What is a home inspector?
The objective of writing this column is to act independently and discuss the typical property ownership/maintenance issues and real estate concerns for existing and perspective homeowners here at Lake ...
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Water distribution systems
For many newcomers, the water distribution systems here in Mexico are different from water supply they are used to in the rest of North America.
In the case of a typical home in Canada or the USA, the...
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How much electricity am I using?
It seems last month's article regarding our electrical bills touched a lot of people here in my reading audience. Thank you for you kind comments and questions. I wanted to expand a little more regardi...
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Electrical surges and spikes
We see them in just about every house here at Lake Chapala. Sometimes they are humming and others quietly sit in a corner, showing a little light on. But all are on guard, protecting our electronic dev...
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Salitre: a form of masonry cancer?
Salitre is the Spanish term commonly used for masonry “efflorescence.” Salitre is the white powdery stain that forms on the surface of bricks and concrete and can cause the stucco or paint o...
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Cracks in masonry
No, this is not an article about an additive drug, a quick glib joke or that exposed skin area of the refrigerator repairman's lower back, as he crouches down in front of you. This article is about mas...
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How much are you paying for electricity?
After studying many homes here at Lake Chapala, it is interesting to learn to how much electricity each home uses and, more interesting, how much the home owner is paying for their electricity.
Electr...
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How To Make Teaching English In Mexico A Reality - Part 2
Marketing Yourself
So once you are in your new home town how do you impress the directors of the local language schools? First of all, it is important to remember that while this is a big adventure fo...
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How to move abroad (to Mexico) - and stay sane!
Moving is always a rather upsetting experience and meticulous planning and organization are essential if all concerned want to retain their sanity! Moving to a foreign country only adds to the difficul...
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Spanish terms for building and construction in Mexico
I think that it is time to cover some of the Spanish terms used in construction. There isn't room in the space I have for this column to cover all the terms but perhaps a brief primer is in order.
Fir...
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Tying The Knot -- Mexican Style
Mexico's ornate old
churches are beautiful
and romantic
settings for weddings.
Saturdays there always seem to be three brides at the charming little church across...
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Getting here - paperwork for people, animals, cars and things
FM-T Tourist
The basic entrance immigration status for tourists is the FM-T. It is valid for a maximum of 180 days and is issued at your point of entry into Mexico-either at a border crossing or an ai...
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Mexico's a breeze
...compared to heading west in a Conestoga
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The Insider's Guide: Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic
I'm filled with admiration and respect for The Insider's Guide. Its 368 pages are so complete and comprehensive and so well thought out and so well organized. Teresa Kendrick and her colleagues have done a wonderful job of providing and packaging a full authoritative range of information, not only for long and short-term residents of the Lake Chapala area but also for those many people who seem to be contemplating coming here either to live as permanent retiree-residents or as snowbirds.
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Mexico Magic by Dru Pearson
.Dru Pearson begins her account of her first four seasons in Ajijic starting in the summer of 2000 when she loaded or, rather, overloaded her VW van with as many belongings as it would hold, and she and her dog, Bailey, drove (slowly, she emphasizes) to Laredo. However, before she even reached the U.S./ Mexico border, the vehicle broke down and she found herself by the roadside in 110 degree temperatures, unloading twelve boxes of belongings, plus a TV, a computer complete with monitor and printer and other sundry items. However, a mechanic answered her call and the car was repaired and she made it across the border at Laredo, starting the 750 mile stretch to Ajijic on the shores of Lake Chapala.
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Retire in Mexico: Live Better for Less by Dru Pearson
Author Dru Pearson has done an excellent job of researching and compiling almost everything anyone needs to know about adopting this country as a place to spend one's leisure years, either part-time or full-time. I can't think of any important topic that isn't covered here. Also, while it isn't the first book of this type to become available, I think it's the first - to my knowledge, at least, to be strictly computer accessible.
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Absentee Voting For The 2004 U.S. Presidential Election
By Jon Sievert
© 2004 Jon Sievert
November's U.S. Presidential election is shaping up as the most passionate and volatile in memory. Candidates from both major parties are already ...
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Mexico Magico: Everything You Wanted to Know by German Estrada Navarro
This is a well-organized and clearly presented compilation of data about this country that any newcomers - and some old-timers, too - could use.
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Live Well in Mexico
What Luboff has set out here is all the basic information one needs on a host of topics relevant to moving to Mexico. You'll find details on acquiring residency documents, whether or not to buy or rent a house, working in Mexico, how to bring your car here, how to move your furniture here and so on. You’ll also find hints and tips on staying healthy, dining out, hiring help, what to bring on your first trip, road safety, the best ways to get from one place to another and much, much more. Indeed, there is hardly a page that doesn’t have some useful hint or tip on living here successfully.
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It takes more than "I Do" to marry in Mexico
Dreaming of that storybook wedding on a scenic cliff above crashing ocean waves, blessed by a Mexican sunset while mariachis croon? Or amid bougainvillea'd stone arches in a colonial setting? Few place...
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WILLS, ESTATES AND POWERS OF ATTORNEY IN MEXICO
If I'm living in Mexico, with no traces of a residence in the U.S. other than a past history, do I need to have a Will drawn up in Mexico? Or do I need a Mexican Will for my Mexican assets and a U.S. Will for my U.S. assets?
read moreLive Better South of the Border
I’d love to have had this book five years ago when we first came to live in Mexico. It’s not that we ran into a string of problems then but it’s just such a useful source of information and opinion about living here it would have cut a lot of corners for us at the time. As the author says, this book is written for people of all ages who want to live in Mexico and Central America, from retirees to baby-boomers who want a new life to artists and writers who want a stimulating and less expensive way of life.
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Wedding protocol & procedures
My fiancée and I are planning a wedding in Puerto Morelos on September 4,1999. We are having a difficult time finding information on:
1. Blood test info
2. How long do we have to reside in Mexico before the wedding
3. Marriage license info
If anyone has access to this information or other pertinent marriage info in Mexico we would greatly appreciate your help.
Thanks.
PS. We're also interested in Mexican wedding tradition.
read moreUS CITIZEN MARRYING A MEXICAN IN MEXICO
I received my permiso last week and the boda civil is planned for 8/7. For those of you who have seen my previous postings, this is an update. For new readers, this is one gringa's encounters with Mexican bureaucracy--my fiancé is from Monterrey, we live in Nuevo Laredo, I am a daily border crosser because I work in Laredo, and my novio prefers to live/work/study in Mexico.
Be prepared for different information from every office you inquire at. The Mexican Consulate in Laredo gave us one set of instructions, the Office of Migracion in Nuevo Laredo another, and when we got to the Office of Migracion in Monterrey, we received yet another set of instructions.
read moreWork permits for Mexico: advice from an old hat
Work Permits: Advice from an old hat
By Julie Black © 1999 All Rights Reserved.
Ask no more. Yes, foreigners can legally work in Mexico, for any length of time, provided they obtain the required...
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