Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Many people in Mexico own washing machines. I will say that while the culture in the US is to put all the clothes in the washing machine and let it do all the work, in Mexico whites are washed by hand before they go in a washing machine and prior to that, they are placed in a bucket with soap to soak. Moreover, drying clothes in the dryer is not as popular as it is in the US. People still prefer to hand their clothes and wait for natural sunlight to dry them. At least, that is how the majority of Mexican women wash that I have seen and that is how my mother taught me. This can greatly increase the amount of house work.
But if it's so great there, why don't you want to live in that country?
It's very possible that people IN Mexico work very hard and I know they actually enjoy life in that country. But try telling that to the huge illegal population in the USA.
And it's true that the people of the USA like shortcuts and machines.
But if it's so great there, why don't you want to live in that country?
It's very possible that people IN Mexico work very hard and I know they actually enjoy life in that country. But try telling that to the huge illegal population in the USA.
And it's true that the people of the USA like shortcuts and machines.
Malamute, you don't know how many months out of the year I live there, you don't know if I am making plans to move there permanently or if and why I refuse to move there. None of it is your concern. Furthermore, this is not the illegal immigration forum and this thread is not about illegal immigration. Would you please stop hijacking threads and turning them into illegal immigration.
Of course they do. But many don't, and also are not within walking distance of a laundromat. A washing machine in Mexico costs about three weeks pay, compared to three days in the USA. Per capita, Mexico's washing machine industry turns about half as many units as the American counterpart. Which, arguably, could indicate that the machines have penetrated no more than half the Mexican households. Modern houses in working class colonias, being built today, still have a pila in the back. I've seen them.
Similarly, "many people in Mexico own cars". But that doesn't mean that walking is not widespread, particularly compared with the USA. When I walk the 6 blocks from my house to the market in Mexico, I pass maybe 100 people walking. Here in the USA, when I walk 25 minutes to the supermarket, I see nobody on foot. Usually not a single pedestrian.
Malamute, you don't know how many months out of the year I live there, you don't know if I am making plans to move there permanently or if and why I refuse to move there. None of it is your concern. Furthermore, this is not the illegal immigration forum and this thread is not about illegal immigration. Would you please stop hijacking threads and turning them into illegal immigration.
Thanks.
I realize what forum it is, and I realize how nice Mexico is - but you do paint another picture of your country in that other forum. I am the first one to admit (everywhere) that Mexico is a nice country with a much lower unemployment rate and high standard of living for those who make the effort.
Of course they do. But many don't, and also are not within walking distance of a laundromat. A washing machine in Mexico costs about three weeks pay, compared to three days in the USA. Per capita, Mexico's washing machine industry turns about half as many units as the American counterpart. Which, arguably, could indicate that the machines have penetrated no more than half the Mexican households. Modern houses in working class colonias, being built today, still have a pila in the back. I've seen them.
Similarly, "many people in Mexico own cars". But that doesn't mean that walking is not widespread, particularly compared with the USA. When I walk the 6 blocks from my house to the market in Mexico, I pass maybe 100 people walking. Here in the USA, when I walk 25 minutes to the supermarket, I see nobody on foot. Usually not a single pedestrian.
That isn't necessarily something positive about the USA - people jump in the car to drive a block.
Yes in Mexico there are fewer cars but less need for them. You can walk to the corner and jump on a bus and get anywhere you want - very convenient, easy.
In some ways I definitely liked the buses there, they aren't one hour apart but every few minutes and it is nice not having to worry about finding a parking place.
Plus people should walk a little bit, it's good for them.
I agree with much of your comments diver. I think it is best to work smarter and not harder. I even agree with you that Mexicans are not the most educated people, being that 70% of Mexicans cannot afford higher education.
However, not having the "cleanest homes in the world" to me is a stereotype but I will wait for you to show a credible source or at least back up you statement with a fact. As far as infrastructure is concerned, that may be geared more toward lack of funds than lack of willingness to work. Who wouldn't want to have employment particularly these days? Just like the U.S. we aren't really building. Does this mean the U.S. is working slower? Not at all.
I didn't mean "not the most educated" as a way of derogatorily saying the "least educated" as in "he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer". My point was not to imply that Mexicans are poorly educated, live in filth, and have no working infrastructure. What I was saying is that this top ranking in labor does not manifest itself as a top ranking in education, living conditions, and infrastructure. The point is that Mexicans perhaps need to question just who is benefiting from all their labor if not themselves?
Not long ago, I was reading an article in one of the major newspapers where it displayed a man who was taking down a report at the police station, in writing, while it had a computer next to him. It must have taken him double the work to first do it in writing, then transfer all the data into the computer. Why not cut his time down by only entering it in the PC.
One of the comments on the video I do agree with is that in Mexico, people still spend time in the kitchen cooking, even if it takes them all evening. Compared to American society, it is either cooking quick meals or simply eating out.
Not to generalize too much, but it seems Americans have been more indoctrinated by society on all levels to be "efficient", to find ways to save time and do things easier and faster. My limited observations in Mexico is that there is much less concern about this, that people are less focused on how long it takes to get something done and there isn't a lot of thought given to "how can I get this 1 hour task done in 45 minutes?".
Many people in Mexico own washing machines. I will say that while the culture in the US is to put all the clothes in the washing machine and let it do all the work, in Mexico whites are washed by hand before they go in a washing machine and prior to that, they are placed in a bucket with soap to soak. Moreover, drying clothes in the dryer is not as popular as it is in the US. People still prefer to hand their clothes and wait for natural sunlight to dry them. At least, that is how the majority of Mexican women wash that I have seen and that is how my mother taught me. This can greatly increase the amount of house work.
I agree, all of my family that lives there have washing machines, none of them have dryers (or automatic dishwashers).
I think a 50% per capita relative sales volume probably translates to a greater than 50% relative household penetration because they tend to hold on to their appliances much longer, using that "Mexican ingenuity to fix a machine with a rubber band, paper clip, and roll of tape" to keep them going long after the average American would have set it out front for the garbage truck and bought a new model. No, I don't have any stats to support this.
I stayed with two friends' families while I was in Mexico last month. Both were middle-class, probably in the "B" or "C+" socio-economic rank, and both were mestizo families, one apparently with less indigenous admixture than the other.
In one household, the "muchacha", a maid shared among several households, did the laundry every Saturday. They did not have a washing machine.
The other had a washing machine. This was shared among three households: the friends' family's house, as well as the adjoining "casitas" of the parents' two young daughters, who had married.
Drying machines were unnecessary because of the climate, which was hot and humid year-round.
That isn't necessarily something positive about the USA - people jump in the car to drive a block.
.
It wasn't a value judgment. It was my explanation of why members of a Mexican family spend more time doing household chores than Americans, a statistic referenced in the OP.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
