# Cost of Living index



## AlanR (Aug 17, 2010)

Hi,

Is there anywhere one can get a comprehensive cost of living index comparison between Mexico and the US, to get a better idea of cost based on each individual’s lifestyle and spending habits?

Thanks,
AlanR
[email protected]


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## elchante (Dec 22, 2008)

not that i know of. would be, in my opinion, impossible to do because who knows what your lifestyle and spending habits are. i'll just say that some things are cheaper down here and some things are more expensive. 

i'm truly not being rude, alan, but you seem to need a lot of handholding and that's really not the personality or spirit that a person moving to mexico needs. most ex-pats are great at helping out ex-pat wannabes, but i think they also expect some initiative from the wannabe. with the advent of the internet, there is literally a world of information out there. spend a lot more time doing your research thereon and you'll likely not only be more savvy but also more confident. 

just remember that a sense of humor and lots and lots of patience will likely be your greatest assets when relocating to mexico.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Alan, 
Imagine, if you will, someone from the other side of the globe asking you to explain what it would cost to live in the USA. That is exactly what you have asked about Mexico.
To answer, one would have to know your diet, your needs for space, entertainment, travel, utility needs, and a lot more. I suppose you could hire someone to crunch all those numbers and give you and estimate; but I'm sure you would rather do it yourself. The only answer we can give is, 'Probably much less than you now spend in the USA', but that is entirely up to you to determine or control.


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## AlanR (Aug 17, 2010)

elchante said:


> not that i know of. would be, in my opinion, impossible to do because who knows what your lifestyle and spending habits are. i'll just say that some things are cheaper down here and some things are more expensive.
> 
> i'm truly not being rude, alan, but you seem to need a lot of handholding and that's really not the personality or spirit that a person moving to mexico needs. most ex-pats are great at helping out ex-pat wannabes, but i think they also expect some initiative from the wannabe. with the advent of the internet, there is literally a world of information out there. spend a lot more time doing your research thereon and you'll likely not only be more savvy but also more confident.
> 
> just remember that a sense of humor and lots and lots of patience will likely be your greatest assets when relocating to mexico.


elchante,

You seem to confuse a desire to be well-informed with handholding. I am well acquainted with the internet and have used it to research and find a great deal of information. I find forums such as this a place to help me validate, expand upon or dispute such information. 

And by the way... hope I'm not being rude here... you know nothing of my personality and spirit.

AlanR


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

On rollys site My Life in Mexico 
there used to be a page that gave prices 
in Mexico of many foods and household goods,
to compare with items in the US...

In San Francisco, CA my house taxes are $2000.00
a year, in Rincon de Guayabitos, Nayarit my house
taxes are $28.00 USD a year....
A pineapple in SF about $5.00 USD in Rincon 80 cents...

suerte..........






AlanR said:


> Hi,
> 
> Is there anywhere one can get a comprehensive cost of living index comparison between Mexico and the US, to get a better idea of cost based on each individual’s lifestyle and spending habits?
> 
> ...


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## Guest (Sep 5, 2010)

Here you go:

Precios en México / Coste de la vida en México

Cost of Living in Mexico. Prices in Mexico.

or, Mercer offers a complete, current report with comparisons of different cities in Mexico ......for only $2210.

Suerte.


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## elchante (Dec 22, 2008)

alan, i'm sorry if i offended you. and you're right, i don't know anything about you, which is why it seemed impossible to answer your question. 

however, looks like others have found some sites for you to check out. that's great!


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## AlanR (Aug 17, 2010)

GringoCArlos said:


> Here you go:
> 
> Precios en México / Coste de la vida en México
> 
> ...


GringoCArlos,

Thanks... these are excellent sites for the info I am looking for.

AlanR
[email protected]


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## AlanR (Aug 17, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> On rollys site My Life in Mexico
> there used to be a page that gave prices
> in Mexico of many foods and household goods,
> to compare with items in the US...
> ...


chicois8,

Thanks for the information. Some very good information on this site.

AlanR
[email protected]


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## NORM123 (Jul 10, 2009)

BEEF: much more expensive MEDICATIONS: sometimes twice as much! Housing is much cheaper, don't need a car in P.V. (if you live in the zona romantica)


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## YOLO (Jan 11, 2010)

Alan,

Perhaps this will help. I have it set to the Chapala store. Use the tabs at the top to "shop" the different categories. The more you read the various blogs and chatboards the more you will learn. I have found the answers to most of what you are asking by joining the different chatboards and reading the blogs and using their search functions.

But, hope this helps and happy shopping... http://www1.soriana.com/default.asp?p=8948


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## maxxxsta (Jun 16, 2010)

NORM123 said:


> BEEF: much more expensive MEDICATIONS: sometimes twice as much! Housing is much cheaper, don't need a car in P.V. (if you live in the zona romantica)


i thought beef was a lot cheaper here in mexico...hmmm


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

maxxxsta said:


> i thought beef was a lot cheaper here in mexico...hmmm


US manufactured drugs ARE more expensive. Most of the drugs sold in Mexico are either made here in Mexico or in Europe and these are less expensive. If you are attempting to duplicate your prescription from the US at a lower cost, try substituting drugs from Europe.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Puerto Vallarta is very expensive, compared to the rest of Mexico. It is the perfect example of a 'tourist trap' when it comes to restaurant meals, trinkets, etc. That said, one must be sure to compare Mexican products and prices to what you may have paid in the USA. If you wish to purchase items imported from the USA to Mexico, including beef, they will certainly be more expensive.

Another caution: In Mexico, prices include the 16% sales tax (IVA), while in the USA the sales tax is added at the time of purchase. So, one must make that adjustment when comparing prices, as well as accurate conversions of weights and measures.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

Like others have said before in this thread, so much of the answer to the question of cost comparison depends on the person and their lifestyle. 

I lived a frugal lifestyle in the US (that's why I could retire at 50!) and continue to live in a frugal way here in Mexico, perhaps even more so. That said, here in Guanajuato two of us live on a little over half the cost (maybe 60%) of what I lived on living alone in the US outside of Chicago. We are very careful with our money bur we live quite comfortably.

As they say in the car ads, your mileage may vary. Where you live and how you choose to live makes a huge difference and many folks spend almost as much living in Mexico as they did in the states. Heck, you can easily spend more. Others can get by on a shoestring. It depends on how you choose to live, but you can indeed get by on substantially less if you make the effort. Also, the comparison needs to take into account where in the US you are comparing to. My cost of living in Chicago was very different from, for example, my mother's who lives in Ozark, Missouri.


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## AlanR (Aug 17, 2010)

YOLO said:


> Alan,
> 
> Perhaps this will help. I have it set to the Chapala store. Use the tabs at the top to "shop" the different categories. The more you read the various blogs and chatboards the more you will learn. I have found the answers to most of what you are asking by joining the different chatboards and reading the blogs and using their search functions.
> 
> But, hope this helps and happy shopping... http://www1.soriana.com/default.asp?p=8948


Yolo,

Thanks for the link. My Spanish is a bit weak, however. Is there a way to translate this out in English?


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## MexicoKaren (Mar 23, 2009)

Alan, Judy King (from Ajijic) publishes a monthly newsletter called Mexico Insights. Every year, she does a cost of living issue, where she compares several families and exactly what they spend on each budget category for their households. There is a minimal cost to subscribe, which is well worth the cost. You can find her here: Living at Lake Chapala - Mexico Insights, Living at Lake Chapala


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## YOLO (Jan 11, 2010)

Alan, install Google Translate. There is one that will translate webpages as soon as they load (the text, not any images-.jpg, gif etc). Not perfect but it will get you close enough. This page might help Tools - Google Translate


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## epipeinfo (Sep 9, 2010)

Hellooo group members i need your little help i just need a data about Living cost of per person in Mexico.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

epipeinfo said:


> Hellooo group members i need your little help i just need a data about Living cost of per person in Mexico.


Post a list of those items that you want the cost and what part of Mexico that you are looking, and we'll answer.


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## tcreek (Sep 13, 2010)

epipeinfo said:


> Hellooo group members i need your little help i just need a data about Living cost of per person in Mexico.


In general I have discovered the following in Mexico:

Buying home: Higher
Renting home: Lower

Food at a local market: Lower
Food at Super Market: Higher

Purchase Vehicle: Higher
Vehicle Parts: Higher
Repair vehicle: Lower

Electricity: Lower (subsidised by government - up to a certain point of usage)

Clothing: Tends to cost more and lower quality.

Furniture: Higher

Medical care: Lower

Medicine: People say it is cheaper, but I don't believe that. Espcially when 20 aspirins from the government labeled medicines cost about 200 pesos when you can get a bottle with a few hundred pills inside from Walmart in the US for the same price.

Electronics: a lot more due to 50% Asian import tax (they think they are protecting Mexican jobs)


Noise levels: Higher ;-)
(In a large part due to the higher density living; goods and services being blared all day; all night loud parties single every night [does anyone there work?], and in more recent times, Mexicans have discovered the BOOM BOOM BOOM of vehicle stereros)


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

I have to say that my experience has been VERY different from that of tcreeks in many aspects:


> Buying home: Higher
> Renting home: Lower


This apparently depends completely on location, location, location.
For what I got for my tiny 850 sq. foot 2 bedroom house near Chicago when I sold it last year one could buy a veritable mansion here in Guanajuato with 5 bedrooms, gardens, patios and a breathtaking view all in a guarded community.



> Food at a local market: Lower
> Food at Super Market: Higher


I spend far less at the supermarket here than in the US. I guess if you are buying all imported American foods it would be more. I don't know, I buy Mexican brands of almost everything.
I agree that market food is cheaper.


> Purchase Vehicle: Higher
> Vehicle Parts: Higher
> Repair vehicle: Lower


Agreed.


> Electricity: Lower (subsidised by government - up to a certain point of usage)


Agreed.


> Clothing: Tends to cost more and lower quality.


Again, it depends what you shop for. I buy a lot of local hand made clothing that is nicely made and is extremely reasonable.


> Furniture: Higher


Again, if you must have American-style furniture maybe this is true but I am stunned with how inexpensive furniture is here. I just bought a large, gorgeous hand made wooden desk for about $100 US. It would have cost at least ten - twenty times that in the US. All our furniture has been similarly priced. If you shop at Liverpool or some similar place, you'll pay high.


> Medical care: Lower


Agreed.


> Medicine: People say it is cheaper, but I don't believe that. Espcially when 20 aspirins from the government labeled medicines cost about 200 pesos when you can get a bottle with a few hundred pills inside from Walmart in the US for the same price.


I haven't experienced this at all. I bought a 7 dose antibiotic for a couple dollars here. Recently in the states I bought 5 antibiotic pills and they hit me for $150 USD!!
Many things like aspirin, ibuprofen etc. are about the same as the US. I'm not sure where tcreek got nailed for $200 MX for aspirin.


> Electronics: a lot more due to 50% Asian import tax (they think they are protecting Mexican jobs)


I find they are about 20% higher here. There are a lot of great sales and I've bought any electronics that I needed here for prices close to US levels by shopping and waiting for sales. In general you will pay more, though.


> Noise levels: Higher ;-)
> (In a large part due to the higher density living; goods and services being blared all day; all night loud parties single every night [does anyone there work?], and in more recent times, Mexicans have discovered the BOOM BOOM BOOM of vehicle stereros)


I agree completely. I don't love that fact but then, it's just part of the all-around charm of Mexico and I've learned to deal with it. Mexico is a package deal!


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## jengland46 (Aug 21, 2010)

*Thanks*



GringoCArlos said:


> Here you go:
> 
> Precios en México / Coste de la vida en México
> 
> ...


Visited Numbeo.com, the second site above - great site, thanks


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## jengland46 (Aug 21, 2010)

*English*



YOLO said:


> Alan,
> 
> Perhaps this will help. I have it set to the Chapala store. Use the tabs at the top to "shop" the different categories. The more you read the various blogs and chatboards the more you will learn. I have found the answers to most of what you are asking by joining the different chatboards and reading the blogs and using their search functions.
> 
> But, hope this helps and happy shopping... http://www1.soriana.com/default.asp?p=8948


Is there some way to have this page translated. The site is quite interesting, but with my limited Spanish it is quite difficult to navigate.


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## tanderson0o (Aug 30, 2009)

Try installing Google Translate in your browser. This will allow you to easily translate any Spanish web page to English.


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## YOLO (Jan 11, 2010)

JEngland, go back to my posting on Sept 7th. There I gave the link Google Translate for the original poster.


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## Salto_jorge (Mar 28, 2010)

The prices of goods at Costco are not that bad if you are looking for goods similar (not the same) to what you would find in the USA. 

Prices at the local street markets ( Tianguis ) are reasonable for fresh food.


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