Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

ImTootsie

Apr 13, 2003, 5:09 PM

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Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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I'm currently living in the US Virgin Islands & have since 1989. Before this, I lived in the Netherlands Antilles for 7 years. I'm planning to retire in about 6 years.

I've been reading a lot about retirement in Mexico but would like some info from those who are doing it. I was thinking central Mexico as I don't want to be in any hurricane's path (been there, done that - UGH!) but my questions are about daily life.

I'm not a spoiled American in that I'm used to a manana way of life (of those whom I deal with.) I'm familiar with massive power outages, unreliable government bureacracies, lack of basics at times.

That said, I WAS looking forward to the ease of life in the US but after all these years, don't think I'd fit in there any more. Here are my questions, which might seem really stupid, so forgive me:

1. Are there good bookstores in places like Chalapa (English)?

2. I've been on my own all my adult life but are there any particular problems for a single woman in a country such as Mexico?

3. Is there anything you particularly miss about the US or Canada?

4. What is the biggest mistake you've seen the greenhorns make when first moving to Mexico?

5. Are most homes rented furnished or unfurnished? Personally, I'd prefer unfurnished.

6. Is having a medium-sized dog a problem for most landlords?

7. What are the bad things about living in Mexico?

8. What do you wish you had known before you moved there?

Rolly

Apr 13, 2003, 5:36 PM

Post #2 of 19 (2212 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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1. Are there good bookstores in places like Chapala (English)?

Book stores that carry a good range of English titles are not common outside of the largest cities. But you can order any book on-line. There is no duty on books. One company (Powell) offers free shipping to Mexico.

2. I've been on my own all my adult life but are there any particular problems for a single woman in a country such as Mexico?

No

3. Is there anything you particularly miss about the US or Canada?

Clothing stores that carry my large size. Certain restaurants. And a few other silly things.

4. What is the biggest mistake you've seen the greenhorns make when first moving to Mexico?

Expecting it be like back home. Buying property too soon. Thinking they can live here cheaper than back home -- maybe so, maybe not.

5. Are most homes rented furnished or unfurnished? Personally, I'd prefer unfurnished.

You can find either one.

6. Is having a medium-sized dog a problem for most landlords?

Don't know.

7. What are the bad things about living in Mexico?

That really depends on the person. For me it's the road hazards and language problems.

8. What do you wish you had known before you moved there?

Fluency in Spanish.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

ImTootsie

Apr 13, 2003, 5:47 PM

Post #3 of 19 (2209 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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Thanks, Rolly! I'm surprised about it not necessarily being cheaper than I think it will be. What is more expensive or what do you spend more money on than you thought you would?

Glad to hear about Powell. I was wondering about losing out on amazon.com.

Rolly

Apr 13, 2003, 6:07 PM

Post #4 of 19 (2205 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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The cost of living varies a good bit depending on where you are and your life style. If you live in a gringo area, or in a major tourist area, or Mexico City, your cost is likely to be higher than in a place like Lerdo where I live. Life style can also make a big difference.

I came here already acquainted with the general cost of things in Mexico. My only real surprises have been the cost of electric and the constantly rising cost of air travel.

I have put together a webpage giving the cost of a lot of common things. Check it out at:
http://rollybrook.com/cost_of_living.htm

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

ImTootsie

Apr 13, 2003, 6:17 PM

Post #5 of 19 (2200 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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Again, thank you so much. You have a wonderful website. I appreciate your help.

johanson

Apr 13, 2003, 6:24 PM

Post #6 of 19 (2198 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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Move to an area like Ajijic and so many folks speak English that you will not be held back. Unfortunately too few people around here learn Spanish, because it's not required, or so they believe. You said Netherlands Antilles. I haven't spoken any Dutch since this morning. There are many NL speaking folks lakeside. You name it it's here. Language, culture etc.

Take a few trips to Mexico. Get a feeling of what it's like down here. Some of us love it. I'm guessing that you might be that type. Good luck

ImTootsie

Apr 13, 2003, 6:55 PM

Post #7 of 19 (2195 views)

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Re: [johanson] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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I think I would but would sure have to brush up the Spanish I learned in high school when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Jerry@Ajijic

Apr 13, 2003, 10:00 PM

Post #8 of 19 (2180 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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One other thing that nobody has mentioned yet is that there are about a dozen English language libraries in Central Mexico. These range from maybe a few hundred books to ones like The Lake Chapala Society with about 30,000 books. Buying books is kind of espensive but by useing the libraries you can really save money.

PeggyS

Apr 14, 2003, 12:03 AM

Post #9 of 19 (2172 views)

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Re: [Jerry@Ajijic] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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Sandi's English Bookstore is an excellent place to buy or order any books in English that you want.... <www.sandibooks.com>.....it's in Guad and an easy trip from Chapala. Also, there are many "bazaars"(used furniture, dishes, etc) in Ajijic and Chapala that have a room full of donated books for sale, some of them quite new. "Alicia's animals" has book tables at the tienguis run by volunteers making money for this wonderful woman and you can find just about anything there. Mom's restaurant, by the Maskaras Clinic, has many books for its customers, take one, leave one. As already mentioned, the Lake Chapala Society has many books for sale and a large library for the rental of books, as has the American Legion Post in Chapala.
The many plazas and malls in Guad. also have book stores in them and you never know what you're going to find in English, often lovely books on archaeology or anthropology or history, usually not the latest novels etc like at Sandi's. Oops, almost forgot the new book and magazine store in the Bugambilias plaza in Ajijic, they have all the latest magazines from the states as well as travel books, cookbooks and all the latest paperbacks. A real goldmine. Also the latest daily papers, like USA Today and The Herald, the Mexican edition of the Miami Herald. And the weekly papers such as the Guadalajara Reporter. To me what is the most fun is that you never know what treasures you're going to find at the used book stores, like Barbara's Bazaar.

ImTootsie

Apr 14, 2003, 2:54 AM

Post #10 of 19 (2173 views)

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Re: [PeggyS] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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Thank you all for the useful information!

alex .

Apr 14, 2003, 8:25 AM

Post #11 of 19 (2142 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] true, it might not be cheaper

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When I lived full time in Tijuana, with a wife and one child, I burned through $3K USD per month. We wanted for nothing, but did not live in luxury either.
Alex

wendy devlin

Apr 14, 2003, 11:00 AM

Post #12 of 19 (2130 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Not dumb at all...

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Dear Ms Tootsie,

I don't find your questions dumb at all.

In fact, I think you are being 'smart' to ask them...well in advance.

However it would take a 'book' or perhaps 'books' to answer them all;^)

However on the site you can also access archived articles, discussion threads and FAQ's besides the answers on these forums.

And if you have long been an ex-pat (and an island dweller as well) you may find you have some background experience to prepare you for Mexico...not to mention...all that new terrain in such a diverse country... to explore!

As for your comment "I'm surprised about it not necessarily being cheaper than I think it will be."

Over and over again this question has been asked and answered on these forums.

So you will receive advise according to what each individual's wallet, tastes and comfort zone.

For myself, being early retired, and wanting to stay that way, I have evolved a lifestyle over the past 30 years, that permits myself, husband,several young adult children to live on far less money than people on these forums often discuss.

For example; we've built several homes, developed small farms, grown most of our fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs and milk, fixed everything we could, completely avoided mortages and most services by professionals...and that's just a bit of what we 'do';^)

In fact their amounts for expenses often 'blow' me away!

However I have found that in general, we cannot live in Mexico cheaper than we can in Canada. There maybe once was a time when this was so...but in the past 13 years, I have found that overall that finances can be balanced out more or less at par.

And for the record, we have decided not to live full-time in Mexico.

I used to think that the relatively low-priced rentals and low utility bills(ie for heating) could be used to off-set the higher prices for other things.

However my experiences have shown me spending more money in general on higher rents etc. will often 'insulate' a person from the economic realities that accompany life in less advantaged barrios.

That being said, I currently think that the much higher expenses mentioned by others, boost them into the 'upper' middle class income bracket...and this is an advantaged position in a class society.

IMHO the only way to find out anything...for yourself...is to live there for an extended period. Hope this bit helps. Wendy

ImTootsie

Apr 14, 2003, 1:57 PM

Post #13 of 19 (2113 views)

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Re: [wendy devlin] Not dumb at all...

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Thank you again for the info. So much seems to depend on where one is in Mexico & so that I would have to investigate for myself. I'm getting my travelling done now & frankly, after working so hard for so long, especially down here I'm looking forward to being a couch potato.

From the little I read, the health insurance there & doctor bills in general are much cheaper than in the States for well-trained physicians. Insurance is hideous in the States so that's a biggie. I don't care to own property again so the rental prices really appeal to me.

I'll just have to do lots more reading & researching & also some visits. I do thank you all for your help.

Carol Schmidt

Apr 14, 2003, 11:19 PM

Post #14 of 19 (2072 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Not dumb at all...

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Don't overlook San Miguel de Allende, 160 miles NW of Mexico City, a town of about 70,000 within the city limits and about 3,000 full-time gringos and another couple thousand gringos passing through or living there temporarily at any time.

We have a bilingual bookstore which will order anything they don't have for you, and the Biblioteca founded by gringos which has something like 45,000 books in English and a similar amount in Spanish. It's second only to CanCun in costliness, I hear, but gringos do live here on under $1,000 a month if they are careful and rent outside Centro.

As women we have found absolutely no problems living here, far less than we did in LA regarding safety in particular. Read up on SMA while you're considering locations. You've got lots of reading to do before making any decisions.

One book which has mixed reviews among those who live here is "On Mexican Time" by Tony Cohan, covering his experiences from 1986 to 2002 living in San Miguel. If you don't read carefully you might think you can still buy a great fixer-upper in centro for $60,000--try ten times that much for his place today. Rent is cheaper in comparison.

I too wish I had studied more Spanish, though it is less necessary here in SMA. I think out of respect it is our duty to become as fluent as possible though, and in case of an emergency being fluent is really helpful.

Carol Schmidt

Trudy

Apr 17, 2003, 10:17 PM

Post #15 of 19 (2020 views)

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A little reading

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I have been looking at retiring in Mexico for a couple of years now. I will be retiring in June. I hope to spend 6 months in Mexico as a trial. I need a longer time to check things out than any vacation time has been able to offer.

What I wanted to tell you is that Karen Blue has a book called Midlife Mavericks. I ordered it through this website. Karen writes for Mexico Connect and there is a link to order the book on her webpage. It is a book about women who have moved to Mexico on their own. She interviewed interesting women who have chosen to do just what you plan to do. It is an interesting read and I thought you might like to know about the book.

ImTootsie

Apr 18, 2003, 2:10 AM

Post #16 of 19 (2011 views)

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Re: [Trudy] A little reading

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I think I had seen that one on amazon & debated ordering it. On your recommendation, I'll do it!

Frank Burton

Apr 20, 2003, 11:11 PM

Post #17 of 19 (1948 views)

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Re: More Reading To Partially Answer Smart Questions

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Like somebody else said, those are very smart questions, not dumb ones. You're gathering a lot of information, and can gather a lot more--both subjective and objective--with visits to the areas you've selected.

The Lake Chapala area, Guadalajara, and San Miguel de Allende probably have the three largest colonies of ex-pat Canadians and US-Americans in the world. One wouldn't have to learn Spanish in any of the three, though many of us wouldn't consider living here without working on learning the language.

The three areas are very different from each other. You may want to spend time in two or three of them, as my wife and I did. We chose the Lake Chapala area for several reasons: 1. We like the climate better than SMA's; some people come from SMA to Chapala for a couple of months in the winter--it's lower in elevation and warmer and some would say less windy here. 2. We found the people friendlier and more approachable here than in SMA. 3. We like the ambiance and climate better than Guadalajara's--smog in Guad, none here; warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer here; freeways and fast, heavy traffic in Guad, none here. 4. We're as close to the Guadalajara airport as most people in Guadalajara--a half hour. 5. We have good access to the shopping and culture in Guadalajara, then return to the more-tranquil Lakeside.

I'm glad to see that you're going to get Karen Blue's book. Another excellent resource is the on-line magazine which she and Judy King put out--Mexico-Insights.com. I know both of them, and they're both long time lovers of and dwellers in Mexico. They've been paying attention as they've lived here, learned a lot, and love to share the information. The magazine is well-written and includes as I recall 10-15 new articles every month, on varied topics and by several authors. Good examples of their thoroughness are two articles comparing the cost of living for different lifestyles and family configurations in the January, 2002 and January, 2003 issues. You can browse for free a teaser for each of the current issue's articles. There are options to subscribe to the current issue or to the archives of the magazine. Don't want this to turn into a commercial for them--to sum up my opinion: I won't miss an issue.

Where to live is such a subjective issue. I hope some of the posts your questions have triggered will help you in narrowing your choices. Good luck.

ImTootsie

Apr 21, 2003, 2:41 AM

Post #18 of 19 (1942 views)

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Re: [Frank Burton] More Reading To Partially Answer Smart Questions

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Planning on a trip next summer & will certainly look up the e-zine you mentioned. I appreciate the info.

pathall

Apr 22, 2003, 9:00 AM

Post #19 of 19 (1890 views)

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Re: [ImTootsie] Be patient, dumb questions to follow!

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As for the medium-sized dog -- I've lived in Mexico with an Irish Setter and a Clumber Spaniel (one at a time) and never had a problem renting either a furnished or unfurnished house.