actually report better care than what they received in the US, with shorter wait times and, crucially, actual eye contact from the doctor. You can pay out of pocket or you can enroll in IMSS, the public health system, for a few hundred dollars a year. For many expats a hybrid model works best. Use public care for routine visits and private clinics for anything serious, like if your knee gives out mid downward dog. Medical tourism is big business. People fly to Mexico for dental work, cosmetic surgery and routine procedures because, even at full price, it's often 70 to 90% cheaper than in the United States. The elephant in the room here is safety. Is Mexico dangerous? Sure in places, just like the United States, just like everywhere. There are entire cities. You probably wouldn't drive through in America at night, but you don't cancel the whole country because of them, unless you're a Fox News anchor. This is Tim Leffel describing the situation.

Tim Leffel:

So, yeah, that is a misconception. Misconception and I think part of it is what I try to do to put it in perspective for people is you know, if you live in the nicest neighborhood in Chicago, you're not really dealing with the crime that's happening on the street in Chicago, no matter how bad the stats may look. You know, most of the crime here is cartel against cartel. They're fighting against each other about territory and you know personal beefs and whatever. But it's pretty rare that any foreigner ever gets caught in the crossfire unless they're just really in the wrong place at the wrong time. So it doesn't really impact our daily lives here. I have not witnessed any crime, violent crime in my whole time that I've been here and I don't know anyone who's personally been a victim. So you know, even though I'm in a state, guanajuato, that often gets called out for having high levels of cartel violence, it's not something you see if you're in Guanajuato City or San Miguel de Allende, where there's lots of tourists and expats, you hear about it in the news in these industrial cities, like there's pipeline theft and you know gas trucks being hijacked and things like that. So it happens and it's very real and there is real violence but it's not as random as it is in the US. Like you know, you can get shot in a movie theater or a mall or something in the United States and it's completely random and it's all innocent victims. Somebody comes into work with a AK-47, you know that kind of thing just does not happen here it's.

Tim Leffel:

When there is violence, it's generally some kind of hit or some kind of, you know, firefight in the street between two cartels and maybe the police. So it's just a whole different animal. I don't want to minimize it because it is for real. You can see the stats. You know they're alarming sometimes, but it generally doesn't impact people who are visiting or moving here from another country. I mean, the cartels don't want that kind of attention. Honestly. You know they don't want the National Guard from the US coming in or drone strikes or all these other things that have been threatened.

Shawn:

Places like Merida, san Miguel and Puerto Escondido are statistically safer than many major US cities. That said, you should still do your homework. Avoid states with persistent cartel violence and don't flash your wealth. Homework, avoid states with persistent cartel violence and don't flash your wealth. Okay, so you've got your visa, you've got your cute Airbnb, your morning cafe con leche. You might be asking yourself what could go wrong, and the answer to that is plenty, if you expect Mexico to be America, but cheaper, and I see this in Mexico all the time. So you should know and be prepared for the fact that bureaucracy is a sport here and the rules change mid-match. Some pharmacies sell antibiotics like candy and others won't give you aspirin without a prescription. People may not show up on time, but they'll show up with warmth, a beer and possibly three cousins you weren't expecting. Your internet might go down mid-zoom call your landlord, might fix something by painting over it and someone somewhere will play bad mariachi at 3 am as though it's their patriotic duty. But you'll also start smiling more, eating slower, learning to enjoy Tuesday afternoons again.

Shawn:

A note on expat life in Mexico. Many Americans in Mexico don't integrate. They build lives that look like little pieces of Scottsdale or Sarasota lifted whole and plopped into colonial towns with slightly better weather and guacamole. But if you push past that, learn some Spanish. Join a local cooking class shop at the mercado, celebrate Dia de Muertos with your neighbors. You'll find that Mexico isn't just a backdrop for your personal reinvention. It's a fully developed culture with depth, generosity, pride and more than a little humor. The ultimate expat secret is you get more from Mexico when you stop expecting it to behave like America.

Shawn:

Okay, next let's talk about Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a country so chill it doesn't even have a military, and hasn't since 1948. Imagine disbanding your armed forces and deciding to spend the money on education and healthcare instead. It's a place where pura vida isn't just a saying. Pure life, it's a lifestyle, a mindset, A greeting, a farewell, a toast. It's the Costa Rican Hakuna Matata. For many Americans, costa Rica represents the dream Jungles and beaches, no hurricanes, decent roads, decent politics and the option to see a toucan before breakfast. So let's talk about what it takes to move there. Costa Rica offers several ways to stay long term, and they all have cheerful names that come with a lot of paperwork. But it is manageable, as American expats Xantha and Dana discovered.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah, and I would say it just takes some perseverance, like you just keep doing the next right thing. You know if you're really going to do it, like there were many times you were just like, oh my God, one more thing. But when you look back it's like, oh, that wasn't so bad. But you know, of course, when you're in it it's just like wait, we have to produce what. But um, you just stay after it, like I think it's probably kind of the same in the states. You know there's a lot of paperwork, there's a lot of kind of bullshit stuff, but, um, looking back, I don't think it was the hardest part was sending that volume of money out of country.

Xanthe and Dana:

We were stopped at our bank, we were stopped with legal, we were stopped so many places about transferring that amount down that we finally actually the buyer lived in Raleigh, north Carolina. So we finally connected and we did a transfer that way. But it was a big deal trying to move that volume of money and I'm not talking about millions by any means, I'm talking less than 500,000. But that was a big problem to run into.

Shawn:

The retiree route is the pensionado visa. It's perfect if you're collecting Social Security or another guaranteed pension. You'll have to show proof of at least $1,000 a month in lifetime income. This income must be permanent. An IRA doesn't count. A job doesn't count. Selling Etsy earrings definitely doesn't count. It's got to be something like a pension or Social Security. You also have to live in Costa Rica for at least 122 days per year. This is ideal for retirees who want tropical peace, public health care access and the joy of watching hummingbirds fight over hibiscus flowers. It's like a tiny, polite MMA match.

Shawn:

For the self-funded non-retiree, the Rentista visa might be your best option. The requirements for this are an unearned income of $2,500 a month for at least two years, or deposit $60,000 into a Costa Rican bank and let it sit there. Don't expect to make money by going this route, though. It will earn roughly the same interest as if it were sitting under your mattress. You don't have to earn that income monthly. You just have to show that it's coming from investments, trusts or a benevolent relative, whatever. The downside, though, is that Costa Rican banks love paperwork. They will want your financial records, your notarized documents, etc. If you have a little disposable income, the inversionista visa might be best for you. You must invest at least 150,000 US dollars in Costa Rican real estate, business or stocks. It's a decent option if you want to start a bed and breakfast, buy a jungle villa or an oceanfront condo or finally open that gluten-free surfboard cafe. But be warned if you want to start a business, you can own it, but you can't work it. So unless you have a separate work permit, you can't be the one selling the smoothies. You'll need to hire someone to do that for you. Think of yourself as a passive investor.

Shawn:

Costa Rica isn't just beaches and happy monkeys. It's also bureaucracy, volcanoes, microclimates and a surprising number of expats who think pura vida means they don't have to pay taxes. So let's get real. Despite its reputation for affordability, costa Rica is no longer the budget paradise it once was. It's more like California-lite Cheaper than the US, sure, but not as cheap as, say, ecuador or Nicaragua, which we'll get to later. Rent for a one bedroom in San Jose is about $500-800 a month. In expat-heavy beach towns like Nosara, tamarindo or Santa Teresa, upwards of $1,200 a month for something walkable with hot water and screens on the windows. As far as groceries go, if you stick to local produce and not imported goat cheese, you'll be fine. Costa Rica also taxes luxury items heavily, so if you're hoping to import your car or your Vitamix, prepare for sticker shock when it comes to health care.

Shawn:

Costa Rica has two systems for sticker shock. When it comes to health care, costa Rica has two systems the public system, caja, and a robust private system. Most residents use a combination of both. To enroll in Caja, you'll need your residency and a monthly payment, usually between $60 and $150, depending on your income. Once you're in, you get access to basic care, prescriptions and emergency services. Just don't expect speed. You'll wait for appointments the same way. You're going to have to learn to wait for dry season longingly and possibly for months.

Shawn:

Private care is excellent and affordable. By US standards, a specialist visit costs around $80, and surgery is one-fifth the cost of the United States and dental care. People fly to Costa Rica just for cleanings, crowns and full-on smile makeovers. Costa Rican dentists have done more for American smiles than most US insurance plans ever will. And as far as culture shock goes, there are some things that, as an American, may take some getting used to, but it's all in pursuit of pura vida, a slower, more intentional life, and isn't that one of the reasons you're considering escaping the United States anyway? Xantha and Dana explain.

Xanthe and Dana:

People aren't as many rules and it's.

Xanthe and Dana:

You can't sue people here either. So if you get hurt, you're just a dumb ass, right? You know? The other culture shock that I've gone through is I'm the shopper too. So, like grocery shopping, like it's really challenging. Well, it's not challenging, but you learn. Like you don't buy meat in a grocery store here, like I haven't found it tasteful or anything, so you go to a butcher and I found my butcher I like to use, so that's one stop. And then we go to a fruit stand for our fruits and vegetables, because you don't buy vegetables and fruit in a grocery store. They're expensive and not very good. So we go there and then you have to go to the grocery store, but the grocery store we like is way out, so then you have to get Uber. So it's just like learning that. It's just like learning that. So now we've learned it. And also, we don't have a car here. So it's been. We rent a car, maybe once every three weeks maybe, especially if we have guests in town. But we have bikes from priority, which we love.

Xanthe and Dana:

I mean, you could bike to do errands anywhere and it's easy to get around on a bike.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah, but it's a, it's a like I wanted to make. I made vegan bacon the other day and I'm not a vegan for her, and, um, I need liquid smoke and you can't find like, there's things you just can't get and you know the lady took me to smoke paprika, so there's things that you just have to be able to adjust. And the funniest thing is, anyone who flies down brings us lipton onion soup so we can make. You can't really buy that. Yeah, so the culture shock is just learning like at home, you know, you drive to whole foods or safeway, you get your groceries and you go home like oh yeah, and there's no.

Xanthe and Dana:

We're so instant anything you want, we're just like we're just ordering and amazon't come here, like you don't really have an address, yeah.

Xanthe and Dana:

Whenever it's not in Saco, you're not going to get it. Yeah.

Xanthe and Dana:

You don't like. You're not getting the prime trucks every day rolling around Saco.

Xanthe and Dana:

It's not happening in Costa Rica period, so yeah, you just sort of, if you can't get it, you just switch your plans. Yeah, because you really can't go on the phone and be like, well, amazon will deliver it on Friday. It doesn't exist like that, which I actually like. Like the small businesses, you get to know them and you rely on them, and I like it.

Shawn:

actually. When it comes to crime, Costa Rica is one of the safest countries in Latin America. As I said earlier, it abolished its military in 1948 and hasn't looked back. This means you're unlikely to see soldiers at roadblocks and more likely to see school kids playing soccer where tanks might otherwise be. Violent crime is low, but petty theft is common, so lock your doors, don't leave laptops in cars and don't assume your beachfront hammock is a secure storage solution. Police are friendly but sometimes under-equipped. If someone steals your bike, file a report, but don't expect a CSI-style manhunt. Safety concerns in Costa Rica are very different than those of the United States, as Xantha and Dana discovered.

Xanthe and Dana:

You know, it just kind of felt like it was becoming a train wreck up there, especially has anxiety and, uh, you know, so much so that it's rubbing off on me, oh my good lord. But anyway it here. It's like all the news and everything just isn't in your face Like it's. I mean, definitely you can choose.

Xanthe and Dana:

You can go out there, you know, have your routine, whatever, but it's just not like it's not all the conversations you hear everywhere. It's not like we're not watching any TV. You know we're not getting like. We don't turn on the TV in the morning and get all that Like just in your face and no one's getting shot here and we don't have kidnappings Like kids, aren't?

Xanthe and Dana:

That is?

Xanthe and Dana:

so crazy when people will say to us well, do you feel safe here? Or you'll look at travel advisories or something like oh, you know, in Costa Rica and I'm like, have you looked at the United States? I mean everybody has guns. I'm like, have you looked at the United States? I mean everybody has guns, everybody's like yeah, I think there were travel advisories to the United States. I feel definitely safer here.

Xanthe and Dana:

Half of our family in Pueblo have been through shootings. That's a big number. We are three, no, four nieces and nephews have been through shootings, and so you don't, you don't have that fear here, like if you have a disagreement with someone. You're just like, well, yeah, yeah, okay, well, peer, beat up.

Xanthe and Dana:

I mean not everybody has guns. That's different too.

Xanthe and Dana:

And you don't have the machismo. It's not like it's family oriented, so that's the difference too.

Shawn:

In fact, Costa Rica in general is a very friendly and welcoming place. Xantha and Dana obtained residency in Costa Rica as an escape route from the Trump administration and growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the states.

Xanthe and Dana:

You know, in 2016, we had been visiting for so long and we decided we needed an escape route, and it turns out we still may need an escape route. Yeah, so, luckily know, in 2016, when we first started looking, we were able to, you know, get some housing. It was what I think was a good deal now, like way about doubled, but, um, yeah, it just felt like a place to go where it was pretty chill, like the community's really strong. Uh, you know, if we just need to get out of the states, if there's like a train wreck that it seems like we might be headed for, we kind of have a safe haven that we built community and home and ticos.

Xanthe and Dana:

Those are the locals. They're just lovely and accepting, like they. When Trump got in the second time, I sent the note saying, okay, let's pull the plug and start working on our residency, and the first note we got back was Costa Rica welcomes you and your wife. You're going to make great citizens for us. Like it was a welcoming versus like I don't know. You just feel more welcome down here and the Ticos are lovely yeah.

Shawn:

The number of US expats in Costa Rica is estimated to be over 70,000, many of whom cluster in a few specific zones. The Central Valley, which contains Escazú, grisia and Atenas, has mild weather, decent infrastructure and great healthcare access. The Pacific Coast, which has Tamarindo, nosara and Ovita, is full of surf towns with yoga studios, smoothie bars and Wi-Fi that works most of the time, and then the Caribbean coast is full of places like Puerto Viejo. There's more Afro-Caribbean culture, reggae beats and a super chill vibe. These communities range from retirees sipping piña coladas in linen shirts to spiritual seekers who moved here to find themselves and are still looking 10 years later with a MacBook and a podcast. But as with any place you move abroad, it's great to have other expats to connect with, but it's also important and rewarding to immerse yourself in the local culture and community. Here are Xantha and Dana discussing what this looks like for them in Costa Rica.

Xanthe and Dana:

We've made an effort to be a part of this community, like not just we're going to come and go. Come and go Like there are things that well, specifically that we liked about Paco why we ended up here. But you know there's grocery stores not ideal one that Santa loves but you know you can go to the market. It's not like you're, you know you got to drive someplace or whatever. There's grocery stores. There's churches which we don't really go to church, but I like that. It's like a community thing. Schools.

Xanthe and Dana:

Oh, there's a little school parades down Main Street that are so cute like, and everyone comes out for them.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah, you kind of meet the same surfers out on the beach, you see the same, you know, at the fruit stand. We see the same people all the time Like you. You just kind of become a part of unless that's not who you are in your regular community anyway Like they've had different projects here. Like we painted all the light posts down Main Street. It was kind of like this paint by number thing that went on for a few months and you would just go downtown and they had the paints and you know you painted the light post and it made it really decorative and um and it was a community effort.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah, it was just the community doing that. There's um beach cleanups. Like you know, the beach here is really clean, um, as far as beaches go, and you know, sometimes you'll'll even see the school kids are out there, like you know, hand in hand walking you know they're 50 feet and walking down the beach and cleaning up. They all have a little trash bag cleaning up the beach, just being, you know, a part of it. Like there are a few people around town that have some challenges and you'll see them. Oh, ronald, ronald.

Xanthe and Dana:

Everyone takes care of Ronald they pick up cans, you know every day and stuff.

Xanthe and Dana:

But if you see Ronald, you just buy him an empanada. You just look at the waiter Everyone does Like you. Just if no one does it, you're like I have them, and so they just. You know it's homeless here.

Xanthe and Dana:

I like, I just don't.

Xanthe and Dana:

You might see someone sleeping on the beach, but it might be a Tico who missed the bus and he's got to work the next day and you can't. You can sleep on the beach if you want, and so you'll see him get up and maybe go. There's some showers for Ticos over here, or for any, I shouldn't say just for Ticos. Anyone visiting who wants to take a shower and stuff there's right behind us and you'll see them go, take a shower and stuff and go off to work. So it's not a, it's just. It's just so chill.

Xanthe and Dana:

It's just. It's just different. Yeah, like it's. It's just a kind of laid back lifestyle, which is exactly why we're here right now.

Shawn:

Here's what you won't see on the Costa Rica Instagram reels. Bureaucracy is slow and opaque. Think Department of Motor Vehicles meets tropical climate. Your documents will probably get lost. Your appointments will be rescheduled, your expectations recalibrated. The internet is generally good, but not everywhere. If your job depends on fiber optic speeds, choose your town carefully or accept that Wednesdays are now your slow, loading, buffering, face freezing days. Also, wildlife is not just cute. You'll see toucans, sure, but also monkeys that throw things, disgusting things, snakes curled up in unexpected places and spiders that remind you who really owns your bathroom. Also, mold is a lifestyle. It could claim your shoes, your books, your everything. Dehumidifiers are not optional. They are part of your emotional support system. But I'll tell you, I live in Seattle and you can build this into your life. But if you can take it all with a grain of sea salt and a sturdy sense of humor, costa Rica has a way of working its magic. You'll slow down, you'll learn to shrug, you'll befriend people who build driftwood furniture. You might even befriend the sloth living in the tree outside your rental.

Shawn:

Costa Rica is not for everyone. If you need tight schedules, premium deodorant or high speed anything, this might drive you mad. But if you want a life where nature is your morning commute and people say Pura Vida unironically because they mean it, then this just might be your paradise. Just remember Pura Vida does not mean pure convenience. It means relax, it means accept the mess, it means your plumber is also your surf instructor and he'll be there when the waves die down. So maybe Mexico feels a bit too familiar and Costa Rica a little too glossy. Maybe you want something off the well-worn path, somewhere that still surprises people. Good news Latin America's big, really big, and it's full of countries quietly rolling out the welcome mat, letting you know they're not crowded yet. There are plenty of countries that offer affordable residency, unique lifestyles and the chance to become that friend who moved somewhere interesting.

Richard McColl:

Today, colombia is better than it was 15 years ago and 15 years before that. It was better than then and it keeps on going. It is a slow evolution but it is changing. Colombians, of course, and many of them, 50% because everywhere in the world is polarized right now. But Colombians will tell you well, 50% of them will tell you how badly everything's going. But it's not like it was in the 1980s, when sometimes the children of the wealthy were snatched from the classroom at university to be kidnapped. I mean that, can you think of how brazen some sort of a kidnapping of that stature taking place? So we're not there. We're not there. We have moved on that we can travel around much of the country that you know. The Columbia makes the top. Well, there, top 360 places to visit, or whatever it is, or 27 places to visit in the New York Times that we are in that list this year In the Wall Street Journal. We're in the Financial Times. It's a huge turnabout from what it was before, when it was just written off.

Richard McColl:

Narco state yes, the narco money, the narco cash, permeates absolutely everything here. There's no doubt about it, because there's too much money involved. How do we stop that? Well, that would have to be some sort of agreement between everyone in every different country, from transshipment countries to the production companies, to the consumer countries. That's the reality of it. That has to be all put together, and if you're coming here, you too can participate in an improvement of the country by not involving yourself in the illicit goods on offer in Colombia and returning to the country, your home country, and talking about how marvelous it is, how wonderful the people are, and that it's really criminal that Colombia should still be a byword for cocaine, kidnapping and Pablo Escobar.

Shawn:

That was Richard McCall, journalist, hotelier and host of the podcast Columbia Calling, discussing Colombia's reputation and how much it has evolved over the years. Colombia is a country that many Americans still associate with Pablo Escobar, despite the fact that the man has been dead since fax machines were considered cutting edge. If Colombia still makes you nervous, good news, it probably means you haven't been there or read about it in a while, because today's Colombia is full of charm, contrast and color, not to mention some of the friendliest people on the continent and real estate prices that make you question why you ever bought a house in the States. Colombia offers multiple paths to legal residency, most of which are refreshingly clear, especially when compared to, say, the United States, where immigration policy seems to be written by Kafka on a bender. Here are your main options the M-11 retirement visa is for retirees with a pension of about $1,000 a month. The M-5 rentista visa is for those with passive income, also about $1,000 a month, from investments, dividends or other not-a-job sources. You can get the M-10 property owner visa if you invest what is currently roughly $90,000 in Colombian real estate, and then for the digital nomad visa, which is new as of 2023, you need proof of remote income $700 a month and health insurance. Visas are usually granted for one to three years, depending on the type. After five years, you can apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship, if you're feeling particularly committed. The application process is mostly online. Thank God, the fees are reasonable and, unlike some other countries, officials don't seem to make it their mission to ruin your Tuesday.

Shawn:

When you're considering places to live in Colombia, it's important to know that the country is geographically dramatic. Mountains, jungles, beaches and cities all pile on top of each other, and your choice of city will completely change your experience. Medellin is the darling of digital nomads and expats, with a Pinterest aesthetic. It's known as the city of eternal spring. It has year-round 70 degree Fahrenheit weather, fast internet, affordable housing, great health care and a surprisingly robust startup scene. It also has cable cars that function as public transportation. The downside is that Medellin is becoming more popular, so there is some gentrification tension and the occasional gringo tax at restaurants.

Shawn:

Bogota is Colombia's capital and highest altitude culture shock. It's cold, cosmopolitan and a little chaotic. It's great for urban types who want museums, big parks, international food and an excuse to wear jackets again. Just don't expect anyone to show up on time. Cartagena is on the Caribbean coast. It has a colonial history and it has super thick humidity. It has stunning architecture and it's wildly popular with tourists. But if you move to Cartagena, be prepared to pay extra for air conditioning and don't expect too much personal space. And then there's the coffee triangle with Pereira, menazales and Armenia. This region is ideal for those who want small town life, mountain views and the ability to visit a coffee farm before breakfast.

Shawn:

The cost of living in Colombia is amazing. It's one of the most affordable countries in Latin America for day-to-day life. Rent, food, transportation and healthcare are all dramatically cheaper than in the United States. Rent for a furnished one-bedroom in Medellin is about $400 to $700 a month, depending on the neighborhood. A typical meal out is about $3 to $6 for lunch and then $10 to $15 for dinner with drinks. Healthcare in Colombia is excellent and shockingly cheap. A private doctor's appointment is $30 to $50 and it's often same day, and the top hospitals in Bogota and Medellin regularly rank among the best in Latin America. A couple living modestly but comfortably in Colombia can get by on $1,500 to $2,000 a month. In most cities More than that and you're practically Colombian royalty. But Colombia isn't for everyone. It's not squeaky clean. Power can go out. Noise is a lifestyle. Bureaucracy again still exists, though it tends to be friendlier and less Kafkaesque than in Mexico. Richard McCall explains some of these things.

Richard McColl:

If you've grown up in Northern Europe, or if you've grown up in Northern Europe, or have you grown up in the US or Canada, you expect certain things. You expect good infrastructure. This is a part of the world that is lagging in infrastructure, in particular in Colombia, where there are very high levels of corruption in everything, and this goes back to a lot of the sort of everyone trying to cash in as much as they possibly can because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. So you have to be aware of this. If it means paying an extra $10 or 10,000 pesos not $10 or something to get something done, sometimes you just have to suck it up. It's not a gringo price, it's just someone trying to make a quick buck because they don't earn enough money. Now there are obviously awful examples of corruption and the corruption in the road building and corruption in everything. But you just have to sort of pick your battles so you sort of know that the plumber might not arrive today to fix what you need fixed, but you'll say listen, I'll make it worth your while. You add a little bit on top and he'll be there, and then the next time you need him he'll be there again. So you just have to understand that people live a lot of people live hand to mouth and don't know where the next paycheck is. So many people are informal, they don't work in, let's say, formal employment and so this is a very precarious existence. So pick your battles, that's the kind of thing, and don't always sit there and say, oh, this in the US worked, or this in the US, or this or that, and it's not going to.

Richard McColl:

But there's a charm to Colombia. Why are you moving here? Because you wanted something different, because you want to be elsewhere. So you're going to have to take these things on board. I mean, there's the obvious things as well. And of course there are the obvious things Time keeping, time keeping. If you're from Canada, the US or the UK, you expect things to happen on time. It just won't. I mean, that's the reality to it. I mean, if someone's 15 minutes late for a meeting, they are on time but expect them to be later.

Richard McColl:

Another thing is Colombians dress remarkably well. They will always turn out well to anything. So if you turn up in your board shorts and flip-flops, you will be frowned upon, even in a relaxed situation. You have to gauge where you're going, what you're doing who you're going with. Colombians are proud people and like to turn up, not looking like a backpacker to most places. So this is very interesting on that front, something I had to learn myself a lot.

Richard McColl:

Although in Bogota, where I'm based, no one should wear shorts it's not hot enough for that or flip-flops. So you just you look after yourself a bit better. You don't look like you've just sort of rolled out of bed or been picked up out of a puddle. But cultural shocks will always be the most superficial but the most prevalent one noise. If you are in a town, a city, it's noisy, you can live in, obviously, an area, maybe, perhaps that there's a little less noise, but expect there to be noise in traffic, expect there to be loud music, expect there to be parties. It's just one of those things, but you take it on board. Maybe it's, you know, a joie de vivre.

Shawn:

And while safety has improved dramatically, it's not a free-for-all Street. Smarts still matter. Petty theft is real. Don't flash your iPhone in a crowded market. Don't wander into unfamiliar neighborhoods at 2am looking for authentic vibes. Also, spanish. Colombians speak some of the clearest Spanish in Latin America, which is great for learners, until you realize how fast they speak it. So, as with every country I've mentioned so far, you can get by with little Spanish, but learning Spanish will make your experience in Colombia much better. Richard McCall explains.

Richard McColl:

It's incredibly important to know Spanish. The level of English in Colombia is improving, but previously it was very, very low. But there was no need. The flow of foreigners through here was so little. Tourism was in its I mean, it was less than its infancy when I first came here in 1998, you could, you would stop. You would be stopped by another foreigner in the street if you came across one you know, just to talk because it was so unusual. Now you can't swing a cat in certain areas of the main cities without fighting a foreigner. But in order to get anything done, in order to ingratiate yourself in the right way, you need to speak Spanish and make an effort to speak Spanish, even if you're dreadful at it. To speak Spanish, and make an effort to speak Spanish, even if you're dreadful at it, but a smile and an attempt to do so will get you so much further with the local people.

Shawn:

It's worth taking the time to learn Spanish. Colombians are famously welcoming, eager to help and will celebrate your effort even if you mangle it. The bottom line here is Colombia offers one of the best combinations of climate, cost of living, health care, natural beauty and vibrant cities in the region. It's not perfect, but it is full of potential for expats, retirees, remote workers or anyone just looking for a second act, with better coffee and fewer car payments. So if you've written off Colombia because of what you saw in a narco drama on Netflix, do yourself a favor look again.

Shawn:

Panama is often described as Latin America's business class. There's infrastructure, there's air conditioning and you need it and there's banking secrecy. If you're into that sort of thing, this is the only country on the list where your move might get you asked do you work in finance? No one will assume you're here for ayahuasca, but if you are, that's fine too. You just might want to head a little further south. Panama has the Friendly Nations Visa, which can be a residency path If you're from one of the 50-plus friendly countries. And yes, the US still makes the cut, but you know that could change. Panama welcomes you as of now.

Shawn:

The retirements include a job contract with a Panamanian company or ownership of a Panamanian business or a real estate investment of $200,000 plus. It's a relatively simple process. The two main places that expats choose to live in Panama are Panama City and Boquete. Panama City is like Miami, but with more humidity and fewer people filming Real Housewives spin-offs. And Boquete is a popular mountain town for retirees Spring weather all year, lots of coffee and an expat community large enough to host poetry nights and book club brunches. Also, panama uses the US dollar, so no currency conversion headaches. But beware, the cost of living is creeping up in Panama. Imported goods are pricey and don't expect quaint cobblestone charm, unless you count the potholes.

Shawn:

Nicaragua is the budget backpacker's dream turned expat possibility. It's stunning, it's peaceful most of the time and it's incredibly inexpensive. Nicaragua has a retiree program, a pensionado program, and the requirements for that are $600 a month in pension income. Additional benefits include duty-free import of household goods up to $20,000 and one vehicle every five years. So you can bring your recliner and your Subaru outback and not pay a dime in import duties. But the catch Politics. The country has an authoritarian government and a complicated relationship with civil liberties. It's fine if you're keeping your head down, drinking Florida Canya and living by the beach, but not ideal if your hobbies include protesting or journalism or having an outspoken opinion. So if you're escaping the United States because of its politics and authoritarian tilt, then Nicaragua's not a trade-off. That said, thousands of Americans live happily in Granada, san Juan del Sur and Leon, enjoying cheap rent, great surfing and a low-pressure lifestyle.

Shawn:

Paraguay is another great option. It's landlocked, yes, but it's also one of the easiest places on earth to get residency. Their residency path is essentially deposit about 5,000 US dollars into a Paraguayan bank, apply for permanent residency, wait a few months, you're a legal resident. There's no income requirement, no age limit. They just want to know you're not a criminal and that you brought your own money. Life in Paraguay is quiet, stable, inexpensive. You can live on $1,000 a month or less. Paraguay doesn't get many tourists, which means no crowds, no Airbnb price hikes and no people yelling for shots at beach bars. Asuncion, the capital, is modern but manageable, and the rest of the country is green, spacious and full of people who will politely tolerate your Spanish Again. Learn it If you want to be left alone, to write your novel, raise goats or reinvent yourself as a Paraguayan cowboy. This might be your spot.

Basil Elzeki:

Uruguay also has an interesting program via real estate to get residency. That's often overlooked, so I think more and more Americans are beginning to look there, but it's often overlooked. But we're beginning to mention it more and more and see a trend with our clients when they're looking for diversification tactics.

Shawn:

That was Basil Elzecki, managing Partner at Henley Partners, which assists with residence and citizenship by investment, describing one of my favorite South American countries that doesn't get a lot of attention but offers a lot. Uruguay is progressive, safe, quiet, it has four seasons and it's refreshingly normal. If Latin America had a Canada, this would be it. They've legalized cannabis, same-sex marriage and civil unions. Uruguay offers residency with no strict income requirements. You just need proof of funds to support yourself. It's not clearly delineated. You also need an address in Uruguay and a criminal background check. You apply in-country and the process can take a year or more, during which you get a provisional ID. After a few years, you can apply for citizenship, no renunciation required.

Shawn:

As far as places to live in Uruguay, montevideo is the capital city. It's relaxed, with a beach, bookshops and lots of tango. Punta del Este is a beach town for the wealthy Think South American. Monaco, bring linen pants and Colonia del Sacramento. It has cobbled streets, wine and vibes that suggest you should open a tiny art gallery here. The downside is winters can be chilly, but the upside is you can wear socks, and who doesn't love some big, fluffy socks?

Shawn:

Ecuador is increasingly popular with American retirees. It's not too hot, not too cold. It's got mountains, beaches, jungles all within a day's drive. The residency paths to Ecuador are the pensioner or investor visas. For the pensioner visa, you have to show an income of $1,275 US dollars a month. For the investment visa, you have to invest $45,000 US dollars in property or local business. The visa is good for two years and it's renewable After three years. You can apply for permanent residency. For places to live in Ecuador, cuenca is expat central. It's got a cool climate, rich history, high walkability and a lot of people who seem like they just transplanted from Asheville. Loja is smaller, sleepier but more authentic. And Vilcabamba is known for people who live to 110. It's also known for new age hippies who are striving to live forever. Ecuador is affordable, it's beautiful, it's friendly. You might lose some Wi-Fi, but you'll gain altitude and perspective.

Shawn:

Argentina is the most European of South American countries, both in architecture and in the intensity of its political opinions. The residency path into Argentina is the rentista visa. You need to show monthly income of about $2,000 to $2,500, or you can apply through investment, family ties or work. The process isn't hard but it is bureaucratic. Bring every document, bring copies, bring snacks. Some of the most popular places to live in Argentina are Buenos Aires. It's a lot like Paris, it's louder but it has better steak. Mendoza is wine country and then there's Patagonia, if you want to live in a nature documentary. Something to know about here is the black market blue dollar rate, which makes your US cash go further, sometimes double Inflation is wild in Argentina. Prices change weekly, but if you earn in dollars you'll live like royalty. Argentina can make you cry from beauty and from bureaucracy.

Shawn:

Brazil is for the adventurous, the culturally curious and the naturally sweaty. The residency path is the retirement visa. You have to show proof of about $2,000 a month in pension income and add $1,000 a month per dependent. Other paths include marriage, investment and digital nomad. Some popular places to live in Brazil include Rio de Janeiro, which I think can be summed up in four Cs Carnival, crime, chaos, christ the Redeemer. There's also Sao Paulo, which is a workaholic megacity with better food than almost anywhere in the world, and then Florianópolis, which is beachy, relaxed, full of surfers and it actually has working Wi-Fi.

Shawn:

Brazil is huge. It's wildly diverse, deeply musical and breathtakingly beautiful. But again, bureaucracy is complex. Crime varies by neighborhood and you'll need to be able to speak Portuguese, not Spanish and Brazilians are a little less forgiving about this. So there you have it a continent of possibilities, each with its own trade-offs, quirks and magic.

Shawn:

You can choose stability in Uruguay, affordability in Paraguay, urban energy in Buenos Aires or tropical escapism in Nicaragua. If you want infrastructure and air conditioning, panama might be your place. If you want coffee plantations and volcanoes, maybe Ecuador. If you want something bold and samba-soaked Brazil. There's no one-size-fits-all, but there are plenty of options. So once you've figured out where you want to be, your visa's approved, your lease is signed, your new apartment has a balcony, a hammock, you've stocked the fridge with unfamiliar fruits and one bottle of blistering hot sauce.

Shawn:

Now comes the part. No one really warned you about becoming a functional human being in a place where almost nothing behaves the way you expect. Cultural integration is not the sexy part of moving abroad, but it's absolutely the part that determines whether your new life works. So let's start with the obvious. Unless you move to one of the English-heavy enclaves in San Miguel, boquete or Tamarindo and even there you're pushing it you're going to need to learn Spanish or, in Brazil, portuguese. Yes, you can get by with basic phrases, but if your plan is to build a real life here, not just a postcard version. You need more than survival Spanish. You need people to understand you when you're sick, when you're confused or mildly hysterical at the bank.

Shawn:

So some embarrassment is inevitable. Get over it. Keep practicing. If you do, progress is guaranteed. The day you argue over your water bill in another language and win, you'll probably brag about it. Also, if you are an American with a calendar that looks like a military operation color-coded, cross-referenced, updated hourly you're in for a rude and possibly life-changing awakening. In much of Latin America, time is fluid. It flows, it bends, it disappears altogether and then reappears two hours late. Now might mean later, later might mean tomorrow and tomorrow might mean never. Tim Leffel describes this phenomenon.

Tim Leffel:

Tim Leffel- describes this phenomenon. So you're going to run into this whether you're moving to Ecuador or Costa Rica or Argentina or Mexico, and that is the sense that time moves much more slowly and it's very fluid in the sense of, like, when you're expected to be at a party, if somebody says it's at 7, or when someone's going to come to your house, if you're asking them to do work in your bathroom, they don't think anything will be two hours late. To them, that's not really late. It's in the ballpark and so it's fine, whereas a type A American is going to say, look at their watch at five minutes after and go, hey, where is this guy? So that's something that's hard for a lot of people to get used to.

Tim Leffel:

Also, the fact that family comes first and work is second or third or fourth down the list and you know, workaholic Americans are obsessed with their jobs and it's, you know, what they live for is part of their identity, whereas here it's sort of just something you do to make money.

Tim Leffel:

You know it's the work to live instead of live to work thing. So, uh, you know, family's super important, fun is super important. Parties take precedence over staying late at work, so that's just a different sense of priority, which I really like, but it does take some getting used to, especially, like I said, if you're hiring somebody to do work in your house or something like that, you know they're going to work hard when they're there but they're going to show up when they show up and so it's kind of hard to to get used to for some people. And you can get that kind of thing done by a real person still, get your TV repaired, whatever, which is really nice, and they'll do it fairly quickly. But then you know a lot of things just kind of move at their own pace and they get done eventually, but maybe not as fast as you wanted them to happen.

Shawn:

This is a bit of hyperbole, but if you get into this groove, you'll be fine. Plumbers will arrive when they feel spiritually aligned with your pipes, Immigration offices will ask for documents they swore they didn't need last week, and when you show up at 10 am sharp for a government appointment, you may find a locked door, a handwritten sign that says vuelvo pronto, and absolutely no idea of what that means. Incidentally, vuelvo pronto means be back soon. There you go. First lesson.

Shawn:

This isn't laziness, it's cultural. It's about prioritizing people over clocks. It's about not letting the tyranny of time dictate your every move. It's frustrating until it's not. Eventually, you'll stop checking your watch every five minutes and start reading a book in line at the bank. You'll accept that your dinner reservation is just a mood. You'll drink your coffee slowly. You'll talk to strangers, you'll forget the meaning of on time and, as with any place, you'll most likely have to adjust to a new diet.

Shawn:

And a common misconception is that Latin America equals tacos. Yes, tacos are a thing, a delicious thing, in Mexico, but they don't travel much further than that. Each Latin American country has its own dishes, its own diet, and you'll have to adjust. Sooner or later you will order something at a restaurant that turns out to be not at all what you expected or wanted. You will also misidentify a local vegetable, mistake sugar for salt and buy what you think is yogurt but turns out to be buttermilk. These moments are not failures. I mean they are, but they're also rites of passage. There will be magic too Fresh mangoes that ruin supermarket fruit forever, a mysterious local cheese that makes you emotional, hot chocolate that tastes like a sacred beverage passed down by the gods. It's humbling, it's hilarious, and eventually they become some of your favorite stories. As far as expat life goes, you will find your people, or, more accurately, you will find the people who look and sound like you, huddled around a coffee shop table complaining about the Wi-Fi bureaucracy and the price of imported peanut butter.

Shawn:

This is the expat bubble and it's seductive. English is spoken, people have similar issues and concerns and nobody raises an eyebrow when you mention kombucha or Trader Joe's. There's no shame in enjoying the bubble, especially when you're new, disoriented or just need someone to explain the mobile data system in plain English. But here's the catch Stay in that bubble too long and you'll miss the country you came to experience. You'll live in a simulation of your old life Slightly sunnier more mangoes, fewer working elevators, but still a simulation.

Shawn:

Some expats never leave that bubble. They never learn the language, they only shop at expat-friendly stores. Their local friends consist entirely of waitstaff who nod politely and stop listening after Buenos Dias. Others break out of it. They join community events, volunteer at local schools, date someone local, which comes with its own vocabulary test. They mess up constantly and they build a life that feels rooted, not just rented.

Shawn:

Cultural integration isn't neat, it's not efficient. It's not something you can download or't neat, it's not efficient. It's not something you can download or outsource. It's fumbling through conversation. It's going to the wrong bus stop. It's buying goat cheese when you meant to get shampoo. It's being embarrassed, confused, delighted and then, over time, changed. It's learning that life doesn't have to be understood fully to be lived fully.

Shawn:

So, after all the talk of visas and mangoes, bureaucracy and beach towns, accidental Oregon meets and delayed plumbing appointments, what are we left with? A complicated truth Leaving America for Latin America is absolutely not for everyone, but it's for more people than you think. And it might be for you Because underneath the spreadsheets, the paperwork, the cultural curveballs and the slightly damp ceiling in your rental apartment in San Jose, damn it, costa Rica. Underneath all that, there's something else, a way of living that feels freer, not in the jingoistic, truck commercial sense of freedom, but in the gentle, quieter sense of having time again time to walk, time to learn, time to get to know people, time to make mistakes in a second language and still be invited to dinner. Xantha and Dana are experiencing this right now in Costa Rica.

Xanthe and Dana:

It's I would say it's slower, you know, when you're at your home, home or whatever. But it tends to be more and more of that here. Like I'm always dilly dallying around the house and doing projects and stuff like that, and I now do more of that here. Like I like figuring stuff out, doing things like that. I'm working on redoing this table out on our deck right now, so we'll have little projects and things, but in general you just kind of get into a routine of being outside doing something. Maybe we go for a walk, we go jump on our beach cruisers. Um, I follow the tide of the surf because surfing is different every day.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah, we go by the tides actually Like our. It's not dictated, but literally the morning morning conversation is what time is surf? Yeah so, and sometimes during the month it's only once a day, and then sometimes she's able to squeak it in twice yeah so what's different is, I think it just slows us down.

Xanthe and Dana:

We get up earlier, we go to bed earlier, it's, you know, that time thing you get in the rhythm of. I don't know if we cook in more here.

Xanthe and Dana:

We have been. When it's the two of us, we cook it, it's just easier.

Xanthe and Dana:

And then when we have guests come Because that's partly why we got a bigger place and that's a lot of fun Like for sure, you know you have friends and family visit. I love it. And then, but all of a sudden they're like do you want a margarita?

Xanthe and Dana:

And you're like it's a little. Oh yeah, I'll have one.

Xanthe and Dana:

You know, uh, you know when people I do think you have to get into a rhythm of when people visit, because they're on vacation and you know, like I do not enjoy going out to dinner every single night and you know, like eating and drinking like that, like you know, yes, you should absolutely do that on vacation, but we're sort of not um, so, uh, you have to kind of find this balance. When people are visiting, like you know, just do your thing I'm learning ai and building websites a little bit.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah, xanthus, just doing things just like she's become from the restaurant business and retirement. She has found this love and hobby of her hands Like she's built a deck for us at home with a with a pergola.

Xanthe and Dana:

I just YouTube shit and call my neighbors yeah.

Xanthe and Dana:

Yeah. So she's here doing so. She does projects and stuff, and so I've just now thought, well, I built out one website and now I'm playing with one that I might just go down to a shop that can't afford it and be like hey look, I made this for you and if you want it, it's $60 for three years and I'll just give it to you. Right? But you know so little things like you. Have more time.

Shawn:

So if you've been thinking about it, really thinking about it, maybe this is your sign. Plan the visit, take the language class, run the numbers again, reach out to someone who already made the move, Visit a consulate, even just to get annoyed and inspired in equal measure, because while the American dream may feel increasingly out of reach, the Latin American dream is becoming very real. It's not always easy, it's not always smooth, but it is possible and sometimes possible is more than enough. In the next episode we're introducing a new element to this series A close look at one specific country with a friend that has lived abroad in that country. So next week we'll be discussing expat life in Honduras, with Caribbean beaches, world-class diving and extremely inexpensive living. Like extremely inexpensive this is Leaving America, because sometimes home isn't where you started. Thank you.

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Shawn C. Fettig

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