Minimum amount of money needed?

[sparks]

Originally Posted by synthia

And where is this beach? That sounds pretty good.

The beach is Melaque in the south of Jalisco .... but you won't find these deals on every block. He has a small apartment (1 of 3) above a restaurant. He found it after being here 6 months which is normal for the better deals.


Sorry .. still can't make a link

[Travel Dude]

Originally Posted by synthia

I'm far from being rich, but I'm hoping to be able to travel part of the year, in my typical backpacker style. That's one of the reason a cheap apartment appeals, because I could then, I suppose, just lock it up and go traveling without it being a big drain on my resources.

If you feel $1200 is too much to live in Mexico,why don't you look at their neighbors to the south,Guatemala?I have some close friends that left Mexico
and headed to Guatemala.They have told me too many times that the cost of living in Guatemala is HALF the price of living in Mexico.If any expats live in Guatemala,or anyone know this to be true,please let it be known to us.Thanks.

[teadust]

The size of the system including the panels, the batteries and the inverter thing (my, aren't I technical!) to power an entire house hold including all appliances is usually pretty cost prohibitive for consumers, from what I've researched it's a sizable chunk of change ($20K-$30K or more?) and it pays for itself when you own the house for many, many years...the technology, the efficiency and materials used in photovoltaic stuff keeps changing/improving and the costs of production are coming down, but it's sure slow.

But I did see something I thought would be really useful for a home in Mexico, where so far all I've seen are companies that, for home owners, just install solar heating for swimming pools and hot water heaters: A small solar-powered unit that powers air conditioning, ceiling fans and outdoor lights, and it doesn't require the costly inverter or converter system. Apparently it can also work as a heating system, it's relatively portable (it can be installed in basement, or closet, or outside shed and it was under $7K installed, if my memory serves (and sometimes it does not!). I don't think It would power the "mini splits" used in so many homes in Mexico, but if I could build my own place, I'd go with central A/C if it could be solar powered and not jack up the electric bill. I think that the company is called SolCool. Something I'll research more in the future!

Originally Posted by Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin

I'm just curious. In a sunny climate like Mexico, would an investment in a solar-powered home be better than the electricity charges? 'Scuse me if I sound ignorant. A friend of mine powers his home entirely from solar energy and he lives in Massachuessetts. I wouldn't have the first clue how to do this myself and can't even imagine it powering our computers, but he says it does just that.

[teadust]

Originally Posted by sparks

I was going to go with him but he left while I was Seattle

Hey sparks, are you a fellow Seattleite, or were you just visiting on a break from the costalegre?

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

Hey Teadust, I'm from Seattle. Born and raised in the gray area between Ballard and Greenwood. What part you from?

[synthia]

I'm not considering Guatemala because of the high crime rate. Everyone I met there had been robbed, and some were robbed by the police. That was in 2003, and I understand it has gotten worse the last few years. My desire to be stripped naked and left by the side of the road (as happened a couple of times while I was there, but not to me) is minimal.

I hear lots of different things about crime rates, but tend to judge by what I hear has happened to the people around me. Guatemala did not do well on that score at all.

[sparks]

Well Seattle is where most friends and family are .... lived there a long time. Mostly Ballard/Greenwood

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

Well Sparks, I have to wonder if we've crossed paths then! I actually went to Greenwood Elementary, about a million years ago, and to Ballard High School. Graduated '79 (okay, not quite a million years ago, but close).

Hmm, I'm thinking we should start a thread for just general fun discussion and friendship before I pull this topic too far off course. I'm off to start one. Anyone who enjoys general gabbing, feel free to meet me there.

[teadust]

I'm a native West Seattleite, born and raised here. Lived for some years on Queen Anne, in Wallingford, and downtown near the Pike Place Market, and up in North Bend in the damp foothills of the Cascades.

Still in West Seattle, dodging the rain drops, but inching toward living in Mexico!

Originally Posted by Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin

Well Sparks, I have to wonder if we've crossed paths then! I actually went to Greenwood Elementary, about a million years ago, and to Ballard High School. Graduated '79 (okay, not quite a million years ago, but close).

Hmm, I'm thinking we should start a thread for just general fun discussion and friendship before I pull this topic too far off course. I'm off to start one. Anyone who enjoys general gabbing, feel free to meet me there.