Stay Rich in America but Play in Latin America

There's a certain type of gringo you meet that loves Latin America but doesn't live down here.

Instead, he finds it better to stay in the US working a career that seemingly cannot be done remotely but pays well and will instead take his occasional visit to Latin America for fun when there is time for it.

This is in direct contrast to a lot of gringos who come to Latin America that fit some of the following groups:

1. The retired gringo.

2. The broke ass gringo that may or may not be comfortable down here but definitely doesn't make much money doing whatever he is doing.

3. The gringo who works a solid job remotely that pays 40,000 to 60,000 USD a year (perhaps more) while living in Latin America.

It is arguable that the gringo who instead stays home and works a solid 6 figure job (or even 7 figures perhaps) while taking his occasional visits south of the border is doing it better than the last 2 groups of gringos still working.

For example, I once knew about a gringo in NYC that took occasional visits to Latin America for fun.

Has a great 6 figure job.

Though he also lives in an area where you'd be spending a lot of that on higher cost of living.

And, though I haven't talked with him a long time, I knew he liked to take his trips to the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Colombia, etc.

Why?

Well, like most gringos I have heard about who are like this, it seems that their trips are always sex based.

Come on down to fuck prostitutes or sugar babies and then go back home.

I'm sure some of these gringos in this group come on down here for other reasons.

As I think about it, I remember a professor I had in college who was of Mexican ancestry (born in the US though) that is married and takes that one trip to Mexico for the tacos, beaches, mezcal, nice historical sites and all that fun.

Given he's married and the wife comes along based on his Facebook photos, I doubt he's banging prostitutes during his trip and that his trips are probably not sex motivated.

On top of that, I suppose "snow birds" of Canada that live and work up there but come down to Mexico might fall into this category also of living outside of Latin America but wanting a little time down here on a frequent enough basis.

Among those, I never heard about them being stereotyped into just wanting sex with women down here.

Though a lot of them are retired from what I understand but I imagine maybe some of them are not yet and still working decent careers up north.

But, like I said, a majority of gringos who fall in this camp that I have noticed personally seem to visit mostly because of the women (though other reasons might influence their decision also to be fair).

What could be said about these gringos though regardless of if they come down for sex or not?

Is it a better path than being the expat who lives here but still has to work?

Let's break down some personal thoughts on the matter.

Main Thoughts

First, it is objectively true that the gringo who works that solid well paying job back home is smarter than the gringo who is poor down here from a career and financial perspective.

Obviously.

That gringo back home will be stacking more cash if he isn't retarded with money (though plenty are probably) and will probably have a better retirement fund also.

The only major financial bullet I am seeing this gringo run into is if he gets married up there and then divorced like half of men in the US do.

If a gringo gets divorced in Latin America, I'm going to take a wild guess that he isn't losing as much shit as the gringo in the US would.

I could be wrong on that but I think that's probably right from what I've heard. Lawyer fees are apparently a lot lower down here, apparently it's harder to get the shit you own that is still in the US (like a US bank account) divided up or whatever, etc.

Among other things I've heard.

Again, I'm not an international divorce lawyer so take everything said there lightly.

Anyway, the gringo back home, if he chooses to get married but still wants trips abroad, might then take a bigger financial hit if he gets divorced up there versus any gringo living down here and married to a local woman.

But, putting that aside, he's better off financially than the poor gringo living down here anyhow.

Second, speaking of love, what if that gringo back home wants to bring a nice Latina back into the US?

As we established, a lot of these "work hard back home, play in LATAM" gringos come down here for sex reasons.

Which you would assume then that he'd want to marry one of the local gals down here, right?

With his income, he could surely afford it bringing one of them up here.

But there's a few issues with how I see it playing out usually.

For one, a lot of these men who are well established tend to be older in their 40s or so.

Not as many of these gringos who stay home working hard with good careers are actually in their 20s because, oddly enough, not many 20 year olds have lots of years of work experience and talent to be demanding big bucks.

Some do but most don't.

Therefore, when this gringo does go south of the border, he's usually playing with 20 year old women who he has nothing in common with and just wants to fuck.

Nothing wrong with that but I question why you'd marry the prostitute or sugar baby?

Why marry the 20 year old if you just want her ass?

I don't see most of those relationships working out and this gringo eventually getting taken to the divorce court.

Which, in the end, means he bought the boat instead of renting it.

Retard.

If you just want to fuck her, keep her in her land and just fuck her and other women like her when you want your fun.

Another thing too that favors the young gringo coming down here to live long term is that I feel he'd have a better shot at finding someone he could love and have kids with versus the gringo who works back home and takes his occasional visit.

It's harder to develop a real relationship when it's long distance.

Also, the young gringo is still young and can more likely find a woman who likes him for him and not just his money.

While the 40 year old gringo who worked hard for the last decade but doesn't like American women will be older by the time he really has money and less likely to find a gal like that down here.

Unless he's going for a 30 year old instead of a 20 year old but I think that carries potential problems too for any man (though it's another topic for another day).

Finally, the gringo who lives down here is going to know the local language better, the culture better and all around has more real experience with Latin American women and the region to better find someone suitable for marriage than the gringo staying 350 days out of the year back in the US.

So, just on this topic of finding someone to have a family with in Latin America, I think the gringo who settles down here -- even the poor ones -- have a better shot at this than the gringo working that job in NYC.

Third, if we were comparing the gringo who makes a solid income down here of say 60,000 USD a year versus the gringo back home, I'd argue the gringo down here probably comes out ahead financially.

I'm assuming that the remote working gringo with a real job making that income has a retirement plan going or can make something work out.

He also has a cost of living way lower than the gringo living in NYC.

Even if that 6 figure income gringo was living in small town Iowa, small town Iowa still has a cost of living higher than a lot of places in Latin America funny enough.

And it comes with living in small town Iowa.

Also, if the gringo making that income while living down here was not an American, he'd also have a way easier shot at saving on taxes depending on the country he lives in (like Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay, etc).

So, unless the gringo back home is making a really high income beyond just 100,000 dollars a year, I could somehow see the gringo down here actually getting ahead financially of the gringo back home depending on the details of both of their cases.

Of course, if we were again comparing him to the poor gringo making 12,000 a year, then it's no contest.

The gringo back home, even if he's a retard with money, is in a Lamborghini riding circles around the poor gringo living down here. 

Fourth, it should be said that some gringos -- even poor ones -- would value living down here for "freedom" purposes so to speak.

Remember the news about unvaxxed Canadians supposedly not being able to get on a plane?

It's shit like that which drives some gringos to live down here also.

Not everything is about the money.

Plenty would prefer to live in a country or community down here where something like that can't happen to them.

Regardless of what your thoughts are on the vax, that's how it is for some gringos.

Of course, not every country in Latin America was ideal for the gringo escaping vax requirements.

Such a gringo probably wouldn't have been very happy in places like Panama or Peru over the last few years.

But other places, like certain spots in Mexico, were more ideal for that type of gringo.

It's not just the vax though.

Plenty of talk online also about someday there being restrictions on the amount of international travel you can do to save the planet from carbon emissions.

If you're the gringo making 120,000 in NYC, you'd be fucked if they truly implemented traveling restrictions because now your plan to visit Rio de Janeiro next summer to fuck whores is thrown out the window.

Meanwhile, the gringo who already immigrated there can fuck Brazilian women all day every day (be it actual whores or gals off Tinder).

He doesn't need approval to get on a plane for that.

Though, on the flip side, he'd have a harder time to see his family back home I suppose.

Anyway, that's all speculation as to the extent to which they'd actually limit international travel in the future (be it 10 or 20 years from now).

The point still stands as either scenario with the vax or with air travel illustrates the same issue that could play out in a hundred other different ways.

Like if a new virus runs around the world and they restrict travel again.

Or whatever other issue of the day.

One final thing that should be said though is that a lot of the guys who think this way also tend to be "passport bros."

Where they are always hyping up the need to have multiple passports and residencies.

Based on what I know about specific residencies in certain Latin American countries, I don't think you need to actually live in said countries to get and keep residency.

So the gringo working back home could possibly get his multiple residencies without having to leave.

But I'd imagine that, depending on the country, the second or third passport (and citizenship also) would be harder to get without actually living there.

And also what is the likelihood that said gringo with a 6 figure job is really going to quit his job on a short notice after learning another virus is making its way around the world?

I have my doubts most of those types back home would actually pull the trigger.

Especially if they own a home up north.

Now, having said all that, there is another "crazy scenario" to consider when weighing the pros and cons of being the gringo hustling back home with his occasional trips versus the gringo living down here. 

Fifth, it might sound paranoid of me but I legit believe that someday we could have a major war on our hands where our leaders on top overplay their hand fucking with other countries.

Like the US fucking with Russia over Ukraine and how that could hypothetically lead to nuclear bombs being dropped.

Or the world losing its shit over China invading Taiwan if ever that happens. 

In such a scenario, the whole world might be getting fucked (though I think either war could also play out without nukes but there'd still be high risk).

But I'd rather be the rich or poor gringo chilling in Brazil than the 6 figure income gringo that is either getting a bomb directly dropped on his head in NYC or having to suffer greater degrees of nuclear radiation living in Ohio.

Though, if he's living in Ohio, does the nuclear radiation really make his life that much worse?

Sixth, sometimes gringos will say shit like "living abroad lets me be free! I can travel!"

Reminds me of this video here of digital nomads who live very cheaply and say the same.

Working online and traveling the world - digital nomads | DW Documentary

However, I question how "free to travel" you are if you are among the poorest of the gringos where your annual income is half of an IRS standard tax deduction.

Versus the gringo who works hard back home and, while he isn't living abroad 24/7, he has enough money to take trips that are objectively going to be cooler than what the poor gringo is doing.

Sure, the poor gringo will get more blowjobs from Latinas and can visit the nearby art museum every few days but the rich gringo back home can do the following if he has enough time off work:

1. Take a cruise to Antarctica

2. Do a wicked ass tour into the Amazon Rainforest

3. Speaking of blowjobs from Latinas, he can do this boat tour in Colombia here where he has the hottest women sucking his dick with all the booze and drugs he wants.

Colombian sex island trip

4. Perhaps he could go to some awesome concert in Spain.

5. He could do a fancy wine tour in France or something.  

To be fair though, this also assumes said gringo actually has the TIME to take off work to do some of these cool things.

I imagine most jobs paying 6 or 7 figs aren't paying you to sit on your ass all day and you very well might have a 6 day work week with long hours each day.

How much vacation time are you getting to do these cool things because a 1 day weekend isn't enough.

Seventh, there's also another thing to consider: what's the likelihood that said gringo would be making his 6 or 7 figs back home?

I talk about this almost like the gringo has a choice of being either the poor or rich remote worker or the rich gringo back home.

Yes, I do believe anyone can with enough work, social intelligence, connections and all that could make 6 or 7 figures.

I don't want to sound like some doomer philosopher that none of us will ever make it.

But I do truly believe that some people just ain't going to make that kinda of money back home.

That's just how they are.

We all know some people in this world will truly never try to aspire more when it comes to personal goals, finances, physical fitness, dating, etc.

They might not have the intelligence anyhow to work certain high paying jobs like being a doctor.

And they don't have the hard work to get on an oil rig.

They just ain't going to do shit.

In theory, they could do better financially.

But they are happy clams with their station in life.

This type of gringo -- if he were to move to Latin America -- also probably isn't going to make big bucks down here either.

He might not do bad though at say 2,000 a month.

But he's happy with what he has -- be it as little as 500 to maybe 2,000 -- and he ain't changing anytime soon.

That type of gringo honestly would be better in Latin America because you're living in a trailer park as a gas station attendant in Arkansas with that attitude to finances and career.

And whatever small amount of money they'd make up there would offer a lack luster life.

They might as well live in Latin America where the laid back culture would be more fitting to their personality and where the small amount of money they make would offer a higher quality of life than back home.

At least here they can have more time to visit the beach, live in world class cities, drink screw drivers and get blowjobs from Latinas (who also ironically think he has more money than he really does).

Versus back home in a shithole area like Cleveland with a shitty job he has to commute to and where the only women touching his dick are either fat chicks or, if he is lucky, maybe single mothers that aren't too fat (though even single mothers is less likely if he doesn't have much of a career).

But all of that talk leads us to the final point that is relevant and comes to mind also with what I just said.

Eighth, there's another thing that comes to mind that we've touched on from a few angles but let's address it more directly: quality of life & life experiences.

Depending on his exact income, it could be argued that even the poor gringo is having more of a time with his life than the gringo having to commute an hour to work every day to be in a office job.

Because, if he isn't TOO poor, then he is doing more than just visiting an art museum every so often.

Maybe visit that beach this weekend.

Perhaps hike a mountain the day before.

A random religious festival happening on his street? With beer in hand, he spontaneously joins them!

Or whatever it might be really on a day to day basis.

Over time though, I will be fair in saying that life does become a little more routine down here and not every day involves joining random street festivals.

And even those random festivals or any other thing become so normalized down here that it becomes less exciting.

Another woman to fuck is just another among many and another cool place to visit is like that last cool place you visited. It does lose some of its charm versus the first time you done either.

Almost like that of a man who is too spoiled by constant "new things to do" that they just are not as exciting.

And said gringo -- poor or rich -- forgets how boring it can be going to "diversity and inclusion" meetings at the HQ of whatever soul sucking business.

But, on the flip side, one could wonder if there is a point at which the gringo has had enough "life experiences" where he's seen all the coolest places Latin America has to offer and has banged enough women down here that he doesn't find himself as entertained down here anymore.

Can one bang enough women and see enough cool beaches?

No. Of course not. The fuck are you sayin?!

But, in all seriousness, I do think some gringos would be better off going back home after enough "life experience" down here if there isn't something else keeping him here like the quality of life in general and if he doesn't transition from being a poor gringo into one that has a decent remote paying job. 

Because he had his fun and, as he'll be getting older soon, should focus on having a nice pile of money. 

By that same point, I do cringe also a tiny bit at the "money isn't everything" sentiment that I was giving here.

Because said gringo -- if he is poor -- is fucking himself into perpetual, self-inflicted third world poverty if he keeps it up.

Perhaps to one day end up back home with nothing.

Or to be stuck here as an alcoholic begging strangers for help to see his "Costa Rican" wife like this one man I wrote about here.

Yes, money isn't everything and even the poor gringo probably is getting more life experience that is cooler than the life experiences of the gringo working home but taking his occasional trips.

I suppose really that -- at the end of the day -- it depends on how poor the poor gringo is before we really determine who is getting more "life experience" or has a better quality of life overall. 

If he's only making 500 bucks a month as an English teacher, I'd think his life would be fun for a few years in his early 20s but he'd be better off morphing into the gringo that somehow makes 6 figs back home and takes the occasional visit.

If the poor gringo is not the type who needs to spend lots of money and doesn't live in a more expensive city like Panama City or Rio de Janeiro, then 1,000 a month is the minimum I'd say the poor gringo should be bringing home for me to say his life looks cooler than the gringo working 60 hours a week back home hustling hard.

But I think some other gringos reading this would disagree and bump that number up a little bit.

Once you bump it up a lot though to say 5,000 a month, then I'd say without question his life is going to be cooler than the gringo making 6 figs back home.

Of course, we could take it to bigger extremes like asking who has the cooler life: the gringo who makes a million dollars a year back home or the gringo down here who makes 100,000 a year down here?

Which one would I choose?

Honestly, I'd rather make the 100,000 (I don't) because that is WAY more than enough to have a solid ass life here. 

But I'd probably take on the million dollar job for a year or two so I could just stack up a shit ton of cash and then go back to Latin America quickly for long term living.

Because, for a lot of reasons, I'd much rather live in Latin America than the US (even with WAY less money than 100,000 a year income).

In large part though simply because I like my style of life down here and wouldn't change it.

So even a million dollar job wouldn't keep me in the US long term. I know some people will say that quitting such a high paying job is easier to say than do but I legit mean that.

Eventually, I'd be going back and it'd be sooner than later.

Anything to Add?

Anyway, that's all I got to say.

Maybe there's other things to say about the gringo who chooses a life of working back home but occasionally coming down for a visit of fun.

Do they have it better than the gringo -- poor or rich -- working remotely down here?

You be the judge.

In the end, I don't think they necessarily have it better or worse.

I feel it depends ultimately on the details of those we are comparing against each other and what each party wants out of life.

Though with remote work opportunities that are legit and well paid becoming increasingly more common since Covid, I suppose this question is a little bit less important since more gringos can come here making real income and not be 500 dollar English teachers (even if those that do make that income still exist).  

If you got anything to add though, drop a comment below.

And follow my Twitter here.

Thanks for reading.

Best regards,

Matt