# Expats and Mail forwarding



## Coconutz (May 9, 2013)

Assuming you decided to have your USA mail forwarded to you in Mexico, I was interested in knowing which of these two options would be more appealing to you as an expat.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Coconutz said:


> Assuming you decided to have your USA mail forwarded to you in Mexico, I was interested in knowing which of these two options would be more appealing to you as an expat.


What are the two options you refer to in our post?


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

Isla Verde said:


> What are the two options you refer to in our post?


It's a poll. Look higher on the page in the gray box and you'll see buttons for voting on the two options. (I was mystified at first, too!!)


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> What are the two options you refer to in our post?


I've never seen a post format like the one with the original question. I hesitate to "vote" because I do not know what would happen. Can the Mods please let us know about this format? Thanks.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

FHBOY said:


> I've never seen a post format like the one with the original question. I hesitate to "vote" because I do not know what would happen. Can the Mods please let us know about this format? Thanks.


It's only a poll not a subscription.


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## mexikatz (Mar 16, 2013)

Coconutz said:


> Assuming you decided to have your USA mail forwarded to you in Mexico, I was interested in knowing which of these two options would be more appealing to you as an expat.


I don't know if this is going to help you - but this is what we have done / are doing.

When we were still in the states (December) we visited the post office and put in a change of address redirecting the mail to a friend of my wife. She collected the mail and every couple of weeks she and my wife would go through the batch and weed out the junk. She would then send the good stuff to us. At first she used Fedex but it was expensive and we found that USPS priority mail worked just as well. 

I liked that setup because it helped catch the last water bill, the last cable bill etc.

I believe the post office forwards magazines etc for 2 months and regular mail for 1 year.

While still in the states I switched over as much stuff as I could to electronic (email) delivery. Sometimes it takes up to 2 months for that to become active though - particularly the banks.

Shortly after arriving in Mexico we visited the local post office and took out a box. It was very affordable. I use the po box address for those things I don't want to have 'lifted' from our mailbox (and we live in a privada). They also receive registered mail and put a slip in the box for us. They do the same thing for boxes etc.

We are at the point now where most everything is coming electronically. Otherwise it goes to the Mexican po box or the mailbox. The last CARE package from my wife's friend had only 3 items in it. Things like tag renewals etc which we no longer care about.

We have found the Mexican mail service to be excellent. My wife regularly sends stuff to Germany and they get it in about 10 days. I have had ebay items shipped directly to the house - no problem.

Edit : I guess my real answer to your question is - just have your mail forwarded directly to you - assuming you are setup in Mexico.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Coconutz said:


> Assuming you decided to have your USA mail forwarded to you in Mexico, I was interested in knowing which of these two options would be more appealing to you as an expat.


Neither. There are lots of options not covered by the two choices in the poll.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

We subscribe to a mail forwarding service. (You'd think of it like a Mail Boxes Etc)

Our mailing address is in Laredo, TX. which means all mail to/from the USA is domestic.

The service then picks up the incoming mail twice a week and brings it to our box in Ajijic where we pick it up.

The service costs a yearly fee, and does charge a small amount to send a letter.

Mail does take about 10 -14 days to reach us.

We have not tried the Mexican Post office...but as an anecdote: we sent a thank you card from the USA a couple of years ago. It took about two months to reach the person to sent it to here.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

TundraGreen said:


> Neither. There are lots of options not covered by the two choices in the poll.


The poll reads: Which of these two mail forwarding options *appeals* to you *more*


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

joaquinx said:


> The poll reads: Which of these two mail forwarding options *appeals* to you *more*


Originally, neither as mentioned above by others
but #2 if I had to choose and vote
BUT
Since I do not know what will happen or how much spam will get triggered if I answer, I'm afraid that my vote will not register.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

FHBOY said:


> Originally, neither as mentioned above by others
> but #2 if I had to choose and vote
> BUT
> Since I do not know what will happen or how much spam will get triggered if I answer, I'm afraid that my vote will not register.


You will generate no more spam by answering a polling question than you have by responding to this thread, i.e. none. Although the Forum does not indicate whether or not the poll is anonymous, it appears that the results are available only as numeric data and do not indicate to the author of the poll how individual members may have voted.

When you post a new thread at the bottom you have a section titled "Additional Options". The last option is "Post a Poll".

Posting a poll allows the author to efficiently ascertain member response to a question without the need to read through numerous written responses. 

In this case, the available choices for the poll question did not cover the total population of responses favored by the group. A third response "neither" could have been added or as some answered a written response "neither" could be made. Otherwise, the proper response would have been to make no response which would have left the author to question why the number of responses was so low.

The Forum has done an excellent job of minimizing spam. Members can reduce the possibility of spam even further by limiting the amount of personal and contact information that can be found in the forum.


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