Inquiring

Magentaheart, thank you for your detailed response.  I'm tired and heading for bed or I would reply in detail.

I would love to chat further.  I will send you a private message.

Thank you so much!   From what I've read, gmos have been banned in Mexico although I have not confirmed that one way or another.  U.S. corn imports have tainted the corn grown in Mexico and has shown up in lab tests in varying degrees.

SS office said the medical reviews would be sent to me in Mexico,  and if they needed further information, I would have to have a doctor who is currently seeing me report their findings.

I would be interested to find out if filtered water delivery has limits as far as city vs rural.  I would brush our teeth with it as well.  I too would like to be close enough to the city,  but have the feeling of a small town, with both natives and expats.  One thing I cannot handle well is noise and stray/suffering animals.  I would wind up being the crazy cat AND dog lady.

I'm not really worried about schooling since I found out homeschooling is being done.  I would like to know what the options are in each area in case my son needed a different path though. 

I'm very interested in a swimming pool.  Living in Florida the past few years makes it a requirement.  Plus it is good therapy.

Let's share more ideas, off to bed.   Will check out FB pages too!  Thanks

Hi Magentaheart,

Thanks for the detailed reply!  As far as SSDI goes, I spoke with the SS office and they told me that medical reviews would continue to come to me in Mexico.  If more information is necessary, they would ask for further information from a doctor that would be treating me currently in Mexico.  Keep in mind, my past dealings with SS have been inconsistent to say the least.  You may get 5 different answers from 5 different workers pertaining to the same question when contacting them.

As far as GMO's, I've read that Mexico has banned the use of GMO's.  That does not mean it cannot be found in the country through import or otherwise.  Also, imported GMO corn crops from the US have tainted the corn crops in Mexico.  Lab tests have shown varying degrees of GMO's in most, if not all of the Mexican corn as well.  My son bought a bottle of Coke imported from Mexico in an authentic Mexican restaurant where we live in Florida, and he was surprised to see that there was no high fructose corn syrup in it!!  I've taught him to read labels...I know most 11 year olds, or even adults, don't bother.  A lot of organic produce is imported to the US from Mexico.  Mexico has tighter environmental laws than the US.  You are right, non-GMO does not necessarily mean organic.  Another concern is food that is irradiated (including organic wheat) which changes the structure of cells.  Radiation was incorporated to control mold and pests but of course, alters the plant as well.  Big agriculture debate these facts with "studies" that find the process safe.  Common sense and studies prove otherwise.

Where water is concerned, I'd be happy with delivery of filtered as well.  Although I loathe plastic and I lug around 8 glass gallon jugs on a weekly basis to refill.  I'd wonder if the delivery system has limits on location (city vs rural).  As someone else replied in an earlier post, I also add a little salt for mineral content to the filtered water (I use Himalayan Pink Salt).  Spring water contains these types of minerals and is the optimal drinking water.  I already cook with filtered water, even for boiling potatoes!!  I would use filtered water for brushing teeth as well, in Mexico.

As far as pets go, I could not handle stray/suffering animals in the street.  I would very quickly become the crazy cat AND dog lady.  Maybe add a donkey or two to the mix ;-)

I would prefer to drop Medicare all together if I became a full resident of Mexico.  Speaking of which, SS asked me if I was going to keep my US status.  I said yes because I don't think it would be wise not to.  I've heard statements about dual residency, Visa's, passports...and I'm still confused about all of that.  I was asking a lot of questions in my original post because I am clueless about all of this...even the basics!!  Still don't know what is required to enter Mexico for a visit (with or without pets) vs permanent entry.

Since I was informed that homeschooling is not heavily regulated and that I can continue to homeschool using my state's guidelines...coupled with the fact that there are alternative English/Spanish schools, I am resting easy on that.  I'm not worried about speaking Spanish either, I can get by and my son is eager to learn.

I don't mind hot and humid but would love a pool...my son loves swimming and it is great therapy for me.  The beach is a big second, but more for relaxation and soaking up some spirituality rather than swimming.  I'm curious to know if pools are common, particularly the salt water pools.

I'm so sorry about your fur kid/cat...I've lost a few best friends as well.  I am very torn about leaving my current fur kids (cat and Pug mix), even for a visit.  They have never been away from us and are truly attached to our hips.  Our cat is 7 and travels very well and our dog is 4, also travels well.  Ultimately, I'd like to take them even for the initial visit.  I would love to know if there are short stay rentals where pets are permitted.  I understand they would both need the one year rabies vaccine given at least 30 days prior to the trip.

Sounds like we are on similar paths, although I'd like to get our journey started sooner.  I'd like to be out of the US within the next 6-8 months but that might not be rational.

Thanks.

Hello magentaheart,


So you have these questions.
"I do have more questions about if people bathe, brush their teeth etc. with tap water though?  And haven't seen anything about the non gmo part yet.F"

What I know is you adapt to the organisms in the environment. The tap water here is probably much safer than the U.S. tap water, just not drinking water. The people I know wash with it, and bath in it. I frequently rinse my hair in bottled water because of the minerals. If I didn't my hair would be stiff and feel dirty.

I know someone who used conditioner to deal with that, but I find just rinsing it is better. I brush my teeth rinsing with tap water also, then rinse the brush again with Hydrogen peroxide, not so much because of the water as just to keep the bacteria under control. Toothbrushes are not really clean things.

Mexico is not a big fan of GMO's so I don't worry like I did in the U.S. They are also not heavy handed with pesticides like the U.S. is. They are particularly protective of the corn. They love their food and their cars. When you buy at the market you can tell that the people really know their crops, and have pride about the work they did to grow them.

It occurs to me that I should add what I go out of my way not to eat. Unfortunately corn, I'm sure it's safer than the U.S., but the shared border thing keeps me away from it, and most grains and soy. Those are items that are just too easy to contaminate, and Monsanto already illegally grew GMO wheat test fields in Oregon even though they were told not to. I also go out of my way to not eat anything imported from the U.S.

You are right about them being shocked about what is allowed in the U.S. They often ask me about the latest shootings and the toxic food practices. Mexico does, after all provide much of the organic products Americans eat. They treat their bees with great care, and are amazed at the bees dying in the U.S More recently they haven't been harvesting honey because we went through a dry spell . The flowers were not there for the bees, so their attitude was the bees needed the honey for themselves. How do I know all of this ? Friends in agriculture.

Megentaheart,

Well, this site/forum is quite temperamental!!  The post that I posted last night didn't seem to post, but is now available to see.

Sorry for the repeated information...

It is important to know how others see us.  I usually shower and used bottled water when I brush my teeth.  I don't know if I need to be that careful, but I am.

Leener and Travellight thank you so so much for your informative responses!!  And I apologize for not responding sooner, been an extra crazy week!

I am so thrilled to hear that Mexico is more committed to truly healthy and safe produce than the US.  I am especially heartened to hear about their stance on GMOs.  And I love the bee story.  So counter to what is happening in the US.  Where companies like Monsanto seem to have full reign.  So interesting about the irradiated food.  That is something I did not know about.  I know Travellight you've told me before that organic is more accessible but sometimes you just need to hear something several times in different ways for it to sink in, at least I do . 

I live in San Diego which has some of the worst rated tap water in the US.  This is because our tap water has travelled from up north all the way to us through open aquifers through farmland (using pesticides) etc.  Chloramine is now added to our water as well which is really hard to filter out.  I even have a filter on my shower now because of info on how chlorine etc. absorbs into our skin and breathing the steam from the shower.  Anyhow, all that to say, I'm realizing I may not need to be overly concerned about tap water in Mexico, at least not any more than I am about San Diego water.  I do have some concerns about my bodies response to adapting to the new organisms.  When I lived in Guatemala in '08 I had multiple bouts of amoebas, parasites, food poisoning etc.  I of course still loved being there, but didn't have the health issues I have now.  Regardless, I had no problems in '08 when I visited Mexico and I've been fine when going into Tijuana.  Not that I'm drinking tap water. 

Leener, that would be AMAZING, if SSDI accepted medical documents from a doctor in Mexico.  I too would rather just give up my Medicare, to get the coverage I need it is over priced and seems random what labs it will and won't cover.  I had a great and affordable ACA plan but was forced onto Medicare when I became eligible.  I am starting to do some more research on health insurance and hear some mixed reviews about Seguro and IMSS.  So may look into private.  It seems that regular I have a cold or sprained ankle out of pocket costs are quite affordable.  So maybe just catastrophic care...more research to be done.

I very much understand about the starving dogs.  That was probably a trillion times more difficult for me to see in Guate than dealing with the amoebas.  I reminded myself that the state of animals is a reflection on the state of the people, meaning that where there are starving dogs, there are hungry people.  We also have the infrastructure in the US to quietly and unobtrusively "put to sleep" the stray dogs here.  But it was still very hard to see.  I don't remember seeing this as much in Mexico when I visited at the tale end of that trip in '08.  Though I'm guessing it is still an issue in varying degrees depending on where in the country you are.  I visited Tulum in 1996 and there were a lot of stray dogs.  But that was over 20 years ago.  I do think there are rescue and spay/neuter programs in Mexico.  Thank you for your condolences on my cat, Daisy.  I miss her greatly though it was her time. 

There are so many areas of Mexico that sound wonderful.  Each week there is another area I get excited about.  I think it is time I make a list of what is truly important to me.  This tends to be influenced by my needs with my health, access to alternative and conventional health care, cost of living and weather.  I would like a certain amount of expats or English speaking folks to ease my initial transition.  I am fairly homebound so, ultimately, my greatest concern is isolation.  Took me quite some time to build the community I have here where English is widely spoken.  However, I also want locals around me.  I have no qualms making friends in broken Spanish.  I do have some Spanish skills, used to be probably a lower intermediate but now am a beginner again.

Thanks again to you both!!

No problem.  I have had similar experiences.

Hi,After reading everything you have posted I would suggest the following.
Move first to Baja California-Close to the border.
Your son could finish school in the USA, You can live close to the beach for a lot less than $800 a month, You can use medical facilities in California. Trying this requires a lot less comitment and cost.
You can try Mexican life on for size and then decide with a lot more experiance if you want to live further south.

Thanks, we've already moved to the Riviera Maya!

Leener wrote:

Thanks, we've already moved to the Riviera Maya!

Wonderful for you.
How long have you been there?
How do you like it?

Very happy, almost 2 weeks