What are you missing in Mexico?

FYI
You might get more responses if your emails didn't look like this,
a style="color:#006e9a; text-decoration:none;" href="[forumlink]" >Mexico</a> forum.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks this is likely to be spam. I only clicked because I saw the word forum.

You may laugh, but I miss a good taco. Better tacos in the US.

To answer this forum’s question from a balanced perspective I must first state  that I am happy living here full time in Mexico for the last four years.  Retiring and moving to a developing but still largely wild area in Quintana Roo from California has been an abrupt change.  I enjoyed 65 years of growing up, getting an education and eventually settling in on a career I was passionate about.  However, I realized that in retirement I was not going to be able to maintain such an affluent lifestyle as I was accustomed to.

What do I miss most about living on an isolated quiet Caribbean beach as opposed to an affluent, vibrant city in California?  The simple answer is, not much.  However, to leave it at that would be dishonest and unhelpful to this discussion.

What I miss are comparatively small things that are related to being spoiled by life in the developed world.  Here’s a list:
Turkey and lamb at Christmas and Easter.
Pumpkin pie with quality vanilla ice cream.
Quality sheets and towels with high thread counts
Men’s shoes in size 12
Quality furniture in a variety of styles (everything here is the same boring, mediocre quality, ultra modern or poor quality rústico.
A selection of quality upholstery fabrics for indoor and outdoor.
Crunchy tacos loaded with real cheddar cheese.
Packaged Food seasoning mixes like;  taco seasoning, enchilada seasoning, stroganoff mix, pastry mixes ..... You may laugh but that’s how I learned to cook in California and I’m lost without these cooking shortcuts and the individual ingredients that make up these mixes are not necessarily available either.
Good Thai, Chinese food and especially sushi.
Biggest thing for me; because I’m an avid gardener is the selection of plant species available at local nurseries.  In Southern California I became spoiled by the diversity of species, hybrids and cultivars available.  In contrast, here, the selection is comparatively boring, even dismal.  However, the prices of plants are a fraction of the cost back home.

As you can see, none of the things I miss so badly are essential to having a good, happy, even privileged life of comparative luxury.  However, you asked and I told you what this old gringo misses about home.

Again, not to be redundant but, I love my life here in Quintana Roo and everyday I awake grateful for a damn good life surrounded by bountiful beauty.

I am laughing but you’re right!  Mexicans here don’t know how to make good Mexican food like we do back home.  LOL!

San Diego taco shoos are famous for theur huge burritos. I haven't found anything close in Mexixo, so far. Also in central Mexico they are very stingy with avocaodes and usually don't have any. In Mexicali, Baja they have bowls full and you spoon on as much as you want on tacos which are made of fresh made flour tortillas and marinated carne asada and large - better than US tacos.

"Do you miss any aspects of your home culture? If so, what are these? "

I miss it when you request someone to do work for you and they actually do it properly.

Here in Mexico, we get people to do work for us, and they say "oh yeah I can do that for you". But then when all is said and done. They don't know how to do it properly. Or they say they will do it and, sometimes, never show up and then stop responding to queries for no given reason.

We had an architect come to repair some problems with flaking paint and cement in our house. I asked her if she had a solution and said I would prefer, after the repairs, not to see any further problems with this for at least five years. She said no problems. We spent a considerable amount of money to undertake these repairs. And now, only after about 4 months, we are seeing the same problems in various parts of the walls around our house.

I queried her sometime later about some info I had found on the Internet which states that dirt should never be mixed with cement because it can cause exactly what we are seeing. She asked me where I had found this information, seemingly like she did not even know about it. An architect who does not know how to properly prepare concrete?

Then original architect who built our house obviously did not know about this either. I have a video and photos of his workers mixing concrete in the dirt. At the time they were doing this I did not know this was a bad thing to do. I am having to become an expert in many things where, in Canada, I could depend on others for.

An owner of a car mechanic's shop told me he was too busy when I simply queried him how much it would cost to install shocks on both sides of my car. I first asked him for a quote. He said he was on the road and would respond in the morning. He never did. I queried him again a few days later. This time he says I don't have time to do what you ask. I told him obviously you do not want my business then. He replied with a smiley face!

Another time, we requested the carpenter who built are kitchen to build some closets for us. He came to our house and made some suggestions and said he would send us a quote. He never did. Upon further queries over a month. He just stopped responding. No reason given. Just nothing.

Seems some don't even care.

"Are you able to reproduce dishes from home and find the necessary ingredients? "

Most of the time you can find what you need. With the exception that the supermarkets continuously run out of things. It is like they do not pay attention to low stock and then reorder when necessary. This happens in a pet food store I have used in the past. They had a cat food for several months. Then they ran out and still do not have it despite my queries. Now I order the same cat food on Amazon and have it shipped first to a US address and then to my address here in Mexico. So, it is not because the product is not available. It is because these people do not know how to properly support their clients or just don't care.

On one of the chat groups, where I live, a woman asked the manager of the main supermarket about stocking issues. He, apparently, replied, it's too much trouble! Great response to send to you clients!!

First Last wrote:

You may laugh, but I miss a good taco. Better tacos in the US.

Jack In The Box??

A native would explain that those are not tacos, but more of a quesadilla. There is not just a taco in Mexico but 100s of regional tacos. A taco bell "taco" is uniform and the same everywhere.

I miss the ability to have products that the U.S. will not allow to be shipped here. as well as products that Mexico is unfamiliar with so they deny entrance.

I have not seen anything as of yet that I cannot get shipped to Mexico. But then I do not depend on Amazon, for example, to ship to Mexico. I have it shipped to an address in the US and then have a 3rd party ship to my address in Mexico. That 3rd party os called MiniExpress.

I'm hardly dependent on Amazon.
You will find that if it has to be seen at the border, Easy shipping will likely charge for you. My daughter sent me things they don't have here. I was using dental cleaning tablets to clean jewelry. They stopped it and said I needed a prescription for it and a health form. they did not accept that you don't use a prescription for dental cleaner any more than for a toothbrush.
My dentist got a new tool denied. He is native and they refused a dental tool. It happens.

travellight wrote:

A native would explain that those are not tacos, but more of a quesadilla. There is not just a taco in Mexico but 100s of regional tacos. A taco bell "taco" is uniform and the same everywhere.

No not quesadillas. He is decribing these which are only available  outside of Mexico, I think. HEB, a huge Texas chain of supermarkets sells the envelopes of seasoning, under the HEB brand, he is looking for but these large supermarkets are only as far south as Leon.

Lol! You think that’s bad?! I miss Mexican food! I am from Texas/Florida, and I guess I got used to that Mexican style?! The flowers tortillas are all made with wheat/trigo down here in Cancun! Ugh! My husband and I actually found real Pillsbury flour at selecto and are making our own homemade tortillas. And bacon also bacon, it’s not very good down here.

LettyClark0401 wrote:

Lol! You think that’s bad?! I miss Mexican food! I am from Texas/Florida, and I guess I got used to that Mexican style?! The flowers tortillas are all made with wheat/trigo down here in Cancun! Ugh! My husband and I actually found real Pillsbury flour at selecto and are making our own homemade tortillas. And bacon also bacon, it’s not very good down here.

I can relate to what everyone, so far, has stated about life in Mexico. 
I especially find our comments about Mexican food to be entertaining, funny and I can relate.
I’m from Southern California where Mexican restaurants are more common than gas stations and “California Mexican food” has always been my favorite comfort food.  Even in my English/American family we served crunchy tacos with spicy ground beef or chicken balanced by a good amount of cheddar cheese and topped off with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa, frequently served.  Yum!   
We’re not talking Taco Bell here.  (Although, I did once host a pool party catered by Taco Bell and it was a hit).

Obviously, our various concepts of Mexican food is only “Mexican inspired” versions of gringo food but, it was damn good. 

I’ve had a house in Ensenada, Baja for 20+ years, a house in Quintana Roe for four years and done a fair amount of travel in Mexico.  Mexican food is varied around the country but I’ve never found that good old California Mexican food anywhere in Mexico.  Honestly, that’s what I frequently crave.  When I go back to the states, those Mexican restaurants are “must stop moments” for me.

I miss absolutly nothing!  Me and my wife are both vets who served and loved the USA.  But its not the same place it was when I gave up paid for college to join during a war.  Victims are treated worse then the criminals our vets are treated even worse then that.  And if your a law abiding citizen your just going to get abused and used by all around you who just ignore the laws with no negative side effects.

So me and my wife don't miss a darn thing.  If one day the shortages, crime, free handouts to those who refuse to work stop maybe we might miss something but as of today... don't miss a thing.

Also I spent the first 10 years of my adult life outside of the military as a Senior office at the Dept of justice so I served my country twice but it never only worried about helping those who did nothing for it!

Amen!  Thank you for your service.

My plan to become a nomadic expat was not originally a reaction to the political scene but, as time progresses, it is becoming a factor.  I fear that the USA is fast becoming something that I never imagined.  I spent some time in MX last year and again earlier this year, and it was so refreshing to not have such a COVID-focused environment and hear all the  constant political chaos that is hard to avoid in the U.S. even if you don't watch TV.

As for food, I am looking forward to the fresh-caught seafood and fresh vegetables and fruit.  With all the chatter these days of the food shortages that may occur in the US, and may become permanent, I don't expect to have that problem in MX.

Having done extensive travel over the years, I have learned that no two countries are alike and that is good. I just adjust to the culture and circumstances.  I find that very interesting; otherwise, I might as well stay home.

I am not buying property or settling in one place in MX. but will be staying in airbnbs for several months in each place I visit.  That way I can immerse myself into various communities.  I already have a guest list schedule because friends and family all want to come to visit me in the different places I will be. 

I am so eager to get to MX.  My target date to leave Montana is Nov. 9.  Red Lodge. MT is a wonderful place and I have had many good years here, but Adios Amigos.

Just a quick note to a few posters:

The forum code of conduct does not allow political conversations, and that includes international politics; denigrating one country in comparison to another.

Only admin can decide when a conversation crosses that line, but when they do, your post will either be edited or deleted.

No need to go off topic.

It's possible to say what you miss without turning this into an opportunity to rant against another country.

Haha Forgive the cynicism, but your "in-store" US  products are becoming scarce. The list of items I regularly use and now having difficulty finding range from organic eggs (no pun intended) and certain dog foods. The ripple is spreading. Just praying that this dis-ease doesn't spread south of the border.

Wow, wwallassociates, thanks for your comment. It's reassuring. I have/had a concern about food availability south of the border. It's great that you've spent significant time traveling. What do you think about Ensenada compared to other cities in Mexico?

Little Warrior,
I have a place in Ensenada, actually a small village on the northern edge of Ensenada.  You asked about Ensenada so I offer my opinion. 
While no place is perfect, Ensenada has a lot of things going for it.  Here are a few that pop into mind:
Weather:  for the most part, the year round weather is a comfortable Mediterranean environment.  Rarely is is too cold or too hot.  Many homes neither have a heating system nor air conditioning.
Proximity to the US:  for some, this is important for a variety of reasons.
Shopping: One can live comfortably and find much of what you were used to back home.
Restaurants: there is a greater variety that in many Mexican cities.
Medical: health care is affordable and there are good, well trained doctors in all branches.
Real estate:  home prices are affordable.

I can go on but suffice it to say that Ensenada is not bad.
What Ensenada lacks is historical Mexican culture and nice, clean beaches.  Ensenada’s beaches are some of the most unhealthy in Mexico.