Introduction: Both the cost of living and the quality of life are significantly better in Guatemala than English speaking countries. Expatriates enjoy the follow advantages/benefits:

Climate: In Guatemala it feels like spring time all the time. The range of temperatures is essentially 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit year round, so there are no extremes and not so many variations from this standard. Thanks to this climate, electricity bills are very, very low; people do not build houses with heating or air conditioning in the capital and in Antigua. Unlike other countries in Central and South America, you can have leather furniture, wood floors, carpets, etc.

Crime: Just recently, in Guatemala the crime has fallen by, perhaps, 70%. The current President, Alvaro Colom, passed a law stating that only one person at a time can ride a motorcycle (in Guatemala City), and that each rider must have a label on the back of his helmet and wear a vest that that has in large letters the license plate number registered to the motorcycle. Almost all of the crime is done in motorcycles with two people mounted: one drives, the other operates a gun. It's almost impossible to weave through traffic and shoot at the same time. Plus, this stops so many lives from being endangered. I've seen a father, mother, and two small children on a 120 cc motorbike so many times.

This impresses me for a lot of reasons, mostly because Guatemala actually does something about solving their own problems rather than accuses other countries of having ridiculous crime rates and pointing fingers, unlike some of the other countries up north. Think about it, look at countries with their drug addiction rates, alcoholism, police state tendencies, bloated prisons, ignoring the constitution, as well as state and civil rights, and yet still have not solved anything. Then look at Guatemala where there is much more freedom and safety (depending where you are coming from) and you cannot but help notice this blatant hypocrisy. In other words, they can point a finger at Guatemala but four are pointing back at them.

Now, let's think of reasons why this could be. First of all, if one country gets a bad rep for instability, another gets the capital instead.

Warrants are not very easily attainable. The regular police officers cannot just search any person they think deserves a good search. They need evidence.

Bank Secrecy: The secrecy for corporations and banking in Guatemala is very strong. It's not invulnerable, however, which is why we only do Trust Agreement Banking. Unlike banks, a client of a lawyer is under the umbrella of attorney client privilege and that, on the other hand, is nearly hallowed.

Guatemala is extremely resistant to fishing expeditions and will not give private information to a foreign power without proof of a crime with victims and that is illegal in Guatemala (child pornography, homicide, etc.). This would not include tax issues. Further, and this is good, a prosecuting attorney would have to give up their diplomatic immunity before testifying in a Guatemalan court. This means they are subject to charges such as perjury, contempt of court, and extortion, thus leveling the playing field. This is a huge hindrance to anybody trying something like this in Guatemala, let alone being able to get an unreasonable search or a violation of privacy carried out.

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