Dying to Retire Podcast

In this episode, Doug is back at Casa Douglas outside Antigua for Week 3 — mini-fridge living is over, but now it's an internet war, a theft lesson, and Mad Max detours.

What started as a simple Claro install turned into a week-long runaround, a WiCom van he sent away over 999 quetzales a month, a blocked conduit, 5 hours in the rain on a Sunday install, throttled from 250 Mbps to 10 Mbps until first payment, and a power bank that walked off during the fridge install. Plus, the new traffic circle detour, starting Spanish tutoring, and why curtains just became urgent.

As always, I'm Doug. This is Dying to Retire. And I'll see you on the next episode.

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In this episode, Doug is finally at Casa Douglas outside Antigua — mini-fridge living, an F9 AC error the community office will not fix, a half-painted fountain, and an appliance tech who walked off the job. Salesman Miguel had to come back that night and finish the install. No car, bad roadwork, Uber drivers who want extra quetzales, and furniture shopping with a wife who does not budget like a dude.

Then the show leaves the house. Britain’s proposed Cohabitation Rights Bill would give unmarried partners a cut of a man’s pension, property, and pre-relationship assets. Doug ties that to why men stopped marrying — and why some are leaving the West.

The closer: Panama’s Bill 510 makes paternity fraud a crime — prison time, mandatory DNA, no statute of limitations, and support orders canceled when the lie is proven. El Salvador is talking mandatory testing at birth. A small Central American country just did more for men than London or D.C.Questions or comments?

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In this episode, Doug gives us an update on why he’s stuck in Maryland instead of setting up Casa Douglas in Guatemala. He details the absolute nightmare of dealing with bank and insurance bureaucracy — from insurance and mortgage companies taking weeks to cross-check paperwork for a main line repair to waiting nearly a month for an adjuster to look at a leaking sunroof.

He drops a practical tip for anyone working through Guatemala residency, breaking down how doing your own state-side apostille work can save you over $1,000 to put toward your home.

He then tackles federal retirement math and explains the FERS Special Retirement Supplement "cliff" at age 62 — why it disappears whether you claim Social Security or not.

Doug wraps up with a raw perspective calling out modern society's total collapse of personal accountability — taking aim at the academic fraud scandal surrounding fake Cambridge professor Jason Arday, the media excuses in high-profile violent crime cases, and a lighthearted rant about why men will never loan out their shoes.

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In this episode, Doug gives us the real deal on shipping boxes to Guatemala — playing Tetris with beach towels, childhood afghans, and his wife's mysterious collection of cleaning supplies that apparently don't exist at the Walmart down there. He shares a volcano eruption update from Fuego and calls out the Facebook warriors who wanted Mother Nature to reschedule her eruption around their vacation plans.

From there it's a heart-to-heart about the importance of "buddy checks" among Boomers and Gen Xers — those sign-of-life calls that matter more as we age, inspired by a missed episode from another podcaster and a touching story about his dad's third cousin.

Doug then breaks down the Medicare "free healthcare" myth with numbers, explaining why it costs him $400-500 a month on top of his federal pension plan, and why younger generations' "Boomer privilege" complaints are full of shit. He takes it back with a Boomer Bitchin' segment from the vault comparing travel costs then versus now, and wraps with some choice words on Flock cameras — how they're being used by gangs in Guatemala to track police movements while we're still debating them up here.

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In this episode, Doug gives an update from the Casa Douglas front — the appliance walkthrough mess, the never-ending "two weeks" countdown, and the insurance check disaster back in Maryland that has him rethinking whether just to pay off the mortgage for good. He takes his car-buying video one step further, laying out why he thinks American automakers are setting themselves up for trouble overseas once buyers realize what "right to repair" actually means.

From there it's a real talk about retirement being a withdrawal exercise, not an addition one, before he gets into a Boomer Bitchin' segment on earning your retirement and not owing anybody an apology for it. He closes out with some choice words on NYC's government-run grocery store plan, a DEI scandal out of Cambridge, and a live update on Volcán de Fuego erupting right next to Casa Douglas as he prepares to fly back down.

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In this episode, I dig into car shopping ahead of our move to Guatemala — comparing gas, EV, and plug-in hybrid maintenance, and calling out the double standard in how the government treats Chinese car data tracking.

I also review two expat guidebooks by Rico Unchained and share why retirement is the time to stop putting things off, plus an unfiltered look at how Spanish-language media and misinformation shape Latino political views.

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In this episode, I give an update on retiring to Guatemala — the four-phase plan for furnishing Casa Douglas, and why State Department travel warnings after the Santiago Atitlán unrest matter for anyone living or traveling there. I also dig into the backlash from a video about hiring household help, my take on traditional gender roles in retirement, and the widening gap between America's legal taxpayers and its cash-based economy.

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In this episode, we look at how divisive identity politics crash head-first into the real world. I share a story about my brother-in-law getting a dose of workplace karma as a new manager, and draw on my thirty years of management experience to contrast today's manufactured divisions with the unshakeable bonds forged in the 1980s military.

True solidarity isn't based on skin color or checklists—it’s about competence and carrying your own weight. We close with a stark reality check: when you prioritize checkboxes over capability, things break. You simply cannot run a first-rate country with second-rate standards.

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In this episode, I skip the usual Casa Douglas construction update and talk about what's happening back in Maryland instead. The house decided it wasn't getting enough attention, so the main sewer line failed, followed by the outside drain line needing replacement. Thousands of dollars later, I'm still waiting on the county inspector so they can finally approve the work and let the contractor fill in the giant hole sitting in my front yard.

From there, I get into a mindset I've been talking about on my YouTube channel: Get Off The X. Whether you're a tourist, expat, retiree, or slow traveler, bad things can happen anywhere. Too many people spend their lives looking for a mythical place where nothing ever goes wrong. It doesn't exist. The goal isn't eliminating risk—it's learning how to deal with it and keep moving forward.

After that, I turn to Northern Ireland and the tensions we're seeing there today. I discuss what happens when governments bring in large numbers of people from cultures that don't share the values of the host country, continue spending taxpayer money on people who shouldn't be there, and then act surprised when social friction follows. I also explain why I think many of the same issues are headed for the United States if we don't get a handle on them now.

I close out the show with a social media post from a young man complaining that he had earned two degrees and still wasn't making six figures. Sounds terrible until you learn both degrees were associate degrees, he had no certifications, and he refused to leave his small town for places with better job opportunities. At some point, the problem isn't the economy. It's the decisions you're making.

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In this episode of 'Dying to Retire,' I share updates on his upcoming move to Guatemala, where his new home, Casa Douglas, is nearly ready. He discusses the logistical challenges of settling into a new country, from furnishing the house to navigating local traffic. I also tackle the contentious issue of aging drivers and the rise of self-driving technology, questioning whether these advancements are truly beneficial for seniors. I explore my own approach to maintaining independence in retirement and reflect on how autonomous driving might impact older generations who cherish their driving freedom.

Questions or comments? Email me at [email protected]

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DyingToRetirePodcast