# Expenses that a single guy can expect in Guadalajara



## ali_umair21 (Oct 9, 2014)

Hi,

I have received a job offer from a company in Guadalajara. I am trying to calculate my total expenses so that I have an idea about my savings. Since I haven't been alone I am not sure about what kind of expenses a single person can expect? Share your experience if you are living alone or if you have good idea about the following:

1. Cost of a furnished single bed apartment (preferably near to Av. del Bosque, Zapopan)
2. Cell phone package with best international calling rates
3. Food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (I know it depends on ones taste but I need a rough figure)
4. Utilities Gas, Electric, water
5. Internet
6. Groceries

and finally what amount (in pesos) I can expect to spend on my monthly expenses. Please try not to make a joke of it as I only have this week to make decision.

Thanks
Ali Umair


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

To get a retirement Visa in Mexico your income has to be about $1500us or $20313.75mx. I think that is pretty close if you are careful with your spending. Hard to itemize all the costs


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## ali_umair21 (Oct 9, 2014)

Are you sure? I think 20,000 pesos are too much..... I know its hard to itemize costs but can you list some major expenses?

Thanks
Ali Umair


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

sparks said:


> To get a retirement Visa in Mexico your income has to be about $1500us or $20313.75mx. I think that is pretty close if you are careful with your spending. Hard to itemize all the costs


I've obviously missed it, but I don't see the OP mention that this person is moving to Mexico as a retired person. Rather, the individual will need reside in Mexico as someone who is employed and under the visa provisions which are applicable. As for the cost of living, there are others here on this forum who understand the costs in GDL better than I do.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

Longford said:


> I've obviously missed it, but I don't see the OP mention that this person is moving to Mexico as a retired person. Rather, the individual will need reside in Mexico as someone who is employed and under the visa provisions which are applicable. As for the cost of living, there are others here on this forum who understand the costs in GDL better than I do.


I agree with you. I do believe you have missed it. Sparks makes no mention of any type of visa requirements, but simply equates the expected living expenses to approximate what Mexico requires for a retirement type of visa or about $1500 USD.

Some notes about expenses.

1. Furnished apartments are more difficult to find and owners will charge a premium for them. This will be your largest expense and I will leave it to locals for estimates.

2. Mexicans use pay as you plans and buy minutes and internet usage as they need them as no credit checks are required. Here are some links to the 2 major carriers, Telcel and Movistar. A VOIP service such as Skype, Viber or Google Voice may offer more economical service than any cell plan would. Most international plans are directed towards the USA and Canada.

Telcel: Planes

Planes - Movistar México

3. Telmex has landline phone phone plus internet for about $400 MXN per month. Downloads speeds are variable depending on your exact location. For higher download speed you should have cable available. Telmex link below.

http://www.telmex.com/web/hogar/conexion-internet

4. Water is economical, about $300 MXN per month for us. Many buy bottled water for drinking. Our costs in Mexico City run about $33 MXN per week for home delivery of a garrafon of 20 liters. Electric service is by CFE and can be quite expensive if your usage goes above certain levels. Careful use of electricity costs us about $300 MXN per month for a family of 3 with very limited TV and internet doing the day and about 50% conversion to LED light bulbs. Gas for cooking, heating water and perhaps some general heating in December and January varies greatly with your usage.

5. Food is also variable. Basic fresh fruits and vegetables are generally quite reasonable. Chicken and beef tend to be more expensive here. Eating out can also be quite reasonable and be very tasty if you patronize local restaurants and "street food". 

6. Transportation??? Not sure of Guadalajara.

For Mexico City $1500 USD per month would be a reasonable monthly budget for living expenses and would allow you a fairly large choice of rentals/locations and a decent living standard. 

A definite advantage of living here is a large and inexpensive public transportation system. Private transportation by car would add quite a bit for fuel, parking, insurance, license fees and environmental requirements/permits.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

michmex said:


> I agree with you. I do believe you have missed it. Sparks makes no mention of any type of visa requirements, but simply equates the expected living expenses to approximate what Mexico requires for a retirement type of visa or about $1500 USD.



Well, if Sparks didn't direct his comments to a retirement visa and the income requirements, then we're reading two different forums. 

Sparks' comment:



> To get a retirement Visa in Mexico your income has to be about $1500us or $20313.75mx.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Longford said:


> Well, if Sparks didn't direct his comments to a retirement visa and the income requirements, then we're reading two different forums.
> 
> Sparks' comment:


He was just using that as one estimate of what it might cost to live.


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## SirRon (Nov 4, 2014)

ali_umair21 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have received a job offer from a company in Guadalajara. I am trying to calculate my total expenses so that I have an idea about my savings. Since I haven't been alone I am not sure about what kind of expenses a single person can expect? Share your experience if you are living alone or if you have good idea about the following:
> 
> ...


you should be able live very well here on less than 1000 dollars a month for everything

drop some amenity's could lower add some could be higher just depends on the lifestyle you want to have while your here

I live in acapulco, i get buy on 800 dollars a month and have a household of 5, but my wife helps out about 200 dollars a month 

as single person you should be able to live like a rock star on 1000 a month, bank what ever is left over 

but then again i bet the job your being offered pays that much here

how much do you have to work with?


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## ali_umair21 (Oct 9, 2014)

Thanks to all of you...

I have to live with almost 18k pesos but I have to save good amount and send it to my family. I have planned that if I can manage my expenses within 600 USD then the job offer is good enough to be accepted. My focus will be on necessities instead of entertainments for a few months or an year. 


Thanks
Ali Umair


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

ali_umair21 said:


> Thanks to all of you...
> 
> I have to live with almost 18k pesos but I have to save good amount and send it to my family. I have planned that if I can manage my expenses within 600 USD then the job offer is good enough to be accepted. My focus will be on necessities instead of entertainments for a few months or an year.
> 
> ...


Living in Guadalajara on $600 usd ($8100 mxn) is certainly possible. It means living without a car, eating nearly all meals at home, and staying out of bars most of the time. I know it can be done because I have done it.

About half of the money will go for rent, unless you are willing to rent a room with shared kitchen and bath. Such rooms can be had for $1500 or $2000 mxn/month. Water, lights and gas will be a hundred or so pesos more each month, although some rooms include utilities. Internet can be up to $500 mxn/mo, but might be cheaper in a shared space. After that it is just food. Food expenses vary so much by individual taste that it is not possible to give advice on what that will cost.


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## ali_umair21 (Oct 9, 2014)

Thanks TundraGreen for sharing your experience.... Well I don't drink and I have planned to eat meals at home. I can have lunch in subsidized canteen. Since my half budget will go in rent I am more concerned about the rent of a small single bed apartment....

Anybody else who agree with TundraGreen?


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## manuel dexterity (Oct 2, 2014)

michmex said:


> 2. Mexicans use pay as you plans and buy minutes and internet usage as they need them as no credit checks are required.
> For Mexico City $1500 USD per month would be a reasonable monthly budget for living expenses and would allow you a fairly large choice of rentals/locations and a decent living standard.


Many Mexicans have a monthly plan. Why do you think they are offered? These types of generalizations about things here are commonly made by foreigners on web boards. Who knows why.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

manuel dexterity said:


> Many Mexicans have a monthly plan. Why do you think they are offered? These types of generalizations about things here are commonly made by foreigners on web boards. Who knows why.


Certainly, there are Mexicans that utilize monthly plans. I just do not know any or interact with any that do do. But, then again I do not know many well to do Mexicans. All of my wife's family, my neighbors, our vendors, our friends all use the pay as you go plans. A Movistar plan that is perhaps a hybrid is especially popular. It allows you to call other Movistar customers without additional charge as long as you pay at least $200 MXN per month for minutes. Telcel's Amigo plans that allows free calls between 3-5 other Amigo customers was also popular.

A paper by José G Vargas-Hernández of the Universidad de Guadalajara, University Center for Economic and Managerial Sciences gives the penetration of Telcel's 2011 prepaid plans at 85% versus postpaid at 15% Telcel's market share at the time was 70%. A more recent number for 2014 uses 86% for the Telcel's prepaid plan. Although the number of postpaid plans is increasing, they are still greatly outnumbered by the popularity of the prepaid plans.

The report can be downloaded here.

Mobile Phone Market in Mexico: Strategies to Undermine the Monopoly by José G. Vargas-Hernández :: SSRN


Generalizations about foreigners making comments on web boards are also commonly made.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

ali_umair21 said:


> Thanks TundraGreen for sharing your experience.... Well I don't drink and I have planned to eat meals at home. I can have lunch in subsidized canteen. Since my half budget will go in rent I am more concerned about the rent of a small single bed apartment....
> 
> Anybody else who agree with TundraGreen?



I do.


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## ali_umair21 (Oct 9, 2014)

I think I can use skype as well for international calls or free skype calls. What about rent of a small single bed separate apartment and transportation? Do they have good bus network?


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## manuel dexterity (Oct 2, 2014)

michmex said:


> Certainly, there are Mexicans that utilize monthly plans. I just do not know any or interact with any that do do. But, then again I do not know many well to do Mexicans. All of my wife's family, my neighbors, our vendors, our friends all use the pay as you go plans.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Funny how perceptions vary. All 5 in my family, all of the extended family and a large majority of our friends have monthly plans. I personally have 2 plans. The Telcel Centro de Atencion a Clientes offices are always packed. 

People that speak in absolutes are usually wrong.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

michmex said:


> Certainly, there are Mexicans that utilize monthly plans. I just do not know any or interact with any that do do. But, then again I do not know many well to do Mexicans. All of my wife's family, my neighbors, our vendors, our friends all use the pay as you go plans. A Movistar plan that is perhaps a hybrid is especially popular. It allows you to call other Movistar customers without additional charge as long as you pay at least $200 MXN per month for minutes. Telcel's Amigo plans that allows free calls between 3-5 other Amigo customers was also popular.
> 
> A paper by José G Vargas-Hernández of the Universidad de Guadalajara, University Center for Economic and Managerial Sciences gives the penetration of Telcel's 2011 prepaid plans at 85% versus postpaid at 15% Telcel's market share at the time was 70%. A more recent number for 2014 uses 86% for the Telcel's prepaid plan. Although the number of postpaid plans is increasing, they are still greatly outnumbered by the popularity of the prepaid plans.
> 
> ...



Mitchmex, thanks of the data. I think that outside the U.S. and maybe Western Europe, most of the rest of the world lives on pay-as-you-go plans, 85% or greater probably. You gave a very low-key, professional answer, unlike the snippy comment you were responding to by someone who apparently knows little of Mexico or how the rest of the world outside the U.S. lives.


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## manuel dexterity (Oct 2, 2014)

Someone who knows little about this country? That's funny.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

ali_umair21 said:


> I think I can use skype as well for international calls or free skype calls. What about rent of a small single bed separate apartment and transportation? Do they have good bus network?


Skype works great. The bus network in Gdl is great. The buses are old, noisy, with lousy suspensions, and half the drivers drive like they are in a race. But they run everywhere and frequently from 5:30 am to 10:00 pm. Cost is $6 pesos for one ride, half that for seniors. No transfers. The only problem with them is if you go out at night and want to get home late. A small one bedroom or studio apartment will cost about $3000 or $4000 mxn/month. Furnished places are available but harder to find.


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