Forums > Areas > Jalisco's Lake Chapala Region

El Torg

Apr 21, 2009, 8:31 AM

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Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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I was just wondering how the basic prices for living have been affected, or not, by the current economic stress-fest. I suppose that Wal-Mart has the best, if they have a grocery section?
Gracias, amigos.
"I am only that which I Will to become; thus, I rely upon my 'Divine Imagintuition'."
T.G. Hadley, M.S. Ed.

esperanza

Apr 21, 2009, 11:57 AM

Post #2 of 22 (7877 views)

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Re: [El Torg] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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During the past year or so, the price of all consumables has gone up enormously.

Regular unleaded gasoline is currently frozen at 7.72 pesos/liter, or the equivalent of about $2.25USD the gallon.

Household gas for cooking and hot water is at just over 5 pesos/liter.

The cost of electricity depends on your consumption.

Taxes: IVA (value added tax) is still at 17%. Homeowner and other taxes are very low.

Food examples:
--------Rice is up from 17 pesos/kilo to 28 pesos/kilo
--------Eggs are up from 19 pesos per 18 eggs to 32 pesos per 18 eggs
--------Milk is up from 11 pesos/liter to 13 pesos/liter
--------Oranges are up from 10 pesos per 4 kilos to 10 pesos per 3 kilos
--------Bolillo (a type [not a brand] of white bread) is up from 1.5 pesos for one to 2.5 pesos/one
--------Strawberries are up from 10 pesos/kilo to 14 pesos/kilo (in season now)
--------Avocados are up from 12 pesos/kilo to 20 pesos/kilo and can go as high as 40 pesos/kilo
--------Ground sirloin is up from 42 pesos/kilo to 65 pesos/kilo and can go as high as 80 pesos/kilo
--------Whole chicken is up from 35 pesos/kilo to 56 pesos/kilo
--------Mangos are up from 11 pesos/kilo to 15 pesos/kilo (in season now)
--------Bulk dried beans are up from 8 pesos/kilo to 17 pesos/kilo

Wal-Mart in Ajijic does indeed carry groceries, but the produce there is inferior to the produce available at the local Wednesday tianguis (street market). Beef and chicken at Wal-Mart are excellent.

*Caveat: the prices above are the prices I've paid within the last 10 days in Morelia, Michoacán. YMMV.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

esperanza

Apr 21, 2009, 7:16 PM

Post #3 of 22 (7843 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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In Reply To

During the past year or so, the price of all consumables has gone up enormously.

Regular unleaded gasoline is currently frozen at 7.72 pesos/liter, or the equivalent of about $2.25USD the gallon.

Household gas for cooking and hot water is at just over 5 pesos/liter.

The cost of electricity depends on your consumption.

Taxes: IVA (value added tax) is still at 15%. Homeowner and other taxes are very low.

Food examples:
--------Rice is up from 17 pesos/kilo to 28 pesos/kilo
--------Eggs are up from 19 pesos per 18 eggs to 32 pesos per 18 eggs
--------Milk is up from 11 pesos/liter to 13 pesos/liter
--------Oranges are up from 10 pesos per 4 kilos to 10 pesos per 3 kilos
--------Bolillo (a type [not a brand] of white bread) is up from 1.5 pesos for one to 2.5 pesos/one
--------Strawberries are up from 10 pesos/kilo to 14 pesos/kilo (in season now)
--------Avocados are up from 12 pesos/kilo to 20 pesos/kilo and can go as high as 40 pesos/kilo
--------Ground sirloin is up from 42 pesos/kilo to 65 pesos/kilo and can go as high as 80 pesos/kilo
--------Whole chicken is up from 35 pesos/kilo to 56 pesos/kilo
--------Mangos are up from 11 pesos/kilo to 15 pesos/kilo (in season now)
--------Bulk dried beans are up from 8 pesos/kilo to 17 pesos/kilo

Wal-Mart in Ajijic does indeed carry groceries, but the produce there is inferior to the produce available at the local Wednesday tianguis (street market). Beef and chicken at Wal-Mart are excellent.

*Caveat: the prices above are the prices I've paid within the last 10 days in Morelia, Michoacán. YMMV.

Please note the corrected IVA percentage. Thanks.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

El Torg

Apr 23, 2009, 7:26 AM

Post #4 of 22 (7763 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Gracias, Esperanza!
I see that inflation is active in the exchange rate. The volatility isn't outrageous, seemingly.
Considering that one is buying in kilos rather than in pounds and that the current exchange rate from dollars to pesos is a little over $13mp @ $USD, things are more affordable there than they are here in NW WA state. Our gas prices are not, unfortunately, frozen. Produce, (aside from being actually fresh and local in Mexico), is considerably higher here per pound and the quality even at Wal Mart probably exceeds that of Chilean/local produce here, (except for our fresh berries and regional fruits).
Given the climate of Jalisco/Chapala, the cost of electricity is affordable there compared to even Washington state, it seems. Our old oil furnace just kicked on again, and it's just getting up to 40F.
We do have a sunny day in the offing, but the highs will only get to the upper fifties.
All in all, (considering that the city just doubled our property taxes), it seems that central Mexico's highlands are less expensive than the American west coast.
I'd imagine that if one had a U.S. government pension of about $2K, one could live quite well in the Chapala district. Our housing market is rather depressed, but not as badly off as the remainder of the U.S. Still, even with a buyers' market here, one could extract enough money to get one of the new mortgage products at an affordable rate being offered around Ajijic/environs, no? Our home values really are inflated compared to the central U.S., and are steadier than California or the East Coast markets, it seems.
Again, thanks for your helpful list!
"I am only that which I Will to become; thus, I rely upon my 'Divine Imagintuition'."
T.G. Hadley, M.S. Ed.

Hound Dog

Apr 23, 2009, 11:55 AM

Post #5 of 22 (7740 views)

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Re: [El Torg] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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El Torg and Esperanza:

There is something misleading about this internet exchange in my opinion and so this comment.

I suspect that someone planning to retire here at Lake Chapala would be freaked to see the price spirals that Esperanza reports which indicate extraordinary inflation but just a couple of points concerning both Esperanza´s report and El Torg´s response:
*Quoting prices in spot time frames for fruits and vegetables is inherently undependable. I see the prices I pay for fruits and vegetables swinging widely from day to day whether those fruits and vegetables are in season locally or not in season. I might pay six pesos a kilo in Six Corners on one day and ten pesos the next. The only thing that means anything is average pricing over time and even then there are inconsistencies.
* Esperanza´s prices are specific to certain stores in Morelia, Michoacan, not Lakeside. Neither price structure applies to Chiapas where I maintain a home and in Jalisco and Michoacan and Chiapas prices vary tremendously according to where one shops. If I shop in the indigenous market in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas versus the Chedraui Supercenter in that town, the prices are not comparable.
* El Torg states:
Produce, (aside from being actually fresh and local in Mexico), is considerably higher here (Meaning NW Washington) per pound and the quality even at Wal Mart probably exceeds that of Chilean/local produce here, (except for our fresh berries and regional fruits).
Where does this notion that produce is fresher and "local" in Mexico versus Northwest Washington come from? I have lived and shopped in both places and can assure the reader that fresh produce in season in Northwest Washington State is far superior to the "fresh" and "local" (produce) at Lake Chapala which is normally neither "fresh" nor "local" but shipped into the Guadalajara abastos from Guanajuato and Puebla. Local fruits and produce marketed in Northwest Washington State are some of the best in the world.

When the lake was low and miles and miles of Federal beach land had been exposed for truck farming, truck farms sprang up all over the lake bed and fruits and produce grown there on that toxic soil was marketed in local shops and tiaguis. In Washington State organic produce is strictly controlled as to quality and here people were buying "organic" produce grown on toxic lakebed soil unfit for that usage.

I pay far less at the indigenous market in Chiapas for all fruits an vegetable than I do at Lake Chapala and many of those fruits and vegetables are actually, in fact, local and sold to me by the farmers who grew them.

I am not trying to be argumentative but it seems to me some clarification is called for. There are many readers who might be frightened by these price quotes. I just want to make sure they are not misleading.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Apr 23, 2009, 12:29 PM)

El Torg

Apr 24, 2009, 7:17 AM

Post #6 of 22 (7683 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Thanks, Hound Dog. It is good to expand the frame of reference. Yes, the organic produce we do have, in season in Whatcom County especially, is beyond compare; so is all the organics we import from California and elsewhere. However, when we had tomatoes in Mazatlan winter before last, their taste was incredibly rich compared to even the organics we could get here in summertime.
I was simply trying to get others' ideas on the of cost of living on the North Shore, (especially around Ajijic where my amigo-tocayo lives). It just seems to me that it would be generally less expensive to live down there, especially in 'winter time', no? First off, we wouldn't have to buy heating oil to avoid freezing, and reportedly not have to run an A/C to keep from perishing from the humidity and heat.
That's a huge savings right there, certainly.
Taxes, over all, seem to be considerably less onerous. Our property taxes here were just doubled, with no recourse for us. This is especially difficult for me as a %100 disabled veteran rated as unemployable by the VA, USPS, OPM, and SSA. Our inflated home prices have made us "house poor", but we needed to get the family reunited so we could provide for her folks' elder care and to be close to our adult kids. Personally, it's getting so I don't know how many more of these frigid, gray winters I can tolerate up here where we get the Arctic flow from the Frasier River canyon system of B.C.
I'm just trying to get a comprehensive picture of your "real world", season-to-season costs over time, and whether the expatriate community has imported a defacto inflated economy to Lakeside in comparison to the outlying communities.
"I am only that which I Will to become; thus, I rely upon my 'Divine Imagintuition'."
T.G. Hadley, M.S. Ed.

johanson

Apr 24, 2009, 7:56 AM

Post #7 of 22 (7680 views)

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Re: [El Torg] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Another good thing is that you can continue to watch your local Channels 2,4,5,6,8,9 and 13 (You know Sea, Van Vic) but not 11 12, etc via the Canadian Star Choice satellite system. They also carry many radio stations from all of Canada and from one city in the US. Where is that city? In the state of WA of course, but sadly Spokane, not Seattle.

Hound Dog

Apr 24, 2009, 5:56 PM

Post #8 of 22 (7640 views)

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Re: [El Torg] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Thanks, Hound Dog. It is good to expand the frame of reference. Yes, the organic produce we do have, in season in Whatcom County especially, is beyond compare; so is all the organics we import from California and elsewhere. However, when we had tomatoes in Mazatlan winter before last, their taste was incredibly rich compared to even the organics we could get here in summertime.

El Torg:

The Dawg, at least, awaits your arrival with anticipated pleasure and I must say you should love it here so if I´m in town (that would be Lake Chapala) the first brew is on me but the same goes for Highland Chiapas if I happen to be there at the time. No matter what it costs you to live here you will never approach the cost of living in Northwest Washington State or South Alabama either in utility costs or destructive mind set and you will never need to heat or air condition your ass again upward or downward.

You will never find the supurb produce here you are used to in Northwest Washington but you will also not find the bone-chilling rain that those berries and lettuces and rutabagas and parsnips and divine potatoes and you name it love. Everything in life, as we both know, is a trade off.

Welcome to one of the best places on the Planet.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Apr 24, 2009, 5:59 PM)

tashby

Apr 24, 2009, 10:00 PM

Post #9 of 22 (7620 views)

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Re: [El Torg] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Compared to the city of Seattle, where we moved from, it's less expensive here. A LOT less expensive. But that was the city.

I *do* miss the Farmer's Market that was available in our neighborhood in Seattle during summertime. You know, summer in Seattle... both weeks.

I kid! Sort of....

(This post was edited by tashby on Apr 24, 2009, 10:05 PM)

El Torg

Apr 25, 2009, 8:10 AM

Post #10 of 22 (7592 views)

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Re: [johanson] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Thanks to all three, Johanson, HDawg ('Bama), y Tashby.
All welcome comments, and reassuring as well, indeed. Circumstances presently preclude my emmigration, although the motivation to do so remains firm, (despite our gradually warming Spring weather). Esposa mia is securely tied to the old folks and our adult kidlets, and the osteoarthritis and disaffection with our city/state/fed tax burden has not bowed her back as yet: ergo, emmigration is not an option for her. Time may tell a different story.
As the daffodils and tulips blossom, and the frost has been gone for a day, it's not so gloomy and cold nowadays. I shall not forget the persecution of Jack Frost, however.
Que sera', sera', me supongo. As for the cervesa, hound dog, being diabetico I must quaff a vino blanco or anejo on purified rocks: the maltose wreaks havoc with my blood sugar. Salut!
"I am only that which I Will to become; thus, I rely upon my 'Divine Imagintuition'."
T.G. Hadley, M.S. Ed.

cristalhombre

Apr 25, 2009, 9:03 AM

Post #11 of 22 (7587 views)

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Re: [tashby] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Tashby..............I live for Pacific Northwest summers. June 15 - Oct 15 are amazing here in Portland. Can't beat it IMHO. It's November - March that really kick me in the ass.................damp, dark and depressing!!

Regarding cost comparisons.......

Several years ago I created a spreadsheet comparing our lifestyle in Vancouver, WA (home) to that of Ajijic. I listed about 30 categories, and spent quite a bit of time investigating this (based on my "personal" standard of living) Housing, health care, utilities, food, transportation, travel + entertainment costs, etc...............

In my analysis, the comparison was at least 3X for "cost of living" here in the Portland area as compared to living in Ajijic. As an example I pay $984 a month for health coverage (Blue Cross) for three of us, which in reality is ONLY major medical coverage. On top of that hefty premium, the first $5,000 USD out of pocket for anything is on me.......then the coverage kicks in @ at 80/20 or 90/10 depending on the situation. When I compared this to MX a couple years ago, MX was about 1/5 th the total expense annualized, as compared to the US. Taxes is another HUGE bite, when compared.

Another cost for us that is sometimes large - "entertainment"...........but I think this is related to the desire to "escape" the reality of work/stress BS here in the USA........so we go to plays, movies, concerts frequently and those really ADD up quickly now. Have you priced a ticket for a Coldplay concert.......like $285 each..... I just bought two (promised my 17 year old) I doubt that I would have the desire to escape to such events living in MX. I would like to buy a single Blazer NBA ticket now and then, but for $200 bucks...............................NO WAY. When I am relaxed and chillin in MX I do NOT seek "spendy" diversions...................... I just want a good morning hike, hang out with some friends now and then, create and eat good food, travel Mexico somewhat, and visit the lending library......that would TOTALLY satisfy my needs in life.

As the Dawg said..................It's all a series of 'trade-offs', MX vs. USA............. not sure there is a right or wrong approach. But in a pure fiscal play....................MX wins hands down!

After our daughter is through school I plan to follow the seasonal migration lifestyle - I hate to admit that I will be labeled a snowbird.........

I enjoy my life in both worlds, and at this point I would not choose to live permanently on either side of the border. I hope I can maintain that dream for the future.......as it gets harder everyday, with this 'blue' economy, that is impacting both the US + MX.

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

chinagringo

Apr 25, 2009, 9:27 AM

Post #12 of 22 (7580 views)

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cristalhombre

Apr 25, 2009, 10:36 AM

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Chinagringo - your post sez..........In 2006, we sold the house and discovered a new benefit. Rather than being tied to the Lake Chapala area as justification for owning a house there, we can now visit many new areas of MX and get a real understanding of what the country and its people have to offer. This has been a real eye opener and we are REALLY enjoying our new education and the new experiences.

I would agree with that strategy TOTALLY, but my wife likes to "nest" and the nomadic life I could live easily just won't work for her. So we'll continue with the two households for now.

Regarding the Oregon Coast......... My inlaws have a place at Gleneden Beach, which gets very little use these days................ not much interest in sitting in the rain watching the surf pound. 90% of the time you are sitting inside (not my idea of free time). Beach walks are OK, but limited - two directional. No comparison to the "outside" opportunities offered in the Gorge. PLUS half the driving distance for us city people.

Regarding my timeline for summer months. From mid June thru October Portland is a grand climate! Longer days, MUCH less rain, and being Portland there are SO MANY things to do. Our A/C might come on for 15 of those 100 days. For me it works perfectly! What does not serve my soul is the opposite season......... GAWD AWFUL for me......but I just keep doin it (for now)

Enjoy New Mexico. Tell me, why did the College of Sante Fe close?

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

(This post was edited by cristalhombre on Apr 25, 2009, 10:43 AM)

Hound Dog

Apr 25, 2009, 10:51 AM

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Re: [chinagringo] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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As former residents of the Oregon Coast, we would agree with some of Cristalhombre's points. However, residents of the Pacific Northwest tend to exaggerate the length of their true summer (June 15 - October 15?). Sure this is the nicer time of the year but even within that period, there are days that many would not consider to be true summer! Naturally our perspective living on the coast was tempered by the days of fog and wind during that period. A friend of ours used to live in Portland and "retired" to our former town on the coast. Talked to him the other night and he is: REALLY WONDERING WHY? Time to sell his house in a down market and find somewhere with good weather!

Well, CG, your friend´s experience reminds me of our own. In about 1979, we bought a shack overlooking the wild Pacific just south of a place rightly named "Devil´s Slide" about 20 miles south of San Francisco and a more exciting place to live in is hard to imagine. This is just up the road from an area just north of Pillar Point Harbor reputed to have the best surfing in North America if not the world and the hikes along magnificent ocean palisades among twisted and magnificent cypress trees were magical and this is such a desolate and mysterious coast that it was a primary open ocean harbor for the smuggling in of all sorts of booze during prohibition and until this day remains an isolated paradise but I´m a sumbitch if the fog and coastal overcast in the summer didn´t finally make this experience one my wife likes to refer to as "the lost decade" referring to the ten years we lived there before retreating to the Napa Valley. Your friend should just get out of there before his/her brain becomes encrusted with moss crawling with microscopic sea creatures eating away at any memories of the pleasures of land-based life forms by whispering such vile lies as " Aren´t we lucky to live here in a place most could only aspire to live and furthermeore...." if you get my drift.

When we found we could retire successfully we headed south from that dismal coast as fast as our feets could take us and never stopped, except for periods of needed rest, until we arrived at Lake Chapala which ain´t the perfect place but is as perfect as an imperfect place can be except, of course, Chiapas.

Hound Dog

Apr 25, 2009, 11:05 AM

Post #15 of 22 (7561 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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Regarding my timeline for summer months. From mid June thru October Portland is a grand climate! Longer days, MUCH less rain, and being Portland there are SO MANY things to do. Our A/C might come on for 15 of those 100 days. For me it works perfectly! What does not serve my soul is the opposite season......... GAWD AWFUL for me......but I just keep doin it (for now)

In about 1998, when we were living in the forest lands of the Mayacamas Mountains at about 2,000 feet between Sonoma and Napa Counties in the wine county north of San Francisco, we had a particularly harsh summer and had had to run the A/C quite a bit so one day I was talking to my sister who lives on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay near a town called Fairhope which is popular among retirees from all over and I was complaining that the summer in Northern California had been so hot that year that during July and August we had had to run our central A/C for up to 20 days nonstop during the day although nights there were always somewhat cool so we could turn the A/C off about 8:00PM or so.

My sister, who has lived in South Alabama all of her life responded, "Bob, Darlihn, we turn on the A/C in April and turn it off in October and between those two ponts in time we do not even need an on/off switch."

Well, in eight years in Mexico at Lake Chapala and in the Chiapas Highlands, we have never needed an on/off switch to the non-existent A/C even once. We have, however,used a bit of propane gas for heating.

Earthbound again.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Apr 25, 2009, 11:35 AM)

RickS

Apr 25, 2009, 11:05 AM

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Re: [chinagringo] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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....we have also seen those that moved there strictly for that one main reason and now seem to be quite miserable because costs are rising....

I have run across this comment with a couple of friends Lakeside also (but not the miserable part).

I live NOB but visit Lakeside 2-3 times a year, so I have one advantage over my friends..... I see life NOB as it unfolds yearly and they remember it from the perspective of when they left, some going on 10 years ago. And although they 'know' costs have not been frozen in the north since the time of their departure, they don't 'feel' the rising costs there as they do here Lakeside, especially those that don't go back but once every 3-5 years. As a results, their mindset is that the cost of living here is really going up and that they are not as well off in that regard as they used to be..... even when intellectually they know this is probably not the case.

I suppose there are those of you, like me, who can remember when one could purchase a loaf of bread in 1950 NOB for 20 cents. Now, depending on the loaf, it goes for between $3-$4! Of course, the 'minimum wage' back then was a buck an hour where I lived too. (BTW. I just bought a loaf of good Multigrain bread in the Aborotes yesterday for..... 22 pesos or $1.70 US. Don't talk to me about cost of living. :>)

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Apr 25, 2009, 6:43 PM)

chinagringo

Apr 25, 2009, 11:18 AM

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Those that I mentioned to be miserable are probably that way because years ago they could prove how smart they were in moving to MX by bragging how inexpensive everything was! It was just too much fun to constantly rub it in to their friends NOB just how clever they were. Through the years, the differential has been reduced by the development of Mexico. While much of this development has been positive for the country, the retiree way of life has also changed.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

esperanza

Apr 25, 2009, 4:41 PM

Post #18 of 22 (7528 views)

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Re: [RickS] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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I suppose there are those of you, like me, who can remember when one could purchase a loaf of bread in 1950 NOB for 20 cents. Now, depending on the loaf, it goes for between $3-$4! Of course, the 'minimum wage' back then was a buck an hour where I lived too. (BTW. I just bought a loaf of good Multigrain bread in the Aborotes yesterday for..... 22 pesos or $1.70 US. Don't talk to me about cost of living. :>)

To all of you: the OP asked a question about rising prices in Mexico, particularly at Lake Chapala. I answered with a comparison of prices over the last year. In that post, I specified that the prices were not from Lake Chapala, but instead were from the places I shop (a weekly tianguis and Superama) in Morelia, Michoacan. Prices at the weekly tianguis in Ajijic and Superama's parent store (Wal-Mart) are probably not so different from the prices at Ajijic's weekly tianguis and at Superama's parent store, Wal-Mart. Maybe someone who actually lives at Lake Chapala would be willing to do a price comparison between tianguis prices several months ago and tianguis prices today, and between Wal-Mart prices several months ago and Wal-Mart prices today. Those comparisons would, I think, be useful to the OP.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Apr 25, 2009, 6:44 PM)

RickS

Apr 25, 2009, 5:43 PM

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Re: [esperanza] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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And, with respect to the OP, it doesn't appear that his question about the cost of living Lakeside had anything to do with his planning on being here any time soon..... just a curiosity.

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Apr 25, 2009, 6:45 PM)

tashby

Apr 25, 2009, 5:44 PM

Post #20 of 22 (7513 views)

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Re: [tashby] Current prices: fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera.

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*ahem*

The Guadalajara Reporter has been doing a "basket of goods" inflation measure for at least the past five or so months, comparing prices between a Walmart and a Soriana, I think both stores in GDL. I let them do the grunt work. According to their data, just since January of '09 prices are up between 1.34% or 2.9%, depending upon which store you're shopping.

Don't know if that info is available in their on-line version or not, as I don't check it. I get the paper version. Here's the link, though:

http://guadalajarareporter.com/

Happy shopping. Or not.

El Torg

May 7, 2009, 6:33 AM

Post #21 of 22 (7323 views)

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Thanks to all who responded; my apologies for my belated response, BTW. The prices quoted at the top of the thread seem to indicate that the primary savings living in the Chapala expat enclave is to be realized mostly in tax burden reduction, (WA state is regressive in this aspect), and not having to pay much for a little heat, and not requiring AC.
Given that the expat community has imported an inflated economy, (as perhaps prices are cheaper further out where mostly all locals live?), is there a net gain in disposable income realizable by buying a home in Ajijiic environs? In Bellingham, our gas is the most expensive in the state, but I can get regular at Arco for about $2.20/gallon. Organic milk is about $5. Comments?
"I am only that which I Will to become; thus, I rely upon my 'Divine Imagintuition'."
T.G. Hadley, M.S. Ed.

Judy in Ags

May 8, 2009, 4:53 PM

Post #22 of 22 (7223 views)

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I rarely shop for food at WalMart because prices are cheaper at the Bodega Aurrera (the Mexican WalMart) store.