Thinking of moving to Mexico?

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Charlie

Salaries are 1/10th or less of what they are in the U.s. a teacher makes about $400.00 a month. a registered nurse makes $100.00 a week....even professionals make very low salaries. Most workers make less tham $10.00 a day. You cannot work in Mexico without a work visa. you cannot get a work visa unless you find an employer to hire you and write a letter to immigration stating he cannot find a Mexican citizen to fill that job. Tyou must apply for an fm3 visa with work permit...lots of paper work, expense and time. You cannot just come to Mexico and find a job. Unless you are highly skilled in a techincal field of work that needs workers here, it is not at all practical. If you are retired with a pension, or wealthy...no problem...but working in Mexico is NOT a good option. Better to work in the states, save and retire to Mexico. The people are kind and friendly for the most part...they are human...so there are a few not as nice, just like anywhere.

Michelle M

Everything Charlie says is true, but don't let that entirely discourage you.
I have lived and worked in Mexico twice and had great experiences.
Unless you have a specific skill that you could use to get hired there, a lot of expats manage to find jobs teaching English.
Salaries are low, but you can live on it if you live frugally.
If you're interested, aim for a large city such as Mexico City or Guadalajara. Research schools there. Make contacts. Get TOEFL certified before you go. (Also, best if you have a bachelor's degree. Many schools require this of you in order to get your visa processed.) Try to get experience before you go too, even if its volunteer work.
You can make a decent living, especially if you can land at a school or program that teaches at large companies.
As for living in Mexico, it's fabulous. You don't mention how old you are, but its a great place to experience while you're young.
I lived as a teacher in Mazatlan and Guadalajara. In both places I found lots of other 20-something American and Canadian expats whom I could hang out with. And of course Mexicans themselves also have a fun youth culture. Great clubs and lots of fun things to do on weekends.
On my second stint in Mexico, I lived in Mexico City. But this time I went with a U.S. company which paid me a U.S. salary to work in Mexico. That was a lot easier. But still, there are lots of Americans living in Mexico and working there.
I'm now back in the States but trying really hard to return to Mexico, I miss it that much.
The rewards of these experiences are incomparable. You learn so much about Mexico, as well as about yourself and your home country. (Wasn't it Jefferson who said something along the lines of you'll never know your own country until you travel abroad.)
Overall, Mexico strongly values families and friendships. There is a carino in Mexican relationships that is harder to find in the U.S. There is a sabor there that I have never matched in the U.S.
If you'd like more specific advice, drop me a line.

Gata de Barrio

Gaining mexican citizenship isn't impossible. The laws are much more lax. You no longer have to give up your old citizenship. But you will need to work here for at least 5 years with permanent residence, I believe no criminal record (but a bribe can always work if the crimes aren't too serious), you need to be fluent in spanish and the most important thing of all to these officials: You need to know the lyrics to the mexican national anthem (or at least the first two verses which is what most mexicans should know).

Yes, salaries aren't great even for a university graduate here. A salary of 400 to 1000 dollars is real for university graduates in Mexico City.

The Mexico City job market is severely saturated. If you don't have connections and high credentials, you'll end up working at a McDonalds.

English teaching can be really useful (if you can speak good spanish, even better because you could become a full time teacher at a small elementary or middle school in a shack in a village and have a nice carefree life doing something useful).

Mexican people are mostly nice but I'd prefer to avoid wealthy Mexico City people because they all act like Paris Hilton esque social parasites that crash their BMW's and get drunk and that's all worth talking about them (oh and glorifying the USA when the only thing about the USA they even know about is Disneyand).

Being white could give you better job opportunities because mexicans like white people but it's not a must. Knowing decent spanish and being a friendly person is more useful.

I think it's a great idea. You could enter the country as an ordinary tourist and search for work from there. You should investigate beforehand which cities have decent enough job opportunities. It's even possible to find a missionary type organization in the US that can organize your job if it's social work oriented and hook you up with your visa.

It's nice to hear that there's still some Americans that want to do something totally radical instead of mourning their boring lives or just being superficial and greedy.

Hope you find what you're looking here. ;)

palma

sailorny.......thanks for an upbeat post

Hector

You will be welcome here.. I can assure you that. Even you could find some clumsy people who do not like foreigners, most of us are friendly and will be glad make you feel at home.
I live in Monterrey, a big and beautiful city, with a strong economy, a large industry, educational facilities and a lot of interesting places to visit.
Certainly you wont earn the same you get at the states, but life in MÃ©xico is cheaper.
Monterrey is the more expensive city in the country, and even that, you can save money, do business, and why not, get rich..
Everyone who shows interest and respect for my country, gets my esteem, and it is true for the most of us.

Hardwoodballer

Mexico is a great place to live, with less money than up here you can live lavishly down there! You mention that you have the money to buy a house and what not, if so then you wouldnt want to work for someone you would want to work for yourself (do business or set up your own business) If done right you can make a killing with little money invested and there are literally thousands of opportunities! I've been doing business in northern and central mexico for 2 years now and new opportunities arise constantly! (message me if you want to know more)

Joel Q

My words might be useless since you have already got plenty of assistance by people who have been here already.

I'll say a few things, however.

1.- Front desk at hotels that cater to English speaking customers. Not a big salary but you get by.

2.- Timeshare industry in tourist resorts like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, MazatlÃ¡n, Cabo San Lucas, etc. If you are good as a salesman, you might make more money in this industry than the money you might make in the USA at this moment.

Not too difficult to get a working permit but getting a green card or permanent residence is extremely hard. Citizenship impossible.

Life can be as relaxed as you want it to be. Minimum salary is about 6 US a day, but almost nobody makes that. More likely you will be making between 400 to 1000 a month.

People might be very warm but that will be up to you to a great extent. Locals will be more than willing to make a new friend and smile easily even thought it might take just a little bit to open up.

Before you come, read "Distant Neighbors", a best seller from Alan Riding (1980's), a description of the Mexicans seen from the perspective of an American.

Rodimus prime

yeah yeah a LOT OF young canadians, americans and young european people are starting to arrive to mexico, much of these people teach foreign languages, i also met a canadian who decided to permamently live in mexico and some french ,But since THEY have a lot of labor rights in france they are better off working in their homeland.

your idea about moving to mexico is not as impossible as you would've thought.

good luck!.

het in touc with the young expats community in mexico,they could give a hand.

Pink

Don't! You are much better off where you are.

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