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Mexico Increasing Residency Income Requirements


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2 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

They could sure find cheaper places than this one.  This town is more full of Tapatios than anyone now.  Check out Tango on the weekends i

We are one hour away from a large city so of course Tapatios are here, why shouldn t they be? They owned properties and came here way before you even knew Guadalajara existed and be sure they will continue to be here long after you are gone.

This not an area to come to  if you want cheap.

 

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1 hour ago, bmh said:

We are one hour away from a large city so of course Tapatios are here, why shouldn t they be? They owned properties and came here way before you even knew Guadalajara existed and be sure they will continue to be here long after you are gone.

This not an area to come to  if you want cheap.

 

I don't disagree, just pointing out a simple fact.  Basically, we are now a 'burb of GDL.  We are only 30 minutes away from all those big industrial installations south of the airport.  I am told executives there see this area as an upscale alternative to the N and W of GDL which is a much longer commute for them.

From what some local realtors tell me the Tapatios are active buyers in the local market.  Lakeside isn't about the expats any more, that was my point.

Not sure why you chose to personalize a simple observation.   Not about me or you, just explains one of the reasons this area isn't cheap these days.  A lot of the Tapatio folks are pretty affluent, I have three such families on my block alone, living in some pretty pricey property.

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I feel like some assumptions about costs of living here are based on lack of info on where you used to live.  There is not a place in the US that we would consider living in that is even remotely affordable for us.  The house we sold 10 years ago in a rural area of western Colorado recently sold for more than double what we sold it for.  Add in the need for two cars, property taxes, HOA fees (if applicable,) insurance costs, utilities, entertainment, food, medical care (even if you have parts B&C) and crazy real estate and rental prices and there you go...retire to lakeside.  We could maybe have afforded to live someplace like a small town in west Texas or Louisiana.  But why?

Since 1972 I've been hearing about how much cheaper it is on the other side of the lake...and it is for some things.  Gas is the same, food is the same, clothes are the same, doctor visit the same, car prices the same, insurance the same, etc.  Maybe rentals and home sale prices are lower but that is if you could find some.  Laborers will work cheaper if you can find them.  And then what do you do?  Do you speak fairly fluent Spanish?  Do you like restaurant choices?  Is there any entertainment?  Shopping?  Would you mind driving over here to do all of those things?  It really comes down to supply and demand and demand here is still growing, like MC said, somewhat driven by Tapatios who are priced out of their home city.  Restaurants and housing are more costly there than here if you want to live anyplace nice.  If you work at the airport or anyplace south of there, the commute to lakeside is probably faster than if you lived in most parts of Guadalajara. 

I've lived in Jocotepec, Patzcuaro, San Miguel de Allende, and in Cajamarca and Arequipa Peru.  None are cheaper or better than here.  If you feel like it's costing too much here, maybe consider the places you dine out or shop in or travel to or the house where you live.  There are always corners to round off a little without ruining your life here at lakeside.

Alan

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15 hours ago, Jreboll said:

Mexicans can live much cheaper than you can.

No, Mexicans can live cheaper than most foreigners choose to. 

 

12 hours ago, TelsZ4 said:

This town is becoming full of economic refugees from the US. 

Retired foreigners who can meet the financial requirements for residency status aren't "economic refugees". They are privileged people who can make a choice about where they want to settle.

Actual economic refugees can't afford to buy or rent a nice home, can't afford to go out for dinner, or have maids and gardeners. And they trudge thousands of miles on foot with what they can carry on their backs to hopefully get to somewhere they can find economic opportunity to support their families.

To suggest that retired expats are economic refugees is absurd.

 

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Alan although it is certainly 'different strokes for different folks', I think that your Post is spot on. I live on the Front Range of Colorado which is the most expensive part aside from maybe Aspen etc, and can fortunately afford to do so.  BUT it is surely expensive. And almost everywhere labor rates to do almost anything are north of $125/hr. I just paid $150/hr in Florida....and that was the good customer rate.... for a mechanic to replace my trailer brakes. That's NOT a rocket scientist repair job!!!

I also travel/drive the US a lot so get to see what is available and at what cost in a lot of places. I find NO place that has the amenities that are available Lakeside at anywhere near a comparable cost. And for me the best amenity is the climate. At its worst time.... for me.... Lakeside's climate is better than about 90% of that available NOB. If you took southern California's climate out of the equation it would be 100% better Lakeside.

  So if economics were driving my life and I wanted to live a comfortable, good life from here on out, I'd pick Lakeside hands down.  

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3 hours ago, mudgirl said:

No, Mexicans can live cheaper than most foreigners choose to. 

 

Retired foreigners who can meet the financial requirements for residency status aren't "economic refugees". They are privileged people who can make a choice about where they want to settle.

Actual economic refugees can't afford to buy or rent a nice home, can't afford to go out for dinner, or have maids and gardeners. And they trudge thousands of miles on foot with what they can carry on their backs to hopefully get to somewhere they can find economic opportunity to support their families.

To suggest that retired expats are economic refugees is absurd.

 

Maybe if you actually left the house instead of replying to every single posted on this board you might meet people who will tell you they had to move to Mexico  because they can no longer afford to live in the US. Many of these people are single therefore only receiving one SS payment. One of the reasons Mexico is clamping down on 180 day visas is to stop these economic refugees from the US & Canada living here with little means to support themselves. I’m hearing from people that used to live California who tell me that you can hardly find a place to rent for what they get on SS..

 

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Mexico is professionalizing all of its government functions, slowly. Those paper FMM forms were practically useless except as an excuse to "fine" visitors when they lost them. Now they are using facial recognition at the airports, they have computerized the data from the forms (not at the land border, but elsewhere). They are only offering tourist visas to tourists, which is a change. The wild west days of just crossing the border and staying as long as you like are numbered, as the government is even checking bus stations for overstays.

Why? Because that is what the federal government is for. No government wants foreign visitors who are too poor to live there, or are exploiting  a visa system. The point is not that US expats are wanted or not: regardless of where you are from, every person who resides in a country consumes government resources (traffic, crime, electricity, sewage, etc.) Some of those costs are born by the resident, some by the society. The government is suspicious of digital nomads and others who work on the internet. We can debate about whether the Mexican government should be suspicious about such residents posing as tourists, but there is little doubt they aren't tourists, they are working, and Mexico is not getting to tax their income.

So most governments want residents who bring more into the country than they "cost." The US is notoriously difficult; Canada uses a "point system" I believe to determine whether someone merits admission. Mexico is just joining the club.

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6 hours ago, mudgirl said:

There's plenty of cheap places to live in the US. They just don't want to live there.

But they do not have "secure" homes like walled lots, bars on all windows and doors, Electric and or stockade like fences, cameras etc etc. I can never understand why potential Lakeside buyers when seeing these fortified "desirable" properties do not ask the question..why so much security...and the / your answer Mudgirl is????

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46 minutes ago, lakeside7 said:

why so much security...and the / your answer Mudgirl is????

I'm the wrong person to ask. I live in the countryside and don't have a walled property, electric fences, cameras or security systems. There's not even a lock on my gate.  I do have bars on the windows, but that just enables me to leave the windows open when I go out. I would never want to live somewhere I felt I had to barricade myself in.

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I also do not have electric fences or cameras or security systems. My grilled windows are for the same reason as mudgirl. As a matter of fact, after living in Mexico full time for twenty-five years, I have NEVER had that kind of security. imho, it screams that you have something worth stealing. YMMV.

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23 hours ago, Natasha said:

Assuming (sorry if wrong) you're American. Do you have even the faintest idea how difficult it is for a person  (NOT including illegal immigrants) with education, stability,  some funds, etc. to move to the U.S.?  Check it out. DRACONIAN.

Perhaps times have changed but just a few years in the past the US accepted more legal immigrants than any other country on Earth. Is that not still true?

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6 minutes ago, pappysmarket said:

Perhaps times have changed but just a few years in the past the US accepted more legal immigrants than any other country on Earth. Is that not still true?

It is true and that doesn't even count for the hundreds of thousands from all over the world streaming over the open border since January 2020.  And not a one required to show income or even whether or not they have their jabs.

Mexico has a much saner immigration policy IMO but they too are having serious problems now with people ignoring their laws thanks to said open border policy NOB.

 

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12 hours ago, lakeside7 said:

But they do not have "secure" homes like walled lots, bars on all windows and doors, Electric and or stockade like fences, cameras etc etc. I can never understand why potential Lakeside buyers when seeing these fortified "desirable" properties do not ask the question..why so much security...and the / your answer Mudgirl is????

There are many reasons.  Houses are built closer to streets here. Foot traffic outside is much, much higher. High poverty rate.  Reward/risk ratio is higher. Crimes of opportunity is higher while crimes of violence is lower(those not related to narcos). Plus customs.  Any city, any neighborhood will have similar structures. And that is the way it has always been.

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Southern , France, Spain Italy and north Africa lots of narrow streets, the houses would shade the streets and since people walked a lot and it was good to walk in the shade they would have narrow streets with houses shading each other. The main highway were also bordered with trees for the same reasons. Shade..

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On 1/10/2022 at 8:20 AM, pappysmarket said:

Another big change is the tourist visa, used to give everyone 180 days just for asking. Some YouTube videos are reporting that INM is asking for proof of hotel reservations and then granting the visa for only that number of days. I imagine many folks will then just take a chance and "lose" their visa or just overstay and accept whatever the consequences are if caught.

Ever heard of anyone being "caught" ?   Who cares here ? Who checks ? ( unless you commit a crime that is )  If I were financially "challenged"  I would totally live here without fear of deportation. Even the most modest of incomes will probably benefit Mexico more than it hurts...Its not like jobs are being taken away from locals.

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12 minutes ago, ea93105 said:

Ever heard of anyone being "caught" ?   Who cares here ? Who checks ? ( unless you commit a crime that is )  If I were financially "challenged"  I would totally live here without fear of deportation. Even the most modest of incomes will probably benefit Mexico more than it hurts...Its not like jobs are being taken away from locals.

It would be a pretty restricted life.  You couldn't own a car, have any sort of bank account or do much business in general not cash.  Lately they've been checking for immigration documents on intercity buses.  You couldn't fly anywhere either.

If you are self supporting on funds being brought in from out of the country, it would seem to be a positive for the country.  As these income requirements are well beyond that level, I'm not sure I see the benefit to the country.  But Mexico's approach  is preferable to the wide open situation in the U.S. these days IMO.  That seems to be of greatest benefit to the cartels.

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