Which city/town in Mexico best matches my criteria

[vantexan]

Originally Posted by axixic2

I live in Mexico but I am unfamiliar with "Guat."

If a person has an FM3, his car is legal in Mexico as long as his FM3 is up to date. I don't know what you are describing by importing a car. Are you describing nationalizing a car? Why would a foreigner need to nationalize his car? He can bring his car in now with a tourist visa and posting a refundable $400-200 USD bond. When he returns to the border, he gets the bond back. If he stays in Mexico, getting an FM3, he kisses the bond goodbye.

Anyone driving in Mexico without liability insurance is suicidal. Vehicular accidents are criminal and civil in Mexico. If a person is not insured, he will rot in jail or until he somehow pays all damages. With insurance, the company sends a lawyer out who bonds the driver out of jail. Still some people with insurance are in jail for a few days. People learn quickly not to have accidents and never drive after a drink. Insurance does not pay anything if the driver has been drinking. American insurance does not cover a vehicle in Mexico. One MUST have Mexican insurance coverage.

Good, you are familiar with the rules, you can explain where I'm wrong. What I'm saying is that if he doesn't qualify for an FM3, he could still live there on a tourist card. From Puerto Escondido not too bad to go to Guatemala to renew card every 6 months. If he brings in a vehicle on the tourist card, not only does he have to have Mexican insurance, plus the deposit, but his vehicle has to be legal to drive in the States. Thus he has to maintain his registration and, in Texas for certain where I'm from, means carrying American insurance. Not cheap for most 19 yr olds.

He could import his vehicle into Guatemala, which doesn't cost too much if it's older. My 2000 F-150 right now will cost me a little over $700 to import. Plus a $12 or so annual tag fee. Guatemala doesn't require insurance. OK, now I come into Mexico, pay a $200 deposit on my 2000 or older vehicle, get reasonable Mexican insurance, and I'm set.

An added bonus is that if you needed to fly out, you could leave vehicle at secure location in Guatemala and either fly out of there or maybe Mexican city near border like Tapachula. Otherwise on tourist card as you know you'd have to leave Mexico and return to States with your U.S. plated vehicle.

[evafla]

Secret .
TUXPAN, Veracruz .

Not discovered yet wonder .
Town has everything,
amazing river,
big port
navy bases , so very safe
beautiful beaches,
very affordable,
fantastic people,

yes , very hot in summer, but amazing mountains with
cooler weather are not far away .

Very much like New Orleans but bigger cleaner, better .

Seafood to dye for .

and one more time People !!!

eva

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by evafla

Secret .
TUXPAN, Veracruz .

And the nice thing about Tuxpan, is you can live across the river in what is one of the friendliest and most quiet and peaceful neighborhoods in Mexico, clean and tidy, with almost no cars in the streets, with little ferry boats shuttling back and forth every few minutes for a peso or so to the business district.

[axixic2]

Originally Posted by jtur88

And the nice thing about Tuxpan, is you can live across the river in what is one of the friendliest and most quiet and peaceful neighborhoods in Mexico, clean and tidy, with almost no cars in the streets, with little ferry boats shuttling back and forth every few minutes for a peso or so to the business district.

Sounds like where I need to move.

Jtur88, how the H**L have you managed to see all these towns?

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by vantexan

Good, you are familiar with the rules, you can explain where I'm wrong. What I'm saying is that if he doesn't qualify for an FM3, he could still live there on a tourist card. From Puerto Escondido not too bad to go to Guatemala to renew card every 6 months. If he brings in a vehicle on the tourist card, not only does he have to have Mexican insurance, plus the deposit, but his vehicle has to be legal to drive in the States. Thus he has to maintain his registration and, in Texas for certain where I'm from, means carrying American insurance. Not cheap for most 19 yr olds.

He could import his vehicle into Guatemala, which doesn't cost too much if it's older. My 2000 F-150 right now will cost me a little over $700 to import. Plus a $12 or so annual tag fee. Guatemala doesn't require insurance. OK, now I come into Mexico, pay a $200 deposit on my 2000 or older vehicle, get reasonable Mexican insurance, and I'm set.

An added bonus is that if you needed to fly out, you could leave vehicle at secure location in Guatemala and either fly out of there or maybe Mexican city near border like Tapachula. Otherwise on tourist card as you know you'd have to leave Mexico and return to States with your U.S. plated vehicle.

There are a couple of points that I think your are wrong about. First, your US-plated car does not need to be insured while it is Mexico. The registratihn remains valid, but your insurance company will suspend your coverage while the vehicle is in Mexico, for a full pro-rata refund. So the cost of keeping your USA car insured while it is out of USA is zero. Even if you're only going to be in Mexico for a week or two, tell your insurance company to suspend your coverage and credit you the premium for that many days.

Also, if you enter either Mexico or Guatemala with a car, that fact is entered in your passport or tourist card and there is no way that you are going to exit at the airport without your car. If you absolutely MUST fly out for some emergency, the only way you can leave is to abandon it in the no-man's land between the Mexico and Guatemala customs points at the border, and then re-enter one country or the other without the car and fly out.

If the car is too valuable to abandon, you can be accompanied by an agent, who can buy the car from you in the neutral zone, and then enter it as his car, paying all the necessary fees, and storing it for you while you are gone.

[axixic2]

I think your foreign plated vehicle can be left in Mexico but another one cannot be brought in as long as the vehicle is in the foreigner's name which is attached to his passport/visa. But, I could be wrong and jtur88 completely correct that it cannot be left in Mexico.

Insurance is not mandated in most Mexican states but have an accident without insurance and you will be sitting in a Mexican jail until all damages are paid. It is cheaper and safer to carry Mexico insurance. My full coverage is less than $300 U.S. a year and in the U.S. it would be twice that. Liability alone is under $100 U.S. a year. Not much considering what one's freedom could cost.

Rolly has everything one needs to know about living in Mexico on his site:

My Life in Mexico

You Can Bring Your Car

[vantexan]

Good to know about insurance however in Texas in order to renew tags you must carry insurance. No way around it so big hassle every year. Other states may vary. Not advocating going without insurance in Mexico, just trying to find cheapest way to maintain vehicle in Mexico. If I import a vehicle into Guatemala I can leave it in Guatemala while I fly out. It's a nationalized, Guatemala plated vehicle. After the initial expense it seems like a good option as I'll renew tourist card at Guatemalan border. Tags in Guatemala run about $12 a year. That all being said I'm thinking I can get by without a vehicle. Easiest solution on limited funds.

[axixic2]

Originally Posted by vantexan

Good to know about insurance however in Texas in order to renew tags you must carry insurance. No way around it so big hassle every year. Other states may vary. Not advocating going without insurance in Mexico, just trying to find cheapest way to maintain vehicle in Mexico. If I import a vehicle into Guatemala I can leave it in Guatemala while I fly out. It's a nationalized, Guatemala plated vehicle. After the initial expense it seems like a good option as I'll renew tourist card at Guatemalan border. Tags in Guatemala run about $12 a year. That all being said I'm thinking I can get by without a vehicle. Easiest solution on limited funds.

Do like everybody else does here, get a S.Dakota tag. People with FM3s, have tags that a years out of date because as long as the FM3, now called Rentista, is current the vehicle is current. Even someone with a temporary visa can buy S. Dakota plates.

When I had to drive back to Texas my Texas tags were several years out of date and it would have been a real pain and expensive to get current Texas plates including the environment checks, so I got S. Dakota tags. Probably about half the license plates one sees here are S. Dakota.

Always carry liability insurance in Mexico and do not ever let a Mexican citizen drive the vehicle unless the owner is in the vehicle. Only people with visas, FM3/2 can drive a foreign plated vehicle. If it is in a wreck, the owner will stay in jail until the damages are paid. If a Mexican citizen was illegally driving it, it will be confiscated, the owner kept in jail until the damages are paid (insurance will not pay) and the owner deported. Do not have any alcohol and drive. Insurance will not pay if you had one drink. Having an accident is serious business in Mexico and one sees fewer accidents than up North.

[maria_i]

Tuxpan is very nice.
If you want a bigger city, I'd recommend Mérida Yucatán.
Beautiful city, very friendly people, excellent food, near to the coast, clean, lowest crime rate of the country.
Climate is very warm. You must like this.
What exactly do you mean by "open minded"? Not conservative?