Escaped to Mexico, in before the lockdown

Hi there ATS,

Long LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time lurker. I used this site in addition to a few others to keep abreast of current events. Thank you so much for speculating on the covid shots and the Coronavirus, it helped my wife and I make our decision to leave for Mexico before our country went full Libtard. No one in our situation is allowed to leave now.

Im hoping my introduction will also serve as a point of contact. I'm looking to get in touch with anyone else who has made it across the border or flown in from elsewhere. The economy is in full swing down here, no lockdowns, mandates, or vaxxports. I've been a long time prepper but I figured there was no way to adequately 'prep' for this event within the Western bubble and so my wife and I sold everything we owned (which wasn't much) and relocated before our country banned travel. Would appreciate any lifestyle tips and tricks that others who have done the same can add. Also if anyone wants to get together, I brought 110 board games with me and I also play League of Legends and Magic The Gathering.

Congratulations, hope it works out.

As someone who lives on the border and travels regularly to Mexico all I can say is I'm much more interested in fighting to make my country what it was intended to be than running away.

The entire country is openly corrupt, everything is substandard and the culture doesn't value quality or honesty whatsoever outside of the devout.

It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

I'd love to hear where you ended up, how you are living, cost of living, your surroundings, like a total deep dive into all your personals, without getting personal.

I'm intrigued by the idea of moving to a different country and living as a local.

a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

Welcome. It's love to chat.

My wife and I (both US citizens) have lived a total of about 20 years in Mexico. We're in the northwest now. Can't back, after a hiatus, about four years ago. Love it here.

We've always rented, but I recently purchased a little adobe in a mountain village.

What part of the country are you in?

DM me if you want to chat more. With 20 years here in country, I might be able to offer you some tips.

DM me if you want to chat more.

a reply to: Paschar0

The entire country is openly corrupt, everything is substandard and
the culture doesn't value quality or honesty whatsoever outside of
the devout. It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I worked as a Missionary in several South American countries and
totally agree with your sentiment. I can't think of any South
American country that will not eventually follow the WEF
and WHO guidelines for covid. I can, and will put up a better
fight for freedom with my neighbors here in TEXAS.

No one will win by running, as there really is no where to run.

a reply to: incoserv

It would be awesome if you could do a thread on the culture shock/change you had at the beginning, what it's like to live there, and how you got the idea to begin with.

I know I am interested, and I suspect many others are as well. Just the idea of moving lock stock and barrel to another country sound like an amazing adventure. I know of a couple people who have done this. Argentus is one. And I have yet to pick his brain about these details. Please let me know if you decide to do it.

a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

Actually as my husband retirement get near, he was last night talking about getting out of the US and moving to one of those countries that are still affordable on a retirements pay and have less restrictions than the US.

Mexico was one of them actually,

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

I'd love to hear where you ended up, how you are living, cost of living, your surroundings, like a total deep dive into all your personals, without getting personal.

I'm intrigued by the idea of moving to a different country and living as a local.

YouTube is full of videos from Ex pats from all over the globe. They are full of tips, and warnings.

I think the biggest problem that most ex pats have, is that they want to move to another place, and then they complain and want to make it like the place they left.

Some Americans are lousy at assimilation.

Video is just some advice from a 10 year ex pat in Ecuador.

a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

A few years ago when people were going GAGA over the border wall,
I asked a simple question.

Do walls keep people out, OR people in?

Check out this tread before covid and the sentiments….
www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

Board games. Smart entertainment choice, no electricity required.

I ended up in Europe years ago, and the situation just sort of developed to my permanently residing there now.

There are ups and downs to expatriate life, but the same is true for life at home. Although I'm not sure I would recognize daily life in the USA anymore.

Cheers

a reply to: network dude

That's an interesting idea. I'd probably do it, though, in a blog format and share the link here. I think that'd be a bit ambitious to do as a post on ATS. Maybe a Q&A kind of format here?

I live Mexico, though. Lived first 20 years of my life in SE US, moved down here for 15 years. Subsequently did a 10 year stint in Outer Mongolia, then a few years back in the US. Kind of stumbled into returning to Mexico about 5 years ago and, oh boy, am I glad I did!

Our son was born here so we were able to get permanent residency as parents of a Mexican citizen. That helped immensely. But we didn't know about that until after we'd moved down and were about to apply for temporary.

The government isn't WuFlu crazy here. Some businesses require muzzles but we typically avoid those unless there's s compelling reason to go in - them I usually just wear it on my con and nobody says anything.

Then there's the culinary culture ... but you do NOT want to get me started on that!

originally posted by: Paschar0
As someone who lives on the border and travels regularly to Mexico all I can say is I'm much more interested in fighting to make my country what it was intended to be than running away.

The entire country is openly corrupt, everything is substandard and the culture doesn't value quality or honesty whatsoever outside of the devout.

It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Are you referring to Mexico or the USA? Asking for a friend.

I'm not from the USA and I don't think there is anything left to fight where I am from. Our government has ordered mandates for our workforce, you can't work in our country now without a vaxx. My elderly parents are the ones getting us food at the grocery store because we weren't allowed in there either. This was beyond unacceptable for me and we decided to bug out down here where everything is hunky dory.

As for 'fighting back', real life isn't an action movie. Who do you shoot, who do you target? The people in control are invisible and you'll never see them and they don't care that you have a gun, they own the police and the military. Eventually, they will shut off your water, seize your children and assets or label you a terrorist and throw you into an institution for the criminally insane. I worked for them, I know exactly how they operate. I could have you thrown in jail or taken away in a squad car and harassed for acting 'suspiciously' near our facility. You would never see me because I used to work in the middle of a giant concrete block with 4 inch metal doors, treeline fences and stone walls on every side. We had cameras a click away from the facility and hidden in spots you would never suspect. If you don't think they are watching you or reading your emails, forum posts, etc etc. think again. If you aren't vaxxed, you're on a list.

Anyway that said, my job is gone now, so Mexico it is. I used to teach English in Mexico about 15 years ago. Man has it ever changed since then. It looks like the USA minus the guns. We rent a 2 bedroom house in Guadalajara for $840/month CAD.
That may seem like alot where you are from but in my city a basement bachelor runs triple that. A box of cereal costs roughly 30 pesos, for me that's about 2 bucks. Back home I would pay about 6 or 7 for the same box or smaller. We never ate out at home because it was cost prohibitive but not here. I can get an entire meal for 50 pesos, burger, drink and fries or a large pizza. This is also a capital city so things are a bit more expensive here. My wife and I saved up quite a bit of money for this trip. We are also here to use the fertility clinics because back home we don't really have the same access to healthcare as we used to. At least here I can pay and its 1/5th the cost for the same procedure.

The house we are renting is in a gated community with a guard driving around once every few hours and 2 people at the gate. This is new for me and man do I ever like it, we don't really have these communities back home, at least not in our financial range. I can leave the windows open and not worry too much. There are tons of little kids running around at the park, this feels like home did in the 80s.

The wife and I are considering citizenship. There are three routes for this.

1. You must make 2500/month online or through employment here somehow.
2. Have 30k USD in a bank account for a year and be able to prove it.
3. Buy a house worth 250k CAD

For me... after looking at the houses here that I can get for 30k, [2 bed/2 bath townhouse] I can't even fathom living in something 10x that. In my home city there is nothing available for UNDER 250k. You might be able to buy something in the roughest part of town at 300k. Down here 200k gets you a 5bed/4bathroom 350sqm2 house that looks like something out of Star Wars. The roughest area in the great white north is going to run you 80k and the house is going to be filled with mold, rats and look like a tornado hit it. 80k here gets me a brand new 3 bed/2ba concrete house in a good area in PUERTO VALLARTA so... yeah I'm pretty ok with living here the rest of my life. My wife watches her soaps and I spend alot of my time in VR anyway so I'm satisfied with an empty room and a bowl of Corn Pops. I also have a metric ton of board games and a couple of friends here who play Magic The Gathering with me so I'm set.


Everyone is free to email me. I'm happy to help you with whatever knowledge I have. I wouldn't want to be broke in Mexico though. I don't think its a very friendly place for those that are struggling to make ends meet.

This is a website I use to look at houses.
www.inmuebles24.com...

originally posted by: marg6043
a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

Actually as my husband retirement get near, he was last night talking about getting out of the US and moving to one of those countries that are still affordable on a retirements pay and have less restrictions than the US.

Mexico was one of them actually,

I know quite a few boomers in Puerto Vallarta doing just that. We were sitting on the beach a few weeks ago with 2 people who were telling us about how they scrape by on their social security from home. Then they showed us their apartment on the beach. What you can get for 800 bucks in PV is amazing.

a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

I think you must be the smartest person on the planet.
You tell your wife I said she married well.
I always figured Mexico was off limits because of the cartels.
taking hostages. I'm jealous.


Welcome to ATS BTW

originally posted by: incoserv
a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

Welcome. It's love to chat.

My wife and I (both US citizens) have lived a total of about 20 years in Mexico. We're in the northwest now. Can't back, after a hiatus, about four years ago. Love it here.

We've always rented, but I recently purchased a little adobe in a mountain village.

What part of the country are you in?

DM me if you want to chat more. With 20 years here in country, I might be able to offer you some tips.

DM me if you want to chat more.

not quite sure how to DM, its says private messages are reserved for staff only. Here's the message I would've written you.

hey we moved to Guadalajara from Puerto Vallarta. I lived here and in Toluca about 17 years ago or so but man Mexico has changed. I used to make it on like 300 bucks a month but we couldn't find a rental below 700. I finally found this place on airbnb and its fully equipped so I can't say that I'm unhappy with the price. I used to sleep on an air mattress in my 20's and date the local girls but now with the wife...and being in my 40's we are looking for creature comforts.

Its interesting I actually saw some 'ovnis' in Toluca when I was in my late twenties. I was hoping to go scouting for them again but my friend tells me that the cartels are always on the lookout for people that aren't where they should be. I'm good with not knowing for the time being.

So where are you and how did you manage to get your temporary card?

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: MartianEscapeArtist

I'd love to hear where you ended up, how you are living, cost of living, your surroundings, like a total deep dive into all your personals, without getting personal.

I'm intrigued by the idea of moving to a different country and living as a local.

I don't mind, I'm out of the country now and living my dream. What would you like to know?

Cost of living once settled should be roughly 100 bucks or so. My wife was a cook so we'll go down to the local 'tiangus'/flee market and probably get our fruits and vegetables for 20 bucks a week. I used to buy them by the grocery bag for like 0.50 but I'm guessing things have changed... still the 'walmarts' here are pretty inexpensive so I imagine the farmer's markets are cheap. I'm the kind of guy that likes to minimize expenditures so I like finding ways to DIY while abroad. We are in Guadalajara in a place near Talajamulco [outskirts of the city]. We pay 850 for the place we are staying, its nice...really nice actually. Its an Airbnb so no contracts or anything. Its definitely more expensive then the average here but I like the freedom to pick up and leave if need be. If we can get temporary resident cards, we will likely buy a house here. We're not quite as posh as the expats in Puerto Vallarta, but I like to live well and owning a gun here in Mexico is strictly forbidden so I'm happy to let someone else do the security for me. The surroundings are other townhouses and we are surrounded by a massive concrete wall that you'd need a tank to breakthru.

originally posted by: Paschar0
Congratulations, hope it works out.

As someone who lives on the border and travels regularly to Mexico all I can say is I'm much more interested in fighting to make my country what it was intended to be than running away.

The entire country is openly corrupt, everything is substandard and the culture doesn't value quality or honesty whatsoever outside of the devout.

It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I'm too old for that. Maybe when I was younger I would have bought into that game but as it stands I've almost gone to jail for standing up for what I believe in. It wasn't worth it in the end. You get a pretty good taste of what law enforcement is capable of. One man with a gun is not going to halt an invasion. In my country, I'm now a second class citizen and that isn't going to change. My wife and I have different goals than winning 'a country back'. Our country was on the way down LONG before Covid. As far as I'm concerned, if I can retain my freedom and use the fertility clinics here without judgement, I'll happily sign up to live here. You can throw punches, stamp your feet, beat the drum and scream at the top of your lungs but in the end, you are not the one in control and you don't make the rules. If they were scared of the little people with guns, they would already be sending someone out to take care of you and yours.

I'm not sure what part of America you are from, so here's something we weren't expecting. As an Asthma sufferer, last night served as a wake up call for me and my wife. I had a bit of an asthma attack last night and wife checked the ACQN which revealed that South Guadalajara's pollution was 80 points higher than my home town. May have to relocate back to the beach towns unfortunately. While the economy is still moving along, pollution is going to be a major issue, possibly as bad as China's.

We are also at 1530m elevation... so no flooding or jungle bugs but also the air is thin and takes some getting used to. Pollution is going to compound the problem and make living here very difficult.

Might use this as a bit of a blog. Well I hope someone gets some use out of it. Wife and I decided that staying in a hotel offers more benefits. Stable Internet, Buffet breakfasts, Laundry facilities, Clean rooms with cleaning services each day, free water, a gym on site, no long term committments... asked each other why we are using airbnb in the first place when a really decent hotel is only a few hundred bucks more. Off we go to ONE - Guadalajara. Hotel said they'll give us a better deal if we rent by the month.