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My husband and I are looking to semi retire , we have looked around and really like the area around Merida the Progreso Beach area - anyone with info on the area?
I've been on this site for about a year or more and I hear all these nice things about life in Mexico, now I hear MRTUDO says there are people leaving. Is it because of the drug wars we hear so much about, is it that the quality of life has deteriorated with the world economy?
Also no one has ever said anything about the quality of water, quality of local food, especially meats and fish.
One other thing, what is the racial makeup of the Americans there, I hear about Jalisco, Chalapa, etc, are there any African Americans down there? thanks
As we become more of a global world, people/expatriates may be just waking up to the fact that it's not going to matter much anymore where you live as everything is going to be ditto, ditto, ditto. I recently returned from a trip to Guatemala/El Salvador, looked over some real estate magazines and found housing prices down there now equal to the housing prices right here in the U.S. after the great fall in prices the past 2 years. From my many trips to Latin America (Central and Southern) I have found gas prices to be always higher than here in the U.S. Another thing I do in each city I visit down there is take a trip to the biggest grocery store in town. Food is now on a par with oil, just try to find grocery prices any lower in Latin America than the U.S. We're talking global world here! On most of these forums where you find someone touting the big cost savings of moving to Mexico or anywhere in Latin America you'll find a real estate agent looking to dupe the next buyer. The expats that move to Latin America are very limited as to the kind of work they can do there, so real estate is a natural choice, it helps fill those long days spent down there. So if there's Americans headed back to the U.S. from Mexico, it may not have anything to do with the crime rate, it may just be that they've suddenly come to the realization that the cost of living is no different there than back home in the U.S. If I were going to turn in the direction of becoming an Expat somewhere, sometime, it would be perfect climate as the overriding decision. Never too hot, never too cold and there are only limited places to find that in Latin America. As I was leaving Guatemala City yesterday, I was all but shell-shocked at how cold it can get down there, given their 5000 foot altitude, and with those fierce winds that were blowing yesterday (you know about wind-chill factor) I wished I had brought along something warmer than a light coat as I saw many walking the streets with leather jackets on. And if you do your research on Weatherunderground.com/Trip Planner you'll find all kinds of surprises in store for you looking for that ideal climate. The numerous Expats around Lake Chapala/Guadalajara tout their area as having that perfect climate, but with a little research, I found that in the depth of January it can fall into the mid 30's for lows at night. Is that perfect climate? No to me it isn't. So there could be any number of reasons for people leaving Mexico and returning home.
Many prices in Mexico are indeed higher then the US. I'm in Baja south of Rosarito and drive across the border at least twice a month for my meat and groceries. Grocery chains either in the US or Mexico buy at wholesale level. Some american items in Rosarito are a lot higher then the same item being sold in San Diego. Many Mexicans drive across the border to buy their groceries and meat. I see many mexican license plates in the parking lots and also at the P.O. where they are picking up mail at the small boxes next to my mail box. (wonder how that works?) Shipping cannot be that high being so close to the border. Labor is so much lower in Mexico...cannot see logical reasoning for the disparity in prices. Steve
Maybe it´s because Baja California is insolated from the rest of Mexico, almost all the national chains has their distribution centers in the center of the country, so is more expensive for them take all the groceries from for example, sinaloa to baja california...so its for that that is more expensive in baja...
Give you a difference in a price of a dog food item.
Walmart in San Diego.......44 lb bag $17.10
Walmart in Rosarito.......... 8 lb bag $ 9.00
We are talking same brand but different size. My dogs needed food so I paid the price for a small bag at the time. Have not been back to that store since and will not return in the future. Paying a price is one thing, being given the shaft is something else. Smart & Final in TJ and Rosarito are on the same level. I know what I am talking about. I was in the Grocery Inventory trade 23 yrs (owned a Grocery Inventory Service 15 of those yrs). My job was to take Inventory of their stock from once to four times a yr depending on the size of the operation. I dealt with the Owners and MGRS of these stores and was familiar with the prices of most of the mdse. Generally a store would be competative with their priceing ...some items being slightly lower and some higher. There was always a difference with no colusion by the owners. On a chain level prices will vary depending on the local clientile. Every neighborhood would be priced differently due to the volume of some items. There are some items sold very low (profit wise) as these items are called "loss leaders". These items are a "draw item" and stores expect to make up the loss on other items purchased by the customer. So much for Customer Sales 101. Stefhen
I said maybe.... i really don´t know and care, but the prices are high in Baja California than in central mexico. that´s why I said maybe the distance was the reason...
Well I can understand that you are just a customer and consumer and therfore not familiar with the daily operation of a small store or large chain level. I have the backgroud experience of working in a chain store...stocking shelves...receiving clerk in the back room...operating the cash register...all the store functions. I inventoried stores the size of Commercial Mexicana with a crew of men using portable recorders and not clip boards. Stores order mdse from a orderbook that show case prices and price will vary depending on the number of cases purchased. This is what large stores do. They buy in large shipments and the price is a lot lower then a small Mom & Pop store one or two case purchase. Now we are talking Walmart level. They buy by the Box car load and not a pick up load. If you are in the business of mfg and need to sell your product. Which is better...sell two to ten cases to a small idependendent or say five hundred cases to Walmart. If you want to sell your product via volume, the price has to be lower for the buyer. The answer is obvious. So much for Customers Sales 101. Stefhen
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Other things I want to know about Mexico
