Retiring in Mexico: The Good

Selasa, 21 Februari 2012

By Stephen Anderson

There are a lot of bad and ugly things that a person retiring to Mexico needs to be aware of and they have nothing to do with the drug cartels. However, there are also some tremendously good times to be had here. Let me tell you about our last two weeks.

I will begin on a Saturday evening when we went to see No Clue at the Lakeside Little Theater. Now in its 47th year, it is the oldest English speaking theater in this country and the plays are always excellent with good directing and acting. The following day, Sunday, my wife Sarah and I were invited to our friends’ restaurant for their Sunday brunch buffet. Afterwards, we played pinochle with the owners for several hours and had a lot of fun.The week’s activities included spending time with friends; Sarah’s knitting group and a visit to my favorite barber for a US$4 haircut; sightseeing to a new area for us, not too far from Lake Chapala; and some excellent restaurant meals. The foods we enjoyed varied widely, from kielbasa and potato soup to tiramisu to birria (goat or veal meat served in a soup like broth with tortillas). At one restaurant, our friend had an order of pork in a red sauce, her husband had chicken mole, Sarah had a chicken filet with a walnut sauce, and I had a large fish filet. All meals came with a small bowl of the soup of the day (cream of mushroom), 2 cheese quesadillas per person, 2 pieces of baked cheese bread per person, rice, beans, vegetables, and hot tortillas. Also included were two pitchers of fresh pineapple flavored water, coffee, and rice pudding for dessert. Total cost, per meal, $3.85 inclusive. You have to love some of the prices here.Friday was a rough day. After a good breakfast at home, we had to suffer through our semi-weekly massages, which last from a full hour to an hour and fifteen minutes (about $20 each with tip). Then, it was off to join the 10 or 12 people that meet every week for pinochle. Saturday arrived, and we decided to go to Guadalajara, about forty-five minutes away. Sarah I went bowling and then tried out a Mexican owned hamburger joint we heard about. Their huge sirloin burgers are cooked on an outdoor grill over fire and then we could add as much or as little of the 40 toppings that we wanted. Two delicious burgers, a very large order of fries, and a diet Coke came to $8.40. Afterwards, we ended up shopping at the newest Costco. Sunday was a day of mixed emotions. The good was that we picked up our daughter, June, who we have not seen in nearly two years, at the airport. It was great to see her and I loved the fact she had a suitcase full of new clothes for me, having lost 90 pounds in the last year. However, the reason for her visit was not so good. June was in a serious accident a few months ago and has no insurance in the US. So Sarah and I flew her down to have all her tests done here in Mexico. June craved Peking Duck, (the cost here is half of that in Oregon), so our day ended with a superb meal and a long awaited visitation. The following days were spent seeing doctors with June. The first appointment was with our doctor, who was also June’s before she moved back north of the border. After doing a complete examination of her, which lasted over an hour, and ordering a whole series of blood work, he made an appointment for her to have a dorsal and lumbar MRI done in Guadalajara for the same afternoon. Tuesday morning, with her MRI in hand, and the results having already been faxed over, it was back to the doctor’s office to go over the causes of her problems and a more thorough physical. Then we went to the dentist, where June had an examination, x-rays, her teeth cleaned, and a filling replaced that had fallen out.This may not sound exciting until you consider the following factors. Sarah and I got to spend a few days with our daughter. It felt great to finally find out what was causing her ailments and how to correct them. And, here is the real kicker: the costs:Actual Costs                                                   Average Costs in USRound trip plane ticket            $ 368               Plane               n/aMRI                                       $ 638               Average cost of MRI             $ 2000 2 doctor’s visits and exams     $ 30                 2 doctor’s visits and exams     $ 300Several weeks of medication   $ 50                 Medications                           $ 200Dentist                                    $ 50                 Dentist                                   $ 200Physical Therapist                   $ 30                 Physical Therapist                   $ 150Total cost, including plane   $1166             Total cost, without a plane    $2850The figures on our actual costs are accurate. The costs for the US, particularly Oregon, might vary slightly, as all the information was taken from the internet. But any way you cut it, we saved a lot of money over US prices.We got to just stay home the next day. It was the type of day we used to spend together quite often when June lived with us, so we thoroughly enjoyed it. We were sad on Thursday to have to take her back to the airport after seeing the physical therapist.But Friday was one of those days that exemplify what retirement should be like. After a good breakfast, Sarah and I pampered ourselves with what has to be one of the world’s best pedicures, including a partial massage and reflexology, for under $10 each. Afterwards, it was off to our weekly pinochle game. The next day, we went with friends to the fairly new Andares Mall in Guadalajara. It specializes in upscale stores and restaurants, including a PF Chang’s. Thanks to a coupon, four of us had clam chowder soup, a large shrimp cocktail, stuffed shrimp dinners, apple strudels, cappuccinos, and non-alcoholic drinks for a total of $62. Our day ended with a movie at the Imax Theater.There are certain times it is wonderful to be retired and living in Mexico.Stephen Anderson’s new book, Retiring in Mexico: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, provides a comprehensive view of the benefits as well as the challenges that he and others have faced while trying to establish their retirement dreams on Lake Chapala, Mexico. You can contact him at:

Note: Stephen submitted this article to us just after we published my interview with him. However, as anyone who is aware of the goings on in the area will know, there have been some disturbing problems there in the past few weeks. This is not meant to downplay any of that. I am very greatful to Stephen for presenting a balanced picture of what retirement life around Lake Chapala can be like. Muchisimas Gracias, Stephen!

[images via Wikipedia]

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An “Ugly American” In Mexico?

Kamis, 19 Januari 2012

By Stephen Anderson When my new book, Retiring In Mexico: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly came out on Amazon and Kindle a little over a month ago, I received an extremely bad review from one reader that went as far as accusing me of being an “Ugly American” on the verge of being a bigot, and saying that I deserved what happened to me. This was from someone that rented here for two years and then moved back to Colorado. Julie, who rated the book “five stars,” said my wife and I were naïve about Mexican culture and should have done more research. Let’s examine both of these.My wife and I bought a home and remodeled it with a young Mexican builder, purposely choosing a Mexican community and not a gated gringo one. We built a new home with a Mexican builder rather than one of the many gringos that bid on the job. We developed a small subdivision. In all three, we had to work with various very frustrating governmental agencies that kept trying to extort money out of us. The police, the Ministerio Publico, the courts, and crooked lawyers were all things we had to unfortunately deal with. On a more personal level, Sarah and I have been active in our community, helped our Mexican neighbors in various ways, contributed to many Mexican charities, went way beyond normal parameters to help our Mexican employees, and have a Mexican granddaughter who we love very much. Like most ex-pats, we took Spanish after we moved here. Before that, we were still working hard to be able to retire. Are we “Ugly Americans” and bigots? I don’t think so. Julie was correct in that we moved here expecting somewhat of the same morals, ethics, and culture as north of the border. After all, that is what is touted in so many books and publications about all the great things about Mexico, especially the Lake Chapala area. When people visit here, they run into thousands of ex-pats as well as see American real estate franchises such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Re/Max. Most restaurants have English speaking staff and the menus are in both Spanish and English. License plates are from every state in the Union and from every province in Canada. Guadalajara, nearby, is said to be a first world city and has many American chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Chili’s, Applebee’s, Outback’s, and even a PF Changs. One can go shopping at Sears, Radio Shack, Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club and more. Walmart is the largest retailer in the country and we even have one in Ajijic. Were we completely naïve in expecting somewhat of an American culture in this area? You best believe it.I was raised to treat others the same way I would like to be treated and have followed that my entire life, both personally and professionally. What we discovered the hard way, and after the fact, was that there is a totally different philosophy on the way many Mexicans consider foreigners and even each other, no matter how much you do for them or how much respect you give them. Just yesterday, a very good Mexican friend and well respected realtor and builder stopped by to visit. Our conversation centered on this topic and he told me the more he does for those that work for him, the more he is taken completely advantage of. Also, a reader of Expat Daily News Latin America, who experienced some of the same things we have, and even worse, in another Latin American country wrote that she learned the hard way that “no good deed goes unpunished”. It seems this is a cultural trait inherent in Latin American people and that most of us had no way of knowing in advance. Have many of us living in Latin America done as much due diligence as we should have before moving? We thought we did by reading books and various publications on life in Mexico, checked out builders, visited the area, and a myriad of other things. The trouble is that most everyone just writes and talks about the good. I was published on more than one occasion by International Living when I submitted stories on the better things in Mexico. At the time, I really had no idea that their purpose was to sell subscriptions and that they also had a hand in many of the developments they were promoting and getting kickbacks from all the realtors in areas they recommended. My articles on Mexico have also been published by El Ojo Del Lago, a local English speaking publication, which is owned by Coldwell Banker. But neither one would touch a story when it involved anything negative whatsoever. And just this morning, I received my copy of Focus On Mexico, a publication designed to promote Mexico and sell their courses. Of course, there was not one negative article of what is really taking place here at the present time, as you will see below. The bottom line is that no matter how much due diligence is done, one really does not know what living in a foreign country is like until they have actually moved and experienced many different aspects of its culture. Too many of us move without being fully aware of the pitfalls that could be lurking ahead. I would like to offer a preponderance of proof from hundreds of other expatriates that live in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico. Our most popular web forum has thousands of members and I would like to point out just a few of the numerous posts in the last couple of weeks. Ø  The Little Bike Cop – about police seeking bribes.Ø  Building A Home: IMSS [Mexican Social Security Institute] To Workers – about many builders not paying insurance on their workers and how the homeowner is liable with huge penalties and interest.Ø  Making An Offer On A Home – about buying a home, lost deposits, realtors being worthless, people selling that do not own the property, etc.Ø  Increase In Recent Armed RobberiesØ  Scams – Funny how all these take place where there are mostly ex-pats.Ø  Ex-Pat Murdered In Ajijic TuesdayØ  Rental Scam – about properties being rented by people that are not the owners.Ø  IMSS Denying Ex-Pats Chronic Disease Care Ø  Demonstration In Chapala Against Crime Wave And Official Inaction – Around 200 people, mostly ex-pats, demonstrate at city hall against the increase in crimes, violence, and how the authorities have been doing nothing about them.Ø  Peace and Justice Protest MarchAnd, here are just a few comments by others under the above posts:Ø  Threatened by the Transito – these are traffic police.Ø  Ministerio De Publico is ineffectiveØ  We have people poisoning our dogsØ  Our cars get stolen or parts get stolen.Ø  Some merchants have one price for us (ex-pats) and one for MexicansØ  We seem to have huge $$$ signs on our heads. (My personal favorite.)Apparently, our experiences have also happened to many more expatriates to one degree or another, as is very obvious by the above posts. Were we all that naïve? Possibly. Does that make all of us “Ugly Americans” and bigots that shouldn’t have passports and deserve being taken advantage of, as the one reviewer wrote? I don’t think so. Mexico can be a wonderful place to live but people need to not only know about the positives but must be aware of the negatives as well; things not covered in most books on moving to this country. My book tells true stories on the good, the bad, and the ugly. It helps make people aware of the cultural differences and educate them on what to expect before they actually move and gives excellent advice on how to avoid becoming a victim.Stephen Anderson’s new book, Retiring In Mexico: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, provides a comprehensive view of the benefits as well as the challenges that he and others have faced while trying to establish their retirement dream on Lake Chapala, Mexico. You can contact him at:
We would love to have your feedback on this post so leave your comments below.
We are also happy to answer any questions about life in Latin America. Send us an email - julie@expatdailynews.com or jamie@expatdailynews.com
If you like what you see here at Expat Daily News Latin America, we ask that you donate whatever you feel like to help us to continue producing interesting articles for you. Thank you!

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