# Living on the coast



## DJ512 (Sep 16, 2008)

Hello -

I am curious if it is possible to live in Mexico for more than 6 months without a visa if you return to the US periodically. I am 28 yrs old and am planning on traveling down the coast surfing for up to 2 years. I would be traveling back to the US occasionally for weddings, holidays, etc.. I have aprox. $50,000 available for travel funds, and was curious if this would be enough for a two year time frame. Also, I'd like to grab the odd bartending job just for entertainment, and was curious if this is possible without a work visa. 
Thanks for your help!


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

I've heard that people spend long periods in Mexico by leaving the country and re-entering. You can't work legally without a work visa, though.

Whether that money will last you is a function of how you live. For me it would be more than enough, and if it weren't, I'd move on. But since you want to surf, you are sort of stuck with the cost of being on the coast.

If you have to have a nice hotel room with air-conditioning and all, it will be more expensive. If you are willing to hang out in shared housing with other surfers, it will be cheaper. If you expect to go out a lot, it will be more expensive. If you want to eat in tourist restaurants, it will be more expensive. Generally, the more you move around, the more expensive it gets.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

When you enter Mexico, you will obtain an FMT tourist permit and its maximum time limit is 180 days per year. You may be lucky enough to be able to re-enter and get a new one immediately, but that is not guaranteed. If you have a permanent address in Mexico and can prove sufficient foreign resources, you might be able to get an FM3 Visa and be able to stay, enter and exit without restrictions, etc. Either way, make sure your US Passport is in order. Never plan on working in Mexico as a foreigner. There are millions of Mexicans who might be upset & the government will protect them and their jobs; that's the law.


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## philgib (Sep 20, 2008)

300 dollars being the average salary in Mexico, 50 000 dollars is worth ... 16 years of an average salary ! So just make sure you do not hurt anyone locally by not spreading the word about your savings. Surfers are not supposed to be rich after all  And you will thus avoid the plague of other broke foreigners willing to borrow some money from you. 

Why don't you spend 6 months here first and see whether you like it or not ? If you do like it, then I am sure that you will have figured out how to stay longer through a local job. 

Of course, Puerto Escondido is the place to be for great surfing. But a little bit further south, Puerto Angel would have almost the same waves and be more friendly with your wallet.

Avoid Baja California as that would be much more expensive. Ocean is also quite dangerous on lots of the west coast. Not so much the case in Puerto Escondido where I managed to swim among the waves without any board. 

Important : sometimes, eventhough you are allowed to have 180 days, some custom officers will only give you 30 or 90 days. Make sure you ask explicitly for 180 days in your discussion ar the custom before they stamp it. You also may have to pay for 237 pesos for a tourist card where the number of days alowed in Mexico will show. If they put 90 days and you want to stay another 90 days, you would have to pay another 237 pesos to prorrogate the tourist card 



Philippe


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Yes, try it first. And who knows, you might decide to spend some of that money in, say, Bali. It will go pretty far there, too.


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## AdrianR (Sep 19, 2008)

DJ512 said:


> I have aprox. $50,000 available for travel funds,


Nice - but keep in mind that you will NOT be able to open an account with a Mexican bank on an FMT - it requires FM3 or better. Using your foreign ATM card should present no problem, however, as long as you are somewhere of reasonable size that actually has ATMs that accept your card (eg: Cirrus, Plus or Star networks)


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Master or Visa, too, I think.


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## philgib (Sep 20, 2008)

synthia said:


> Master or Visa, too, I think.


Indeed. 

If I was you I would look for the cheapest bank network in order not to pay too much commision when you withdraw money from the ATM. From all my customers, I would think Scotiabank is on the cheap side while HSBC is quite expensive. 

Comission is : com from the bank you withdraw + Visa/Masercard exchange fee + com from your bank if any. Up to 2 % of the amount you withdraw. For 50 000 dollars, in the end this is 1000 dollars ! 

Members here may have other cheap banks in mind ?


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## DJ512 (Sep 16, 2008)

You all have great advice, and it is much appreciated. I have another thought that maybe you could comment on as well. I have training in aerial photography, and was thinking of working my way down the coast selling aerial photographs to master planned development projects, condo high rise projects, high end resorts, etc.. Since this would be freelance work where I would not need an employer, would you think that this would be a line of business that I could freely pursue ?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Welcome, DJ512.
You have posed a very interesting question. My first guess is that, if you sold your product in Mexico, you would have to pay Mexican Income Tax. As such, you would need to establish some sort of business in Mexico. However, I suspect that the only valid answer that you could expect to receive would have to come from the commercial section of your nearest Mexican Embassy or Consulate.
Taking the pictures for that purpose would probably be construed as 'working' and also competing with Mexicans who provide the same service. There's the rub.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

philgib said:


> Indeed.
> Up to 2 % of the amount you withdraw. For 50 000 dollars, in the end this is 1000 dollars !


I think if you have that much money to withdraw, it might be cheaper to open a local account and transfer a lump some. Part of the fee you pay is for using a foreign ATM, so the fee for a transfer should be, in theory, cheaper.


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## AdrianR (Sep 19, 2008)

synthia said:


> I think if you have that much money to withdraw, it might be cheaper to open a local account and transfer a lump some. Part of the fee you pay is for using a foreign ATM, so the fee for a transfer should be, in theory, cheaper.


As per msg #6 - how can they open a 'local account' on just an FMT?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I will disagree with Synthia on the opening of a Mexican bank account. It isn't necessary and they sure aren't easy to work with. Fees are high and lines are long. It is much easier to keep your USA bank and use ATM cards (get two). Managing your accounts is easily done online and you can avoid even the need for mailed statements. Any bills that occur in the USA can be handled with 'Bill Pay' online, via your bank. Almost all retirees here handle their banking and investments that way. The only exception is a sum in a Mexican investment house (not a bank) Like Actinver-Lloyd or others, which can provide for an emergency source of pesos larger than the daily limit on your ATM Debit Card. They can also accept wire transfers from your US bank and cash personal checks for you, etc.
There is no escaping the 1% international exchange fee. Some banks, if you shop carefully, are associated with certain Mexican banks and you can avoid bank charges or ATM fees. We're allowed 10 per month by our bank, without fees.


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## DJ512 (Sep 16, 2008)

RVG, thanks for the tip. I would be making the contacts and photographing sites in Mexico, but would be selling most of the photography over the internet; as the pictures would need to be printed and mounted at our shop in the US and then shipped down. I would hope that since I would be paying income tax here in the states, that I would be able to avoid paying it in Mexico as well. Does that seem as though it would be in accordance with Mexican law?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

That sounds like a better, much less complicated plan. Just taking pictures here as a tourist, then doing the 'work' of editing, printing and selling them from the USA should avoid a lot of hassles, taxes, permits, etc. Have fun!


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

So opening a Mexican account would be more of a hassle and actually wouldn't save anything on fees? Good to know. I met someone in Panama who finally transferred a large sum of money just because he was charged a lower fee than if he lived day to day on his American account. I thought the same might apply to Mexico. Seems not. Thanks for the information.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Panama uses the US Dollar, which probably reduces fees. In Mexico, banks are still learning about 'customer service' and making progress, but they are still expensive to use and their internal fees are amazing.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Note that the 1% is usually a 'foreign transaction' fee, so it doesn't matter that you are using the same currency.


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