The LIES we believed about Latin America! (don't believe the propaganda) 

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72-year-old American here. I was socialized growing up to think that foreign countries are dangerous, risky, and inferior to the United States. I think that Americans in general are somewhat provincial in their world view, and afraid to leave this country. I just got back home ten days ago from a seven-week journey throughout Peru. What a contrast to the USA! People there seem to be relaxed, happy, spry, and connected to their friends and family. They visibly love their children. In contrast, Americans seem to be on edge, tense, unwell, and solitary. I rarely see any visible affection for our children here. I'm thinking of relocating to South America.

THANKFULLY, when we moved to Costa Rica in 2004, I already had family living there (I was born there). We were pleasantly surprised at the number of US and Canadian expats living in our area, and quickly made friends with them and our native Tico neighbors. We found that Latin Americans respond favorably if YOU are friendly, make an effort to SPEAK SPANISH, and buy locally from small stores rather than the "big box" stores. We also made friends with the local police - and they made a point to patrol our neighborhood.

Thank you both for your honest reporting of what Ecuador is all about. You have been instrumental in my move to Cuenca, Ecuador. I respect this country and its people. David

I found that the homesickness drops off a lot if you go back for a visit after a year or so, and then come back to the new country. I think this is because a lot of the homesickness is imagining things in the home country. When you go back and find that things have pretty much gone on as before, and you haven't missed al that much, then it becomes easier to make the new country home.

People later realize tha we are constantly fed propaganda everywhere, especially in the news. They want people be be scared to go in different countries so people wont go anywhere! No fear, just go and have fun! Glad you guys took the chance!

Healthcare: What a shock! I got a doctor's order to get MRIs in both shoulders... in the US wait time was weeks... in Medellín I got an appointment OVERNIGHT! In addition cost was UNDER $250!! Beautiful modern office in Sura clinic in Tesoro shopping center. It was unreal. Very, very happy with health care quality and price in Medellín.

Visited Ecuador with my wife, sister-in-law and her husband to visit their family last May/June. I felt, generally, safe everywhere we visited (It was probably my 8th time traveling to Ecuador). Had a rental car the entire time (did end up getting a speeding ticket, from a speed camera, that Sixt billed me for-a bit expensive…about $150 for 10km over on route from Guayaquil to Salinas). We stayed at my sister-in-law’s condo/townhome in Samborondon, a few km from El Dorado Mall. We traveled all over by car…Salinas, Olon, Montanita, Downtown Guayaquil, Cuenca, Chordeleg, Balzar, Colimas, and a couple of other areas of Guayaquil suburbs. We even crossed the Guayas on a ferry in the rental car.

Amelia, regarding your comment on the belly dancing...... "everyone was so much more beautiful and exotic than me"......, I agree with JP when he said he disagreed . Every time I watch your videos, I always say to myself how beautiful you are. Your smile, your hair, your bone structure, and as a 59 year old African-American grandmother in Washington, DC, I think you are absolutely gorgeous. Keep up the good work you guys.

You are right! That's how they stole my laptop on the bus. The bus was really crowded. Bus terminals are not the places to be during the middle of the day when the bus traffic is the highest. Thieves all around. It is best to hang on to your laptop and grab it firmly in your lap.

Have you seen the video where they compare US food with European food? The same Menu in the US has close to double the amount of calories in it?! Witch is crazy, even the US bread has 6 times the amount of sugar compared to EU. It is a cake in the EU, you can‘t sell it as bread!🙈

You guys look younger & healthier now than 5 years ago! Very happy for you!

I enjoy your guys' videos. I live in Quito with my wife who's Ecuadorian. I'm quite happy here.

I have been eating street food for the past 30 years around the world including Guatemala, Mexico and Philippines 😂 I must have a strong immune system.

Always makes upset when Americans expect perfection everywhere else when in their own country more people die from gun violence than from any other epidemic. For all these Americans coming to South America just treat people with respect and please don’t be cheap.

We are in Ecuador now on an exploratory visit. The people are welcoming and very tolerant of our terrible spanish. Google translate is very helpful. Now I'm going back through your videos on the places you've lived and why you left. Olon is next...

Crime is way out of control in the states.

I been to 83 countries/dependencies in 6 out of 7 continents. Only 2 times have I’ve become really really sick by eating or drinking First time visiting North Carolina and the second time visiting Illinois.

Living abroad is a challenge!! The most important is your attitude in front of every situation. Thanks guys for showing both sides of coin in Ecuador. I'll love to meet you wneh coming to Quito. Have an awesome 2023!!

Great video guys, super informative!! You hit on a couple of our fears for sure. We hope to finally make our exploratory trip in the coming year!

This is one of my favorite videos. We all have biases to overcome. Of course we can also ignore facts and information because we want to believe something different. That's why these videos are so valuable. It helps us sort the wheat from the chaf

Parasites vs chemical laden environment ... at least you can eliminate parasites from your body ... and they don't cause cancers, etc

Great video you guys! You are always upfront and never sugar coat anything. No place is perfect, my country Ecuador sure isn't. But if you don't focus only on what you perceive as negative, and live the process with a sense of adventure, things will work out just fine.

my husband is from US and he is now in South Africa. it's definitely different for him. we just got back from Zanzibar Tanzania and he was pleasantly surprised. we lost weight from the great organic foods and heat. people attitudes.

Thanks guys - I'm looking forward to my exploration trip this 'spring'. After I take your course, of course. Cheers!

My wife and I have been planning a trip to Ecuador for a little while. We have traveled a little bit, but not to South America. We were thinking of just going down there and finding some daily excursions to see Ecuador, but neither one of us speaks that much Spanish. After seeing this video, I’m thinking it may be better to get a guided tour for the week we are there. I would like to get your opinion on that and maybe you could give us some directions for a good tour company. Love your videos and thank you for doing them.

I go to Lagos Nigeria west Africa every chance I get. In the US, it's known as the epicenter of scam. But people there are remarkably warm and courteous. Love the food, warm temps, services are extremely affordable, rent is much more reasonable, and everybody speaks English.

This NEGOTIATION thing is something that I don't get it. We are willing to negotiate and ask for better prices to private vendors and mercaditos, which MOST OF THEM are FARMERS working hard to make some money , BUT we DONT ask or NEGOCIATE in SUPERMAXI??? so we are willing to pay the higher price without saying nothing to the MIDDLE MAN (supermarkets) but to the poor CAMPESINO we just ask for a rebate. It doesn't seems to me this to be fair. I still remember when I was a child my mother saying to always buy from the campesinos, farmers directly as they did not make enough money. FARMERS are already getting ripped off by GIANT CORPORATIONS, and here we are negotiating with the farmers to get cheaper prices. If you compare the prices you pay in SUPERMAXI or other supermarkets to what farmers are asking in their MERCADO, I think is just fare to pay what they deserve. My sister refuses to buy in SUPERMAXI or other big markets they always buy directly from the Farmers and Campesinos, including milk, they have the owner himself delivering the milk every morning at home. Call me crazy, but if WE CAN'T ask SUPERMAXI to give us a REBATE we shouldn't be asking vendors to give us a deal. We are okay letting big corporations ripping us off, but we are not willing to boycott those big corporations. Of course all of the above assuming vendors do not exaggerate with their asking prices. So just to let you know a Farmer/vendor they travel every day from the countryside to the city, many have to travel by bus and tried to sell everything they brought to the city, if they don't sell it all at the end of the day they will pretty much give it for free as it will be more expensive for them to go back with their vegetable back to their farm. A vender can make as much as $20 per day spending all day selling their produce on the street or in the mercadito. which is barely $400 a month from which goes back onto their small farm , plus their food and transportation. Anyways, I though I just give you a light on the situation.

I spent a year in Mexico trying to be very careful about what I ate (no street food or tap water) and got food poisoning 3x. Went to 6 countries in South America last year and never got sick. I also experienced blackouts at every place I stayed, in different cities, sometimes for hours. No blackouts in SA yet. Anecdotal perhaps...of course the level of development can vary a lot even within countries. But I think maintaining a good quality of life in Mexico is not all that cheap any more.

You two do such a great job. Thank you, my spouse and I both enjoy your content.

Ice been watching you all for a long time now & I have to say, Amelia, you look so much more less stressful and honestly, softer than in the beginning! Your hair is beautiful and healthy & you simply seem happier! Look at your early videos and you'll see the difference! Ecuador looks good on you!

Great video! People have a lot of perceptions that just aren't correct. Thanks for the info, showing us the good and bad. I thought those little shops were cool too. Would love to visit there sometime.

Hope im not too late to jump on this train its been on my heart questioning if in the right place never seen other places so im am thankful for the videos

Expats should get bidets, because there's less of an issue with toilet paper. It is so much better to have a bidet and they're really inexpensive(like $40USD, and they're SOOO worth it).

Great channel. Keep listening you on and off for all the years since you started. We need a channel like that here in Panama ... 😀

Negotiation is NOT part of ALL Latin American cultures. In Colombia all of the taxis have meters with set charges, and many stores have marked prices. I used to always count my change and have never been short-changed. I don't like negotiating for everything in my life, so I enjoy Colombia.

#1.. Isnt it true that even today the violent crime in Ecuadoran cities is much less than in US cities and especially Mexico?

Hola Amelia & JP. Thank you for all of the wonderful videos. A wealth of knowledge, entertaining & fun, and quite pleasant to watch. I'll be making a visit to Ecuador this July 2023 and looking to take the leap in September. Likely Cuenca. Your efforts are reaching folks like me, so I thought I'd share that your messages are most welcomed and appreciated. Need anything flown in? 😎

I have not heard of any massive Listeria outbreak in the US. None of my neighbors, none of my friends has caught Listeria.

I can't help but think that those who feel the need to move out of the US find fault with the US and when they set up house in another country in search of utopia are often disappointed. Unless youre willing to renounce your US citizenship, these moves are merely long term vacations. Your insurance policy is the fact that if something bad happens, you're only a flight away from the good old USA!

9:22... very true... a while back I moved from Maryland to western Colorado and a year-and-a-half later moved back east. The honeymoon phase was nice while it lasted until reality set in.

You mentioned getting stuff you need. My concern with living there, as a tech person, would be the ability to get hardware if I need it (computer components and accessories, devices themselves, photography gear, etc

I have been following you for a couple of years. You guys are so bubbly and such nice people. Thank you for allowing me to travel the world from my chair. I would sure like to be there with you but Mom will not budge.

We also moved to LA. We chose Uruguay. We have been here for 7 months now and love it. Seems way safer than Ecuador.

Negotiations don’t happen in ALL Latin America, as you said. In Uruguay they don’t happen at mercados (ferias), nor at street vendors. I’m glad you’re doing well in Cuenca. I know it’s beautiful, though I’ve never been there.

😊 Thanks so much for sharing. Have been offline for some days and, only see your positive video now. And yes, all the warnings about "dangerous" South America...certainly not only in the US this happens. Europeans are very, very good at this as well and, my feeling by now, is these Europeans completely forget to look inwards as well as on our own old Continent. I keep finding more and more positive things about the South American continent and, maybe because I have moved country 5 times before, I am certainly not more afraid about Ecuador than any European country and, I still can't wait - almost counting months, days and hours by now, till I can wish Europe farewell 😊 Thanks again for sharing and, for all the good info!!

I had a great trip to Ecuador and the Gallapago Islands 25 years ago. Spent a week in Quito and everything was great until a fellow traveler talked into taking a chance on restaurant that was questionable. Those tasty shrimp started a week long battle in my intestines that was very concerning as I spent the next 10 days on a dive boat in the Gallapagos Islands. Luckily I was able to starve the bug and then repopulate the GI tract with some good quality yogurt. Rest of the trip was spectacular.

I'm moving to Athens, Greece. Love it there!

I lived in Brazil my whole life and frequently ate at questionable places to say the least, never had any problems with food poisoning whatsoever until I moved to California and had a weird tasting burger from Jack in the Box. That was the first time and it has happened a couple more times since. 😂

Just saw my 2nd video of you guys. I am about to start my Mexican American Army Veteran life in Thailand. Going to be a digital nomad. Learning thai language on italki. Just want my money to stretch as much as possible. $300 per month condo in pattaya thailand on the beach. I just liked and subscribed.

Great honest video, there is definitely some level of crime all over the world. But it is worth noting that the list of 50 most dangerous cities ranked via homicides per 100k has only one non American country (South Africa). Every other city is from South/Central/North America, including a couple from the US

Remember that not drinking the water includes ice in drinks, brushing your teeth and accidentally opening your mouth in the shower. If the hotel has filtered water they make ice with, that’s the exception but otherwise, don’t get ice if you are in doubt. Use bottled water to brush your teeth and don’t sing loudly in the shower! 😅

Good, Question: how much income, (minimum), one person needs to get the residence and how much health insurance cost?

I had haven time to watch your videos lately, but I am glad to see how your channel keeps growing Saludos desde Florida I am ecuadorian living in the USA for over 28 years already I have the chance to visit my country at least once a year Thanks for remind me how wonder and fabulous is my country Ecuador

Thought on travel to Guayaquil. My husbands family live in Guayaquil and we want to visit but he hasn’t been in yrs

You guys put out some quality videos. The information is something that can be used. Thanks.

I'm so glad I found your channel a month ago, really enjoy all the info you provide. I'm hoping to get out of New Jersey, USA, ASAP! The cost of living here is just absolutely out of control! I am considering Florida's west coast, Mexico, or now you've got me thinking about Ecuador! I'm going to have to catch up and watch all the videos on your Channel, and I do intend to take your online work course when I can. Thanks for sharing!

Hi you 2! Happy New Year & thx so much. For taking us along upon your never ending journey. `Tis is an enlightening one [1 ;- ]

Love you guys!!1 Greeting from Canada!!! 😇💗

Really appreciate your down to earth mentions and recommendations.

Great info, thank you.

You two are THE BEST ! Thank you for all your phenomenol content ... 😊

Another great video with incredibly helpful information. Thanks again Amelia and JP.

At 87k subs, there must be a way to shot up these numbers. Maybe you folks ought to travel through other LatAm countries and relay your firsthand experiences and impressions. Also, you are going on a Merry go Round with the format. Top, ten, both seated at the front of a camera. Gotta change that format.

you guys are awesome and I really enjoy your videos. I'm really grateful for your content.

really good and balanced reporting.

Good Fortune does favor the brave and the bold... congratulations on your parole from the Western Penal Colony of Thought and Superiority.

Great video. I think you both have great attitudes and realistic expectations. Reason why you are doing just fine. Now, if you can tell me how do I find that implant dentist you mentioned at some point? I'd greatly appreciated it

Great channel. And, a lot of that is due to the personalities of the hosts.

There were also innocent prisoners killed during the prison massacres. Even people that just ended up in jail for not paying their child maintenance fees, for example. They had just been there for a few days… People like that had nothing to do with gangs…

I had no problems with crime or food poisoning in Chile. Such a beautiful country.

I couldn't catch the name of the place where you met all the other expats "Apartamentos....?"

Do they have resale shops and second hand stores? I don't do Amazon and I'm a minimalist now.

Moto robberies?

I have heard that you rent your living space in Ecuador. I was wondering if there are pitfalls to buying a home there that you're aware of?

Happy New Year God bless you both!

Many places in the USA are dangerous too. There is bad everywhere we just need to use common sense which is lack of these days !! Great video Thanks for sharing. Would love to visit Ecuador one day.

Has Amazon started delivering there I was a little confused about that part.

The allowable visitation time with a passport in Ecuador is 90 days per year. Does anyone know if I visit in August one year for 90 days, Can I then return for 90 days again the next calendar year in January?

What do you really think about the Lake Chapala, Mex. area?

You too are the greatest! The main reason: you're both so genuine and honest. And obviously deeply in love :)

You said ''you're back living ''in the highlands.'' Back in Cuenca or someplace else?

Just curious, what type of health insurance do you guys have. I heard of travelers insurance, but I mean something long term.I am on Medicare and will need to dismantle it, but am curious on what will take its place especially price wise.I,m 65 so interested on cost versus age would be. I will be making money online in IT or finance, but I,m still cost conscious.

really good and balanced video. There's enuf info to actually result in making a decision.

Pick pockets are de rigueur pretty much everywhere. And nobody touches my carry all pack. You two crack me up I can't imagine how you got past all your negative concerns which I think are fueled by America in general. And even still out all that aside 😂. What if any things attachments wise did you bring or not?

Good stuff. It sure makes more sense to live in Latin America once you retire. But how about moving out of big overpriced cities in the US and moving to a more rural area right here in the US? I would like to see a comparison like that.

I’ve wanted to move to Italy in retirement but feel a sense of loneliness and aimlessness just imaging myself there. It would be so much easier to do if 1. I hadn’t lived in my home for the past 30 years, and 2. I had a partner to do it with so I wouldn’t be as lonely 😕

Ecuador and Costa Rica are friendly for sailboats. I have one and from Washington state and these 2 countries are very costly for marinas. The marina facilities and marina personal ,not very helpful. Looking at LA Paz mexico, more expensive. I go to Alaska in summer and mexico or south in winter.

Very good video! Have you done San Sebastian? In Basque country.

generally what kind of tap water then do you drink everywhere? Bottled or on tap? Thanks

Safety sure is a factor in any country. What you do when you leave for 6 months and come back? Home insurance? What to do when not there explain 🤔 thanks

Hi, I´d like to say sth about prices in latinoamerica, it´s true that people negotiate them in Ecuador, Bolivia and Perú, but this doesn´t happen in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, they don't use to do it, prices are written on labels or stickers, so buyers can see them at first sight. I don´t know what´s it like in Brazil or Paraguay, but I think they don´t negotiate them.

Not heard of any listeria outbreak in the US

Overall Cuenca is very safe. I never had issues to use my cellphone in public and never felt unsafe. There are some cities in latin America that you should avoid using your cellphone in public or having valuables with you such as Bogotá and parts of Medellin Colombia

Hello, please clarify how you work full-time with a US company? Do you work as 1099 or llc or employee?

Thank you for your opinion. Yes, Ecuador and Latin America are amazing. We have so much problems, of course, but not all is bad in our countries, every person can leave here good being carefully. Enjoy our country, this is your country too. We all together will do living in Ecuador better. Kind Regards.

Glad to hear that you ditched Amazon. They are a rubbish organisation.

Massive listeria outbreak in the US? I watch local and National news every night and no mention of it.

another really good presentation. thanks

street vendors and market merchants work hard to make ends meet, so please don't negotiate. Most of the time, it's pocket change, really. Let them have a little extra for their families...