Hello Piegrande. Friendly people are probably more important than weather and taxes if you can afford the taxes. I thank you for the info. This is the kind of information you won't get from the chamber of Commerce or a travel agent. I thank you for the info. By the way, I'm really curious as to how much it costs a month to live in Mexico. The least.
While that is a common question, there is no useful answer. It all depends upon how you want to live. And, where you want to live. We live in the Third World mountain village where my wife was born, in the Central Highlands.
Before I go on, let me say
do not ever consider living in Mexico to save money. For living in a totally different culture, it takes a special person. Many are called, but few are chosen. A few years ago, a study showed that most NA expats leave within two years. So, rent; don't buy for at least two years. (And, let me add that I have known people who have made a permanent move, and went back within 72 hours, no joke.)
My wife and I both have SS checks and each have a modest pension. We are not talking $10,000 a year, nor are we talking $50,000 a year, if you get my drift. We are the Joneses! We deliberately live down to avoid attracting kidnappers. And, we keep a mobile home in McAllen.
To live in Mexico economically, you need to observe Mexican families who have the same income you have, then live as they live. If they have a car, so can you. If they use the public transport system, so must you. If they eat smoked salmon, so can you. If they eat a simple, traditional diet, (frijoles; tortillas; vegetables; and hot peppers with an occasional piece of meat) so must you. If they must scrounge used clothes, so must you.
A friend used to handle remittances. A local woman with a small house paid for and two kids received $50 every week and did well. You can be sure she ate the traditional diet listed above and relied on donations of used clothes from kinfolk. And, walked everywhere, but you can also be sure they had an air TV. No phone. No Internet.
For a full 1.2 acres of prime land, and a house for which we had an offer of $175,000 before it was finished, we now pay $150 a year taxes. And, my wife was furious. My first case of bribery because I wanted the land appraised very high to avoid the city confiscating a road through our land. It had been $20 a year, seriously.
This is a third world village. Houses are unheated, though I do have a fireplace. One does like in Merry Old England, when it was cold, you put on warm clothes. And, your body adjusts after a week to sleeping in the cold.
As I said, many are called but few are chosen. There are two NA in a 750 square mile area. The other one is a woman from NYC who married a local man.
I recommend most start in Guadalajara, because for decades that is where most NA prefer to live. If you make like $40,000 a year, you can live very well in most places in Mexico. Avoid Chapala and Ajijic, American colonies near Guad. Very high land prices, so I am told. But, Guad. has one
of the best hospitals in the world. Canadians come there for surgery and routine medical treatment.
Since this is T'net, I might suggest you go to the Aztec forum and read about the interest in my community. I viewed it as a quaint local legend that Moctezuma's treasure was buried here, but after reading the Bernal Diaz book, I am now convinced it is, rather, oral tradition, which is totally different from legend. My wife is directly descended from Moctezuma I, my own genealogical studies verify this. Her great-grandma was the last Moctezuma, and she lived as a child in the Moctezuma house.
Big negative. No one will ever let you dig.
Every where you go, whether it is nation or state, has its advantages and its disadvantages. You need to find the places whose advantages are important to you, and whose disadvantages are not important to you. I have done so and life is sweet! I call this my little paradise. But, you need to understand I do not recommend this place to other people not only for living, but not even for visiting. You would find it a terrible place.
