# Moving to Cuernavaca



## roadapple (Mar 31, 2014)

My wife and I are moving to Cuernavaca within the next 18 months. She is a Mexican citizen from Villahermosa, Tabasco. We have a daughter with a weekend home in Cuernavaca as well.

I've received conflicting information about the cost of living there. We are going to buy our house there outright, so there will be no rent and little if any mortgage, so that's not a concern.

We'll have a monthly income (verifiable) of over$2,000 USD monthly, plus my wife owns rental property in Mexico City and Villahermosa (which is not counted in the aforementioned $2,000). Several people have told me that we can live very simply, not eating out, staying home and being frugal, etc... I'm thinking this is not correct.

We'll own our home and the only bills will be property taxes, utilities, insurance, fuel for our vehicles, food and incidentals. Surely these won't be over $2,000 USD a month? Our daughter says that we'll be fine on that amount, as it's alot of money with no mortgage/rent. Others say we'll be near poverty level???

I'm fairly positive the 'average' Mexican doesn't make the equivalent of $500 USD weekly and they don't seem to live in poverty.

Just looking for some feedback from people living in Cuernavaca as to a realistic overview of the cost of living.

When my wife and I have visited there (many time) it seems as if the costs are reasonable (cheap by American standards), and it also seems fairly safe, but I'm sure that's a fluid situation.

Thanks for any info you can provide.


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## mexhapati (Nov 29, 2012)

*my experience*

i guess a lot depends on your expenses/living habits, the size of your home, etc but the fact is that with a little discipline and planning you can live very well on $500 a week...congratulations you will love the climate in cuernavaca


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

$500 US per week is cutting it a bit slim if you like to travel, entertain, drink, smoke, and eat out. IMO

Figure bills for a medium sized house will be about $400 US. [cable internet, gas, electric, predial [taxes], maintenance. trash and wáter, etc. $500 US groceries, minumum for 2 adults, and comsumerables. $400 US for a car, and you are left with only $700 for cell phones, clothes, gifts, liquor, medical, other emergencies, travel , restuarants, bars etc. Trips back to the US? Paying for your INM processing. How?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

AlanMexicali said:


> $500 US per week is cutting it a bit slim if you like to travel, entertain, drink, smoke, and eat out. IMO
> 
> Figure bills for a medium sized house will be about $400 US. [cable internet, gas, electric, predial [taxes], maintenance. trash and wáter, etc. $500 US groceries, minumum for 2 adults, and comsumerables. $400 US for a car, and you are left with only $700 for cell phones, clothes, gifts, liquor, medical, other emergencies, travel , restuarants, bars etc. Trips back to the US? Paying for your INM processing. How?


It all depends on your life style. $500 usd/week is about $28,000 mxn/month. My once-a-week cleaning lady supports herself and her nephew on about 1/7 of that amount. I live on about 1/4 of that amount. I am sure there are many people who spend twice or many times that amount every month. 

Relevant questions are: Will you have a car or two, how much will you drive, will you heat extensively with electric space heaters, will you eat meals in restaurants, daily, often, or rarely, drinking and smoking are expensive, do you buy mostly raw ingredients and cook or do you buy a lot of prepared and processed foods, how much do you spend on clothes, how about electronic toys? It is impossible to tell how much someone else will need. 

Possibly a useful rule of thumb would be the ratio of someone's expenses north-of-the-border to someone's expenses in Mexico. That would still be crude because expenses north-of-the-border can vary hugely depending on whether you live in San Francisco or in Moose Jaw, Wyoming. I have never done the exact comparison, but I would guess that I live in Mexico for about half of what I spent in the US. 

That estimate is consistent with a web site that compares cost of living, Cost of Living


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

A couple of years ago the income required for a retirement visa in Mexico was about $1300us. It is now around $19-2000 for a single person. You'l be fine if her rentals are bringing in some pesos.

Being a home owner and car owner will cost you more than you expect


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

sparks said:


> A couple of years ago the income required for a retirement visa in Mexico was about $1300us. It is now around $19-2000 for a single person. You'l be fine if her rentals are bringing in some pesos.
> 
> Being a home owner and car owner will cost you more than you expect


I agree about home ownership costing something. It is probably cheaper than renting but maintenance costs can be significant. About once a year I have some maintenance bill that is equivalent to maybe half a year of rent.

Also, I should have noted in my estimate of what I spend to live on in my last post that it did not include travel, nor some continuing expenses that I have in the US. $7,000 or $8,000 mxn is just what I spend monthly in Mexico, monthly expenses plus occasional maintenance. Property taxes are so low in Mexico that they are not an issue, unlike many places north-of-the-border.


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## roadapple (Mar 31, 2014)

Well, we have some things going for us then.

We have (and will have when we move) 2 new vehicles. We don't drink or smoke. We mostly will cook ourselves w/ raw materials (meat, veggies, fruits, etc.). I also am a professional musician and hopefully can pick up a band and do a little work a night or two a week playing American rock/blues, latin rock, just as I do here in the US. Plus we'll have income (about $700 USD per month) from our rental properties still in addition to our $2K+ we'll be bringing in. And we're not big spenders. All our clothes we'll bring from the US or purchase when visiting there. Same w/ electronics and white goods.

I guess we'll have to move there ourselves and be the judge as some seem to think we'll be destitute almost and others say we'll be alright.

Thanks for the input and looking forward to moving.

Are there many musical opportunities for non-Mexican music (i.e. US/British classic rock. blues, SRV, Santana, etc.) in the area? I remember seeing a Beatles tribute in Mexico City my last trip.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

roadapple said:


> ...We'll have a monthly income (verifiable) of over$2,000 USD monthly, plus my wife owns rental property in Mexico City and Villahermosa (which is not counted in the aforementioned $2,000). Several people have told me that we can live very simply, not eating out, staying home and being frugal, etc... I'm thinking this is not correct.
> 
> We'll own our home and the only bills will be property taxes, utilities, insurance, fuel for our vehicles, food and incidentals. Surely these won't be over $2,000 USD a month....


Is that "$2,000USD" gross or net after U.S. and/or Mexican taxes if you are subject to those assessments? If that is your disposable income, I´d say go for it - especially if you are truly frugal, do not smoke or drink or eat out with any regularity. 

We do not live in Cuernavaca but in Ajijic, Jalisco and San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas but we have no problem maintaining either or, even both homes on a limited Budget even with the recurring costs of property maintenance personnel so let´s look at this as if we were in financial straights and, thus had to dispose of one place and only owned the home in San Cristóbal since the Ajijic home is relatively more expensive thant he Chiapas home to maintain for a number of reasons. The expenses I am going to cite you are not our expenses because that is nobody´s business but let´s talk expectations assuming a nice home owned outright with no debt in San Cristóbal probably ´resellable at around $2,000,000MXN:

EVERYTHING IS QUOTED IN DOLLARS BUT, AS YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU LIVE ON IN 
CHIAPAS IS PESOS SO PESO COSTS ARE THE MOST RATIONAL APPROACH IN THE LONG RUN:

*MONTHLY PROPERTY TAXES DUE ANNULLY (UNLESS YOU GET THE SENIOR CITIZEN´S DISCOUNT):
$4USD

* MONTHLY FOOD COSTS IF YOU SHOP AT THE HUGE INDIGENOUS MARKET INDULGING PRIMARILY IN LOCALLY GROWN FRESH VEGETABLES FROM NEARBY MOUNTAINSIDE MILPAS WITH THE OCCASIONAL INDULGENCES IN SOME MEAT.POULTRY OR FISH ALSO AVAILABLE THERE:
THAT´S UP TO YOU BUT INCREDIBLY CHEAP. YOU COULD LIVE WELL SHOPPING THERE AND COOKING AT HOME ON VIRTUALLY NO MONEY AND MERCHANTS THERE ARE NOT PRONE TO CHEAT FOREIGNERS. EQUITABLE PRICES ARE GENERALLY APPLIED TO ALL. 

* _*FRUGALLY*_ UTILIZED PUBLIC UTILITIES ARE OF NO CONSEQUENCE IN TERMS OF COST. WELL UNDER $50USD A MONTH.

* TAXIS ARE CHEAP AND FARES ARE STRICTLY REGULATED BY THE CITY ALL OVER TOWN (CURRENTLY AT ABOUT A LITTLE OVER $2.00USD ANYWHERE IN TOWN. COLLECTIVOS ARE WIDELY USED AND REALLY CHEAP WHETHER IN TOWN OR FOR LONG JOURNEYS INTO THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS AND COMMUNITIES.

* AS FOR MEDICAL CARE COSTS, MEXICO OFFERS CHEAP TO FREE TO INEXPENSIVE MEDICAL CARE AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS WHICH YOU SIMPLY NEED TO LOOK INTO IF YOU ARE MOVING HERE. 

That´s the short list- If you can´t live on a gross of $2,000USD a month in most of Mexico and still be saving, a bit for rainy days you probably can´t live anywhere. Now Cuernavaca may present some other challenges as does Ajijic but I doubt those challenges will prove difficult to overcome. 

Good luck to you but watch out for those "two new vehicles" you plan to bring down here from Utah. Study the law regarding temporary vehicle importation into Mexico and know what you are doing before you try that. Also be aware of Mexican minimun requirements to make sure you qualify for residency visas.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

roadapple said:


> Are there many musical opportunities for non-Mexican music (i.e. US/British classic rock. blues, SRV, Santana, etc.) in the area? I remember seeing a Beatles tribute in Mexico City my last trip.


I hung out with guys in a band when I was there. Lots of music places and rock was popular but never saw any in English. It is a college town and weekend party town from Mexico City. Very large Rave Bars were popular a few years ago

You do need a working visa to earn money playing


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## mstonge00 (May 21, 2014)

I am myself just arriving to Cuernavaca with my permanent resident visa. Will let you know in a few months how I survive on my own $2000 a month income, but to be frank I am not worried.


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## billgreenthal (Jun 9, 2015)

mstonge00 said:


> I am myself just arriving to Cuernavaca with my permanent resident visa. Will let you know in a few months how I survive on my own $2000 a month income, but to be frank I am not worried.


Do you live still in Cuernavaca? Can you provide feedback about it?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

billgreenthal said:


> Do you live still in Cuernavaca? Can you provide feedback about it?


Mstong00 hasn't posted here in almost a year, so I doubt he'll be responding to your question. Hopefully, there are other forum members who can help.


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## billgreenthal (Jun 9, 2015)

Isla Verde said:


> Mstong00 hasn't posted here in almost a year, so I doubt he'll be responding to your question. Hopefully, there are other forum members who can help.


Thank you, Marsha. I also hope to hear from forum members who live in Cuernavaca who can give good tips and advice about moving and living there!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

billgreenthal said:


> Thank you, Marsha. I also hope to hear from forum members who live in Cuernavaca who can give good tips and advice about moving and living there!


You're welcome, bill. I also hope we get some current information about living in Cuernavaca, a lovely city where I once spent an amazing summer when I was much younger than I am now.


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