Recently I posted about International Living, and their request for reciprocal links between my blog and their social media sites. After much thought, I decided to try it out and I put their link on my sidebar. But, my photos never showed up on their sites and my stats never showed any traffic from them, so I emailed to ask about this.
I received a reply this morning. It seems they have retracted their request. I can certainly understand this. I had a lot of hesitation about including them on my blog as well. If they don’t want someone with my views and lifestyle though, I’m not sure why they asked me in the first place.
It’s nice being in my position. I don’t need to make money and I don’t need traffic. I blog for my own enjoyment, and it’s a bonus that I’ve made some great friends and helped others on their journeys. My blog is always going to say what I think and feel though. I try to be kind and polite, but I will speak the truth as I see it.
So, this is why I had a link to International Living one week and none the next. It’s for the best. Opposites aren’t always meant to attract.
The Panama Adventure 
I don’t think I’ll ever get a request either…LOL! Sorry Kris, they are missing out on a chance to get some well written articles that tell it like it is. 🙂
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Never say never. Oldsalt told me they bugged him for months even though he told them that they don’t want him.
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An odd bunch those International Living people…we had one visit here for a few days. It was interesting to watch him watching people and typing away at his laptop. 🙂
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We met one at our hotel when we were in Pedasi, wonder if it was the same one, young blond guy from Ireland, maybe? Someone else we know met him in Bocas, if I remember correctly. Nice gig if you can get it, traveling all around and getting paid for it…. except of course it helps if it’s a business you believe in.
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Yes, that’s the same guy! He just sat at Smiley’s “observing” although I know a couple of people cosied up to him and “oops” got to speak at the last conference.
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Oh dear, glad I didn’t talk to him any more than i did! 😀
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I imagine that since IL couldn’t control the comments or the content they were rethinking their position. Heaven forbid if comments or content were different than the picture IL wants to paint.
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I imagine they read that post that didn’t say especially nice things about them. But you would think they’d realize they can’t control content and comments, and look carefully at a blog before requesting a partnership.
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Wear it like a badge of honor, Kris.
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LOL OK 🙂 If you only knew that all you had to do was write a post about how you didn’t agree with their practices, then they would quit bugging you. It would have saved you a lot of time.
What a nice surprise to run into you today!
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Here, here, one for our side! Tell it like it is, the truth shall win out!
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Thank you! 🙂 yes ideed
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Definitely a badge of honor! If IL told it like it is, they would never be able to sell their pricey conferences and reports. We subscribed to the magazine a while back and then realized it was just one big sales pitch for their stuff. Also, I think they know a lot of expats are on to them now so maybe they were afraid linking to you would expose them to criticism. Anyway, good for you for being so thoughtful and fair-minded about it.
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I’ve subscribed to their post cards and other on line correspondence and couldn’t stick around for the same reasons. With so many other resources available now, I wonder if their business will dwindle. They used to be the only source of info but that is no longer the case.
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That’s awesome mom!!!! Your blog is better without them!
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Thanks, Amy my Daughter 🙂 Speaking of awesome, when you get settled back at home I’m looking forward to hearing about your conference!
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They are Irish money fiddlers on the roof.
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LOL that’s one way to put it 😀
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It is their loss, the truth is more important than being associated with a group who censors.
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Thanks, yes, I agree. People can’t make good decisions without realistic information.
By the way, that photo you posted on Facebook with the butterflies, those are the same butterflies that visit us here! They especially love old mushy fruit so they are on the compost pile the most. I wanted to reply on FB but it didn’t give me that option. Are you settled in your new home? I hope it’s working out well for you.
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Thanks Kris….I come from IL knowing that they have “something to sell” but it is bloggers like you and Holly, Connie, Karen and “Old Salt” and so many more that really help us to understand that there is a reason to move but we need to be ready to assimilate into a Spanish speaking country and that we will still be exactly who we are. We won’t automatically transform into something new and different. Thanks to you and all of the others!
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Thanks so much, glad you find the blog helpful. So true, you are who you are, and your daily life here has to work out if you’re going to be happy here.
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I am not surprised. What really gets me are their articles in every major travel website. I hope their days are numbered.
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My husband reminded me that people are adults and have to think for themselves. If they fall for the hype and believe what they are told without doing their own homework, we can’t save them from that. Maybe on the good side it will open up options for people that they might not have considered without seeing the articles.
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Having had a LOT of exposure to IL (attended their meetings/ bought their products/ listened to the hype), I understand their mindset. I have also learned the value of tactical (ex-army), on-the-ground, learning from the host culture.
When I heard lecturer after lecture preach that an expat needed to simply transplant into a new environment, ignore the local culture (except for the trivial niceties such as attending the produce market), and depend solely on IL services for income generation and property and legal services… I knew it was a money-making scam. I was nauseated seeing the layering system used to sap future expat’s money by feeding envy… “buy into our premier-inner circle membership and get these additional perks that are denied to the regular IL attendees.” Then, when I got scammed by one of their “faculty” indigenous lawyers of my entire investment that was the final straw. I since met a finance leader of that country, not Panama, and learned that the indigenous lawyer on their “faculty” was well known in their country for bilking gringos and was an embarrassment to their professional establishment.
Meanwhile, I set about going to each and every major town mentioned in IL by their esteemed real estate guru and carried with me his famed IL articles. When I stayed in these Latin cities of 5 countries, I learned that over 60% of the flowery garbage he wrote was pure lies (to sell property). I literally showed the articles to residents of each town I entered and asked for their feedback! Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama. No country was properly described. The ones that were farthest from the truth were Colombia and Ecuador. Costa Rica has only recently changed because of the increasingly expensive economy, so the descriptions were closer to accurate at the date of writing. (I emailed my findings to IL as I collected the data, but curiously, none of my reports were posted!)
In short, I write this to say that blogs such as yours need to remain pure and untainted from the lies of IL. There are a lot of future expats who want the REAL story, not advertised hype, so they can make an informed decision. Expats are expats because they were unhappy with the way things have been. Successful expats know to graft into their new culture. I am also sure that most future expats would much prefer to learn the REAL conversion to a new life and adapt to their new host country.
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Wow, oh my goodness. It’s worse than I thought. It doesn’t take much to see they are after money rather than expat happiness but this is awful. I’m so sorry you got scammed, and sorry it’s also happening to others. The whole thing is a recipe for unhappy expats who are so missing out on the whole experience, and unfortunately missing a lot of their money in the process. Thank you so much for taking the time to share what you know. I really appreciate it. Now I doubly glad not to have their link on my blog.
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Do not trust anyone till you know them very, very, very well. As an old saying of old cotton field owners during slavery time in the south of the USA said: I do not employ Irish as supervisors as they are drunk and lazy. Sorry but I am not saying that all of them are that way, but the exception makes the rule as we say in Dutch. The Dutch and the Scottish invented the copper wire as they were fighting over a copper penny. So we are as Dutch very penny wise but not Pound foolish. International living is o.k. as a general information. but nothing more.
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Yes, very true! There are always some who get what they can and don’t worry if others lose in the process.
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I think the caveat is that IL places on “faculty” indigenous professionals and expats who are ethically compromised, but pass their “stringent vetting process” as was once described to me by a lower-echelon, but highly-respected “faculty” member of IL. The “Irish” management is not always the problem. It is also these professionals who have licenses and who forge legitimate contracts only to play the three-shell game with international law. So, “trust” is not the issue. It’s downright international fraud. IL knows NO expat is going to come with an international lawyer in their pocket to protect them from IL games. So, an international lawyer has to be found and hired to transact the multinational litigation to mop up the IL mess after the fact.
Future expats should be wary of IL fraud and its artificial tapestry. They should seek true insiders, such as this Panama Adventure “team” who is on the ground and living the REAL international life. We are already here, enjoying the REAL life deep within our host cultures, and have access to any answer a future expat would desire to make an informed, unbiased decision.
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I know, it’s frustrating. People can learn everything they need to know for free from the many other expats who are happy to help with no ulterior motive.
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