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tjsue
Senior Nomad
Posts: 519
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: San Diego
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MikeYounghusband
I live on less, the trick is no rent |
I live on less, and by moving to Tijuana, my rent is going from $780 per month, to $250 per month which will be a huge help.
But Social Security will start taking out my Medicare premium next month, and I'll still have to work part-time.
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
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sure...put me on auto deposit, please
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Those articles "connect" with Mexico and Mexicans about as much as an EE Doc Smith novel connects with outer space travel. Even paying 300 dollars a
month for medicines, rent THREE TIMES as high as on the mainland I somehow "manage" to live on
WAY THE HELL LESS THAN ONE FREAKIN' HALF
Of what that article is dealing with. Half? It's closer to A THIRD !
And compared to many of my neighbors I consider myself fortunate. When my income (gross) was FOUR TIMES to SIX TIMES as much thirty years ago, yeah my
car was new, as were my clothes. I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal and laughed my assininer off as I instructed a disbelieving CME commodities
broker to issue puts against the silver market and the Hunt Mothers. "You're going to go down in flames!" he yelled.
Those days are long gone, thanks to a medical insurance system that was based on Darwinism and Life On The Serengeti.
I would rather live down here on what pittance I receive than I would north of the border with five times the income.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle north of the border on 40K a year may cost 80K a year in Mexico. I think I wrote the following in a earlier post about a self-described
bigwheel in San Lucas (Pedregal) snorting "I spent ten thousand dollars on an air conditioning system because I can afford the electricity!" When his
first bi-mestral came, fully in DAC, he freaked. "That's forty thousand dollars a year!" he thundered.
So I really laugh at people who spend little or no time down here coming up with these "formulas". The articles bore me now; I don't even bother
reading them. The articles will sell, you can bet on it. People love to create fantasies and then when someone comes along with a huge needle these so
called writers tend to get testy.
To really really insulate oneself away from the realities of Mexico and maintain a truly gringo lifestyle, it would take living near enough to a large
city to send a maid shopping to ferret out all the hard-to-find grocery items. The house would have to have a huge water softener, reverse osmosis and
purification system along with a pressure booster to allow standard 30PSI service 24/7. A massive ferroresonant line voltage regulator, say a 20KW
Sola would tame incoming power surges and sags. Individual Isolation transformers for the sensitive electronics. But wait there's more! When the power
DOES go off, not if, WHEN an automatic start LPG generator will put the electrical back on line for the A/C and refrigeration needs. Oh did I mention
the twenty thousand to fifty thousand dollars extra needed to insulate the home? Ever price foam panels down here? What does a person do for
non-Mexico grade recreation? Fish? That means bringing a boat.
Remember, we are TRYING to doppelganger a gringo grade life-style in Mexico and brooking no accommodations or adjustments.
So now you have a castle. Full services. Maids. How much more likely percentage wise you will end up in the sights of potential kidnappers? Like
spending thirty thousand dollars on chain-connected-to car proof window bars and door cages? Playing Maxwell Smart with unpredictable driving routes.
The less a person lives like the above fantasy nightmare grade lifestyle the more they will save.
But then up jumps the sociological chupacabra. Does a person limp down to the local gringo watering hole every afternoon because they are lonely? Does
a guy get along with a new found buddy but find the wives despise each other?
I'll take a guess and say that fully 7 out of ten "Intended Full Time Transplants" fail. Maybe it's higher than that. Either they go back to the 180
day flip flop (but if you watch this, you'll see many of those half and halfer's spend less and less time in Mexico as the years pass). But over on
the mainland I keep an eye out for those "Gotta Move Back" fire sales. On bulletin boards and forums. Yeah, I'll drive 200 miles to Zihuatanejo or 400
miles to Barra Melaque to take advantage of panic fire sale garage sales. There are enough of them. Same for Ajijic and San Miguel de Allende.
Spending full time in Mexico and enjoying it to the point of utter satisfaction is not the norm among gringos. Living a fully Mexican style of life,
having Mexican friends and basically forgetting about things gringo is basically a rare thing. Having had living in a tiny pueblo of a hundred for
four years without speaking a word of Ingles, I am pretty familiar with The Mexican Lifestyle. Not the rico Chiango, Tapatio, or Jarocho lifestyle,
but the overwhelmingly commonly found lifestyle.
Because I am a writer I need to practice my English grammar skills and hone them constantly. But I spend so little time with gringos my spoken English
degrades. I stumble over sentence structures, and syntax, forget words. I went frustrated a couple of years ago because I had utterly forgotten the
English translation of embudo. I have no idea whatsoever if others encounter the same problem between written and spoken English, but I can tell you
it is damned embarrassing to fumble when talking to a gringo.
But those phoney-baloney books and articles about moving to Mexico on an X Dollars Budget are going to continue to sell like hotcakes. And I will
continue to profit when the dreamers eventually hold those fire-sale "I Gotta Move Back" garage sales.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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You don't have to BE RICH, you just live like, act like you are.
Some guy comes by the house and says "Hey, let's do lunch."
I say "I have people who do that for me."
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
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I think a deal killer for a lot of folks is if they have to carry medical insurance. if not a nice beachfront and comfortable lifestyle is a breeze on
way less than that 
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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How can these <$2k budgets factor in major medical issues?
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Got Me On That One Osprey
| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
You don't have to BE RICH, you just live like, act like you are.
Some guy comes by the house and says "Hey, let's do lunch."
I say "I have people who do that for me." |
LMFAO !!!
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
How can these <$2k budgets factor in major medical issues? |
It's a Bandaid budget. If I was limited to that type of budget, I wouldn't leave the border region.
When one enters a private hospital here, they have to be bailed out before they're allowed to leave. They will actually hold you against your will.
In other countries, that's called kidnapping, but here, the medical community has the money, as well as the connections, and money talks.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Interesting reading about the Philippines. When I was in the navy in the 60s we had tech reps on the ship that were stationed in Manila in the
Philippines. They said they rented an apartment with maid service for $50 a month. They made $1000 per month with another $185 a month when on the
ship. I always thought I'd like to be a tech rep stationed there. Then I got married and that ideal was gone for good.
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Fred
Senior Nomad
Posts: 500
Registered: 3-15-2007
Location: Las Vegas
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Mood: Laid Back
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Yes Terry, I could live on that for 5 months.
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Marc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2802
Registered: 5-15-2010
Location: San Francisco & Palm Springs
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Mood: Waiting
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I can barely get by on 30K a month around here. Need to move south.
PS Two X wives factor into the equation.
[Edited on 9-19-2013 by Marc]
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
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The trick, I would think, after much calculation, is to own your own home in Baja. If you can afford at least $55,000 USD to buy a plane and basic
casita, you can live on a "base" cost of an average of $640 USD per month easily.
That base $640 USD includes $240 USD/yr for Mexican health ins, $240 USD/yr for auto ins, cable TV, internet, clothing, food, propane and electricity
(including using A/C), Fideicomiso of $444 USD/yr, Residente Temporal yrly fees, and allowances for house repair and maintenance, clothing, and
incidentals.
Additional costs, in general, to the above-mentioned base is what you spend on going out to restaurants, entertainment, medical treatments and
medications, travel to USA, and possible/eventual auto repair/replacement and those things will vary greatly from person to person.
It's obvious that for those on this forum, there is a massive differential for what constitutes an acceptable life style. And, that is something that
truly corrupts any meaningful comparison. What most of us don't realize is that there is no "common denominator" when it comes to expectations, what
we are used to, your income versus the next guys' income, your net worth versus the next guys' net worth, what one person deems acceptable versus what
someone else deems acceptable life style.
There are those that consider "being frugal and economical" as an imposition on civilized living or at best a compromise to "normal and fitting"
expectations. No judgment here; not immoral or illegal to want a luxurious American life style or anything in between.
If you don't have to duplicate your USA environment, but instead, can "do as the Romans do", living on the base can be a breeze.
If you can afford to buy your own little casita, and, you know how to cook (and like to cook), and you don't need to eat out much to enjoy life, and
you shop economically for necessities and clothing, and trappings of wealth hold no value to you, and you don't mind living in a predominantly Mexican
neighborhood (I mean, you're IN Mexico after all, not Newport Beach), one person can live well on the base plus your own particular necessities.
I will say that, if one person can't live on $2,000 USD/month in Baja, something is wrong, or, that person simply doesn't want to by discretionary
choice.
[Edited on 9-19-2013 by MitchMan]
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Fred
Senior Nomad
Posts: 500
Registered: 3-15-2007
Location: Las Vegas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Laid Back
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MitchMan...............................well said.
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Fred
MitchMan...............................well said. |
Yeah....but his comment ("If you can afford at least $55,000 USD to buy a plane and basic casita, you can live on a "base" cost of an average of $640
USD per month easily. ") leads me to assume he already has a landing strip....or a spelling issue 
Vehicle costs take out a chunk of change as well as medical concerns. I have heard from some that "booze and gas" are the high costs for some.
Different folks certainly have different "needs".....some being real and the rest being used to an inflated lifestyle.
I understand that what works for one person would never work for another. Last year a taxi driver in Huatulco told me that I could rent a basic house
for $3-400/month in the town. I visited him later and saw that the house had two bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen/living room ....it was in a nice
part of La Crucecita....but some folks would have turned their nose up at it.
It's all relative.
Oh....it did not have a landing strip....but it did have a place to park the truck and moto
[Edited on 9-20-2013 by motoged]
Don't believe everything you think....
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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They Did EXACTLY That To Me In La Paz
| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
How can these <$2k budgets factor in major medical issues? |
It's a Bandaid budget. If I was limited to that type of budget, I wouldn't leave the border region.
When one enters a private hospital here, they have to be bailed out before they're allowed to leave. They will actually hold you against your will.
In other countries, that's called kidnapping, but here, the medical community has the money, as well as the connections, and money talks.
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Armed La Paz Police. Standing right next to me. The fools took me to the Seguro Popular rather than the Seguro Social against my protests. At the time
I had IMSS coverage. Had I not been able to pay I would have gone to the La Paz jail. Three days in jail and then transfer to prison.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
Member Is Offline
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This thread illustrates that Nomads make do on what they have, be it $1000/mo or $5000++++/mo.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
Member Is Offline
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A few years ago readers here got a taste of that possibility in Baja Gringo's sad tale. It certainly opened my eyes.
| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
How can these <$2k budgets factor in major medical issues? |
It's a Bandaid budget. If I was limited to that type of budget, I wouldn't leave the border region.
When one enters a private hospital here, they have to be bailed out before they're allowed to leave. They will actually hold you against your will.
In other countries, that's called kidnapping, but here, the medical community has the money, as well as the connections, and money talks.
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6343
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
Member Is Offline
Mood: TEQUILA!
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Osprey has that one nailed down,just right!
That is one family (himself and Lynda) who have everything, including a nice beach house, and he's doing it from his SSI from 15 years ago!
My hat is tipped to him!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
Member Is Offline
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How 'bout some ground rules here: Let's talk about our own circumstance only, not someone else's.
Rather like when my husband disclosed my political views without my consent-- not on, imo.
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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