| Pages:
1
2 |
walterbyrd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 70
Registered: 6-26-2009
Member Is Offline
|
|
What costs less, what costs more, vs Denver, Colorado?
Looks to me like (please tell me where I'm wrong, or what I forgot):
Baja vs Denver:
-- Housing would cost less.
-- Healthcare would cost less.
-- Internet would cost more, but not much, and no great expense.
-- Cell phone rates? About the same, I think.
-- Utilities? I think would cost a little more
-- Electronics and computers? I think would cost more.
-- Furniture? Probably a little more
-- Gasoline? Probably a little more
-- Car insurance? About the same?
-- Food? On balance, about the same, I'm guessing.
Does that breakdown seem about right?
|
|
|
Sandlefoot
Nomad
Posts: 220
Registered: 10-31-2011
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
Mood: Home
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by walterbyrd
Looks to me like (please tell me where I'm wrong, or what I forgot):
Baja vs Denver:
-- Housing would cost less.
-- Healthcare would cost less.
-- Internet would cost more, but not much, and no great expense.
-- Cell phone rates? About the same, I think.
-- Utilities? I think would cost a little more
-- Electronics and computers? I think would cost more.
-- Furniture? Probably a little more
-- Gasoline? Probably a little more
-- Car insurance? About the same?
-- Food? On balance, about the same, I'm guessing.
Does that breakdown seem about right? |
Housing... alot less
Healthcare ....Alot less
Internet....less and about the same speed
Cell Phone rates....Less, but it about use not rates
Utilities....Less
Electronics???? More, but Why by them here?
Furnature???? About the same, but why buy here?
Gasoline.....Over a $1.30 a gallon less!!!!!
Car Insurance.....Alot less
Food....Better for you and Alot less
Does that take the guess work out of it?
This all depends on your personal life style and preferences. If you can write checks like the US government then you may want to pay more. But then
If you could write checks like that you would not be asking a question.
Happy Trails
" Don't find fault, find a remedy; anyone can complain." Henry Ford
If you are not living on the edge...you are taking up to much space!
Just because it may not be a good idea does not mean it will not be fun!!!
|
|
|
bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
|
|
Hey, Walter
| Quote: | Originally posted by walterbyrd
Looks to me like (please tell me where I'm wrong, or what I forgot):
Baja vs Denver:
-- Housing would cost less.
-- Healthcare would cost less.
-- Internet would cost more, but not much, and no great expense.
-- Cell phone rates? About the same, I think.
-- Utilities? I think would cost a little more
-- Electronics and computers? I think would cost more.
-- Furniture? Probably a little more
-- Gasoline? Probably a little more
-- Car insurance? About the same?
-- Food? On balance, about the same, I'm guessing.
Does that breakdown seem about right? |
Why don't you come down here and rent someplace for a year????....it's not an Apples vs Apples comparison.
[Edited on 3-3-2013 by bajaguy]
|
|
|
micah202
Super Nomad
Posts: 1615
Registered: 1-19-2011
Location: vancouver,BC
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
| Quote: | Originally posted by walterbyrd
Looks to me like (please tell me where I'm wrong, or what I forgot):
Baja vs Denver:
-- Housing would cost less.
-- Healthcare would cost less.
-- Internet would cost more, but not much, and no great expense.
-- Cell phone rates? About the same, I think.
-- Utilities? I think would cost a little more
-- Electronics and computers? I think would cost more.
-- Furniture? Probably a little more
-- Gasoline? Probably a little more
-- Car insurance? About the same?
-- Food? On balance, about the same, I'm guessing.
Does that breakdown seem about right? |
Why don't you come down here and rent someplace for a year????....it's not an Apples vs Apples comparison.
[Edited on 3-3-2013 by bajaguy] |
....methinks apples in Baja come from washington state!!
,
|
|
|
mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
Member Is Offline
|
|
Sandlefoot hit it pretty much 100%
I'll add this: no snow removal service for the driveway :-) We had the service up in Trucker and it was $$$$$$$
[Edited on 3-4-2013 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
|
|
|
acadist
Super Nomad
Posts: 1125
Registered: 3-31-2007
Location: Spanaway,WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for the Sun
|
|
Which is more? Heat in CO winter or air in the summer in Baja? CO is not Fargo!!!
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
|
|
|
tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Healthcare may cost less for your everyday issues. However, a time will come when the severity of ones health issues will drive one back to the
states for care. You only have to have read this forum over a year or two and the stories all have a familar ring.
Are you on Medicare currenty and/or close to qualifiing for it? I would leave that option open if you can.
Seems like when one gets beyond about 75 or so, the days in Baja become numbered.
Ken
|
|
|
walterbyrd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 70
Registered: 6-26-2009
Member Is Offline
|
|
[QUOTE]Are you on Medicare currenty and/or close to qualifiing for it? I would leave that option open if you can.[/QUOTE]
I am not on Medicare, and neither are my parents.
My parents are 76 years old, and my father still works 14 hours a day (including commute), 5 days a week.
The reason my parents are afraid to retire is: they believes that medicare is inadequate to cover their medical expenses.
I suppose, this is something I need to research.
|
|
|
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,
|
|
A person has to be FRUGAL with electrical power. A mere 450 kWh is all they allow monthly then the cost starts to go nuts. Electrical power that would
cost 450 a month in the states would end up costing a thousand dollars or more a month in Mexico (DAC tarifa).
Living where COSTCO, SAM's, and Home Depot is near is a hell of a lot different than living in a remote area where selection is less and prices can be
much higher except for absolute basic staples.
Virtually no hardware is cheaper. Furniture is mostly PINE, which has not been kiln dried and is prone to crack. The stores here haul furniture back
from the states and it costs A LOT MORE than it does in the states. Mexican mattresses are garbage, and the appliances made in Mexico are not much
better.
Cement is 150 pesos a bag. Twelve dollars. Price that against Colorado cement.
Los dos Baja Californias are crazy more expensive than down on the mainland Mexico. What costs 3000 pesos a month, costs half that on the other side.
Food is TWICE or THRICE as expensive here. A bolillo that costs 8 pesos in El Boleo costs 1.50 in a super mercado.
Count of computer stuff costing 200% as much. All is in español including software and keyboards.
Mexico is NOT FOR CHEAP PRICES. The cost of living is FAR LESS in southern Texas, New Mexico, etc.
Mexico is here for the Mexicanos. The lifestyle. The friendship, smiles, the easy going sometimes laid-back, take life as it comes atmosphere. No
building codes, sense of non-conformity (almost chaos), opportunistic glee when one finds something long sought for, and an ability to walk a block
and acknowledge twenty buenas dias, and mucho gustos. Laughing at controlled mayhem during days of fiesta, and a people who in great majority just
want to talk to you, someone different. Ain't all roses, and chocolate of course, but then again as long as all of the parameters are understood and
accepted it can be many many times as desirable as living north of the border.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
|
|
|
vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow
|
|
Good post David.
Even 20 years ago, one of our native friends here in Loreto, warned us that Loreto was one of the most expensive places to live in all of Mexico. And
,since the arrival of Loreto Bay, has become worse. Especially labor costs.
But, forgot to add, I wouldn't live anywhere else.
[Edited on 3-4-2013 by vandenberg]
|
|
|
MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
Member Is Offline
|
|
DavidE got it right.
Having said that, living in Baja usually is cheaper, all things considered. Generally, I find that food costs the same, real estate much cheaper and
labor cost much, much cheaper. Much of everything else is the same cost or higher. Glad DavidE mentioned the cost of furniture. He is spot on. In
my view, furniture is easily twice the cost in Baja, and, the quality usually very low.
The thing that makes living in Baja cheaper is the lack of availability of expensive entertainment, people choosing to eat simpler less expensive
food, clothing choices can certainly be cheaper, no dry cleaning bills, driving distances are less (significantly save on auto maintenance, auto
replacement, and gas), and labor is siginificantly cheaper by multiples for most all services.
What most people do in Baja for entertainment is visit each other. No $300 tickets for concerts or plays or basket ball games, going to first run
movies is 1/3 the cost, no heating costs, and plenty of low cost restaurants. Also, what you save on the cost of real estate offsets by multiples
those things that cost more in Baja. I mean, I paid $45 USD this year for property taxes on my house in La Paz and my lot is 9300 sq ft, two miles
from Home Depot, Sam's Club, Multiplex theater, casino, new big modern shopping mall, Walmart and more. The house itself cost easily 1/6 what I would
pay in Orange County, California for the same thing, not even including the fact that I am 1/3 of a mile from the beach. I guess that would make it
1/10 the cost. Saving several hundred thousand USD should count for something.
Catch three 30 lb yellowtail, four 30 lb dorado, and three 25 lb yellow fin tuna and you are set for a year of fish from your freezer. Wait for your
brand of tequila to go on sale, buy limes for $.30 lb USD and make your own margaritas (using my killer recipe). Eat more of the plentiful and
delicious fruit. Learn to make killer enchiladas, fish tacos, quesadillas, albondiga soup, frijoles, chile rellenos, tamales, tostadas, juevos
rancheros, menudo, and chile colorado and you will realize how well you can eat for so little. BBQ more at home, mesquite grows wild out here.
|
|
|
bajacalifornian
Super Nomad
Posts: 1117
Registered: 9-4-2010
Location: Loreto/Lopez Mateos/Rosarito
Member Is Offline
|
|
USA vs. Baja? Ya gotta be kidin me!
American by birth, Mexican by choice.
Signature addendum: Danish physicist — Niels Bohr — who said, “The opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.
Jeff Petersen
|
|
|
thefishaholic
Nomad
Posts: 115
Registered: 4-8-2006
Location: Colorado Springs
Member Is Offline
|
|
Colorado Springs vs Cabo
We retired here in Cabo after spending time in Mulege, La Paz and Los Barrilles. We wanted the convenience of Sam's, Walmart, Costco, Home Depot etc.
Also I had some friends here already.This was a personal choice. Also the weather is better here we feel.
Now we find most things we want/need at National Stores but realize that Mex made is usually inferior (plumbing, elec parts) but you can buy 3 for the
cost of one.
Other than Med (basic is good here but we go back to CS for majors) most things are less if consumed as if you are on a budget (like the USA).
We enjoy a better lifestyle here vs Colo in relation to our income.
We say we vacation up North but live here Oct-June.
Housing is the big question wherever you chose in the Baja.
You will meet and make awesome friends wherever you go in Baja, both Mex and Gringo.
If you want better est of costs U2 me.
|
|
|
walterbyrd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 70
Registered: 6-26-2009
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by acadist
Which is more? Heat in CO winter or air in the summer in Baja? CO is not Fargo!!! |
To be fair, Colorado summers get pretty hot as well. No Pacific ocean here.
What are summers like in Baja? I am guessing hot and dry, but not as bad as Arizona.
|
|
|
Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9011
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by walterbyrd
| Quote: | Originally posted by acadist
Which is more? Heat in CO winter or air in the summer in Baja? CO is not Fargo!!! |
To be fair, Colorado summers get pretty hot as well. No Pacific ocean here.
What are summers like in Baja? I am guessing hot and dry, but not as bad as Arizona. |
Starting at the top of the Sea of Cortez and coming around the cape and back north, the summers along the coast of Baja might be described:
-San Felipe to Bahia de Los Angeles; very hot (95-110+) and generally dry, except for chubascos.
-Santa Rosalia to Cabo San Lucas: hot (85-100) and generally humid
-San Lucas to Mag Bay: warm (80-90) and generally humid
-Mag Bay to Bahia Tortuga: mild (75-85) and pleasant, any humidity is often fog or a passing chubasco
-Bahia Tortuga to Tijuana: cool (70-80) and pleasant, any humidity is generally fog or overcast. Chubascos are rare.
Inland temps depend on elevation and coastal proximity, especially if influenced by the cool Pacific water mass. It can vary greatly.
Thanks my synopsis. Anyone else?
[Edited on 7-26-2013 by Hook]
|
|
|
mtnpop
Senior Nomad
Posts: 597
Registered: 9-8-2009
Location: Colorado/mulege
Member Is Offline
|
|
Walter,
well we pend our summers outside of Westciffe and Oct-Jun in BAJA... south
When we returned this June to the market sticker shock really set in... We get veggies, fish, shrimp off a Mex. truck or 2 almost any day of the week
for boocoo less than Walmart, etc. .. Our property taxes around $40 per year and if paid by Dec 31 a 30% disc is given. Try that in Denver.. High
speed internet runs right at $30usd per month and we use majicjack and slingbox on it with no problems... Water bill is $10usd per month. electric is
about $25 per month with no air conditioning running.. Your diet changes to fresh fish, chicken, and fresh veggies grown in BAJA.. 1/2 kilo carnitas
with tortillas and a beer on Sat more than feeds 2 abut $10usd.. No crime to speak of we do movie night on the patio, along with somewhere to eat
continually...
canned goods at the market are a little higher.. Beer is cheaper and with a meal usually around $1.50usd try that at Chili's
I could go on and on but we would be glad to talk anytime...
Quite a few of us from Colorado there in the winter and some are there full time now...
Medicare,,, my plan covers $25K out of USA but I haven't had to test it yet.. Dental about 1/4 to 1//3 the cost and state of the art equipment at our
dentist..
Oh. Palm tree fires are way different than Colorado wild fires trust me..
We were just talking, we figure our basic costs for the 8 months runs about $3500usc and we don't usually want for anything...
Get to be in WheatRidge for the 4 year old grand daughter b'day tomorrow o'boy...
As earlier stated,,, come down and rent for a year or 2 in different areas so you get a feel... different on the west snd east sides of BAJA...
looks like I got too long winded....
|
|
|
Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
Member Is Offline
|
|
A few observations.
First, just using the entirety of Baja for a comparison fails to factor in a number of things, among which would be whether you are looking at high
cost toursit oriented locales or more remote ones. In the remote ones, transportation costs to avail you of certain goods and amenities will increase
the price by time and money.
Second, I have read studies by international companies that state that internet speed in Mexico, with the exception of a few high value enclaves, is
much slower than the US. For that matter, average US internet speeds put it in 9th place internationally. Mexico can probably blame Carlos Slim for
this problem.
Third, if one qualifies for Medicare in the US, there are myriad Medicare plans supported by major health care firms. There may be a certain amount of
delay in getting certain non-critical services, but the government controls the pricing. The cost for Medicare is incredibly low. It is a bargain.
|
|
|
monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
| Quote: | Originally posted by walterbyrd
| Quote: | Originally posted by acadist
Which is more? Heat in CO winter or air in the summer in Baja? CO is not Fargo!!! |
To be fair, Colorado summers get pretty hot as well. No Pacific ocean here.
What are summers like in Baja? I am guessing hot and dry, but not as bad as Arizona. |
Starting at the top of the Sea of Cortez and coming around the cape and back north, the summers along the coast of Baja might be described:
-San Felipe to Bahia de Los Angeles; very hot (95-110+) and generally dry, except for chubascos.
-Santa Rosalia to Cabo San Lucas: hot (85-100) and generally humid
-San Lucas to Mag Bay: warm (80-90) and generally humid
-Mag Bay to Bahia Tortuga: mild (75-85) and pleasant, any humidity is often fog or a passing chubasco
-Bahia Tortuga to Tijuana: cool (70-80) and pleasant, any humidity is generally fog or overcast. Chubascos are rare.
Inland temps depend on elevation and coastal proximity, especially if influenced by the cool Pacific water mass. It can vary greatly.
Thanks my synopsis. Anyone else?
[Edited on 7-26-2013 by Hook] |
I would add that along the Pacific the hot season tends to be much shorter.
Here in Pescadero/Todos Santos the daily highs have only recently climbed into the low 80's, and generally any hot humid weather ends by mid-October.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
|
|
|
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,
|
|
COST? Gimme a break. How to you COMPARE the cost of a fully insulated centrally heated and air conditioned home with natural gas, against a concrete
pillbox or Saltine Crackerbox?
You learn to ADAPT. No radicchio for the salad. Oh sugar, no lettuce or tomatoes today either. Like Acme brand salad dressing? Anything and everything
canned in the store "Con Limon"?
Steak with a speed rating imprinted on the sidewall?
Shoes that stop at size nine.
Anything with a XX on it ain't clothes. It's something in a green bottle.
Oh I just GOTTA take a shower. What's this @#$!? No water!
What does "No Tenemos No Hay" mean?
"Oh good. It expires in September...................................................2011"
"STOP! STOP! If i told you once I told you a million times - if it comes out of the tap, it's lethal!"
"What's that dark spot in the road ahea...........YAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
|
|
|
Lee
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3603
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
Member Is Offline
|
|
I"ve said this in a post somewhere. I fish from shore, never been in a panga though they catch the bigger fish. I fish for an hour every
morning. I catch enough fish to eat and live indefinitely. That's not a fish story. I give much of it away-- guess I could barter.
Sometimes I lay some on Alec at Baja Beans and get a latte or two. Veggies/tortillas, etc., run around $15/week. Tequila and cerveza extra.
US Marines: providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775.
What I say before any important decision.
F*ck it.
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2 |
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
