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Zeb

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Don't know where you live or what are your food preferences. If you like Mexican food, ask your Mexican neighbors where is the nearest Cenaduria. These are private homes that each day (some only on weekends) have meals ready to serve or go. Found one recently only a block from my house and is like having a Mexican grandmother around the corner with her best family recipes cooking daily on the stove. Prices about half of restaurants. How can you go wrong?  

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36 minutes ago, gringohombre said:

Don't know where you live or what are your food preferences. If you like Mexican food, ask your Mexican neighbors where is the nearest Cenaduria. These are private homes that each day (some only on weekends) have meals ready to serve or go. Found one recently only a block from my house and is like having a Mexican grandmother around the corner with her best family recipes cooking daily on the stove. Prices about half of restaurants. How can you go wrong?  

That's certainly an option.  However, we have found someone to cook for us and we are trying to figure out how to pair her fairly.

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Pay her fairly? Be generous. I have a WONDERFUL Mexican lady who prepares meals for me once a week, then I freeze them. I buy all the ingredients, based on her advice, and I pay her 500 pesos for three hours of meal prep...plus always a generous tip...because we CAN, right? I feel VERY lucky! Suerte!

 

 

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@bmh is not being cheap.  She is accurately pointing out what real wages are here.  

Paying 500p for 3 hours work is 167p per hour.  As loathe as I am to compare Mexican prices to US prices, 167p is $8.60 USD per hour.  The US federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.  

While you *think* you are being generous, you are in fact creating resentment among the locals who know the value of their work and the value of their neighbors' work.  When an expat starts paying 3 times the going rate they are dissing the majority of workers who are being paid a normal wage.  Such "generosity" will also create resentment towards the entire expat community.  

When in Rome (or Chapala), better to live by local rules and mores.  

 

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Too many expats just wont listen, and compare things back to their home country. This is mexico.

Theres a recent thread about cost of living has shot up here recently, its stuff like this thats part of the problem,especially ajijic

Totally excessive tipping, saying how cheap services are, etc etc. All just ruins it for the locals and long term expats.

Unfortunately this area is a bubble to most, and never see the real parts of mexico and will blindly go along living in la la land. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, mexjerry said:

Here we go AGAIN!!

TO FSCKING CHEAP $500 mxn pesos=$25.56US dollars

$60 mxn pesos= 3.06 mxn pesos

For some fscking sake, pay the people a DESCENT WAGE

60 pesos is a decent wage when one is living on the Mexican economy and not the US or Canadian. This kind of thinking has really messed up things for the Mexicans who wish to hire someone to do a job and cannot afford to pay NOB wages. It still is, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", in this case Mexico. This is something Mexicans often complain about when speaking of the Gringos, how they have been forced from their homes when the houses are bought and the rents become NOB rents instead of Mexican.

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47 minutes ago, Bisbee Gal said:

@bmh is not being cheap.  She is accurately pointing out what real wages are here.  

Paying 500p for 3 hours work is 167p per hour.  As loathe as I am to compare Mexican prices to US prices, 167p is $8.60 USD per hour.  The US federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.  

While you *think* you are being generous, you are in fact creating resentment among the locals who know the value of their work and the value of their neighbors' work.  When an expat starts paying 3 times the going rate they are dissing the majority of workers who are being paid a normal wage.  Such "generosity" will also create resentment towards the entire expat community.  

When in Rome (or Chapala), better to live by local rules and mores.  

 

So true. Not every Mexican is employed by expats. . Mexican bosses are not so generous.

 Expats who brag about paying above average prices for goods and services are changing the very thing that brought them here in the first place.....cheap cost of living,

 

 

 

 

 

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55 minutes ago, luvsdawgs said:

60 pesos is a decent wage when one is living on the Mexican economy and not the US or Canadian. This kind of thinking has really messed up things for the Mexicans who wish to hire someone to do a job and cannot afford to pay NOB wages. It still is, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", in this case Mexico. This is something Mexicans often complain about when speaking of the Gringos, how they have been forced from their homes when the houses are bought and the rents become NOB rents instead of Mexican.

Sorry, I strongly disagree.

The number of Mexican workers "spoiled" by working for expats is such a small number I doubt it could be calculated in comparison to Mexican employers and workers in general. Any Mexican desiring to hire a fellow Mexican at the prevailing wage rate will have no problems. If you don't believe me ask one. Mexicans are also rarely forced to sell the family house since property taxes, by the Constitution, are kept low enough for even the lowest paid workers to afford. They do sell income properties they have and sometimes their second homes. Ask your Mexican neighbor if he would sell his modest house for $200,000 USD. When he gets done laughing he will probably explain that even with a pocketful of money he would not be welcomed in an area where he is not "from". Stop the whining about "spoiling things" for others.

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Mexjerry I do not think you have a clue about wages in Mexico.. I know a young woman who works in a store in a small town in Mexico she makes 40 pesos a day and I am being cheap at paying an unskilled woman 60 pesos an hour for cleaning or cooking.. ??? I have been here 19 years .. and  I do not compare prices here with the US.. and I am not even from the US..  We at Lakeside way overpay the help and you want to pay even more.... 500 pesos for 3 hours  so you are going to pay what for the day 1200 1300 pesos?? are you insane? than teacher or engineers? 

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19 hours ago, Zeb said:

That's certainly an option.  However, we have found someone to cook for us and we are trying to figure out how to pair her fairly.

Haha, if she won't ask for a figure she is hoping you will be the one to name it and that it will be higher than from a fellow Mexican. Ask her what she wants and say yes to it. Things don't need to be that complicated.

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Most of the new people I run into, are dumb as a post, over paying for things is only part of it...Very few have taken the time to learn the language, the customs, they walk around in a trance, no eye contact, no hello how are you today, just nothing people...Lived in Latin America for many years, and have never seen anything like it....I live in Chapala, and no so crazy here, although the economic refugees are thick here....I am embarrased for my countryman...Just brain dead ZOMBIES...

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2 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

Haha, if she won't ask for a figure she is hoping you will be the one to name it and that it will be higher than from a fellow Mexican. Ask her what she wants and say yes to it. Things don't need to be that complicated.

An even easier way. Take note of what the long timers  on here are suggesting you pay.

 

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44 minutes ago, barcelonaman said:

An even easier way. Take note of what the long timers  on here are suggesting you pay.

 

Experience counts for something.

BTW, why are all cost converted to $US, other expats live here from other countries, and last I looked I'm living in Mexico.

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Because many wont let go, they want this to be lala land usa, and not a small working village in Mexico .

Always refer to how it is back home, prices, standards, services,  law enforcement, currency, wages, tipping etc.

Its mexico. Forget the states till you go back.this is a totally different culture and country. 

There are many who totally get involved with local charities and integrate into the culture and get to understand it, instead of being rude ungrateful and expect mexico to be like usa.

I know of quite a few folk who have been here 5 years or more who have had to move back to usa, getting too expensive here.

Just more evidence of over paying and thus forcing prices higher and higher for everyone !

 

 

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8 hours ago, dano1948 said:

Most of the new people I run into, are dumb as a post, over paying for things is only part of it...Very few have taken the time to learn the language, the customs, they walk around in a trance, no eye contact, no hello how are you today, just nothing people...Lived in Latin America for many years, and have never seen anything like it....I live in Chapala, and no so crazy hfrindshisere, although the economic refugees are thick here....I am embarrased for my countryman...Just brain dead ZOMBIES...

Avoid them and their clubs and organizations, make more Mexican friendships. I see what looks like new people from the north but rarely ever have contact with them as they seem to huddle together.  If you want to absorb the Mexican culture then you have to immerse yourself into it.

Forget about where you came from and start thinking and acting like a Mexican. Fairly soon "them" will become "us" and what used to be "us" will become "them".

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14 hours ago, barcelonaman said:

Because many wont let go, they want this to be lala land usa, and not a small working village in Mexico .

Always refer to how it is back home, prices, standards, services,  law enforcement, currency, wages, tipping etc.

Its mexico. Forget the states till you go back.this is a totally different culture and country. 

There are many who totally get involved with local charities and integrate into the culture and get to understand it, instead of being rude ungrateful and expect mexico to be like usa.

I know of quite a few folk who have been here 5 years or more who have had to move back to usa, getting too expensive here.

Just more evidence of over paying and thus forcing prices higher and higher for everyone !

 

 

An example of an Economic Terrorist at work.

 

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12 minutes ago, Alpha1 said:

An example of an Economic Terrorist at work.

 

Thing is these people have no idea they are causing it or even exists.

No amount of explaining will change their ways. 

Anyway about the chef, who has probably now retired  on her sudden stroke of luck,and living a great life in the Bahamas. 

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Just my suspicion, no real proof, but...

Are some of the people complaining about ruining things by paying more than the prevailing wage the same ones complaining about "rich people" having too much money and asking the government take some of it away?

So it's OK for the government to "tax" it away but not for some compassionate individual to voluntarily "give" it away. That's my suspicion.

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