Essentials to live in Mexico

Certainly didn't mean to do that,my apologies.

Melanie_In_Mexico wrote:

I choose not to have Seguro Popular, because it was designed for poor Mexicans who cannot afford private medicine. I would not feel right using Seguro Popular knowing that as a gringa, I might be receiving care while others are still waiting in line. 

Both IMSS and Seguro Popular services cannot be compared to private health care due to their overcrowding, bureaucracy, and overall lack of resources (staff, medicine, diagnostic equipment, etc.).

Your description of Seguro Popular and IMSS is way off. Maybe 10 years ago or before but now it has only long wait times to see specialists where private insurance does not. If it is life threatening there is no wait time to get diagnosed at either of these socialized medical plans. The federal govenment has poured in billions of dollars into these systems in the last 10 or so years. Many highly skilled specialists perform the operations and diagnosis at these 2 socialized  hospital and specialty clinic systems as well as at private hospitals. You might be paying for the same quality of care that the Seguro Popular and IMSS provides as your private insurance covers these days. It all depends on location. Just not all the frills of being in a private hospital.

Remember, you are paying a hidden/not so hidden 16% sales tax on a lot of what you buy.
The Mexican government makes those plans available to you for a reason.  You're certainly not pushing anyone out of  their place in line.

travellight wrote:

I don't think you will have the problems you did in Japan . There is sort of a great expectation here. I am 5'9 the closets are so tall, I have to reach up while on my toes at times. The clothes have had to be altered on two occasions because the pants were too long. Everyone seems to feel they are much taller than they are. Women compensate by buying very high heels. Its rare to see a women with flat shoes.

As for waist sizes Mexico has grown in other ways also. I have to do some searching at times to find an item small enough to fit me. There are lot's of large sizes. Shoes may be a problem, I know they have size 10's

As for shipping FED-EX is fast, there is a Amazon Mx. you can check out. It's the standard mail that is glacial ( about 1-3 months. Some stores won't ship to Mexico from the U.S. but many will. I tend to use Amazon or on occasion Mercado Libre   which is e-bay like. Some won't use mercado, but I have never had a problem. You credit card may not want to deal with mercado though, so you may have to pay through an OXXY ( 7-11 like) . Credit cards can be odd.

That reminds me of another issue be sure you let your bank and credit card carriers know you are in Mexico.  I had to inform my bank every 6 months that yes I was still in Mexico. If they are not kept informed you won't be getting money out of that ATM.

OK. That is good to know. There might be some hope. . . and if there is not, then there is Fed-ex or  Amazon.mx and merado libre.  

And, of course, I will go with lots of clothes and all my electronics when I finally move down.

Hello Travel Light, I beg to differ. I have lived over 12 years in Mexico, am completely bicultural & bilingual, and as such, can point to numerous news articles over the past few years (in Spanish of course) which state that IMSS and Seguro popular are in financial crisis. Some even point to the privatization of social medicine programs in Mexico in the near future due to this crisis.

It is not my intention to argue. I only wish to state my own experience as a well researched scholar on the subject of Private Health Care vs. Social Health Programs in Mexico. Since 2014,  I have facilitated Public Seminars to over 800 English-speaking foreigners, specifically on this subject.

I recommend that foreigners in Mexico purchase private health insurance, if they can afford $100 - $200 a month (insurance costs depend on age & plan). For those who cannot afford this, then social medicine programs are available.

Melanie_In_Mexico wrote:

Hello Travel Light, I beg to differ. I have lived over 12 years in Mexico, am completely bicultural & bilingual, and as such, can point to numerous news articles over the past few years (in Spanish of course) which state that IMSS and Seguro popular are in financial crisis. Some even point to the privatization of social medicine programs in Mexico in the near future due to this crisis. .

Totally not true as IMSS got a large federal low interest loan a couple of years ago [their pension plan needed money to be solvent to the end of 2016 at that time, not their medical plan] and has been restructuring for about 5 years and has no financial crisis. Seguro Popular is financially solid and ever expanding and has about 50,000,000 members. IMSS has about  59,000,000 members. I know what I am talking about. Both have built many new state of the art hospitals and added clinics, upgraded medical equipment, administration, tranportation, added treatments and upgraded existing facilities all over Mexico.. A few projects were put on hold last year because of federal  financial problems, not all or the majority.There is no talk of privatizing or merging the 2 plans either, just rumors. Where are you getting this false or outdated "news" from?

Correction; "... their pension plan needed money to be solvent to the end of 2016 at that time,..."

Their pension plan needed money to be solvent after the end of 2016, not until the end of 2016. It was funded until the end of 2016 without the need of a large loan from the federal government.

Hello everyone,

Can we now come back to the topic which is "Essentials to live in Mexico"? If you want to share on another topic, i invite you to create a new thread on the forum

Thank you for your contribution.
Christine
Expat.com

Melanie, your argument is with Alleycat 1 and gudgrief I have not been part of the discussion I am a medical professional (retired) who pays cash when and if I need anything, so I know about the care but not about the insurance programs.

travellight wrote:

Melanie, your argument is with Alleycat 1 and gudgrief I have not been part of the discussion I am a medical professional (retired) who pays cash when and if I need anything, so I know about the care but not about the insurance programs.

Are you or Christine claiming that medical care after age 60 is not essential?

Under other topics, it's obvious that some members are on tight budgets.

I am happy for you that you can pay cash for you medical care.  Others are not so well off.

IMO, it's essential that all healthcare options be fully discussed along with the costs of other things down here.

gudgrief wrote:

travellight wrote:

Melanie, your argument is with Alleycat 1 and gudgrief I have not been part of the discussion I am a medical professional (retired) who pays cash when and if I need anything, so I know about the care but not about the insurance programs.

Are you or Christine claiming that medical care after age 60 is not essential?

Under other topics, it's obvious that some members are on tight budgets.

I am happy for you that you can pay cash for you medical care.  Others are not so well off.

IMO, it's essential that all healthcare options be fully discussed along with the costs of other things down here.

When I was 20 years younger I did not think like you do but now that I am collecting social security etc. I have to agree. Wasting money to me now is a sin. Giving away money because I am too lazy to get to the bottom of things here in Mexico is not always the best plan if you are thinking of staying. If you are a Snowbird or just taking a few years break from NOB that is different, I feel. The longer I live here the more obvious it becomes some NOBers have very little information about most of Mexicos completely alien to them  systems. More rumors and misinformation than facts.

alleycat1 wrote:

gudgrief wrote:

travellight wrote:

Melanie, your argument is with Alleycat 1 and gudgrief I have not been part of the discussion I am a medical professional (retired) who pays cash when and if I need anything, so I know about the care but not about the insurance programs.

Are you or Christine claiming that medical care after age 60 is not essential?

Under other topics, it's obvious that some members are on tight budgets.

I am happy for you that you can pay cash for you medical care.  Others are not so well off.

IMO, it's essential that all healthcare options be fully discussed along with the costs of other things down here.

When I was 20 years younger I did not think like you do but now that I am collecting social security etc. I have to agree. Wasting money to me now is a sin. Giving away money because I am too lazy to get to the bottom of things here in Mexico is not always the best plan if you are thinking of staying. If you are a Snowbird or just taking a few years break from NOB that is different, I feel. The longer I live here the more obvious it becomes some NOBers have very little information about most of Mexicos completely alien to them  systems. More rumors and misinformation than facts.

I wonder how many would be able to stand an expense of 250,000-500,000 pesos.  A bad accident, heart attack or open heart surgery and follow up care could run that much in a private hospital.  I wouldn't hold my breath getting a settlement from someone's liability insurance.

Lol at Christine,essentials in Mexico,Its ok to talk about earplugs but when the conversation turns to healthcare for elderly expats shes fixin to pull the plug.

"NOBers!"  Took me a minute to figure that out! lol

Gudgrief

Okay, I am not implying anything at all. I'm just telling Melanie, that she was directing her response to the wrong person. The discussion was between you, alleycat 1 and Melanie.

I was not part of it! and did not offer a opinion about any of the insurances.  As a way of pointing out how little I know about those insurances I said I pay privately if needed. Given that I am in good condition I don't currently pay at all.

In right there with you travelight,I just pay cash also.Although would like to look into something as I get older.I think if someone was to till the ground in respect to private health insurance the SMA forum would be the place to go.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

In right there with you travelight,I just pay cash also.Although would like to look into something as I get older.I think if someone was to till the ground in respect to private health insurance the SMA forum would be the place to go.

I'm a bit confused as to your situation, Stinky. If you don't mind me asking, what is your situation? You don't sound old enough to be retired, and yet seems that you've been around the block a time or two. How did it come to pass that you ended up in Mexico at his stage in your life? (If you don't mind me asking - I am very interested in the expat experiences of others).

Well,I was in the landscaping and construction business in the states so I have been around Mexicans all my life also my father is in the fruit business so i have traveled with him since I was a child to Mx and central América among other places.My girlfriend is Mexican whom I met while She was in Texas with the company She works for.My life in the states consisted of working and sleeping (not much sleeping) so i decided to just pack it all in and move to México.There are not to many Americans my age living in Mexico that is true but a lot of my friends in the states are Mexican so nothing much has changed in that respect except the locación.

Oh, that is an interesting route to Mexico. Sort of a leave the rat race behind and head to somewhere more or less familiar (more of the more, in your case) case.  And so you have been moving around looking for the right place then? You mentioned Zacatecas, Durango, now Morelia and. . . that place where you went without water for a while (from which you got your name). Did you check out anywhere else?

I have visited the states of Veracruz,Oaxca,Chiapas and then the places you have mentioned.Southern México is nice to visit but i have no interest in spending much time there.Im in Morelia now and I absolutely love it.

I will definitely check out Morelia. I am curious, since Morelia is often compared to them (big colonial cities), why you have not checked out Querétaro or Puebla. Or perhaps they are on your list.

Guess I have gone a bit off topic, so I won't take it much further than your response.

I have been to both Queretero and Puebla.The historic part of Queretero is really nice outside of that it is really spread out.Its what I would consider a modern industrial city.Puebla i liked also but it rains to much for my liking.oh,my girlfriends brother lives in Queretero and he tells me that rent is very expensive.

Ah, OK. Good to know on all counts. Definitely will check out Morelia. Also, what you said about the south of Mexico (nice place to visit, but. . .) is what I had imagined. But I will eventually visit there too.  Thanks.

Your very welcome.As for essentials to live in Mexico,unless your going to live in an International tourist destination or the likes of SMA I would strongly advise that you learn some Spanish.I cant understand for the life of me how a person can live any sort of a normal life here without at least a few verbs and some vocabulario

Oh, definitely. I have begun studying already, and I plan to keep on doing so. When I got to Japan way back when, I knew very little Japanese, though I had studied a bit in prep for my journey there,  but the more I learned, the more I could get into the everyday life - cool local bars and restaurants, local gossip at the corner market (even though I had no idea who they were talking about or whey they were telling me - felt very local, though, so I listened. lol), great talks with cab drivers, and personal messages for me to relay to President Bush (HW) by drunk men at the subway station. It really changed things.

Based on that experience, I am tempted to move to a place in Mexico where little English is spoken so as to not risk gettting linguistically ghettoized, which happened in the area I first lived in Japan. Plus, your language improves a lot when you have no choice but to say it all in the local language.

Haha Yes indeed,Mexicans love el chisme (gossip).Be sure and partake in the harmless kind if There is such a thing.There is a saying in Coatzacoalcos "chisme caliente mata la gente".(hot gossip will get you killed).But yeh,when you learn a little spanish you will have a lot more fun.

Love that expression, Stinky B!! Thanks!

Hi everybody,

Please make sure that we are really sharing our opinion on the topic essentials to live in Mexico launched by Christine.
It is important to stay on topic as it may prove to be helpful for future expats.

Thank you

Priscilla

Bring, basically, what you need and cant get in Mexico. If you have a typical Northern type body the clothes wont fit and the style...wont be anywhere near yours... so bring clothes. Natural cosmetics are non existent (read the labels if they claim they are). Sound soothers are only available in the States and are a great help for sleeping. And so on.....Just evaluate what is necessary to you and cost and availability issues. There will always be some sacrifices, that is life! Stinkyboy, are you still in that rental, is it working out? I saw a fancy place just advertised in beautiful Patzcuaro for 7000 pesos including water and internet! Gorgeous colonial big one bedroom near the Plaza Grande for $380 a month! No wonder people expat! That sort of deal is worth a few sacrifices for sure!

Clothing is cheap- however, if you are a large woman there is very little beyond beachwear.
1x or 2 x are hard to find. Bring bottoms, especially and bathing suits.

Hey jeanfinney,Im in The center of Morelia 4 blocks from The cathedral in a 1 bedroom colonial for $1800 pesos monthly.I visited patzcuaro last week,nice place to spend a day.

Stinkyboy, that is a really good deal! Deborah, I am tall and slender with wide shoulders. 5'7" and 120-125 pounds. Latino clothes do not fit me either!

I am a very pettite woman (5"2', 100 pounds on a good day...) what are the odds that I'll be able to find any clothes that fit? I'm in the habit of buying my clothes at thrift shops so that I can find more choice in size 0/XS so I suppose that is another question; are there thrift shops like Goodwill in Mexico?

You have a good chance! They do have used clothing stores and at the weekly markets big piles of "paca" - I have petite friends who have found cute clothes there. Of course it requires a lot of patience sorting through it all!

Thanks! I don't like shopping in stores much so sifting through things in the markets might just be perfect for me! For me it's more about the journey than actually finding something.

With apologies to Shakespeare..............]Me thinks thou dost worry too much!.   UPS and FED Ex delivery in Mexico,  Shop on line (zulily for example)  if you must avoid Mexican shops, which I think is a big mistake on your part.
Now that Walmart is in Mexico, there is probably one near you.  Commerciales Mexicanas (Sp?) a Mwxican Big Box, has all sizes and "with it" styles.

Comercial Mexicana or "La Comer."
There are other regional chains.
If you are near a city with a Liverpool department store, you'll probably find a wider range of sizes.  There are national upscale store chains in larger cities.  Prices are a good bit higher than the popular chains.

You misunderstood. I don't like shopping in shops in the US either! I might very well prefer Mexican shops over American ones. I've never been a "go to the mall" person, but neighborhood shops with personality and Goodwill have always been more my style anyway.