# Un güero mas, long time traveler, first time hopeful expat



## southernhippie (Jan 5, 2016)

Hola, how y'all doin?

I wonder how many of these posts this forum gets a day? And here I go adding another. If I am out of line posting, I apologize. Any input, advice, or analysis is appreciated. 

My Goal
To expatriate to Mexico, I set a hard target date of NYE '16 to be established there.
I'm learning Spanish now.

My brother lives in El Paso, but lived in Mexico for years and is married to a Mexican woman. They have already been a valuable resource, and I'll continue to lean on them for advice. I'm just here reaching out for different views and voices. My father works for a German company that does business in Mexico extensively; he is often in Monterrey, Puebla, and Vera Cruz. He loves Puebla. As a child we vacationed in Acapulco and Cancun/Cozumel regularly. I personally haven't been back in over 20 years. So that's my experience with Mexico so far.

I will be bringing a pickup truck, and an enduro motorcycle; I want to set up a home base to motorcycle tour from until I find my favorite places to move to later. I will keep US plates on both.

Budget Goal
$1000 USD per month total living expenses... is that possible? My brother assures me it is. If so, I am easily sold on this idea. If not, how far off reality am I? I'm kind of a vagabond bum anyway, is it possible to do it cheaper? I would love to try. A little seedy can mean character to me. I want to be safe, but walls and bars are unnecessary (or are they?). Beach side is not a requirement, I was born and raised in mountains. I've always split my time between hills and coasts.

Banking? How do I transfer money from my US account?

Medical, this is pretty important for me.
I have a chronic medical condition that requires a daily medication, my meds are available in Mexico, I've even heard they are very affordable. I know that doctors there are good. As a tourist living on VISA, how do I access care?

Planning on a first visit of 6 months to wet my feet. I don't really want to tackle residency bureaucracy just yet. I realize I'll have to cross the border every six months to meet VISA limits. If I fall in love with a spot, and want to move permanently, I'll cross that bridge in the future. 

I plan to snow bird seasonally. Down the road I will probably live between Mexico and Thailand.

Where? Donde voy a vivir?
First trip short list... 
San Miguel de Allende / Guanajuato (San Miguel is my brothers first recommendation)
Puerto Vallarta; Jalisco / Sayulita, San Pacho; Nayarit or surrounding area (this area is calling me)
Playa del Carmen, Yucatan

Finding lodging. I plan to arrive, stay at a hostel for a week, and in that time find a cheap apartment.
I would love to be able to eat cheap street food 80% (or more) of the time.
I would like to have a beer or two a day.
I absolutely require WIFI, but not necessarily at residence. as long as I can easily go somewhere to transfer files a couple times a week. This may rule out remote locations. Beyond that, I don't require many "modern" amenities. I can be happy in a grass hut.

I have worked most of my career in aviation, I've traveled the world with a backpack. But this will be the first time I've attempted to go expat long term. It's something I've dared myself I want to do for years. It's time.

Anyway, thank you for reading, thank you for any input. How does my idea sound?

Zach
(please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors)


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

*Take it slowly, step by step*

Welcome to the ExpatForum!

I can see by your post that you have lots of enthusiasm and energy for this big move. May I suggest that you divide your questions by classification, for example: FMM visitante permits (formerly known as a "Tourist Card"); vehicles and import permits; cost of living; where to live; banking; medical; and so forth? It will make it much easier for the members to answer you in a clearer way and will help to avoid confusion. Each one of your questions could open major discussions. You could also search for previous threads (topics), some of which may already have most of the answers to your questions. Then come back here with specific questions, a step at a time.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

I cannot guess from your posting your command of Spanish but, based on your commentary, I would guess marginal at present but an enthusiasm for learning if exposed to the right environment. We´ve lived in Mexico as retirees full time for 15 years both at Lake Chapala in west/central Mexico and in remote Chiapas near the border with Guatemala. I don´t recommend either of those places as starting points for reaching your goals although both places are nice highland environments with moderate and mostly pleasant climates.

If I were you I´d seek a community that is more-or-less centrally located with good access to roads for the type of travel and exploration you envision.

I suggest Metropolitan Guadalajara to start with despite the fact that it is a very large city. Perhaps initially renting short-term around the historic center for easy access to the rest of the city and environs and good highways in all directions for exploring the áreas/communities you mentioned as potentially desirable from your point of view. You can find modest temporary housing there and eat primarily at street vendor locations and modest cafes. You will find inexpensive internet cafes here and there for using the internet. 

A budget of $1,000USD per month should be more than sufficent if you are frugal. For transferring cash to Mexico from your U.S. bank, using your U.S. bank debit card at ATMs is your best bet both for convenience and attractive exchange rates. Let your U.S. bank, which should be a bank large and sophisticated enough to accept international transactions with ease, know that you will be traveling in Mexico. A six month renewable tourist style visa should be sufficient, especially as you tentatively plan to split your time between Mexico and another country. You may not qualify for a residency visa anyway but you can look into that when you get here. Medical care of excellent quality is widely available in Metro Guadalajara and the full range of medications are available all over town at reasonable cost.

If you are put off by big cities, I suggest the Pátzcuaro area for an inland location. If you prefer a coastal town, I suggest Puerto Vallarta or environs. Sincé you are from Georgia, you may like Mexico´s generally hot and often humid coastal zones (outside of Northern Baja) but I grew up on the hot and humid Alabama coast so I love the Mexican Highlands around 5,000 feet. Splendid weathe hovering in the 70sF and lots of crystal sunshine if you choose carefully.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

Welcome, Zach!

I like the sound of your plan to establish a home base from which to explore. While I agree with Hound Dog that your budget should be adequate, I do have some concern about it. I have lived on considerably less for several months in Mexico in the past; and my own budget for moving to Mexico this year is not too much more than yours. However, you have mentioned some additional expenses such as:

1. A chronic medical condition
2. Maintainance costs for both a truck and a motorcycle
3. Exploration and travel from a home base

Others here may be able to help you rough out what those added costs might amount to, and whether you are likely to be able to manage them on your proposed budget.

Like several others here, I am partial to the cities and towns in the central highlands area of Mexico.

Again, welcome to the ExpatForum!

.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If the motorcycle is a “vehicle“ you should know that you are only permitted to temporarily import one vehicle per person. Two pets per person, etc.
You may only stay 180 days in Mexico on a tourist permit; then, you must exit the country with your vehicle. You may be able to re-enter, depending upon the decision of the border agents you encounter.
$1000 USD per month is possible, but really tight unless you own your home already. It leaves little for fun or restaurants, etc. It looks like you understand that limitation and have probably looked into residence visas for the future, should you wish to stay.
I suggest keeping your US bank accounts and using debit cards. ATMs are everywhere and Mexico is a cash society.
Medical care is readily available and reasonable. Unless you become a resident on a proper visa, you will pay out of pocket. Prior conditions would not be likely to be covered by insurance, even if you could get it.
Good luck.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> . . .
> I suggest keeping your US bank accounts and using debit cards. ATMs are everywhere and Mexico is a cash society.


In Mexico City, at least, it's more and more possible to pay for all sorts of things at all sorts of businesses with debit and credit cards. I can't speak for the rest of the country, of course.


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## southernhippie (Jan 5, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> If the motorcycle is a “vehicle“ you should know that you are only permitted to temporarily import one vehicle per person.


grrr... this is very disappointing, thank you for that heads up

i'll definitely have to solve this problem

if my brother crossed the border with me.. nah, gaming the system is probably the wrong answer

***an hour has passed, research***

< snip>

This is where I cuss and kick things in frustration. Do you have any suggestion for a work around?

Taking Anonimo's advice, I may end up breaking this off into it's own topic, see if I can get the hive mind in on it. I'll be doing a lot of searching on this.

I can't be the first person to run up against this issue.


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## southernhippie (Jan 5, 2016)

apologizes for the quote, no harm meant

ok, so no information from or links to...

obviously i'm going to need to do a lot of homework on importing a vehicle

thanks for the welcomes, thanks for the advice... and thanks to Rvgringo for finding the flaw in my plan


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

southernhippie said:


> apologizes for the quote, no harm meant
> 
> ok, so no information from or links to...
> 
> ...


No problem. Here's a link to the Forum rules _por si acaso
_: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/general-expat-discussions/2397-forum-rules.html _Por si acaso_ = "just in case".

You are welcome to post links to sites that are not in competion with this one.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

southernhippie said:


> grrr... this is very disappointing, thank you for that heads up
> 
> i'll definitely have to solve this problem
> 
> ...


Any possibility on your budget of importing the truck and purchasing a motorcycle in Mexico? You could always resell it when you leave (or maybe find a place to store it for future adventures).

Also, since you're working on your Spanish, I hope you don't mind if I ask for clarification on the title of thus thread. Are you trying to say "one more white guy"? Because if that's your intent, it would be "un guero mas" (technically "un güero más"). "Uno mas guero" means "One who is more white/whiter". I'll leave it to Isla, a former Spanish teacher, to explain the grammatical rule for this. (Or Gary, who is a native speaker.)


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

ojosazules11 said:


> Also, since you're working on your Spanish, I hope you don't mind if I ask for clarification on the title of thus thread. Are you trying to say "one more white guy"? Because if that's your intent, it would be "un guero mas" (technically "un güero más"). "Uno mas guero" means "One who is more white/whiter". I'll leave it to Isla, a former Spanish teacher, to explain the grammatical rule for this. (Or Gary, who is a native speaker.)


Thanks for bringing this up, ojos. I was going to mention that the Spanish phrase in the thread title was a bit off, but didn't want the OP to think we were picking on him. Anyway, your explanation is spot on. Regarding the phrase "un güero más", the word for "one" or "a/an" is always shortened to "un" before a noun or adjective + noun. And the Spanish "más" often follows a different word order than does "more" in English, usually coming after the noun: "one more white guy" as opposed to "un güero más". "Uno más güero" sounds a bit odd to me, but your translation seems about right.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> Thanks for bringing this up, ojos. I was going to mention that the Spanish phrase in the thread title was a bit off, but didn't want the OP to think we were picking on him. Anyway, your explanation is spot on. Regarding the phrase "un güero más", the word for "one" or "a/an" is always shortened to "un" before a noun or adjective + noun. And the Spanish "más" often follows a different word order than does "more" in English, usually coming after the noun: "one more white guy" as opposed to "un güero más". "Uno más güero" sounds a bit odd to me, but your translation seems about right.


Thanks, Isla. I certainly hope the OP doesn't think I'm picking on him! It seems he's the type who is enthusiastic to learn about Mexico and to learn Spanish. We all had to start somewhere, and we all made/make plenty of mistakes along the way. I still ask people to correct my mistakes in Spanish, so I can continue learning.


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## southernhippie (Jan 5, 2016)

ojosazules11 said:


> Any possibility on your budget of importing the truck and purchasing a motorcycle in Mexico? You could always resell it when you leave (or maybe find a place to store it for future adventures).
> 
> Also, since you're working on your Spanish, I hope you don't mind if I ask for clarification on the title of thus thread. Are you trying to say "one more white guy"? Because if that's your intent, it would be "un guero mas" (technically "un güero más"). "Uno mas guero" means "One who is more white/whiter". I'll leave it to Isla, a former Spanish teacher, to explain the grammatical rule for this. (Or Gary, who is a native speaker.)


That is indeed what I was trying to say. Thanks for the clarification. I make no pretense, I'm only just learning the language. Duolingo says I'm 23% fluent, and on Rosetta Stone I'm at Level 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2.

And Isla, I don't feel picked on at all. 

Enough of that.

ojosazules11,

I guess if it comes to it, yes I could buy a bike down there. Would I be legal to drive it then? That may be the easiest most direct solution. Still disappointing.

Or, could I take it across as a dirt bike, without plates, and take my chances on the road? That feels risky, I don't want to be barred from future entry.

Another possibility. My brothers wife is Mexican, but they live in El Paso. Could I "sell" the bike to her, then "rent" the bike from her while I'm there? They've already said they plan to come with me when I cross the border.

I won't quote what I've just found on an RV forum, but it seems that many of them have a 10 year import permit on their RV, a six month permit on their towed vehicle, and the scooter they carry falls into a grey area. They all seem to be getting it done, it's added to the permit of the towed vehicle and brought in as an unlicensed vehicle with no plates. 

This doesn't have to be solved today, I keep working on it.

Thanks everyone.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

ojosazules11 said:


> . . . I still ask people to correct my mistakes in Spanish, so I can continue learning.


As do I and I've been learning Spanish since high school! There was a Mexican guy I dated for quite a while, but I should have known we weren't going to last. One day early in our relationship, I asked him if he would correct any little mistakes I might make when we were talking in Spanish. He got testy and said he didn't want to be my Spanish teacher! And this was after I had said I'd be happy to help him with his English, which was good, but a bit rusty. I wonder where his defensiveness came from?


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

southernhippie said:


> apologizes for the quote, no harm meant
> 
> ok, so no information from or links to...
> 
> ...


Vehicles 

Off road motorcyles, quadcycles are permited to be temporay imported with the same TIP as the vehicle on a tráiler or truck but no street ready motorcycles. They need a seperate TIP.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

Hound Dog said:


> .


Just for you, Dog !

The Jeopardy answer was: Crimson Tide.
AND, the contestant response was : What is Auburn !

Hope that makes your New Year complete !


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

coondawg said:


> Just for you, Dog !
> 
> The Jeopardy answer was: Crimson Tide.
> AND, the contestant response was : What is Auburn !
> ...


Cute, CD:

It was Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State football coach who, when Ohio State and Auburn tied for the college football national championship back, I believe, in 1958, was quoted as saying, ¨ What´s Auburn?¨ I see that question remains unanswered here some 57 years later. 

My question these days is what´s Clemson?

That is a Little off the subject of Mexico so allow me to point out that in Chiapas where I receive a Canadian satelitte service and local cable, I must tune to the Mexican cable service in San Cristóbal to watch Alabama stomp Clemson in the 2016 national championship game all in Spanish. *!GOOOOOAAAAAL¡ *

*¡MAREA ROLLO*!


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## AdrianCF (Apr 3, 2016)

If your father has an enterprise in mex, or works there, is better if you apply for working visa with the enterprise hosting you, maybe'? it will make it easier, since the visitor visa is for 6 months only. 

I m mexican, currently living in London, but my girlfriend is polish and we had lot of issues for her touristic visa, we coul d marry and solve everything promptly but we rather wait for a nice wedding, 

sayulita, san pancho (im from nayarit) are very nice and cheap areas, close to puerto vallarta basically, last time we lived in playa del carmen but we only liked the ocean to be honest, living is not that good, and less with a low budget. 

To use the card first thing to do i s let your bank know you´re coming to MX, in Los Cabos, Vallarta and Cancun (tpurisit areas) you might no find problems to use it, the problem might be in most local places where basically mostly of stuff is paid in cash... maybe western union? to transfer... 

to find a cheap flat think in pesos, not in dollars.... use vivaanuncios. or local pages to find the flat,
San Miguel de allende is very beaiutiful  good choice.! 

If you look for any particular info please contact me< snip>, i studied turistic enterprises management and have some friends that can provide osme info about average flat rates or stuff, so you will no get rip off... or i can any answer here, no problem!  

take care and best of luck!


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

Hey, southern hippie,

I was struck by your possible future goal of dividing time between Mexico and Thailand.

Coincidentally, I spent all of 2015 in Mexico, then came to Thailand in January, where I've been since (one side trip to Cambodia). I'll probably head back to Mexico eventually, though not sure when.

I worked a lot in Mexico before moving there and decent ability to speak Spanish, and worked a few months in Thailand a decade ago, though never learned the language or the alphabet. That was in Bangkok, working among college educated folks, most of whom traveled internationally and very sophisticated. Now in beach town of Jomtien, 100 percent dedicated to tourism. Thais are great and more importantly, generally like Americans (somewhat rare in today's world), but you just can't meet "normal" Thais as in Bangkok. The beach climate makes the heat and humidity bearable, and I'm trying to do something that makes it best to stay in one place. Thailand is cheaper than Mexico in many respects, even in this tourist town. Of course, there are plenty of places with a much lower percentage of foreigners where the Thais' deserved reputation for being laid back and friendly is easier to enjoy (but it does have one of the highest murder rates in the world, and so, friendly as they are, never argue with a Thai).

Thailand's been run by a nationalistic military dictatorship since 2014, I believe, and they intend to stick around five or six years, while they release new drafts of a "permanent" constitution every few months that civilian politicians to date have rejected. Thais NEVER talk politics now, and of course foreigners should never, ever mention it. Unlike Mexico, there is a bitter political split in Thailand among the "reds" and the "yellows" for the colors they wear, not communism or anything. More or less, the poor people are fairly well organized nowadays and since more numerous than the sophisticated elite, win most elections. Anyway.

A lot of internet censorship. The royal Thai insignia pops up if you try and visit an unapproved site. I use a VPN that so far lets me get around it.

I think the military thinks foreigners bring too many bad influences into the country, but tourism is crucial to the country, which restrains what I think they'd like to do Neighboring Burma's nationalist military just closed itself off to foreigners for 20 years, but I think Thailand is too integrated into the wider world for that to happen. They do set up check points to check papers of foreigners frequently, which they never did before. 

Of course, it's even easier to "pay a fine on the spot," than it is in Mexico.

They also have passed really tough new laws against foreigners that just went into effect this year. There are very heavy fines for overstaying your visa now and are trying to crack down on foreigners working illegally here. I've been going through the hoops of getting long term residency, which I also have in Mexico, but may just jump on a plane for my scheduled return in mid-May. Who knows. I'm also thinking of trying the Trans-Siberian train.

Bought two months ahead of time, the round trip ticket on glorious Cathy Pacific was just $1,000, but it's a brutal 30 hour flight from Mexico City, with stops in LA and Hong Kong (I use prescribed Ambien to make such journeys).

I used to travel internationally constantly, staying in transit lounges around the world. Very easy and no dealing with local authorities. Not in the U.S. It was the first stop I stopped in transit from one foreign country to another there, and what a hard time. You have to to through immigration in the same lines as zillions of others arriving in LA. While I zipped through, I could tell the "friendly" questions were in fact probing ones ("So, hey, what were you doing in Mexico?"). The plight of the single male traveler. One answer that strikes them at "out of place," and I''m sure they would've directed me to a special room. Then you have to get your checked through luggage and go through customs. They didn't examine my stuff, but again, a pointed question or two. I always answer as briefly as possible, just "yes" and "no" if possible, remain calm, and never take them as "the friends" they try to present themselves to be. 

They do at least have a special place right by customs to throw your checked luggage onto a conveyor belt. And then you have to go to through security again. By chance, a young Asian American woman did my outbound passport checking. 

"Thailand, uh?" she said. "Single guys go there and have a lot of fun."

I said nothing. She made a few more comments about how popular Thailand is for guys, and I remained silent. "Well, make sure you check out Soi 6," she said as she handed me my passport. I still maintained my composure, but she had mentioned the most notorious and tawdry place in the country, of which there are many.Recommending it, even. I was composed, but stunned. I was thinking, judging from her English, she was born in America, and wondered whether she was trying to sort out guys she figured may be headed to Thailand to encounter Asian women, and wanting either to keep me in the States, or flag me on a computer for re-entry? I wonder what's going to happen when I go back through transit on my way back to Mexico.

"Yes, Mr. Immigration Office, Thailand was wonderful. I just loved visiting all of the Buddhist temples and riding the elephants. Helping out at the orphanages, with climate change."

Anyway, you can definitely divide your time between the two countries. The rules are just getting every more restricted and harder to avoid. I remember traveling around Europe for 18 months in the 70s. No one once ever stamped my passport. I just held out the American passport and everyone waved me through immigration everywhere. I was so disappointed at the time, hoping to get exotic stamps on many pages. Now I realize I was fortunate to be young and fancy free back then. They let Americans and Canadians stay as long as they liked, work, goof off, live free on the beach pretend to be the next Hemingway. A group of about 200 Europeans and maybe ten Americans lived free for four months on this beach in Morocco, just north of Rabat. Hashish was legal then in Morocco, and a lot of people (never me, of course,) would light up each afternoon to watch the sun drop into the Atlantic, a process that seemed to go on for two hours. The police PROTECTED our right to stay there for free, in campers, setting up tents, doing nothing. No longer possible.Well, "travelers" have found other such spots in other countries, but tougher all the time.

Despite all of the new laws, Thai society is still much freer than anything in the West, or even in Mexico. Most Thais still consider laws only suggestions, and the civilians are still amazingly live and let live. (Though of course you have to be very aware of what rigid social rules they do have, , always respecting the king, touching the head, but otherwise, free of the rigid social behavior of the West, Japan, China, Korea

Anyway, if you ever need any advice on living in the two countries, fell free to ask.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

AdrianCF said:


> If your father has an enterprise in mex, or works there, is better if you apply for working visa with the enterprise hosting you, maybe'? it will make it easier, since the visitor visa is for 6 months only.
> 
> I m mexican, currently living in London, but my girlfriend is polish and we had lot of issues for her touristic visa, we coul d marry and solve everything promptly but we rather wait for a nice wedding,
> 
> ...


I deleted your FB contact information because of Forum Rule #4: *Please keep personal information personal. *Do not request personal information from other members, and similarly do not post other members' personal information on the site without their permission. Do not post your, or other members' personal contact details such as email address, *facebook*, skype, twitter or other profile nor telephone number.

If the OP wants to contact you, this can be done through the Forum's PM function. Though I doubt this will happen since southernhippie hasn't been here since early January.


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## AdrianCF (Apr 3, 2016)

Ups. My bad sorry


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

AdrianCF said:


> Ups. My bad sorry


No problem. When you have a few minutes, you might want to look over the Forum Rules: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/general-expat-discussions/2397-forum-rules.html.


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