- We've been living in Mexico for three years now.
And these are some of the things that you need to know
before moving here.
- This video was inspired by Dan from The New Travel
who will be making a special guest appearance
later on in this video.
- The first thing you need to know before moving to Mexico
is that foreigners cannot own property within 50 kilometers
of shoreline or a 100 kilometers of an international border.
This is in the Mexican constitution.
However, there are easy ways around it.
A lawyer can easily walk you through the steps
to either buy it through a land trust
or through a Mexican corporation.
But if it's outside those restricted zones
it can be in your name.
- The next thing to know,
especially if you plan on driving here is
that the driving habits and customs
and signs and everything else
are pretty different from whatever you're probably used to
in any other country.
There are so many actual rules and unwritten rules
of driving etiquette that you have to adapt to.
And it can be kind of scary at first.
One example, something that we are still not used to
after driving all over the country for three years,
is when you're on the freeway,
you are expected to go off into the shoulder
if somebody is either trying to pass you in your lane
or pass from the ongoing traffic lane.
So you just have to be super, super, hyper aware
at all times, that means absolutely,
you can never look at your cell phone
and there's not really a whole lot of indication
as to when or why or where it's going to happen.
- On the topic of driving,
if you want to drive your foreign-plated car in Mexico,
if you're going anywhere outside the Free Zone
or what they consider the Free Zone,
you're gonna need a permit for that.
It's called a Temporary Import Permit
or what's often referred to as a TIP.
- The next thing is, Mexican food is a way different
than whatever you've tried in the US
or Canada or anywhere else in the world.
Authentic Mexican food is not only so much more flavorful
with the spices and the different combinations
of ingredients, but it's also regional.
I didn't realize that before we started traveling
and living in Mexico.
Food in the state of Yucatan, for instance,
is so different than if you go
to the northern parts of Mexico
which might be a little bit closer
to what you're familiar with in terms of chimichangas
or whatever Taco Bell thinks is Mexican food or Del Taco
or any of those places.
But what else?
Like here, we're here in Oaxaca right now
and this style of food is so different
than everywhere else in Mexico.
Like they can make their corn tortillas gigantic
and then fold them over
and turn it into this amazing concoction called the tlayuda.
And then recently we found out
about this amazing new cuisine called Isthmus
or Istmeno cuisine and that has some things like this.
These are called garnachas.
It's like a fried base of corn dough
and then they put shredded, usually pork.
Then this amazing red salsa, I have no idea what's in it,
but it tastes so good.
And then this crumbly, almost like feta,
between a feta and a Parmesan type cheese on top
and then they put pickled cabbage.
It is just the best!
Ooh, Mexican food rocks my world.
- [Jordan] Try one. - Ooh, okay.
- [Jordan] Do it. - Okay, okay, okay.
This is favorite part.
I'm a big fan. This is so good.
- [Jordan] And some crunch.
Oh, the crunchiness is the best.
(Jordan laughs)
It's all the best. Let's be real.
Okay. So the next one we're going to talk about, though,
is that the exchange rate,
the fluctuation of the exchange rate,
Actually hold on.
I should probably finish what's in my mouth.
(laughing)
(sped-up talking)
Ding ding ding!
So the exchange rate can fluctuate a whole lot.
For instance, when we started traveling in Mexico,
January of 2018, the exchange rate was about 17 pesos
to $1.
Since then it has been so favorable as 25 pesos
to $1 and gone up and down and up and down
everywhere in between.
- Yeah, so if you're coming to Mexico on a fixed income
this is a big freaking deal
because you might be going around looking
for rentals and you're like, "My budget is a $1,000 a month
and the exchange rate is 25 to 1,"
so you're like, "I can afford a 25,000 pesos a month place
to rent," so you sign a lease for 25,000 pesos.
And then the dollar drops.
The dollar drops to 20 or 18.
And your $1000 a month rental just turned
into a $1,200 or $1,400 a month rental
which could seriously disrupt your lifestyle.
And it could go a lot further than that.
It could get a lot worse.
Of course it can go in either direction--
- And it has, like you were saying 17 to 25.
That's a pretty big fluctuation.
And people are asking us all the time.
"Hey, can I get by in Mexico on my social security
or my, whatever, my retirement,
of $1,000 a month, $1,500 a month or whatever."
And that's why we're often, like,
well there's a lot of factors including,
what's your lifestyle?
Do you like to go out to restaurants
and do you like to drink?
Do you want to travel a whole lot?
Do you want to live in an expensive tourist destination
where the prices are higher?
There's a whole lot that goes into it
but then also the exchange rates.
So it's a loaded question,
one that we can not very easily answer for you.
But don't forget to consider the currency fluctuations.
Bottom line.
Another thing you should know about Mexico
is that some stuff is going to be way spicier
than you anticipate.
For instance, I got this drink
and it had this pepper in here and she said it was picoso,
meaning it's a little spicy.
It didn't taste too spicy,
but according to my neck, I think my body disagrees.
So please excuse that.
The next one though,
on the topic of money we wanted to talk about price.
Depending on the location in Mexico,
cost of living can be as much as exactly what you're paying
in the US to a quarter of what you're paying.
So there are some extremely expensive places
to go in Mexico like Tulum.
Tulum is one of if not the most expensive places
that we've been.
But then you can go to smaller towns
like Orizaba, Veracruz
and that was some of the lowest prices
that we've ever seen in the country.
So cost of living varies a lot, depending on the location.
Do your research, especially if you are on a fixed budget.
- Another thing you need to know before moving to Mexico
is that not all medications are available here.
For example, I tried looking for an EpiPen
and you can't get EpiPens in Mexico.
And another important note on medications
is there's a huge selection of them here,
and most of those are available without a prescription.
Or if you do need a prescription, you can pay like 50 pesos
which is about $2.50 to do a consultation at most pharmacies
and they'll give you a prescription right there.
So it's a much easier and cheaper process than in the US
and the medications are significantly less expensive here.
Also on the topic of money,
while most things here in Mexico are cheaper
than what you'd be paying in the US.
For example,
our phone plan in the US was $50 a person,
now we pay about $15 a person.
Going out to eat might cost $40 in the US.
Here it might cost, $12.50, or maybe $15.
But things that are more expensive,
gasoline is a lot more expensive now.
- [Maddie] Nice linens. - Yes, nice linens.
if you can even find them, like--
- And we're talking like towels, blankets, bathmats
those don't exist.
I'm just kidding.
- So to find those like go to Liverpool or Costco
or something like that.
- I'm sorry, what?
I think you mean,
- [Both] Li-ber-pool. (laughing)
- Or Se-ars.
- Se-ars. (laughs)
- What else is more expensive?
Electronics, pretty much any electronics
and any name-brand clothing is going to be more expensive
here in Mexico.
- Just to name a few examples.
- So if you're moving to Mexico, let me in.
- [Maddie] Let me in you.
(both laughing)
- So if you're moving to Mexico,
let me let you in on a little secret.
Buy those things before you get here.
- The next thing you should really know
before coming to Mexico is
that the UV index AKA the sun's rays are way stronger
than you might think in Mexico.
I was born and raised in what was known
as the valley of the sun AKA Phoenix, Arizona.
So I thought I was pretty familiar with how long I could be
out in the sun without getting sunburned.
And I'm very white
so I know I burn easily,
When we come here
and go to Guadalajara, which is a mainland city
and I would get burned in 10, 15 minutes.
And I remember people warning me,
"Do you need to cover up more?"
"You need to wear a hat," whatever.
The sun is much stronger than you'd think.
The same thing in Mexico City.
We're walking around.
It's like 60 degrees outside, I think?
- Yeah, 70 at the hottest.
- I got burnt to a crisp.
I look like a freaking tomato
by the end of the day,
cause we didn't wear sunscreen.
It didn't feel hot.
It didn't feel like we were getting burned.
And then bam, burnt.
- We were so burnt.
One thing about Mexico City, though,
is it's like at 7,000 feet or something above sea level.
So I think the scientific description is
that atmosphere is thinner up there.
So you have less protection from the sun.
- But in any case, do your research.
Wear your sunscreen or you will regret it.
I do.
And on the topic of Mexico City being much colder
than we expected,
if you're anything like me,
I originally thought Mexico was basically
rolling tumbleweeds in the desert and beaches.
So if you're anything like me, you're wrong.
There's a lot more to Mexico
and the climates and the landscapes than that.
And it ranges from snow and freezing, to the tropics.
We're living in the Riviera Maya
and it's hot and humid and tropical.
To dry, dry deserts and mountains and--
- Rainforests - Rainforests,
everything in between.
- The next thing you need to know about before moving
to Mexico is the language.
Of course, the language of the country is Spanish.
And while there are some places in Mexico
that you can get by without learning the language,
in most places around the country,
you really need to at least be trying to learn the language
in order to get by.
Otherwise you are going to make your life very, very
very difficult.
Our favorite program for learning Spanish is
Rocket Languages.
If you want to go check that out and sign up
for a free trial, you can go to www.tangerinespanish.com.
That's our affiliate link.
And it will take you right there.
- In case you're worried though,
"Oh my gosh, I don't know any Spanish,"
or "Trying to speak Spanish makes me so nervous.
I would never be able to make it there.
I wouldn't be able to get by."
One thing to put your mind at ease is
that Mexicans are extremely patient
with people trying to learn the language.
They just appreciate that you are trying.
So do make that effort, do try to improve,
learn the common phrases that you're going to be using
on a day-to-day basis.
And don't worry, you're not going to be judged
or berated for not getting it right.
We have definitely done our fair share
of butchering Spanish.
- Still do. - And still do,
but we're still trying.
We're still on our path to becoming fluent.
So just keep that in mind.
Mexicans are very, very patient and very understanding.
- Another thing to know before coming to Mexico is
that there's different bacteria here
and your body has probably hasn't been exposed to it before.
So expect to get sick a couple of times in your first month.
This happened to me.
This happens to a lot of people.
So expect it to happen to you as well.
- On this topic though, we get this question a lot.
"Do I have to worry about the food in Mexico
or the water in Mexico, are the ice cubes contaminated?"
"Am I going to get Montezuma's revenge
When I go on vacation?"
We made an entire video about that.
So if you want to learn more click on that, right above.
The next thing you should know about Mexico is
that it is a much more cash-based society,
or at the very least less credit card friendly society
than in the US.
I got very used to giving them whatever credit card I wanted
like Amex or Visa or MasterCard, whatever,
and there never being a problem,
and I could always give my credit card here in Mexico.
That's not always the case.
- Yeah. For example, you take a cab,
you're going to have to pay in cash.
If you go to a small convenience store,
you're going to have to pay in cash.
Some restaurants will only cash, things like that.
- Sometimes for bills that we've had,
we have to pay our electric bill in person
and Oxxo in cash.
Some of these things you can set up online
if you have a Mexican bank account,
but in our experience
it can be a little bit complicated sometimes.
So just be aware
that cash is going to be necessary
for your life in Mexico.
- And talking about it being complicated.
I think a lot of that is us having foreign cards.
Foreign cards aren't are sometimes not accepted
for payments like that.
So you're going to need to get cash that isn't
going to break the bank.
Because if you get cash before coming here,
you're going to lose about 10% on your money.
If you come here with Canadian dollars or US dollars
and then you go to an exchange place,
what are those called?
- Money exchange?
- Yeah, a money exchange place,
you're going to lose 5 or 10%.
If you withdraw it from an ATM
you're going to pay a 3% transaction fee
plus a foreign transaction fee from your bank
plus a fee from your bank for withdrawing
from a non-your-bank ATM.
It all adds up
and that's probably going to end up running you at least 5%.
So one way we like to do it is we use our Charles Schwab
checking account--
- Not sponsored.
- Which offers us unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide
plus no ATM fees.
That means any ATM fees we pay,
we get refunded and they don't charge any fees
or any foreign transaction fees, which is great.
- So just look for a solution like that.
We of course like Charles Schwab
and we've mentioned it a bazillion times.
We've used it the entire time we've been in Mexico.
But there are other alternatives.
Make sure you do your research beforehand.
And to give a little bit more insight
as to what you should know before moving to Mexico.
We are going to send it over to Dan from The New Travel.
- Thanks, Jordan, Maddie.
That was a great list.
I am not in Mexico right now.
I'm in freezing Canada, wishing I was in Mexico.
And if you're watching this video
you're probably wishing you were there too.
But there's one really important thing you need to know
before moving to Mexico.
And that is how long are you actually allowed to stay?
Now, in my case, I'm Canadian.
So Canadians and also people from the United States
and a lot of other countries.
When you enter, you get a stamp
on your passport for 180 days.
and that might seem like a lot of time,
but six months can pass pretty quick.
And after six months
you're going to be wondering what to do next.
Luckily, there's an easy solution.
You just need to leave Mexico and go to any other country,
come back and get another stamp on your passport.
In my case, I went to Guatemala for a few days.
It was a place I wanted to visit.
Of course you could go home.
You could go literally anywhere.
and then enter Mexico, get another stamp
and you're good for another 180 days.
But this isn't really meant to be a long-term solution.
If you're to permanently move to Mexico,
sooner or later, you should probably look into residency.
That's a different process that I haven't gone through.
It requires some assets or a bit of money
in the bank account.
But definitely do your research
if you're thinking to permanently move to Mexico
cause it'll save you a lot
of headaches having to leave every 180 days.
And it's really the way you're supposed to go.
Six months seems like a lot of time
but all good things must come to an end.
And I think this video has got to come to an end.
So I'm going to wrap it up and pass it back
to Maddie and Jordan.
Hope you guys have an awesome day
and see you next time.
- Thank you Dan, for that additional insight.
Be sure to subscribe to both of our channels
and gong that bell.
So you'll be the first
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On the end screen here
we're going to link Dan's original video
on things you should know before moving to Mexico.
Believe it or not,
it's a completely different list than ours.
You should definitely check that out.
We'll also link a playlist
of ours so you can continue watching
until we post a new video next Saturday.
And we'll see you there.