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Hi everybody. I am an 18 year old who will be graduating from high school in june of this year. i have never been arrested, got caught stealing, no speeding tickets. etc. i haven't been in trouble with the law and have no criminal record at all. i want to move to mexico to get away from the american way of life. i love my family but i feel its just something i need to do to live my life, otherwise i feel like i will be dragged into living the american way which will involve me in going to college, taking out as mortgage, paying off student loans forever and living just to work and pay off my bills. i dont want that, i want to live near a nice beach, have a relaxed job, and maybe have a nice girlfriend to live with over time. i just want to live my life in peace and be disconnected from this fake way of life that the media and gov feeds to every american. having to be the best at everything you do just to be noticed..just everything i can go on for days.
so anyways the things that would make me happy in life would be:
beaches
friendly people
no stress
thats all i really "want" out of life as far as living in a certain place..
i wouldnt at all mind washing dishes at a restaraunt, working in a tourist area, or working undocumented in a relaxed area where the native mexicans wouldnt rat me out for living there..
i dont want to have to apply for all the forms to live there, have to worry about all the deportation issues, i just want to live my life peacefully is that too much to ask?
so if anybody has any ideas or suggestions on how to get down there and any places to live as far as nice beaches are concerned, jobs, friendly people, how to live under the radar, and anything else you think i may need to know then i'd appreciate your input. thanks..
You either have to complete Mexico's simple Visa paperwork to live and/or work there, OR you will run a significant risk of strong consequences. No one here will advise you to enter or remain in Mexico illegally – it's highly foolish, and completely unnecessary in your case. (Unless there's something you haven't disclosed here, of course.)
i wouldnt at all mind washing dishes at a restaraunt, working in a tourist area, or working undocumented in a relaxed area where the native mexicans wouldnt rat me out for living there..
i dont want to have to apply for all the forms to live there, have to worry about all the deportation issues, i just want to live my life peacefully is that too much to ask?
So.... you want to be an illegal breaking the law and expect everyone to just leave you along? Good luck with that.
What you want is not uncommon for kids your age but trust me, when you're 30 you'll want more than a menial job that barely covers a pot of beans and a rented room. You might want a family and a place to call your own. Problem is, unless you take the steps needed now to establish a career (doesn't have to be college, it could be a vocation) you won't have much of a chance for it.
But if that's what you want, to live in a tourist area and just get by but have fun, then here's an idea. Become a scuba instructor. It'll cost you a couple thousand bucks and about a year if you go at it full time but you might get that subsidized by a dive resort in exchange for your internship labor. Then you can drift from one resort to the next, staying six months to a year, living in a resort dorm, spending your days helping bikini clad chicks do a vacation dive, and spending your nights drinking cheap beer with the other like minded drifters.
-<snip>-
so anyways the things that would make me happy in life would be:
beaches
friendly people
no stress
thats all i really "want" out of life as far as living in a certain place..
i wouldnt at all mind washing dishes at a restaraunt, working in a tourist area, or working undocumented in a relaxed area where the native mexicans wouldnt rat me out for living there..
i dont want to have to apply for all the forms to live there, have to worry about all the deportation issues, i just want to live my life peacefully is that too much to ask?
so if anybody has any ideas or suggestions on how to get down there and any places to live as far as nice beaches are concerned, jobs, friendly people, how to live under the radar, and anything else you think i may need to know then i'd appreciate your input. thanks..
So lets get this straight, you have no money and no transportation, don't know anyone living in Mexico and want to move to Mexico... Grrreat.......
Getting down there is easy, go out to the nearest highway going South and stick out your thumb... This mode of transportation has been used successfully for many many decades.....
okay so i guess i should apply for a visa.. i have a while until i move down there though. my grandpa is from mexico and speaks fluent spanish, he has family there that i have never met before. but has always talked about them. i could probably stay with his family for a while if i needed too. but i want to go to yucatan, or quintana roo those places seem nice. as far as what divertodd said about spending my nights drinking cheap beer with the other like minded drifters.. is being a drifter considered a bad thing?
Not a bad thing AT ALL, and I'm sure many here could relate to some of your comments. However, you may someday consider that you don't want to be a drifter forever, and then realize that having been a drifter has limited your future options in unforeseen and detrimental ways. Choose carefully.
I didn't say it was a "bad thing". Trust me, those of us older like your parents were once 18. We know how you are feeling. What I'm saying is that you will likely want something more than that someday. The problem is that if you're not careful you might find yourself caught in a drifter lifestyle long after it has lost it's charm.
The American way of life you describe is one that about 4 billion people in the world would like to have. I suspect you come from solid middle class and don't know what you've got. Going to college will never be any easier than it is now. You could enroll in a college near a beach if that is so important. Many would love to have the opportunity...
You say you don't want to get dragged into a life where you are living just to work to pay the bills. Most of the people in the world are doing that, especially in Mexico and other poor countries. You'll be working much harder and longer doing menial labor.
I became a full-on "drifter" at nearly 40 years old. In three days' time, I gave away everything I owned, and asked a friend to take me to the bus station in Tijuana. I didn't have any plan for where I was going, I didn't know anyone in Mexico, and I didn't speak any Spanish. I took the first bus to a totally unknown destination 1,000 miles into the interior of Mexico. I took no money with me other than what I used to buy my bus ticket, and I survived merely by helping others, doing volunteer service of all sorts, working in hostels, and engaging in remarkable life experiences. I traveled at-will for the next six years, including joining the Peace Corps. My adventures took me all the way to Argentina, and profoundly changed my life.
However, prior to indulging myself in that lifestyle, I ensured my economic independence by mastering my career. My choice of "work-before-play" was good, and has allowed me to have a far better and more independent life than I ever could have achieved if I had not first become masterful at my career. Now, in my mid-50s, I have the ability to drift-at-will without worry or concern for my future, and have a limitless set of options.
Everyone here must certainly understand, admire, and envy your idealism and sense of adventure. We do not want to take that away from you – quite the contrary.
Here's a suggestion... make a work-to-play goal for yourself: First develop a skill or endeavor that you love... one which could sustain you anytime and anywhere... and then let the notion of being a drifter be your reward for having accomplished your developmental goal. Or, work four years... then play for two.
Those who skip over college or early career development can rarely catch up. Often one cannot foresee the value of preparedness. At least put a few years now into higher education and developing a fun and worthwhile career, on your own terms. There will still be plenty of time (decades) for an adventurous drifter lifestyle, and you'll appreciate it even more when you are otherwise accomplished and truly independent, rather than needy.
i just want to live my life in peace and be disconnected from this fake way of life that the media and gov feeds to every american. having to be the best at everything you do just to be noticed..
One can learn to be "at peace" with the fake world... let it be, rather than reject/avoid it. Peace is internal, not circumstantial.
What did you mean by "having to be the best at everything you do just to be noticed?" I'm curious what has given you, at 18 years old, your strong desire to "check out" from a mainstream life.
I became a full-on "drifter" at nearly 40 years old. In three days' time, I gave away everything I owned, and asked a friend to take me to the bus station in Tijuana. I didn't have any plan for where I was going, I didn't know anyone in Mexico, and I didn't speak any Spanish. I took the first bus to a totally unknown destination 1,000 miles into the interior of Mexico. I took no money with me other than what I used to buy my bus ticket, and I survived merely by helping others, doing volunteer service of all sorts, working in hostels, and engaging in remarkable life experiences. I traveled at-will for the next six years, including joining the Peace Corps. My adventures took me all the way to Argentina, and profoundly changed my life.
However, prior to indulging myself in that lifestyle, I ensured my economic independence by mastering my career. My choice of "work-before-play" was good, and has allowed me to have a far better and more independent life than I ever could have achieved if I had not first become masterful at my career. Now, in my mid-50s, I have the ability to drift-at-will without worry or concern for my future, and have a limitless set of options.
Everyone here must certainly understand, admire, and envy your idealism and sense of adventure. We do not want to take that away from you – quite the contrary.
Here's a suggestion... make a work-to-play goal for yourself: First develop a skill or endeavor that you love... one which could sustain you anytime and anywhere... and then let the notion of being a drifter be your reward for having accomplished your developmental goal. Or, work four years... then play for two.
Those who skip over college or early career development can rarely catch up. Often one cannot foresee the value of preparedness. At least put a few years now into higher education and developing a fun and worthwhile career, on your own terms. There will still be plenty of time (decades) for an adventurous drifter lifestyle, and you'll appreciate it even more when you are otherwise accomplished and truly independent, rather than needy.
Great post, Steven! Not too many people would do what you did at your stage of life. I'm one of those people that would have done exactly what you did.
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