New members of the Mexico forum, introduce yourselves here – June to December 2017

Terrif2894 wrote:

Hi my name is Terri and my husband is Vic.  We have two dogs and one cat. We are living in NE Oregon and would like to live in the Cancun /Playa del Carmen area.  WE bought a 5th wheel hoping to find an RV park somewhere in that area and have not had much luck online finding many down there.  They have lots over in Baja, but we would really prefer Cancun area.  We are wanting to leave October 1st to start heading down that way. 

So if anyone knows about any RV parks down win that area we would greatly  appreciate any info.  Also  we have been researching the route we would take  and would love info on the best route to drive down to cancun.

thx

Hi, the best info that could help would be at www.rollinghomes.com . Based on my own RVing experience (2003-2013) there are not to many campground in that area . We stayed at one near Cancun near the ferry that goes to Isla mujeres, also there's one in PaMul and the one we love the must was near Campeche  (close to the Belize border) on the ocean. There are a few on the Esmeralda coast. But if you are going on the west coast then you will see a lot.

Within, the book and site above they talk about various routes & point of entry to Mexico.

Buena suerte & Buen viaje. GyC.

travellight wrote:

vivalavida17 wrote:

Travellight,

So you have any other recommendations on other places in Mexico. Family communities, I know that is a vague question.

That sort of depends on what you are looking for, lots of expats and tourists, beach, small, big?

You might like Merida which is a fairly large city, but not Mexico sized, or Guadalajara sized. There are also small places near there. Are you looking for lots of culture and runes. I live in a capital city on a bay north of Merida, which is fairly small and just oozing history and culture. Much cooler than Tulum and few expats.  Think about what you are looking for.

Thank you so much for the information. I think in the beginning we want beach and some tourism after a few months I want culture, history and VERY few expats, but we definitley need some type of nature nearby for what we want to do. My husband and I travelled to Merida and Valladolid 10 years ago and celestun. We loved Valladolid too, but now travelling with a kid is a little different or maybe it isn't and I am just over thinking it. Again thanks for the information.

My husband and I are currently in southern California and are considering a part-time move to Rosarito with an internet-based business. We visited there over twenty years ago and really enjoyed it. Our main concerns are:

1)  Safety of drinking/bathing/cooking water
2)  Safety of produce and other foods
3)  Crime -- robberies, burglaries, etc.
4)  Internet costs, speed, and reliability
5)  Driving and police harassment locally
6)  Border crossing tips and tricks
7)  Anything else you can think of!

I know some of these items are covered in other posts, but if there's a definitive website you can recommend, we'd really appreciate it.

Hope to hear from you soon!
Jackie

Hola everyone,
My husband Alejandro (Mexican and American) and I are hoping to move back to Mexico in the next couple of years, after a 35 year stint in the states.
We love SMA, and keep coming back to the idea of moving there despite heavy researching elsewhere. The kind people on this forum are part of the reason for that!
We also have our eye on Rancho los Labradores, and are very grateful for your experienced feedback and thoughts about other neighborhoods to consider - any ideas?
Because we are bilingual/bicultural we hope to find a place with both Mexicans and ex-pats, especially a community interested in mixing and knowing one another. 
Thanks ahead of time for all-
~Kerry

Hola compatriota,
Don't be discouraged!  The time you spend learning Spanish is SOOO well invested!  Read: Open Doors. Consider making that FIRST priority, and working for common causes, interests, or with faith communities to get connected to sincere people.  Don't be embarrassed about messing up Spanish, just dive in, and look at it as an adventure. Locals love it.
  You already have a highly solicited skill to teach:  speaking English.  Consider finding a student or two who would exchange Spanish for English classes.  There are some great places to start learning Spanish and conversation topics like at Pagina de espanol.com and Spanishpod101. Usually the 16-25+ group are itching to better their English for career purposes.
If you dive in to get to know people with common goals, one thing will lead to another.  If you get to know the history and culture really well in your area (2-3 weeks of concentrated study and visiting), you can offer to take small groups of expats or English speakers around town for a simple tour and good meal for a minor contribution - just be honest that you're passionate for the town and like to share.  Try wineries, monasteries, great restaurants, art galleries, natural reserves. You might eventually start a blog and invite the local businesses you believe in to sponsor.
You'll meet some really interesting people! Keep an open heart and learn to think as locals do, while retaining your own timeless values.
Good luck and God bless the adventure!
~kerry

Thank you so much for your post.  I appreciate your elaborating on your experiences and opinions as to how your adventure is going. We are following not far behind, moving from U.S. but bicultural.
Please continue to let us know how life is going and what you learn. 
Gratefully,
~kerry

Greetings fellow expats!
My husband and I are about to close on a house in San Miguel de Allende. We are very excited with this next step and look forward to eventually moving to San Miguel to retire.
We both just joined this group and look forward to hearing advice from you all and eventually providing advice of our own.

Talk soon!
Arden

Hello Fellow Foreign People in Mexico!  My name is Niccole and I am currently living in Cabo San Lucas.  The Gringo community is so small here that I wanted to branch out and meet other people in Mexico.  My future goal is to go live and work in Mexico City.  So any helpful tips on how to get a job there would be awesome!  And I do have a work permit.  I was also in the US Navy and lived over in Greece for two years.  Something about living in another culture just really appeals to me, and so far I am loving the diverse history of Mexico, as well as a wonderful energy which does wonders for my creativity.  I am a creative social media content creator/marketer.  Anywho, I hoping to make some friendly connections on this site.  Thanks for reading!

Hello,

I am noieta and live in Mexico for three months at a time.  Being a fluent Spanish-speaker I have no problem whatsoever.  I drive my car to the state of Hidalgo and cross the Border in Cd. Juárez, normally at the International Cordova Bridge.  I have been doing this for three years and have never had a single problem.  As I cross the border, I sometimes pay a customs fee, sometimes not.  I usually get the permit for my car at the Km 30 checkpoint.  No problem there either.  I take copies of my  passport, my car registration, copies of the title (and the original) and only have to make a copy of the documents I fill out there.

I get a temporary permit for the car which is for 180 days but as soon as I return after a three-month stay, I return it and then I have the days left over form the original 180 days for that year.  So far it has worked well for me.   

Later on I may either nationalize a car or buy a car in Mexico.  I also buy Mexican Insurance for a year.  I buy it in the US and the cost is not very much.

I take household things and especially things that I need for cooking which I cannot find there, like tomato sauce and paste, as well as spices.   

My experience has been nothing but positive.  I often get stopped because I do not have a front license plate.   In New Mexico we only have one plate.  I show them my documentation and all is well.  I have found Mexican police and traffic officers to be most helpful and accessible.

Vivalavida, I suggest you start by checking out different places on internet.  Make priorities for yourself.   What kind of weather would you like?   What kind of community do you want to live in, "Big City"  "Small City"  "town,"  "Magical Town" "village"   
How far do you want to be from a big city.
Do you want to have access to cultural activities?
What kind of access do you want to Freeways, etc.

I think once you start learning about the different places, you should be able to decide what it is that you want.

Hello everyone! I am new to the site. My story is so long that I will try and shorten it for my introduction. I live in the US, in Virginia, and my husband, who I married in Mexico in April of this year, lives in Mexico. He was here in the US, but was never legal. Long story short, he got deported. So, after going over all of the required paperwork to attempt to get him back into the US legally, and the price it would cost, I decided that I will move to Mexico with him and we will work towards getting into Canada and living there. I figured that I would sell most of our belongings and only keep the TV's (3) and our bedroom set (mattress, boxspring, frame , nightstands and dresser), along with boxes of our clothes, décor, kitchen items....but we also have 2 dogs and a cat. I have done some research and there seems to be a lot required to get your animals into Mexico...? I also have a 17 year old daughter who is still in high school, so she must travel with me and continue her schooling. I don't know how to go about getting any of this done, I don't even know where to start. I have begun to sell the things in our home, and our lease is up at the end of September...ugh! The list goes on and on!
Any advice, info or whatever, lol, you could give me I would appreciate very much!!

Thanks!
Michelle

simpleeshelbee wrote:

Hello everyone! I am new to the site. My story is so long that I will try and shorten it for my introduction. I live in the US, in Virginia, and my husband, who I married in Mexico in April of this year, lives in Mexico. He was here in the US, but was never legal. Long story short, he got deported. So, after going over all of the required paperwork to attempt to get him back into the US legally, and the price it would cost, I decided that I will move to Mexico with him and we will work towards getting into Canada and living there. I figured that I would sell most of our belongings and only keep the TV's (3) and our bedroom set (mattress, boxspring, frame , nightstands and dresser), along with boxes of our clothes, décor, kitchen items....but we also have 2 dogs and a cat. I have done some research and there seems to be a lot required to get your animals into Mexico...? I also have a 17 year old daughter who is still in high school, so she must travel with me and continue her schooling. I don't know how to go about getting any of this done, I don't even know where to start. I have begun to sell the things in our home, and our lease is up at the end of September...ugh! The list goes on and on!
Any advice, info or whatever, lol, you could give me I would appreciate very much!!

Thanks!
Michelle

Well Michelle , after looking at the list of things you are keeping I can't help but wonder what you are selling. Most if not all of what you are listing is essentially dead weight, in that it would cost more to transport than it is worth, and could very easily be replaced in Mexico.

If I were you I would rent a furnished house and sell everything you listed. Things like T, Vs, for instance are out of date very quickly and are very fragile. Wood furniture in mexico tends to be very dense, the local bugs in Mexico would knock off the woods used in the U.S for furniture. Depending on where you plan to go, metals can be a problem also.  Electronics I would bring, but you don't mention computers or laptops. If you rented a furnished house you would have a yard for those pets and you would have time to figure out what you really want to replace. Most of us don't miss the things we sold or gave away . I replaced the bed, and it cost less than it would have in the U.S., I also replaced some kitchen items with new ones, which were more suitable.

Many of us eliminated all of the things on your list. Pets mostly require paperwork and the 17 year old is old enough to have an opinion of her own and the ability to think about. and research options on her own.

You don't mention looking for a place to go and what you are doing with any cars. I would put those things near the top of your list.

Buena suerte

Hi everyone, I have been retired for 3.5 years and excited about going to live in San Miguel Allende for a year along with Milo my dog. I am bilingual so language is not a challenge.  I plan on moving at the end of November 2017 and have been researching the internet for a 1 or two bedroom casita or apartment , of course as near to el centro as possible. Will consider other areas . I would love to meet other expats, I currently belong to two social meetup groups here and am looking forward to making friends.  I will be coming with 5 other ladies the first week of September, I look forward to meeting some of you.  I just need to know your local hangout(s). Any restaurants recommendations would be appreciated! I would be so grateful if you could give me any info on the potential availability of rentals. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you in Sept.
Adios,
Estella

Hi Estella,
We don't live there yet.  However,  the library is a good place to meet expats and to get great overall information.  There's a great cafe as well.

Leslie as and Mark Reed

Hi, My name is Scott and my wife is Olivia. We have had a house in Ameca, Jalisco for about 10 years, but we just bought another little place in Puerto Vallarta so we can enjoy the beach, the weather, the vibe, and to be closer to some of Olivia's family. The new place is being remodeled now. We will be spending our winter's in PV starting next year. Can't wait!

Hi Julien,

This is Rodolfo from Mexico, I am interested in knowing people from other countries, I think that as a very DF person I could make some friends and assit them in anything that  I could; to be honest, I don´t know if this page could be right place to do it, overall I wouldn´t like to be making a mistake.

Please let me know your views.

Thanks before hand.

RCano

Hi I'm Peggy looking into retirement destinations  hoping Mexico might be what I'm looking for.

Ok peglove.
Let us know what your questions are and we will try to help.

Thanks

My wife Deborah and I are considering long visits in Mexico or moving there after we retire at the end of the year. We are both artistsWe don't like the coastal ares and are drawn to the colonial mountain cities for the weather as much as anything. We have visited Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, Guanajuato, San Miguel.  We are Leary of some American expat "scene" but having just returned from a week in Cuernavaca where we found no expat scene or, for that matter, never saw another gringo the whole time we were there realized the Importance of having some other gringos around
So I'm joining this forum to get a better
Handle on Mexican cities, who lives there and what goes on. Next time we visit Mexico we want to a lot more groundwork first

Artists who enjoy an American presence,SMA

Thecolorguy wrote:

My wife Deborah and I are considering long visits in Mexico or moving there after we retire at the end of the year. We are both artistsWe don't like the coastal ares and are drawn to the colonial mountain cities for the weather as much as anything. We have visited Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, Guanajuato, San Miguel.  We are Leary of some American expat "scene" but having just returned from a week in Cuernavaca where we found no expat scene or, for that matter, never saw another gringo the whole time we were there realized the Importance of having some other gringos around
So I'm joining this forum to get a better
Handle on Mexican cities, who lives there and what goes on. Next time we visit Mexico we want to a lot more groundwork first

There are a number of cities with various expat mixes. SMA would be on the heavy side, lots of expats. Merida would have a significant , but not over whelming number. The tourist cities all have a significant number of expats, and tourists. Then there are places like where I live that are very historical with few expats. It's a matter of how much do you want.

Cuernavaca would definitely be on the the very low if any end of the scale.

i am also planing to come Maxico but not found a good consultant ;(

okay what the hell is this travel advisory to mexico? We are leaving for tulum in a week for 2 months and then to Valladolid for 8 months, my whole family is driving me crazy about going. We are trying to get away ***

Vivlalavida17
I am currently in Cancun, I have been here over two weeks, It is peaceful. other than one out break during a light show probably well over a month ago now there is no problem. Lot's of tourist here currently having a good time. Owning guns is illegal. You can use guns with a permit, guns obtained from the police, for hunting or in a gun range; few people do this.

I would advise you to be careful traveling to the U.S. though. there are a lot of guns and violence there and people injured . Carolina and Arizona are at particular risk given that there was a young woman run over in Carolina and Trump visited Arizona. Oh and there are gangs of white supremacists marching in many areas threatening people with guns.

That information should provide some balance. I never listen to warnings from the U.S. I only looked today to see what you were talking about.

There were over 200 murders in central Florida in 2015 . I don't see anyone putting off their Orlando, Disney vacation.

travellight wrote:

Vivlalavida17
I am currently in Cancun, I have been here over two weeks, It is peaceful. other than one out break during a light show probably well over a month ago now there is no problem. Lot's of tourist here currently having a good time. Owning guns is illegal. You can use guns with a permit, guns obtained from the police, for hunting or in a gun range; few people do this.

I would advise you to be careful traveling to the U.S. though. there are a lot of guns and violence there and people injured . Carolina and Arizona are at particular risk given that there was a young woman run over in Carolina and Trump visited Arizona. Oh and there are gangs of white supremacists marching in many areas threatening people with guns.
That information should provide some balance. I never listen to warnings from the U.S. I only looked today to see what you were talking about.

Hi, just to let you know that the warnings from government of Canada are different then the one's from US government. So the best is to refer on various plateforms and use good common sense.

Adio, GyC.

seriously there should be a travel advisory for the US. See you soon Mexico!

vivalavida17 wrote:

seriously there should be a travel advisory for the US. See you soon Mexico!

I'm sure there is some sort of advisory issued by another country, but the U.S. isn't issuing it. They lump all of their stats into little separate piles  usually grouped by state, or city. So in order to see what is probably going on, you have to look many places, And who is going to do that ?












/

Hi  my name is Suzie Perrott and my Husbands is Bruce Perrott, we live in Australia and have visited San Miguel de Allende several times and would love to move to SMA or spend 6 mths. there and 6mths. in Aust. my husband is a little reluctant as he feels he would miss Aust. TV ...  we also would be interested in talking to an Australian who may have moved to SMA....
thank you....
Suzie

What is your interest in Mexico?  Are you interested in retiring there?  Moving there?  Being a snowbird there?

Hi Susan,   Bruce and I have visited San Miguel de Allende 4 times for 3 mth stays, we love the city and are looking for a place to retire... it is cheaper than retiring in Aust. I have children who live in Cal. and one in Canada so we would be closer to them...   my husband is worried he wont be able to get Aust. TV!!!
I paint and there are a lot of Art Schools there.... 
Suzie

where in Mexico can you find a 2 bedroom 1 bath place to rent for 7000-8000 pesos or 300-400 american dollars. My husband, I am our 5 year old daughter. Family/plazas/montessori a bonus?

[Post deleted]

You can get free TV through your computer providing you have good internet service. take a laptop computer as your main source of programs and then you need an HDMI connection from your computer to the back of your TV and change the settings on your TV to HDMI connection. Just had it done last night.  nearly 1000 channels free. You can Live Live TV, pre-recorded, movies, major network TV etc etc

Hola, Soy nuevo aqui. Mucho gusto a todos.

Almost anywhere away from foreigners you can find something suitable in that price range.

Hello. My name's Bill (aka Guillermo) and I'll be moving to Mexico City this December from Missoula, MT (I'm told the 2 places are almost identical so I should instantly feel right at home!) to join my girlfriend who recently became an administrator of a large American school there. We plan to remain in D.F. for at least 4 years.

My goal is to earn a salary while there as an English instructor (I have a recently acquired TESOL Certificate to help get mi pie dentro de al puerta) and/or any other jobs that will help fund our travel/adventure plans, among other little luxuries.

I have about a thousand questions occupying my mind about the transition, but the one I hope someone could advise me on first has to do with cell phones.

As I write this, Apple just announced their new iPhone 8 and Apple Watch III. Because I am weak, I feel compelled to acquire both as soon as humanly possible. But I fear that one or both of these devices would be of little to no use in Mexico, unless, that is, I wanted every cent I earn to go towards paying roaming charges to a US service provider.

I pretty much don't.

Could anyone here clarify for me what the best course of action a soon-to-arrive ex-pat should take regarding cell phones brought from the US is? I wish I were more of a techie so I could figure out how to answer my own question, but instead my brain has chosen to prioritize other knowledge like memorizing Pi out to the 13th digit and retaining detailed specifications of every motorcycle built since the '70's.

Thanks in advance for any advice I might get here. Let me know if I could ever return the favor with information about a motorcycle you're curious about. Or Pi.

Well,
You have two choices.
1. See if your Service provider can give you Mexico access for a modest increase. Mine charges $5.00 a month.
2. Wait untill you get here before purchasing your hearts desire.