# What are hard to get Items in MX



## WirelessCowboy

Hi,

Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!

Thanks,

Rod


----------



## gringotim

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


The list of things you can't get can vary from one area to another, and from one store to another, Walmart carries things that Soriana might not and so on. but I would highly recommend that before you make the move, you first go for a visit to the area you are thinking of moving to, you may find you don't like it there, but if you do, you can then see for yourself if the things you like, may or may not be available there.


----------



## WirelessCowboy

*Thanks!*



Thanks!


----------



## gringotim

WirelessCowboy said:


> Thanks!


No problem, sorry my answer was kind of vague, but heres one thing to consider, if you move the an area with a large expat population, you will find that some of the stores will carry alot more things from nob (north of the border), than if you move to an area with a very small expat population. And with a large expat population, there is usually someone going nob who can pick things up for you if you can't find them locally.


----------



## m55vette

I have decided that I have to let go of some things I can get here and just look at losing a true , brined kosher dill pickle is little price to pay for the tranquility I fell when I'm at my home in Mexico. When in Rome....


----------



## WirelessCowboy

m55vette said:


> I have decided that I have to let go of some things I can get here and just look at losing a true , brined kosher dill pickle is little price to pay for the tranquility I fell when I'm at my home in Mexico. When in Rome....


LOL! Thanks! 
Really, no pickles in Mexico? No Vlasic?


----------



## m55vette

You can get pickles in Mexico, just not the ones I like, Bubbie's or the ones from NYC BaTampte... You get many name brand items, you just pay the higher price. Costco, Sam's sell tons of American items, just at a higher cost. Big and tall clothes can be a challenge, and parts for certain cars not common to Mexico could be a challenge. The price of shipping those parts in could be considerable. Things are just different in many cases, you just would have to get used to paying an imported price or doing with a local version. I am happy to make the sacrifice on a brand of peanut butter to stay in the village!


----------



## joaquinx

Or you can buy gerkins, vinegar, salt, dill, garlic and make your own.


----------



## m55vette

joaquinx said:


> Or you can buy gerkins, vinegar, salt, dill, garlic and make your own.


Yes, this thread got me looking into brining fresh sour garlic dills at the house. There are usually pickling cucumbers for sale in the markets, I see them everywhere. I was online reading recipes and methods last night!


----------



## tepetapan

Vlasic pickels are sold in the Wal Mart in Veracruz city. I am sure if they are in Veracruz they can be had in other cities. Things are changing in Mexico, we even bought canned cranberries locally last Thanksgiving.


----------



## cesar&jody

Pickles is a huge one! I crave them sometimes!! Also, I have had some problems with shaving cream, candies like twizzlers, ginger ale and Q-Tips! Using the other ones just doesnt cut it! I am in Cabo and figured that because is mostly gringos here, that there would probably be more of the american products that im used to, WRONG! But you make adjustments.


----------



## conorkilleen

cesar&jody said:


> Pickles is a huge one! I crave them sometimes!! Also, I have had some problems with shaving cream, candies like twizzlers, ginger ale and Q-Tips! Using the other ones just doesnt cut it! I am in Cabo and figured that because is mostly gringos here, that there would probably be more of the american products that im used to, WRONG! But you make adjustments.


Ha! the Q-tips thing is right on the mark. Why dont they sell them here!!!! The plastic crappy sticks are horrible and the "tip" doesnt stay on. I'm going back to the US at the end of April and I am going to get 4 large boxes at Costco.


----------



## Guest

Kraft Miracle Whip. BLTs just aren't the same with crappy mayonnaise.


----------



## elchante

for me, it's crossword and other puzzle books. in the US, i used to order big boxes of puzzle books at low prices. to do so here in mexico it is totally cost prohibitive because the shipping charges are so high. 

i get paperback books by swapping those i have for other people's used [i.e. read] books, but you can't do that with puzzle books. 

it's just a little thing, but i sure appreciate my friends who travel to the US and bring me back such things. 

and, like cesar & jody, i miss ginger ale and also non caffeinated cola drinks. 

but the trade off is totally worth it!


----------



## cesar&jody

elchante said:


> it's just a little thing, but i sure appreciate my friends who travel to the US and bring me back such things.


Speaking of which, a guest here where my fiance works remembered that i complained about not having Perogies and good sour cream here, and surprised me this morning with a huge bag of perogies and a tub of sour cream that she smuggled on the plane! haha it was like christmas!!


----------



## joaquinx

GringoCArlos said:


> Kraft Miracle Whip. BLTs just aren't the same with crappy mayonnaise.


But Miracle Whip isn't mayonnaise.


----------



## rckrckr

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


There's another extensive thread in this forum that might help. Look for _"what is the one item you are really glad you brought with you to Mexico and why?"._


----------



## jojo

rckrckr said:


> There's another extensive thread in this forum that might help. Look for _"what is the one item you are really glad you brought with you to Mexico and why?"._


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/me...o-why.html?highlight=item+glad+brought+Mexico

Jo xxxx


----------



## Guest

joaquinx said:


> but miracle whip isn't mayonnaise.


exactly.  I also miss cottage cheese.....


----------



## carlb

Didn't think this was worth its own thread, but is it just in Manzanillo grocery stores like , WalMArt, Sorianas etc , that eggs are not refridgerated, or is it all grocery stores everywhere in Mexico, and why. In Canada and the U.S grocery stores they are in the refridgerated section. Someone suggested that once they are refridgerated, they have to be kept cold until used, so its easier to not do it at all.


----------



## xabiaxica

carlb said:


> Didn't think this was worth its own thread, but is it just in Manzanillo grocery stores like , WalMArt, Sorianas etc , that eggs are not refridgerated, or is it all grocery stores everywhere in Mexico, and why. In Canada and the U.S grocery stores they are in the refridgerated section. Someone suggested that once they are refridgerated, they have to be kept cold until used, so its easier to not do it at all.


it's the same in Spain & the UK & maybe the rest of Europe

in my former life I was a hotel & restaurant manager - and that is exactly what I was taught - once refridgerated they have to be


we never kept our eggs in a fridge


----------



## kazslo

carlb said:


> Didn't think this was worth its own thread, but is it just in Manzanillo grocery stores like , WalMArt, Sorianas etc , that eggs are not refridgerated, or is it all grocery stores everywhere in Mexico, and why. In Canada and the U.S grocery stores they are in the refridgerated section. Someone suggested that once they are refridgerated, they have to be kept cold until used, so its easier to not do it at all.


I *think* it has to do with how the eggs are processed, that when major US producers wash the eggs their natural protective layer is removed.


----------



## circle110

GringoCArlos said:


> I also miss cottage cheese.....


Lala makes a cottage cheese that is quite good. We buy it at Mega.


----------



## dizzyizzy

circle110 said:


> Lala makes a cottage cheese that is quite good. We buy it at Mega.


I love Alpura's cottage cheese!! Actually all Alpura things (milk, cheese, etc.) Superama has it.


----------



## rosfreed

I wish someone could tell me where to buy a size 38DD bra!?


----------



## carlb

rosfreed said:


> I wish someone could tell me where to buy a size 38DD bra!?


Are you in Costa Rica or Mexico? if Mexico, where? about 2years ago my wife bought two 38DD at a little store in the Comercial Mexicana mall in Manzanillo. But here in BC, she has to buy at a speciallity store.


----------



## rosfreed

carlb said:


> Are you in Costa Rica or Mexico? if Mexico, where? about 2years ago my wife bought two 38DD at a little store in the Comercial Mexicana mall in Manzanillo. But here in BC, she has to buy at a speciallity store.


....

I'm in Mazatlan Mexico....I can't find how to change my "location". We have several big stores here, Soriana, Walmart, Mega and a mall as well, but the sizes only go to 38C....I'll keep looking, Thanks!


----------



## xabiaxica

rosfreed said:


> ....
> 
> I'm in Mazatlan Mexico....I can't find how to change my "location". We have several big stores here, Soriana, Walmart, Mega and a mall as well, but the sizes only go to 38C....I'll keep looking, Thanks!


to change your location, go into UserCP at the top

then click on _Edit your details_ & change it there


----------



## kcowan

Just add a bunch of sugar and mayo will taste just like MW!


----------



## KnLBurks

GringoCArlos said:


> Kraft Miracle Whip. BLTs just aren't the same with crappy mayonnaise.


You can find miracle whip at various superamas in df. Not the easiest to find, but you can. You can also pay an arm and a leg for it at the American store anytime.


----------



## conorkilleen

Hazelnut Coffee. Cant find it anywhere. I saw that at Walmart my brand of Folgers is 147 pesos for a small can or regular...WHAT? looks like I will be switching to the "local" brand....but still no Hazelnut.


----------



## conklinwh

One of the reasons we really like Mexico is the ability to get really good coffee versus the watered down junk in the US. I particularly like chiapas organic Francese oscura.
No comment on Miracle Whip as that part of an unknown food group.


----------



## Packrat

carlb said:


> Didn't think this was worth its own thread, but is it just in Manzanillo grocery stores like , WalMArt, Sorianas etc , that eggs are not refridgerated, or is it all grocery stores everywhere in Mexico, and why. In Canada and the U.S grocery stores they are in the refridgerated section. Someone suggested that once they are refridgerated, they have to be kept cold until used, so its easier to not do it at all.




I'm not sure if this is the reason eggs aren't kept refrigerated there, but I had a farm for many years, and when eggs are gathered, if you never wash them, they can sit un-refrigerated for quiet a while. Not sure of the technical term, but it is a coating that seals the egg from the outside ( bacteria, etc...), otherwise, they would become rancid when the hen lays a clutch of eggs to hatch.


----------



## xabiaxica

conklinwh said:


> One of the reasons we really like Mexico is the ability to get really good coffee versus the watered down junk in the US. I particularly like chiapas organic Francese oscura.
> No comment on Miracle Whip as that part of an unknown food group.


having lived for some time in the US I would even go as far as to say that Miracle Whip isn't part of any food group - known or unknown!!


----------



## gringotim

Has anyone seen "Marmite" anywhere? if you have to ask what is it?, you've never had it, and wouldn't understand the explanation of how it tastes. Found the small size (4.5oz) in Waikiki (Hawaii) for $8.99(same size in Walmart supercenter in BC is $3.77, but didn't see it in Manzanillo on last visit.


----------



## dandkay

We love to grill so on our last trip to where we are moving we brought a Coleman table top grill. Hubby took it apart and we brought it in our checked luggage. I was certain it would get flagged and us checked but not an eyebrow was even raised. 

We have been bringing in things we will need for the house, and storing with friends, for a couple years now. It makes the transition that much smoother come November. You should have seen the TSA go over one bag last month as it had long pipes and cord. Of course, it was only my favorite wind chimes!

Other things we love are the low camp style beach chairs that you can order online. It sure beats laying in the sand and trying to read a book. We brought those in wrapped in bubblewrap and checked.


----------



## latacharita

I agree re: Q-tips. The ones sold in Mexico are so flimsy, not enough cotton on the end, and hahaha sometimes there's no cotton at all--just the plastic stick! (Um, quality control, where are you?) I've yet to find Zatarain's crab boil seasoning (from Louisiana). As for no hazelnut coffee, that's a bummer for me too. If you buy the real vanilla flavoring sold here, you can add a teaspoon or more of that to your coffee pot and it gives it a nice yummy flavor. Or on trips nob you can bring back some of the hazelnut flavoring that coffee shops use. It's sold in almost every major grocery store now, and sometimes you can find it in a plastic bottle, which works out better for your suitcase. I've yet to find crunchy peanut butter in Mexico.


----------



## AHappyCappy

I totally miss the "All Beef Hot Dog" with cucumber pickles and celery salt, and don't even mention polish sausages and pizza with Italian sausage. Also, the American cheese they sell in the stores are pretty much tasteless to me. However, the new foods I have been introduced to have been keeping me quite happy. I love the Birria, Menudo and the fruit is incredible! :->


----------



## latacharita

Something I think is really important to bring down from the states---very strong surge protectors because you will most certainly need them. The ones sold in MX cost a lot more and are generally sub-par. We've gone through 3 in the past 4 years--they sacrificed their lives while protecting our equipment. They burnt and blew out, but the electronic equipment was protected and suffered no damage. We even have protectors on our refrigerator and washing machine, and of course we always use them for computers, cell phones, radios, cpap machines, etc. If you can't replace it easily or if it's an expensive item, you should always always use a surge protector.


----------



## RVGRINGO

Ten years here and we've never used a surge protector and never lost an appliance, all of which are Mexican and designed with stronger power supplies than appliances made for the US market. We once had a serious strike that blew out our neighbor's three TV sets and two refrigerators, etc. They were all brought down from the USA. We were on the same street transformer and suffered no loss.


----------



## rosfreed

rosfreed said:


> ....
> 
> I'm in Mazatlan Mexico....I can't find how to change my "location". We have several big stores here, Soriana, Walmart, Mega and a mall as well, but the sizes only go to 38C....I'll keep looking, Thanks!


I found a 40DD in Sears in Guadalajara! Lots of choices too!


----------



## DNP

rosfreed said:


> I found a 40DD in Sears in Guadalajara! Lots of choices too!


What is a 40DD, please.


----------



## ronb172

Bra


----------



## DNP

DNP said:


> What is a 40DD, please.


Never mind. Figured it out. (Guessed)


----------



## ronb172

Big bra!!!!


----------



## rosfreed

DNP said:


> Never mind. Figured it out. (Guessed)



Y'all are too funny!
I'm glad you guessed, my husband never would've.


----------



## luvitabroad

I'm making notes now. Especially about the Q-tips. I use them for so much I'd go crazy without those.

When we moved to Wales I didn't even think about things we wouldn't be able to get there. Thankfully hubby was making very good money and my MIL was kind enough to mail care packages of taco seasoning, crab boil, dill pickles, Lipton's Tea, american style peanut butter and jalapenos. One thing that really surprised me was no pharmacy had ever heard of rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. My husband is diabetic and uses it to cleanse his arm before his shot. Everyone there was horrified that he would do that.

The things I miss now that I can't get in the US are great British beers and ales. US ones taste like water. The cheeses. I never liked cheese until I went to Europe. Cawl, a soup made from leeks and Welsh Cakes for breakfast.

In Mexico we'll be on a fixed income so we'll have to watch our spending.

I am amazed at how many friends I have taken South of the Border and they won't eat when they can't get refried beans and flour tortillas. I have learned to explain ahead of time that those are border and Tex-Mex dishes and not served once you get in to Mexico.


----------



## RVGRINGO

We have refried beans and flour tortillas in Jalisco & they are easy to find.


----------



## rosfreed

Soriana in Chapala has Liptons tea bags. I can get Q tips, they are not quite as good as US ones. I am from the UK a long time ago, we do miss British beer but Leon brown beer is OK and one of the inexpensive ones, Modelo ***** is good too, but more expensive. Indio is low priced and tastes a little like an English pale ale, not quite so good.
Mexican cheese is excellent, I think, and I was a professional chef in my former life, lots of choices, Manchego is similar to cheddar, and they let you taste them all in the supermarkets.
I lived in the US for 18 years, and I have found everything I need here, and the supermarkets are great especially Mega. You can get European cheeses, including blue cheese, but they are more expensive.
I think food is better here than the US, more choice, MUCH lower prices, I bought a liter of raspberries in the local market for $1 and 2 kilos of tomatoes for less than $1. The supermarkets tend to have much higher prices than the little fruit and vegetable shops you see everywhere, and they have fresher produce too.
We spend around $1,000 a month on food, drinks.....a bottle of El Presidente brandy a week, that is 87 pesos, 12 beers, and we like to eat well. We eat out maybe once a week, usually spend about $300 pesos on a meal for two with a couple of beers, less if we choose one of the less "******" places.
We are RVing, just outside Ajijic right now. We spent 6 months in Mazatlan, is was slightly more expensive but not much. We are intending to travel on to Oaxaca to spend a few months, may stay there, or return to this area, this is certainly a lovely place to live.
We have lived in Spain, Florida, Arizona, Costa Rica, and Mexico is very much the top of our list as a country to live. 
You can e mail me if you like for more info......I'm retired and love to answer questions!


----------



## luvitabroad

I love Negra Modelo beer. It is one I think is almost equal to Brit brews. We live close to Corpus Christi now and it is easy to find North of the Border here. We want to come down in a small motorhome, too. I used to cross all the time but it has been probably 25 years now since I've crossed the border. It will probably be a few more before we can retire but I am looking forward to it and it's never too early to start planning.


----------



## latacharita

luvitabroad said:


> I love Negra Modelo beer. It is one I think is almost equal to Brit brews. We live close to Corpus Christi now and it is easy to find North of the Border here. We want to come down in a small motorhome, too. I used to cross all the time but it has been probably 25 years now since I've crossed the border. It will probably be a few more before we can retire but I am looking forward to it and it's never too early to start planning.


If you like Negra Modelo, then you should try Bohemia Obscura---IMO it's the best dark beer in Mexico! It's great!


----------



## luvitabroad

Thanks. Bohemia Obscura. The name sounds like they would like to keep it hard to find. I will look for it and get a friend to look who gets all over Mexico on business. I don't drink much, but love to sip a good, dark, rich beer on occasion.


----------



## rosfreed

I find it in the Supermarkets in Mexico....but it is 68 pesos for 6 and Leon is only 48 for 6! I nearly bought some yesterday but economy took charge and I bought Leon as usual....my husband says it is very good.


----------



## maesonna

@luvitabroad I'm surprised about the lack of alcohol. We use ethyl alcohol for rubbing alcohol, you can buy it in the pharmacy section of any supermarket.


----------



## Guest

maesonna said:


> @luvitabroad I'm surprised about the lack of alcohol. We use ethyl alcohol for rubbing alcohol, you can buy it in the pharmacy section of any supermarket.


The sale of isopropyl alcohol is restricted in Mexico because too many people want to drink it instead. For this reason, the pharmacies sell denatured ethyl alcohol (alcohol etilico desnaturalizado) which works just as well, but if someone drinks it, they will vomit. I was scratching my head over this too, until a Chemical engineer colleague explained it to me.


----------



## latacharita

RVGringo, I'm totally confused by your post---"designed with stronger power supplies than appliances made for the US market"---what does this mean? We bought our appliances in Mexico, and trust me, it makes no difference if you buy them in MX or bring them down from the US, a surge protector should be used. Power surges and low power can both damage appliances. Our refrigerator (bought in Mexico) was damaged by several days of low power. Fortunately for us the small part needed to fix it cost only $100 pesos and my husband changed it out himself. Now we have it plugged into a surge protector that protects against surges and low power supplies. Our neighbors ceiling fan (bought in MX) burned up from a power surge, along with their coffee maker. Your appliances didn't get fried and your neighbor lost 3 TVs and 2 fridges only because you got lucky and he didn't.


----------



## RVGRINGO

Many appliances and electronics have an internal 'power supply' that takes either 110 or 220V +/- and converts it into the various voltages, and even DC, required by the many components. 
In a decade, in two homes in Mexico, we've not lost anything.
Your experience with the refrigerator and fan would indicate that you left them turned on/plugged in during an obvious low voltage period. That is particularly tough on motors, which will overheat. Sometimes, the appliance will have a thermal protection device, as your fridge seems to have, and which is probably what you replaced. It can save the compressor/motor.
We have a voltage meter plugged into an obvious outlet in the kitchen, which alerts us to low voltage situations. That allows us to unplug the refrigerator until things return to normal.


----------



## rosfreed

*miracle whip*



GringoCArlos said:


> Kraft Miracle Whip. BLTs just aren't the same with crappy mayonnaise.


I found Miracle Whip for sale in Super Lake supermarket in Ajijic, lots of other good stuff too, but very expensive. I didn't buy any.


----------



## latacharita

We have a voltage meter plugged into an obvious outlet in the kitchen, which alerts us to low voltage situations. That allows us to unplug the refrigerator until things return to normal.[/QUOTE]

The ceiling fan was in the house of our neighbor. It burned during a power surge that resulted from a mishap when CFE was working on the lines. You may prefer to use a voltage meter which alarms you to low voltage periods, we prefer to use a surge protector which protects against both surges and low power periods. Either way you slice it we are both using something to protect our appliances, which is much different from your original comment in which you said it was unnecessary to use protection for appliances in Mexico due to their allegedly superior quality. I suspect they might have stronger fuses, but as to having "an internal power supply that takes either 110 or 220V +/- and converts it into the various voltages, and even DC, required by the many components"--pshaw!


----------



## RVGRINGO

Your "pshaw" should look at the back of our TV, for example. The plug is adaptable for from Japanese 100V to European 240V. Just plug it in and the power supply takes over control.


----------



## latacharita

RVGRINGO said:


> Your "pshaw" should look at the back of our TV, for example. The plug is adaptable for from Japanese 100V to European 240V. Just plug it in and the power supply takes over control.


Pshaw and double pshaw. Multi-system TVs that are 100, 110, 120, 220, and 240, yes, can be used anywhere in the world, but the multi-system capacity is not a surge protector. Bwahahahaha!  And neither is it a low voltage protector! BTW, if/when your low voltage alarm goes off in the kitchen and you're asleep or out shopping, then what? 

Poles knocked down by drunk drivers, lightening strikes, short-circuits, and other accidents can make the voltage jump to hundreds, even _thousands_ of volts. 

My brother in law has a thriving business in Celaya repairing TVs and other appliances damaged by power surges. He's Mexican. The appliances he fixes are all bought in Mexico. But it doesn't matter where the appliances are made--the US, Mexico, or China--the point is that high and low surges occur frequently in Mexico and the cost of using voltage protectors is nothing compared to the cost of replacing or repairing fried TVs, refrigerators, radios, cpap machines, computers, printers, fax machines, cell phones, etc. 

But go ahead, throw caution to the wind. Plug all your electronics directly into the wall socket. You're helping the Mexican economy. :clap2: I can give you my brother in law's phone number.


----------



## tepetapan

I agree with RV. With 7 furnished apartments/casitas, 2 ceiling fans in each plus AC, Ref. etc and our casa with 3 AC´s, 3 TV´s and all the other normal household stuff I have never had any electrical problems in 10 years besides a lighting strike where I lost a TV and had to have a TV repaired (350 pesos) and an AC Unit repaired (700 pesos). 
Maybe CFE is doing a better job in or area, who knows.?


----------



## itscoezy

conorkilleen said:


> Ha! the Q-tips thing is right on the mark. Why dont they sell them here!!!! The plastic crappy sticks are horrible and the "tip" doesnt stay on. I'm going back to the US at the end of April and I am going to get 4 large boxes at Costco.


I love that you guys said Q-Tips. I spent 10 weeks here lastyear and soon found that out. I just moved 3 weeks ago, and brought with me 1100 Q Tips LOL. that should do me for a while until someone sends me a care package from home. Another thing that I couldnt find while I was here was a simple cookie sheet/baking pan. (just a flat one). Not sure if it was just the area or not? I'm Canadian, I'm a huge HP Sauce fan, you cant get that here either that i've seen. Cheddar cheese is sometimes hard to come by, but ive found it in walmart and soriana a handful of times. I also brought tealight candles as i couldnt find them here lastyear. but did find them this time in walmart. However probably top on my list was the Qtips  y'all are right!


----------



## telcoman

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


Ant traps.


----------



## latacharita

telcoman said:


> Ant traps.


..and smoke alarms.....although the houses are made of concrete, the stuff inside can catch on fire.


----------



## edenmayne

Ok maybe I am being naive BUT talk to me about surge protectors...this is something I know nothing about and would hate to lose an electrical item - not only that would not be able to afford the cost of replacing it... so I think I would rather be safe than sorry... 

Which stores would do I get a surge protector from..... what are the cost of these..... ?? Thankyou


----------



## PinkChili

Is apple cider vinegar widely available?


----------



## pappabee

edenmayne said:


> Ok maybe I am being naive BUT talk to me about surge protectors...this is something I know nothing about and would hate to lose an electrical item - not only that would not be able to afford the cost of replacing it... so I think I would rather be safe than sorry...
> 
> Which stores would do I get a surge protector from..... what are the cost of these..... ?? Thankyou


Depending on what you want to protect there are many different surge protectors. It's easy to find the kind with a series of outlets and a power light that can be used as an extension cord. Just be sure that there really is a surge protector in there not just an on/off switch. 

The best kind are the ones that have a small micro switch in them and anytime that the power reaches above their set level the switch pops open and everything connected to it is protected. They also work when the power goes below a set voltage. Some people call them a "little black box" and you should be able to get them at most computer stores and I've even seen them at WalMart. Cost is between $100us to $250us. 

Just remember two things, if lightning strikes an ungrounded outlet nothing will help and that after all the electrical problems are over when you plug in your appliances there is a good possibility that one or more of them will have a power surge. In most cases noting will happen but it could cause a problem.

To be honest, there is really nothing you can do to completely eliminate the power problems here in Mexico. Just take normal precautions and hope for the best. 

One thing that I haven't seen here but is becoming very popular NOB is whole house surge protection. The protection is placed prior to the power coming into the switch box.


----------



## edenmayne

OK thanks for that pappabee....

A x


----------



## johnmex

I believe it to be impossible to find a (cheap) dehumidistat.


----------



## latacharita

johnmex said:


> I believe it to be impossible to find a (cheap) dehumidistat.


I agree, so true.


----------



## Sisalena

*Hazelnut coffee*



conorkilleen said:


> Hazelnut Coffee. Cant find it anywhere. I saw that at Walmart my brand of Folgers is 147 pesos for a small can or regular...WHAT? looks like I will be switching to the "local" brand....but still no Hazelnut.


I buy Cafe Garat Hazelnut coffee (ground) all the time at WalMart and/or Superama in Merida. It comes in a small bag, but it's very good. They also carry French Vanilla along with their regular and decaf brands. It's very good coffee!


----------



## joaquinx

Every time I go to Superama, I look for Wheat Thins and I never find them until yesterday. At 85 pesos for a box and 12 years of waiting, I bought two boxes. I may never find them nor buy them again, but this week, I'll enjoy them.


----------



## latacharita

Sisalena said:


> I buy Cafe Garat Hazelnut coffee (ground) all the time at WalMart and/or Superama in Merida. It comes in a small bag, but it's very good. They also carry French Vanilla along with their regular and decaf brands. It's very good coffee!


Wow--this is very good news! Thank!


----------



## Sisalena

joaquinx said:


> Every time I go to Superama, I look for Wheat Thins and I never find them until yesterday. At 85 pesos for a box and 12 years of waiting, I bought two boxes. I may never find them nor buy them again, but this week, I'll enjoy them.


Last year, our local Merida WalMarts had received a large shipment of "American" items, including Wheat Thins, plus their Great Value cookies (which are delicious, by the way), and other items never seen here. Unfortunately, since they didn't promote them, i.e., with taste tests, the Mexican buyers weren't aware of the Great Value brand, and it took awhile for them to get bought up (or maybe they were thrown out). Therefore, when I asked Management why they didn't keep them in stock, the reply I got was that they weren't "popular", and they wouldn't carry them. Now, I know that if they had just done some taste tests, they would have been snapped up in a second as I gave some of the cookies to Mexican friends, and they were clamboring for more! That seems to be the norm in stores here - they don't promote unknown items therefore the locals don't know what in the world they are, so they won't buy them. Same thing happened with the Great Value steamed veggies, nacho cheese, biscuit mixes, and various other products. I have found all Great Value items to be very good. So now, when I encounter them, I buy up as many as I can stock. Unfortunately, a lot of the items have a limited shelf life, so can't buy as many of them as I'd like to, and with limited freezer space in my refrig., can only get a few frozen items at a time. Enjoy those Wheat Thins, as you're absolutely correct - you may never see them in the store again.


----------



## Tucson

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


Plumbing fixtures (faucets, etc.) are really, really expensive in Mexico, as we have come to find out. Bring them in, as needed, from the USA but make sure they are below the $300 limit so you won't be taxed. I understand you should keep receipts for customs, not-so-much the merchandise boxes though (don't bring those, we have been told), and complete the forms passed out to you on the airplane. Only talk about your faucets (or whatever) if the amount exceeds $300, as you get to the red-green light button leaving MX customs and if you are asked for info. Have the receipts handy, just in case you need to prove your case.

I've heard other people say "toilet seats" are something they import, also Weber gas grills, those are things folks bring back with them. One person told me he brought in a sink! And the list goes on. We have found that everything, besides the great buys on staples (beans, tortillas, etc.) you get at the grocery store, is quite expensive. Next time you come into MX, check out the local Sam's Club and Costco to see (1) what the limited availability is of things and (2) what the cost is. As an aside, we did talk with a guy on his way to Belize who brought in half of a transmission for the car he was working on. Imagine the expressions on the faes of the TSA group as we all make our way through inspections with our motley assortment of you-name-it. 

Oh, how could I forget? Load up on sunscreen (it is soooo very expensive in MX) and bring in some unbreakable boxed wine (up to 6 liters, I believe, but you may want to check the final amount somewhere or with someone more reliable).

Our Yucatan peninsula neighbors live very close to the source: fresh fish, farmers market veggies and fruits, very little packaging or cans in most of the stores, and if you need things for your home, make a list for your next trip back! You will never see a better assortment of wonderful and exotic pastries and bakery in the stores. That is a real highlight on our trips there (where we own a home on the peninsula of the Yucatan). We like the tropics but to each his own.

Once you adapt to the way your new neighbors live their lives, you will soon see what you can and cannot find in the stores and, more importantly, how much you need to pay for those old comforts of home. Me, I miss Charmin toilet tissues, mega rolls, super soft! Ah, what passes for comforts here in Mexico exists at a different level. 

When in Rome .... :welcome:


----------



## MJB5293

*things i cant find*

pepsi usa style mexico pepsi has to much surger 

bisquick no reason on this one 

greek seasoning 

fritos with out seasoning


----------



## pappabee

MJB5293 said:


> pepsi usa style mexico pepsi has to much surger
> 
> bisquick no reason on this one
> 
> greek seasoning
> 
> fritos with out seasoning


Our WalMart at Lakeside has started to have an import section and they have Bisquick. The problem with such things as pepsi is that they don't use the chemicals that are used in the states. Therefore there is a much stronger sugar taste. Try the Light and see what you think.:clap2:


----------



## joaquinx

MJB5293 said:


> pepsi usa style mexico pepsi has to much surger
> 
> bisquick no reason on this one
> 
> greek seasoning
> 
> fritos with out seasoning


Pepsi is 100% cane sugar not fructose as is NOB. Perhaps your not used to real sugar after all that fructose.

Fritos Scoops - "Perfect for Dippin'" is without the limon seasoning.


----------



## karinamex

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


Depends where in Mexico you are planning to move. Guadalajara, and I would imagine most of the larger cities have Costco, Home Depot Office Depot & Walmart. I found electronics more expensive there and of course the computer keyboards are ini spanish and the DVD players will not always play US DVD's . Apart from that you should be able to get almost anything you need.


----------



## Hound Dog

Hard to get in Mexico:

Brussel Sprouts ( except at Super Lake in San Antonio Tlayacapan)
Rutabagas
Turnips with depths of flavor
Parsnips
Artichokes
Yellow Lemons
Petit Pois
Diet soft drinks
Krystal or White Castle Sliders
Well larded fatty pork butt for barbeque
Great, dry aged well larded beef cuts. Mexican beef is dreadful.
Exquisite lamb 

Had we retired for the food we would be living in France or Tunisia or India or Viet Nam. We all must make a choice based on our priorities.


----------



## martygraw

Hound Dog said:


> Hard to get in Mexico:
> 
> Brussel Sprouts ( except at Super Lake in San Antonio Tlayacapan)
> Rutabagas
> Turnips with depths of flavor
> Parsnips
> Artichokes
> Yellow Lemons
> Petit Pois
> Diet soft drinks
> Krystal or White Castle Sliders
> Well larded fatty pork butt for barbeque
> Great, dry aged well larded beef cuts. Mexican beef is dreadful.
> Exquisite lamb
> 
> Had we retired for the food we would be living in France or Tunisia or India or Viet Nam. We all must make a choice based on our priorities.


Sorry Bob got to dispute a few items on your list:
Artichokes Lot's available, grown just outside Jocotepec
Yellow Lemons: Have a tree in our backyard, lot of yellow lemons
Well larded fatty pork: No problem at our Mercado in jocotepec, just ask for muy grasa
Got to take exception with your statement that Mexican beef is dreadful: We buy only Mexican beef at the Mega store on Lopes Mataeo, and age it ourselves, great beef.


----------



## RVGRINGO

Brussels sprouts were on our plates this week; obtained at the Mercado Publico in Chapala.
Lamb can be had and we ate some in 'kibbe' just last night. It didn't carry an 'exquisite' label, but was exceptionally tasty. New Zealand lamb is sometimes available at Mega.


----------



## Guest

I have solved the problem of all of the meats sliced paper thin with the exception of bacon. My butcher just doesn't do it, and haven't found any thicker than San Rafael at about double the cost, and it is still transparent slices. (but those 3 cm thick steaks and pork chops sure are tasty).

I am lucky - "barbacoa" is a big local specialty (barbecued lamb). Every weekend they sell it by the Kg here. I am drooling thinking about it.


----------



## Hound Dog

martygraw said:


> Sorry Bob got to dispute a few items on your list:
> Artichokes Lot's available, grown just outside Jocotepec
> Yellow Lemons: Have a tree in our backyard, lot of yellow lemons
> Well larded fatty pork: No problem at our Mercado in jocotepec, just ask for muy grasa
> Got to take exception with your statement that Mexican beef is dreadful: We buy only Mexican beef at the Mega store on Lopes Mataeo, and age it ourselves, great beef.


It says in Mexico in general and these items are hard to find in general.Jocotepec or Lake Chapala does not represent Mexico in general. Try to find yellow lemons or Brussel sprouts in Chiapas, Artichokes there can only be found once in a while at Chedrau or in the medecine store, it is not widely found.
On the other hand we find greens in Chiapas we have never seen or never heard of before and are delicious. Each area has its specialty but many items are not widely found everywhere.
We have something called frambuesa that are bluish grey and we have never seen anywhere else , big ants called nucuz and many other names ,river snails an incredible variety of wild mushrooms and so on....


----------



## DennyDaddy

Talking about the real stuff added to items in Mexico like just plain sugar in Pepsi, got to keep an eye on foods from the Chicoms that could be imported to any country! A few years ago it almost killed my dog!

But I just wanted to ad that a friend from the states had from a Mexican newspaper picked up by some news agency.... That said now Mexican ranchers are putting steroids in the cattle feed for a period before going to slaughter house or wherever and then to Mexicans markets. The report stated it's starting to affect humans and could show up on blood tests. It went on to say that it added more weight and mussel to the poor cow, which in turn netted more money for the rancher!
True, yes/no? But a few years back a Mex doctor said Mex beef is better that US beef cause it don't have all the meds and hormones.....may bot smell as good tho.

This is for FYI if anybody heard of this added into the cow's food! To bad now they are messing with the food chain here in Mexico.


----------



## RVGRINGO

Keep those unfounded rumors flying!


----------



## conklinwh

Other than the unfounded rumors, I find this thread very interesting. I guess living abroad for most of the last 20 years in Asia or Mexico has sort of put me on the "half full" side of this discussion. I'm always excited about what I can find and keep a "must have" list for my next trip to the US. I also tend to buy things that I don't understand. I was shopping in a market in Tokyo and found a can with a picture of a chrysanthemum but nothing else. Well I took home and opened, inside was a chrysanthemum blossom and my cook had a great laugh. The laugh wasn't so hard as when I was pulled into flea market stall in Beijing to try on a leather jacket. I told person that I was with that I was way too large a size but they insisted. Well, I got one arm in and that it. Shopkeeper with a straight face pulled out a matching jacket and said very easy to combine and growing crowd had a huge laugh.
I guess my net is that I always find a lot more new things to try than things I miss but do enjoy the thread.


----------



## pappabee

RVGRINGO said:


> Keep those unfounded rumors flying!


It's not completely unfounded. The Guadalajara Reporter just had an article saying that farmers have been found putting clenbuterol in the cattle feed for some time. It's not really a steroid but does similar things and can be harmful to humans. It's also illegal in all Mexican States. If they are doing that there seems to be little question that some might also be using anabolic steroids. 

FYI the FDA has found farmers in the States using anabolic steroids in feed within the past few years also. It seems that no matter what country you're in if there's a way to get a few dollars more some people will try to use it.


----------



## zookerz6

Anything "light". I never see light yogurt or light salad dressing (which itself is hard to find in Sonora), or reduced calorie snacks, etc. Most things seem to be high calorie, but very tasty. Mexican yogurt is delicious, but it's generally 180 cals a serving, versus say 80 cals for Dannon Light'n'Fit in the US. Even with soda pop, there's usually Coke Light and MAYBE one more variety of diet, everything else is sugared.

On the other hand, I eat entirely different meals here. Lots of veggies, tortillas, fruit, and seafood - not much meat. So I think it all balances out.


----------



## DennyDaddy

RV ******.....if what I sent was unfounded, I would of not sent it! The news article was sent to me from a concerned friend! And I did read the news story! I sent it as a FYI and hoped some also picked this up, and would comment if they had more info! 
DD


----------



## DennyDaddy

Hi...

Just a comment to Tuscon and all going back to the 7th this month! We are building in Mexico and go back and forth to Yuma as we have a place there, and pick up building supplies to give to my contractor to use!

Funny thing about two months ago in Yuma at the Home Depot, as I get 10% off there, my wife seen a great vanity there she needed for the Mex house!

Had to have it! As I only get building stuff not avail here in Mexico! Like vinyl windows, only alum here, and such.

Anyway, paid for the vanity, paid about 9.5% Az state tax, plus for some of my windows. 

Got to border, now with the Mex side everytime is different with customs there, at different times....no need to say more!

Was with wife, and showed all receipts. Told me what to pay to import, I said that two of us in car would be 150 off! He said not on construction material!

So now I paid 9.5 % tax and another 16% tax on that full vanity. (sink, van & faucets, and misc plumb)

Got to my place, gave to my Mex builder and he installed it!

Lo and behold on the inside of the vanity was stamped made in Mexico! But not on the outside of cardboard box! All included stuff came from Mexico!

Thought I still cut a fat hog here, until I was at a store in town that sold tile and full bathroom supplies and all plumbing stuff, right here in Mexico!

There in full display was our vanity, with all included stuff from Home Depot! And at less price than at Yuma Home Depot and it included the VAT Mex tax!

My cost to haul it down here and gas and time and tax.....we almost don't buy stuff from the states anymore to bring down. 

We were going back the next week to buy a new stove, refrig, and dishwasher! But I decided to check local.

Found all that stuff here and Maytag! And the price was was cheaper including the 
VAT! Worked a % off with the Mex store owner for cash and all three Delivered and set up.....and running! 

The various hardware stores will give 5% off on plumbing and when you ask!
I think most worked one time in states at building and knew about contractor discount.

With various veggies sometimes most everything we use in the states one time or another comes thru here. 

Back to plumbing, in my pump house and in ground 1000 gal water storage tank 
(Mexico---sometimes no city water) is my water treatment plant! It's full of plumbing stuff I paid for in US ( tax 9.5 + 16 Mex import) left over. It all adds up money wise.

Getting back to the point of all this, we now buy all items here in Mexico, even can bring back for refund plumbing stuff from local store, and buy just what is needed!

If not as what I want here, the business will figure something out and it can be used in place!

So this saves me filling up my car in the states, with wife yaking can't put seat back, even her food and stuff all around her legs and the back loaded till the dog can't stand it anymore! Plus even more gas use! Then, sometimes we get a Mex customs person who wants prices, receipts, and wants to see everything in the car! Like were hiding something to get out of tax, or a red light stop and inspect!

On top of that we usually don't/can't stop to eat on the way, as the car may be gone after lunch, car plus stuff.......!

Now we usually find Mex prices for everything compatible with what we can bring down, and now basically everything we need can be found here and getting better all the time! And, if big Expat comm is in area, we talk to store owner or shop, they try to get it from whatever country imported, what we would buy from them
if they would get it in... Most happy to do!

So the drive back and fort to the states about one to two times a month with an empty car, wife and dog happy and we can investigate different places to eat, on the way down, and around 9 out of 10 times now Mex border light is a green go! Ha ******!

So, all this said we found out less hassle, time, effort, gas, wife complaining no room in car, no ice chests, happy dog, so we just buy everything local here in Mexico! We want to live here! We been coming down since around '89... And now the drive is a pleasure! 

Just my two cents worth.....


----------



## gringotim

Hound Dog said:


> Hard to get in Mexico:
> 
> Brussel Sprouts ( except at Super Lake in San Antonio Tlayacapan)
> Rutabagas
> Turnips with depths of flavor
> Parsnips
> Artichokes
> Yellow Lemons
> Petit Pois
> Diet soft drinks
> Krystal or White Castle Sliders
> Well larded fatty pork butt for barbeque
> Great, dry aged well larded beef cuts. Mexican beef is dreadful.
> Exquisite lamb
> 
> Had we retired for the food we would be living in France or Tunisia or India or Viet Nam. We all must make a choice based on our priorities.


The original thread (question) is too generalized, should be,"hard to get in certain parts of Mexico", its like asking, whats the weather like in Canada?, or the housing cost in the U.S. In Manzanillo for example, yellow lemon trees can be seen growing everywhere, we had two on our terrace, and dozens throughout the complex, and Walmart Supercenter, and Soriana sold both diet Pepsi and diet Coke, probably had others, but didn't pay attention as weren't looking for others. Good drivers, now thats hard to find!


----------



## RVGRINGO

Tim makes an excellent point. In some remote areas, you'll live on tortillas and frijoles, while in other areas you can enjoy as cosmopolitan and as international a lifestyle as you wish. That said, the product you seek may be close at hand, but you have to know how to ask for it in Spanish; not by the old familiar brand name from home, but by description. Someone may not recognise 'V8 Juice', for example, but might know where to point you to 'Herdez brand of Ocho Verduras', an excellent choice, which we prefer over V8. I once saw a lady making rounding signs, with her hands in front of her face, while making sucking sounds with her mouth. The clerk took her to the next aisle and pointed to where she could find straws. She expressed her dissatisfaction and the clerk remained unable to help. The lady was actually looking for vacuum cleaner bags! Of course, she blamed the clerk for not understanding what she was looking for.


----------



## Tucson

Denny Daddy - building in Rocky Point! 

I rest my case. Well, you are bordering the USA there and I believe you experience a bit more of the cosmopolitan flavor than those of us further south in the Yucatan desert (where Charmin tissues, toilet seats, and decent faucets are at a premium if they can be found at all). Quintana Roo is sort of out there, far from Home Depot (nearest is Cancun, many burro rides away) and we are held hostage by the scalpers in the local community of Playa del Carmen where no local could really afford their merchandise. No contractor's discount! The $150 faucet in the USA will cost $800 there. Even our Mexican friends can't strike too much of a better deal for us. Everything is a major undertaking. But the Caribbean Sea is magnificent!!! 

Flying lane in to Mexico, it's easier to fill the form out on the airplane and march up to the button for the green/red customs light (beware the red! do not pass go, do not collect .... and so on) than it is having to plead your case to Mexican Customs officer from your well-stocked car, complete with panting puppy, frazzled wife, and loads of food. Hope you have an easier time bringing food across the border than we do bringing it in by plane. Bringing in a McDonald's bag was a super big deal. Bad recollection there. Mad cow fears, I guess. Lucky for us, it was only a Cinnamon Roll so no encounters with the judicial system. 

There is a $300 exception for bringing in goods duty free. Anything over that (as you know), and you pay $$$$. The task for us is to bring small bunches of things in under that limit, over the course of many visits. Building a house, well, that is a horse of a different color. I can't even imagine how many small trips you would need to make and, if you can buy it local for a fair price, why bother. 

Great story about the vanity cabinet! The visuals were priceless. :clap2: Glad you all survived the experience and still retained your sense of humor. The one thing that keeps us sane, while navigating the land mines of life in Mexico, is the ability to laugh (which we certainly do not do in the presence of authority figures wearing uniforms of any kind in Mexico).

Wishing you well with the Mexican house building project. It has all the makings for a terrific short story (or not-so-short?) or a killer magazine article, at least.


----------



## HolyMole

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


Hard to find? Canned albacore (white) tuna. Since Comercial Mexicana/MEGA appears to either be owned by Costco or at least affiliated with them, every now and then CM would stock a couple of dozen cans of Kirkland's albacore tuna, which would sell out fairly quickly, even at prices 3 or 4 times that of the regular Mexican tuna, which is, (I think), yellow fin.


----------



## MJB5293

gringotim said:


> The original thread (question) is too generalized, should be,"hard to get in certain parts of Mexico", its like asking, whats the weather like in Canada?, or the housing cost in the U.S. In Manzanillo for example, yellow lemon trees can be seen growing everywhere, we had two on our terrace, and dozens throughout the complex, and Walmart Supercenter, and Soriana sold both diet Pepsi and diet Coke, probably had others, but didn't pay attention as weren't looking for others. Good drivers, now thats hard to find!


i showed this list to my wife and the items other then sliders non of the items are hard to find for us


----------



## MJB5293

i showed this list to my wife and the items other then sliders non of the items are hard to find for us


----------



## scubakevin

What TEPETAPAN commented is correct and I was going to mention the same. Here in Quintana Roo for example this year is the first year that I can get Sauerkraut in the supermarkets like CHEDRAUI (not walmart) also this past month I bought Bushes Baked Beans they are carrying 4 varieties at the Chedraui in Playa Del Carmen. Lots more imported foods from around the world.

Challenging for me are shoes I am EEE and I can't get wide shoes here so I had to buy when I was in Montreal and England. Since I am 6 feet I don't have that much issue with pants but Shorts like Docker shorts that are manufactured here in Mexico or Latin America are way to short for me.

When I first moved here there was no place to buy Sauerkraut, Beef Hot Dogs, horseradish, amongst other things but I have to say I didn't miss them until I found them and now well I bought them, ate them and well probably won't buy them again right away.

Echo!!! good drivers are as hard to find as INSURED DRIVERS....

Regards
Kevin


----------



## Guest

Reminded again today - soft white light bulbs, or even just frosted ones. I have only seen clear incandescent bulbs or the many different fluorescent wattages.

I use fluorescents everywhere else, but they just don't cut it for me in the bathroom. Instead, I'm usually faced with turning on one of those naked, glaring, 60 watt bulbs in the middle of the night that BLASTS any chance of going back to sleep right out of me, hahaha.

I'm not close to any Home Depots here - do they now sell the LED bulbs in Mexico? (yes, I know they are costly, but they will supposedly last for 25 years.)


----------



## johnmex

johnmex said:


> I believe it to be impossible to find a (cheap) dehumidistat.


I had my brother-in-law bring me 2 of these from the US. Supposedly made by Fantech, they came in a box marked Ranco, a division of Invensys. Assembled in Mexico.

I looked on-line, made in Matamoros and you can't find it here...


----------



## scubakevin

Ahhh yes light bulbs! Well I second that although here in QROO you can get the "Soft White" or Soft Colors light bulbs but only in 2 wattages 60 and 100 at home depot in Cancun, I have also found them at Home Depot in Hidalgo and Mexico City so I imagine if there is a home depot nearby you will find those at least.

I like a nice soft 40 watt bulb for most of the house since we have more than one lamp and I was able to find as well at Home Depot the like flame type bulbs for the lighting in my ceiling fans in frosted 40 watts.

Other than that I can say I have only seen Frosted Bulbs in Walmart but NOT all the time.


----------



## johnmex

GringoCArlos said:


> I'm not close to any Home Depots here - do they now sell the LED bulbs in Mexico? (yes, I know they are costly, but they will supposedly last for 25 years.)


Tecnolite has an extensive line of LED bulbs for sale in Mexico.


----------



## scubakevin

I was reading DennyDaddy's comments on buying in the US and bringing it down and I giggled (sorry denny) but I learned that a long time ago with buying stuff outside Mexico for cheaper. A real learned lesson was last year while we were back in Germany I bought the newest Canon Digital Professional Camara and some accessories which cost me about 1/2 of the price in Mexico maybe a little more than half and of course getting back to Mexico within a few months it was on the market here for $50K pesos while I paid around 1,500 euros. BUT, but I had a problem with the camera 3 months later and had to send it to canon for "warranty repair" which canon here in Mexico kindly told me was not covered because I am in Mexico. Yep, thats right folks, 99% of what you buy out of country must be sent back to that country for warranty work or you pay for the warranty work here.

It ended up costing me 19K pesos to fix it so in looking at fixing or buying new when I am back in Germany in October it was a better idea to fix it. 

The only things we have found that are covered globally under warranty from manufacturer is MAC and KENMORE products bought at Sears.

No another interesting thing you might want to check out, when we were making our move here 17 years ago we went shopping to sears to buy all our domestic appliances and they shipped them to us in Mexico right to our home. Yes Purchased in NJ and shipped to Mexico City, now that was in 1994 so today I don't know what the deal is but even now we have Best Buy in Mexico City.


----------



## ERP

Jewish food is hard to get in the Lake Chapala area, no big surprise. Around Jewish holidays, Superlake stocks a limited amount and it's very expensive. For a price, we can get kosher hot dogs, but kosher salami is nowhere to be found. Finding good cottage cheese can be a challenge. Otherwise, I've located the brand of peanut butter I like, the cleaning supplies that I'm accustomed to using...just have to be willing to pay the price! The most important thing is to drive a car that can be serviced in MX. There is no Kia dealership in the whole country, and that's the biggest mistake we made...don't ask!


----------



## El Toro Furioso

scubakevin said:


> Ahhh yes light bulbs! Well I second that although here in QROO you can get the "Soft White" or Soft Colors light bulbs but only in 2 wattages 60 and 100 at home depot in Cancun, I have also found them at Home Depot in Hidalgo and Mexico City so I imagine if there is a home depot nearby you will find those at least.
> 
> I like a nice soft 40 watt bulb for most of the house since we have more than one lamp and I was able to find as well at Home Depot the like flame type bulbs for the lighting in my ceiling fans in frosted 40 watts.
> 
> Other than that I can say I have only seen Frosted Bulbs in Walmart but NOT all the time.


I haven't read all of the posts, so I may be repeating what others have said, but aren't you a little ashamed to be using old-fashioned energy inefficient bulbs that have been legislated out of existence in Mexico over the next few years? Incandescent bulbs have been illegal in Europe for years. Of course, everyone likes "nice soft 40 watt bulbs," but they are helping destroy the environment. Get with it and use the ugly (but getting better with softer-light versions) energy efficient lights. Human-created environmental changes threaten the whole world. Changing your "soft" bulbs out for more energy efficient ones will be a step in the direction of trying to turn the tide against


----------



## El Toro Furioso

scubakevin said:


> Ahhh yes light bulbs! Well I second that although here in QROO you can get the "Soft White" or Soft Colors light bulbs but only in 2 wattages 60 and 100 at home depot in Cancun, I have also found them at Home Depot in Hidalgo and Mexico City so I imagine if there is a home depot nearby you will find those at least.
> 
> I like a nice soft 40 watt bulb for most of the house since we have more than one lamp and I was able to find as well at Home Depot the like flame type bulbs for the lighting in my ceiling fans in frosted 40 watts.
> 
> Other than that I can say I have only seen Frosted Bulbs in Walmart but NOT all the time.


I haven't read all of the posts, so I may be repeating what others have said, but aren't you a little ashamed to be using old-fashioned energy inefficient bulbs that have been legislated out of existence in Mexico over the next few years? Incandescent bulbs have been illegal in Europe for years. Of course, everyone likes "nice soft 40 watt bulbs," but they are helping destroy the environment. Get with it and use the ugly (but getting better with softer-light versions) energy efficient lights. Human-created environmental changes threaten the whole world. Changing your "soft" bulbs out for more energy efficient ones will be a step in the direction of trying to turn the tide against environmental suicide.


----------



## El Toro Furioso

GringoCArlos said:


> Kraft Miracle Whip. BLTs just aren't the same with crappy mayonnaise.


What? Miracle Whip is a chemical concoction that has nothing to do with food nor with mayonnaise. Is the board being infiltrated by ETs?


----------



## El Toro Furioso

OK, here are some things that one can get sometimes in some places in Mexico (and a few that you can never get in Mexico) and that sometimes when you need them, you can't find to save your life.
1. Insect Repellant 100% DEET. Ben's is the only brand that I know that sells this, and the US government says that it is the only repellant that really works. It is not available in Mexico, since the Mexican law prohibits DEET levels over 30%. Ben's Max Base Agua (30% DEET) is seldom but sometimes available at Soriana's in Chapala. We have never seen it anywhere else in Mexico, including Veracruz, Guadalajara, Cancun, PV and many other places. They just restocked the shelves after two years of nada. We bought all 15 bottles. Bring Ben's 100% DEET with you. You won't regret it.
2. 100% cotton comforter covers. Yes, you can get them but the price at Costco or whatever is high and the quality is low. Ditto for cotton pillow cases and all sheets. Don't forget to bring a lot of new comfy cotton whites from BB&Beyond.
3. Chinese fermented black beans. If you like to do stir fry with tofu, you will be upset that you can't include fermented black beans unless you bring them with you. They cost about $0.75 USD per package, but they instantly become priceless when you arrive home in Mexico.

That's enough for now, but I'll add a few more later. The whole point, of course, is that it isn't what you can't get but what you DO get by living here.
¡Qué le vaya bien!


----------



## bigmutt

tepetapan said:


> ...we even bought canned cranberries locally last Thanksgiving.


yes, that was something I really missed every year at Thanksgiving & Christmas for the last ten years of living here.
but last year I too found canned cranberries ..... or should I say canned cranberry sauce, which is not the same. 
decent peaches & apricots? forget it. unless you pay arm-&-a-leg at Costco.
Sour cherries for pies? not to be found.
dark Bing cherries, yes, but they're imported and quite expensive; as are grapes usually.
For many years I found no green sweet relish but in the past few years, even that has been appearing on shelves.
Still many things can ONLY be found at Costco or Sam's, so make sure there's one where you're moving to. And don't get the impression that the Costcos are almost just like in the U.S. ..... they're not. 
sure, they look exactly the same, but many, many products found in the U.S. still do not show up in Costco here.
(I know this because: 3-4 times a year I go back to U.S. Costcos and drool over the products they have, that can't be found in any of the four Costcos that I go to here in Mexico).

and remember, electronics are MUCH more expensive here. I have seen the exact same item at Costco U.S. selling for double the price in Costco Mexico.
Home appliances are the same, both large & small. Buy a washer & dryer & refrig before you move down here, if you can. And, 220 volt appliances & tools are a lot harder to find here, even though getting 220v at your home is no problem. 

Finally, if you're an avid Amazon customer in the U.S. and don't plan on making lots of runs up to the border to gather up your Amazon purchases and lug them back to Mexico with you (like I do far too often) then you'll be disappointed with prices & availability of many, many items here in Mexico. 
There are so many examples I could give you, I don't know where to begin. But just a small recent example: a music CD I heard while in Ghandi store here cost $22 there but I ordered it later that day via Amazon and this is the pricing: $2.00 used-like-new plus shipping. if shipping to my U.S. address (which I usually do) it was an additional $3 but shipping directly to me in Mexico cost $6. And even if no used copy was available, the new copy was still only $13 with free shipping to U.S. So you can see how a simple CD can cost more than double when bought in Mexico.
The list of unavailable/superexpensive items that I could put together is very very long but you just have to adjust and enjoy the many reasons for living here. Also remember that if money is no object, you CAN get just about anything here from the U.S., just by having it posted to you and sometimes paying the duty on it. 
My first few years here were pretty abysmal when it came to reliability of the postal service, but I must say that in the past 8 years or so I have never lost a single package from stateside or abroad. That includes ordering from China, usually with eBay. And I'm talking dozens of packages a year.

So I hope this adds a little to your knowledge about getting stuff that you're used to having, in Mexico.


----------



## bigmutt

scubakevin said:


> [...The only things we have found that are covered globally under warranty from manufacturer is MAC and KENMORE products bought at Sears.
> QUOTE]
> I buy mostly Dell laptops and of course buy them in the U.S. because of price and keyboard reasons .......
> have had two warrantly claims with Dell while in Mexico and they took care of both without problems. Came to my home, fixed them, and said thanks for buying Dell.


----------



## Guest

GringoCArlos said:


> exactly.  I also miss cottage cheese.....


It's a great day! My local Soriana finally started carrying cottage cheese, and I have eaten about half of the container I picked up last night ! ( urp) It is labeled as "Queso de Cottage" here, and it has been a looong time since I got to enjoy some.


----------



## conorkilleen

GringoCArlos said:


> It's a great day! My local Soriana finally started carrying cottage cheese, and I have eaten about half of the container I picked up last night ! ( urp) It is labeled as "Queso de Cottage" here, and it has been a looong time since I got to enjoy some.


ajajajaja...we found that in Costco on Saturday. Also found String Cheese!!!! my little ones love it. Finally a taste of home!! Still need to find good Q-tips.


----------



## Guest

El Toro Furioso said:


> I haven't read all of the posts, so I may be repeating what others have said, but aren't you a little ashamed to be using old-fashioned energy inefficient bulbs that have been legislated out of existence in Mexico over the next few years? Incandescent bulbs have been illegal in Europe for years. Of course, everyone likes "nice soft 40 watt bulbs," but they are helping destroy the environment. Get with it and use the ugly (but getting better with softer-light versions) energy efficient lights. Human-created environmental changes threaten the whole world. Changing your "soft" bulbs out for more energy efficient ones will be a step in the direction of trying to turn the tide against


In my area, all energy is 100% hydro, reusing contaminated water that has limited other possibilities, so what's the point? I'm in my bathroom with the light on for about 10 minutes a day and it's hard enough just looking without having a green tinge and poor lighting staring back in the mirror.  Even if MX outlaws these horrible things, if I find some soft white incandescent bulbs in a store, I will buy enough to last the rest of my lifetime and more. 

I have often wondered about all of the hot air being spouted about CO2 emissions and "saving mother earth", when one day of a volcanic eruption in Iceland wipes out any human efforts at CO2 reductions for the previous 5 years. Their efforts might be better directed at reducing the human population, which just hit 7 billion this week. The end of the world is predicted if it hits 10 billion from widespread starvation and lack of water. I save water now by not bathing or shaving every day, and not always flushing the toilet, which might also explain a lack of friends or visitors. Do my other efforts justify 10 minutes a day of a forbidden fruit in the form of one soft white bulb with good light?


----------



## DennyDaddy

GringoC

Are you married and if so how does she let you get away with some of that stuff????

Just wondering!


----------



## Guest

If Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz can do it, then why can't I? (Google "smelliest actors")


----------



## ndardarian

The things I miss living in Mazatlan are: Adams peanut butter, nice sharp cheddar cheese, veggie products like boca burgers or veggie dogs, nice quality yarn for knitting, and licorice whips.

I have learned to make my own burgers and I am working on perfecting my own peanut butter. When I visited Oaxaca I bought some lovely hand spun yarn. But licorice and sharp cheddar? Nada.


----------



## MJB5293

ndardarian said:


> The things I miss living in Mazatlan are: Adams peanut butter, nice sharp cheddar cheese, veggie products like boca burgers or veggie dogs, nice quality yarn for knitting, and licorice whips.
> 
> I have learned to make my own burgers and I am working on perfecting my own peanut butter. When I visited Oaxaca I bought some lovely hand spun yarn. But licorice and sharp cheddar? Nada.


so your a vegan we have good meat here and real hotdogs 

shame you missed so much


----------



## ndardarian

MJB5293 said:


> so your a vegan we have good meat here and real hotdogs
> 
> shame you missed so much


No, I'm not a vegan, I'm a vegetarian. I do eat cheese and eggs. I am a vegetarian by choice, so there's no need to feel sorry for me! I enjoy so much wonderful Mexican food... today I am making cold spicy avocado soup with crema along with a beautiful green salad and whole grain bread.


----------



## MJB5293

i dont have a problem finding anything i like in mexio 

and it is getting better each month at the local stores that walmart owns


----------



## el confederado

The only thing that I can't find here is corn meal. I use it when I make pizza and sometimes I just get a craving for good old fashioned American cornbread. However, the situation is much better now than it was in 1996 when I first came to live in Mexico. At that time I could find very little. So considering everything my complaint is a small one. I bring it in when I travel.


----------



## el confederado

conorkilleen said:


> ajajajaja...we found that in Costco on Saturday. Also found String Cheese!!!! my little ones love it. Finally a taste of home!! Still need to find good Q-tips.


Did you try Walmart? I just bought some yesterday and they are excellent quality. Cotonetes from Johnson and Johnson


----------



## MJB5293

where do you live


----------



## TundraGreen

MJB5293 said:


> where do you live


His location says Puebla. It is in the header of every message.


----------



## el confederado

Officially in Puebla but I am probably relocating to San Luis Potosi. In fact that is where I am right now.


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Used English books and bookstores.*



MJB5293 said:


> where do you live


I have finally exhausted the 2 used bookstores, so far that I have found that had a modest selection of English language books in SLP. Anyone know of more in SLP. On Wed. we are driving to Mexico City for 2 nights. Do any Expats know of a website or even a large used bookstore there with a selection of used English books. I can order anything I want in SLP new, when needed, but prefer to save money. Volaris Airlines has a problem carrying stuff back from the US with their skimpy baggage weight limits, darn them.


----------



## Guest

My husband and I moved to Taxco Guerrero five months ago. I agree, "when in Rome" yet there have been some major surprises. Finding a wide range of vitamins has been my biggest challenge, dry measuring cups for cooking and vital wheat gluten. I am SO thankful that we shipped most of our kitchen items, such as kitchen Aid mixer, pots and pans etc. The availablity and quality is not what I would desire to cook with, since that is something that I love to do as a hobby. Otherwise, it's been a time of discovery. I was so frustrated trying to make chocolate chip cookies without baking soda, until I discovered that baking soda is with the cosmetic counter items! and of course chocolate chips were NO WHERE to be found. But I have creativly improvised by buying chocolate bars and chopping them up as chips. I make them for our neighbors who have NEVER had a chocolate chip cookie and they Love them! My husband and I (and our children) moved to Taxco, sight unseen and we are so thankful that we did. We just could not afford a major family vacation to Mexico prior to our expensive move. Generally speaking you can find what you need or creatively improvise. I make my own peanut butter with my blender because there isn't any natural peanut butter in the grocery stores. (I don't like the ones that add hydrogonated oils.) So if you are creative you can learn to do things that are important to you in a slightly different way! It's all party of the adventure.


----------



## tepetapan

Most baking measures are done on a scale by grams, not using measuring cups. Chocolate chips can be found in some bigger stores, along with chocolate chip cookies. Nothing like fresh baked, warm from the oven cookies with an ice cold glass of Lala Light.


----------



## Guest

I would LOVE to know where to find chocolate chips. I've look in Mega in Cuernavaca and Iguala, of course both supers in Taxco, as well as Costco in Toluca and cuernavaca. Maybe they are available further north? Yes, I know measuring is different inMexico but I have all my American cookbooks that I really don't wish to convert into weight measures every time I pull out a favorite recipe. I just wanted to pass that information on. If someone would have told me I would have been very grateful. just trying to help out.


----------



## El Toro Furioso

el confederado said:


> The only thing that I can't find here is corn meal. I use it when I make pizza and sometimes I just get a craving for good old fashioned American cornbread. However, the situation is much better now than it was in 1996 when I first came to live in Mexico. At that time I could find very little. So considering everything my complaint is a small one. I bring it in when I travel.


I just noticed corn meal for sale at Walmart in San Antonio today. Just walked by and saw it, I wasn't looking for it. But many things are still on again off again. Keeping a continual supply of affordable Lipton's Black Tea always means buying more than one package at a time when it is available, for example.


----------



## El Toro Furioso

Taxcogal65 said:


> I would LOVE to know where to find chocolate chips. I've look in Mega in Cuernavaca and Iguala, of course both supers in Taxco, as well as Costco in Toluca and cuernavaca. Maybe they are available further north? Yes, I know measuring is different inMexico but I have all my American cookbooks that I really don't wish to convert into weight measures every time I pull out a favorite recipe. I just wanted to pass that information on. If someone would have told me I would have been very grateful. just trying to help out.


It is pretty ironic since chocolate originates in Mexico. Just saw chocolate chips in Sam's Club in Guadalajara. They are always available at Pancho's Super Lake in San Antonio Tlayacapan on Lake Chapala. Can't really say that I've seen them recently at Walmart's or Soriana though anywhere.


----------



## el confederado

El Toro Furioso said:


> I just noticed corn meal for sale at Walmart in San Antonio today. Just walked by and saw it, I wasn't looking for it. But many things are still on again off again. Keeping a continual supply of affordable Lipton's Black Tea always means buying more than one package at a time when it is available, for example.


Thanks for letting me know! I'll check in the Walmart here in San Luis and Tuesday when I get back to Puebla. I am keeping my fingers crossed!


----------



## Guest

El Toro Furioso said:


> It is pretty ironic since chocolate originates in Mexico. Just saw chocolate chips in Sam's Club in Guadalajara. They are always available at Pancho's Super Lake in San Antonio Tlayacapan on Lake Chapala. Can't really say that I've seen them recently at Walmart's or Soriana though anywhere.


That's exactly what struck my family as funny/odd. The three things that Mexico is famous for, chocolate, vanilla and coffe, were the three things I had the most difficult time finding! Of course instant coffee is everywhere but it took some searching to find a good roast and even longer to find organic. I did succeed though! Also, for the first two months I was on a vanilla rampage. NO ONE ever heard of natural vanilla! They all said, si si and led me to the artificial. I talked with many local friends and no one even heard of non-artificial vanilla! Finally I was successful at finding natural vanilla but I had to really search for it. Of course the Abuela chocolate is everywhere but I don't consider this to be find chocolate. It’s gritty and way too sweet for my tastes. I have found Hershey’s dry cocoa in a small local grocery store and as I mentioned I have learned to make chocolate chip cookies by breaking up a Hershey’s candy bar (using the white chocolate bars is to die for!) and using the pieces as chips. Actually, now that I have discovered this trick I no longer really want the old bagged chips. The chocolate bars, although expensive, make must tastier cookies! Some of these things have been a challenge but with creativity and persistence we have learned to either adapt to new local ways or creatively come up with a solution in keeping with something that is important for our family to hold onto! (can’t raise two children without chocolate chip cookes!LOL) Again, we haven't seen them anywhere near to where we live in Taxco. There isn't an expat population here so that is probably why. I've yet to see Wal-mart but have been to Costco and Sam's in Cuernavaca and Toluca.


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Vainilla Mexicana*



Taxcogal65 said:


> That's exactly what struck my family as funny/odd. The three things that Mexico is famous for, chocolate, vanilla and coffe, were the three things I had the most difficult time finding! Of course instant coffee is everywhere but it took some searching to find a good roast and even longer to find organic. I did succeed though! Also, for the first two months I was on a vanilla rampage. NO ONE ever heard of natural vanilla! They all said, si si and led me to the artificial. I talked with many local friends and no one even heard of non-artificial vanilla! Finally I was successful at finding natural vanilla but I had to really search for it. Of course the Abuela chocolate is everywhere but I don't consider this to be find chocolate. It’s gritty and way too sweet for my tastes. I have found Hershey’s dry cocoa in a small local grocery store and as I mentioned I have learned to make chocolate chip cookies by breaking up a Hershey’s candy bar (using the white chocolate bars is to die for!) and using the pieces as chips. Actually, now that I have discovered this trick I no longer really want the old bagged chips. The chocolate bars, although expensive, make must tastier cookies! Some of these things have been a challenge but with creativity and persistence we have learned to either adapt to new local ways or creatively come up with a solution in keeping with something that is important for our family to hold onto! (can’t raise two children without chocolate chip cookes!LOL) Again, we haven't seen them anywhere near to where we live in Taxco. There isn't an expat population here so that is probably why. I've yet to see Wal-mart but have been to Costco and Sam's in Cuernavaca and Toluca.


If you want a cheap source of vanilla for baking any large mercado will sell "vainilla molida Mexicana" [ ground fresh vanilla beans] for about 1/3 the cost of vanilla extract which when sold in farmacias could have additives from the tonka bean [has an artificial vanilla flavor].

The Straight Dope: Is Mexican vanilla toxic? Plus: What happens if you microwave the popcorn upside down?

Abuela chocolate discs are usually used, as far as I have seen, to make hot chocolate in the colder months. The Hersey bar pieces sound good.

You are right about most panaderias cookies. I usually can't find oatmeal or soft oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookies, however do find them in some coffee houses and also great muffins that they seem to have.


----------



## joaquinx

Taxcogal65 said:


> That's exactly what struck my family as funny/odd. The three things that Mexico is famous for, chocolate, vanilla and coffe, were the three things I had the most difficult time finding! Of course instant coffee is everywhere but it took some searching to find a good roast and even longer to find organic. I did succeed though! Also, for the first two months I was on a vanilla rampage. NO ONE ever heard of natural vanilla! They all said, si si and led me to the artificial.


You realize that Mexico is a large country and those three items are not grown in the area where you live. Yet, here in Veracruz, I am overwhelmed with cafes and coffee shops. Coatepec smells like coffee. Oaxaca is overflowing with chocolate. Real vanilla can be bought in every supermarket in Veracruz. It's like going to Montana and not finding items that you could find everywhere in New York City.


----------



## maesonna

No problem getting good coffee, chocolate chips, decent baking chocolate, or real vanilla in Mexico City, either.


----------



## Guest

joaquinx said:


> You realize that Mexico is a large country and those three items are not grown in the area where you live. Yet, here in Veracruz, I am overwhelmed with cafes and coffee shops. Coatepec smells like coffee. Oaxaca is overflowing with chocolate. Real vanilla can be bought in every supermarket in Veracruz. It's like going to Montana and not finding items that you could find everywhere in New York City.


I am realizing that a lot of items are regional and this is understandable given the culture, economics etc. However, I would argue that most everything you can find in New York is also available in Montana. My husband and I lived in Colorado among the elk and bear at 9,000 feet in elevation. We were remote in our living yet had the same exact things available to us as when we later moved to the Sanfrancisco Bay area! Of course not the same cosmopolitin culture but the same grocery and clothing products. Wal-mart is Walmart is walmart in the States but in Mexico it is very regionalized. In the States I think it is very boring to move from one location to the next and have the same products and the same chain restaurants. So we are enjoying the "spice of life" in Mexico. just saying that it was difficult to find things that Mexico is famous for.


----------



## Mexico Babe

Taxcogal65 said:


> I am realizing that a lot of items are regional and this is understandable given the culture, economics etc. However, I would argue that most everything you can find in New York is also available in Montana. My husband and I lived in Colorado among the elk and bear at 9,000 feet in elevation. We were remote in our living yet had the same exact things available to us as when we later moved to the Sanfrancisco Bay area! Of course not the same cosmopolitin culture but the same grocery and clothing products. Wal-mart is Walmart is walmart in the States but in Mexico it is very regionalized. In the States I think it is very boring to move from one location to the next and have the same products and the same chain restaurants. So we are enjoying the "spice of life" in Mexico. just saying that it was difficult to find things that Mexico is famous for.



I live in Ga and we have grits. Bet they are hard to find NY.


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Home Depot*



Taxcogal65 said:


> I am realizing that a lot of items are regional and this is understandable given the culture, economics etc. However, I would argue that most everything you can find in New York is also available in Montana. My husband and I lived in Colorado among the elk and bear at 9,000 feet in elevation. We were remote in our living yet had the same exact things available to us as when we later moved to the Sanfrancisco Bay area! Of course not the same cosmopolitin culture but the same grocery and clothing products. Wal-mart is Walmart is walmart in the States but in Mexico it is very regionalized. In the States I think it is very boring to move from one location to the next and have the same products and the same chain restaurants. So we are enjoying the "spice of life" in Mexico. just saying that it was difficult to find things that Mexico is famous for.



I have found out that the Home Depots are somewhat regional in their selection offered in the 2 locations I live at. Not to mention quite a different selection than NOB in some items. Walmart is good for some NOB items and seem to be getting more of them lately, even Special Value brand here in SLP. We have a supermarket called HEB that carries many hard to find items that are popular NOB and some selection of extra good quality meats and cheeses most of the time, but it is fairly expensive comparably to their regular local Mexican brands.


----------



## tdemex

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod[/QUOTE
> You've gotten a lot of good advise. I've been in Monterrey for over 9 years. Off and on, the things I miss the most are also food items. No honey baked hams for the Holidays. Canned whole tomatoes for sauces, they have plenty of sauce. no 1/2 and 1/2 for coffee, I like chives in my baked patatoe, no chives, I can't list them all but as I travel up North, I'll grab certian things and bring them back with me. Experience is the best teacher, as they say! tdemex


----------



## pappabee

AlanMexicali said:


> I have found out that the Home Depots are somewhat regional in their selection offered in the 2 locations I live at. Not to mention quite a different selection than NOB in some items. Walmart is good for some NOB items and seem to be getting more of them lately, even Special Value brand here in SLP. We have a supermarket called HEB that carries many hard to find items that are popular NOB and some selection of extra good quality meats and cheeses most of the time, but it is fairly expensive comparably to their regular local Mexican brands.


HEB is a Texas baised chain that started by the Butt family in 1904. They are probably the largest grocery chain in the State of Texas. They should have a large selection of NOB products. They know that market.


----------



## conorkilleen

pappabee said:


> HEB is a Texas baised chain that started by the Butt family in 1904. They are probably the largest grocery chain in the State of Texas. They should have a large selection of NOB products. They know that market.


I was just going to say that. HEB is very common in the north of MX and from my point of view, they are the best grocer in MX that carries US consumer brands. The only thing they don't carry that I can't live without, I wrote a letter to them about it, is Steak Fries. They do have a great selection of US adult beverages and have a great wine selection.

I would not however buy their meat or seafood. Actually, here in Monterrey, you would be foolish to pay the high prices at a chain grocery store when you can go to any of the dozen local butchers and buy better quality for a better price. The local butcher shops here get their meat from Mexico, not imported from the US. I find it to be much lower in fat per cut, but if you like a good t-bone with some grisle, then they have that as well. We tip them well...everyone from the guy that helps you park your car to the guys behind the counter to the bagger. They always see us coming and know to pull out the best cuts for us. It's worth the extra 50 pesos per visit. The guy that helps park our car knows us as well...he knows when round about the time we will be pulling in on Sundays....he holds a spot in the shade for us and I always return the favor with an ice cold Topo Chico.

I try to help the local economy when I can...even if that means boycotting US meats.


----------



## AlanMexicali

*HEB vs Superama*



conorkilleen said:


> I was just going to say that. HEB is very common in the north of MX and from my point of view, they are the best grocer in MX that carries US consumer brands. The only thing they don't carry that I can't live without, I wrote a letter to them about it, is Steak Fries. They do have a great selection of US adult beverages and have a great wine selection.
> 
> I would not however buy their meat or seafood. Actually, here in Monterrey, you would be foolish to pay the high prices at a chain grocery store when you can go to any of the dozen local butchers and buy better quality for a better price. The local butcher shops here get their meat from Mexico, not imported from the US. I find it to be much lower in fat per cut, but if you like a good t-bone with some grisle, then they have that as well. We tip them well...everyone from the guy that helps you park your car to the guys behind the counter to the bagger. They always see us coming and know to pull out the best cuts for us. It's worth the extra 50 pesos per visit. The guy that helps park our car knows us as well...he knows when round about the time we will be pulling in on Sundays....he holds a spot in the shade for us and I always return the favor with an ice cold Topo Chico.
> 
> I try to help the local economy when I can...even if that means boycotting US meats.


Our current house is exactly between HEB and Superama and both are a nice 15 to 20 minute walk, the walk to HEB being much more beautiful. We usually get most consumables at Costco and Walmart on Saturday. I will go shopping at HEB and do like walking daily as most seniors seem to do. In Mexicali I can walk to Soriana and across the blvd. is Le Lay but like Soriana, not when it was a Gigantic, then I liked Le Lay. The butchers at Soriana think a T-Bone [marked T-B with a Porterhouse inside] is a porterhouse, my friends from SD like those for $110.00 pesos a kilo.

Superama by our house is expensive, however their huge deli is not. HEB is very nice and in a small plaza with a parking structure, great on rainy days. They also, on some Saturdays, will barbecue your meat you buy there for free in this parking area. I like their pork loins when on sale and like their cheeses, also the selection of NOB items. I have never been to a butcher shop except to buy small quantities when needed locally so because we do not buy much steak or beef except ground beef and buy chicken and fish wherever it looks fresh, the mercados are cheaper for these two if we/I are/am around them. To tell the truth I like to go all over the place to fill in my days and enjoy seeing everything and never get bored doing the shopping. Now baked goods are a specialty and a different story. When in the US I miss them the most, not only for the money savings, but that is a GREAT motivation not to buy them when NOB. Fruit and vegetables is never a problem in Mexico only so expensive the last year in San Diego.


----------



## AlanMexicali

We where shopping in San Diego this weekend and decided we want to buy a 46 inch flat screen for our house in San Luis Potosi. Here they are inexpensive now, compared to Costco and Sam's Club in SLP. The question is: has anyone been to Best Buy in Mexico City and if so do they have good discounts on these flat screens? It would be a special trip to go there [5 hours one way] and check this out. If not then Costco would have to do. The exchange rate for pesos here was $14.02 this weekend.


----------



## conorkilleen

AlanMexicali said:


> We where shopping in San Diego this weekend and decided we want to buy a 46 inch flat screen for our house in San Luis Potosi. Here they are inexpensive now, compared to Costco and Sam's Club in SLP. The question is: has anyone been to Best Buy in Mexico City and if so do they have good discounts on these flat screens? It would be a special trip to go there [5 hours one way] and check this out. If not then Costco would have to do. The exchange rate for pesos here was $14.02 this weekend.


I was just in Best Buy Polanco last week overseeing an installtion of a display fixture for my client in the electronics area and I saw the prices are still high for the new super thin flat screens(1" thick). The old style (3-4" thick) are really good prices, but still on the same level as they are in the US when they were new on the market. Here in Mexico if you want the new just out-on-the-market electronics, you will pay through the nose. If you want something that is last year, then you will pay a fair price. I know they had good sales this past weekend for El Buen Fin, but I was back in Monterrey by Thursday so I didnt see the prices for the weekend. Was hearing 20-30% off all electronics.

Liverpool had the brands new 1" thick 50" flat screens for about $2,300 for a Samsung during the Buen Fin sales (30% off). Good price if you ask me, but we are ok with the 42" Samsung I bought 3 years ago to the day before Curcuit City wend out of business ($699)


----------



## jasavak

*Walking in Mexicali*



AlanMexicali said:


> Our current house is exactly between HEB and Superama and both are a nice 15 to 20 minute walk, the walk to HEB being much more beautiful. We usually get most consumables at Costco and Walmart on Saturday. I will go shopping at HEB and do like walking daily as most seniors seem to do. In Mexicali I can walk to Soriana and across the blvd. is Le Lay but like Soriana, not when it was a Gigantic, then I liked Le Lay. The butchers at Soriana think a T-Bone [marked T-B with a Porterhouse inside] is a porterhouse, my friends from SD like those for $110.00 pesos a kilo.
> 
> Superama by our house is expensive, however their huge deli is not. HEB is very nice and in a small plaza with a parking structure, great on rainy days. They also, on some Saturdays, will barbecue your meat you buy there for free in this parking area. I like their pork loins when on sale and like their cheeses, also the selection of NOB items. I have never been to a butcher shop except to buy small quantities when needed locally so because we do not buy much steak or beef except ground beef and buy chicken and fish wherever it looks fresh, the mercados are cheaper for these two if we/I are/am around them. To tell the truth I like to go all over the place to fill in my days and enjoy seeing everything and never get bored doing the shopping. Now baked goods are a specialty and a different story. When in the US I miss them the most, not only for the money savings, but that is a GREAT motivation not to buy them when NOB. Fruit and vegetables is never a problem in Mexico only so expensive the last year in San Diego.


You walk in Mexicali ? What about in the summer when it gets 250 degrees ? 

Does the meat taste better ? I had meat last year in different parts of Mexico and it seemed much more flavorful , tender and juicy .

How much is the fruit ? Avocados are $2 each today in Texas .


----------



## jasavak

My son works at Central Market (HEB) and the rib-eyes are usually $16.00 a pound . That's 
458 pesos/kilo


----------



## scubakevin

Hey Conorkillen,

I live here in Polanco and we went to best buy and I can tell you the promotions were horrible. I know we were promoting El Buen Fin as if it was Black Friday but there were no good promotions at best buy,

10% off normal prices was about the best we saw there and for example on things like MACBOOK PRO and IMAC 27 the prices at Best Buy were 2000 pesos higher than buying at the mac store.

Since I run a travel magazine we visited all of the shopping centers from North to South and East to West and I can tell you that the stores were packed. Liverpool had the best promotions that we found with 20% to 50% some with 20% in Electronic Monies (Monedero Electronico) apart from 13 months interest free payments with Liverpool, Mexican Visas or Mastercards or American Express. 

Sears wasn't as hot with promotions although we only visited 3 in the city and of course Palacio de Hierro and Sanbornes made our list as well as some smaller shops.

Although the federal goverment is calling the idea a success we can tell you that the malls and stores were packed but the people were NOT leaving the stores bogged down with purchases and carts full of merchandise. The majority of the purchasing we saw was indeed electronics, TV, Stereo, and some smaller electronics buys.

We have found always from Cancun to Mexico City that Costco had some great deals like we bought 3 Panasonic Viera HD 42 inches for $6990 each and a Sony Bravia HD 50 inches for $8900.

On Macs and Computers we found Prices all the same but at Liverpool they gave you 20% back in the electronic monies and 13 months to pay without interests. Again, Best Buy here in Mexico City is no best buy.

Cheers


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Mexicali summers are hot*



jasavak said:


> You walk in Mexicali ? What about in the summer when it gets 250 degrees ?
> 
> Does the meat taste better ? I had meat last year in different parts of Mexico and it seemed much more flavorful , tender and juicy .
> 
> How much is the fruit ? Avocados are $2 each today in Texas .


The Superama and the HEB are in San Luis Potosi. When staying in Mexicali in the summer I walk from 6AM to about 8:30 AM and after sunset which is very hot still compared to early mornings. Around 11 PM at night it is bearable to be walking around. The meat is good in Mexicali. A T-Bone [Porterhouse] which they leave the tenderloin on, at least at Soriana is $125.00 /kilo to $130.00 pesos/ kilo and the ground beef [lean] is $65.00 to $70.00 pesos a kilo now. Avocados vary a lot and usually I just get them at a las tianguis for $15.00 pesos for 10 undersized, not supermarket size ones. It is a bit more expensive for chicken and beef in San Luis Potosis but still tastes the same to me. HEB is generally more expensive than the other supermarkets but not enough to make much of a difference.


----------



## rosfreed

jasavak said:


> You walk in Mexicali ? What about in the summer when it gets 250 degrees ?
> 
> Does the meat taste better ? I had meat last year in different parts of Mexico and it seemed much more flavorful , tender and juicy .
> 
> How much is the fruit ? Avocados are $2 each today in Texas .


5 avocados for 20 pesos in jocotepec Lk Chapala area. Strawberries 15 pesos a kilo,
raspberries 1 pesos a liter container, roma tomatoes 6 pesos a kilo, I bought a leg of pork for 60 pesos a kilo.


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Thanks for the info.*



scubakevin said:


> Hey Conorkillen,
> 
> I live here in Polanco and we went to best buy and I can tell you the promotions were horrible. I know we were promoting El Buen Fin as if it was Black Friday but there were no good promotions at best buy,
> 
> 10% off normal prices was about the best we saw there and for example on things like MACBOOK PRO and IMAC 27 the prices at Best Buy were 2000 pesos higher than buying at the mac store.
> 
> Since I run a travel magazine we visited all of the shopping centers from North to South and East to West and I can tell you that the stores were packed. Liverpool had the best promotions that we found with 20% to 50% some with 20% in Electronic Monies (Monedero Electronico) apart from 13 months interest free payments with Liverpool, Mexican Visas or Mastercards or American Express.
> 
> Sears wasn't as hot with promotions although we only visited 3 in the city and of course Palacio de Hierro and Sanbornes made our list as well as some smaller shops.
> 
> Although the federal goverment is calling the idea a success we can tell you that the malls and stores were packed but the people were NOT leaving the stores bogged down with purchases and carts full of merchandise. The majority of the purchasing we saw was indeed electronics, TV, Stereo, and some smaller electronics buys.
> 
> We have found always from Cancun to Mexico City that Costco had some great deals like we bought 3 Panasonic Viera HD 42 inches for $6990 each and a Sony Bravia HD 50 inches for $8900.
> 
> On Macs and Computers we found Prices all the same but at Liverpool they gave you 20% back in the electronic monies and 13 months to pay without interests. Again, Best Buy here in Mexico City is no best buy.
> 
> Cheers


That is interesting to know that El Buen Fin wasn't exactly like Black Friday is going to be.

Do you think they might have another El Buen Fin before Christmas or something similar?

I think $7000.00 pesos would do for a 3 or 4 inch old style 46 inch LCD if we find one somewhere as long as it is 1080 I or P, not 720 I.


----------



## jasavak

Wow , 10 small avacados for $15 pesos . The ones for two dollars today aren't the extra large ones . I imagine they are less than twice the size as the ones you get . They would probably sell for $15 pesos each instead of for 10 !

I am taking the family to GTO for Chistmas and we are going to San Luis Potosi first because the bus route is more direct . The plane tickets were $5,000 dollars for the six of us and the price never dropped so I had to improvise . We are driving to the Laredo border and catching the bus for $29 each to San Luis Potosi .


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Slp*



jasavak said:


> Wow , 10 small avacados for $15 pesos . The ones for two dollars today aren't the extra large ones . I imagine they are less than twice the size as the ones you get . They would probably sell for $15 pesos each instead of for 10 !
> 
> I am taking the family to GTO for Chistmas and we are going to San Luis Potosi first because the bus route is more direct . The plane tickets were $5,000 dollars for the six of us and the price never dropped so I had to improvise . We are driving to the Laredo border and catching the bus for $29 each to San Luis Potosi .


My wife and I got to San Diego on Fri. from San Luis Potosi. She went back to SLP on Mon. has to work but I am staying here until Dec. 11 and returning to SLP. What days are you traveling?

We always take the bus to Guadalajara and fly Volaris to TJ or Mexicali, depending were the car is. The tickets one way from TJ to Guadalajra are about $1,400 pesos. The bus to SLP is $415 ETM lines or $345 pesos Primera Plus one way.


----------



## RVGRINGO

I just got a new iMac for the equivalent of $1300 at today's exchange rate; delivered and set up with all my files transferred. The cost in the USA is $1499 plus tax.

Avocados are free, as we have a large Hass Avocado tree in our back yard, as well as limes, limon, grapefruit, tangerine, mango, guava and four kinds of bananas.


----------



## bigmutt

RVGRINGO said:


> I just got a new iMac for the equivalent of $1300 at today's exchange rate; delivered and set up with all my files transferred. The cost in the USA is $1499 plus tax.
> 
> Avocados are free, as we have a large Hass Avocado tree in our back yard, as well as limes, limon, grapefruit, tangerine, mango, guava and four kinds of bananas.


a little off-topic, RVGRINGO.
this thread is not about what's cheaper, but rather what items are difficult or impossible to get in Mexico.
If we get a thread going about what's cheaper, then I will have a HUGE list of things, including lots of food items, that are cheaper in the U.S. 
If any electronics are _actually_ cheaper in Mexico, then it's a very rare exception, because the import duties are much higher for these items entering Mexico than for the U.S.


----------



## jasavak

*Travelling to GTO via SLP*



AlanMexicali said:


> My wife and I got to San Diego on Fri. from San Luis Potosi. She went back to SLP on Mon. has to work but I am staying here until Dec. 11 and returning to SLP. What days are you traveling?
> 
> We always take the bus to Guadalajara and fly Volaris to TJ or Mexicali, depending were the car is. The tickets one way from TJ to Guadalajra are about $1,400 pesos. The bus to SLP is $415 ETM lines or $345 pesos Primera Plus one way.


We are heading out 12/16 . The prices for flights into Leon have skyrocketed . We considered flying again with Viva aerobus , but the prices and logistics didn't line up . We have some independent bus lines that run from Fort Worth to SLP , but I can drive to the border and my own leisure and save buying $450-500 in bus tickets .
The Conejo line runs from here to SLP for $76 each way . We are going to Guayabitos for 4 days as well . Never been there .


----------



## jasavak

*Price comparison thread*



bigmutt said:


> a little off-topic, RVGRINGO.
> this thread is not about what's cheaper, but rather what items are difficult or impossible to get in Mexico.
> If we get a thread going about what's cheaper, then I will have a HUGE list of things, including lots of food items, that are cheaper in the U.S.
> If any electronics are _actually_ cheaper in Mexico, then it's a very rare exception, because the import duties are much higher for these items entering Mexico than for the U.S.



That's a great idea for a thread ! We can compare the cost of food , drink , housing and transportation of various cities in Mexico .


----------



## Guest

conorkilleen said:


> Ha! the Q-tips thing is right on the mark. Why dont they sell them here!!!! The plastic crappy sticks are horrible and the "tip" doesnt stay on. I'm going back to the US at the end of April and I am going to get 4 large boxes at Costco.


I am panicking as I am now running low on Q-Tips.  My last message to Unilever got no reasonable response, so I just fired off this message  to the US Unilever group after getting my Christmas Q-Tip order with Amazon rejected:

-------------------------------------
Hello Unilever,

If it is true that each country is autonomous within your organization as your Mexico organization claims, then why does your US unit block Amazon and other online retailers from shipping Q-Tips to me here in Mexico? Why the heck would your MX unit care, if they don't bother to either manufacture or distribute the Q-Tip products? Doesn't your U.S. unit want to increase sales, no matter the final destination?

Why doesn't Unilever U.S. drop their shipping restrictions imposed on US retailers? There are approximately 2 million Q-Tip-enlightened expat citizens of other countries living here in Mexico, and the lack of Q-Tips in Mexico is a frequent gripe among us. 

Who wants to go through life with dirty ears? Who wants to try an inferior product and end up going to the Emergency Room to extract a piece of a competing crap product from their ears? Who wants to drive a car in a dusty country with a dirty dashboard and air vents? Who wants to make a trip back to the US just to smuggle 10,000 Q-Tips back in to Mexico to satisfy their needs as well as their friends needs?

Why don't you go wake up the U.S. Marketing Department which apparently is dozing off after their holiday feasts topped off with lots of rum-laced eggnog and ask them why your company doesn't want more business here in Mexico? 

Drop the U.S. shipping restrictions if Unilever Mexico is too damn lazy to sell your products.



Saludos,
------------------------------------

If you want to join in my one man quest to get Q-Tips either sold or shipped to MX, you can write them at: 
q-tips.bbh "at" unilever "dot" com

Please do your part to clean up the ears in Mexico. Aye Chihuahua !!


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Toilet papaer*



GringoCArlos said:


> I am panicking as I am now running low on Q-Tips.  My last message to Unilever got no reasonable response, so I just fired off this message  to the US Unilever group after getting my Christmas Q-Tip order with Amazon rejected:
> 
> -------------------------------------
> Hello Unilever,
> 
> If it is true that each country is autonomous within your organization as your Mexico organization claims, then why does your US unit block Amazon and other online retailers from shipping Q-Tips to me here in Mexico? Why the heck would your MX unit care, if they don't bother to either manufacture or distribute the Q-Tip products? Doesn't your U.S. unit want to increase sales, no matter the final destination?
> 
> Why doesn't Unilever U.S. drop their shipping restrictions imposed on US retailers? There are approximately 2 million Q-Tip-enlightened expat citizens of other countries living here in Mexico, and the lack of Q-Tips in Mexico is a frequent gripe among us.
> 
> Who wants to go through life with dirty ears? Who wants to try an inferior product and end up going to the Emergency Room to extract a piece of a competing crap product from their ears? Who wants to drive a car in a dusty country with a dirty dashboard and air vents? Who wants to make a trip back to the US just to smuggle 10,000 Q-Tips back in to Mexico to satisfy their needs as well as their friends needs?
> 
> Why don't you go wake up the U.S. Marketing Department which apparently is dozing off after their holiday feasts topped off with lots of rum-laced eggnog and ask them why your company doesn't want more business here in Mexico?
> 
> Drop the U.S. shipping restrictions if Unilever Mexico is too damn lazy to sell your products.
> 
> 
> 
> Saludos,
> ------------------------------------
> 
> If you want to join in my one man quest to get Q-Tips either sold or shipped to MX, you can write them at:
> q-tips.bbh "at" unilever "dot" com
> 
> Please do your part to clean up the ears in Mexico. Aye Chihuahua !!




This reminds me of 30 years ago and for many years to come in Mexico when only Mexican toilet paper was available in Mexico. Not only was it very cheap but so inferior in quality people would need 1/4 roll per use or risk getting their fingers dirty.

Since then of course it has evolved. The habit stayed with some people. Over precaution became the rule, no trust in the improved product. The same story goes with dish detergent and laundry detergent and the superior products had sinks, sponges and washing machines in some houses overflowing with suds for many years to come.

One of the main reasons [govt. statistics] some small agriculturists killed their small farms decades ago and had to move to the cities, was from not following the instructions on the use of fertilizer, herbicides and insecticides and doubling, tripling and quadrupling the quantities until their farm's soil, wells and streams died a slow and painful death. Was this due to their distrust in inferior Mexican toilet paper finger incidences and not getting their clothes or dishes clean when children and hearing mom complaining constantly about it?

I left out Pinol. Ever recently walked into someplace and smelt the fumes of Pinol almost overwhelm you or the smell of bleach? Now those floors are EXTRA clean. I am not sure of some people who's cologne or perfume overdoses have ties to childhood toilet paper incidences. Maybe?


----------



## RVGRINGO

Re: Amazon. It is simply a franchise. Amazon in the USA has no connection with Amazon in any other country and you can't transfer credits or order US products from UK, for example.
I have found that Amazon in the UK will ship to Mexico, quickly and efficiently. Since it is an English speaking country, and many books are printed internationally, you can easily order such things from England. Caution; don't order electrical items, as they are 220V.


----------



## johnmex

@gringocarlos,

Don't let my wife (she is an ENT) catch you cleaning your ears with Q-Tips!


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Q tips*



johnmex said:


> @gringocarlos,
> 
> Don't let my wife (she is an ENT) catch you cleaning your ears with Q-Tips!


My wife says the same thing. I wrote it of as an old wives' tale.


----------



## jasavak

*Cotton in the ears*



johnmex said:


> @gringocarlos,
> 
> Don't let my wife (she is an ENT) catch you cleaning your ears with Q-Tips!




My wife loves q-tips , but last month the ear doctor scolded her when he removed old cotton from her ear .


----------



## AlanMexicali

*Q-Tips*



jasavak said:


> My wife loves q-tips , but last month the ear doctor scolded her when he removed old cotton from her ear .


I have had cheap Q-Tips fall apart when using them. Maybe there is something to this Q-Tip conspiracy after all. The plastic sticks they have that bend all the time are also irritating. You can't get a good grip on the big chunks of wax.


----------



## Isla Verde

AlanMexicali said:


> I have had cheap Q-Tips fall apart when using them. Maybe there is something to this Q-Tip conspiracy after all. The plastic sticks they have that bend all the time are also irritating. You can't get a good grip on the big chunks of wax.


Big chunks of wax, yuck!


----------



## johnmex

On second thought, keep using them. Let me know when you need an ENT...:lol:


----------



## Guest

johnmex said:


> @gringocarlos,
> 
> Don't let my wife (she is an ENT) catch you cleaning your ears with Q-Tips!


OK. And you won't catch me having your wife clean my ears either. 

Maybe I'll go back to the old farmer's trick of laying on my side on the floor, and pouring hydrogen peroxide into the top ear. Let it boil and bubble away for a few minutes, and then do the other side.


----------



## RVGRINGO

You get the prize, GringoCarlos; the hydrogen peroxide method is the easy solution to dissolve and dislodge ear wax harmlessly. It also takes care of outer ear infections, pimples on the face or nose, etc.
A bottle may last half a lifetime and it sure is a bargain compared to all the expensive creams and ear drops; most of which contain ........ guess what?


----------



## gringotim

GringoCArlos said:


> OK. And you won't catch me having your wife clean my ears either.
> 
> Maybe I'll go back to the old farmer's trick of laying on my side on the floor, and pouring hydrogen peroxide into the top ear. Let it boil and bubble away for a few minutes, and then do the other side.


Just hope when you pour it in one side it doesn't come out the other, thats when you know you might have problem


----------



## scubakevin

Yeah my grandmother used to say "the only thing you stick in your ears is your elbow" butwe still use QTips and what have you but when we lived in Playa or Cancun I did ear washes once a month on the wife and I with warm water and Peroxide mix and a 30 CC or 50 CC syringe with an angiocath on the end, just can't find them anymore here in Mexico bigger than 10CC or a pharmacy that sells Angiocaths. It was great having a friend who was a doctor and got me all kinds of stuff when I needed or wanted it.

The key with irrigation is not to point at the ear drum, you have to aim towards the inner ear walls otherwise you can push wax and garbage deeper into the canal or damage the eardrum itself.


----------



## scubakevin

Yeah my grandmother used to say "the only thing you stick in your ears is your elbow" butwe still use QTips and what have you but when we lived in Playa or Cancun I did ear washes once a month on the wife and I with warm water and Peroxide mix and a 30 CC or 50 CC syringe with an angiocath on the end, just can't find them anymore here in Mexico bigger than 10CC or a pharmacy that sells Angiocaths. It was great having a friend who was a doctor and got me all kinds of stuff when I needed or wanted it.

The key with irrigation is not to point at the ear drum, you have to aim towards the inner ear walls otherwise you can push wax and garbage deeper into the canal or damage the eardrum itself.


----------



## FHBOY

scubakevin said:


> Yeah my grandmother used to say "the only thing you stick in your ears is your elbow" butwe still use QTips and what have you but when we lived in Playa or Cancun I did ear washes once a month on the wife and I with warm water and Peroxide mix and a 30 CC or 50 CC syringe with an angiocath on the end, just can't find them anymore here in Mexico bigger than 10CC or a pharmacy that sells Angiocaths. It was great having a friend who was a doctor and got me all kinds of stuff when I needed or wanted it.
> 
> The key with irrigation is not to point at the ear drum, you have to aim towards the inner ear walls otherwise you can push wax and garbage deeper into the canal or damage the eardrum itself.


:ear: I "ear" this thread has been hijacked . Now we know that amongst the other things that are hard to find are Angiocaths over 10cc. Doncha just love these detours, makes coming here more fun. (Kidding folks, please don't blast me for this post.)


----------



## Canucklehead

*Hard to get items*

Ok this might seem trivial to some, but one thing I love in the morning is my coffee...and I am wondering if anyone knows where to get the International coffee creamers down here. I looked at Costco in Puerto Vallarta and didn't find it. Anyone know if you can find them down here or am I outta luck? Thanks in advance!


----------



## Longford

Canucklehead said:


> Ok this might seem trivial to some, but one thing I love in the morning is my coffee...and I am wondering if anyone knows where to get the International coffee creamers down here. I looked at Costco in Puerto Vallarta and didn't find it. Anyone know if you can find them down here or am I outta luck? Thanks in advance!


Welcome!

When you say, "International coffee creamers" what, specifically are you asking for? Powdered? Liquid? Flavored? And if you have a specific brand name in mind ... let us know.


----------



## Canucklehead

Darn. Posted a new thread on my international coffee creamer and could have put it here. Haven't been able to find them in PV so far.

Moderator note: The two threads have been merged.


----------



## Canucklehead

Hey thanks for responding so fast! The brands are International Coffee and Nestle also makes them as well. They come in liquid form, they come in a 1 litre plastic bottle and they range in flavors but the one I like most is Irish Cream. We live in La Cruz outside of PV but I went to Costco and to Mega and couldn't find them.


----------



## Longford




----------



## CHILLIN

try Walmart


----------



## makaloco

Chedraui in La Paz carries them. Not sure if they have the Irish Cream flavor.


----------



## Sisalena

Canucklehead said:


> Darn. Posted a new thread on my international coffee creamer and could have put it here. Haven't been able to find them in PV so far.


I have recently been able to find just a couple of flavors of International Delight coffee creamer in one of our Chedraui's in Merida. Of course, it's not the really good flavors, just Hazelnut and Vanilla, but it's a start! Maybe they'll start carrying some of the other ones (we can always hope, right?).


----------



## Canucklehead

You guys just made my day. Thanks so much. Will give it a try!


----------



## Canaball

I too am addicted to the International Delight French Vanilla creamer. They stock it at the 
Superlake store here in Lake Chapala. If your ever in the neighbourhood you can stock up.
I left a sealed bottle of it in my fridge while in Canada for 7 months and was still good when I returned. (kinda makes you wonder what's in it doesn't it)


----------



## redraidermty

Velveta cheese and maple syrup (real one)


----------



## cuylers5746

In my past I was a cook then a chef.
I can tell you my friend cody down here in Tepic makes the best dill pickles I have tasted anywhere in the World!


----------



## el confederado

redraidermty said:


> Velveta cheese and maple syrup (real one)


You can find the maple syrup at Superama and Chedraui. At least they have it in San Luis Potosí. It costs about 250 pesos. Not cheap but available. Good luck!


----------



## cuylers5746

*Hard to get items in Mexico*

Most things can be eventually found but not in the brand that you want or at the price you're used to.

As a block of items hard to find I'd rate them this way;

1. Good Health Food Supplements just aren't here, maybe in D.F. but most of Mexico NO. 
They do have GNC stores, but as in the US they're pricing their items like they were jewelry
and not a very good selection. Bring a years supply with you or until you plan to return to US.

2. Shop and hand tools. They have a few trusted very good tool lines, but past that you don't get
the selection as in the States. Sears is making a dent in that and bringing more Craftsman 
and other tools down. I'm glad I hauled my Craftsman Table Saw down here. Oh, and you'll
pay more for those tools here than in USA.

3. American Style Bar-B-Ques. Non existent, at least to the quality you might be accustomed to?
Glad I hauled our Coleman Bar-B-Que down here. Actually twice. Remember the Mexicanos
always have a simpler, quicker, cheaper way to do everything. Their idea typically of a Bar-B-
Q is a Car rim with 4 spindly metal legs welded to it. Price? Over 100 pesos, you must be 
spending too extravagantly to get your Carne Asada grilled.

4. Clothes. Starting to get a little bit better, but most 100% cotton requiring you to iron 
everything? Most American's and me included avoid this like the plague. Wash & Ware or 
nothing. Interesting though if you have a big move planned with furniture and all they just
might limit the amount of clothes that you can bring. Maybe it's still not that way, but in 2007
our last move down here, they wouldn't allow *any* in the moving van. Aduana
stated, this was a classic way the cartels were bringing guns down from USA into Mexico.
They'd throw them in the middle of a huge crate of second hand clothes to be sold in Tiangis
and guns would get shipped to Mexico. Used clothes are still getting down here so I don't
know if they changed that rule. Call the Mexican consulate before buying a lot of clothes to
bring down with you.

5. Tennis and running shoes if you're typical big footed ******. Most shoe sizes stop around
11 here in the US equivalent. Some men's shoes in Coppel go up to size 12,13. So if you
have big feet (typical) buy a years supply of men's shoes and tennis shoes before heading
south. I do for the cost buy good tennis shoes, as here I'd have to pay at least double for
the same shoe. If you're feet are not those large sizes, I don't think you can beat the Mexican
quality and price for top of the line shoes here. I buy mine at Big-5 Sporting goods store for
like a third of what I would have to buy them for here.

6. Those famous whole Dill pickles. They do have some fair ones, that do get me by between
batches of cody's famous home made Dill Pickles They're from Aguas Calientes, that are 
"rebanadas" meaning sliced ones, Brand name "Delencur" since 1958 in 1.08 Kg plastic 
jars at the Bodega Aurora and Walymart Supermercados.

7. In-N-Out Burgers!

8. Top of the line brand California or Florida Surf Boards

9. Good ski equipment. If you're young enough and strong enough to hike to the top of
Volcano Mt. Popo......?

You got a van big enough to bring all the things you think you may be needing to bring?


----------



## johnmex

cuylers5746 said:


> Most things can be eventually found but not in the brand that you want or at the price you're used to...
> 
> 3. American Style Bar-B-Ques. Non existent, at least to the quality you might be accustomed to?
> Glad I hauled our Coleman Bar-B-Que down here. Actually twice. Remember the Mexicanos
> always have a simpler, quicker, cheaper way to do everything. Their idea typically of a Bar-B-
> Q is a Car rim with 4 spindly metal legs welded to it. Price? Over 100 pesos, you must be
> spending too extravagantly to get your Carne Asada grilled.


Weber grills are not hard to find. You can find them in Best Buy, Sears, Sam's, etc.... Hell, there is even a Weber store in Guadalajara now.


----------



## diablita

Sweet pickles and tart cherries.


----------



## cuylers5746

*Grills*



johnmex said:


> Weber grills are not hard to find. You can find them in Best Buy, Sears, Sam's, etc.... Hell, there is even a Weber store in Guadalajara now.


Thanks Johnmex;

Now, I know I don't have to go to E.E.U.U. for another one when I need it just 2.5 hours east of me.


----------



## itscoezy

Canucklehead said:


> Hey thanks for responding so fast! The brands are International Coffee and Nestle also makes them as well. They come in liquid form, they come in a 1 litre plastic bottle and they range in flavors but the one I like most is Irish Cream. We live in La Cruz outside of PV but I went to Costco and to Mega and couldn't find them.


You can find the vanilla flavor in the big MEGA by office max in PV. They are in the international aisle, on the shelf, they are just the coffee creamers though in the little plastic containers ( i think like 24 little individual creamers for maybe 50 pesos?) (it's right beside the meat section where they have like 2 little stands of international stuff)

I know, not exactly the same as jugs but it's a start!


----------



## q_vivar

WirelessCowboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thinking of MX and what will be hard to get in MX as a US Expat to MX.
> Does anyone have any experience on US things or products you wish were easily accessable in MX or cannot get? I want to know what I am getting myself into if I do make the move there. Any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rod


Skippy peanut butter in the large jar. Also, if you are a fan of Hellmanns mayo, it's a different formula here.


----------



## michmex

Skippy creamy style in the 48 oz. jar is available at the Costco stores in the D. F.


----------



## TundraGreen

michmex said:


> Skippy creamy style in the 48 oz. jar is available at the Costco stores in the D. F.


You can also find fresh ground peanut butter. In Querétaro there is a molino behind Mercado de la Cruz that sells it. In Guadalajara, I found a place that mostly sells fresh moles but includes peanut butter in one of its bins.


----------



## Hound Dog

Regarding the comment about Hellmans Mayonnaise being a different formula in Mexico than in the United States, that is true. Hellmans is _very_ different in Mexico and blended to suit Mexican tastes. If you like Hellmans as formulated and sold by Unilever in the Eastern U.S., purchase Best Foods as Hellmans is called in the Western U.S. and also made by Unilever. Hellmans is widely available in Mexico but Best Foods made in Mexico is harder to find except in certain grocers, especially in the expatriate colony on the north shore of Lake Chapala (Chapala Municipality). Best Foods as sold there is precisely the same formula as Hellmans in the Eastern U.S.

Since we live both at Lake Chapala and in Chiapas where Best Foods is not even remotely available at any price, when we travel to our home in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, we always carry several jars of Best Foods Mayonnaise with us. Gotta have it even though there are some good Mexican formula mayonnaise brands down there I use if I run out of Best Foods.


----------



## q_vivar

Hound Dog said:


> Regarding the comment about Hellmans Mayonnaise being a different formula in Mexico than in the United States, that is true. Hellmans is _very_ different in Mexico and blended to suit Mexican tastes. If you like Hellmans as formulated and sold by Unilever in the Eastern U.S., purchase Best Foods as Hellmans is called in the Western U.S. and also made by Unilever. Hellmans is widely available in Mexico but Best Foods made in Mexico is harder to find except in certain grocers, especially in the expatriate colony on the north shore of Lake Chapala (Chapala Municipality). Best Foods as sold there is precisely the same formula as Hellmans in the Eastern U.S.
> 
> Since we live both at Lake Chapala and in Chiapas where Best Foods is not even remotely available at any price, when we travel to our home in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, we always carry several jars of Best Foods Mayonnaise with us. Gotta have it even though there are some good Mexican formula mayonnaise brands down there I use if I run out of Best Foods.


I like (I guess the east coast version of) Hellmann's for the outside of grilled cheese sandwiches. Gives you a great crust.

How about a percolator? I tried the big box websites and stores in my area but no luck.


----------



## AlanMexicali

q_vivar said:


> I like (I guess the east coast version of) Hellmann's for the outside of grilled cheese sandwiches. Gives you a great crust.
> 
> How about a percolator? I tried the big box websites and stores in my area but no luck.


Elektra had them here about a month and a half ago when we took my father in law shopping for a new washing machine. Nice looking chrome and shiny black plastic electric about 8 to10 cup ones. I´ve seen larger electric ones for offices also at a few of these old established Mexican easy to get credit places. They have stuff the others don´t have in that type of stuff for the home. It is a bit of a journey back in time there. Elektra, Famsa and Coppel. I´ve seen the stove top aluminum ones in El Centro here in speciality kitchen shops also, cheap looking.


----------



## Hound Dog

Since I have the good fortune to live in two contrasting environments in Mexico from the north shore of Lake Chapala with its large colony of expatriate retirees primarily from the U.S. and Canada and the Chiapas Highlands at San Cristóbal de Las Casas which is more like Central America on steriods with only a small extranjero colony and 40% of the population , more or less, indigenous people primarily of Maya descent, I thought it would be fun to review the many posts on this thread to see what hard to get items cited so far are actually hard to get in those two disparate places in my experience over the years. Of course, one might suspect even if having never set foot in either place, that the availability of all sorts of consumer goods and other items would vary widely between these two very different communities. 

Since I have lived in Mexico full time for 12 years, I have noted that, over time, this notion of the need for something I thought I really needed in a past life has become less compelling over time as I have adjusted to living in this country. This is especially true in Chiapas where public tastes and, thus, demand for consumer goods is so different from those tastes and demands prominent in the U.S. or Canada. The tastes and demands for consumer goods and, thus their availabilty at Lake Chapala, are more in keeping with same north of the border because of demand created by that large foreign colony of U.S. and Canadian retirees. Because the foreign colony that does exist in San Cristóbal is mainly of European background, it turns out that San Cristóbal has a relatively large Italian colony, not just retirees but a large contingent of entrepreneurs and , thus some of the best wood-fired pizza and other types of Itlaian food in Mexico. This unexpected paradox of the large European colony, while surprising, is fun and so here I find myself periodically driving from Lake Chapala to San Cristóbal with a case of Best Foods Mayonnaise to get me by while down there but looking forward to the great wood-fired pizza awaiting me at my favorite Italian owned pizza joint in San Cristóbal. 

Anyway, I was going through the posts making some notes about items some others had found hard or, in their estimation, impossible to get in Mexico and had noted one poster´s comment that U.S. style BBQs were difficult if not impossible to find in Mexico and my reaction to that had been that that was certainly not the case at Lake Chapala where these types of BBQs are easily purchased at reasonable prices but that by living in the Chiapas Highlands as well, I had learned to discount the value of U.S. style BBQs since some of the best BBQ I (an Alabama boy) have ever tasted was prepared on Chiapas style BBQs. In fact, after having become acquainted through Chiapaneco friends, with Chiapas style BBQ, the old Alabama BBQ of my youth comes in in second place for the new Mexico Hound Dog. So, we all either make these adjustments or not as we are each disposed to do but, in my case at least, I´ll not be returning to Alabama so pass the Chiapas BBQ, please.

I was determined to continue this review of all twenty pages of postings contributing to this discourse but starting about the third page from the end, posters became sidetracked onto the subject of the scarcity of cotton swabs according to some posters, ear wax removal and reminiscences of mamas scolding us in our youths for even contemplating cleaning out our ears with cotton swabs and, then we were treated to visions of hydrogen peroxide as an ear cleaning alternative to cotton swabs and the consequent giant wads of ear wax falling out of ears and that was enough for me. I did, however, appreciate one posters written concern that if he poured the peroxide into his ears he feared it might flow out of the other ear and that was amusing but I felt two pages of ear wax removal techniques was sufficient so I have put this project on hold until the ear was debate has died of its own volition.


----------



## Isla Verde

Hound Dog, I've always enjoyed reading your well-written posts on other expat websites and am happy that you've begun to post regularly here at the Mexico Expat Forum!


----------



## gorrillamcd

I'm not sure if it's been said yet, but root beer is somewhat hard to find. Most Mexicans I know don't like it when I get them to try it.

Peanut Butter was another one I was thinking of. I didn't think of going to a place that makes fresh mole. When I move further south, I'll need to remember that.


----------



## AlanMexicali

gorrillamcd said:


> I'm not sure if it's been said yet, but root beer is somewhat hard to find. Most Mexicans I know don't like it when I get them to try it.
> 
> Peanut Butter was another one I was thinking of. I didn't think of going to a place that makes fresh mole. When I move further south, I'll need to remember that.


Peanut butter "was" hard to find. Now it is everywhere. I buy Aladino brand [Mexican] average tasting PB at Sam´s Club for $65.40 pesos for the large 794 gram plastic jar. About a 300 gram jar of imported Jiffy PB costs that much in most supermarkets here.

Many Mexicans I know do not like peanut butter until I force them to eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich. It does not sell well here not only because of the high price but because of it´s reputation, in my experience. 

Nutella sells well here but for me it tastes like sugar. [gagging amounts of sweetness for me] Alan

Nutella:

"An older recipe, Gianduja, was a mixture containing approximately 71.5% hazelnut paste and 19.5% chocolate. It was developed in Piedmont, Italy, after taxes on cocoa beans hindered the manufacture and distribution of conventional chocolate.

Pietro Ferrero, who owned a bakery in Alba, in the Langhe district of Piedmont, an area known for the production of hazelnuts, sold an initial batch of 300 kilograms (660 lb) of "Pasta Gianduja" in 1946. This was originally a solid block, but Ferrero started to sell a creamy version in 1951 as "Supercrema".

In 1963, Ferrero's son Michele Ferrero revamped Supercrema with the intention of marketing it across Europe. Its composition was modified and it was renamed "Nutella". The first jar of Nutella left the Ferrero factory in Alba on 20 April 1964. The product was an instant success and remains widely popular."


----------



## mickisue1

Alan, you might want to try what my husband likes to do. He puts peanut butter on one side of a piece of bread, Nutella on the other, and eats it that way.

Or, do what I do, and assume that Nutella is not for a meal, but dessert. Then have toast with Nutella or a graham cracker or .....


----------



## AlanMexicali

mickisue1 said:


> Alan, you might want to try what my husband likes to do. He puts peanut butter on one side of a piece of bread, Nutella on the other, and eats it that way.
> 
> Or, do what I do, and assume that Nutella is not for a meal, but dessert. Then have toast with Nutella or a graham cracker or .....


I guess Nutella is to Mexico as to what peanut butter is to NOB, but for me it is just too darn sweet to eat. The last time I spend a month in San Diego when I flew directly to Guadalajara and was stuck in the Central Camionera there for 5 1/2 hours after midnight I was shocked at so many obese people. Then when realizing that many Mexicans are addicted to sugar, it all made sense.


----------



## Ayur

We had difficulty getting an electric kettle and black Salada tea.


----------



## Isla Verde

Ayur said:


> We had difficulty getting an electric kettle and black Salada tea.


Not surprising. Mexicans aren't big fans of any kind of black tea and usually prefer the herbal varieties. In fact, though Americans drink black tea, electric kettles aren't easy to find there either. The only time I've come across electric kettles was at an English friend's house in Lancashire.


----------



## mickisue1

Isla Verde said:


> Not surprising. Mexicans aren't big fans of any kind of black tea and usually prefer the herbal varieties. In fact, though Americans drink black tea, electric kettles aren't easy to find there either. The only time I've come across electric kettles was at an English friend's house in Lancashire.


i saw several on amazon, when I was looking for the new stovetop tea kettle I just bought.

It's my impression that amazon.com delivers to MX, no?


----------



## Isla Verde

mickisue1 said:


> i saw several on amazon, when I was looking for the new stovetop tea kettle I just bought.
> 
> It's my impression that amazon.com delivers to MX, no?


I know they ship books and CDs to Mexico, though the shipping charges are a bit high, especially for books. I have no idea what the charges would be for an electric kettle.


----------



## PabloSa

cuylers5746 said:


> 2. Shop and hand tools. They have a few trusted very good tool lines, but past that you don't get the selection as in the States. Sears is making a dent in that and bringing more Craftsman and other tools down. I'm glad I hauled my Craftsman Table Saw down here. Oh, and you'll pay more for those tools here than in USA.


Have you tried Home Depot? There's at least one in almost every medium/large city (500,000+ people), or one close to a city, and I've bought everything I need there. I'm a do-it-yourself kind of guy, and when in need, I go there, buy whatever needed, and resume with my tinkering.

Though I agree with the pricing part. Most typical American tools in México are imported... from the USA.


----------



## PabloSa

Some items can be shipped, some items cannot.

As Amazon says on its Shipping & Delivery -> International Shipping Page:


"The following items can be shipped to almost all destinations outside the U.S.:

Books
Note: Books that require special handling can't be shipped outside the U.S. If this is the case, it will be noted on the product detail page.
DVDs
Music
VHS videos"


Import taxes, however, are sometimes a "I won't buy that there" kind of deterrent, for me at least.


----------



## Isla Verde

PabloSa said:


> Some items can be shipped, some items cannot.
> 
> As Amazon says on its Shipping & Delivery -> International Shipping Page:
> 
> 
> "The following items can be shipped to almost all destinations outside the U.S.:
> 
> Books
> Note: Books that require special handling can't be shipped outside the U.S. If this is the case, it will be noted on the product detail page.
> DVDs
> Music
> VHS videos"
> 
> 
> Import taxes, however, are sometimes a "I won't buy that there" kind of deterrent, for me at least.


I've bought lots of books and music CDs from Amazon since moving to Mexico in 2007 and have never been charged customs taxes.


----------



## PabloSa

Isla Verde said:


> I've bought lots of books and music CDs from Amazon since moving to Mexico in 2007 and have never been charged customs taxes.


You are right, I'm sorry. I meant Shipping & handling. For example, I wanted to buy a Reading Light for my e-reader in Amazon. It costs MXN 270.56, but Shipping & handling another MXN 162.14, more than 50% of the item's price, so the item would be MXN 432.70 in the end.

For me, that's too much for just a reading light. 

I may find it in Mexico at MXN 300, more expensive than the item alone, but cheaper after considering S&H.


----------



## Lauren_B

I haven't used this but there is some kind of service I think through Mailboxes Plus or Pakmail where you can get deliveries with a U.S. address... I generally rely on the kindness of visitors or stock up when I visit home. The main difference is just price.


----------



## GARYJ65

This thread is not for preppers!


----------



## tepetapan

living in Mexico is like living in another country  You have to be flexible and aware to find what you desire. If a name brand of this or that is the only product you wish to buy, good luck and all that stuff. " I only want XXX brand of butter, syrup, peanut butter or mayonnaise"... do not buy property in Mexico since you will never be happy. 
Mexico is changing so fast that there are new products in the big stores everyday. I remember 11 years ago trying to buy coffee filters, paper towels, a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, a whole smoked ham for Christmas dinner, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage and other items were next to or impossible to find. Now you can find these items daily at the big stores in-my small town of 30,000 or in Veracruz city on the monthly shopping trip to Sam´s. Costco, WalMart and Home Depot. 
Everything your heart desires is in Mexico, you just have to be aware (a peculator coffee pot, too easy) and pay attention.


----------



## Isla Verde

GARYJ65 said:


> This thread is not for preppers!


You got me with "preppers", Gary. What does it mean?


----------



## TundraGreen

Isla Verde said:


> You got me with "preppers", Gary. What does it mean?


I would guess that "preppers" are prep school types, people who grew up in a family with enough money that they went to a preparatory school instead of a public high school. Why this thread is not for them, I have no idea.


----------



## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> I would guess that "preppers" are prep school types, people who grew up in a family with enough money that they went to a preparatory school instead of a public high school. Why this thread is not for them, I have no idea.


Must be a regional word. I would call them "preppies", but maybe that's an East Coast thing. I also have no idea why this thread isn't for them . Maybe Gary could explain his comment to us.


----------



## GARYJ65

Isla Verde said:


> Must be a regional word. I would call them "preppies", but maybe that's an East Coast thing. I also have no idea why this thread isn't for them . Maybe Gary could explain his comment to us.


I ment preppers; those survivalists from the natgeo show

I just found this thread and thought it's kind of amusing how some people really really miss certain things


----------



## mickisue1

Thought that's what you meant.

Although, you have to admit that being a prepper takes on a whole new meaning when you are stocking up on a particular brand of dishwashing soap or mayo, not on the basics to survive that disaster that some people worry is JUST around the corner.


----------



## GARYJ65

mickisue1 said:


> Thought that's what you meant.
> 
> Although, you have to admit that being a prepper takes on a whole new meaning when you are stocking up on a particular brand of dishwashing soap or mayo, not on the basics to survive that disaster that some people worry is JUST around the corner.


I was just kidding on that one


----------



## q_vivar

tepetapan said:


> living in Mexico is like living in another country  You have to be flexible and aware to find what you desire. If a name brand of this or that is the only product you wish to buy, good luck and all that stuff. " I only want XXX brand of butter, syrup, peanut butter or mayonnaise"... do not buy property in Mexico since you will never be happy.
> Mexico is changing so fast that there are new products in the big stores everyday. I remember 11 years ago trying to buy coffee filters, paper towels, a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, a whole smoked ham for Christmas dinner, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage and other items were next to or impossible to find. Now you can find these items daily at the big stores in-my small town of 30,000 or in Veracruz city on the monthly shopping trip to Sam´s. Costco, WalMart and Home Depot.
> Everything your heart desires is in Mexico, you just have to be aware (a peculator coffee pot, too easy) and pay attention.


hmmm. Well, I bought property here and couldn't be happier with the location, neighbors, taxes, price. Even if I don't like my choices in mayo, peanut butter and coffee makers (and I still haven't found a percolator). How about decent sneakers? I haven't had much luck with that either. Maybe they are coming and I just have to wait.

What I really don't understand is why a response can generate some stranger's determination of what wouldn't make me happy, so I guess I'll just shut up and leave it to the 11 year experts.


----------



## AlanMexicali

TundraGreen said:


> I would guess that "preppers" are prep school types, people who grew up in a family with enough money that they went to a preparatory school instead of a public high school. Why this thread is not for them, I have no idea.


"Preppers" is a newish term for people who were preparing for the Dec. 21, 2012 end of modern civilization by stocking survival amounts of goods that they thought would not be available anymore soon according to the Discovey Channel show I happened to watch. Alan 

Possibly "Horders" with a new purpose.


----------



## Isla Verde

AlanMexicali said:


> "Preppers" is a newish term for people who were preparing for the Dec. 21, 2012 end of modern civilization by stocking survival amounts of goods that they thought would not be available anymore soon according to the Discovey Channel show I happened to watch. Alan
> 
> Possibly "Horders" with a new purpose.


So when 12/21/2012 passed without incident, I wonder what the preppers will do with all the stuff they bought. Maybe save it for the next apocalypse, just in case . . .


----------



## TundraGreen

AlanMexicali said:


> "Preppers" is a newish term for people who were preparing for the Dec. 21, 2012 end of modern civilization by stocking survival amounts of goods that they thought would not be available anymore soon according to the Discovey Channel show I happened to watch. Alan
> 
> Possibly "Horders" with a new purpose.


Interesting. I guess I am out of touch.


----------



## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> Interesting. I guess I am out of touch.


I find that the longer I live in Mexico the more I get out of touch with things like "preppers". I find it rather refreshing, to tell the truth.


----------



## GARYJ65

q_vivar said:


> hmmm. Well, I bought property here and couldn't be happier with the location, neighbors, taxes, price. Even if I don't like my choices in mayo, peanut butter and coffee makers (and I still haven't found a percolator). How about decent sneakers? I haven't had much luck with that either. Maybe they are coming and I just have to wait.
> 
> What I really don't understand is why a response can generate some stranger's determination of what wouldn't make me happy, so I guess I'll just shut up and leave it to the 11 year experts.


What type of sneakers are you looking for?


----------



## RVGRINGO

The Preppers are now awaiting the reversal of the magnetic field and instant climate change, governmental collapse, anarchy and other such events, which they are sure they will survive.

At even the altitude of Chapala, percolators do not work well if they are automatic. Since water boils at a cooler temperature here, they make weak coffee. However, a stovetop percolator can be a good choice.


----------



## joaquinx

RVGRINGO said:


> At even the altitude of Chapala, percolators do not work well if they are automatic. Since water boils at a cooler temperature here, they make weak coffee. However, a stovetop percolator can be a good choice.


This is a tongue-in-cheek remark, right?


----------



## RVGRINGO

joaquinx said:


> This is a tongue-in-cheek remark, right?


No, it is a fact in my experience. The automatic electric percolator turns off too soon. Evidently, it is based on time, not temperature; or maybe it is defective. We have tried two of them from Walmart. The stovetop percolator allows us to let it perk longer, for stronger coffee.


----------



## Isla Verde

RVGRINGO said:


> The Preppers are now awaiting the reversal of the magnetic field and instant climate change, governmental collapse, anarchy and other such events, which they are sure they will survive.
> 
> At even the altitude of Chapala, percolators do not work well if they are automatic. Since water boils at a cooler temperature here, they make weak coffee. However, a stovetop percolator can be a good choice.


I wonder why some people are eager to believe in the world as they know it coming to a violent end .

I use a little stove-top percolator I bought many years in NYC. It made great coffee there and continues to give me good results in Mexico City.


----------



## joaquinx

RVGRINGO said:


> No, it is a fact in my experience. The automatic electric percolator turns off too soon. Evidently, it is based on time, not temperature; or maybe it is defective. We have tried two of them from Walmart. The stovetop percolator allows us to let it perk longer, for stronger coffee.


Whew, I thought you were saying that the water boiled hotter on the stove than in the automatic. It turns off "too soon." Now I'm wondering how it tells time. But it would have to be something not based on temperature because the temperature would never reach 100C. But since all automatics reach the boiling point (whatever the temperature), it would have to be something else.

What's you altitude there. I'm at 1400m, but I use an espresso machine. I guess that the pressure of the machine raised the temperature of the water.


----------



## RVGRINGO

We are a mile high. Yes, a pressurized coffee maker will raise the boiling point.

End of the world? The big dinosaurs experienced that. They and some 70% of the life on earth went extinct 65 million years ago. That was not the first mass extinction on the planet, and will not be the last. Now, there is a strange, new life form which has evolved the ability to extinguish itself, without waiting for another catastrophic natural event; that would be us, the last humanoid species and a short lived one at that, if compared to the others that preceded us.


----------



## geaaronson

Sponge mops, fitted sheets and matboard for framing. Sorry, but can´t find any of these items here in Valladolid, pop. 74,000, Yucatan. Vitamins are hard to come by and extremely expensive as are toiltetries.


----------



## Isla Verde

geaaronson said:


> Vitamins are hard to come by and extremely expensive as are toiltetries.


In Mexico City, vitamins are easy to find but are expensive. On the other hand, I have found all the toiletries I need and at reasonable prices.


----------



## joaquinx

geaaronson said:


> Sponge mops, fitted sheets and matboard for framing. Sorry, but can´t find any of these items here in Valladolid, pop. 74,000, Yucatan. Vitamins are hard to come by and extremely expensive as are toiltetries.


And the Chedraui in Valladolid doesn't carry sponge mops and fitted sheets? They do where I live. Sponge mops on tile floors never last long. I use one made of that highly absorbent cloth - also sold at Chedraui. It will last longer than a sponge mope. Try a large papelería for the matboard.


----------



## Longford

geaaronson said:


> Sponge mops, fitted sheets and matboard for framing. Sorry, but can´t find any of these items here in Valladolid, pop. 74,000, Yucatan. Vitamins are hard to come by and extremely expensive as are toiltetries.


Merida. Cancun. That's where the 'big box' ana larger stores, and variety of products are found in that region ... as you probably already know.


----------



## AlanMexicali

joaquinx said:


> And the Chedraui in Valladolid doesn't carry sponge mops and fitted sheets? They do where I live. Sponge mops on tile floors never last long. I use one made of that highly absorbent cloth - also sold at Chedraui. It will last longer than a sponge mope. Try a large papelería for the matboard.


The Chedraui in Valladolid is listed as a Chedraui Super and not a big store. I was in my first Chedraui Super a couple of weeks ago in a small city, San Luis de la Paz, SLP and they lack many things except the food selection is good. They had cheaper prices in their backery for most baked on the spot goods also compared to the one Chedraui here in a middle class area and in a big mall. Alan


----------



## geaaronson

That is correct. It is what we locals refer to as a SuperChe and is not nearly as large as the Chedraui. They do not have sponge mops nor fitted sheets here. 

So many of the locals have hammacks that I believe the European bed is an anachronism here and despite their having covers, pillow cases and linens, fitted sheets are glaringly absent. I might just have to go to Walmart in Merida to find them, which i loathe as I don`t like Walmarts products. I`ve been burned too many times on simple products.


----------



## joaquinx

I didn't realize that it is a Super Che.We have them here and, yes, they carry nothing that has to do with cloth including bedding and clothes. I guess those who live in Valladolid either go to Merida or Cancun.


----------



## Sisalena

geaaronson said:


> That is correct. It is what we locals refer to as a SuperChe and is not nearly as large as the Chedraui. They do not have sponge mops nor fitted sheets here.
> 
> So many of the locals have hammacks that I believe the European bed is an anachronism here and despite their having covers, pillow cases and linens, fitted sheets are glaringly absent. I might just have to go to Walmart in Merida to find them, which i loathe as I don`t like Walmarts products. I`ve been burned too many times on simple products.


The quality of the sheets in WalMart (in Mexico) is terrible! The best sheets I've found in Merida were in Costco. They're pricey, though! Sears usually has good quality linens, so if you're coming to Merida anyway, you might try there. Soriana sometimes has some decent quality sheets, too. Don't know about sponge mops - I've never looked for them. Good luck!


----------



## johnmex

Ceiling fans....does anyone know of an alternative to "ventiladores.com" or Home Depot? I am looking for Hunter, Casablanca, Emerson or Fanimation products.


----------



## Sisalena

johnmex said:


> Ceiling fans....does anyone know of an alternative to "ventiladores.com" or Home Depot? I am looking for Hunter, Casablanca, Emerson or Fanimation products.


You could try Boxito (I think I saws some Hunter fans in there), but the best selection of ceiling fans that I've seen is in Home Depot. In the past year or so, they've greatly increased their inventory of nice fans (at least the store in Merida has). But their main brand is Hampton Bay.


----------



## johnmex

Sisalena said:


> You could try Boxito (I think I saws some Hunter fans in there), but the best selection of ceiling fans that I've seen is in Home Depot. In the past year or so, they've greatly increased their inventory of nice fans (at least the store in Merida has). But their main brand is Hampton Bay.


And the only Hampton Bay fan that I own is the only fan that doesn't work. It stopped working after about 2-3 years. My Hunter fans are still perfect after 10 years.


----------



## makaloco

I bought five Hunter ceiling fans at Soriana City Club in 2007. All are still working great. They came with complete installation instructions in English and Spanish. Had to bring extension rods and light kits from the US, though. There are also a couple of Hunter models listed on Mercado Libre:
Bienvenidos a MercadoLibre
as well as Westinghouse and other brands.


----------



## mes1952

The more Americanized you remain when in Mexico, you will be paying double and triple for everything, i.e., if you buy everything "American" expect to pay for that luxury. Most of us switch to Mexican products and generally the higher income expats remain with American products. Most of us move to Mexico to save $$$ but that doesn't happen to many as they attempt to live an American life in Mexico (or any other country) and ultimately don't safe a lot of $$$.


----------



## citlali

There used to be a place on Lopez Mateo in Guadalajara that sold nothing but fans. They have Hunters- It is on the left inside of the road past the periferico before you reach Plaza del Sol. I bought all of out fans there . That was some years ago so I do not know if they are still there.


----------



## Sisalena

johnmex said:


> And the only Hampton Bay fan that I own is the only fan that doesn't work. It stopped working after about 2-3 years. My Hunter fans are still perfect after 10 years.


All the Hampton Bay fans I bought when we first moved here 7 years ago, including the two outdoor Gazebo models on the beach front porch, are still working just fine. Except the little chains have rusted off! Ahhh, the joys of living ocean front! Maybe you just got a lemon! I have Hampton Bay fans in my house in Georgia that have been working perfectly for 22 years!


----------



## johnmex

mes1952 said:


> The more Americanized you remain when in Mexico, you will be paying double and triple for everything, i.e., if you buy everything "American" expect to pay for that luxury. Most of us switch to Mexican products and generally the higher income expats remain with American products. Most of us move to Mexico to save $$$ but that doesn't happen to many as they attempt to live an American life in Mexico (or any other country) and ultimately don't safe a lot of $$$.


mes1952;
I have been here 22 years, almost half my life. I came here as a broke american, not a rich retiree. I don't "buy American". I try to always buy the best value for my hard earned peso. 

BTW..."American product" is an oxymoron. In the case of Hunter most of their product is made in China and...hold on to your hat....Mexico!


----------



## baregil

Any nutritional supplement from abroad cannot enter Mexico, unless you fill up an import form and permit through a customs agent, something very expensive and troublesome. If you want health products and supplements, ask a foreign visitor to bring them in when traveling to Mexico.


----------



## Isla Verde

baregil said:


> Any nutritional supplement from abroad cannot enter Mexico, unless you fill up an import form and permit through a customs agent, something very expensive and troublesome. If you want health products and supplements, ask a foreign visitor to bring them in when traveling to Mexico.


Oh, please. I have brought vitamins to Mexico from the US in my suitcase and never had a problem.


----------



## baregil

You are correct and that is precisely what i have said in my posting here. You certainly did not read it well.
I quote myself on this point: 
"If you want health products and supplements, ask a foreign visitor to bring them in when traveling to Mexico. "
A "foreign visitor" can be anyone, including yourself, of course.


----------



## matt23

Hi same subject- I am use to Cabo where you cant get American style coke and electronics are vry expensive. Can any one tell me if its the same in Barra de Navidad where Im thinking of moving?


----------



## geaaronson

I also brought a bottle of 1,000 vitamins into Mexico. There may be rules against its importation, but it made it through customs.


----------



## geaaronson

I have found shaving blades very expensive. I used to buy them in Atlanta at the Dollar Store for 12 sensitive Bic disposable shavers for less than 2 dollars but can`t find them for less than 41 pesos here.


----------



## geaaronson

No. Matboard does not exist on the retail shelf at all in Valladolid. I have gone to every frame shop, (we're only 74,000 souls, so there aren`t very many frame shops) and no one has them. In all the homes I have visited, the municipal galleries, schools, etc. there is not one party in Valladolid who has ever had their pictures framed with matboard. Yes, the frame shops in Merida do have them and that`s where I go to get them done. Merida is moe than 2 hours from here.

We had not any graphic arts shop that does digital prints until this month when one of the local architectural firms is doubling as a graphic art house. Whoa, now Im in heaven.


----------



## RubyWood

I make my own dill pickles


----------



## OnTheRoadToMexico

*Q-Tip thought and a question*

Does Mexico have any medical supply shops, as in the US? Or a medical supply website? When Q-tip stopped making the wood stick ones, I started buying mine by the box (another brand, of course) at a medical supply warehouse online.

So I was thinking that if there was the same thing in Mexico, maybe they would carry a truly decent product.


----------



## geaaronson

Unfortunately, they don´t. I have bought the plastic Mexican Q-tips. Avoid them if you have a choice. The cotton heads will come off inside your olfactory organ and you will have a devil of a time retrieving them.


----------



## ehw23

SAUSAGE! They dont have sausage patties here! I have looked all over and NOTHING! No biscuits and sausage gravy dangit!!!!


----------



## TundraGreen

aquikittykitty said:


> Does Mexico have any medical supply shops, as in the US? Or a medical supply website? When Q-tip stopped making the wood stick ones, I started buying mine by the box (another brand, of course) at a medical supply warehouse online.
> 
> So I was thinking that if there was the same thing in Mexico, maybe they would carry a truly decent product.


They do have medical supply shops. In typical fashion, they are clustered in one area. There is a street with about 6 medical equipment stores a few blocks from my house. However, I don't know if they stock disposable supplies or if is just hardware like wheel chairs, beds, walkers, etc.


----------



## joaquinx

aquikittykitty said:


> Does Mexico have any medical supply shops, as in the US? Or a medical supply website? When Q-tip stopped making the wood stick ones, I started buying mine by the box (another brand, of course) at a medical supply warehouse online.
> 
> So I was thinking that if there was the same thing in Mexico, maybe they would carry a truly decent product.


You might try the pharmacies near public hospitals. That's where the medical supplies and medications for the patients are bought by friends/relatives for the patient. You also might ask a doctor where they buy their supplies.


----------



## joaquinx

ehw23 said:


> SAUSAGE! They dont have sausage patties here! I have looked all over and NOTHING! No biscuits and sausage gravy dangit!!!!


For years I dreamed of Jimmy Dean sausage. Biscuits at KFC, but alas no sausage gravy. McD's has Sausage and something for breakfast. Superama carries Italian Sausage, but then again, not the same. Now, my doctor says no to everything fatty. I am lucky.


----------



## Hound Dog

I haven´t raed this entire thread because it is too long and I fall asleep about Page 3 but just a couple of comments:

geaarosson imported 1,000 vitamin/mineral tabs for some reason. Maybe that makes sense. I just bought a jar of 100 Centrum Silver vitamin/mineral tablets made in Canada at Walmart on Lake chaapala for the Peso equivalent with my old goober 5% Walmart discount of $21USD or $0.21US per tablet. Is it really worth personally importing something as widely available as vitamin/mineral tablets into Mexico and did you actually save money? If you don´t like Centrum products the variety of vitamin/mineral supplements is incredible including those sold by stores specializing in such products.

Ehw23in Monterrey misses his or her U.S. style sausage patties. While we regularly buy U.S. style link sausages, I don´t recall seeing sausage patties down here either but one can buy ground pork and the widely available spicess to make one´s own patties at home so what the hell.

Matt23 misses "American style Coke " in Mexico so I presume he dislikes the Coke formula in Mexico which seems to be sweeter but Mexicicans are the largest consumers of Coke on the planet per capita which is one of the reasons Type 2 Diabetes is an epidemic here. To make the weeter Coke more palatable, I suggest you make Ciba Libras as follows:
Coca Cola to taste
Lots of light rum
A lime squeezed into the drink

If you find Mexican Coke still too sweet, leave out the Coke, sip the rum or tequila out of the bottle followed by a squeeze of lime. Bliss!


----------



## TundraGreen

Hound Dog said:


> …Matt23 misses "American style Coke " in Mexico so I presume he dislikes the Coke formula in Mexico which seems to be sweeter but Mexicicans are the largest consumers of Coke on the planet per capita which is one of the reasons Type 2 Diabetes is an epidemic here. To make the weeter Coke more palatable, I suggest you make Ciba Libras as follows:
> Coca Cola to taste
> Lots of light rum
> A lime squeezed into the drink
> 
> If you find Mexican Coke still too sweet, leave out the Coke, sip the rum or tequila out of the bottle followed by a squeeze of lime. Bliss!


I have been told that Coke in Mexico contains cane sugar, in the US it is made with corn syrup. Most people I know prefer the Mexican variety. I don't care much for either.


----------



## RubyWood

Can't get jimmy dean. I make my own. basically it is a sage sausage. I grown my own sage. Get the butcher to grind your pork. Any part will do and you want some fat in it for flavor. I believe I put salt and black pepper along with finely grated onion. It is close enough that everyone wanted to know where I was able to buy it.


----------



## Isla Verde

The longer I live here, the less I miss things from the States. What's the big deal with using plastic Q-tips anyway? That's what I use and haven't had any problems with them.


----------



## RubyWood

Just a note. Make some ugly drop biscuits. They are easy and use the old fashion ingredients for them to come out delicious. I use the lard, buttermilk or soured milk, as I cannot find buttermilk here in Chetumal. In a pinch we can buy canned biscuits here but they are not as good. If you look on the internet for a recipe for homemade drop biscuits . from scratch. Too long to put on here. Also you don't know how to make gravy? Do the same thing Look for how to make sausage gravy . Good Luck


----------



## GARYJ65

Isla Verde said:


> The longer I live here, the less I miss things from the States. What's the big deal with using plastic Q-tips anyway? That's what I use and haven't had any problems with them.


Oh my God! You are already becoming Mexican Isla!


----------



## RubyWood

I had trouble finding good sheets. They have them at Liverpool. Really now I didn't faint at the price until I got home. I sent to material store and bought some unbleached muslin and made my own. We have been here 10 years so things wear out. Bring good sheets when you come. Oh they have sheets at Wal-Mart and etc. But they are not good ones.


----------



## Isla Verde

GARYJ65 said:


> Oh my God! You are already becoming Mexican Isla!


Thanks for the compliment, Gary!


----------



## joaquinx

RubyWood said:


> I had trouble finding good sheets. They have them at Liverpool. Really now I didn't faint at the price until I got home. I sent to material store and bought some unbleached muslin and made my own. We have been here 10 years so things wear out. Bring good sheets when you come. Oh they have sheets at Wal-Mart and etc. But they are not good ones.


I've bought good sheets at Chedraui, but I had to pay over 350 pesos for them. The cheaper ones are still better than muslin.


----------



## Isla Verde

joaquinx said:


> I've bought good sheets at Chedraui, but I had to pay over 350 pesos for them. The cheaper ones are still better than muslin.


Is that for one sheet or a set of sheets: top sheet, bottom sheet and pillowcases?


----------



## joaquinx

Isla Verde said:


> Is that for one sheet or set of sheets: top sheet, bottom sheet and pillowcases?


Set bottom, top, and two pillowcases.


----------



## RubyWood

Isla Verde said:


> Is that for one sheet or a set of sheets: top sheet, bottom sheet and pillowcases?


The ones I bought faded in the first wash in cold water. Good quality muslin will last a very long time and are soft, cool in the summer and warm in the winter.


----------



## Isla Verde

joaquinx said:


> Set bottom, top, and two pillowcases.


That's a decent price. I doubt you could get a set of sheets in the US for that equivalent in dollars, right now about $27.00, plus tax, of course.


----------



## joaquinx

RubyWood said:


> The ones I bought faded in the first wash in cold water. Good quality muslin will last a very long time and are soft, cool in the summer and warm in the winter.


I have mine washed at the local lavandería, never faded after several washings.


----------



## tepetapan

ehw23 said:


> SAUSAGE! They dont have sausage patties here! I have looked all over and NOTHING! No biscuits and sausage gravy dangit!!!!


 You are right. I love biscuits and gravy and end up making due. If you go to Amazon.com and search for sausage seasonings you will find a number of flavors made by the company Eastman Outdoors. They sell in small 2 oz packets usually and are really good. Add 3 teaspoons to a pound of ground pork and say "hello Bob Evans and good morning Jimmy Dean". 
The trick is to mix the amount they advise and after kneading it into the pork, put it in the refer over night... fry up a small sample ( in the morning) and add more seasoning if you wish.
Then I packet them in zip lock bags of around 1/4 pound each and freeze, if you have that much will power.
I love their Italian sausage seasoning mix and it is as good as any sausage on the market. Pizzas really taste great with a little help.
Amazon will ship here but the packets are so small that it could be sent postal service with no problem.


----------



## GARYJ65

Do you guys really miss KFC's products? Mc Donalds breakfasts? ( if that can be called breakfasts) Jimmy Dean' s sausages? (Processed food)?


----------



## tepetapan

KFC and McDonalds are in Veracruz city. Jimmy Dean (or there about) link breakfast sausage along with Johnsonville Brats, Italian sausage, etc.. in Wal Mart Veracruz. Unless you are killing a pig ( free range of course) a couple times a year, you are buying processed food also. Processed means someone else is doing the dirty work and selling it to you. 
My wife likes KFC Cole Slaw but we never stop there, Egg mcMuffin any time I spend a weekend there. There is Home Depot, sears, Pizza hut, Costco, Dairy Queen, Starbucks, Carl´s Jr., ..heck, like you have never left the states.
We live 2 1/2 hours from Veracruz city so it isn´t like it is down the block, usually every 3 to 4 weeks we shop for the businesses and a couple times a year spend long weekends on the zocolo of Veracruz city.


----------



## GARYJ65

tepetapan said:


> KFC and McDonalds are in Veracruz city. Jimmy Dean (or there about) link breakfast sausage along with Johnsonville Brats, Italian sausage, etc.. in Wal Mart Veracruz. Unless you are killing a pig ( free range of course) a couple times a year, you are buying processed food also. Processed means someone else is doing the dirty work and selling it to you.
> My wife likes KFC Cole Slaw but we never stop there, Egg mcMuffin any time I spend a weekend there. There is Home Depot, sears, Pizza hut, Costco, Dairy Queen, Starbucks, Carl´s Jr., ..heck, like you have never left the states.
> We live 2 1/2 hours from Veracruz city so it isn´t like it is down the block, usually every 3 to 4 weeks we shop for the businesses and a couple times a year spend long weekends on the zocolo of Veracruz city.


You are right about processed food, but...you know what I meant.
That''s like junk food

By the way...I'm almost an expert in american processed food


----------



## TundraGreen

tepetapan said:


> …Processed means someone else is doing the dirty work and selling it to you. …


Very true. But there is processed, then there is processed. Some food, like fruits, vegetables, chickens, etc, are merely picked (or killed) and brought to the market. Others, are really manufactured products from a factory rather than food, complete with lists of ingredients that don't sound like food at all.


----------



## Tucson

joaquinx said:


> For years I dreamed of Jimmy Dean sausage. Biscuits at KFC, but alas no sausage gravy. McD's has Sausage and something for breakfast. Superama carries Italian Sausage, but then again, not the same. Now, my doctor says no to everything fatty. I am lucky.


Make your own sausage biscuits! You can spend a little time and effort and enjoy the results more by getting the market to grind your lean pork into sausage (as others have suggested) and make a simple gravy either from a package mix or from scratch; some packaged gravies use corn starch or other artery non-clogging ingredients in place of lards. It will taste better and you will have control over what you are eating. How about whole wheat English muffins in place of biscuits? Your cardiologist may be pleased! You may also decide that the taste is superior.

Best wishes on your road to better health!


----------



## johnmex

Johnsonville breakfast sausage is available in the Walmart/Superama/Sam's stores. It is passable for making biscuits and gravy. Add black pepper, liberally.


----------



## makaloco

GARYJ65 said:


> Do you guys really miss KFC's products? Mc Donalds breakfasts? ( if that can be called breakfasts) Jimmy Dean' s sausages? (Processed food)?


I'm aware this is terribly unhip, but every trip to the US (fortunately brief and only 2x /year), I need my Taco Bell taco supreme fix. I also love the tacos I get here in Mexico, especially seafood ones, but to me the two aren't even in the same food group.


----------



## RubyWood

I grew up on a farm and we cooked everything from scratch. I do not miss KFC as we never fixed our chicken like that. But we did make cole slaw very much like it. The secret is a t. of sugar. Yes I love Mexican food. But good Mexican Food. We eat out at a small restaurant here about 3 times a week. Food is very good. I cook at home the rest of the time things we grew up with because we can buy the basic food at the market. Oh if you want certain things and do not have them in the area just go to kopy kat.com for the restaurant recipes. Made from scratch you get what you are craving for and it costs a lot less. I make my own taco bell tacos that way because no one makes them here like that in Chetumal..


----------



## RubyWood

Tucson said:


> Make your own sausage biscuits! You can spend a little time and effort and enjoy the results more by getting the market to grind your lean pork into sausage (as others have suggested) and make a simple gravy either from a package mix or from scratch; some packaged gravies use corn starch or other artery non-clogging ingredients in place of lards. It will taste better and you will have control over what you are eating. How about whole wheat English muffins in place of biscuits? Your cardiologist may be pleased! You may also decide that the taste is superior.
> 
> Best wishes on your road to better health!


I hate to say this but YUCK....LOL make em however you want.


----------



## Isla Verde

RubyWood said:


> . . . I make my own taco bell tacos that way because no one makes them here like that in Chetumal..


Of course, no one makes Taco-Bell-style "tacos" in Chetumal or anywhere else in Mexico since they aren't Mexican food at all.


----------



## GARYJ65

Isla Verde said:


> Of course, no one makes Taco-Bell-style "tacos" in Chetumal or anywhere else in Mexico since they aren't Mexican food at all.


I stick to my theory: You are becoming Mexican by the minute Isla!


----------



## RVGRINGO

In 2007, we drove our new smart car with Jalisco plates to the USA, before smarts were sold there. We emptied a lot of businesses, as folks came out to see the strange little car. In NC, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant, owned and run by folks from Guadalajara and they all came out to see the car and the Jalisco plates. We went in to have lunch and the owner sat to chat with us. When our tacos came, I broke out laughing; yes, they were crispy tortillas filled with hamburger, american cheese, lettuce and Ortega taco sauce out of a jug. The owner offered to try to make tacos as his mother had made, but we ate the crispy ones after apologizing for laughing at American tacos.


----------



## GARYJ65

Isla Verde said:


> Of course, no one makes Taco-Bell-style "tacos" in Chetumal or anywhere else in Mexico since they aren't Mexican food at all.


Once, I was invited to have dinner in Texas, they took me to a "Mexican place", first mistake; People tend to do that when you travel abroad.
Since I didn't know that place I asked them to order for me what they recommended, and I got horrible food! They kept asking me to qualify it against mexican food, I could not. We don't have taco shells here, or any of the other stuff they served.
At the end, as dessert we got chocolate enchiladas!
Could not eat them

We also have the tendency to adapt food! Pizzas with jalapeños or mole, etc.
Besides, many dishes change a whole lot when served out of their place of origin, some of them being subject to horrendous changes


----------



## TundraGreen

GARYJ65 said:


> Once, I was invited to have dinner in Texas, they took me to a "Mexican place", first mistake; People tend to do that when you travel abroad.
> Since I didn't know that place I asked them to order for me what they recommended, and I got horrible food! They kept asking me to qualify it against mexican food, I could not. We don't have taco shells here, or any of the other stuff they served.
> At the end, as dessert we got chocolate enchiladas!
> Could not eat them
> 
> We also have the tendency to adapt food! Pizzas with jalapeños or mole, etc.
> Besides, many dishes change a whole lot when served out of their place of origin, some of them being subject to horrendous changes


There is an Indian restaurant in Guadalajara that serves samosas with a mole sauce. It is nothing like what you will find in Indian restaurants in the US (I have never been to India). But it is delicious anyway.


----------



## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> There is an Indian restaurant in Guadalajara that serves samosas with a mole sauce. It is nothing like what you will find in Indian restaurants in the US (I have never been to India). But it is delicious anyway.


Sounds delicious. Sometimes cross-over recipes work!


----------



## Isla Verde

GARYJ65 said:


> I stick to my theory: You are becoming Mexican by the minute Isla!


Maybe I'll be offered the fast track to Mexican citizenship when I apply for it in a few years. Would you write me a letter of recommendation, Gary?


----------



## GARYJ65

Isla Verde said:


> Maybe I'll be offered the fast track to Mexican citizenship when I apply for it in a few years. Would you write me a letter of recommendation, Gary?


Claro que si! 
Mexicana honoraria!


----------



## joaquinx

GARYJ65 said:


> We don't have *taco shells* here, or any of the other stuff they served.


We have tacos dorados.


----------



## RubyWood

GARYJ65 said:


> I stick to my theory: You are becoming Mexican by the minute Isla!


Agree, My Mexican friends here like Tex Mex too


----------



## GARYJ65

joaquinx said:


> We have tacos dorados.


Tacos dorados I like very much!
Taco shells came from superman's earth 2!


----------



## GARYJ65

RubyWood said:


> Agree, My Mexican friends here like Tex Mex too


I did not get that one
What I meant was that " mexican" food in the states is horrible!


----------



## bigmutt

This thread has been hijacked ... seemingly by folks who spend too much time thinking about food.

Can we get back to the original question please ????


----------



## joaquinx

bigmutt said:


> This thread has been hijacked ... seemingly by folks who spend too much time thinking about food.
> 
> Can we get back to the original question please ????


We happen to like food.


----------



## bigmutt

joaquinx said:


> We happen to like food.


Great ! So do I. 
I'll look forward to reading your comments in a thread appropriately started for that subject.


----------



## Isla Verde

bigmutt said:


> Great ! So do I.
> I'll look forward to reading your comments in a thread appropriately started for that subject.


Feel free to start a food-based thread .


----------



## joaquinx

bigmutt said:


> Great ! So do I.
> I'll look forward to reading your comments in a thread appropriately started for that subject.


Hmm. I couldn't find any of your comments in this thread. What items do you find hard to get in Mexico?


----------



## conorkilleen

Find me a Hornsbys Draft Cider and I will be your best friend...


----------



## RubyWood

GARYJ65 said:


> I did not get that one
> What I meant was that " mexican" food in the states is horrible!


ok, got ya.


----------



## AlanMexicali

joaquinx said:


> Hmm. I couldn't find any of your comments in this thread. What items do you find hard to get in Mexico?


The only thing so far I haven´t located here is those corned beef packages sealed in heavy plastic that are cured and ready to boil. I have located brisket, raw, only.

I recently located prime rib bones with meat left on to barbeque at the Abastos here. , not the bones for dogs they sell in most butcher shops. 

I also recently stumbled upon a huge independent grocery store that beats the Walmart, etc. prices on meat, cleaning supplies, canned goods etc, and also produce which with produce is not hard to do by going to a street or building Mercado here.


----------



## RubyWood

AlanMexicali said:


> The only thing so far I haven´t located here is those corned beef packages sealed in heavy plastic that are cured and ready to boil. I have located brisket, raw, only.
> 
> I recently located prime rib bones with meat left on to barbeque at the Abastos here. , not the bones for dogs they sell in most butcher shops.
> 
> I also recently stumbled upon a huge independent grocery store that beats the Walmart, etc. prices on meat, cleaning supplies, canned goods etc, and also produce which with produce is not hard to do by going to a street or building Mercado here.


Try Sams Club on the corned beef. I found it there.


----------



## AlanMexicali

RubyWood said:


> Try Sams Club on the corned beef. I found it there.


I can walk to Sam´s, Costco, and Walmart all on the same corner and do check in those places to see what´s new almost every week and have not seen it yet. 


Interesting, the Costco here is replacing Mexican stuff with US stuff recently. 


Now they have almost completed a large hotel/mall complex on the corner, Fiesta Americana Inn with a Best Buy and Chrispy Creams etc.


----------



## johnmex

Alan's little slice of Mexico sounds a lot like mine...

I too have seen corned beef (sliced), at Costco Tlajomulco.


----------



## Isla Verde

Just to take this thread a little off topic, what things from your home country that you thought you'd couldn't live without once you moved to Mexico have you found not necessart to make a happy life for yourself here?


----------



## AlanMexicali

johnmex said:


> Alan's little slice of Mexico sounds a lot like mine...
> 
> I too have seen corned beef (sliced), at Costco Tlajomulco.


I have seen corned beef thinly sliced for about $200 pesos per kilo but want the 3 or 4 pound bags of uncooked cured corned beef brisket for about $3.00 per pound or less like back in the USA. 

They now stock at Costco the good Genoa style salami thinly sliced in 450 gram packs for $110.00 pesos. A little pricey. Instead of only the small 165 gram packages which are very expensive per kilo.


----------



## johnmex

Isla Verde said:


> Just to take this thread a little off topic, what things from your home country that you thought you'd couldn't live without once you moved to Mexico have you found not necessart to make a happy life for yourself here?


Black licorice. The brats with the special sauce from Milwaukee County stadium. Good dill pickles.


----------



## buzzbar

Shoes


----------



## Isla Verde

buzzbar said:


> Shoes


So you go about the place where you live barefoot?


----------



## maesonna

Lots of shoes in Mexico. Particularly leather shoes. What _are_ hard to find though, are (1) shoes in large sizes (larger than average Mexican sizes), and (2) good quality athletic shoes at moderate prices (they can be cheap or good, but not both).


----------



## Isla Verde

maesonna said:


> Lots of shoes in Mexico. Particularly leather shoes. What _are_ hard to find though, are (1) shoes in large sizes (larger than average Mexican sizes), and (2) good quality athletic shoes at moderate prices (they can be cheap or good, but not both).


I have small feet, so finding my size here is not a problem. What is somswhat problematic is finding slightly dressy shoes with sensible heels. There's no way you're going to find me tottering around the streets of the city in those insane five-inch heels that are so popular these days!


----------



## buzzbar

Oh yes, plenty of fine zapaterias in Mexico, but after not having the need or desire for the last two months to wear shoes, I doubt I'll be visiting them any time soon. Where I live, totally unnecessary for a happy life... coupla pairs of flip flops is all that's needed. 

I'm hanging onto the Nikes, but gave my two pairs of Vans to the teenagers next door. Actually that's another thing I've lost since being here - any sort of attraction to brands. Whether fashion, food or vehicle, if it serves the purpose that's fine. Maybe the start of totally abandoning a wage earning, consumerist lifestyle? Here's hoping so....


----------



## joaquinx

Cans of Chili and Fritos without limon (I found some at Superama) to make my favorite Texas junk food - Frito Chili Pie.


----------



## MegGonzalez

I've found Superama is the best place to get hard to find items, it's a grocery store chain. However there are many candies such as Tootsie Rolls or Skittles that I can't find even in Liverpool. I would suggest stocking up on your favorite sweets before making the jump because many of the "sweets" here contain chili powder.


----------



## bigmutt

MegGonzalez said:


> I've found Superama is the best place to get hard to find items ....


that's likely 'cause Superama is owned by Wal-Mart.


----------



## Isla Verde

bigmutt said:


> that's likely 'cause Superama is owned by Wal-Mart.


And because Superama stores are usually found in more upscale neighborhoods. Wal-Mart also owns the Bodega Aurrerá stores, where the merchandise is definitely not upscale.


----------



## AlanMexicali

AlanMexicali said:


> The only thing so far I haven´t located here is those corned beef packages sealed in heavy plastic that are cured and ready to boil. I have located brisket, raw, only.
> QUOTE]
> 
> Well I finally did it. I bought a 3.5 kilo brisket {$77.00 pesos per kilo] and have it corning in the refrigerator now. It was easy to locate the spices and salts needed except for allspice. I tried 3 places and couldn't´t find it. 5 days from now I will let you know how it turns out. I am possibly going to have the butcher shop slice the whole thing as my slicer is up north.


----------



## MJB5293

let me know I love corned beef if it turns out ok please post hot to do it


----------



## joaquinx

AlanMexicali said:


> It was easy to locate the spices and salts needed except for allspice. I tried 3 places and couldn't´t find it. 5 days from now I will let you know how it turns out. I am possibly going to have the butcher shop slice the whole thing as my slicer is up north.


Allspice in Mexico is often labeled Pimenta Tabasco.


----------



## AlanMexicali

joaquinx said:


> Allspice in Mexico is often labeled Pimenta Tabasco.


Good to know. I looked at all the pimentas as it also is called pimenta de Jamaica but don´t remember seeing a pimenta Tabasco either.

Superama had a large selection of spices and even expensive imported Italian spices and many US brands. I went to the Mercado in El Centro but didn´t ask for pimento Tabasco.


----------



## Hound Dog

Actually, one can find allspice in both Jalisco and Chiapas, no doubt among other places in Mexico. Ask of Pimienta Dulce, Gorda or Jamaica. Perhaps it is called Pimienta Tabasco in some places. Whatever you call it, it is available and can be widely found.


----------



## citlali

I buy it under pimienta dulce or gorda , it comes from Tabasco but I have never heard it called pimienta Tabasco


----------



## AlanMexicali

citlali said:


> I buy it under pimienta dulce or gorda , it comes from Tabasco but I have never heard it called pimienta Tabasco


I will go back to the spice guy in the Mercado in El Centro and ask for it as he has everything behind the counter and weighs out portions. I would like to add it to the brine today. Thanks. Rollybrook also listed it as pimienta inglesa. He lists pimiento dulce as paprika.


----------



## citlali

Rolly lives up in Durango state I believe and I live in Jalisco and in Chiapas. I am very familiar with Allspice because we cook a lot of middle Eastern food and it is used widely in that cuisine. For years I could not find it except in one store in Ajijic that had English names on the spice bottles.
In Chiapas I asked for it by pimienta de Jamaica as I found that word in the internet and people did not know about it, when I described the pepper, saying it was like black pepper but bigger and said it was grown in Tabasco they immediately with pimienta dulce or gorda. That is what it is known as down there and later on as I was learning how to make a Chiapaneco dish from a friend she told me to use pimienta dulce... translators and dictionatries are not reliable for comon names in spices, plants etc..as you have to know what the locals call it not the Spaniards or other Spanish speaking nation.
If you look at the small plastic bags with a little spice in it and look for those fat , round,brown peppercorns you will have no problems finding them with or without the name.


----------



## AlanMexicali

Wikipedia has it all summed up. it appears to have local names about a 1/2 dozen:

"Pimenta dioica







Pimenta de Jamaica 
Pimenta dioica - Köhler–s 
Pimenta dioica 

Clasificación científica


Reino:
Plantae 

División:
Magnoliophyta 

Clase:
Magnoliopsida 

Subclase:
Rosidae 

Orden:
Myrtales 

Familia:
Myrtaceae 

Subfamilia:
Myrtoideae 

Tribu:
Myrteae 

Género:
Pimenta 

Especie:
P. dioica 

Nombre binomial

Pimenta dioica

Se denomina Pimienta de Jamaica, Pimienta Gorda, Pimienta Guayabita, Pimienta Dulce, Pimienta Inglesa, Malagueta, Pimienta de Chapa (o Pimienta Chapa) o Tabasca es una especia procedente del árbol de nombre Pimenta Dioica. Sus frutos secos se emplean como condimento en diversos platillos y puede combinar fácilmente con otras especias. Su sabor y olor es similar al del clavo, canela, pimienta negra y nuez moscada; por ello en inglés se denomina "allspice" debido a esta combinación. Sinónimosimenta officinalis Lindley y Eugenia pimenta D.C."


----------



## AlanMexicali

citlali said:


> Rolly lives up in Durango state I believe and I live in Jalisco and in Chiapas. I am very familiar with Allspice because we cook a lot of middle Eastern food and it is used widely in that cuisine. For years I could not find it except in one store in Ajijic that had English names on the spice bottles. In Chiapas I asked for it by pimienta de Jamaica as I found that word in the internet and people did not know about it, when I described the pepper, saying it was like black pepper but bigger and said it was grown in Tabasco they immediately with pimienta dulce or gorda. That is what it is known as down there and later on as I was learning how to make a Chiapaneco dish from a friend she told me to use pimienta dulce... translators and dictionatries are not reliable for comon names in spices, plants etc..as you have to know what the locals call it not the Spaniards or other Spanish speaking nation.


I asked for pimienta de Jamaica and the spice guy said he didn´t have it but I did see a large jar with what looks like dried pimientas gordas in his pepper section on the shell behind the counter after just now looking at a picture of the dried berries. I´am heading back there. I have to grind it and boil it and add it. Easy. I know what it smells like. Thanks for the help. I have a vested interest in it turning out right.


----------



## citlali

I am interested in what this merchant will call it as it is the only thing that really counts , the local name. It sounds like the man has a huge jar of it...


----------



## AlanMexicali

citlali said:


> I am interested in what this merchant will call it as it is the only thing that really counts , the local name. It sounds like the man has a huge jar of it...


He has gallon jars on shelves full of spices and bushel bags laying around with spices that are the most popular like dried chilies and Jamaica seed pods. I will go as soon as the guy finishes cutting the grass. I will let you know. Alan


----------



## AlanMexicali

citlali said:


> I am interested in what this merchant will call it as it is the only thing that really counts , the local name. It sounds like the man has a huge jar of it...


Allspice here is called pimienton and that is what was marked on the jar but he knew it by pimienta gorda also. The dictionary has pimienton as paprika? Alan


----------



## Anonimo

AlanMexicali said:


> AlanMexicali said:
> 
> 
> 
> The only thing so far I haven´t located here is those corned beef packages sealed in heavy plastic that are cured and ready to boil. I have located brisket, raw, only.
> QUOTE]
> 
> Well I finally did it. I bought a 3.5 kilo brisket {$77.00 pesos per kilo] and have it corning in the refrigerator now. It was easy to locate the spices and salts needed except for allspice. I tried 3 places and couldn't´t find it. 5 days from now I will let you know how it turns out. I am possibly going to have the butcher shop slice the whole thing as my slicer is up north.
> 
> 
> 
> Nice work, Alan. In the eight years we've lived here, I think I have cured corned beef at least twice. The first time, a restaurant owner let me store a large, covered plastic pail in his walk-in cooler. The second time, I lined a large produce drawer in our fridge with double, heavy duty plastic bags, and cured the brisket there. It's a lot of fuss, but worth it when you finally get to eat it.
> 
> Why not just get a sharp knife and cut it yourself? No slicer is necessary.
> 
> I note that your question about allspice has been answered.
Click to expand...


----------



## Katwood

I had trouble finding fancy cheese, sushi I feel safe eating, crunchy momma baby gear


----------



## citlali

The name variation is interesting, never heard of pimienton..you just never know . Now I have to ask for the name here in Ajijic at the tianguis , you never know they may have another one...Thanks for the info, we have to tell Rolly to update his dictionary with another local name or a few others.
.oh could it be that the jar had paprika before?
Here we buy paprika under the name of paprika but it probably has another name.


----------



## AlanMexicali

citlali said:


> The name variation is interesting, never heard of pimienton..you just never know . Now I have to ask for the name here in Ajijic at the tianguis , you never know they may have another one...Thanks for the info, we have to tell Rolly to update his dictionary with another local name or a few others.
> .oh could it be that the jar had paprika before?
> Here we buy paprika under the name of paprika but it probably has another name.


I went to another spice stall in this large Mercado after to confirm, nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, and she had it labeled "Pimentón" also and I asked "Is this called pimienta gorda also?" She said yes. Then I noticed all the venders have it. I can´t honestly remember how it was spelled, Pimentón or Pimienton? 

The dictionaries on line list both spelling above as paprika and my wife says here it is called paprika now that you mention that. 

Rollybrook has pimienta dulce listed as paprika. He has allspice as pimineta inglesa or pimienta Jamaica, which here they have never heard of and pimienta dulce is not used here, as far as I know, but pimiento dulce or chili dulce is used for green, yellow or red sweet peppers, at least by me and they understand me.


----------



## citlali

The red , green and yellow pepper are also known as chili morón.
By the way I recently found out that our yellow lemons are know as limon chichón. pretty funny .


----------



## AlanMexicali

citlali said:


> The red , green and yellow pepper are also known as chili morón.
> By the way I recently found out that our yellow lemons are know as limon chichón. pretty funny .


Chichón because they have a bump at the top I presume. Chichona also because of the bump.


----------



## citlali

yes it is all about the bump!


----------



## Isla Verde

citlali said:


> yes it is all about the bump!


Not to mention that "limón chichón" rhymes!


----------



## mybraincells

*What do you bring from the US*

The self- sufficient side of me says "If my friends south of the border can live without it than so can I." However knowing I will be back in the states at least once a year and I will have friends and family visiting from the states, I'm sure I won't have to do without a few of my favorite things from the states. So I'm curious, whats on your long or short list of foods or items that you grab when you are in the U.S.?


----------



## lagoloo

Been in Mexico over ten years. Finally went NOB for a family funeral last fall. Enjoyed some ethnic meals not available at home in Mexico and that was that.

I've noticed that many expats say they can't live without their favorite NOB brands of food, cosmetics, cookware or whatever. Anything you need and can't find here, can be ordered and sent through a customs broker like ESTAFETA. Goods are delivered to your door. Way less expensive than a trip NOB.

Clothing? Mexico has all kinds. Those who can't adapt spend a lot of time and money going shopping NOB, and from the looks of the local expats......it's not making a positive improvement.
The Mexicans dress better, shopping locally. Just my crusty opinion. YMMV.

IMHO, the only good reason to head NOB is to see family that can't or won't visit here.
We have ours brainwashed or bribed to come see us. Works fine.


----------



## Isla Verde

lagoloo said:


> Clothing? Mexico has all kinds. Those who can't adapt spend a lot of time and money going shopping NOB, and from the looks of the local expats......it's not making a positive improvement.
> The Mexicans dress better, shopping locally. Just my crusty opinion. YMMV.


In my experience, the selection of women's clothing found in Mexico City in department stores and similar places doesn't fit me very well (I'm short and of average build) and is quite expensive, especially since the quality is not very good as compared to much more reasonably-priced items I find in the States. I'll bet you'll find that a lot of the better-dressed Mexicans you see on the street do at least some of their shopping in the States. I rarely buy clothes here in stores, but occasionally find nice clothes that do fit at my local tianguis, which sells lots of used clothing brought in from the US.


----------



## lagoloo

Availability and fit depend largely on what one is inclined to wear. Several Mexican clothing manufacturers, like Dunes and Maria of Guadalajara, provide beautiful cotton clothing in quiet or bright colors.....usually with a somewhat flexible fit, at what I consider reasonable prices . There are consignment stores around here that have them at bargain prices, too. My closet is happy.

What I see most expat women wearing here are shorts or capri pants with T-shirts. In that case, it hardly matters where it comes from. But that's another topic, si?


----------



## maesonna

Particular spices and herbs that are hard to find here. Books in English. Athletic shoes in a certain brand (because my feet have gotten very hard to please) that is available in Mexico but not nearly with the selection that is available in the home country. Certain sewing accessories that are hard to find here - in general if you have a hobby or do some craft, you may find it hard to get the right supplies, or you may find the supplies more abundant and cheap than at home – it depends what the craft or hobby is.


----------



## Isla Verde

lagoloo said:


> Availability and fit depend largely on what one is inclined to wear. Several Mexican clothing manufacturers, like Dunes and Maria of Guadalajara, provide beautiful cotton clothing in quiet or bright colors.....usually with a somewhat flexible fit, at what I consider reasonable prices . There are consignment stores around here that have them at bargain prices, too. My closet is happy.
> 
> What I see most expat women wearing here are shorts or capri pants with T-shirts. In that case, it hardly matters where it comes from. But that's another topic, si?


I've never seen clothes by Dunes or Maria of Guadalajara in Mexico City. Which stores have you found them in? I like cotton clothes with a flexible fit, which is why most of my wardrobe is from Land's End.

I sometimes wear T-shirts but never with shorts or capri pants. I wear the few pairs of shorts I have here in hot weather in my apartment only. Older Mexican women in Mexico City don't wear shorts or capris on the street, and now neither do I!


----------



## JoanneR2

Isla Verde said:


> In my experience, the selection of women's clothing found in Mexico City in department stores and similar places doesn't fit me very well (I'm short and of average build) and is quite expensive, especially since the quality is not very good as compared to much more reasonably-priced items I find in the States. I'll bet you'll find that a lot of the better-dressed Mexicans you see on the street do at least some of their shopping in the States. I rarely buy clothes here in stores, but occasionally find nice clothes that do fit at my local tianguis, which sells lots of used clothing brought in from the US.


I find trousers difficult here as they tend to be too short but other than that I find many of the shops I use in the UK here too e.g. Zara. However, if there is one thing I really miss and haven't been able to find it is proper back bacon (preferably smoked). The bacon here is streaky and too fatty for me and there are days when all I want is a decent bacon sandwich. Which of course leads onto the bread problem but I have just about got that sorted now... If anyone knows where to get decent bacon in Mexico D.F. I will be eternally grateful....


----------



## makaloco

Dog toys, paperbacks in English, Lindt dark chocolate bars, thrift store clothing (thus proving Lagaloo's point about expat wardrobes, jajaja). I don't have trouble finding clothing I like in Mexico, but almost everything is too small. I'm not obese but large and tallish and prefer loose-fitting tops that are long enough to cover my "senior assets". Shoes other than flipflops are a problem because my feet are long and narrow. Most dog toys I find are expensive and don't last. Chocolate tends to be milk chocolate of the Hershey's and Dove varieties, which I don't like. Probably for the best, but I do get these cravings ...


----------



## lagoloo

In answer to the clothing question, look on the web for 
mariadeguadalajara.com


----------



## Isla Verde

lagoloo said:


> In answer to the clothing question, look on the web for
> mariadeguadalajara.com


Thanks for the link. I just took a quick look, and this line of clothing looks nice for the beach or a resort but not really what I'd wear in Mexico City. Also, I couldn't find prices listed for any of the items on the website.


----------



## citlali

I would not wear them in Guadalajara either so I guess it is back to the drawing board. I end up buying clothes I wear in cities at Liverpool or other expensive place as it is difficult to find a decent quality city clothes at a decent price here.


----------



## lagoloo

To each, her own. I guess I'm just an old unreconstructed hippie at heart. I love flowing skirts, bright colors and since Ajijic isn't the Big City, I am forgiven. (Okay....when I do have to "dress nice", I still have some leftover US outfits.) I spent enough years doing the office wear. It's beyond "casual Friday" every day now. Woo hoo! However, I'll never, ever, get caught on the street in shorts and a sleeveless tee shirt with the other elderexpats.


----------



## MJB5293

WirelessCowboy said:


> LOL! Thanks!
> Really, no pickles in Mexico? No Vlasic?


I have no problem getting any kind of pickles including Vlasic her in Mexico what part do you live in"


----------



## MJB5293

not knowing where you want to locate it is hard to answer that question. I live in queretaro jurqulla mexico and can find anything that I want from the USA.


----------



## Isla Verde

MJB5293 said:


> not knowing where you want to locate it is hard to answer that question. I live in queretaro jurqulla mexico and can find anything that I want from the USA.


Could that be because of the large number of American companies located in that part of Mexico?


----------



## geaaronson

I, too, am having a hard time finding craft ítems. I have been looking for a strong binding adhesive easier to use than kola loca and in a larger amount, and have gone to several hardware stores. Again, they have what I want but only in a tiny tube, insufficient for my needs. I used E-6000 back in the states but it is unavailable here. I am trying to bond vegetative matter, ie. nuts, fronds, etc. to coconut shells and don´t want the chance of separation.

It´s also imposible to find 120 mm film for médium cameras. I did have someone in DF send me an email, but he never followed through to inform me how to order from him or what his mailing arrangements were. What a flake!

I´ve also had a hard time finding portfolio boxes, not cases, for the storage of photographs that are acid free as well as acid free matboard.

And like Isla Verde, I am not particularly pleased with what I have seen here in southern mexico in terms of men´s clothing. Back in DF there was a wide range of men´s shirt brands like Zarga and some Italian clothing, but so far the only mens clothing worth its beans here in my city have been the EUFORIA line. As there are so many students here in this college town, many of the men´s shops have full lines of hip T-shirts with macabre designs but again for this jaded old fart, I am not going to wear a heavy metal chest cover.

I´ve had some good success with the second hand stores. In fact my favorite shirt, which is a reprint of a DUFY painting, was one I got from a thrift shop. One has to go to Cancun or Playa de Carmen to get cool, funky wear. I am not even seeing such in Merida.


----------



## Anonimo

> It´s also imposible to find 120 mm film for médium cameras.


What's this "film" stuff you mention? :confused2::confused2:


----------



## joaquinx

MJB5293 said:


> I have no problem getting any kind of pickles including Vlasic her in Mexico what part do you live in"


I made my own pickles.


----------



## MJB5293

Isla Verde said:


> Could that be because of the large number of American companies located in that part of Mexico?


not really it is a very diverse place of people


----------



## Longford

Isla Verde said:


> Could that be because of the large number of American companies located in that part of Mexico?


Yes, probably so.


----------



## MJB5293

*glue*



geaaronson said:


> I, too, am having a hard time finding craft ítems. I have been looking for a strong binding adhesive easier to use than kola loca and in a larger amount, and have gone to several hardware stores. Again, they have what I want but only in a tiny tube, insufficient for my needs. I used E-6000 back in the states but it is unavailable here. I am trying to bond vegetative matter, ie. nuts, fronds, etc. to coconut shells and don´t want the chance of separation.
> 
> It´s also imposible to find 120 mm film for médium cameras. I did have someone in DF send me an email, but he never followed through to inform me how to order from him or what his mailing arrangements were. What a flake!
> 
> I´ve also had a hard time finding portfolio boxes, not cases, for the storage of photographs that are acid free as well as acid free matboard.
> 
> And like Isla Verde, I am not particularly pleased with what I have seen here in southern mexico in terms of men´s clothing. Back in DF there was a wide range of men´s shirt brands like Zarga and some Italian clothing, but so far the only mens clothing worth its beans here in my city have been the EUFORIA line. As there are so many students here in this college town, many of the men´s shops have full lines of hip T-shirts with macabre designs but again for this jaded old fart, I am not going to wear a heavy metal chest cover.
> 
> I´ve had some good success with the second hand stores. In fact my favorite shirt, which is a reprint of a DUFY painting, was one I got from a thrift shop. One has to go to Cancun or Playa de Carmen to get cool, funky wear. I am not even seeing such in Merida.


E6000 - Otros en Skates y Patines - MercadoLibre MÃ©xico


----------



## TravelLover

I read in an earlier post that REAL maple syrup can be hard to find in Mexico (we're heading to La Paz next month). Please tell me that things have changed???

I was hoping at least Costco and Sam's would sell it.

If not I will be bringing my own stash down ...


----------



## maesonna

Yes and no. Costco usually sells it, but there was recently a period of a year or two when they didn’t carry it. So it’s not 100% guaranteed. I’m speaking of Mexico City here, I don’t know if they have it in other places whenever they have it here. The prices are generally similar to what we pay in Ontario; I don’t know about other places.


----------



## kcowan

Real maple syrup is never available in PV except once in a while in big jugs at Costco, usually too much for us.


----------



## lagoloo

Hard to find: sheets that are reasonably cottony and fit your bed.
Saddest loss: Trader Joe's. Whine.


----------



## TundraGreen

kcowan said:


> Real maple syrup is never available in PV except once in a while in big jugs at Costco, usually too much for us.


Have you tried agave nectar? I like it in most places where I used to use honey or maple syrup.


----------



## maesonna

Agave nectar? Tastes nothing like maple syrup! When we who are from maple country use syrup we want it for the unique taste more than the sweetening power.


----------



## sparks

Coffee grinder that can do herbs, etc ..... and good caguama bottle stoppers


----------



## TravelLover

TundraGreen said:


> Have you tried agave nectar? I like it in most places where I used to use honey or maple syrup.


Thank you for the agave suggestion but I prefer maple syrup!


----------



## TravelLover

maesonna said:


> Agave nectar? Tastes nothing like maple syrup! When we who are from maple country use syrup we want it for the unique taste more than the sweetening power.


Maple syrup is the NECTAR of the GODS!  It makes EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING) taste better!


----------



## TravelLover

kcowan said:


> Real maple syrup is never available in PV except once in a while in big jugs at Costco, usually too much for us.


Is it the 1 liter sized jug? If so that works for us!


----------



## ojosazules11

maesonna said:


> Agave nectar? Tastes nothing like maple syrup! When we who are from maple country use syrup we want it for the unique taste more than the sweetening power.


After several years in Ontario, my Mexican husband makes sure we take our own supply with us to Mexico. And our family and close friends there ask for it, too. Always a maple syrup spot reserved in the suitcase!


----------



## TravelLover

ojosazules11 said:


> After several years in Ontario, my Mexican husband makes sure we take our own supply with us to Mexico. And our family and close friends there ask for it, too. Always a maple syrup spot reserved in the suitcase!


Your husband has good taste!


----------



## TundraGreen

maesonna said:


> Agave nectar? Tastes nothing like maple syrup! When we who are from maple country use syrup we want it for the unique taste more than the sweetening power.


I agree. Agave nectar is nothing like maple syrup. I lived in Vermont for four years. Then I used maple syrup. Now I am in Mexico and I have grown to like the flavor of agave and maguey nectar.


----------



## TravelLover

TundraGreen said:


> I agree. Agave nectar is nothing like maple syrup. I lived in Vermont for four years. Then I used maple syrup. Now I am in Mexico and I have grown to like the flavor of agave and maguey nectar.


How LUCKY you were to have LIVED in maple land!!! 

A few years ago I used raw agave often and I also used raw honey. Agave I just lost interest in for no apparent reason, and once I got pregnant with my daughter, I developed a permanent aversion to honey (still don't know why?).

Since that pregnancy it's been maple syrup ALL THE WAY!


----------



## citlali

Someone gave us a expensive bottle of Maple syrup, we do not eat breakfast or pancakes or waffles so what can be done with it?


----------



## Isla Verde

citlali said:


> Someone gave us a expensive bottle of Maple syrup, we do not eat breakfast or pancakes or waffles so what can be done with it?


You could hold a raffle and give the proceeds to charity!


----------



## joaquinx

TundraGreen said:


> Now I am in Mexico and I have grown to like the flavor of agave and maguey nectar.


For you lovers of agave syrups, this might interest you.6 Healthy Sugars That Can Kill You


----------



## kcowan

TundraGreen said:


> Have you tried agave nectar? I like it in most places where I used to use honey or maple syrup.


Yes I like it very much. But just not on pancakes. Of course I prefer my agave nectar in tequila...


----------



## kcowan

TravelLover said:


> Is it the 1 liter sized jug? If so that works for us!


Well the time we saw it, it was a 2 liter jug But then it is Costco. Any repeats are purely a matter of pricing. Certain items are only there because of clear-outs from their suppliers.


----------



## Isla Verde

joaquinx said:


> For you lovers of agave syrups, this might interest you.6 Healthy Sugars That Can Kill You


Apparently, there are no healthy sugars. That's why I use Svetia or Splenda in my coffee and tea.


----------



## FoxIslander

luvitabroad said:


> I'm making notes now. Especially about the Q-tips. I use them for so much I'd go crazy without those.
> 
> When we moved to Wales I didn't even think about things we wouldn't be able to get there. Thankfully hubby was making very good money and my MIL was kind enough to mail care packages of taco seasoning, crab boil, dill pickles, Lipton's Tea, american style peanut butter and jalapenos. One thing that really surprised me was no pharmacy had ever heard of rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. My husband is diabetic and uses it to cleanse his arm before his shot. Everyone there was horrified that he would do that.
> 
> The things I miss now that I can't get in the US are great British beers and ales. US ones taste like water. The cheeses. I never liked cheese until I went to Europe. Cawl, a soup made from leeks and Welsh Cakes for breakfast.
> 
> In Mexico we'll be on a fixed income so we'll have to watch our spending.
> 
> I am amazed at how many friends I have taken South of the Border and they won't eat when they can't get refried beans and flour tortillas. I have learned to explain ahead of time that those are border and Tex-Mex dishes and not served once you get in to Mexico.


Lots of great craft breweries in the US now...especially in the PNW. Brewing lots of pale ales and IPAs. I understand there are now a few craft brewers in México...Cerveceria Minerva in Guadalajara and D.F...look at their list of brews...impressive...including a tequila pale ale


----------



## Isla Verde

> I am amazed at how many friends I have taken South of the Border and they won't eat when they can't get refried beans and flour tortillas. I have learned to explain ahead of time that those are border and Tex-Mex dishes and not served once you get in to Mexico.


Not sure when this was originally posted by poster luvitabroad, but I wanted to mention that of course you can find flour tortillas and refried beans South of the Border, though as you go further south, corn tortillas become more common.


----------



## Hound Dog

Isla Verde said:


> Not sure when this was originally posted by poster luvitabroad, but I wanted to mention that of course you can find flour tortillas and refried beans South of the Border, though as you go further south, corn tortillas become more common.


I couldn´t find the original post to which Isla was referring but we live in Chiapas within spitting distance of the Guatemala border and either flour or corn tortillas can be found down there in abundance in widespread stores and cafes. Without both beans and refried beans in Chiapas, a staple in extreme southern Mexico, many of the less fortunate economically would have starved years ago. 

We like both corn and wheat tortillas according to what we may be dining upon that day. We can buy either just down the Street. from our home - the bes of both varieties available at the indigenous market and vry few of the vendors there would not know what Tex-Mex is nor for that matter, what Texas is.


----------



## TundraGreen

Isla Verde said:


> Apparently, there are no healthy sugars. That's why I use Svetia (Stevia?) or Splenda in my coffee and tea.


Stevia and Splenda may be less healthy than sugar. We are never going to win. We might as well just eat what we like and take our chances.


----------



## joaquinx

TundraGreen said:


> Stevia and Splenda may be less healthy than sugar. We are never going to win. We might as well just eat what we like and take our chances.


The sugars are bad and so are the breads, but newer research opens up the use of butter, bacon, eggs, and red meat. Enjoy.


----------



## RVGRINGO

How long does it take sugar and bread to kill a person? I have been eating them for 76 years.


----------



## joaquinx

RVGRINGO said:


> How long does it take sugar and bread to kill a person? I have been eating them for 76 years.


It's the abuse of these items that leads to Type II diabetes. Rumor has it that you don't look a day over 80. ¡Suerte!


----------



## chicois8

RVGRINGO said:


> How long does it take sugar and bread to kill a person? I have been eating them for 76 years.



The funny thing is that Agave Nectar is worse that High Fructose Corn Syrup...
HFCS has 55% fructose and Agave Nectar has over 85% fructose, is not natural
and it is processed in the liver which turns into fat right away, heard of fatty 
liver?
Why would you say Stevia is bad for you?, I grow stevia, pick the leaves, dry, powder and use...
Stevia would only be bad if the raw product was manipulated by a chemist and sold in packet.

Back on topic, Fortune Cookies are very hard to find in Mexico......


----------



## sparks

Isla Verde said:


> Apparently, there are no healthy sugars. That's why I use Svetia or Splenda in my coffee and tea.


Chemical replacements for natural sugar is not a healthy thing to do. Arguments on all sides. Careful


----------



## Isla Verde

sparks said:


> Chemical replacements for natural sugar is not a healthy thing to do. Arguments on all sides. Careful


I only drink a cup of coffee in the morning and perhaps a cup of tea in the evening, so my intake of artificial sweeteners is not very high, and they do help me keep my weight stabilized.


----------



## ojosazules11

chicois8 said:


> Back on topic, Fortune Cookies are very hard to find in Mexico......



I have a hunch Fortune Cookies are also hard to find in China .........


----------



## citlali

Stevia comes from a leaf no more chemical than sugar coming from cane or beet.


----------



## Isla Verde

citlali said:


> Stevia comes from a leaf no more chemical than sugar coming from cane or beet.


Thanks for the information, citlali. No doubt that's why the individual packets are decorated with spirals of green leaves.


----------



## chicois8

Isla Verde said:


> Thanks for the information, citlali. No doubt that's why the individual packets are decorated with spirals of green leaves.


Isla, As I said in my post to use stevia you dry the leaves,powder it and use, the stuff in the packet is a man made product usually with maltodextrin and other chemicals in it like every other type of imitation sweetener. I wonder what they use to turn a green leaf into a white powder?


----------



## TravelLover

TundraGreen said:


> Stevia and Splenda may be less healthy than sugar. We are never going to win. We might as well just eat what we like and take our chances.


Stevia is probably safe (it just doesn't taste good to me) but I wouldn't trust Splenda. Maple syrup has been around for a LONG time and I would trust it over Splenda. If I'm not mistaken, artificial sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame were considered safe at one point but now many know better ... 

Maple syrup isn't included on the "6 Healthy Sugars That Can Kill You" list. It has thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc as well as other nutrients. 

All that AND it tastes AMAZING! I use it to sweeten tea, I use it in my green smoothies, in salad dressings, it REALLY enhances the flavor of various recipes.

If only the maple syrup producing parts of the world weren't so COLD in the winter ...

Back on topic, I will look for maple syrup at Costco once we get into Mexico but I will bring a stash with me just to be safe!


----------



## Azuledos

Before we moved down to Mexico, we were successful maintaining _Stevia rebaudiana_ plants at our home in Washington State. They lived in hanging pots on the deck outside after frost, and overwintered in our small greenhouse. The plant is native to Paraguay and can be grown outside all year in Florida and Southern California, so there should be no problem growing it here in Mexico if you can find a source of nursery plants. It is also possible to start from seeds. One can pluck a fresh leaf or two to sweeten teas, harvest & dry the leaves and crush them in a green powder to sweeten other foods, or use a water or alcohol extraction process if you require a stronger product similar to what is available commercially. Several websites describe extraction techniques you can use in your kitchen. Stevia, when grown and processed at home is a completely natural product.


----------



## joaquinx

This is what we really need.


----------



## lagoloo

It is also possible to wean yourself away from sweetness, gradually decreasing the amount used in tea and coffee. Dessert is not necessarily the conclusion of a meal (lol). 
Growing up in my family, a piece of fruit might be offered, but cake only happened on birthdays. Weird, I know, but I didn't acquire much of a "sweet tooth" and partly as a result, this ancient one still has all her teeth as a side benefit.


----------



## makaloco

I drink coffee and tea unsweetened and use my "sugar allowance" for dark chocolate, when can find it. Talk about hard to get!


----------



## lagoloo

makaloco said:


> I drink coffee and tea unsweetened and use my "sugar allowance" for dark chocolate, when can find it. Talk about hard to get!


Surprising: If you're anywhere near a Walmart, they carry dark Lindt chocolate bars in all the various levels of sweetness. They go to 90%.


----------



## joaquinx

makaloco said:


> I drink coffee and tea unsweetened and use my "sugar allowance" for dark chocolate, when can find it. Talk about hard to get!


In lieu of sugar or dark chocolate, a dark rum does nicely.


----------



## makaloco

lagoloo said:


> Surprising: If you're anywhere near a Walmart, they carry dark Lindt chocolate bars in all the various levels of sweetness. They go to 90%.


Thanks, yes, Walmart is all the way across town and beyond, but I go every once in a while to stock up on Lindt 90% bars. That's my idea of real chocolate!

Oh, and Joaquinx ... dark rum, while quite nice, doesn't qualify as chocolate. At least not for the first 5 hits or so.


----------



## citlali

Stevia is being grown in Mexico, my rancher friend in Chiapas knows ranchers who are growing it.


----------



## kcowan

Draft and craft beers are available in at least 2 outlets here in PV. No take-out though.


----------



## Isla Verde

lagoloo said:


> Surprising: If you're anywhere near a Walmart, they carry dark Lindt chocolate bars in all the various levels of sweetness. They go to 90%.


My local Superama also carries Lindt chocolate, not to mention Sanborn's.


----------



## citlali

I am so luck, I do not care for chocolate and do not eat it but darl rum that is another story especiallly some nice rhum agricole!


----------



## kcowan

luvitabroad said:


> ...One thing that really surprised me was no pharmacy had ever heard of rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. My husband is diabetic and uses it to cleanse his arm before his shot.


An expert told me to clean my Shaw Direct remote with that stuff when I took it apart. I used cheap vodka instead but it gummed it up.

I will have to search PV for the real thing!


----------



## RVGRINGO

We find *alcohol puro de cana* in farmacias. It is very common.


----------



## makaloco

I have a bottle of Protec denaturalized ethyl alcohol that I use as antiseptic rubbing alcohol. Made in Juitepec, Morelos by a company called Degasa. Can't recall where I bought it, maybe Chedraui or a pharmacy.


----------



## TundraGreen

makaloco said:


> I have a bottle of Protec denaturalized ethyl alcohol that I use as antiseptic rubbing alcohol. Made in Juitepec, Morelos by a company called Degasa. Can't recall where I bought it, maybe Chedraui or a pharmacy.


I think ethyl alcohol is easy to come by. Does it really belong in a discussion of hard-to-get-things. I have a bottle of alcohol etilico denaturalizado. I bought it at Farmacia Guadalajara. I suspect it is available in pretty much any pharmacy.


----------



## GARYJ65

kcowan said:


> An expert told me to clean my Shaw Direct remote with that stuff when I took it apart. I used cheap vodka instead but it gummed it up. I will have to search PV for the real thing!


Alcohol isopropilico, you find it anywhere
Don't try asking for rubbing alcohol, as the translation may be confusing


----------



## ojosazules11

GARYJ65 said:


> Alcohol isopropilico, you find it anywhere
> Don't try asking for rubbing alcohol, as the translation may be confusing


Although "allcohol para frotar" would be understood, wouldn't it? I never really understood why it is called "rubbing" alcohol until I met my husband and discovered he uses it to rub on his sore muscles. I'd only ever used it for disinfecting skin and getting ink stains out of clothing - a trick I picked up from my mom who was an RN and all her uniforms were white (and she kept them that way). 

I on the other hand am not so good at keeping white clothes white. Something that is available in Mexico but not in Canada is _Blanca Nieves_ laundry detergent. Some friends of ours have a clothing store where they sell handmade clothing, most of it made from pure white cotton (_manta_). They pre-soak the clothes in a big bucket with _Blanca Nieves_, then wash it and hang it in the sun to dry. I think I've never seen such white! I tried this with my whites, and they were much whiter than I can get them in Canada with my "latest technology" detergents and HE machine. 

I believe the original comment about difficulty finding rubbing alcohol was in reference to Wales, not Mexico.


----------



## ojosazules11

TravelLover said:


> Stevia is probably safe (it just doesn't taste good to me) but I wouldn't trust Splenda. Maple syrup has been around for a LONG time and I would trust it over Splenda. If I'm not mistaken, artificial sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame were considered safe at one point but now many know better ...
> 
> Maple syrup isn't included on the "6 Healthy Sugars That Can Kill You" list. It has thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc as well as other nutrients.
> 
> All that AND it tastes AMAZING! I use it to sweeten tea, I use it in my green smoothies, in salad dressings, it REALLY enhances the flavor of various recipes.
> 
> If only the maple syrup producing parts of the world weren't so COLD in the winter ...
> 
> Back on topic, I will look for maple syrup at Costco once we get into Mexico but I will bring a stash with me just to be safe!


I sometimes use maple syrup in my coffee, too. Like you I use it in salad dressings, marinades, sauces and various recipes, including my chili soup. A favourite combination is maple syrup and chipotle. It tastes great, and I always like to find a way to bring together little details from two of the cultures I love.


----------



## Longford

In place of maple syrup, if yoiu find it hard to find and/or expensive ... think about using agave nectar/syrup.


----------



## GARYJ65

ojosazules11 said:


> Although "allcohol para frotar" would be understood, wouldn't it? I never really understood why it is called "rubbing" alcohol until I met my husband and discovered he uses it to rub on his sore muscles. I'd only ever used it for disinfecting skin and getting ink stains out of clothing - a trick I picked up from my mom who was an RN and all her uniforms were white (and she kept them that way).
> 
> I on the other hand am not so good at keeping white clothes white. Something that is available in Mexico but not in Canada is _Blanca Nieves_ laundry detergent. Some friends of ours have a clothing store where they sell handmade clothing, most of it made from pure white cotton (_manta_). They pre-soak the clothes in a big bucket with _Blanca Nieves_, then wash it and hang it in the sun to dry. I think I've never seen such white! I tried this with my whites, and they were much whiter than I can get them in Canada with my "latest technology" detergents and HE machine.
> 
> I believe the original comment about difficulty finding rubbing alcohol was in reference to Wales, not Mexico.


I do not think alcohol para frotar would do the trick, most probably "alcohol para dar friegas" or "alcohol para masaje" would be my second choice, then, you would be offered with alcohol with menthol or something like that.
If you ask for "Alcohol isopropilico " would trigger "cara de what" and then, if you insist on this people to go find it, they will find out that there are 50 bottles available and say "ahhhh that's what it is!" You don't follow this procedure, you will get "no, no tenemos, no lo trabajamos"


----------



## kcowan

TundraGreen said:


> I think ethyl alcohol is easy to come by. Does it really belong in a discussion of hard-to-get-things. I have a bottle of alcohol etilico denaturalizado. I bought it at Farmacia Guadalajara. I suspect it is available in pretty much any pharmacy.


Thanks. I will ask for it by name.


----------



## ojosazules11

GARYJ65 said:


> I do not think alcohol para frotar would do the trick, most probably "alcohol para dar friegas" or "alcohol para masaje" would be my second choice, then, you would be offered with alcohol with menthol or something like that.
> If you ask for "Alcohol isopropilico " would trigger "cara de what" and then, if you insist on this people to go find it, they will find out that there are 50 bottles available and say "ahhhh that's what it is!" You don't follow this procedure, you will get "no, no tenemos, no lo trabajamos"


I love it! New Spanglish phrase: "cara de what?" - I think this is one I will find myself using. Another common one - at least among Spanish speakers in Toronto is "No hay choice." 

"Alcohol para frotar" must be another regional language variation, as it is commonly used in Guatemala, although as you mention it often will be mixed with menthol or camphor for sore muscles. 

On the subject of how to obtain alcohol in Mexico I think we've made an issue where there is none. The person who commented on not being able to find "rubbing" alcohol was referring to Wales, not Mexico. 

My husband assures me if you just go into the pharmacy and ask for alcohol (spelled the same as in English but pronounced "al- co- OLE" -> accent on the last syllable) they will know what you are asking for. Probably better not to go into the isopropilico or etílico, or you might get the "cara de what?"


----------



## makaloco

ojosazules11 said:


> My husband assures me if you just go into the pharmacy and ask for alcohol (spelled the same as in English but pronounced "al- co- OLE" -> accent on the last syllable) they will know what you are asking for. Probably better not to go into the isopropilico or etílico, or you might get the "cara de what?"


I was about to say the same thing, because I'm sure that's exactly what I did. In a pharmacy they're not going to figure you want a drink, right? ;-)


----------



## Isla Verde

ojosazules11 said:


> My husband assures me if you just go into the pharmacy and ask for alcohol (spelled the same as in English but pronounced "al- co- OLE" -> accent on the last syllable) they will know what you are asking for. Probably better not to go into the isopropilico or etílico, or you might get the "cara de what?"


"Alcohol" has only two syllables in Spanish: /al - col/ with the stress on the second one.


----------



## TundraGreen

ojosazules11 said:


> I love it! New Spanglish phrase: "cara de what?" - I think this is one I will find myself using. Another common one - at least among Spanish speakers in Toronto is "No hay choice."
> 
> "Alcohol para frotar" must be another regional language variation, as it is commonly used in Guatemala, although as you mention it often will be mixed with menthol or camphor for sore muscles.
> 
> On the subject of how to obtain alcohol in Mexico I think we've made an issue where there is none. The person who commented on not being able to find "rubbing" alcohol was referring to Wales, not Mexico.
> 
> My husband assures me if you just go into the pharmacy and ask for alcohol (spelled the same as in English but pronounced "al- co- OLE" -> accent on the last syllable) they will know what you are asking for. Probably better not to go into the isopropilico or etílico, or you might get the "cara de what?"


One thing to watch out for is jelled alcohol. The first time I bought alcohol in a pharmacy, the gave me a jelled variety and I didn't notice until I got home.

PS If understand phonetic spelling, alcohol in Spanish is pronounced "al-co-OL". No "E" on the end.


----------



## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> PS If understand phonetic spelling, alcohol in Spanish is pronounced "al-co-OL". No "E" on the end.


No "e" on the end and the two "o"s become just one "o". Check this out:
Alcohol en inglés | Traductor español a inglés | English to Spanish Translation


----------



## TundraGreen

Isla Verde said:


> No "e" on the end and the two "o"s become just one "o". Check this out:
> Alcohol en inglés | Traductor español a inglés | English to Spanish Translation


Is the one "o" versus two "o"s a regional thing. I thought I have been hearing people give it three syllables, not two. Maybe it is just one "o" stretched out somewhat.


----------



## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> Is the one "o" versus two "o"s a regional thing. I thought I have been hearing people give it three syllables, not two. Maybe it is just one "o" stretched out somewhat.


That's it, a slightly stretched-out "o".


----------



## ojosazules11

TundraGreen said:


> One thing to watch out for is jelled alcohol. The first time I bought alcohol in a pharmacy, the gave me a jelled variety and I didn't notice until I got home.
> 
> PS If understand phonetic spelling, alcohol in Spanish is pronounced "al-co-OL". No "E" on the end.


I put the e on the end in the pronunciation spelling for English speakers to understand it is a long "o" sound like in hole, not a short "o" sound like we pronounce the last syllable of alcohol in English. NOT to be confused with "¡Olé! in Spanish - that'll definitely get you a "cara de what?". 

I always perceived the o sound in alcohol when spoken in Spanish to be a bit drawn out - not overtly an extra syllable but just subtly drawn out, almost but not quite a double "o". Actually when first learning Spanish I thought it was spelled "alcoól" based on how it sounded to me when people said the word. But maybe I was hearing it that way because I know how it is spelled. Sometimes brains play tricks.

Another word that had me confounded for a while was oscuridad/obscuridad (darkness). I wasn't sure if I was hearing wrong some of the time, or if some people were using a colloquial pronunciation. Then I discovered they are BOTH correct - and there was light! Thanks, _Real Academia Española_.


----------



## TundraGreen

ojosazules11 said:


> I put the e on the end in the pronunciation spelling for English speakers to understand it is a long "o" sound like in hole, not a short "o" sound like we pronounce the last syllable of alcohol in English. NOT to be confused with "¡Olé! in Spanish - that'll definitely get you a "cara de what?".
> 
> I always perceived the o sound in alcohol when spoken in Spanish to be a bit drawn out - not overtly an extra syllable but just subtly drawn out, almost but not quite a double "o". Actually when first learning Spanish I thought it was spelled "alcoól" based on how it sounded to me when people said the word. But maybe I was hearing it that way because I know how it is spelled. Sometimes brains play tricks.
> 
> Another word that had me confounded for a while was oscuridad/obscuridad (darkness). I wasn't sure if I was hearing wrong some of the time, or if some people were using a colloquial pronunciation. Then I discovered they are BOTH correct - and there was light! Thanks, _Real Academia Española_.


I learned that from beer: cerveza oscura, cerveza obscura, both get you a dark beer although the former seems to be most common.


----------



## MJB5293

where are you planing on moving to that way you may get a better answer


----------



## kcowan

Thanks for the lesson!

al-co-ol ought to do it as long as I make sure it is not a gel!


----------



## kcowan

*Butcher shops?*

I have just discovered another local meat shop and I wondered if anyone had experience with them or can recommend another (other than Sonora) for Puerto Vallarta?
*Butcher shops around Mexico*


----------



## joaquinx

https://translate.google.com/?hl=en#en/es/alcohol

Press on the speaker icon for the pronunciation.


----------



## sweepingman

*bra*



rosfreed said:


> I wish someone could tell me where to buy a size 38DD bra!?


This post just has me biting my tongue.


----------



## Isla Verde

sweepingman said:


> This post just has me biting my tongue.


The post you quoted is from March 2011, over three years ago! Did you do a search for posts dealing with women's underwear?


----------



## sweepingman

*search*



Isla Verde said:


> The post you quoted is from March 2011, over three years ago! Did you do a search for posts dealing with women's underwear?


No, just things that were hard to get. Just made so many jokes run through my mind but I caught myself before I got my wrists slapped


----------



## Isla Verde

sweepingman said:


> No, just things that were hard to get. Just made so many jokes run through my mind but I caught myself before I got my wrists slapped


Good idea. We mods run a pretty tight ship here, though we can be merciful toward newcomers.  Check out Forum Rule # 2: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/general-expat-discussions/2397-forum-rules.html.


----------



## sweepingman

*tongue*



Isla Verde said:


> The post you quoted is from March 2011, over three years ago! Did you do a search for posts dealing with women's underwear?





Isla Verde said:


> Good idea. We mods run a pretty tight ship here, though we can be merciful toward newcomers.  Check out Forum Rule # 2: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/general-expat-discussions/2397-forum-rules.html.


This is kind of a special day then, for once I didn't open my mouth and insert foor


----------

