About travelingrae

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Some Forum Posts:

Mexico: Has anyone driven to Mérida or is planning to very soon?:

Mexico granted me a residente temporal permit (yay!), so I'm off to Mérida next month to housesit for the summer and then eventually move into my own rental accommodation. After much agonizing, I decided to drive so that I can bring as much of my stuff as my truck can hold. I'm driving from southern SK and planning to cross at Laredo. People freak out about a single female planning this trip, but I've got Mexico driving experience, am fluent in Spanish, and know how much time this trip will take at a reasonable pace. I've found posts here and on other forums about the best route to take, so I'm set for that. What I'm missing is boots on the ground experience in the last few weeks or, even better, a testimonial from people driving down just before I do, just to know if there is anything I should be looking out for, like construction causing detours, protests, bad roads, consistent issues at the border, that sort of thing. I used to find reports like these all the time when I was driving to Mazatlán, but I haven't found much for Mérida, likely because fewer people drive there due to the distance. Just to preempt some comments, yes, I'm aware of how to cross with the RT visa, that I'll be on a schedule to extend the TIP, etc., etc. I'm really only looking for road reports. :) Thanks! Rae

Mexico: scoping out Mérida:

As way of background, I’m a Canadian woman and always knew that I would eventually want to move to Mexico. I'm currently 36 and self-employed, able to work anywhere that I have Internet, and making a good income (I average 3,000USD per month) so it seems like I shouldn’t have any trouble getting a permanent resident visa. I’m hoping to start the process for that late next summer/early next fall (2016). I spent six months in Mazatlán last winter, in a Mexican neighbourhood in a Mexican house with a Mexican landlady and with Mexican neighbours. I slipped into my Mexican life easily. It definitely helped that I get by well enough in Spanish that people who speak better English than I do Spanish choose to communicate with me in Spanish. I knew I was discovering the ‘real’ Mexico when restaurant waiters, street cart vendors, store clerks would flat out tell me that they weren’t used to serving Gringos. I drove down to Maz on my own from my home in southern SK, and then back north again, always feeling safe and very welcome in Mexico. So all that to say, I know I can hack it in Mexico if I move there permanently. I’m going back to Maz this winter, to the same house, and can’t wait. But I have no illusions that Maz is the city where I am going to want to put down Mexican roots. Mérida, on the other hand, sounds more like what I’m looking for. I don’t want to be right on the ocean, I want a fairly warm to hot winter climate, I want a colonial city, I want ruins, and I want easier access to the east coast to ease visits to my family in Montreal. I also want a strong enough expat presence to make the immigration services available (don’t want to have to drive two hours to get a visa stamped, for example). So the plan for this winter is to take a vacation after the holidays and fly to Mérida to scope out the city and take a look at the rental market. My rental situation in Maz is very casual; no contract and I pay month-to-month. My rent is also quite low (about 500CAD including all utilities) for a very recently-built good-sized fully furnished two-bedroom house with a yard. This is in sharp contrast to the expat population I see renting on contract from brokers and paying 1,000CAD+ for a tiny condo. I’m going to be looking for something in between in Mérida. I want a Mexican house (with all their quirks) at a Mexican price, but with a contract since I’d be looking at a year’s rental. I’m wondering if anyone has any tips for me so I can hit the ground running when I arrive? I am very likely going to want to sign a contract and pay a deposit right then so that I have an address for the visa paperwork. So any tips on contract pecularities or even scams unique to Mexico would be helpful. I am capable of reading Spanish legalese and understanding it well enough to feel comfortable signing a document, so I won’t be needing an interpreter. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! Rae

Date Joined:

9/10/2015

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3

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