# Living in Mexico



## NeedSomeSun

I have a retirement wage of $890 USD (after Medicare expenses) and am looking for a place where I can get by better than in the U.S. (Not living off of rice and dog food). I'm looking at these areas:

Chapala, Jalisco

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Melaque, Jalisco

and wondering how I'd get on there, or if anyone else knew of a better place I could live in Mexico for a couple months at a time.


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## RVGRINGO

The requirement for an FM3 is more than your stated income, so that would seem to preclude long term retirement in Mexico. It could be done as a tourist for six months but paying rent, medical expenses, insurance and groceries would be difficult. One should always have a year's living expenses saved for emergency use. Remember, there are no 'safety nets' for you in Mexico.


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## Queretaro

The short answer is no. While you probably could "survive" on the amount you asked for in some small out of the way town, most of the big cities, and retirement areas have gotten much more expensive. You may want to consider going farther south, to southern Mexico (Chiapas) or possibly even countries like Guatamala that are much cheaper than Mexico.

Good luck.


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## sparks

Since I live in Melaque I'll say it's very possible. Also with the current exchange rate you are very close to the FM3 requirements ... but you sound not interested in that. My 3 bdrm/2bath house a block from the beach cost $4000 pesos which is less than $300us. It takes awhile to find deals like I have but you certainly could find a nice apartment for that much or less. The catch is you need to be long term (at least 6 months) and don't arrive in the winter when all the gringos are here.

Remember there is a large difference in climate between the coast and the highlands so summer should be your main concern here. You should be able to get a nice place anywhere for $3-400us given time and not just for a month or two


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## Farmer Jo

*Small town, less expensive*

You are best to stick to small towns. Right next door to Melaque, is Barra de Navidad... both are lovely and can be inexpensive. I would suggest you take a vacation there (or anywhere you are thinking of) before deciding to stay for a few months. In both of those towns, there are a lot of Canadians and Americans who live there until it gets too hot (and some are there year round.) It helps to know Spanish in these small towns because it's not like PV or someplace where 'tourist' staff speak English.


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## RVGRINGO

NeedSomeSun said:


> I have a retirement wage of $890 USD (after Medicare expenses) and am looking for a place where I can get by better than in the U.S. (Not living off of rice and dog food). I'm looking at these areas:
> 
> Chapala, Jalisco
> 
> Guadalajara, Jalisco
> 
> Melaque, Jalisco
> 
> and wondering how I'd get on there, or if anyone else knew of a better place I could live in Mexico for a couple months at a time.


It seems that NeedSomeSun is still exploring the idea of moving to Mexico. The areas mentioned above indicate a wide variety of places; Chapala, a small city on the lake, Guadalajara, a huge city of millions and Melaque, a tiny tourist town on the beach.
The first two could offer a pleasant climate and economical living, while the third choice would be for someone who can live without air conditioning in the oppressively hot and humid half (or more) of the year.
A visit to each would seem to be in order. In fact, each should be visited in mid-winter and mid-summer in order to experience the extremes, or the lack of them.


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## Rodrigo84

I have known of more than a few Americans that have lived in D.F. with a Mexican family (often people teaching English) and are able to survive for about the amount that was mentioned.


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## NeedSomeSun

RVGRINGO said:


> The first two could offer a pleasant climate and economical living, while the third choice would be for someone who can live without air conditioning in the oppressively hot and humid half (or more) of the year.



I am able to survive on the third choice pretty easily having lived in Arizona without air conditioning for a couple years. Melaque seems my best choice and the FM3 requirements, while I don't have enough, should be possible if I ever get property there. (Seeing as owning property cuts FM3 requirements in half.)


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## Farmer Jo

*Real Estate in Melaque/Barra de Navidad*

I would guess that real estate in Melaque is a bit more than Barra. I've been admiring this (online) house for months - and it's very affordable:
http://www.mexicocb.com/listing-254
They also have some Melaque listings.


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## sparks

Melaque is no more expensive than Barra. They both have their fancy areas and their barrios. A friend almost bought a very Mexican house on a 10x20mt lot for about $27k that could have been nice with $10-15k more. Instead he bought a couple of 'investment lots' - still don't know why

Another option after you have been here awhile is - My house project web or My house project Blog. Buy a lot or two for 5-7k each and build something. I chose to be out in the country to escape the beach town activities

Reducing your income requirements because you own a home is also up to the local Immigration. Also 90% of the land here is still Ejido and a 'presta nombre' means nothing to Immigration. The few areas that are normalized require a Bank Trust which is relatively costly


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## Farmer Jo

hey sparks... thanks so much for those links... i am going to read those sites tomorrow (almost dinner time now)...yes, i have thought about buying land, not really a lot because it's too small to farm on a lot, and building a home (my father was a master carpenter and i have a carpenter friend who has 160 acres up north who i built her house with years ago.) up here, there's a huge cob movement (http://www.cobworks.com/) started in North America by Ianto Evans in Cob Cottage (!), Oregon (http://www.cobcottage.com) and there is some cob in Mexico (http://housealive.org/building-with-cob-in-mexico) - i love the whole idea of cob and it is so perfectly suited to the Mexican climate - slightly different from adobe - and it's totally cheap. You can build an entire house for less than a few thousand dollars (if you want to put car doors in the cob for windows...you can roll the windows up and down) or you can go big and build a cob house that costs tens of thousands and they can either look like a hobbit house or a mansion - take your pick. loking forward to checking out the links you sent me... farmer jo


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## sparks

Remember there are a lot of climate zones in Mexico so adobe, straw bale and cob houses may not do as well in humidity and rain. Also when using wood post and beam, wood is expensive and better be termite resistant. Corn cobs may be good termite food


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## Heather77

just to add to the fm3 comments, the last poster is correct. I just got back from my local Mex consulate,& they told me the min monthly income is $1000US. Much different from what my expat friend living in Mexico said her last requirement was of $1500 US. So my consulate said that it can vary from city/state & country. When I mentioned the discount for being a homeowner in Mex, she said that it didn't apply at this (L.A.) consulate.
Also what sparks said above about diff climates is so true! Never have I been somewhere before where 1 month you're driving across a bridge, then another month that bridge is totally gone & replaced by a river. Although it really depends on what part of the country you're in.


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## sparks

The differences for income requirements happen when the exchange rate fluctuates. In the last 6 months the peso has gone from 9.8 to over 15. Now it's about 13.60


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## RVGRINGO

Sparks is correct. The income requirement is based on a multiple of the minimum daily wage in Mexico, in pesos, not dollars. As a result, the equivalent in dollars is variable. Not only that; as you have discovered, the various consulates seem to make up their own rules. Unless you need a 'menaje de casa' to ship household goods, it is usually easier to get your FM3 in Mexico. You are going to have to visit immigration in Mexico anyway for the registration process.


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## Farmer Jo

*Minimum Financial Requirements*

I read somewhere that it was $1500/month if you are single, $1000 (each person) per month if you are married... but according to rolly brook, it can vary:

http://www.rollybrook.com/how_to_move_to_mexico.htm


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## RVGRINGO

It does not vary in pesos and it is charged in pesos. The difference in your mind is that you are thinking in dollars. Assume that you rented a place for 5000 pesos per month when the peso was 9.8 to the dollar. Your rent, if you think in dollars, would be the equivalent of $510 per month. Today, at 13.5, it would be $370 USD. That is the type of variation you are seeing. If you are going to live in Mexico, you might as well start thinking in pesos; we don't use dollars here.


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## bournemouth

Heather is right in that the Consulates cannot give you the exemption for owing property. That can only be allowed when applying for your FM3/2 in Mexico.


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## MandyinJax

to NeedSomeSun

I lived in Tucson, Arizona and although it is HOT it is also DRY. I was able to be comfortable with open windows and ceiling fans in the summer, until the temp went over 100', hot is hot dry or not. If you have no experience with HUMIDITY you will be in for a shock in a coastal area that is very tropical.

Think "trapped in a sauna" with no way out, breathing is difficult, you may feel like you are drowning, your hair flat & frizzy, your clothes are sticking to your body, you are sweating more than after a long workout. 

I know first hand, I live in Florida which is unbearably humid about 9 months of the year. My friends who were born here say they don't notice or feel the humidity. My youngest son moved his family here and was so miserable they moved after two years. My other son is not affected by the humidity. So one persons paradise is anothers nightmare. 

So consider the climate as carefully as economy before picking a city.

MandyinJax


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## BajaGringo

I agree with the comments about heat and humidity. I have lived in some very hot areas like Bakersfield, California where it is not uncommon to see summer temps reach 115 and even higher. I have also lived in some hot *AND* humid areas in Argentina, Venezuela and Sumatra. I like living on the ocean and had to search long and far to find a place that was neither hot or humid. We have it here along the northern Baja coastline and it is probably the best weather I have found on the planet up until now...

*YMMV*


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## clint

Life in Mexico can be moderate or high priced, but certainly not cheap.
With your income level, once you have purchased your house you should likely be ok as when you apply for FM3 with a copy of the deed for your house the income required will be reduced to approx. 1/2


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## RVGRINGO

Welcome, Clint.
That 'will be' should be 'may be' reduced, depending upon the whim of the local immigration authorities; the FM3 income reduction for property owners is up to them. On the coasts, you must remember that, technically, the bank owns the property in trust for you, you aren't the owner of record and may not always be granted the reduction.


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