Living in Mexico

Hi we move in to Merida Yucatan in 2005, and we are very happy living here, Yucatan is one of the finest places to live in Mexico. There are many beutifull cities in Mexico, but Merida has a lot to offer: peacefull, no crimes, still affordable, plenty of space, great people and culture, and close by you have sea, arquilogical sites, great food, lots of entretainment. what could i say, we are in love with the place. if you need more information we will be glad to help. Arthur & Mayte. bmwmex2@yahoo.com.
www.yucatantoday.com

Martha Steweat Show broadcasted 2nd Jan. 2009 "Martha in Mexico"

To any one interested to move to Mexico, we can help you with all the relocation process... Providing valuable information, security tips, area recognition program.. house search..settle in support programs, etc.. Visit [moderated: no free ads]

Hi Newsgal70: well, all depends on what you want and like... beach?, colonial town/city?, urban area?, desert? mountain? jungle?...

As per your comment of "very few americans", then you should avoid going to beach areas such as Vallarta, Punta peñasco, Cabos, Cancun, Guadalajara and a few others..

Let us know any further question and have a wonderful evening.

I am trying to convince my husband that we should retire in Mexico.  Not too sure what area but would like to be close to a beach and in a place that is not too touristy (if at all) but still safe.  Any suggestions?  We live in B.C. Canada and would be interested in maybe working a bit in Mexico (my husband is a carpenter and I work as a medical transcriptionist and would work over the internet)  Any advise at all would be great.

Hi Debbyfitz: I too am Canadian and we moved to Mexico almost 5 yrs. ago.
You really need to do lots of research online.  It is easy to say you want to live close to a beach and in an area with few expats.; but the reality is quite different.

1.  Do you realize what the weather is like in the beach areas in the summertime?  It is very hot and very humid sort of like living in a sauna. lol.  We do live in a coastal city and here it is extremely hot and humid in the summer.  That said, you do acclimatise to an extent and we love it where we are and you may too.

2.  Do you speak good Spanish?  If you don't want to live in an expat area you are going to be very lonely not being able to speak the language.

Ok, we live in a city of around 130,000 right on the coast of the mainland on the Sea of Cortes or Gulf of California.  There are maybe?? 10 other expat type people living in this city, maybe??.  We don't know them and we don't associate with them.  We live obviously in a totally Mexican neighborhood and no one speaks much English at all, a few words here and there.  We love it; but the majority of expats are not looking for a life like this, they want to be close to their own kind where they can join their old north of the border type clubs, etc., etc..

You cannot just come down here and work.  Not legally anyway.  You need to get an FM3 permit which allows you to live here for a year at a time and you renew it each year.  If you want to work you have to apply for an FM3 lucrativo and you have to be able to do a job that a Mexican person cannot.  If you get the correct permit it is limited to you doing that specifac job and only that job.  If you quit/lose that job they will revoke the working portion of your living permit. Some expats work at private schools teaching English to the children,  for around 1100 dollars a month here anyway, not sure about the pay scales elsewhere.  If this strikes your fancy you should look into the TESL courses before you come.

I am not trying to throw up roadblocks for you, just trying to show you that you have a lot of research online to do.
Working online for a company that is in Canada would be fine for you.  Doing online work for a Mexican company would entail what I mentioned above.  Your husband would have trouble getting a permit to work as a carpenter here as many Mexicans can do that work.
You could also start your own business which is a headache lol but is doable with persistence, many foreigners do this.  If you start your own business you are probably going to want to be in an area with expats as what you will earn working for nationals will not pay you nearly what you think you are worth.
Remember minimum daily wage here is around $5.00 a DAY and a good wage is around 1200.00 a month. 

There is a tourist town close to the city where we live; but we almost never go over there.  Maybe once every 6 mths. or so and sometimes not even that often.  There is nothing there for us.  The prices charged there are nuts and we find what we want here in our own city.

Suggestions:  If you don't speak Spanish start taking a class at your local college now.  Find a Spanish speaking person to converse with on a regular basis as just classes are not going to cut it if you move here.  You can take as many classes as you want and you are still going to have problems with comprehension unless you tune your ear to get used to hearing the language.

Hope this gives you some ideas and some things to think about.
Good luck and enjoy.  I am sure if you move here with the right attitude and preparation you will love it as we do.