tomgibbs
Jan 31, 2003, 6:25 PM
Post #2 of 13
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Re: [cryonicsDude] Life of leisure?
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I'll bet you could. You would have to use some of your Spanish. There was a thread here a month ago where someone asked just about the same question on the same budget, mas or menos.
Growing up along the border should indicate that you know what the terms are in diet and housing. Heck, you could live in Iowa or Texas for that if you settle for no car and a good frugal diet of home cooked food, leave doctors and dentists out of the equation, cut out the telephone , internet, cable and other account tappers; and were willing to put up with having very little respect. Actually, I know a guy in Iowa who read Thoreau in the 1950's when he was recently out of the army. Taking his own quest for the beauty and joy of live to heart, he vowed to only work the amount necessary to sustain himself, and no more. That turned out to be not much. He painted pictures, grew gardens, canoed looking for native tubers to enjoy, drank beer, fell in love, smiled more and was healthier than most. And he had respect. In Mexico you ought to be able to do as well.
With the right kind of personality, you could probably live a life of respect in Mexico. I think the secret would be to be both frugal and friendly.
So listen to this: a few weeks ago I was watching a taped home video of a birthday party that took place in a pueblo in Mexico with a friend from that pueblo. There was a white guy in the video who was obviously quite close to the family. I watched him weave through the whole video from the families home, to the church, to the municipal hall for the meal and dance. I thought he was a Mexican of European descent who for some reason had landed in a pueblo life, he seemed to be accepted as such, he had the body language of the other people in the pueblo, and he was dressed at a level similar to the rest. So during the video my friend says in Spanish, "Oh, there's (anglo name)", as if he was a regular guy in the community. I said, "What! He's not from (pueblo name)." Turns out he had become a good and trusted friend with some immigrants in the USA and frequently lived for long periods of time with their family in Mexico. Everybody knew him. He was accepted in the same way the people accepted their neighbors. I'm sure that if the guy had $500/mo. he was banking 1/2 of it.
Adding to what was said then, I'll bet a frugal and intelligent person could spend his days in the zocalo and be somewhat of a regular at evening concerts if he lived in town. You could check your investments and e-mail weekly or whatever at the internet cafe for 4-5 pesos for 30 minutes. You would need to make return trips to the border every 6 months (which you could view as traveling) to renew you visa. And while you are on the USA side replenish your wardrobe with Goodwill clothes, and whatever else might be cheaper here, like used kitchen stuff and 2nd hand books.
Here's what I would do. I would go right out and buy a copy of the most important book you would need to make such an life a valuable experience: Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau probably hasn't been not much though about outside of Harvard Yard (where he was a student a long time ago) through the 1980's and 1990's, probably the most un-transcentdental epoch in our history, if we are splitting hairs. He wrote the original manual on getting away from the rat race, and improving you life in the balance. As Thoreau will point out, it is much a matter of cleaning out you mind. Who knows, if Thoreau were alive today, that in desperation, he might throw up his hands and cross the border in quest of Walden Pond. Next you need The Peoples' Guide to Mexico by Carl Franz. Read in tandem you will know what you need, and if it is for you. After that, a practice trip into Mexico should give you the rest of the feedback about yourself you would need to make your decision final.
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