Escaping Student Loans by Moving to Latin America

If you are not American, maybe this article isn’t for you…

Sorry Chileans, Guatemalans and Dominicans…

Us Americans means those from the USA!

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Chant it out LOUD!

OK, OK, joking…

Don’t bite my head off.

But you all know what I mean…

In that people from the US – US Statians – have lots of college loan debt.

And so I was reading this article the other day…

About Americans leaving the US to basically avoid paying off their student loan debt.

One random dude apparently fled to some remote village in India?!

Well, that sure is crazy…

But maybe not as crazy as I’m imagining it…

As other articles like this one apparently claim that it is common enough!

So I got in contact with one person I actually know funny enough about this topic.

Some odd months ago, I went to some “gringo party” if you want to call it that…

Where there were other Americans mostly at the party but also some Canadians and Europeans also.

Anyway, I got talking with one guy in particular whose name is…

Well, let’s call him Richard since sometimes I will give people fake names to conceal their identity.

Especially with sensitive topics like this.

So Richard is a guy from….

OK, let’s give him a fake state to again conceal his identity – North Dakota!

Richard of North Dakota.

You can plug in a different name for that and a different state.

Since that part is bullshit – again, trying to conceal his identity for privacy sake.

Anyway, I don’t know Richard well but I happened to exchange numbers with him after the party.

And when reading that first article way above…

I remembered Richard’s situation.

He was some American dude who basically graduated from college with some BS degree in whatever.

Didn’t serve for much in terms of employment.

And the dude packed his bags and left to Mexico.

Where he has been ever since.

Nowhere else in Latin America.

So I got in contact with him.

To ask what his game plan is and how he has been avoiding student loan payments on his measly English teaching salary.

That’s what he does down here – despite having a degree in Biology…

He teaches English to Mexicans for a small salary.

Well, despite what they say about STEM degrees since I was a kid…

Not all of them are equal.

From my perspective, only a few like those in engineering or computer science actually pay well.

So I asked Richard what his game plan was.

Because I figured this actually is a relevant topic for a very, very small percentage of my audience.

You know…

The 0.5% who are Americans with a shit ton of college debt and who are very young…

So let’s cover it then!

How does one engage in avoiding their responsabilities from paying the college debt?

QUICK DISCLAIMER: I’m not at all encouraging people to avoid their student loan debt. I fully encourage people to pay the full 500,000 USD of debt on their BS degree in “Underwater Gay Anal Sex Feminist Degrees.” This article is for purely entertainment. No encouragement of illegal or immoral activity here. Get over yourselves.

Step 1: Get Savings

Before you try to escape your student loans…

It is recommended that you at least build up your savings before you go abroad.

Just to have a cushion of “fuck you money” so that you are never desperate or stressed from financial issues.

Though the cost of living varies by the place of Latin America that you go to and also your standard of living that you want…

Let’s just say you need a 1,000 a month for simplicity sake.

So save up let’s say 2 years of savings.

So 24,000 USD.

Plus another 3,200 USD for 4 roundtrips from the US to wherever you go to Latin America to cover 2 trips a year for 2 years.

And let’s add a little more to kick you up to 32,000 USD for random emergency costs if you ever need it.

And another 2,000 USD to cover your moving costs to whatever country you are going to (not covering the first roundtrip flight that is already covered from money above).

So boom.

32,000 USD in savings to aim for ahead of time.

You don’t need 32,000 USD necessarily.

Most people going down here don’t.

But to have that much in savings would keep you solid unless you are dumb with money or too lazy to work while down here.

Step 2: Online Income

Before you move abroad, try to at least have two things established.

One being a “passive income.”

Passive income being basically something that makes you money once it is established online.

That also doesn’t require too much work to keep up with.

Now the word “passive” is misleading as it takes a shit ton of work to get it built up.

And some work afterwards to keep up with it.

But people do this by things like running successful Youtube channels to websites with affiliate marketing.

Work on getting something set up with that.

And ideally the income you make – such as from affiliate marketing – is from a company that isn’t American based.

Next, get an “active” income source.

The active income being something you make money from for doing work on something like copywriting, remote accounting, coding or whatever it might be.

Where you need a skill that you can market online and do remotely to make good money.

Where ideally the income again is not American sourced.

Step 3: Resolve Ties

Any ties keeping you attached to life back home?

Got child support?

Well, like in this video here, you probably are not escaping that if you happen to be like this guy.....

And that will probably keep you to living in the US, I’d imagine.

Otherwise, if you got things like a car or whatever something simple…

Sell that and just resolve any legal or financial ties keeping you to the US.

Also, get a passport and notify your bank you are leaving.

Know you need to notify them also every once in a while like every 6 months or so to remind them.

You can do that online by the way.

Anyway, just get your shit together.

Step 4: Where?

Do research as to where you want to go in Latin America or where in the world in general.

What people say about different parts of the world and which area seems like it would best work for you.

For Latin America, I recommend you pick a country where you can do visa runs if you are new to life down here.

Like Mexico or Costa Rica for example.

Some countries have visa rules where you can do visa runs by running through a visa and leaving the country to come back in to get another visa.

Like Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, etc.

Other countries don’t allow that.

So keep that in mind.

If you are new to this, I’d recommend you start with a country that allows that so that you don’t have to worry about where you are going 3 to 6 months later.

Step 5: Moving Abroad

Now you are traveling to the country at hand.

I’d recommend you take shit easy.

Especially if this is your first trip going abroad.

So when you do arrive…

Just go to a hotel or an Airbnb for a tiny bit.

Spend time there as you go apartment hunting.

Read this article I wrote on finding apartments in Latin America and use that to find yourself a more permanent space in a week or so.

Then you will be moved in and can go from there.

Step 6: Legal Process

Next, you need to go through the legal process of getting a second passport and a foreign bank account.

I’ve never done either as of this writing but Richard is going through it now.

He says that you should be careful as to what banks you do business with down here.

Some will scam you and steal your money as it was reported here in Mexico.

So just do your research as to which banks are reliable when you can open a foreign bank account.

But it helps to have both.

So what your American passport can never be cancelled over student debt loan issues…

Though, if I remember right, that doesn’t happen but having a second passport can give you extra security on that.

And a foreign bank account that doesn’t have a branch in the US can be helpful in that loan collectors from abroad are less likely to touch it.

For both, it helps a lot though to go through the residency process and even get second citizenship.

Check here for articles I wrote on going through the residency process in different Latin countries.

And this article here on getting dual citizenship in different Latin countries for more information on that.

Step 7: Pay As You Go

If your loans are all in the US government, you are good.

If any of them are private loans, you are fucked?

That’s what Richard says.

If any are private, pay those off before you head out of the country.

Because private loan folks are less workable with you.

The government has different payment options to help you find affordable options.

Because from what I have read from other articles online...

Some plan to use the “pay as you go” option from Uncle Sam so that they only have to pay the very least amount possible until they die.

For those with extreme debt baggage (assuming you are this since you are reading this article)…

Then that could help.

Get yourself set up on that then.

So that your loan payment requirements each month are either 0 or not much at all.

Making things easier as you live abroad for the time being.

Step 8: Citizenship

Get citizenship in the foreign country you are going to.

I’m going to repeat this as it is important.

Allows you the second passport and foreign bank account.

And more security from people coming after your ass for the money.

Though, if all your loans are public and none are private…

Then you will likely have less stress anyway.

But just focus on how you can getting that second citizenship eventually.

While maintaining your income to be foreign based ideally outside of the US and being deposited into a foreign bank account that you trust.

Step 9: Donate to Sanders

Look…

Regardless of what you believe politically…

Get yourself.

Don’t be autistic on the politics.

Right wing or left wing…

If you are reading this article, you are probably desperate to get rid of those loans.

I don’t give a fuck if you MAGA folk or if you Sanders folk or if you neoliberal Wallstreet “let’s invade Iraq broooos” Hillary folk…

There’s only a very few politicians in the US who want to get rid of your student loans.

That’s just a fucking fact.

So regardless of your politics…

If you are this desperate to be reading this article on this topic…

Just know that folks like Bernie are the only ones focused on getting rid of them for everyone.

So if you happen to have any extra money laying around while avoiding your 500,000 student loans in “Intergalactic Alien Spiritual Studies….”

Throw maybe 5 bucks at the political candidates like Bernie who want to wipe out your student loans.

Not Bernie specifically but those like him who come into the future who want to wipe it out for you.

Because if you look at the facts….

You realize that given how many people each year keep fucking themselves with high student loans…

And no income to ever take it on afterwards…

Meanwhile millennials and those before them keep getting older and older…

And given older folks tend to vote more often anyway…

While you have plenty of older parents doing the parent plus loan thing that they can’t afford…

And as college gets more expensive each year (thereby meaning student loans in the future will be even crazier)…

You have to realize that the political pressure from the voters will increasingly get more intense to handle the student loan issue somehow in the long run.

Even the neoliberal cunts like Biden are coming up with solutions that won’t piss off Wallstreet but can handle the issue somehow.

Before long, if I had to guess (and it’s only a guess based on the info we have), we’ll probably have a politician handle it somehow.

So regardless of your politics..

If you are in a desperate situation where you are moving abroad to avoid these loans…

Why not throw 5 bucks at a Bernie candidate to help them out get ahead politically?

Well, it’s better than throwing your money away at the lottery assuming said candidate actually has enough support…

And in 2020, Bernie almost did win the DNC primary if it wasn’t for all the Centrist candidates being called in to quit to support Biden.

Anyway, that’s enough politics.

The point is made – donate the 5 bucks to some Bernie candidate in the long run from time to time to handle the issue long term while you live abroad.

Step 10: Knock the Money Out (Maybe)

Regardless of if a Bernie candidate ever wins or not…

It’s also not a terrible idea to knock the money out if you ever get successful financially online.

With a low cost of living of maybe 500 to 1,000 bucks a month….

And let’s say an online income of 3,000….

You should be able to throw enough money at your debt while living down here to take care of it if you want to.

Assuming anyway you want to because if your income is non-American based going into a non-American bank account and you have a second passport…

Then, according to Richard, you should, in theory, be able to ignore the student loans.

Especially if you go by the “pay as you go plan” and pay the least amount possible until you either kick the bucket or until a Bernie candidate wipes it out for you.

But assuming your heart strings are pulled by the conservative crowd hard enough to want to “pay it off like an adult.”

Then, again, assuming your student loan amount isn’t butt fucking crazy like 200,000 for a BS degree in “14^th Century Paraguayan Painting Studies…”

Then, with a income of let’s say 3,000 a month and cost of living 1,000, then you should maybe be able to handle the student loans otherwise if you want to.

Final Verdict

Does this work?

I have no idea.

Call me in 10 years and we will see if Richard (assuming I’m still in touch with him) has avoided the debt this way.

On paper, it sounds logical to me thinking about what is written here.

But as I tried to in the last few steps…

It is clear that there are other ways to go about it also.

Like hope to the Aztec gods that a Bernie candidate comes in to wipe out your debt.

Will they though?

Not everyone agrees….

Or exploit the low cost of living with a decent enough income to wipe it out yourself assuming the debt load isn’t crazy like said before.

Anyway, I just wanted to cover this little topic about life down here.

Actually, I’ll be honest…

Richard doesn’t exist.

Someone shared on my Facebook this article that I cited before about people living abroad to escape their student loans…

And so I thought “fuck it, that sounds like a fun article topic to write about.”

And so I looked into what others have did and tried to think logically about how you would go about it.

With the steps included above.

In theory, I suspect you should be able to solve the student loans in one of the ways above.

• Disconnect yourself from the financial system in the US in such a way that your money can’t be touched.
• Hope that the Aztec Gods grant you a Bernie President to wipe it out for you.
• Exploit the low cost of living with a decent online income to take it out assuming your debt load isn’t extreme.

There we go!

A solution for everyone in the Millennial Generation on how to solve this issue!

With a Latin American focus.

I can’t say for sure though that Step 1 would actually work.

So take it with a grain of salt.

If you happen to be in a fucked situation like in this video below where…

Yeah, I get why you’d consider it an option.

Well, as I said, no guarantees that anything in this article is actually accurate.

All just a thought experiment really for pure entertainment sake.

Got any relevant questions, comments or experiences?

Drop them below.

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Thanks for reading.

Best regards,

Matt