cbviajero Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Yes it does,we own our house and the three of us and get by comfortably on 1500 usd a month. Just my two cents but I don't know how anyone can live here on 1500. dollars a month. Maybe my idea of living is different than others. For instance I enjoy eating. We enjoy eating as well,we also enjoy cooking,different strokes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Last I checked, nobody is forced to part with their money, whatever currency they happen to like. If you don't like the price, don't buy (or rent), pretty simple, eh? Nor is anyone forced to leave their native country when the currency is being beaten up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Saltos Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 What goes around comes around. It wasn't many years ago that the $CDN was worth substantially more than the $USD. Remember, in the world of finance nothing goes in one direction forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Gogirl, let me assure you that you are absolutely correct. Your idea of living must be very different than many others who are living (and eating) here very comfortably on $1500 US ( and less) per month. You must live a privileged life to consider that amount starvation income for one person in Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 gogirl enjoys eating..so I guess she goes to restaurants a lot because you can eat very well at home for little money and for a lot better food than what you can get at restaurants if you have a little imagination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 you can eat very well at home for little money and for a lot better food than what you can get at restaurants if you have a little imagination. A little imagination and a comal you had shipped to you via Amazon.com... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuzieQ1954 Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 So I'm curious, as I, too, am planning a move to your area. Why do I need a comal from US to cook? I lived on the economy in Libya a long time ago and found it easy to cook as I did in Iran in the 70's. Am I missing something when I view kitchens in the area? They all seem to come with a frig, range, oven and sometimes even a microwave. What else do I need? What do I need to plan to have shipped from Amazon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Live on $1500 or less? Where is a person coming from if they are thinking like that? Need Comal? nope. Just snitch a street sign if you feel the need after you arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 So I'm curious, as I, too, am planning a move to your area. Why do I need a comal from US to cook? I I was just kidding,there are plenty of places to buy comales here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhite1948 Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 With the right lifestyle living on 1500 doesn't seem unreachable to me. My wife and I were in Ajijic for 28 days earlier this year and spent a little less. We were saving up for the next month in Puerto Vallarta so we took things easy, but went with the LCS to the Guadalajara zoo, went to a murder mystery at La Mision, saw a movie at the theater, purchased 2 monthly gym memberships, went out to eat or got take out at least 11 times, and generally enjoyed ourselves. Here's what we spent: Rent (all inclusive): 739 Restaurants: 214.60 Groceries: 210.05 Travel: 67.09 Drinks: 28.64 Tourism: 39.39 Entertainment: 61.21 Misc: 53.05 Total: 1413.03 That's very low rent if it includes all utilities....TV, internet, electricity, landline or cell phone, gas for cooking??? These make up a large part of my budget. No entry for health insurance either on your list. If you self-pay surely you've seen a doctor or dentist or had a medical test or purchased medications (if you're avg. age of most expats). Even if you haven't yet, you need to budget for it as sooner or later you'll get sick...guaranteed! Health insurance is a major expense as I've aged but glad I've had it as I've had some big claims. No entry for car/car insurance, which the majority of expats here own. While you may not have a car, most will. And what about immigration costs for visas (these have gone up quite a bit). I've gone Permanente now, but many haven't and pay/renew annually. I own my home and my expenses run about 3K a month (a widower now). And I don't live the high life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhite1948 Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Live on $1500 or less? Where is a person coming from if they are thinking like that? Will $1500 a month income even qualify a person for a visa other than tourist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Will $1500 a month income even qualify a person for a visa other than tourist? Depends on other factors, like savings accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonia Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Though in SMA these are costs we experience: http://www.soniadiaz.mx/cost-of-living.html saludos Sonia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZee Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 What goes around comes around. It wasn't many years ago that the $CDN was worth substantially more than the $USD. Remember, in the world of finance nothing goes in one direction forever. The point is we are in Mexico , not the US and not Canada. The Mexican currency should be the posted currency and the benchmark for annual living costs. Housing can be as much as 30-35% of annual living expense whether you are renting or considering the value of the cost of your real estate investment. That cost should not be at the mercy of a foreign country currency. Yes the dollar will affect some costs in the supply chain but reality is a large # of folks come to Mexico for the quality of life plus having a reasonable living cost. I for one don't like having a non local currency add thousands to my annual cost. We spend most of our time in Manzanillo and are fortunate that the tourist base is Mexican and prices are set to the market realities of those tourists. We have noticed an extreme difference to PV pricing where NOB tourists set the standard. As a home owner in Manzanillo our gas, electricity, food and labour costs are quite similar to what we researched in our stays in Ajijic. Some of the difference are in municipal taxes where we are 6-8 times higher . IE a $200,000 property that changed hands within the last 5 years ( depending on title price ) will be in the $11,000 peso range. Hotels are priced in pesos as a base price. Insurance was / is hard to compare. We pay the same for gasoline generally. Our annual costs not including travel but that do include condo fees, are about $380,000 pesos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Ronnfeldt Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Why in the world are we arguing about this? The OP asked about people's monthly or yearly budgets, and has gotten some answers. As stated in the OP, everyone's lifestyle/tastes are different. Some rents and house purchase prices are in pesos, some are in US dollars. So what? If you really want one in pesos, shop till you find the right one. Want USD? Shop till you find one. Do I live on $1500 USD per month? No. Do I criticize and doubt someone who says they do? No again. Some eat in restaurants a lot, some don't. Some drive, some don't. Some travel, some don't. Some have pets, some don't. What's the big deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 If your currency will not stretch far enough for you simply do not buy or rent anything in USD. I'm sure all of your fellow Canadians price everything in CDN so do business with them. There are a few things that I would like that I cannot afford but I don't run around crying about it. Until the law in Mexico is changed, any currency is legal to trade in if buyer and seller agree. The law does give the buyer the right to always pay in MXP at that day's official exchange rate. As stated above, shop til you drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Suzie Q , Microwaves are very comon here in Mexican houses even poor Mexican housesd have them and so are refris.. Ovens are rarely used and are mostly for storage. In remote areas they are backed up by fogons as the gaz companies are not that reliable. They also have semi automatic washing machines where the spinning is done by a diffrent machine that is refer to as the secadora. Times are changing. Comales are a dime a dozen here and I sure would not buy one from Amazon but I do use mine quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 My experience is that those landlords asking for rents in $U.S., renting to an American or Canadian tenant, think that they do not have to pay income or sales tax in Mexico. They are wrong, but the Mexican government does not seem to have the time or money to chase down foreign morosos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Saltos Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Some do and some don't. Many owners use a rental agency who takes care of that for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 My experience is that those landlords asking for rents in $U.S., renting to an American or Canadian tenant, think that they do not have to pay income or sales tax in Mexico. They are wrong, but the Mexican government does not seem to have the time or money to chase down foreign morosos. Not quite, they know they are supposed to but think they can get away with it. You can count on the UN agencies to be bringing that to the authorities much as smoking laws, noise laws, etc. The UN is driving this in many other countries also. So far it would be hard to condemn any of the efforts here in Mexico but you know what they say about the camel's head and the tent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Ovens are rarely used and are mostly for storage.Haha!You're right about that,pots and pans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Life style radically affects amount needed. If you're not a smoker or drinker and like to cook all that fabulous produce, ..seafood, chicken etc.... you'll be walkin' in "high cotton"... and if you don't really need a maid or gardener.... I know a lot of folks have gotten so used to having their house and yard taken care of by someone else....it doesn't even seem to be a luxury anymore. Years ago I brought some plants to a friend Lakeside. She put them in the shade... put some water on them and told me the gardener would put them in the next time he came........ Of course if you're not physically able to do those chores yourself... it's no longer a luxury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Camel and tents huh - I had to look that one up. My camel tent memory is in reference to a off color joke. It begins with a new recruit to the Foreign Legion, and the CO tells him "if you ever get lonely, remember there is always Sheba the camel", he nods to a rickety old creature. It all ends badly with the CO yelling at the recruit "You :(), the camel is to ride into town to the brothel!". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joco Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 A little imagination and a comal you had shipped to you via Amazon.com... Not all of us can get out to shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Life style radically affects amount needed. If you're not a smoker or drinker and like to cook all that fabulous produce, ..seafood, chicken etc.... you'll be walkin' in "high cotton"... and if you don't really need a maid or gardener.... I know a lot of folks have gotten so used to having their house and yard taken care of by someone else....it doesn't even seem to be a luxury anymore. Years ago I brought some plants to a friend Lakeside. She put them in the shade... put some water on them and told me the gardener would put them in the next time he came........ Of course if you're not physically able to do those chores yourself... it's no longer a luxury I used to all my own housework and my spouse did all the gardening. Then, one thing after another has been falling apart, and those tile floors became more than a chore; ouch. Spring Clean every other week to the rescue: at this point, anything but a luxury. Probably true of most of the rest of us at a certain point in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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