What did you underestimate when moving FT to Mexico?

I did 5 years of in depth research prior to moving down here fulltime including running this forum for the first two years while still living/working up north. After a bit of thought the only thing we underestimated was the medical system (thinking IMSS or SP might be good) and huge rising costs for those paying cash. The price of surgeries, doctor's visits, etc.., etc., has probably doubled in the past 7 years. Fortunately we realized this before it was too late and now have reasonably priced insurance with a low deductible.

No other surprises other than that, other than good ones...….

I actually live better than I thought I would when I moved here, especially when I go north and see the costs up there. When I revisited California after 50 years we went to a fancy restaurant in Santa Monica. Iced tea was $15.00 if I remember correctly.

But even without the great cost of living, I’d still prefer here over there though. The cost of private insurance has gotten pretty steep and in a month I’ll find out what the next premium for the year will be. It was ok 9 years ago. Not so much anymore.

Same experience as Carry Bean. I'm living much better than I could afford to in the States. Since I can't get private health insurance here (pre-existing stuff), there's the choice of out of pocket or SP. Out of pocket has cost far less than I thought it would. Saw a specialist who charges $1000 pesos per office visit and that's still only $52 US...and he didn't look at his watch every five minutes.

Yes, I suppose you Americans haven't taken the same hit as us Canadians with the 0.74 dollar. When I moved here it was 1.03 so just the exchange rate alone has boosted costs such as medical 30%.

The saving grace is all my rentals are in USD so I get 30% more......

Everything is relative once you get here. When we moved to Mexico the Canadian dollar got you 5.5 pesos (65 cents of an American dollar) but a good lunch for TWO was a 100 pesos. Bit of a hit when we bought our house in San Miguel with the exchange to U.S. dollars but a three bedroom, two full bathroom house in the Atascadero area of San Miguel cost $80,000 U.S. and we sold it nine years later for double the price. Mexico has been very good to us in every which way that is possible from monetary to psyche.
If I remember correctly CBob, you bought when the Canadian dollar was on a par with the U.S. dollar. That was excellent planning on your part.

I bought when it was $1.02 so got a 2% discount......jaja. The USD is bound to correct downwards soon once investors realize trump has been running the printing press none stop to prop "his" economy. Being in debt 22 trillion dollars is going to catch up sooner than later.

https://usdebtclock.org/#

Even better. Good on ya!

Perhaps one should look at the previous administration for the 23 Trillion short fall...

I bought a house on my third day here of a one week jaunt based on an AARP article. House was on the hill w/great view. 4,200 sq. ft. 3 story with swimming pool. Price 15 years ago? US$110,000. Today I would estimate it's value is very near US$ 1,000,000 (0r more).

My only concern, I won't really say "worry," is medical, both cost and coverage. Absent an emergency, I can hop on a plane, fly to Texas (Where my VA primary is) or California.

Yes, Lakeside prices have doubled or better since I arrived, and it has gone from a housing buyers market to a seller's market.

I'm basically a happy camper and for the most part, love the Mexican people.

rvanparys wrote:Perhaps one should look at the previous administration for the 23 Trillion short fall...

Oh did trump submit a budget that reduces the debt? I must have missed that one. My bad.

I totally underestimated the amount of time, energy and patience needed to accomplish seemingly simple tasks. (TelMex, CFE, banking, etc.)

I would have to say that the cost of day-to-day living is considerably higher than we believed it would be. The 16% IVA (plus importation fees on some items) add quite a lot to every purchase. Thankfully, we bought a house at the low end of the market and had the cash to have virtually everything important (water & waste pipes, gas lines, electrical wiring, solar, floors, septic, new roof etc.) replaced or added, so we're in good shape there. We would be struggling now if we were dependent on the rental market for housing, the cost of which has more than doubled in the 3 years we've lived here. But we're still far better off here than NOB. The annual taxes on our home here are roughly the same as one WEEK's taxes on our home in the U.S. were.

"I totally underestimated the amount of time, energy and patience needed to accomplish seemingly simple tasks. (TelMex, CFE, banking, etc.)"

I agree! However, once you get it all sorted it's surprisingly easy. But those first two years (yes, I'm slow) were a booger, especially with electricity and internet outages.

Prices have gone up since in part, the costs of production and in the downline to the retailers has increased, plus the retailer adds its own "bonus" to the increased costs.

Overhead has also gone up due to many places having to pay higher wages.

Still, across the board, it's considerably less costly to live here than in most places NOB.

Inconveniences? Try getting a building permit in California.

My balance scale shows the benefits outweigh the detriments (usually)

The one area I give NOB the much better rating is that health care professionals are subject o strict rules and there is accountability for malpractice. That doesn't exist in Mexico.

I had an advantage coming from the Caribbean. The electricity here is 5 times better than there and costs less than 1/5 and is WAY more reliable. After reading forums and seeing all the bitching about prices at Super Lake I found the prices less than what I paid there and the quality and freshness was better. Crime is MUCH less here. Corruption on all levels is MUCH less here. Medical costs are way cheaper here. One cataract removal there cost so much the insurance company paid for me to fly to Puerto Rico for the second one. Medicine costs are laughably cheaper here. I can buy 6 inhalers here for what one costs there. And the people here are wonderful. The people there - not so much.

Carry Bean wrote:I had an advantage coming from the Caribbean.  The electricity here is 5 times better  than there and costs less than 1/5 and is WAY more reliable.  After reading forums and seeing all the bitching about prices at Super Lake I found the prices less than what I paid there and the quality and freshness was better.  Crime is MUCH less here.  Corruption on all levels is MUCH less here.  Medical costs are way cheaper here.  One cataract removal there cost so much the insurance company paid for me to fly to Puerto Rico for the second one.  Medicine costs are laughably cheaper here.  I can buy 6 inhalers here for what one costs there.  And the people here are wonderful.  The people there - not so much.

Where in the Caribbean did you come from? I lived on Grand Cayman for 10-years.

I totally underestimated the amount of dust! Ditto the amount of rain in rainy season! I fell for that old saw "The weather is perfect year-round." Well, it is ALMOST perfect!

JayBear wrote:I totally underestimated the amount of dust! Ditto the amount of rain in rainy season! I fell for that old saw "The weather is perfect year-round." Well, it is ALMOST perfect!

IMO, ten years ago, that would have been a very accurate statement.

Problem Child wrote:

Carry Bean wrote:I had an advantage coming from the Caribbean.  The electricity here is 5 times better  than there and costs less than 1/5 and is WAY more reliable.  After reading forums and seeing all the bitching about prices at Super Lake I found the prices less than what I paid there and the quality and freshness was better.  Crime is MUCH less here.  Corruption on all levels is MUCH less here.  Medical costs are way cheaper here.  One cataract removal there cost so much the insurance company paid for me to fly to Puerto Rico for the second one.  Medicine costs are laughably cheaper here.  I can buy 6 inhalers here for what one costs there.  And the people here are wonderful.  The people there - not so much.

Where in the Caribbean did you come from? I lived on Grand Cayman for 10-years.

Sint Maarten for 7 years and 21 years on St. Thomas.

I have been to both of them maybe 2 dozen times on cruises and have talks on the history and culture of them both.

Caribbean is pretty nice.

My partner and I pretty much had everything scoped out before we moved, familiarization seminar for a week, three other annual visits in each of the other seasons splitting the time between Ajijic and Chapala to decide which was right for us.  Built a second story on our house that took 15 months with a little remodeling downstairs, went with the flow.  I decided that about 50% of the time things here were just the opposite of what you'd expect NOB, 25% they were roughtly the same, and up to 25% of the time they were actually much more efficient and faster here...something I didn't anticipate!  What I didn't predict in this lovely dry climate, very similar to Phoenix where we came from, was that I'd slowly develop allergies to the lovely jacarandas staring their bloom in Feb. and suffer dry but plugged up sinuses during the cooler nights in Dec-Jan without a heating system.  We had one big jacaranda in our yard in AZ that had never bothered me but living near the Chapala malecon with lots of them finally gave me the stuffy nose, blocked sinuses, and goopy morning eyes.  I saw the posts referring to the Caribbean and I did the opposite after my partner died two years ago (who would have never agreed to this plan.)  I went to the Caribbean to a tiny Dutch island I've been visiting almost annually for 36 years, Saba, and where I know a lot of locals.  The climate is very similar to here without lows going below 68 and highs 84-86.  It is only medium humid as you live up on a mountain at 1200-1800 feet.  I spent Dec-Apr there last winter and not one symptom.  Bought a little cottage to rent out on Airbnb when I'm gone and when I'm there, I can decide if I also want to rent out one separate suite just for the fun of hosting guests again.  (I ran a B&B for 10 years in Phoenix.)  I do still enjoy my more varied social life here Lakeside so I think I've found the "Goldilocks" version of retirement venues for me on out as long as I can travel easily.

So are you going to continue wintering in Saba? I’m easily entertained but don’t think I’d want to spend that much time there. Exciting airplane landing though. By the way, you did know that Alain died of lung cancer (never smoked) and Rush died a year or so ago.

I underestimated how much time and effort it would take to reach even a halfway decent level of Spanish.

I also underestimated the depth of some cultural differences.

And I vastly underestimated the number of foreigners who haven't spent much time in Mexico and still decide to move here.

(Great question.)

CanuckBob wrote:

rvanparys wrote:Perhaps one should look at the previous administration for the 23 Trillion short fall...

Oh did trump submit a budget that reduces the debt? I must have missed that one. My bad.

The previous administration had the burgeoning problem of bringing the country back from the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression, that was caused by the previous administration to that one.
Trump OTOH was handed a pretty well oiled and maintained piece of machinery.  His aimless governing style, without any forethought, that it has not caused any more problems than it has, is just luck.
He can barely wrap his head around his twitter account or his businesses, let alone running a country.
If the US can escape over the next year and a half without any more damage (and there has been plenty), it will be the miracle of the century.

Rosa Venus wrote:
I underestimated how much time and effort it would take to reach even a halfway decent level of Spanish.

I also underestimated the depth of some cultural differences.

And I vastly underestimated the number of foreigners who haven't spent much time in Mexico and still decide to move here.

(Great question.)

Yes, agree with all that, Rosa.

I also underestimated expats as a whole. I thought they would be a more interesting adventurous type of people.