Moving to Mexico, What to bring, what to leave?

spices
prices it depends on the spices
Mexico grows some spices to be used in cooking as well as in medecine so if you know where to look you can get them cheap
some spices from North Africa are not available , same with Indian and sometimes Asian spices. The mix spices like gara masala or raas ala mut you can make yourself and you can find the basic ingredients that go into them but some like berberries and sumac , galangal and others you cannot find.

so it all depends.. My cousins from France buy lots of pepper her and bring back the seeds of the pirul tree they pick as the late and they are the same as the expensive baies roses you find in the States or Europe..

Thanks for the info, Bob, appreciate it.

So, you have things shipped to your door, from BB, Costco, etc, or do you use Sol y Luna/IShop etc? They arrive via whomever the company ships with? Do the products get shipped from their Mexican stores or from the US?

Mil gracias, CB, muy amable!

One last question: When you order something from BB, HD, Costco etc, and it comes from their Mexican DC/stores, have you ordered from the US websites or from the Mexican websites? IOW, do these companies automatically ship from their Mexican DCs no matter which website one uses???

Sorry, that's the last question. :)

Got it, thanks, CB!

Which means I will have to open an account at BB MX (and give them my credit card info), always use Amazon US because it's so easy - 1 click. . .boom. But, you're right, shipping etc will be much easier and cheaper.

Yay, a whole new world of shopping opens up. I thank you, Visa thanks you.

Hmm, paypal would be good. I have no problem using Amazon, have for years, and I know if there is fraud on my card they will take care of it.

However, I am not that confident with WM Mexico, BB Mexico, etc. Costco is not an option. I'll give it a go and see what happens, sure solves a lot of shipping problems and costs.

CanuckBob wrote:I haven't had any problems. Your card itself secures you against fraud. BTW......you do need a membership # to even shop online at Costco.

You don't if you buy through the people who are doing the "personal shopper" trips to Costco. You pay them cash when they deliver the order.

If you use tools, bring them. Tools are much poorer quality here and ladders are awful.

CanuckBob wrote:I haven't had any problems. Your card itself secures you against fraud. BTW......you do need a membership # to even shop online at Costco.

Yeah, not an option.

Turns out, the product I want is only available with Amazon US or WM Mexico at about 30 bux more. Decided to try BBBS first.

Bob, have you ever had Amazon US ship to your house?

Ok. Turns out the best price and availability was from Amazon US, I ordered it yesterday and had it shipped to my door. They said it would arrive by the 17th, which is 2 weeks, and duty/tax/price and all was fair. Asked to have it shipped in the plain box. We will see. . .

Thanks for the info!

I ordered a fountain pump from Amazon.com.mx. They said 2 day delivery, it was here in one!

Wow, good service!

I was hoping to use Amazon MX for the first time but they didn't have the item after all.

So to use Amazon MX, when you have an existing Amazon US account, you have to initiate a new account with Amazon MX or can you use your US account to buy?

Oooooh, just the one account! Cooool.

MickyD is desperate. Maybe this will save them. Bad news is poor people who don't have cars will be eating more of this shit food.

Few buses in the ghetto, no grocery stores, few if any mom and pop stores, no banks . . . You can guess why. Plenty of fast food places, 
little churches, liquor stores, laundromats, day care. . .Long walks to the bus stop.

Lots of convenience stores though... where the very poor are able to buy a can of spaghetti or ravioli that feeds one person or two kids... for the same price as a whole package of spaghetti and a can of tomato sauce that would feed 10 adults.
It's basic economics 101 that is isn't taught in schools.

Fastfox wrote:If you use tools, bring them.  Tools are much poorer quality here and ladders are awful.  

I agree about tools but the first time I've heard about ladders being inferior in quality.

Canmex 87 wrote:

Fastfox wrote:If you use tools, bring them.  Tools are much poorer quality here and ladders are awful.  

I agree about tools but the first time I've heard about ladders being inferior in quality.

There seems to be more people among the ex-pat community falling off of them, but that might have something to do with age of the ex-pats than the quality of the ladders.

I tend to agree with many of the responders when they say to come lightly packed. I did the opposite and regretted it all the way down. I brought my truck and a 6X12 cargo trailer that was/is packed full of everything I thought I'd need. The road down was horrendous with tire swallowing potholes and unmarked speed bumps everywhere, and it seemed that no matter what I was always going uphill. Once I got to the Lake Chapala area I had to contend with extremely narrow streets and hills with cobblestone streets, big dips, big potholes etc... . I found the perfect house, and it turned out it's full of nearly everything I would have needed, so now I have a cargo trailer full of things that I don't know what to do with. I've already given the gardeners family two huge boxes of things, but I'm only about 1/3rd the way through unpacking. I really wish I would have just brought my tools, clothes, extra shoes, music/movies, good pots/pans/dishes/dinnerware, and memorabilia. At some point I'll likely be trying to sell off a bunch of stuff here.

ronworf911 wrote:I tend to agree with many of the responders when they say to come lightly packed. I did the opposite and regretted it all the way down. I brought my truck and a 6X12 cargo trailer that was/is packed full of everything I thought I'd need. The road down was horrendous with tire swallowing potholes and unmarked speed bumps everywhere, and it seemed that no matter what I was always going uphill. Once I got to the Lake Chapala area I had to contend with extremely narrow streets and hills with cobblestone streets, big dips, big potholes etc... . I found the perfect house, and it turned out it's full of nearly everything I would have needed, so now I have a cargo trailer full of things that I don't know what to do with. I've already given the gardeners family two huge boxes of things, but I'm only about 1/3rd the way through unpacking. I really wish I would have just brought my tools, clothes, extra shoes, music/movies, good pots/pans/dishes/dinnerware, and memorabilia. At some point I'll likely be trying to sell off a bunch of stuff here.

Here's a possibility for you: We've been downsizing from once having enough tools to totally remodel a house to having the locals do the work. (Gettin' tired, y'know.) There is a charitable organization called "Mr. Hammer" located on the main road next door to S&S Auto and near Puritan Poultry in the Riberas/San Antonio area. Mountain Side.

They have a program to teach young people how to do carpentry and other useful skills and they have a store next door called "Todo Bueno" where they take anything you can think of, from tools to home decor and sell it for you on consignment. They take 30%. We've been getting rid of tools, furniture, cameras and endless miscellany we don't need and hoping the sales do some good for the community, too. Hope that helps.