# London to DF?



## Tintslo87 (May 7, 2014)

Hi guys, 
I am about to embark upon a new project in mexico city, which whilst very exciting, is a little risky as it is a start up. I will be taking a cut in net pay, but I do currently live in London, paying around $1600 per month in rent here, and able to live a decent life, but not really able to save anything. 
From what I'm reading here, it seems that a usd salary of $75k would enable me to save quite a bit, but also live a really great standard of life. 
I am yet to make a decision on this, but does anyone have advice? The company is a us based one setting up an office based in DF to diversify into a slightly different sector to the one they are currently in,and being treated as a separate project. 
Been thinking of living and working in mexico city, and if I do, it would be great to see some of you out there!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Tintslo87 said:


> Hi guys,
> I am about to embark upon a new project in mexico city, which whilst very exciting, is a little risky as it is a start up. I will be taking a cut in net pay, but I do currently live in London, paying around $1600 per month in rent here, and able to live a decent life, but not really able to save anything.
> From what I'm reading here, it seems that a usd salary of $75k would enable me to save quite a bit, but also live a really great standard of life.
> I am yet to make a decision on this, but does anyone have advice? The company is a us based one setting up an office based in DF to diversify into a slightly different sector to the one they are currently in,and being treated as a separate project.
> Been thinking of living and working in mexico city, and if I do, it would be great to see some of you out there!


I'm going to move this post to your own thread which I will call "London to DF?". See you there! And maybe soon in Mexico City  .


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

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Tintslo87 said:



Hi guys, 
I am about to embark upon a new project in mexico city, which whilst very exciting, is a little risky as it is a start up. I will be taking a cut in net pay, but I do currently live in London, paying around $1600 per month in rent here, and able to live a decent life, but not really able to save anything. 
From what I'm reading here, it seems that a usd salary of $75k would enable me to save quite a bit, but also live a really great standard of life. 
I am yet to make a decision on this, but does anyone have advice? The company is a us based one setting up an office based in DF to diversify into a slightly different sector to the one they are currently in,and being treated as a separate project. 
Been thinking of living and working in mexico city, and if I do, it would be great to see some of you out there!

Click to expand...

_
Your inquiry raises lots of questions unaswerable based on the information you have provided so allow me to narrow my response to the basics. London or England in general versus Mexico City or Mexico in general as places to live all other things being equal. Mexico wins hands down. My wife was raised in París - a fabulous city - and I in Alabama - a beautiful place. She lived with me for some 30 years in San Francisco. We´ve never been happier than in Mexico and we live at Lake Chapala and in the Chiapas Highlands - not unique Mexico City. To each his own but when I was in London back in the 1960s, life was too short to spend another day freezing my butt off in that hellhole and I was out of there as soon as I could find a direct flight to Bombay (Mumbai). Of course, I was a vagabond in those days. If you have a good, low-risk day job and the Mexico City job entails some substantial risk, you have other things to consider. Only you can make that decisión.


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## Tintslo87 (May 7, 2014)

Hound Dog said:


> Your inquiry raises lots of questions unaswerable based on the information you have provided so allow me to narrow my response to the basics. London or England in general versus Mexico City or Mexico in general as places to live all other things being equal. Mexico wins hands down. My wife was raised in París - a fabulous city - and I in Alabama - a beautiful place. She lived with me for some 30 years in San Francisco. We´ve never been happier than in Mexico and we live at Lake Chapala and in the Chiapas Highlands - not unique Mexico City. To each his own but when I was in London back in the 1960s, life was too short to spend another day freezing my butt off in that hellhole and I was out of there as soon as I could find a direct flight to Bombay (Mumbai). Of course, I was a vagabond in those days. If you have a good, low-risk day job and the Mexico City job entails some substantial risk, you have other things to consider. Only you can make that decisión.


Thanks for your response. Ok so I guess I can clear up a few things. I'm talking mainly London v mexico city, as I'm looking to go for 3yrs tops (of course I am open to that changing to far longer, it all depends). I'm a 26 yr old male, single, currently living in a 750sq ft apartment in a decent area for $1600, and certainly ready for an adventure.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Tintslo87 said:


> Thanks for your response. Ok so I guess I can clear up a few things. I'm talking mainly London v mexico city, as I'm looking to go for 3yrs tops (of course I am open to that changing to far longer, it all depends). I'm a 26 yr old male, single, currently living in a 750sq ft apartment in a decent area for $1600, and certainly ready for an adventure.


I´m 72 years old now and purposefully had my adventures in terms of international living, at your age. I was prescient enough in those days to know instintively that when I became older and more affluent and was able to travel about as pleased me, that I would have lost the zest for adventure and risk and I, by God, was right.

In 1965, I walked into the office of my boss, with the high falutin title of the Regional Adminstrator of National Banks, Comptroller of the Currency, 12th National Bank Región, and told him I was leaving his employ. He was astonished as, at that point, I had had a moderatey successful career there and his inquiry as to why I was leaving left him nonplussed as my expressed and sincere reason was that I had saved a nest egg and planned to waste it on travels through Africa and India and, in those days, that was not a lot of money - maybe $5,000 USD which in those days could take you from Addis Ababa to Capetown but that was another time and place.

That journey, which took me through Europe to Egypt to Nairobi to Mombasa to Zanxzibar to Dar Es Salaam to Bombay to Kathmandu to Calcutta to Madras to Bangalore to Tel Aviv to countless other places engrained in my memory and leaves me no room to mourn the loss of the climb up the ladder at the Regional Adminstrator of National Bank´s cesspool which would, today, have left me with that bitter aftertaste in my mouth as I loathed missed opportunities there in my trailor in South Texas waiting for my social security check.

Take the risk and head for Mexico City. If you fail, move on.


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## mark valentine (May 5, 2014)

I moved to Mexico city 7 months ago. Food and the cost of living here is so much cheaper but there is no cosmopolitan lifestyle compared to the UK. learning spanish is an absolute must here too. Mexico city is an enormous city of 23 million people but some areas have some great houses and apartmentd at a fraction of what you currently pay. It is a very different way of life in this city although you could for example buy a fantastic home in or near a resort as an option for a low price


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

mark valentine said:


> I moved to Mexico city 7 months ago. Food and the cost of living here is so much cheaper but there is no cosmopolitan lifestyle compared to the UK. learning spanish is an absolute must here too. Mexico city is an enormous city of 23 million people but some areas have some great houses and apartmentd at a fraction of what you currently pay. It is a very different way of life in this city although you could for example buy a fantastic home in or near a resort as an option for a low price


How do you define "cosmopolitan lifestyle"?


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## mark valentine (May 5, 2014)

Many nationalities, cuisines is what i meant probably quite even in terms of numbers. For example, Italians, Asians, carribean, Indisn, Polish etc


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

mark valentine said:


> Many nationalities, cuisines is what i meant probably quite even in terms of numbers. For example, Italians, Asians, carribean, Indisn, Polish etc


That's a fair comment. The best way to ease into your new life here is to open yourself to what Mexico City (and Mexico) does have to offer and not to focus too much on what it lacks. And when all else fails, think about how much better the weather is here as compared to London!


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## mark valentine (May 5, 2014)

Well yes the weather here is much better and if you venture outside the city the country is so beautiful too which id why i mentioned living in cancun or any of the surrounding towns. I have been here for 7 months and i am finding my feet. For me, i thought it impottant for a newcomer, to give opposing views and contrast with outlying towns so they may no what to expect and make their own choice. If i said its all wonderful, that would be wrobg and conversely, if i said its all bad, then that could leave them to make a wrong choice too. I have met sone nice people here and have had nice food but if they want variety of food ( as an example) the choice is limited. I'm a vegetarian and here is not known for vegetarianism. Choosing a nice zone to live helps as in any major city. The person said they had a nice large apartment in London abd i made reference to the fact that they could buy something far more substantial in one of the better zobes for a lot less money and that food here is far cheaper than the UK. For example 6 of us are at a restaurant here with beers for around 20 pounds


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## Balboa (Nov 16, 2010)

To Tintslo87,

A close friend of mine recently moved to Mexico City (about a year ago). Before she lived in New York City with a great pay and apartment. She ate out all the time and enjoyed the great city. She loves Mexico City just as much. You won't complain about the weather (there might be some air pollution with all the cars). You are young and you'll have a very decent salary I'm assuming. Your standards will adjust. Keep us posted

Regards
J


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