About jreytequis

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Female

Currently Lives:

Mexico

Citizen Of:

United States

About jreytequis

I am a fun loving, life loving woman. My career in sales and marketing shaped my life through many years of traveling and experiencing different cultures. I was born and raised in New York, moved to New Jersey to raise a family and then on to Las Vegas for a short 4 years. Now, having lived in cities most of my life, I am completely enjoying the peace and simplicity of Mexico and the culture. Learning and self improvement are my priorities. I enjoy music, theater, museums, cooking, good wine, good people. Life is good.

My Website:

http://none

Advice for New Expats

Be patient. The culture change is a process and it can be wonderful if you embrace it, become part of it and take one baby step forward each day. I wish much happiness to all who change their lifestyle either out of necessity or out of choice.

I would love to live in...

Maine

Favorite Websites:

http://none

Favorite Assignment:

learning Spanish

Favorite Cuisine:

All

Favorite Museum:

Natural History

Favorite Movie:

too many to list

Favorite Book:

The Ascent of Man

Favorite Sports Team:

no favorites

Some Forum Posts:

Mexico: Mexican perception of Afro-Americans:

This excerpt taken from article written by L.A. Times writer (Hispanic) The fact is that racism — and anti-black racism in particular — is a pervasive and historically entrenched reality of life in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than 90% of the approximately 10 million enslaved Africans brought to the Americas were taken to Latin America and the Caribbean (by the French, Spanish and British, primarily), whereas only 4.6% were brought to the United States. By 1793, colonial Mexico had a population of 370,000 Africans (and descendants of Africans) — the largest concentration in all of Spanish America. The legacy of the slave period in Latin America and the Caribbean is similar to that in the United States: Having lighter skin and European features increases the chances of socioeconomic opportunity, while having darker skin and African features severely limits social mobility. White supremacy is deeply ingrained in Latin America and continues into the present. In Mexico, for instance, citizens of African descent (who are estimated to make up 1% of the population) report that they regularly experience racial harassment at the hands of local and state police, according to recent studies by Antonieta Gimeno, then of Mount Holyoke College, and Sagrario Cruz-Carretero of the University of Veracruz. Anti-black sentiment also manifests itself in Mexican politics. During the 2001 elections, for instance, Lazaro Cardenas, a candidate for governor of the state of Michoacan, is believed to have lost substantial support among voters for having an Afro Cuban wife. Even though Cardenas had great name recognition (as the grandson of Mexico's most popular president), he only won by 5 percentage points — largely because of the anti-black platform of his opponent, Alfredo Anaya, who said that "there is a great feeling that we want to be governed by our own race, by our own people."

Mexico: How Citibank Banamex can make life miserable:

In 2009, shortly before moving to Mexico I opened a Citibank Friendship account. This means you have a USA account and you can transfer your U.S. dollars to your Mexico account easily and without fees. You could also use your ATM card (either USA or MEXICO) without fees at a Banamex ATM machine without fees. It was a glorious thing! If I needed to transfer funds, it was a simple 2 minute online process. Now the "friendship" account is anything but friendly. They have discontinued online transfers. So, now you have to call the USA to transfer money and it can take up to 3 hours to get your pesos into your account. When you make a transfer to Mexico, you NO LONGER get a confirmation email. You have to keep going online to check if the transfer has gone through. Secondly, they have cancelled all online bill payments as well. Today I called to make a transfer and guess what?.....their system is down so I have to wait 2 hours to call them to see if I can transfer my money. Another problem was they closed my account TWICE, after 4 years of having an account, saying they didn't have the proper info. In those cases, they HELD MY MONEY for up to 2 weeks. Since I am not living in the U.S. I would have to fly to California to close the account and open a REAL friendly account with another bank. Moral of story.......don't bank with Banamex!

Mexico: Cancun City:

Hi, Merida is a great place, but just so you know it is 4 hours from Cancun. You can take a bus either to or fro. Round trip, a/c luxury seats, is about $30. U.S. If you rent a car, it is a very dull ride.....2 lane road with bushes on either side. You can get tickets anywhere they sell for ADO...the bus line. Enjoy.

Mexico: 6 month rentals - Merida/progreso and Puerto Escondido area:

I manage a rental in Merida, in Centro. Here is the listing. http://www.vacationhomerentals.com/vacation-rentals/Merida-Mexico-vacation-rental-home-proID-42512.html If you have any other questions, you can PM me. Buena Suerte

Mexico: First Class bus reservations?:

go to http://ado.com.mx/ado/index.jsp and you can make your reservations on that site. Buen viaje!

Mexico: Car in Mexico:

When you cross the border, you have to register your car at the border with Banjercito. It is located in the immigratin building. They will give you a sticker that you MUST put on the front windshield of your car. The sticker is good as long as your Mexican papers are good.....Temporary Resident.....3 years.....then 4th year must apply for permanent residency. Then foreign plated vehicle is a problem unless you get a permanent sticker or nationalize your car. Nationalization is a process handled by a broker in Mexico and has certain requirements. One thing I know for sure...if your VIN# starts with a letter, e.g., J, K, G, (meaning Japan, Korea, Germany) you will have to ship your car out of the country when you acquire permanent residency. But, in the meantime, if you have that temporary sticker, you will not have a problem. If you don't register the vehicle and do NOT have the sticker, the authorities will seize your car.

Mexico: Visiting Mexico question:

Here....read and educate yourself. http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html or call the local Mexican consulate in your area.

Mexico: Manzanillo:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Living-the-Expat-Life-in-Manzanillo-Mexico&id=6840556 Start with this. Ask the author if she can give you a local blog or website.

Mexico: Mexican Citizenship ?:

When you say ALL DOCUMENTS, to which are you referring?

Mexico: ACA/Obamacare for Americans in Mexico:

Question? When you say "heavily penalized" for not taking Medicare when it was offered.....isn't it true that if you can prove you had a paid health insurance policy during the time you did not sign up for Medicare, there is no penalty?

Date Joined:

6/21/2010

Total Posts:

81

Posts/Day:

0.03