PING: Bryan - US retiree in Mexico: ‘Here’s what you can buy here for $5 or less’

[GM]

What five bucks will get you in Mexico:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/05/66-year-old-retiree-who-left-the-us-for-mexico-what-you-can-buy-for-5-dollars-or-less.html

66-year-old retiree who left the U.S. for Mexico: ‘Here’s what you can buy here for $5 or less’

Published Sat, Feb 5 2022

Even though I’ve lived in Mazatlán, Mexico for 15 years, I still find myself surprised at how much — or, really, how little — things cost. Once you get away from the resorts and tourist areas, prices plummet.

As a single, 66-year-old retiree living largely off Social Security checks, I have to watch what I spend. But in Mexico, I pay just $420 per month for an apartment half a block from the beach. And aside from the basic necessities, I spend an average of $160 a month on things like eating out, entertainment, and the occasional whimsical purchase...

1. The basics
One reason I enjoy living in Mazatlán is how affordable my monthly living expenses are. I pay $5 or less for these basics:

My monthly water bill for my two-bedroom apartment
My monthly electricity bill (when I’m not using air conditioning)
A premium hand car wash
Two hours of gardening
One hour of house-cleaning service
Decent-sized, decorative palm tree for my apartment

2. Groceries
In Mexico, fresh produce, dairy products and meats are accessible on a budget. Buying seasonal helps keep prices even lower. Right now, $5 buys you half a dozen pineapples. In the summer, it gets you 16 pounds of mangos!

When it comes to groceries, with $5, I can regularly buy:

40 eggs
10 pounds of sugar
5 pounds of fresh ginger
5 pounds of turmeric root
Eight heads of lettuce
12 pounds of carrots
10 pounds of tomatoes
3 pounds of avocados
10 fresh oysters
A pound of fresh-caught swordfish or dorado
A whole roasted chicken with potatoes, tortillas and salsa
1 pound of 3-inch wild-caught shrimp
4 quarts of organic milk from a local dairy
A half-pound of locally roasted, organic coffee beans

3. Drinks and beverages
They say beer is cheaper than water in Mazatlán, and sometimes that really is true! Small cafés on the beach will serve cheaper drinks than fancier restaurants, but compared to the U.S., alcohol prices are inexpensive everywhere.

Here’s what you can get for $5:

A 10-pack of Pacifico or Tecate beer
Two 3-liter bottles of Coke
15 gallons of purified water
Two 3-liter bottles of Coke
Two liters of freshly-squeezed orange juice
A cocktail made with name-brand alcohol
Four big bottles of Topo Chico mineral water
Two cappuccinos or lattes
A 16-ounce draft of artisan beer, plus another 5-ounce pour
Three fresh coconuts
4. Full meals


Going out to dinner in Mazatlán doesn’t have to break your budget. There are many affordable cafés and taco stands where meals hover around $5.

At some more “formal” restaurants, certain entrées can be within this budget, too.
Here are some of the things I’ve had for $5 or less:

Three to 10 street tacos
Three restaurant tacos
An order of Huevos Rancheros with coffee and juice
A BLT
A burger with fries
Eight boneless chicken wings and beer on tap
A dozen chicken wings
Seafood or tortilla soup
A four-topping medium pizza at Dominos
Almost a pound of grilled pork ribs
Four large croissants
5. Fun activities
Mazatlán is known for banda, a traditional Sinaloa music style that sounds like horn-heavy German polka. You can enjoy a private concert from a strolling band on the beach for $5.

But that’s not all you can do with a $5 budget. That’s enough for:

A bicycle rental for a little more than an hour
A salsa class
A yoga class
A Zumba class
A reserved seat at a movie theatre
A dozen red roses, for a great date
Three round-trip boat rides to Stone Island — a small, beach island to the south of Mazatlán
6. Health products
You’ve heard that medicines, doctor visits and prescriptions are significantly cheaper in Mexico. But what will $5 really get you? These necessities:

Two consultations with a licensed doctor
A 236-milliliter bottle of Pepto-Bismol
30 600-milligram ibuprofen tablets
30 550-milligram Ciprofloxacin antibiotic tablets
Four Oral-B toothbrushes
Three tubes of Crest or Colgate toothpaste
Pet not feeling well? A basic vet visit or a shot of antibiotics is also just $5.

7. Transportation
While gas is pricey ($5 gets you just more than a gallon), public transportation in Mexico is incredibly affordable. Here’s what you can get for $5:

16 rides on Mexico City’s very efficient Metro subway system
An Uber, Lyft or Didi ride
Nine rides on Mazatlán’s “green bus,” which goes along the coast...

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Prices like these make my life in Mexico pretty close to stress-free. With everyday costs so low, I’m able to do more of the things that make me happy. I can live the life I love — and love the life I live.

[Bryan Simmons]

On Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 4:50:52 PM UTC-6, GM wrote:

>
> When it comes to groceries, with $5, I can regularly buy:
>
> 40 eggs
>

That's about what eggs cost here.

>
> They say beer is cheaper than water in Mazatlán, and sometimes
> that really is true! Small cafés on the beach will serve cheaper
> drinks than fancier restaurants, but compared to the U.S., alcohol
> prices are inexpensive everywhere.
>

I bet that *good* beer isn't that much cheaper. A case of Negra
Modelo is about $18.75 USD at the Sam's Club in Guadalajara,
which is about 40% cheaper than it is here. They do have micro-
breweries, but I couldn't find prices.

>
> Here’s what you can get for $5:
>
> A 10-pack of Pacifico or Tecate beer
>

Those are TERRIBLE beers. Near the beginning of the pandemic,
I joked with people that as bad as the Corona virus was, it could
be worse. It could be a Tecate virus.

We're not planning on living there other than for about 3 months
of the year, mid-Dec thru mid-March, but I can't think of any
reason why retired folks who can afford to would not go there
or somewhere else cheap and not cold rather than stay in this
shit. Put Querétaro or Guadalajara into Airbnb. Round trip air
fare from CHI to Guadalajara on United or American is less
than $320.

And look at this. A MONTH in Cancun, $900.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/15522299@N08/51863408692/in/dateposted-public/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canc%C3%BAn#Climate

--Bryan

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 2/5/2022 5:50 PM, GM wrote:
>
> What five bucks will get you in Mexico:
>
> https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/05/66-year-old-retiree-who-left-the-us-for-mexico-what-you-can-buy-for-5-dollars-or-less.html
>
> 66-year-old retiree who left the U.S. for Mexico: ‘Here’s what you can buy here for $5 or less’

> 2. Groceries
> In Mexico, fresh produce, dairy products and meats are accessible on a budget. Buying seasonal helps keep prices even lower. Right now, $5 buys you half a dozen pineapples. In the summer, it gets you 16 pounds of mangos!
>

> Prices like these make my life in Mexico pretty close to stress-free. With everyday costs so low, I’m able to do more of the things that make me happy. I can live the life I love — and love the life I live.
>

I don't know what I'd do with 16 pounds of mangos. If life is so good
there why are the Mexicans trying to get here?

[Chuck]

Bryan and his wife will bring their US pension or retirement money
with them. Those Mexicans don't have that.

But you knew that :)

[Graham]

If you think of normal retail mark-ups, they are living off the smell of
an oily rag!

[GM]

Many of 'em don't have five bux, would be my guess...

:-[

--
GM

[Sqwertz]

On Sat, 5 Feb 2022 14:50:45 -0800 (PST), GM wrote:

> What five bucks will get you in Mexico:

Clickbait <yawn>

-sw

[Sqwertz]

On Sat, 5 Feb 2022 16:07:08 -0800 (PST), Bryan Simmons wrote:

> On Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 4:50:52 PM UTC-6, GM wrote:
>
>>
>> When it comes to groceries, with $5, I can regularly buy:
>>
>> 40 eggs
>>
> That's about what eggs cost here.

> Two 3-liter bottles of Coke

Which is $1 more than they are here according to my local Walmart.

> Two 3-liter bottles of Coke
> 15 gallons of purified water
> Two 3-liter bottles of Coke

It it doesn't help that listed it twice and nobody at NBC noticed
it. They don't even read, let along fact check, any of this
clickbait bullshit.

-sw

[Michael Trew]

I'd imagine that prices are far lower there, because of a lack of job
opportunities for the locals. Retirees from the US with pensions can
live the high life down there, but locals who, for instance will do 2
hours of gardening for only $5, would rather migrate to the US for a
better living wage, especially the ones in poor areas. You have to be
careful where you go, but I've seen some TV shows that depict US
retirees going to Mexico and living very reasonably in nice
neighborhoods... they share a similar sentiment to the article that Greg
posted.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 2/5/2022 10:27 PM, Michael Trew wrote:

>>
>> I don't know what I'd do with 16 pounds of mangos. If life is so good
>> there why are the Mexicans trying to get here?
>
> I'd imagine that prices are far lower there, because of a lack of job
> opportunities for the locals.  Retirees from the US with pensions can
> live the high life down there, but locals who, for instance will do 2
> hours of gardening for only $5, would rather migrate to the US for a
> better living wage, especially the ones in poor areas.   You have to be
> careful where you go, but I've seen some TV shows that depict US
> retirees going to Mexico and living very reasonably in nice
> neighborhoods... they share a similar sentiment to the article that Greg
> posted.

I've been to Mexico few times for short visits but have no desire to
live there. I did not check prices but an appliance store was still
selling wringer washers as the locals could not afford the typical
automatic we've had for years at the time.

Seems like any of the retirees live in select neighborhoods.

There are many Mexican people in this area and all are hard working
people doing construction and menial labor. .

[GM]

Yeah, that Coke price...

EVERYTHING about MSNBC is "clickbait" - even that rabid lezzie snatch, Rachel Maddow...

--
GM

[jmcquown]

Seems to me Greg, Bryan and Kuthe all have something in common. They're
a little bit nuts. ;)

Jill

[GM]

Immigrant Mexicans are indeed hard working, also family - oriented and driven to succeed...

Wish we could trade some of our many lazy welfare mutts and shirkers for many more of them...

--
GM

[Bernie]

On Sat, 5 Feb 2022 23:11:06 -0500, jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net>
wrote:

Well, that took you a while...

[Bernie]

Ghe? Uhm, can you go into more detail? I don't get it

[Bernie]

[Bernie]

[Bernie]

[Bernie]

[Bernie]

[Bryan Simmons]

And you're a bit of a boring, uncreative old crone.
>
> Jill

--Bryan

[dsi1]

Da Hawaiians are mostly moving to Las Vegas. The housing expenses are about half that of Hawaii and the food is about 20% cheaper - it's kind of a no-brainer. The end game would be that Vegas becomes an enclave of Hawaii and the city changes its name to "Ha Vegas."

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/08/07/vegas-hawaiian-civic-club-serves-50000-former-hawaii-residents-it-could-soon-be-serving-more/

[Cory]

[Hank Rogers]

But will all the samoans leave with the hawaiians too? Only yoose
asians would be left. That's the breaks.

[Jeff]

[Michael Trew]

On 2/5/2022 22:56, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 2/5/2022 10:27 PM, Michael Trew wrote:
>
>>>
>>> I don't know what I'd do with 16 pounds of mangos. If life is so good
>>> there why are the Mexicans trying to get here?
>>
>> I'd imagine that prices are far lower there, because of a lack of job
>> opportunities for the locals. Retirees from the US with pensions can
>> live the high life down there, but locals who, for instance will do 2
>> hours of gardening for only $5, would rather migrate to the US for a
>> better living wage, especially the ones in poor areas. You have to
>> be careful where you go, but I've seen some TV shows that depict US
>> retirees going to Mexico and living very reasonably in nice
>> neighborhoods... they share a similar sentiment to the article that
>> Greg posted.
>
> I've been to Mexico few times for short visits but have no desire to
> live there. I did not check prices but an appliance store was still
> selling wringer washers as the locals could not afford the typical
> automatic we've had for years at the time.

Starting to sound like my kind of place... LOL

[Joni]

Uhm Yes. Ghe Ghe Ghe :)))))))))))