how is mexico?

[hamdizzel]

now im not going to believe the American news all they show when in mexico
is that is a drug riddin country the police are corrupt and all that.
would i be losing my head if i leave to mexico? lols i can't afford a long plane
ride to other countries right now but Mexico is extremely cheap to get too seeing
as its right next door to the US but uhhhh alot of mexicans leave mexico to come here
for work any reasons why? how are the Mexican woman do they like black men?

[FuzzX]

why?

MONEY

If you made a dollar an hour you'd be jumping that border too

[jfk]

now im not going to believe the American news all they show when in mexico
is that is a drug riddin country the police are corrupt and all that.
would i be losing my head if i leave to mexico? lols i can't afford a long plane
ride to other countries right now but Mexico is extremely cheap to get too seeing
as its right next door to the US but uhhhh alot of mexicans leave mexico to come here
for work any reasons why? how are the Mexican woman do they like black men?

No offense but being from South America (" and i know what is like to have the wrong color") the racism is deep against black and indian people.. and i have the impression that mexico is the same way, and they have the class problem where in you dont belong to the right class, have the right clothes, right job, you wont be able to date middle or hight class women.. in your favor is that latin american people love to brown nose foreigners, so you being american can have an advantage there.. i would say brazil or the caribean can be better places for you...
( i can be wrong thought)
ps: what i admire about the states how people from different races interact among them..which i would ever dream to see in my country...

[globetrotter]

why?

MONEY

If you made a dollar an hour you'd be jumping that border too

Come on, Fuzz. You have lived abroad, you know as well as I do that while someone in Mexico may earn 5,000 or 10,000 MXN per month they spend 2,000 of that and have a much larger headroom in their budget.

Who is richer?:
-An American who earns $150k per year but spends $175k per year and is in debt $500k to $1M and has no savings in 3 years?
-A Chinese factory worker who earns $3.80 a day but only spends 50 cents of that a day and saves $3,200 in 3 years?

The American has NO days worth of savings accrued and is, in fact, one cashflow disruption event from insolvency.
The Chinese has 17 YEARS of accrued savings and can be unemployed for extended periods of time. Or buy a small house outright and just sit around all day.

I used to speak with illegals in LA and they would complain that all they do since they come to America is sleep on the floor of someone's apartment. They take a huge cut in their standard of living, too.

[FuzzX]

Yeah, I agree in that regard but usually the border jumpers are the piss poor or the criminal element. Very rarely do the family oriented Mexicans ever leave. Also the factory workers... those guys generally make $4.50/Day... where just over the border they make double that in an hour... their families at home can have a decent life if they just send back half of what they make or if they save $50 bucks a month, they can afford to goto college after a year.

However

A kid I knew that I still keep in touch with took my advice and stayed out of the US. He is getting his English levels upgraded locally so that he can teach English at factories... he'll make big $$$ doing that for sure.

OR alternatively they could open a small business in Mexico very easily... the culture is suited towards that type of thing... anyway I digress. The only reason they are in the USA is money/status, there is nothing of value to Mexicans after that.

[momopi]

Who is richer?:
-An American who earns $150k per year but spends $175k per year and is in debt $500k to $1M and has no savings in 3 years?
-A Chinese factory worker who earns $3.80 a day but only spends 50 cents of that a day and saves $3,200 in 3 years?

The American has NO days worth of savings accrued and is, in fact, one cashflow disruption event from insolvency.
The Chinese has 17 YEARS of accrued savings and can be unemployed for extended periods of time. Or buy a small house outright and just sit around all day.

I wish the guy who took $1 million in debt will actually be responsible for it. Unfortunately, the US government rewards people who abuse the system and walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars tax free, then let them do it over and over again:

http://www.happierabroad.com/phpBB2/vie ... highlight=

[hamdizzel]

won't be that bad besides if i don't like mexico i can always just come back to the
US won't be too much effort besides i will like it anything is better
then being in shitty Washington state

[globetrotter]

won't be that bad besides if i don't like mexico i can always just come back to the
US won't be too much effort besides i will like it anything is better
then being in shitty Washington state

For a first foray in expatriation, Mexico is ideal. It is different than the USA/Canada but it is North America (but don't tell that to Mexicans - they say they are apart from CA and NA even if global geography states they are part of NA). If you ever get the chance to live in South America or better yet Asia, you will quickly realise that Mexicans are obviously North Americans. They have so much more in common with US/CDN than other places.

To someone from China a Mexican may as well be an American. They couldn't tell the difference and most don't even know that Mexico is a country.

[FuzzX]

Toluca, Mexico is quite a nice CHEAP place to live plus it has pyramids just outside of town... the smaller the town the friendlier the people usually. If you rent a house in a walled off part of town you're going to run into rich snobs... as long as you live with the people/like the people you won't have any problems. If they know you're broke they generally don't harass you.

Come to think of it, I knew a black guy in Guadalajara who was married to a Mexican girl there. He was working at a school I was at and doing fairly well, I don't think you'll find much racism among the middle and lower classes but man there's TONS of racism among the rich...

This is Mexico, just don't go in expecting everything to be wonderful and you'll do just fine.

Make sure and ask from day one where the local farmer's market is and go with a Mexican when you go for the first little while, once you get your bearings and you know the prices you can go on your own and haggle. You can literally live on 15 bucks a week for groceries, if you eat smart (fruits and veg). Also go straight to the Pharmacia and buy iodine (to clean your fruit and vegetables) and medication for CHORO <-- that means diarrhea in Spanish. You will need it!!!
Cost of about $70 Pesos

Also ask where the water refill station is in your neighborhood... you can get bottled water REALLY cheap if you use a refill station to fill up those big 4 gallon bottles than if you buy it from the local grocery store. You just gotta carry it home... so make sure to find a close one.

Typical Prices: (Pesos) http://www.xe.com <-- for conversion rates

1 Hour of Internet $10
1 Bus Ride $5
2 Lbs of Strawberries $7 (like 0.70 cents)
1 Bag of Bananas $6
2 Lbs of Guayavas $6
4 Bags of Oranges $7
1 Hamburger at the downtown local place $10
1 fist sized thing of oaxca cheese $20
4 large mamays $30
Couple of steaks $80
1 Taco at the local place $5
1 Cuisina Comida Meal (Mom & Pop Restaurant) $35
1 Tank of Gas $250 to $350 [Don't shower too long or you'll use it all up]
1 Plastic chair from walmart $70
1 Plastic table from walmart $150
Rent for a small 2 bedroom apartment (Toluca $1500) (Guadalajara $2000) (Puerto Vallarta $3000)

With $2000 in traveller's cheques you can live pretty well for the whole 6 months.

Just typing this out makes me want to go back... I had a blast there!!!

[MrPeabody]

I recently went to the dentist - $50 for a filling and $35 to clean my teeth.

[jfk]

now im not going to believe the American news all they show when in mexico
is that is a drug riddin country the police are corrupt and all that.
would i be losing my head if i leave to mexico? lols i can't afford a long plane
ride to other countries right now but Mexico is extremely cheap to get too seeing
as its right next door to the US but uhhhh alot of mexicans leave mexico to come here
for work any reasons why? how are the Mexican woman do they like black men?

I spoke with one friend from mexico and he told me that there is not racism in the lower and middle classes, but you have to seduce the girls (they are not that easy), other country that has fine ladies is costarica.. seems to be a oasis in the desert.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSWM2nVHkvI&NR=1 (its like thailand but closer)

[Repatriate]

Typical Prices: (Pesos) http://www.xe.com <-- for conversion rates

1 Hour of Internet $10
1 Bus Ride $5
2 Lbs of Strawberries $7 (like 0.70 cents)
1 Bag of Bananas $6
2 Lbs of Guayavas $6
4 Bags of Oranges $7
1 Hamburger at the downtown local place $10
1 fist sized thing of oaxca cheese $20
4 large mamays $30
Couple of steaks $80
1 Taco at the local place $5
1 Cuisina Comida Meal (Mom & Pop Restaurant) $35
1 Tank of Gas $250 to $350 [Don't shower too long or you'll use it all up]
1 Plastic chair from walmart $70
1 Plastic table from walmart $150
Rent for a small 2 bedroom apartment (Toluca $1500) (Guadalajara $2000) (Puerto Vallarta $3000)

With $2000 in traveller's cheques you can live pretty well for the whole 6 months.

Just typing this out makes me want to go back... I had a blast there!!!

Interesting. Those prices (converted to USD) look precisely like what I would pay in Thailand. It does seem like rent is cheaper in parts of Mexico but how is the availability of things like at home high speed internet and convenience?

[globetrotter]

Typical Prices: (Pesos) http://www.xe.com <-- for conversion rates

1 Hour of Internet $10
1 Bus Ride $5
2 Lbs of Strawberries $7 (like 0.70 cents)
1 Bag of Bananas $6
2 Lbs of Guayavas $6
4 Bags of Oranges $7
1 Hamburger at the downtown local place $10
1 fist sized thing of oaxca cheese $20
4 large mamays $30
Couple of steaks $80
1 Taco at the local place $5
1 Cuisina Comida Meal (Mom & Pop Restaurant) $35
1 Tank of Gas $250 to $350 [Don't shower too long or you'll use it all up]
1 Plastic chair from walmart $70
1 Plastic table from walmart $150
Rent for a small 2 bedroom apartment (Toluca $1500) (Guadalajara $2000) (Puerto Vallarta $3000)

With $2000 in traveller's cheques you can live pretty well for the whole 6 months.

Just typing this out makes me want to go back... I had a blast there!!!

Interesting. Those prices (converted to USD) look precisely like what I would pay in Thailand. It does seem like rent is cheaper in parts of Mexico but how is the availability of things like at home high speed internet and convenience?

Internet in most places. High Speed, broadband.

Convenience of what?

[MrPeabody]

For 1 MB Internet and cable TV (simplist plan as i dont watch much TV) , i pay about $33 a month.

[globetrotter]

For 1 MB Internet and cable TV (simplist plan as i dont watch much TV) , i pay about $33 a month.

Plans are about the same. 2 MB internet cable TV, $50 USD. The better neighborhoods have the better connections although many shacks have cable and power and flatscreens.