Expat Prep on Substack

GUS: If push came to shove, I was wondering how soon you might be able to take over the lab yourself. You, and an assistant.

Gale thinks for a moment.

GALE: Why would... Why would push come to shove?

This was an exchange between the methodical, predatory Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) of Los Pollos Hermanos fame, and plucky Gale Boeticcher, played by David Costabile, who has just performed living room karaoke with the revival classic Crapa Pelada: the episode, #13, the grand finale of Breaking Bad Season 3.
Gus knows a lot, he is functionally omniscient as the instigator, the storm maker, the shover. Gale knows less than we as viewers know, and instinctively he is incredulous in the absence of information. This makes for heightened tension.
We begin the pod in media res. And that very question is the one that underpins the timely, incisive work undertaken by "Expat Prep" in his eponymous substack: why would push come to shove?

In this episode of Vanilla Club Podcast, Jason S.C. Fung goes deep with U.S. midwesterner, legal and financial planning savant Expat Prep to go beyond the clichés and rosier takes of digital nomadism to explore the tough choices, trade-offs, family and cultural cohesion issues involved with expatriation under potential duress.

Expat Prep shares candid insights from personal experience: scouting trips, language immersion with a kindergartener, and the careful planning required to ensure a smooth transition. We dig into the difference between expats seeking adventure and families seeking long-term cultural continuity—and why these distinctions matter when deciding where to live next.

Central to the conversation is the concept of optionality. Expat Prep introduces an option pricing framework to help listeners, especially those who are not totally incredulous about the possibility of a "shove" occurring, discover ways to create options in the future, whether that is residency, or linguistic facility, or having bank accounts set up, or even getting your house semi-prepared for sale, at a low price, now. Expat Prep does a great service in introducing this idea, namely because the idea of an exit is so overwhelming that many just can't imagine taking the first, or any steps. Furthermore, the option pricing framework is especially useful because it helps people identify what is easy (or cheap) right now, and thus if the chance of those options becoming more valuable in the future is even slight-to-medium, they may be attractive; and if they are cheap, and have dual-use (i.e. learning Spanish is useful even if the political situation improves), then perhaps they are great "buys."

Along the way, Jason and Expat Prep touch on ideas like cultural identity, civic responsibility, and the psychological impact of living under political or societal pressure. Expat Prep imbues this episode with wit and humour; he is a real guy, who amidst the worsening political outlook in the States still manages to bring good cheer.

If you’re contemplating life abroad, this episode gives you insights that would cost $$$ from the white shoe advisories like Henley and Partners. Expat Prep is giving frameworks that are the sum total of decades of legal and financial bona fides combined with the earnestness of a patriot who is doing this as a public service. Don't miss this episode!