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Alison Cunningham

May 22, 2005, 7:30 PM

Post #1 of 5 (1684 views)

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Tell me about Mazatlan, please?

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Hi all you wonderful people in Mazatlan,
I've heard from people everywhere in Mexico but except for Diane and Marlene, no one else in Maz. Would you like to share your love of Maz? The weather through the year, the areas you live in and what your thoughts are on this future home of mine? Anything that you wish to share with us will be greatly appreciated.
Regards, Alison.

kirkswig

May 23, 2005, 8:05 PM

Post #2 of 5 (1655 views)

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Re: [Alison Cunningham] Tell me about Mazatlan, please?

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Read through some of the older messages and you'll get a good feel for the place I think.

Mazatlán stood out for me because it offers a good mix of tourist and authentic Mexico. You have the Golden Zone that has your McDonald's and your Dairy Queen and the nice resort hotel experience. And then you have Centro, which to me might just as well be any other Mexican city. So as a place to make landfall in Mexico, it is ideal I think... you have enough people who speak English to make living here possible, but not so many that you feel like you're still NOB.

To echo something said in another thread, you might want to think about visiting here first during the summer, just to make sure you can deal with the climate. The heat and humidity can be pretty intense. But if you do what I do, that is, factor the beach into most of your errands, it's manageable... there is almost always a refreshing breeze coming off the water and a quick dip in the Pacific can reset your thermostat pretty effectively.

Every moment of pleasure has to be purchased with a moment of pain. That really describes the climate here. The summer can be borderline brutal, but the rest of year more than makes up for it.

To boldly go where no wig has gone before.

Alison Cunningham

May 23, 2005, 11:04 PM

Post #3 of 5 (1645 views)

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Re: [kirkswig] Tell me about Mazatlan, please?

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Hi Kirkswig,
Thank you so much for the info. I've been told about the humidity, but still, Mazatlan is where we want to live. Thanks to all the posts in these forums, and direct contact with the Mexican Consulate here in Seattle, I have all the info I need in regar to paperwork, what to do when I get there etc. The only obstacle I face now are household goods. To ship or not to ship. Some say sell everything and buy new stuff there. Others say bring stuff. I wouldn't be bringing that much stuff but there are things I need to bring besides personal items. We don't have the 'big bucks' to spend thousands on shipping. So I've been asking ... can we drive a U-haul with our stuff across the border? I really don't want to bring our car. I'd rather sell it before we leave and bjuy a secondhand one in Maz as soon as we get the 'hang of the ropes.' Any thoughts on this?
Regards,
Alison.

MazDee

May 24, 2005, 12:34 AM

Post #4 of 5 (1644 views)

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Re: [Alison Cunningham] Tell me about Mazatlan, please?

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Hi, Allison,
As you have noticed, I don't often post here, but am always eager to talk about Mazatlan! Kirk says it well. I, too, live in centro, right near the ocean in Olas Altas. I have a large 2BR/2BA apt with ocean view and ocean breezes for which I pay less than $400 US a month. (These prices are getting harder to find, but if you get away from the ocean you can probably get something for way less). I can walk to the mercado and the wonderful Plazuela Machado easily. I take buses and pulmonias everywhere else. I gave away my old car when I moved, and even though my building has secure parking, I have not yet been tempted to buy another. Mazatlan is the place for me because I want to live by the ocean, but as Kirk points out, summer is a challenge. My solution is to do some travelling, to cooler places, in the summer. This is not expensive by luxury bus.
As to what to bring and what to leave home, that is very difficult and a personal decision. I shipped a small amount of furniture and personal things to Mexico and had a bad experience, in that many things were damaged. Others have reported that not a thing was scratched or broken. Still, if you have some possessions that you really love, bring them. I would do that again, even though you can set up housekeeping here from scratch. You probably read the recent posts about driving a UHaul to the border and transferring it to a Mexican carrier. I would try that if I had to do it again. And I agree with many who have pointed out that replacing everything will be a lot more expensive than what you get at a garage sale! (But don't bring big appliances, or furniture that you don't really love, that would be too expensive).
After re-reading your initial messages, I understand now that you have lived in many places, so my caution about maybe not liking Mexico wasn't particularly appropriate! Mexico is different, but wonderful! You will adapt!
Feel free to contact me privately if you have specific questions. Also, go to www.mazinfo.com for a recent discussion on various Mazatlan neighborhoods. Interesting! Many of the posters on Mazinfo are expats living here, and there is a lot of good info. Dee

esperanza

May 24, 2005, 5:50 AM

Post #5 of 5 (1639 views)

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Re: [Alison Cunningham] Tell me about Mazatlan, please?

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Alison, no one is allowed to drive a U-Haul or other rental truck across the border. All foreign-plated vehicles must be imported into Mexico by their owners either at the border or a short distance down the road into the country, so that disallows rental trucks--and rental cars, by the way, unless you are only driving in a specific free zone along the border.

Some people pack their own things and rent a U-Haul, having pre-arranged with a Mexico-based moving company to meet them at the border, offload their goods, and truck them to their destination in Mexico. Then they just drop the U-Haul at a nearby rental facility in the USA. That might be a possibility for you, if you can find a Mexico-based moving company with a warehouse at the border crossing you plan to use. You'll still need the menaje de casa if you do it this way, and the move still won't be inexpensive.

Buying and operating a car in Mexico is not inexpensive. New and used cars are a bit more expensive here than they are in the States, the sales tax (IVA) is 15%, plates cost around 600 pesos, and then there is the tenencia. Tenencia is an annual tax payable on any car 10 years old or less. If your car costs under 439,000 pesos, the tenencia is about 3% of the car's value, payable each year until the car is 10 years old. If the car costs over 439,000 pesos, the tenencia jumps to about 7% of the car's value--every year. Plus, insurance for a vehicle with Mexican license plates costs about double what you would you pay for a car of the same make and model with USA license plates.

There's a lot to know before making the move!

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com