Moving to Mexico for at least a couple of months..maybe long

We are Canadians considering moving to Progreso or somewhere else close by.

We have never been there but have been to Cancun - all inclusives. We are well aware that daily life is not the same as being on vacation.

The reasons we would move for are basically sun and a new experience. Cheaper living helps too. I run an internet based business so I can do it from anywhere there is reliable internet.

Anyway..here are my questions:

1. Is it safe to bring my SUV when we come? I know I will have to get a permit and insurance but I am worried that my Canadian plates will make me a 'target'.

2. Our plan is to take a vacation rental for 2-3 months so we can get to know the area before either renting longer term or buying. Do you see any problem with this idea?

3. We are not interested in living a lavish lifestyle but are not overly frugal either. We would like to be able to have a reasonably modern 2-3 bedroom house or condo as close to the beach as possible. We would like to dine out a couple of times per month. We do not buy super expensive groceries but would like to buy steak and Dos Equis when we want to. We would like to put our 7 year old into a private school. We would like medical insurance. Here finally is the question - Is $3000 per month reasonable to accomplish all of this or am I dreaming?

4. Is there anything that you would warn me about?

I have more but don't want to be a burden.

Thank you very much - it is nice to hear from someone who has done what we want to do.

Regards,

Russ

We are Canadian living in Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico. We wanted Mexico because of the climate and cost of living. All have lived up to our expectations. We sold our house in Canada. Applied for FM3 status and a Menaje de Casa. Bought a 24' cargo trailer in Alberta, and moved all our stuff to Mexico.

We are permanent here since April 2007. No returns to Canada execpt for brief visits to family. People thought we were crazy. We have no regrets.

We brought our truck down. It still has expired plates on it. Only once did the Mex police remove our plates when they felt our truck was parked illegally. Ended up paying them about $17 Can. to get our plates back. Every time we've been stopped for a minor infraction...paid about $20 (200 pesos) to the officer to have them go away.

So don't worry about your SUV. No problem.

Previous to our move we also were coming to Mexico with the truck and our 5th wheel. You then get a tourist visa (180 days worth) at the border, a permit for the truck. Very easy. Good idea to get the feel of where you may like it.

We built a house about 2 blocks to the beach. Our house is beautiful. We live on approx. $1000/month. Food is cheaper. Medical is cheaper. We pay about $200 Can. for medical a year each. And drugs are free. The plan we use is IMSS.

Your lifestyle described in question #3 is very much like ours. With the exception we are in our 50's so no kids (just a dog and two cats). Vet care is cheap (and spay/neuter free!). We do know of someone who takes her kids to private school. Don't know what that costs.

"Warning" you on anything would be.....get used to the word "manana". Nothing gets done on time, promises are not kept, quality of goods is poor (like plumbing fixtures, appliances, really crappy).

Chacala is a small fishing village with the most beautiful beach on the west coast. It is considered a "safe" beach as the depth progression is very gradual and the surf gentle. Kids love to play on the sand and swim. You should look up Chacala, Nayarit online. We are about 1 1/2 hour to Puerto Vallarta (which is south of us). We go there about once a month to go to Costco, WalMart, Home Depot, etc. for our major grocery shop.

Hope this info helps you.

Bett

Hi, my name is Raúl and I'm renting a house in Progreso. Is very close to the beach, like 2 or 3 blocks, with all included: Furniture, a totally equiped kitchen and more. The rent of the house is about $800 month with 3 rooms and the construction for a swiming pool i think is a good price. And if you want, i can also send you the photographs of the house.
And now let me tell about Progreso

Progreso is a harbor, with a beatiful beach, the people of progreso is very kind. Alot of Canadians comes to the beach for periods of 6 months, so you can see alot companions in the harbor or in the supermarket. Progreso is like 20 minutes of distances from the city of Merida, and let me suggest you to come first in plans of vacation to see the place, and then see if you really wants to lieve here. The people and the police is very pacific, but in Mexico you can always get a better price of evrything dealing with the local people, so if you want to buy something first put your price, to get the thigs even more cheap. About your car I thinks is a long road from where you live, but if you want to bring doit, but you might chance the plates later, when you are already living here. The police here always check the foreing plates, the police here never do the bad, but sometimes is a waste of time the cheking of the papers so, you maybe wants to jump these part XD
Well, I hope my post can help you, and see ya!!! = )

We are Canadians considering moving to Progreso or somewhere else close by.

We have never been there but have been to Cancun - all inclusives. We are well aware that daily life is not the same as being on vacation.

The reasons we would move for are basically sun and a new experience. Cheaper living helps too. I run an internet based business so I can do it from anywhere there is reliable internet.

Anyway..here are my questions:

1. Is it safe to bring my SUV when we come? I know I will have to get a permit and insurance but I am worried that my Canadian plates will make me a 'target'.

2. Our plan is to take a vacation rental for 2-3 months so we can get to know the area before either renting longer term or buying. Do you see any problem with this idea?

3. We are not interested in living a lavish lifestyle but are not overly frugal either. We would like to be able to have a reasonably modern 2-3 bedroom house or condo as close to the beach as possible. We would like to dine out a couple of times per month. We do not buy super expensive groceries but would like to buy steak and Dos Equis when we want to. We would like to put our 7 year old into a private school. We would like medical insurance. Here finally is the question - Is $3000 per month reasonable to accomplish all of this or am I dreaming?

4. Is there anything that you would warn me about?

I have more but don't want to be a burden.

Thank you very much - it is nice to hear from someone who has done what we want to do.

Regards,

Russ

Lots of misinformation here, folks.
I don't even know where to begin.
I am canadian and have lived in Mexico for almost ten years.
There are a lot of lessons that you learn AFTER you moved here, and many are not so pleasant.
Being an expat in Mexico may suit some people but please remember this is still very much a third-world country. You may gloss over that as you think about sunsets in balmy weather on beautiful beaches (all of those ARE here) and inexpensive mexican food among friendly natives, but there's A LOT more here than that.
It seemed like a good decision at the time but we are seriously thinking of selling our house and going back to San Diego (where I lived & worked for 22 years).

Please, get second and third and fourth opinions on all these aspects, because many expats are wearing rose-coloured glasses, or have their heads buried in the sand, probably because they don't want to admit their decision perhaps was not the best.
I know many people here who are like the frog swimming in temperate water, in the pot on the stove, and the heat is applied gradually so the frog doesn't notice it as it gets warmer & warmer, until it's too late and the frog is boiled before even knowing what hit it.

If it seems too good to be true, it likely is. That's never truer anywhere than in Mexico.
My wife is born & raised & educated in Mexico (PhD), and she holds most of the opinions about her home country that I do, so it's not a cultural thing: it's a harsh reality thing. It's sad but this country will have to go through a lot of pain before it can begin to join the developed countries and live up to its promises. Bad times ahead, you can be sure of that.

Be careful, folks; leave the rose-coloured glasses at home when you come for your trial run.

note about the weather: hopefully you love extremely humid & hot weather, if you're going to spend more than six months of the year living here.

As much as I respect the previous member's reply, I 1,000,000% disgree with him.

Yes, Mexico has its draw-backs but so hjas Canada, USA and all other countries. What are "draw-backs"? I guess that depends on what kind of person you are.

I am a Canadian (Vancouver, Victoria) and have been for extended periods of time in Mexico (on business) for over 12 years now. Have been married to a Mexican for that long as well, so I have a VERY intimate look and experience into their society and family values AND have finally moved here since January.

I would MOST definately encourage you to move here and try it, I go back to my "other home" (Canada) quite frequently and have NO regrets about moving here at all (Queretaro, San Miguel de Allende & Guanajuato area). In fact, with my so called REALITY glasses on, the only questions I ask myself is: Why did take sooo long to do this?

If you have your business in Canada (and I presume, get paid in cdn dollars), you should be fine here to try it and see if you like it. What's the worst it could happen? If you don't like it, go back home.

I am at your service should you need any detailed information, I'll give you my personal email. Cheers, John

I would just like to say I am a Canadian expat living in Mexico city for the past 8 years, I own a house and property’s in Mexico, I live in a common neighborhood, my wife is Mexican and I travel extensively throughout the Republic, so I know all regions, stated, interiors, coasts very well. Like in Canada and USA I have a few places I really enjoy and a few places I don’t really care for mostly because I really just don’t like the look or feel for the place.
I return home twice a year and love Canada and visiting, every year that passes I feel more like a tourist there, however I love living in Mexico and don’t even think of living anywhere else at this time.
I never put on rose colored glasses when I accepted my transfer and moved here, I knew it would be a challenge and there would be some bad times, I had my share of those in Canada as well though, living abroad or in another country is not for everybody, heck some people can’t handle living out of Province / State and some never move 5 km from their birthplace, I actually surprised myself, as a kid when away from home for more than two days I would get home sick, my first few trips abroad I was the typical tourist and complained how things where so different then from home, I have come a long way since those first few resort style trips.
For those who would like to move to Mexico I would like to say it’s your choice, will it work? Well that all depends on your attitude, personality, acceptance, and intelligence at making safe wise decisions, try it out stay out of trouble, and obey the laws of Mexico, learn the culture, language and how to drive like a Mexican and you will do good, enjoy a new life. You can always move back if you don’t find it your cup of tea nobody will stop you.
Take care and enjoy life,
Tom
P.S. I accept my decision to move to Mexico was a good one maybe one of the best decisions in my life next to asking my wife to marry me.

I've been here for only 2 months and I can see so many differences between Toronto and Querétaro. Some a good, some are ridiculous.

I came here with a Canadian income, then lost it and had to replace it very quickly. That right there shattered the paradigm I came here with. It is not easy to get by on the pathetic wages employers pay. If you don't have your finances in order you're making a big gamble, and if you're an employee here, you're under paid. Start a business that the people need or want or struggle financially.I'm teaching English, and as a native English speaker I can charge more, and STILL I am not meeting my financial needs completely.

On the plus side, the whole culture is nicer. In Toronto people are rude as hell by comparison to here - specially to foreigners. I can barely speak a sentence in Spanish and everyone accommodates me by trying English or slowing down. The only attitude I ran into was when I went for a walk with no shirt. I am white with blonde hair, so I stuck out, and people hollered/whistled/honked at me. Later I learned that no one ever goes shirtless unless at a beach. When I am in t-shirt and shorts they are in pants and long sleeves.

Considering I am far far far from tourist spots and any border I do not see targeting or crime. Every 500 meters is a speed bump, gated community, or some cops. Last week there was a shooting outside the mall and every cop in the city blocked off the entire area. The people were amazed as it was the only news in ages. In Toronto, there are shootings every month. I have not seen kids hanging out being a pest, or punks loitering drugs - nothing. So very different in that respect.

The economy is crap. Food is cheaper, but anything that is available in Canada will cost the same here. Electronics cost way freakin more! Apple released a small trackpad to replace the mouse - in Canada it's $60; here it's almost $90. The things that cost less, or are affordable on a Mexican's income, are made in Mexico. Anything I have seen imported is too much.

The driving - OMG that's a big difference. There are traffic laws and then there are Mexican traffic laws. No one pays attention to them and that's why there are so many speed bumps. No one stays in their lane. No one signals anything. In fact, I have repeatedly seen right turns with the left blinker on. I have only seen that once in Canada. If you stop to let someone into the lane, the entire city tries to take that lane too, so no one lets anyone else into a lane. 90% of the roads I have seen are one-way, with u-turns all over the place. Two way streets are a nightmare because of the problems people have with staying in their own lanes. And my biggest problem with the driving here is that seat belts blow people's minds! Adults, I don't really care about you, but FFS put your baby in a baby seat and put your children in car seats and put seat belts on them. I have never once seen a child seated correctly in a car. Mothers with infants on their laps and the windows down. One good bump (speed bumps all over the place!) and that baby is out of her arms and on the road.

And finally, at many intersections you can buy fruit, phone chargers, coat racks, laundry hampers, windshield wipers, candy, newspapers, balloons and flowers. If you're not into buying at the intersection you can donate to the children walking up and down the lane, or to the man with no arms, or to the three thousand year old native and her walker. Sometimes you can find a guy spitting fire while blowing a whistle and juggling flaming sticks, with his face painted like a clown.

Get your finances straight and try it. Otherwise you won't know if you like it or not. I like it here. I just wish I had more money to enjoy it properly. Instead I am on the grind here just as I was in Canada.

Life is still life, it's just a different landscape, language and weather.

Perfect assessment of life in Mexico to the poster above...

I've lived in Mexico for 10 years - mostly in Mexico City - and see the above on a routine basis. Some things you get used to, some things you forget about home, other things you cherish here, and some things you'll always miss about Canada.

A tip on teaching English though, since that's my field. If you just stumbled into teaching without a background there, then you'll always be stuck at the bottom rung. It's like any other career...the more you dedicate to professional and self-development, the higher up the ladder you can go. International schools pay very well by both Mexican and Canadian standards but you have to bring some qualifications and experience to the job to get that higher pay.

Thanks Guy. And you're right, the lack of documentation is not helping my income. I am a web/graphic designer by trade.

Lots of good answers the last couple posts. I have to say,BigMutt sounds like the typical guy who has to have things his way or no way. I have lived in Mexico almost 10 years, doing some rental business in Catemaco. I can tell within a month or so if the people will make it in Mexico in general.
You have to accept the fact it is a different country with different ways to solve problems. Have an open mind, enjoy the adventure and never look back!