The Expat Files - Bikes and Buses - 08/10/12




The Expat Files: Living in Latin America show

Summary: - An open letter from a 50 year old man who lost everything in the 2007 financial blowout. He explains how, as a last resort, he went down to Latin American with only $65 and a backpack and proceeded to find his version of paradise. Yup! The “gringo advantage” rides again! -In first world news reports we are bombarded with horrific crime statistics about Latin America that routinely scare the snot out of average US tourists. So they don’t come. Its time we look at some of these numbers and see what they are really implying -The scoop on bicycling down here. Bikes are good, cheap, green transportation but are they practical for Latin America?  What about long very distance bike trips? -Did you know that the average bus fare for a Latin American city route is only 25 cents? How is that possible? It’s because heavy bus fare subsidies are a strictly maintained age-old tradition. Dirt cheap fares are so engrained that just proposing a 5 cent raise in fares often results in civil unrest and mobs taking to the streets destroying buses (like they aren't worthless pieces of crap already) . -What’s it like for expats who own motorcycles? It’s a great way to get around especially weaving through city traffic jams, but are they really recommended? -Now you can follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a consultation with me. If you want to discuss the details of living, working, playing, doing business and/or retiring in Latin America, now you and I can talk about your situation one on one