Off I go to Mexico, part 1

[edgeee]

a thousand questions, but first things first. living in NC, been all over the US.
single, 60 yr old male, fixed income from SSDI, no spanish, but will learn the basics before i go. the first new spanish i learned, here, is the word for lawyer. it figures.
my timeline is 6 mos to 1 yr - preparing may take a while.
income = $1500/mo, very little savings which is why i need to move to Mx, so frugal is always job one.

what i want:
lots more expats, mild climate, so lake chapala area seems likely best choice.
room - safe storage and closets,edge of, or outside town for cheap housing - $500-700/mo is my limit, so i can save a little each month.
i realize i may have to raise this a bit, but more than $800 would be rough.
P/T housekeeping needed, and from reading in here i know these things can be ticklish. 1-2 days/wk would be plenty.

a car. i don't know if i could live without one. (i'm not able to walk except short distances, and not often.) what are the pros & cons? is keeping GIECO insurance gonna work?

it would be strictly the simplist of plans, a tourist FMM, 180 days at a time.
later i may want more, but that's for another day.

What i plan to take:
all my tools (nothing big) and assorted hardware.
mucho books - i will still have hundreds after i give away most of them.
laptop, printer, assorted electronics (i want a smart phone but don't have one yet.) microwave. and most of the most-often mentioned items in that great thread i just spent 3 hours reading. what's the one thing....?

i plan to take my car pulling a small trailer, 3-4 times over 6-12 mos.
if i can minimize enough it will be less. just the basics first trip, then i'll decide what i need the most before the next trip.

what i know: (not much but i'm reading the forum like mad)

what i NEED to know:
legalities and procedures for beginners. (the INM pdf is not in english)
traps to avoid and tricks and tips to help.

and most of all, is this feasible? are there any glaring flaws or omissions?
i plan to have a good plan before i take the plunge.

thanks in advance, and thanks a bunch for getting me this far.
this forum is tops in my book.

happy trails and safe travels, ed.
p.s.
remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

[Anonimo]

Ed;
Although I'm not personally familiar with the Lake Chapala area, U.S. $500-$700 would get you a very fine rental in the Pátzcuaro area. We pay about half that for a nice 2 bdr house, but it's cheaper than many rentals because we are 20 minutes out of town, in the countryside.

A gentle suggestion: practice thinking in pesos instead of dollars. It will ease your adaptation to life here.

[Grizzy]

I would suggest assessing the cost of things and the need for bringing more of your belongings from up north after your first trip down. Driving with a trailer on the cuota's (toll roads) both ways, plus car permit etc will add up. Start with what you think you need and don't want to give up and assess the situation for a few months. Tools are a good item to bring if they are of good quality as the ones I have bought here haven't been fabulous.
You may be better off selling more stuff and minimizing your trips, or at least minimizing trips pulling the trailer.

Re books, that is a lot of bulk and weight to transport. Have you considered an e-reader? You can easily store a thousand books on a device smaller than one paperback.

The best advice you will get here is to come down, rent for a while and see how you like it and what you really need/want to bring back.

I have an SUV's load of things left with relatives in storage that I couldn't part with a year and a half ago that I can't seem to get back to pick up now LOL. So I guess I really didn't need it that badly nor do I miss any of it

[sparks]

>>>> is keeping GIECO insurance gonna work

US insurance doesn't work in Mexico. You'll need Mexican insurance online or at the border. Might see if GIECO will let you put car "in storage" when you cross the border

[conklinwh]

Edgee, as said on other thread, we are also from NC. We started out on 180 day tourist visas for about 5 years as we spent winters/summers in Mexico & springs/falls in the US. This basically because Raleigh Durham too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter but great spring/fall. We have now moved, built and are using FM3s' but still do an annual friends/family fall tour using NC as base.
We thought about Lakeside but picked San Miguel as initial rental for a few reasons. One was the drive to the border. We wanted easy one day drive as San Miguel is close to Hwy 57 and a straight shot to the border in 8+ hrs. Believe Lakeside 3-4 hours more( Patzcuaro as well). In addition, we liked the sense of town and community. San Miguel is the center and very easy to get around, by taxi/bus if walking a problem. We also liked that San Miguel was some 450 years old with great facilities but a lot of constraints like no paved roads, stoplights, neon signs. We also like that a very long/strong expat community focused on volunteerism and the arts. The 1st major influx was after WW2 when soldiers could use the GI bill to study art and this gave the expat community a great base.
People will say that San Miguel is too expensive and it can be if you want it to be. We have many friends, mostly artists, that would live very well on $1500/month with money left over.
In fact one friend found a 3BR apartment with balcony and covered rooftop for about $200/month.
Let me know if you want to talk driving routes or anything else. I do agree with the post that for the 1st trip, I would bring only what you can fit in car, rent for up to 6 months and then decide further.

[Longford]

Lucky you, a move to Mexico.

The best advice I can offer you at this point is to have a look at and thoroughly Rolly Brook's website which has archived some excellent information regarding both moving to and living in Mexico. I consider it a first step for newbies.

My Life in Mxico Page Directory

[edgeee]

thanks folks, been reading more, so i've already adjusted my aim a bit.
my car will have to become a pickup with a medium camper shell, to simplify and maximize the first trip.
however, i will probably visit for a month first, using the bus, leaving my car at the border, in a safe storage of course - or even bus TO the border as well, need more data to decide. just to learn the area a little i would only require minimum housing for 1 month and should be able to arrange that online, at minimal cost. with my forum friends i can confirm before i commit. i'm so eager to meet some of the LCS.

i see that many nice homes are affordable, but for a 30 day stay, i'd rather just get an efficiency/studio type or small apt. are there many situations like this available, without getting in bad places? or any residential hotels with writers and such?

some people have called me a know-it-all. it's the price i pay for being curious and pushy. but i do know this: know-it-alls really don't you know. we just want to.

back soon for more good advice.

[conklinwh]

If I were to drive NC to the Mexico/Texas border, I'd probably drive all the way in as not much different than the US except don't drive any distance at night. We are 1500mi Raleigh to the border and about 500mi into Mexico so very easy drive. If you did decide to leave car at the border, long term airport parking a reasonable option. We have fiends that use the Harlingen TX airport long term but they do the opposite. They fly Southwest Kansas City to Harlingen and then drive in. I would expect Laredo better for bus connections and expect that there is long term parking there.
Most good inexpensive places tend to rent locally so you may end up coming with a short commit and then look for a place.

[edgeee]

thanks, tho i will not be in NC when i make the move. i will need to spend a few months elsewhere first. not even sure where i'll be then.
i'm sort ahead of myself, since this is all months from now, but i want to start learning the things i need to now.

[mickisue1]

Originally Posted by edgeee

thanks, tho i will not be in NC when i make the move. i will need to spend a few months elsewhere first. not even sure where i'll be then.
i'm sort ahead of myself, since this is all months from now, but i want to start learning the things i need to now.

I'm not as far along in my plans as you, Ed, but one thing I've read repeatedly is that the best way to find affordable housing that you like is to do two things.

One is to get to know the expats in your chosen town; the ones who have been there longer will know what are "real" rents, and what are "gringo" rents.

The other is to spend time in the area of town that you like; many homes for rent are not necessarily advertised.

Doing both should save you a lot each month.