MexConnect.com Forums: General: Living, Working, Retiring: Some monthly expenses in Irapuato: Page 3

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Gringal

Nov 6, 2005, 9:43 AM

Post #51 of 62 (2735 views)

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Re: [donlott] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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If you don't need to live near the ocean, your expenses in Mexico would drop dramatically. Without getting into the peso/dollar specifics or attempting to compare the apples and oranges, living anywhere with a mild climate such as we are enjoying in the central highlands will save a bundle on air conditioning. (Unless you're into sweat lodging, of course.) You also would save on the annual costs involved in properties in the coastal area with bank involvement.
As others have mentioned, cars cost more here. Repairs cost less. Dentists are good, and very inexpensive compared to the U.S. General medical care is much less costly.

Real estate: others will take exception to this, but I think you get what you pay for. Just as in the U.S., convenience and infrastructure needs to be balanced against cost of property. The magic number of $1000 a month can be achieved in the boonies or in Chapala, depending on your personal choices. I don't know any expats living on rice and beans or in Casa de Cardboard. I do know plenty living on a budget and having a wonderful life. I am saying this from the perspective of living in San Miguel de Allende - one of the pricier highlands towns.

(This post was edited by Gringal on Nov 6, 2005, 9:44 AM)

gpk

Nov 6, 2005, 10:38 AM

Post #52 of 62 (2712 views)

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Re: [Gringal] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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IMO, no matter what your monthly income, you can have a better and more interesting life/retirement in Mexico than in the US. If someone only has US$1000 per month, it would be better to live modestly in Mexico than to suffer in the US on the edge of poverty.

dolores57

Nov 6, 2005, 11:07 AM

Post #53 of 62 (2704 views)

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Re: [gpk] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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Boy do I second that GPK ! At this point in time considering my finances and the state of affairs economically in US I cant afford not to live in Mexico even if I did not want to. This thread has been very helpful and I would like to thank everyone for the great information. dolores

jerezano

Nov 6, 2005, 5:55 PM

Post #54 of 62 (2634 views)

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Re: [MariaLund] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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Hello All,

Mea Culpa. Esperanza is right. I meant to say about $1000 us dollars is the current figure for the FM3 minimum required income.

Moisheh is also right. Every year for January 1 for more years than I can remember the Mexican Government has set a new minimum wage figure for the different regions. That figure has been very close to 10% for most of those years. I follow that figure so I can provide adequate salary increases to my household assistant. (Not that I pay her the minimum wage but so as to know how to keep her abreast of inflation).

I too, find the mix of dollars and pesos confusing and find it necessary to convert postings obviously in us dollars such as that of moisheh. But that is a minor irritation. His information is valid for his life style and location. His comment that most residents there need $2000-$2500 us dollars a month (am I remembering right?)is valuable information for anyone who wants to move to that area. And his comment on $15,000 us dollars for a lot is also valid information for those few of us wanting to build.

When we ask a neighbor for information and he volunteers it to us in a round-about manner, do we get picky and say "Hey, we can't make heads or tails of that. Your information is useless." Not unless we want to lose a good neighbor. We just take the information and look for the nuggets in it.

We are getting lots of nuggets here.

Adios. jerezano.

johndish

Nov 10, 2005, 7:09 PM

Post #55 of 62 (2521 views)

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Re: [TlxcalaClaudia] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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Hmm i will give you a cancun perspective

We built our house but, housing costs range from 2000 pesos a month to 20000 pesos a month...
Groceries for a family of four and staff 800 pesos a week
Maid 800 pesos for 5.5 days
gardener/albercero 400 pesos for 10 hours per week
electricity 3000 pesos todo dos mes sin aire
gas 500 pesos a mont
water free
trash 100 pesos a month
phone/internet 600 pesos a month
vonage 150 pesos per month
sky 600 pesos a month (why do i have)

Adrian

Nov 11, 2005, 8:31 AM

Post #56 of 62 (2484 views)

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Re: [gpk] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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In Reply To

If someone only has US$1000 per month, it would be better to live modestly in Mexico than to suffer in the US on the edge of poverty.

Amen to that!

An ex-US Navy acquaintance of mine here in Tampico has naught but his military pension of US$830 per month. Although this is below the official threshhold for a Rentista FM3, our local INM delegation has indicated that they would not refuse his application for such a visa providing he could show sufficient proof of continuity of that income and written confirmation from the VA. Currently, he is here only on an FMT and has been for the last 2 years!

His monthly expenses are, approximately, as follows (in MN$):
Rent - $2000 (2 bed unfurnished apartment close to downtown on quiet street)
Light/Air - $1200 (less in winter)
Drinking Water - $120
House water is included in the rent
Sky TV - $650
Food - $2000

This leaves around $3000 a month for contingencies.

His medical care is free if he presents himself to the VA in McAllen, TX for treatment (a return bus ticket to the border is currently MN$520). Emergency medical care in Tampico, if related to his service disability, is reimbursable by the VA on application.

As he says, staying in Houston on his pension would mean living in a shoebox and eating dogfood. In Mexico, he lives modestly but reasonably well.

Adrian

waltw

Nov 11, 2005, 11:20 PM

Post #57 of 62 (2437 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Some monthly expenses in Irapuato

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My my, how times (and inflation) have changed things.

In 1989-90, living in Oaxaca, teaching English at Benito Juarez University.

Salary: 1,500 MN a month
Room and board : 800 MN a month
Money left over for miscelaneous expenses: 700 MN

ginni

Nov 21, 2005, 9:59 AM

Post #58 of 62 (2361 views)

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Re: Cost of living - NOB

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Hello All,

A quick introduction as this is my first post. I am 56 and my husband is 59. We live in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. My husband is tired and needs to retire now. We have set a date of September 1, 2006. With our retirement income potential we cannot reasonably expect to retire NOB without severe cutbacks in our lifestyle, and I do not think we have a grand lifestyle as it is. I spent much time looking at retiring in the Dominican Republic, but finally decided against it because of the country's electricity supply problems and costs. Two weeks ago I started looking at Mexico, though it does not have the tax advantages that the DR (and many other countries) has.

The figures included here are much more useful than those I found on a DR site because they are from this year and not years ago. I think I can cull the cost of living from the various postings. What I did not see here was the cost of Mexican income taxes. I am still a bit confused about this.

We will be in PV in two weeks to go exploring. We have never been to Mexico, or anywhere for that matter, but feel we have enough of an adventurous spirit to handle a very different culture. In considering a move to Mexico or any where, I cannot consider the mountains. I hate the mountains and love the ocean. So, it appears we may not be able to make Mexico our choice, but we still have much more to explore.

Someone asked about renting condos that have all the services. There is a new one being built in PV that will meet those requirements. A friend of a friend bought one of the units in it for about $200k USD and it is 1400 sq ft.

People are also asking about costs NOB, here is part of my budget. All figures are USD.

Average Metro Portland, Oregon
Home
Mortgage 1,154.00
Natural Gas 125.00
Electricity 110.00
Telephone 53.00
Verizon DSL 33.00
City Water 60.00
Trash 16.00
Comcast Cable 48.00
Nextel (1) 66.00
Housekeeper 100.00
Property Taxes 204.00
Home Ins 41.00

Auto
Car insurance 102.00
AAA 8.00

Health
Insurance co-pay 115.00
Dr Appt co-pay 15.00
Dental co-pay 35.00
Rx co-pay 60.00

Pet
License 2.00

Misc
Costco 9.00
Total: $2,362

The housing cost is based on a 2020 sq ft home. The value is about $335,000. A 1250 sq ft home around the corner this week sold for $227,500.

US health insurance for my husband and I (until he is eligible for Medicare 5 years after we retire) would be around $1,000 per month, and then I will have to pay for health insurance another 4 years before I am eligible for Medicare. That is if we can get health insurance.

What is not included is the $1,100+ my husband spent on his truck last week and the $600 on my vehicle the same day. Also, the $1,000+ we spent on one of our pets in September who was deathly ill. This year we had to replace the dishwasher for nearly $500 and I cannot remember all the other unusual expenses, except I was in an accident in February and had Dr visits, therapy visits, and prescriptions that exceed the averages mentioned above. The $50k hospital bills was 100% covered by Kaiser.

Presently, I do not know how much we spend on cigarettes, groceries, and clothing. A wild guess is about $1,000. Gasoline was a high of $2.89 a few months ago down to $2.35 last week. I do not drive much any longer and my husband's gas is provided by his company so I do not have an estimate on that cost.

One of the things I am trying to figure out is what do we move and what do we buy upon arrival. We are thinking that my '97 Explorer with 76,000 miles would be good to move, but my husband's F150 SC 4x with 120,000 miles is not a good idea. We think we can probably do with one vehicle when we move.

As a side note here, I am going to start another thread and ask about golf. That is my husband's passion and we need a location that has several inexpensive golf courses.

Thank you for all the information.

Is anyone in or around PV who would like to meet for a cocktail in a couple of weeks?

gs
Ginni
Metro Portland, Oregon

gpk

Nov 21, 2005, 1:17 PM

Post #59 of 62 (2327 views)

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Re: [ginni] Cost of living - NOB

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"Is anyone in or around PV who would like to meet for a cocktail in a couple of weeks?"

Are you kidding--every gringo living in PV is available for cocktails 24 hours a day.

PV is not so expensive if you own your own home/condo. If you can live in a small space, condos can be had for US$100,000 or even less--even in good/expensive areas. If you want to go north or south of PV, you can get even better prices. You can get something quite nice for US$200,000. Maintenance fees on condos can be pretty high, so be sure to check on that. Houses are an option if you have the bucks--most of PV sell in dollars, not pesos. You need air conditioning for full time living in PV--the humidity is severe most of the year--and this can a major expense since electricity is expensive here.

Good luck!

You should probably start a new thread since this one is pretty worn out.

(This post was edited by gpk on Nov 21, 2005, 1:18 PM)

ginni

Nov 21, 2005, 1:43 PM

Post #60 of 62 (2321 views)

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Re: [gpk] Cost of living - NOB

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Thanks gpk - so where are you in Mexico?

A condo is not a way I think we would want to live. For one thing we have a dog and 4 cats. Our furry children rule our life. They need their outdoor spaces.

Gracias (no we do not speak the language, but I did buy gas in Spanish the other day -- the attendant was pleased that I tried.)

gs

gpk

Nov 21, 2005, 3:23 PM

Post #61 of 62 (2306 views)

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Re: [ginni] Cost of living - NOB

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I live inland, but I used to own a condo in PV---absolutely hated the weather and was bored to death, even though I never spent all my time there. You don't need Spanish to live there--if you speak in Spanish the natives will answer you in English. Houses in the old downtown area can be quite affordable if you not looking for luxury. It is definitely a relaxed atmosphere, but I can no longer stand the humidity. There are quite a few PV message boards where you can get up-to-date info. I've lost touch with them, but if you do a search, they'll turn up.

depue1

Nov 22, 2005, 9:27 AM

Post #62 of 62 (2230 views)

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Re: [ginni] Cost of living - NOB

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Holla Ginny, If you love the ocean, have you ever considered Mazatlan as a retirement home? I think it would meet your requirements much better than PV. I just returned from a 10 trip to view Real Estate (not my 1st trip there), and I am now making an offer on a home. We also have dogs and cats, and needed a house with space for them to run. I saw 3 or 4 places that would have worked out for between $80,000 to 130,000 USD. Just some food for thought. Sandy in Ohio

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