Toe In The Water

[Jester]

Decided today.

The idea is to try living in a Mexican city with good internet for some months and see if I can build a life and work hard. Prepared to stay if all goes well there, or SHTF up here.

Not the ideal long-term refuge perhaps, but I can actually get there, and have a car when I arrive... and have a connection or two in case I need one. And I can get back easily if all is indeed peachy here in El Norte. Any $300 a month apartment I rent down there could still be kept and used for short trips if I do decide to return to California.

Logistics:
Girlfriend / landlady wants to rent out my luxury condo here with my furniture still in it, as a short-term rental. Obviously she wants to keep it intact in case I return or visit. Broadband and cable and flat-rate phone in her name can stay in place. Perfect place for a temporary business stay. This saves me moving costs, and the furniture has little value anyway.

Still will be a lot to do though, to get it ready for a tenant.

I'll drive my car down. Biggest problem with that will be finding a garage for it.

Have to decide what to do for work. Planning to expand my old business writing practice, and add in some voiceover or narrations etc. like I used to do. U.S. customers to start, locals later. But selling timeshares or condos to gringos is not out of the question. That would be more fun and energizing. hehe maybe a place to stay too?


Why am I going now?
viewtopic.php?p=94113#94113
viewtopic.php?t=15501&highlight=


Why not Uruguay?
After all, compared to Mexico, Uruguay has less crime, less chemtrails, more Armenians, Southern Hemisphere safety. So why am I going to Mexico instead of Uruguay as the first step abroad?
Here are the reasons I am not planning to try Uruguay first:
Plane fare;
no car when I get there,
harder to get back if I need to, and
too far for a part-time back-and-forth solution.

Plus in some places in Mexico, FM-3 residency can be arranged without waiting for an elaborate rigamarole of FBI reports, apostilles, notaries, etc.

Farther from the USSA would of course be ideal. But close to the U.S. may be handy in a pinch. Back when my Dad and I used to fly light planes, the instructor would reach over and switch off the engine, to simulate an engine failure. "Pick a spot to land", he would say. How about that one over there, you would ask. "If you're not sure it's too far", he said. After all, it ain't a landing strip... unless you can get there.

I will phone the Mexican consulate for an appointment tomorrow. Not really a necessary step for Mexico (unlike some countries), but I want to see what I can get done there. Plus the GF will go with me. She can't live with me down there (children, extended family up here) but she will feel included in the process. And she does speak the language and make friends easily.

[polya]

So you have a girlfriend in California & you want to leave her and go to Mexico? This sounds the opposite of what other guys do (go overseas to find a girlfriend).
Well, if you don't speak Spanish I think you're 99% certain to NOT be able to live in Mexico & will return tothe USA (this is for financial reasons - no language = no well paid job).

[All_That_Is_Man]

Jester, I see that you've been rethinking to previous decision to "stay put."

[Jester]

So you have a girlfriend in California & you want to leave her and go to Mexico? This sounds the opposite of what other guys do (go overseas to find a girlfriend).

She doesn't come over like she used to. I understand that things change with time. We are in love (I guess) but she has always know that I like multiple relationships and also that I want more children, and that I want to leave the U.S. She knows that I am quite outspoken politically and will be buying guns and ammo if I stay. Obviously she can visit.

Well, if you don't speak Spanish I think you're 99% certain to NOT be able to live in Mexico & will return tothe USA (this is for financial reasons - no language = no well paid job).

Who said I don't speak Spanish? It's the easiest language in the world, bar none. Granted, it will be a decade to be fluent. So you're suggesting that I never move abroad? That's a laugh.

Well-paid job? I haven't had a well-paid job in 13 years. I haven't had any job in 7 years. Stay in the U.S. where I need $10,000 a month pre-expense gross stressing out in real estate, instead of Latin America where $3,000 pre-expense gross doing easy work as a business writer will work? Yeah, that makes sense.

There are always friends (and failing that, voices in one's head) saying, "Yes, follow your dream, yes... BUT FIRST, you need to {fill in the blank}". Part of what defines a man is being able to ignore those voices.

"On August 5, 1864, Farragut won a great victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay. Mobile was then the Confederacy's last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (tethered naval mines were known as torpedoes at the time). Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay. When the monitor USS Tecumseh struck a mine and sank, the others began to pull back.

Farragut could see the ships pulling back from his high perch, where he was lashed to the rigging of his flagship, the USS Hartford. 'What's the trouble?', he shouted through a trumpet from the flagship to the USS Brooklyn. 'Torpedoes!' was shouted back. 'Damn the torpedoes!' said Farragut, 'Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!' "


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David ... poster.jpg

[Jester]

Jester, I see that you've been rethinking to previous decision to "stay put."

Yeah, flip-flopping like a fish. Kinda embarrassing!

[xiongmao]

Sounds good. Is Mexico safe though? I guess you could make some decent money blogging about those gruesome drug killings. A lot of people are really interested in that.

Oh well, at least one of us is actually getting off his ass and gonna live out the dream of being happier abroad.

[Jester]

Sounds good. Is Mexico safe though? I guess you could make some decent money blogging about those gruesome drug killings. A lot of people are really interested in that.

Oh well, at least one of us is actually getting off his ass and gonna live out the dream of being happier abroad.

You guys are too much! The Voices of Doom!

Yeah, that blog would probably be a hit in the U.S.

I'll call it...
"It's DANGEROUS Out There!"

Giving validation to those who decide to stay put should gratify U.S. readers!

[Jester]

mexican Consulate doesn't answer phone, I go by there tomorrow AM.

[Jester]

Mexican consulate - Big Win!

No police report or birth cert or college degree crap needed.

Just:
---passport,
---address of a friend in Mexico where you will be staying initially,
---passport size photos which are available downstairs for 8 bucks
(front and side view),
---3 months bank statements to verify $1000 a month deposit,
and
---letter to consulate stating situation (retirement, writer, business, occupation, retirement, whatever) and request for FM-3 visa.

FM-3 visa can be for "retirement", business or employment.

In my case, as a business writer, I will apply for business FM-3 for categorized as "tech support", still based on U.S. income evident on bank statements, but giving right to have Mexican customers as well. This is same category an artist had used, who had US customers but wanted to do business in mexico as well. I'm sure this would work for an independent web designer, software guy, etc.

Tech support (art, writer) --- $210 cash
Business $98 cash
Retirement $129 cash
Probably other flavors, do not know.

Investigate business visa, in most countries this requires either investment or invitation from a business down there to make a sales call or to look at their merchandise. Don't know about Mexico.

If you go as a tourist, get car permit for 6 months at consulate before going.

If doing FM-3 as a temporary resident ("Non-immigrant") like me, good for 1 year, renewable, then don't worry about car at consulate. When you drive down, just pull over to side after entering Mexico, get a paper for car, and car can stay for same term as you, one year renewable. $49, plus $200 deposit for older car to make sure you don't abandon it in Mexico.

With or without car, go to immigration in Mexico after getting settled, and get a green card. Three weeks to process, stay in country till then, then go back to pick it up. Then you can go and come freely.

Consulate up here will tell you where there is an immigration office near where you are going.

Action plan:
Get passport
Get extra passport photos from front and side
Locate car registration
Decide on retirement or business or whatever (or employment, but you need a job first I guess)
Draft letter to Consulate-General of Mexico

Don't go apply until 30 days before you move.
Date the letter and print it and sign it,
walk into the embassy,
take the above stuff with you.

In two to three weeks you will get your visa,
.....and you can gas up and leave the USSA forever.

[Jester]

From this thread:
viewtopic.php?p=94403#94403

i live in central mex, most of central mex has great weather states like guanajanto, michoacan, guerro, jalisco as long as your not right on the coast.
you can see weather conditions year round on weatherbase.com

Thanks

Based on climate, currently considering:

Jalisco
Lake Chapala/Ajijic (too many old Amricans including AW?)
Guadalajara (real city; good internet "latency" time to U.S.)

Oaxaca
Oaxaca (too primitive?)


Guanajuato
Guanajuato (pedestrian city)


Michoacan
Morelia (met a stunning and intelligent girl from there)

I welcome any input.

[OutWest]

Decided today.

The idea is to try living in a Mexican city with good internet for some months and see if I can build a life and work hard. Prepared to stay if all goes well there, or SHTF up here.

Not the ideal long-term refuge perhaps, but I can actually get there, and have a car when I arrive... and have a connection or two in case I need one. And I can get back easily if all is indeed peachy here in El Norte. Any $300 a month apartment I rent down there could still be kept and used for short trips if I do decide to return to California.

Logistics:
Girlfriend / landlady wants to rent out my luxury condo here with my furniture still in it, as a short-term rental. Obviously she wants to keep it intact in case I return or visit. Broadband and cable and flat-rate phone in her name can stay in place. Perfect place for a temporary business stay. This saves me moving costs, and the furniture has little value anyway.

Still will be a lot to do though, to get it ready for a tenant.

I'll drive my car down. Biggest problem with that will be finding a garage for it.

Have to decide what to do for work. Planning to expand my old business writing practice, and add in some voiceover or narrations etc. like I used to do. U.S. customers to start, locals later. But selling timeshares or condos to gringos is not out of the question. That would be more fun and energizing. hehe maybe a place to stay too?


Why am I going now?
viewtopic.php?p=94113#94113
viewtopic.php?t=15501&highlight=


Why not Uruguay?
After all, compared to Mexico, Uruguay has less crime, less chemtrails, more Armenians, Southern Hemisphere safety. So why am I going to Mexico instead of Uruguay as the first step abroad?
Here are the reasons I am not planning to try Uruguay first:
Plane fare;
no car when I get there,
harder to get back if I need to, and
too far for a part-time back-and-forth solution.

Plus in some places in Mexico, FM-3 residency can be arranged without waiting for an elaborate rigamarole of FBI reports, apostilles, notaries, etc.

Farther from the USSA would of course be ideal. But close to the U.S. may be handy in a pinch. Back when my Dad and I used to fly light planes, the instructor would reach over and switch off the engine, to simulate an engine failure. "Pick a spot to land", he would say. How about that one over there, you would ask. "If you're not sure it's too far", he said. After all, it ain't a landing strip... unless you can get there.

I will phone the Mexican consulate for an appointment tomorrow. Not really a necessary step for Mexico (unlike some countries), but I want to see what I can get done there. Plus the GF will go with me. She can't live with me down there (children, extended family up here) but she will feel included in the process. And she does speak the language and make friends easily.

For marketing a short term rental, VRBO.com is about the best way to go...


Outwest

[polya]

So you have a girlfriend in California & you want to leave her and go to Mexico? This sounds the opposite of what other guys do (go overseas to find a girlfriend).

She doesn't come over like she used to. I understand that things change with time. We are in love (I guess) but she has always know that I like multiple relationships and also that I want more children, and that I want to leave the U.S. She knows that I am quite outspoken politically and will be buying guns and ammo if I stay. Obviously she can visit.

Well, if you don't speak Spanish I think you're 99% certain to NOT be able to live in Mexico & will return tothe USA (this is for financial reasons - no language = no well paid job).

Who said I don't speak Spanish? It's the easiest language in the world, bar none. Granted, it will be a decade to be fluent. So you're suggesting that I never move abroad? That's a laugh.

Well-paid job? I haven't had a well-paid job in 13 years. I haven't had any job in 7 years. Stay in the U.S. where I need $10,000 a month pre-expense gross stressing out in real estate, instead of Latin America where $3,000 pre-expense gross doing easy work as a business writer will work? Yeah, that makes sense.

There are always friends (and failing that, voices in one's head) saying, "Yes, follow your dream, yes... BUT FIRST, you need to {fill in the blank}". Part of what defines a man is being able to ignore those voices.

I hear you about "stressing out in Real Estate..." that was the worst paying job I've ever had. It sounds like you'll make it work in Mexico, so all the best.

[Jester]

Thanks.

[Jester]

Logistics:
Girlfriend / landlady wants to rent out my luxury condo here with my furniture still in it, as a short-term rental. Obviously she wants to keep it intact in case I return or visit. Broadband and cable and flat-rate phone in her name can stay in place. Perfect place for a temporary business stay. This saves me moving costs, and the furniture has little value anyway.

Still will be a lot to do though, to get it ready for a tenant.

For marketing a short term rental, VRBO.com is about the best way to go...


Outwest

Thanks - excellent idea.

[Taco]

Prepared to stay if all goes well there, or SHTF up here.

Why am I going now?
viewtopic.php?p=94113#94113
viewtopic.php?t=15501&highlight=

Don't worry, a massive SHTF event is coming soon, you'll never want to come back to California. Also, take all your money out of your US bank account(Mexican ATM Machine) once you get down there. The US markets will crash this fall but the real "party" won't start until next year. I just left a few months ago, a move I will not soon regret.