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Love the city, love the food, etc. but Arequipa is too cold for our taste.
+1
There is no question it is a beautiful city and some of my favorite Peruvian food originates from there. We recently hired a cook for our family and coincidentally, she made Adobo de Cerdo for lunch today, mmmm!
If you wonder if you'd be comfortable adapting to a different language and culture, you can stay in the US cheaply - maybe CityData has a like forum (haven't looked) but check out Reddit.com's subreddit called 'Vandwellers'. You can outfit a van, RV, minibus or other vehicle with solar panels, a bathroom, kitchen and bed and travel the country for around $500 a month, access health care (it's quite cheap in Mexico for dental and other if you want to go that way) and travel with your preferred weather; south for the winters, north for the summers, boondocking (parking for free) most of the way. There are already 10s of thousands of people doing it and more wising up all the time. You don't need a yard, a big house to deal with, and all the taxes, the boredom of staying in one place, etc.
You can outfit a van, RV, minibus or other vehicle with solar panels, a bathroom, kitchen and bed and travel the country for around $500 a month
Skepticism meter in the red.
A married couple is probably going to have at least $300 for food, especially since a lot of the frugal options for lowering food costs like buying in bulk to freeze or store would be out of the question in a camper van. Even options for cooking would be far more limited with a tiny butane stove and minimal cookware. Sure you could decide you're living van life with rice and beans but does anyone really want that?
You can't ignore healthcare costs by just saying you'll drive to Mexico. What if someone needs an emergency appendectomy, breaks a hip, or has a heart attack while you're driving around in Minnesota? You aren't going to just drive to Mexico to handle it, so you have to have health insurance. Dentist? Even getting treatment in Mexico people start to have more expensive dental procedures as they age, a couple crowns will kill their budget for a month no matter where they go.
Maintenance and gas? I know they can stay put in some places to save on gas, but then aren't they paying for hookups or the space? A $1,000 repair bill would eat up two months of a $500/month budget, where does that come from? Vehicles need maintenance, and custom vans aren't exactly Corollas where you can change the oil and ignore the rest for a few years at a time.
Cell phones? Isn't a big part of most people's budget but for someone living on $500/month it can be significant. Same with any other digital services. Plus you need some buffer every month for the unexpected, no budget can be down to the penny without anticipating that one-off item that might come up during the year to set you back a few hundred or thousand bucks.
Etc.
I'm sure some people out there do it but I just can't imagine it being as easy as $500 while handling all the expenses that responsible adults need to handle. Just like the "live in Chiang Mai for $500" type articles, when you start to dig into where the expenses go much is just glossed over or ignored.
It is so interesting. OP wishes to move to another Country like Canada, but I am in Canada and would like to move to the US for better employment opportunities.
Not trying to barter, OP isn't single by any chance, or is she ?
A married couple is probably going to have at least $300 for food, especially since a lot of the frugal options for lowering food costs like buying in bulk to freeze or store would be out of the question in a camper van. Even options for cooking would be far more limited with a tiny butane stove and minimal cookware. Sure you could decide you're living van life with rice and beans but does anyone really want that?
You can't ignore healthcare costs by just saying you'll drive to Mexico. What if someone needs an emergency appendectomy, breaks a hip, or has a heart attack while you're driving around in Minnesota? You aren't going to just drive to Mexico to handle it, so you have to have health insurance. Dentist? Even getting treatment in Mexico people start to have more expensive dental procedures as they age, a couple crowns will kill their budget for a month no matter where they go.
Maintenance and gas? I know they can stay put in some places to save on gas, but then aren't they paying for hookups or the space? A $1,000 repair bill would eat up two months of a $500/month budget, where does that come from? Vehicles need maintenance, and custom vans aren't exactly Corollas where you can change the oil and ignore the rest for a few years at a time.
Cell phones? Isn't a big part of most people's budget but for someone living on $500/month it can be significant. Same with any other digital services. Plus you need some buffer every month for the unexpected, no budget can be down to the penny without anticipating that one-off item that might come up during the year to set you back a few hundred or thousand bucks.
Etc.
I'm sure some people out there do it but I just can't imagine it being as easy as $500 while handling all the expenses that responsible adults need to handle. Just like the "live in Chiang Mai for $500" type articles, when you start to dig into where the expenses go much is just glossed over or ignored.
Mexico will let you join their national insurance program if you reside there and qualify for a visa, other than a tourist visa. It is very inexpensive and some of the hospitals are like country clubs!! We lived outside Guadalajara from 2008 thru 2012 and are returning in April with permanent residency already approved. Guadalajara is where most of Mexico's medical schools are. Surprisingly, when I would mention to my US doctors where I was living, many of them had taken some courses there (often continuing education courses). And my orthopedic surgeon in MX was a graduate of the esteemed Cleveland Clinic in the US.
Mexico will let you join their national insurance program if you reside there and qualify for a visa, other than a tourist visa.
Agreed, but then we're exiting the realm of "stay in the US cheaply by living in camper van" that was being proposed and are back to being an expatriate.
I don't doubt there is good inexpensive healthcare available in Mexico (my wife and I live outside the US and get our routine healthcare in Thailand, although recently did some dental stuff in Indonesia) but it sure doesn't help someone who is living in an RV so they don't have to move overseas.
Plenty of people are living in vans or some other sort of vehicle and avoiding the high rents or mortgage issues, as well as the myriad of expenses a house or apartment entail. If you're over 65 you have Medicaid or Medicare, put aside a few $100 every month for scheduled vehicle upkeep and surprises, food you pay for whether you have a 'home' or not so it's not included in that $500 expense. Gas is only a factor of how much you drive or stay put. I mentioned dental in Mexico because I'm a half hour drive from the border and my dentist here in San Diego charges 4x for the work I can get done in Tijuana by a professional with the exact same training. Car insurance is cheap if you have a good record and don't put on many miles and there are affliate benefits if you belong to any number of groups, AARP, AAA, etc. Solar is very cheap now, as is propane, so there's your utility bill. For me, that factored out to $3 a month; the solar was long since paid for.
I've done this myself for $500 a month, actually saving money from my 1K SS money. But I avoid restaurants, eat very simply because that's what I prefer, make use of free wifi and libraries, free admission to museums and other attractions, and can very easily amuse myself. Not a drinker or a smoker, either. Best way to live cheaply in the U.S. of A. is to ignore the teevee set and all those admonishments to keep up with the Joneses, 'have a house good for entertaining' (i.e. showing off your new $50K kitchen that you put on a credit card) and all the rest that the HGTV channel wants to convince us is necessary. It ain't.
You mention a lot of health cost issues; they don't change when you're on the road compared to static in a house or apartment, therefore are not included in the base price possibilities. Much of that is 'luck of the draw,' and will need to be adapted to as a person ages, etc.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,730 posts, read 58,079,686 times
Reputation: 46195
Quote:
Originally Posted by signalfire
... 'Vandwellers'. You can outfit a van, RV, minibus or other vehicle with solar panels, a bathroom, kitchen and bed and travel the country for around $500 a month, access health care (it's quite cheap in Mexico for dental and other if you want to go that way) and travel with your preferred weather; south for the winters, north for the summers, boondocking (parking for free) most of the way. ....
Better be using a WVO powered Veggie bus (skoolie). Not sure how EZ grease will be to get for free in MX, but it should be possible. I have NO problem getting free grease in TX, but my PNW home, most WVO burners have to pay $1/ gal for used, filtered / dewatered grease. (Dino fuel is more on left coast, but $1.50/gal for WVO makes it a wash. (not worth it, except for environmental benefit..) If you don't burn the WVO as fuel, it goes to China and comes back to USA as lipstick and cosmetics about that next time you kiss.
Whether on the road or home, We (2) are usually @ $100 / month for food, as we did for our family the last 30 yrs. Often while traveling we stay on farms and get free produce, eggs, meat.... and a free camping spot. If we stay for a few days and help with the work, we get fed and fueled.
If traveling as a retiree / unemployed, you can often 'glean' from production areas that have been picked for harvest.
At home we use a lot of 'edible landscape' for ornamentals and landscaping.
Healthcare... as a pre age 65 retiree (out at age 49), been interesting, and currently without.
Usually Medi-vacation. Often Thailand. And no, I can't live there for <$500 / month. More like $1000. (for developed areas) Nice beach flats rent for $350 - $450 / month. Food is $3 - $5/ day if you eat out much.
Medical is CHEAP and FAST! (and excellent). 40 min Massage on the beach... $2-$4 USD
Mexicans are not that small-minded. Plus they've had their share of bad politicians. I went to the Women's March in Ajjic. Fun time had by all.
Are you aware that it's illegal in Mexico to even wear a political tee-shirt unless you are a citizen? Best be careful.
Americans don't realize that the rules and laws are different in different countries. You could have been arrested and deported, if you aren't a citizen, for participating in a political rally in Mexico. Even for wearing a political tee-shirt.
A good point was made in the "Thermostat Wars" thread. Many parts of the world do not require heating or cooling, which is a big savings on utilities.
I live on the far north coast of California, and don't have air conditioning, and don't need it. I also very rarely turn on my heater.
This is a HUGE country, with every climate and elevation, every type of geography, flora, fauna, etc., you can possibly come up with.
And housing in every price range.
And laws that work, and insurance you can trust.
But, nobody could have talked me out of it when I sold my condo in expensive Davis, CA, and moved to Mexico, only to come back singing Hallelujia when I hit American soil again.
If you only take one piece of advice from me, keep your real estate in the states if you own any and rent it out. Wait at least one year after living in Mexico, or any other country, for a full year at least, before selling it.
I really wish I'd kept my property. By the time I came back, I couldn't afford to buy it again.
And if you think all of your friends and family will be happy to come visit you? They all said they'd come, and none of them did. So, just be ready for the possibility that none of your family or friends will find the time or funds to come see you in your new country. In case that might matter, too.
And to the person who asked why would someone like me try and put the kabash on someone's desire to move to another country? Because I did it myself and really wished I hadn't. I do recognize, though, that nobody could have probably talked me out of it.
I probably can't talk anyone out of it, either. But, my hope is to save someone some heartache and hassle. Even if they just go about it giving themselves permission to come back if it doesn't work out, and hopefully, to not sell everything here without trying it out for at least a year first.
And most preferably of all, to take a deep breath and do some research on options right here in the U.S. This is an enormous country. Just try to really exhaust all options here first. And don't believe all of the websites and rhetoric you find online about how great it is to live wherever. Those sites and promoters usually have an agenda. And it usually involves selling you something. Often the home they want to offload, so they can move back to the states.
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about that next time you kiss.
