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Getting back to your question, I have some acquaintances who have relocated to small town Mexico. I'll try to find out a little more about it, but basically the idea is to hole up in a place where there is no drug traffic and no tourists or tourist attractions. I understand they have all bought houses near one another and have a splendid time. They do have some money to work with though.
I sent an email to one of these people. We will see. But, I recall that they are above 3500 ft. alt. and I recall a discussion that it never gets above the 80 F. where they are and does not freeze in Winter. Sounds like Ashville NC, huh?
I was under the impression that there is some legal issue that precludes Americans from owning real estate in Mexico.
I was under the impression that there is some legal issue that precludes Americans from owning real estate in Mexico.
I was told that there are restricted property and unrestricted property. If the folks in Mexico get back in touch with me I will start a dialogue with them. but I was told they all bought houses there.
Property may be purchased and owned outright for residential use by foreign nationals outside of the 100km restricted land border zone, or outside of the 50km coastal zone;
Inside of the restricted border/coastal zones, foreign nationals may own land through a fidecomiso (a trust) which is set up through a bank and provides for ownership of the land and property in all but name.
The Mexican Constitution previously banned foreign nationals from owning property that was within the restricted border zones. This old law was intended to protect Mexican soil from foreign invasion.
Based on what I have read in the Rural and Small Town Living Forum, people there have a very jaundiced view of transplants from the city life, who usually don't fit in, don't realize what they are really getting into, and consequently don't last long. Exactly which rights do you expect these rural people to be fighting for? The self-sufficient life is too hard and too time-consuming to leave much leisure left over for political activism. Are you sure you have a realistic view of what you are looking for? Sounds like utopian dreaming to me. The "simple" life may turn out to be pretty complicated.
It would seem to me that being from LA the answer to that question would really be crystal clear to you?! (P.S. - start first with confiscatory taxation, the rest 'em will fall in line...)
Statistics about cost-of-living are nice for what they do. But it is very hard to apply anything you learn from statistics.
If you earned the 'average' income, paid the average mortgage payment for your home, paid average taxes; then those published statistics would apply to you.
But honestly how many people earn that exact level of income?
Nearly everyone is a living exception to the averages.
I earn a small income [my pension is not much]. Most places where I have lived would have been very difficult to retire to, my pension is simply not enough.
So I had to find a place where I could buy a home for cheap, with low property taxes.
Now others live in my state and they pay more for their homes. They pay higher taxes too. So to them their taxes seem 'high'. None of us fit the 'average'.
I wanted to live rural, most people do not want this. I recently spoke with an elder brother of mine who also retired. He lives in a city and can not imagine having livestock or heating with firewood.
Growing a majority of our food, butchering our own meat, we end up have a fairly low cost-of-living. But we choose this lifestyle.
If you live in a city that provides a high level of municipal services; then you had better expect to be paying for those services. If you live rural then you do not have the services provided to you and your cost-of-living will be lower. How can you average that out and make sense of it? You can't.
A few years ago, at a special meeting, our rural township discussed buying a new expensive snow plow/road grader.
One of the locals passed out printed material urging the locals to oppose it and cut the hours of the current operator ( his nephew who he was feuding with )
He was shocked when about 70% of the residents shouted him down as he tried to get a motion supporting his cuts.
Many farm women in our area have jobs off the farm
Many farms are dairy farms where roads must be plowed for the milk truck to get to their farms.
Many people have kids in school and want roads plowed in a timely manner to cut down on closed school days that have to be made up in June.
Yes, that vocal " old timer" was quite shocked that people in our rural township were willing to pay higher taxes for snowplowing and road maintainance.
A few years ago, at a special meeting, our rural township discussed buying a new expensive snow plow/road grader.
One of the locals passed out printed material urging the locals to oppose it and cut the hours of the current operator ( his nephew who he was feuding with )
He was shocked when about 70% of the residents shouted him down as he tried to get a motion supporting his cuts.
Many farm women in our area have jobs off the farm
Many farms are dairy farms where roads must be plowed for the milk truck to get to their farms.
Many people have kids in school and want roads plowed in a timely manner to cut down on closed school days that have to be made up in June.
Yes, that vocal " old timer" was quite shocked that people in our rural township were willing to pay higher taxes for snowplowing and road maintainance.
Even rural areas are changing.
There's a difference between something necessary for the community (road maintenance so the farms can get products to market), and the kind of wasteful spending I see proposed all the time by "flatlanders": art projects, street lights, expensive parks (who needs a city style park when surrounded with easily accessible rural and wilderness lands), or the best one lately, a "regional recreation center" costing millions in bonds...
It would seem to me that being from LA the answer to that question would really be crystal clear to you?! (P.S. - start first with confiscatory taxation, the rest 'em will fall in line...)
We do not have any confiscatory taxation in Los Angeles. That is not the same as claiming that our taxes are low. In my experience on City-Data forums, people who use the word "confiscatory" in connection with taxation are using it as an emotional buzz-word which implies that government itself is not a legitimate function. All these things are well worth the taxes that I pay: police protection, fire protection, street maintenance, sewer services, garbage pickup, library services, public schools (for the common good, not my individual good), public health inspections of restaurants, and probably many more if I took more time to think about it.
We do not have any confiscatory taxation in Los Angeles. That is not the same as claiming that our taxes are low. In my experience on City-Data forums, people who use the word "confiscatory" in connection with taxation are using it as an emotional buzz-word which implies that government itself is not a legitimate function. All these things are well worth the taxes that I pay: police protection, fire protection, street maintenance, sewer services, garbage pickup, library services, public schools (for the common good, not my individual good), public health inspections of restaurants, and probably many more if I took more time to think about it.
Do you live in Bell, California? Really, then, add up what you are paying in every form of taxation and see if you are still thinking you are getting a good deal. Do you know what the cost/pupil is in your school district?
Do you live in Bell, California? Really, then, add up what you are paying in every form of taxation and see if you are still thinking you are getting a good deal. Do you know what the cost/pupil is in your school district?
1. No, I do not live in Bell, California.
2. No, I do not know what the cost per pupil is in my local school district; it is a small city quite near Los Angeles, but not the city of L.A. itself.
3. I would say I am getting a reasonable deal on taxes, and yes, I am considering all forms of taxation: state income tax, sales tax, property taxes, fees to register cars and motorcycles. I can't think of any other taxes which would be more than extremely negligible, can you? In fact, offhand I cannot think of any other taxes which I pay, other than the indirect taxes we all pay when we purchase goods and services from a business which itself has to pay taxes. I did not discuss the federal income tax because we were talking about taxes specific to living in the L.A. area.
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