Cost of living website

This is very cool cost of living website that includes most cities through out the world including Ajijic. You can even compare Ajijic with your home city in the currency of your choice. The prices look fairly accurate too. I compared Ajijic with Vancouver, BC and got confirmation that it is indeed on average about 60% cheaper here for almost everything.


http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

Thumbs up!!

And, unlike Vancouver, the sun often shines.

And comparing Ajijic with San Cristobal it would appear that Ajijic is significantly more expensive in most categories. Does that sound about right?

Of course! Bob, Ajijic is significantly more expensive than Chapala and Jocotepec, never mind San Cris.

Actually, comparing the costs of basics which, in Bubba's shoes, include the price of a fine local spirit (tequila at Lake Chapala and rum in Chiapas) I must say the differences in cost of living between Lake Chapala and the Chiapas Highlands are hardly discernable for essentials, you must bear in mind that Bubba and family did not move to Chiapas to save money but to add variety to our retiree lives. To oversimplify, Lake Chapala is suburban Dallas and Chiapas is Guatemala. Both places are fine in many respects but neither are comparable.

All this talk about the cost of livng here is, to a long-time San Franciscan,  an oustanding joke.  I lived in that city for 40 years   and it was a fine experience  in a  beautiful town with a great climate but there became a  time to decide whether to open that can of  canned pork-and-and-beans so you could afford the roof over you head  or   settle for that fine enchilada and constant sunshine in the wonderful  and exotic south.  Lost no sleep over that thought process.  San Francisco  was in the rear view mirror as soon as the opportunity struck  and Bubba only slowed down except at the Nogales crossing to ascertain a credential .  Retiriing  to Mexico 17 years ago was the best decisión I  ever made.

Trailrunner wrote:Of course! Bob, Ajijic is significantly more expensive than Chapala and Jocotepec, never mind San Cris.

Really? In what ways? Gas, phone, internet, healthcare, and groceries cost the same. On the plus side, the selection of restaurants is greater and some are more expensive than other places.

David wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:Of course! Bob, Ajijic is significantly more expensive than Chapala and Jocotepec, never mind San Cris.

Really?  In what ways?  Gas, phone, internet, healthcare, and groceries cost the same.  On the plus side, the selection of restaurants is greater and some are more expensive than other places.

Rents for sure. Also, many restaurants and shops, the street markets geared to foreigners, service providers, and many of the vendors. No need to be defensive. Ajijic has the highest concentration of foreigners and the local economy takes advantage of that.

Who's defensive?  Let's look at the situation:

About the only thing that stands out in the "more expensive" category for Ajijic is rents and sales of casas.  People who can afford it are willing to pay for convenience, size, and ambiance, though there are plenty of rundown properties with appropriate rents or sales prices for those who seek and find them.  I should know, as the proud owner of a bargain wreck.

 Other things:  depends on where you choose to shop.  There has to be a reason the big bus from the outlying towns pulls in to Walmart on Tuesdays.  Some small vendors are a ripoff.  Some of it's an illusion.

The Wednesday market in Ajijic is a joke.  It's a "feel good" thing.

 When I need something repaired, I shlepp it to SJC.

Fixed costs, as David pointed out, are the same.
Savvy shopping is the point.  That would include eateries.

First, Walmart is in San Antonio Tlayacapan, not Ajijic. Second, believe what you choose. Selective shopping aside, generally speaking, Ajijic is more expensive to live and shop in. Further, it is condescending (and a little sad) to presume the only reason people would choose not to live and shop in Ajijic is because they can not afford to.

Si, David, everything is cheaper once you get out of Ajijic - and for all the reasons LOL pointed out. I agree with her observations completely as those are mine as well.

The tianguis are obvious, I always seem to spend the same amount, mas o menos 150 pesos, and if I go to the Chapala tianguis I have to stop shopping because I can't carry any more and can fill 2 big shopping bags. When I go to the Ajijic tianguis I come home with one big shopping bag.

Joco is the most economical place to shop on the north shore - as far as I know, and my experience shopping on the south shore is comparable to Joco.

Say I want to buy a new Mexican blusa, would I go to the shops on Colon in Ajijic? Of course not, I go to Alicias's in Chapala or the Chapala malecón and for about the same amount I'd spend in Ajijic I can get 2 blusas or a blusa and a pair of capris.

Ask any Mexican, they'll just laugh.

Lady Otter Latté wrote:First, Walmart is in San Antonio Tlayacapan, not Ajijic. Second, believe what you choose. Selective shopping aside, generally speaking, Ajijic is more expensive to live and shop in. Further, it is condescending (and a little sad) to presume the only reason people would choose not to live and shop in Ajijic is because they can not afford to.

You're twisting my words, but you're not doing a very good job of it.

I'm not arguing that if there were a fence around Ajijic and all residents would be forced to shop there, it would be more expensive than if they were confined to Chapala or Jocotepec.  That, however, would be a ridiculous situation.
Any smart shopper goes where the better deals are.

There are reasons why very well off people seek out the block long properties in Ajijic. Some of them are snobs and want to show off. There are plenty of decrepit properties there, too.  There are as many reasons people live there as there are residents. Some families have been there for hundreds of years.

And then, there are the reverse snobs who take every opportunity to be condescending as hell toward people who live in Ajijic.  You know who you are, and it makes no sense at all.  It's as silly as backing a home team in high school.

We like Chapala and stayed there a few times in our exploratory visits. The thing is we always ended up doing things in and around Ajijic. Whether it was going to the restaurants, the bars or visiting friend's so this is where we decided to live as we prefer to walk than drive. We don't really frequent the street markets, etc. so that makes no difference to us. We do most most of our shopping at Walmart, Guadalajara or on-line.

Gringal, I will agree to disagree. Obviously, neither one of us is getting through to the other.

CanuckBob wrote:We like Chapala and stayed there a few times in our exploratory visits. The thing is we always ended up doing things in and around Ajijic. Whether it was going to the restaurants, the bars or visiting friend's so this is where we decided to live as we prefer to walk than drive. We don't really frequent the street markets, etc. so that makes no difference to us. We do most most of our shopping at Walmart, Guadalajara or on-line.

Somewhat ditto to that. Same shopping habits; much of it online.

After three years living in the San Rafael barrio in SMA (zero snob value in that neighborhood) and needing to move to a lower altitude for health reasons, we looked at properties with a local "buyers agent" all over the lake area, bearing in mind that the important factor was location in terms of resale value some day. We hadn't heard anything positive or negative about Ajijic at the time, so it didn't matter. The lot was well located although the house was seriously in need of work. It was also in a low price range. That's it, and that's all of it.

It is difficult to compare San Cristobal and Ajijic...
Housing in San Cristobal is on the strange side.. If you like dumps there are lots of them and cheap but if you want a house more to American or Canadian standards , they are more expensive than in Ajijic and they are very few.

I started looking at rentals not long ago as I thought we should sekl the house and rent as the rents down here appear cheap.. I have yet to find a house or an apartment I would ike in.. The good houses are expensive , it is easier to find a decent modest house in Ajijic than in San Cristobal, believe me.

I was talking to a friend from Mexico City who rents down here and who also told me that the houses down here were not very nice. She complained to her landlady that the roof leaked and was told of course it leaks, the rain is very strong and it rains a lot down here... that from a landlady who is very responsive as a rule.
She told me she can get a larger place here than in the DF but that it was very difficult to find a reasonably price rental in the center..Many places in the center are furnished and rent to people who come and go and are not as price sensitive as the local.. Most places I have seen are over priced dumps.

Food is cheaper but restaurants are geared to tourists and the better ones are not cheap.

If you shop in the indigenous market fruit and vegetables are cheaper. eggs and free range chicken, or old hens are more expensive here. The beef is barely eatable and the fish is on the scary side..so comparing oranges to oranges is very difficult.. The doctors and dentists down here are not cheaper either , the hospitals are but then you pay for what you get..
We do not have a Superlake down here or anything that compares so we forget about imported food and that saves a lot of money right there..
We have a Chedraui, Soriana, Bodega Aurrera and Sam s club and the prices are comparable to the ones up north.

I recently was involved in building a large kiln after one was built in Jalisco, Guanajuato and Metepec. The people building it thought Chiapas would be way cheaper and it turned out that at the end the kilns all cost the same things.. bricks were cheaper in Chiapas and so was sand but transportation because of the Unions was more expensive. Metalwork was way more expensive while labor was cheaper.. all in all it turns out that the construction cost the same thing in all of the States.

I'm a careful shopper and would agree that Ajijic is definitely more expensive then Chapala for shopping. Lowest prices I found for vegetables and fruit are in Chapala  in the inside stand in Plaza area and they use a scale in front of you that you can see and the prices are great.  For canned fish I go to Sorina and Walmart. For Chesses and milk products I go to the Creamers in Chapala on the main road. For health food products I go to the little store a block from Donas Donuts in Ajijic. For cooked food and specialty items I go to Tuesday Organic farmers market Ajijic. Love the Taro Yogurt for 7 pesos in Chapala it is tart and contains real yogurt. As well sliced Vegi and Fruit Bread stands that charge between 10 Pesos to 12 Pesos for a nice slice of yummy specialty breads. The Bakeries in Chapala have great variety and are definitely less expensive then Ajijic however Ajijic may have more variety of specialty product. There are a couple of restaurants in the plaza area in Chapala like Cucumbers where you can get a great Fish Dinner with Salad and Rice for 80 Pesos. There is a Rotisserie Chicken Chicken Place n Place in Plaza where you get great Tacos for 10 Pesos that are very good quality. There is a restaurant inside the Chapala  Food Court where most of food items are between 20 pesos and 40 pesos and the food is very good. The Chicken Fillet dinner with Rice and Beans is very tasty and runs about 30 Pesos. Breakfast Place like the American Legion, Coffee Hour and Paris Cafe have Breakfast stating at 30 to 50 Pesos. El Zopete Resturant in Chapala has excellent Chicken Mole for 70 Pesos and Enchiladas for 30 Pesos.El Rinconcito is a local restaurant with a large menu including veterinarian items most of the menu is between 20 Peso to 50 Peso. FYI El Rinooncito is very crowded bring your own toilet paper they constantly run out. Delicious Restaurant is a beautiful and inexpensive most breakfast and lunch items are between 20 Pesos and 60 Pesos.I could go on and on. Buenos Aries coffee house in Chapala has incredible homemade desserts for 10 Pesos, they are to die for!

I agree.

Where is El Rinconcito?

Yes! Tasty food, too!

One thing that these sites don’t address is “need”. When I’m in Mexico I don’t “need” lots of things so my cost of living is much lower. The difference in price doesn’t matter if I don’t need it.

Well it gives you an overall estimate. As an example if you compare Vancouver, BC to Ajijic the overall difference is Ajijic is about 60% less expensive than Vancouver. Of course the cost of real estate and rents are a heavy factor.

Jreboll wrote:One thing that these sites don’t address is “need”. When I’m in Mexico I don’t “need” lots of things so my cost of living is much lower.  The difference in price doesn’t matter if I don’t need it.

For me, not using a credit card for everything really lowered what I spend. I came from a very, very expensive place when I moved here so I still have sticker shock (in reverse.) On Facebook when I talked about the 3D printed crown I got at Dental Express and that it cost around $250.00 including a cavity filled on another tooth, a friend said I would have to add a zero to that for the same thing where she lived.

There's another factor to "need" and cost of living. It's about adapting to what's available here as opposed to more expensive imported items. When I read a long spiel on TOB about whether Hellman's Mayonnaise is as good as the U.S. fave, I have to wonder. Same with just about all food items. Superlake exists and prospers because of foreigners' "needs", and good for them to have "found a need and filled it". For me, Hellman's is fine, but I'm really going to miss the great French jams they carry if I can't find them where I'll be moving.