Let's Go Trippin'

My biggest fear in coming to Mexico? Driving! I was terrified to drive here, but we’re off to a good start. I don’t talk on my phone or mess with the radio while driving here, and I drive defensively. Now and then I think I can hear “Muévete, Abuela!”(Move it, Grandma!), but Mexicans generally treat their elders with respect, so it could be my imagination. The speed limits are in kilometers, so there’s that. It’s not as hard as I’ve made it out to be, though. Some exits from the toll road are super well marked with signs, but almost impossible to see at night because it’s like driving from freeway to secondary road. “Oops! Missed it again!” It takes raw courage to drive in Tijuana, or even Rosarito, where u-turns are sometimes necessary for getting from Point A to Point B, and where flashing red traffic signals are common, with scores of cars pushing through in both directions in a sort of organized anarchy.

The cost of living?

That depends. It may surprise you to know that Mexico requires retirees to earn a minimum amount, but one can certainly live here for less. Our rent for an approximately 2,000 s.f. furnished house here is about the same as it would be for an approximately 1,500 s.f. unfurnished house in Henderson, Nevada, and we’re on the beach!  We can have a pizza delivered for under $8.00 and a delicious Mexican dinner for two delivered for around $10.00. Our absolute favorite is a crepe place on the periphery of the mall. The food is amazing and the prices are reasonable. Utilities, cable, internet, produce, bottled water (which is needed for everything from drinking to cooking to rinsing dishes), and quite a number of other items are cheaper than in the U.S. We haven’t shopped for it yet, but we hear second-hand furniture is a real bargain. I can’t wait for visitors to come so I’ll have an excuse to shop for Mexican pottery, jewelry, and curios.