I had hit the "seven year itch" of living in Thailand around 2013. I had just HAD it with all the bureaucracy, so I pulled up stakes and moved to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I was back within six weeks with a renewed appreciation for Thailand.

 

The infrastructure in Mexico is just plain bad, internet service has to be inherited by someone leaving or dying, electricity is CRAZY expensive, as is the rent. In the six weeks I was there I saw only one woman I'd even THINK of poking. I am very happy back in LOS.

3 minutes ago, J Town said:

I had hit the "seven year itch" of living in Thailand around 2013. I had just HAD it with all the bureaucracy, so I pulled up stakes and moved to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I was back within six weeks with a renewed appreciation for Thailand.

 

The infrastructure in Mexico is just plain bad, internet service has to be inherited by someone leaving or dying, electricity is CRAZY expensive, as is the rent. In the six weeks I was there I saw only one woman I'd even THINK of poking. I am very happy back in LOS.

Zihuat is far from a typical Mexican destination. 

 

20 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Zihuatanejo is far from a typical Mexican destination. 

Zihuatanejo is one of their most touted vacation destinations. While I was there, I spent enough time in Mexico City (out of sheer boredom) to realize Mexico was absolutely not for me. As I posted, some people seem to like Mexico, and I am grateful to Mexico for helping me realize Thailand, for all its warts, is right where I want to be.

8 hours ago, wpcoe said:

A couple of "high crime" sterotypes aside, a couple of good representations above.

 

I left Thailand last year in February and moved full-time to Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.  VERY low crime.  Often the #1 on lists of safest cities in N.America and in the top 10 of safest cities in the world.  Police here are well-paid and not corrupt like in some other places we all know.

 

(Whoops, accidentally posted prematurely...)

 

The visa situation is boatloads better than Thailand.  You can either get Temporary Resident visa or Permanent Resident visa.  After four years of annual Temporary renewals, you get Permanent, or if you meet the higher criteria, you can get Permanent in the beginning.  Once you have Permanent, it's permanent:  never have to apply again.  No 90-day reports, no re-entry permits, no nothing.  If you are going for retirement, many Mexican embassies/consulates will only give you Permanent.  I got mine at the Mexican Embassy in Bangkok in late 2019, and after some initial hiccups, it went smoothly.

 

Of course, local food is quite different.  What most folks from the USA call "Mexican food" is actually "Tex Mex" and is a US invention.  Different areas of Mexico have different local dishes.  Where I am there is a healthy Mayan influence in the cuisine.  Don't expect to find much "authentic" Thai cooking like SWMBO would make.

 

Overall, I spend a little less in Merida than I did in Jomtien or Hua Hin. 

 

The seasons where I am pretty much parallel central Thailand.  We're entering a brutally hot period, and will enter the rainy season around June and it lasts until about November.  Very similar to Thailand.

 

Some of the borders with Central America are closed now, due to Covid, but pre-Covid I understand border crossings were easy.

 

Surely its only a matter of time that the cartels do move in? If its that nice it will attract wealthy people and one would think following that would be demand for drugs....

8 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

 

Surely its only a matter of time that the cartels do move in? If its that nice it will attract wealthy people and one would think following that would be demand for drugs....

Possibly but not surely. 

1 hour ago, J Town said:

I had hit the "seven year itch" of living in Thailand around 2013. I had just HAD it with all the bureaucracy, so I pulled up stakes and moved to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I was back within six weeks with a renewed appreciation for Thailand.

 

The infrastructure in Mexico is just plain bad, internet service has to be inherited by someone leaving or dying, electricity is CRAZY expensive, as is the rent. In the six weeks I was there I saw only one woman I'd even THINK of poking. I am very happy back in LOS.

I've been there but wouldn't think to live there. Great for a beach holiday though. You just picked the wrong location in Mexico.

 

Irrelevant personal story. I travelled there with a darker skinned Filipino who had a US green card. He got harassed by the police there who didn't know how to process what he was. Ironic considering the history between Zihuatanejo Mexico and the Philippines. 

 

There are definitely better choices especially if you're willing to live inland.

I grew up in L.A. but only went to TIjuana twice to get my car fixed and a personal lube and oil.

I do remember some great street tacos there back in the 80s.

The terrible smog season that is now a regular feature in Thailand from December thru March has 

got me interested in wintering in Mexico as an alternative.  I won't give up my condo in Jomtien just yet

but I'm open to anything.  I doubt I'll find a lady scene that can compare to Thailand but

I really miss good beaches with waves for body surfing.  The Pacific coast of Mexico

looks ideal for me.  Been watching a lot of Youtube videos of some of the beach towns and the beaches and 

food look fantastic.

7 minutes ago, LALes said:

I grew up in L.A. but only went to TIjuana twice to get my car fixed and a personal lube and oil.

I do remember some great street tacos there back in the 80s.

The terrible smog season that is now a regular feature in Thailand from December thru March has 

got me interested in wintering in Mexico as an alternative.  I won't give up my condo in Jomtien just yet

but I'm open to anything.  I doubt I'll find a lady scene that can compare to Thailand but

I really miss good beaches with waves for body surfing.  The Pacific coast of Mexico

looks ideal for me.  Been watching a lot of Youtube videos of some of the beach towns and the beaches and 

food look fantastic.

Puerto Vallarta is great.

Check the Covid figures if you dare ????

3 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Check the Covid figures if you dare ????

Yeah bad.

Get vaccinated. 

Free medical care for all, even travelers. Great food. Cheese!

 

There are much nicer, smaller cities throughout Mexico. Kind people, too.

 

Expat communities. Inexpensive alcohol. Forget the girls, though!

 

Honestly, were I to chose to live, or be forced to, elsewhere, I'd pick Mexico.

25 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Free medical care for all, even travelers. Great food. Cheese!

 

There are much nicer, smaller cities throughout Mexico. Kind people, too.

 

Expat communities. Inexpensive alcohol. Forget the girls, though!

 

Honestly, were I to chose to live, or be forced to, elsewhere, I'd pick Mexico.

 

I've paid for medical care myself while a tourist in Mexico.

If paying privately tourists are charged more (legally) than foreign temporary or permanent residents. 

There is a public health system but it's subject to approval based on age and condition for expats.

Private health insurance is available which while much cheaper than U.S. private insurance is based on age and medical condition. Probably excluded preexisting conditions cover as well and does get quite expensive for the older people. 

Some Americans think they can run back to the USA and use Medicare but not so easy if you're seriously ill. 

This is an advantage that Colombia has over Mexico and most Latin American destinations. Expats are required to enroll in their WHO highly rated health care system for very low rates, all ages pay the same based on income, all are approved. 

Different types of crime, by estado.. https://elcri.men/en/state-crime/

12 hours ago, LALes said:

 I doubt I'll find a lady scene that can compare to Thailand

La Zona Roja

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

This is an advantage that Colombia has over Mexico and most Latin American destinations

I recommend you to visit a government hospital in Colombia.

You might change your mind. 

1 hour ago, Kiujunn said:

I recommend you to visit a government hospital in Colombia.

You might change your mind. 

Fair enough. Have you been? A lot depends on your specific locality in Colombia. I have watched some videos of locals using the national system to visit a hospital and it looked very clean, very efficient, and very modern. There is another level there of the indigent that aren't even in the national system. That wouldn't apply to any expats there who are being required to buy into the national system through the visa system. Interestingly, the Colombian "national" system is actually run through private insurance companies. You sign up with a wide choice of private insurance companies, not the government. Based on my research the Ecuadorian system widely used by expats there (where private insurance isn't involved) is in much worse shape than in Colombia. Also for expats in Colombia under age about 62 it is highly recommended to purchase add on private insurance which gives more benefits such as fast access to specialists. Unfortunately once you are about age 62 you don't have that option. 

Anyway, I'm not suggesting that the health system in any country is perfect but if comparing Mexico vs. Colombia for older expats with preexisting conditions, Colombia clearly wins on that aspect. 

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Fair enough. Have you been? A lot depends on your specific locality in Colombia. I have watched some videos of locals using the national system to visit a hospital and it looked very clean, very efficient, and very modern. There is another level there of the indigent that aren't even in the national system. That wouldn't apply to any expats there who are being required to buy into the national system through the visa system. Interestingly, the Colombian "national" system is actually run through private insurance companies. You sign up with a wide choice of private insurance companies, not the government. Based on my research the Ecuadorian system widely used by expats there (where private insurance isn't involved) is in much worse shape than in Colombia. Also for expats in Colombia under age about 62 it is highly recommended to purchase add on private insurance which gives more benefits such as fast access to specialists. Unfortunately once you are about age 62 you don't have that option. 

Anyway, I'm not suggesting that the health system in any country is perfect but if comparing Mexico vs. Colombia for older expats with preexisting conditions, Colombia clearly wins on that aspect. 

A friend of mine (gringo, well-off) had Covid19 in Barranquilla, just last week.

Against my advice he went to a government hospital, because he felt too sick to stay at home.  He waited in a crowded area, not very clean, on a camping chair for 2 hours,  no doctor to be seen, nothing happening. So he asked the others how long they had been waiting. 6 hours.  He went home and cried.

 

2 days later he was brought to a private hospital.  A much more comfortable experience. 

They did lab tests, x-ray and a troponin test (that's a test you do either to rule out myocardial infarction or to pad the bill).

Treatment was amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. He was smart enough not to take it.

55 minutes ago, Kiujunn said:

A friend of mine (gringo, well-off) had Covid19 in Barranquilla, just last week.

Against my advice he went to a government hospital, because he felt too sick to stay at home.  He waited in a crowded area, not very clean, on a camping chair for 2 hours,  no doctor to be seen, nothing happening. So he asked the others how long they had been waiting. 6 hours.  He went home and cried.

 

2 days later he was brought to a private hospital.  A much more comfortable experience. 

They did lab tests, x-ray and a troponin test (that's a test you do either to rule out myocardial infarction or to pad the bill).

Treatment was amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. He was smart enough not to take it.

OK. As I said the situation varies depending on specific location within Colombia. The positive accounts I am hearing about have been in the Coffee Axis region. Thats in the paisa region which has a very different culture than the Caribbean region. Also if you're in the public system without private insurance you have the option of paying privately and the fees are likely to be significantly lower than paying privately in the U.S. But the latter point you could say the same about Mexico.

 

Another thing to consider. Colombia has been hit pretty badly with Covid and some regional systems are under abnormal great stress.

 

I'm a California boy and I've been to Mexico an unknown # of times as a tourist.  Mostly along the western seaboard.  I don't think too highly of living in Mexico City unless you have serious connections & money.

 

Mexico City's pollution used to be so bad that they'd left the streetlights on during the daytime.  It has improved.

 

In 2001, my company held a corporate meeting in Mexico City where all the country managers got together.  For some reason, the country manager of Mexico never showed-up and nobody could find him.  Two weeks later, we were informed that his body had been found.  Apparently he was killed in a botched kidnapping attempt and his body was left in a field until people found him.

 

Thailand is better, Bangkok is safer.

 

 

On 4/27/2021 at 9:02 PM, Jeffr2 said:

What about medical?  How are the hospitals there? 

 

There is a government health care system with basic hospitals mainly for locals, and then there is a higher level of service/facilities in private hospitals. I understand that the government hospitals are slow, bureaucratic places where you sit and wait for hours in a barren lobby to see a doctor. System is similar to Thailand, I guess.  Other foreigners I have talked with/read about have highly favorable reviews on care in private hospitals.  Quality of care in private hospitals is top-notch, but cheaper than the Bumrungrads and BNHs of Thailand.   And, of course, waaay cheaper than NOB (North Of the Border, as the USA is referred to.)

 

I haven't any experience with hospitals, but I had cataract surgery earlier this year in a private eye hospital and the experience was top notch.  I had eye surgery at Rutnin two years ago and I would call the Merida place on a par with it.  I paid out of pocket and it was about US$1100 all-in.  Absolutely no wait to schedule the surgery.  My initial exam with the doctor was on a Tuesday and when I asked how soon we could do the operation, she said "How about Thursday?" and she wasn't joking.  I give the doctor very high marks for both explaining things more clearly than Dr. Roy at Rutnin and also thinking outside the box and suggesting something that Dr. Roy never did that greatly improved my eyesight.  I'm not knocking Dr. Roy.  I highly recommend him for folks in Thailand with eye issues, but the doctor here was even better.

 

Out of laziness I renewed my Aetna (previously-known-as BUPA) Thailand policy last November to have some safety net should something go wrong healthwise.  This year I plan to use an insurance broker here in Merida to get a local policy, which I believe will be cheaper than the Aetna Thailand for similar coverage.  As a Yank over 65, I am now covered by Medicare so also have the option of getting medical care in the USA if I chose to.  Houston & Miami are less than two hours away from Merida by air.

 

On 4/28/2021 at 1:30 AM, Jeffr2 said:

I've not really had problems here with bureaucracy here.  Having a Thai wife makes a huge difference.  To live in Mexico, you absolutely have to speak Spanish.  You can get away without speaking Thai here.

 

In Merida I get around pretty well with limited Spanish.  I studied it for four years, but it was over 45 years ago so it's not nearly as good as it should be.  I would say that in places like Bangkok and Pattaya it is probably easier to get around on English only, but in Merida (a city of about a million, mainly Mexicans) it's not too bad.  In a more touristy place, I think English would be more widely understood.

 

On 4/28/2021 at 1:59 AM, Jeffr2 said:

I'm a sucker for old colonial architecture.  I'm sure I'd love visiting Mexico City.  But I'm not a big city person.  Been there, done that.  I like smaller cities now. LOL

 

As you might have picked up in the various posts above, there is a variety of options in Mexico.  Up in the mountains, along the Pacific beaches, the Mexican Riviera, an island like Cozumel, or an inland city -- quite a variety of climates, scenery and things to to do.  The bigger small cities all have the old colonial architecture.

 

Down where I am on the Yucatan Peninsula there is also a ton of Mayan sites to explore.  A TV documentary did an aerial survey of the area with some camera that can see through the jungle cover and the sites that have been uncovered so far are just the tip of the iceberg.  The area was much more widely populated in the Mayan era than previously thought.

 

On 4/28/2021 at 3:43 AM, J Town said:

The infrastructure in Mexico is just plain bad, internet service has to be inherited by someone leaving or dying, electricity is CRAZY expensive, as is the rent. In the six weeks I was there I saw only one woman I'd even THINK of poking. I am very happy back in LOS.

 

YMMV applies in Mexico, like it does in Thailand.

 

New Internet accounts are widely available in most parts of the country, but within a city it can vary.  Parts of Merida, where I am, have fibre optic internet, others  have 30Mbps cable internet, but at least in Merida things are improving quickly.  The house I rented in 2014 only had 10Mbps internet from TelMex (the national telephone company) and now the same house, same internet package, is 50Mbps service -- about US$20/month including a landline phone.

 

I've heard of some pricey neighborhoods in DF (Mexico City) but in general I think rent is reasonable.  Maybe not as cheap as rural Thailand, but also rural Mexico is cheaper than big cities, too.  If you rent a local house from a local Mexican (versus from one of the glitzy web sites catering to foreigners) you could get a nice house in Merida for between US$500 and US$1000 depending on location, level of upgrading, etc.  I bought, and am renovating, an old (records date back to 1907, but we think the house is actually older) colonial for ~US$40,000.  The renovation will cost me about another US$60,000 and I'll have a 2-bed/2-bath house in one of the areas highly sought after by gringos in Merida:  2.5 blocks from Santiago Park.  Like in Thailand, construction labor is rather inexpensive in Mexico.

 

Other infrastructure notes:

 

The roads for the most part are well maintained. 

 

Water where I am is from a basically unlimited underground water table.  I don't actually know about the rest of Mexico, but I've never heard of water rationing.   The municipal water is technically drinkable from the tap, but there is a high calcium content and some stomachs can't handle that.

 

My electricity, living in the hot climate of Merida for the past 14 months has averaged about US$14/month.  nb:  I'm not a huge fan of air con.  I live in an old colonial house with two-foot thick rock ("mamposteria") walls and high (18-foot) ceilings which helps.  This compares favorably to my Thailand PEA bills which averaged about B1200/month for the last several years I lived in my Jomtien condo.  The billing system for electricity almost requires advanced algebra to understand.  There are government subsidies for the six hottest months of the year for homes with moderate use.  Once you exceed the subsidized amount, the price jumps dramatically.  (If you research online and see folks moaning about "DAC" that's the unsubsidized rate that kicks in for higher use.)

 

On 4/28/2021 at 5:21 AM, smutcakes said:

Surely its only a matter of time that the cartels do move in? If its that nice it will attract wealthy people and one would think following that would be demand for drugs....

 

Just like there are hushed conversations about a certain unmentionable prominent family having its fingers in many pies in Pattaya/Jomtien, there are rumors that the cartels have put their families in Merida and have and unwritten code to keep trouble away from them.  Those rumors aside, Merida is off the "Narco Trail" of drug trafficking.  Merida does not generally attract a party crowd of tourists, unlike Cancun just a few hours drive away.  Cancun, and recently Tulum, attract younger, richer partiers and so the drugs are there, therefore so are the cartels, and so is cartel violence.

3 hours ago, wpcoe said:

In Merida...

Thank you for your very detailed and very intersting post

can you talk about the beaches and the sea?

I see on the map the city is not far from the sea side

the acces is easy? How are the beaches? Clean? Public or not?

no problem for swimming here? (Pollution, dangerous sea currents or waves?)

 

Also what about the food? there are a lot of markets? The products are cheap?

And the restaurants offer?

 

In your opinion what is the biggest problem for a westerner living in this city?

 

tyia for your answer

There is a very popular rumor going that Queretaro (similar to the rumor about Merida) are protected from cartel violence because of a special deal because the cartel people want a safe zone for their families. As far as I know this rumor has never been specifically proven as fact. I guess people notice the relative lack of cartel violence in some places and these myths are born. Of course it might be true but nobody can offer you any guarantees.

Mexico City disqualified in one word: Earthquakes!

 

(Told myself I was done with them when I left California.)

11 hours ago, wpcoe said:

Quality of care in private hospitals is top-notch, but cheaper than the Bumrungrads and BNHs of Thailand.   And, of course, waaay cheaper than NOB (North Of the Border, as the USA is referred to.)

No

No

No

 

Quality of care in private hospitals in Mexico is good, but not top-notch.

It's waaay more expensive than Bumrungrad etc. Maybe you haven't seen a lot of bills from both locations to compare, outpatient and inpatient, different fields of medicine.  I have.

It is generally even more expensive than the USA. 

 

21 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

Thank you for your very detailed and very intersting post

can you talk about the beaches and the sea?

I see on the map the city is not far from the sea side

the acces is easy? How are the beaches? Clean? Public or not?

no problem for swimming here? (Pollution, dangerous sea currents or waves?)

 

Also what about the food? there are a lot of markets? The products are cheap?

And the restaurants offer?

 

In your opinion what is the biggest problem for a westerner living in this city?

 

tyia for your answer

 

I can't give any first-hand info about beaches & the sea since I haven't ventured out in that direction.  I'm the same guy who lived in Jomtien for 12 years and never once went to the beach.

 

There are frequent buses from Merida city center to Progreso, the biggest of the nearby beach towns.  I believe it's about US$1 for a 50 minute ride.  You can Uber to Progreso in about 35 minutes for about US$20, I hear, though you'd need to find one that just came in from Merida in order to return that way.  Progreso is where the cruise ships stop (when they are operating.)  The pictures I've seen of the beaches there seem nice enough, though occasionally there are issues with sargassum (sea weed) clogging the beaches.  The beaches are mostly, if not all, public.  Several scandals hit the news recently where folks had erected fences to make the beach in front of their house private, and they've all had to tear them down after public outcry.

 

There is a foodie scene in Merida, but I don't think it's as large as even Pattaya.  Check out https://midcitybeat.com for an idea.  There is a nice variety of mid-priced restaurants on Paseo Montejo.  Paseo Montejo is a large tree lined boulevard with old mansions and trendy restaurants.  I'm not a foodie or food snob.  I just like tasty food for US$10 to $20 (or less) per meal, and have a nice selection of options there.

 

There is a big wholesale/retail food market in Merida city center, and Santiago Park near my house has a small wet market with meats, fruits & vegetables. There are two "Slow Food" markets on Saturdays that offer local, generally healthy, food options.  Mexican grocery chains are supplemented by multiple Walmart, Sam's Club and Costco locations.  And there is a large number of Oxxo and SiX stores, the equivalent of 7-11 and Family Mart.

 

Generally, prices for stuff I buy range from reasonable to cheap.   Basic staples like bread, milk and eggs are cheap.  Amazon Mexico continues to grow and bring in more items as an affordable shopping option.  Amazon USA also ships more things to Mexico these days,  but some things are puzzlingly expensive.  I wanted to order a US$20 pack of MiracleGro plant food from Amazon USA but the shipping was over US$130.  Go figure.

 

"...the biggest problem for a westerner living in this city"?  Hard to say.  For first-time expats from NOB (North of the Border), I'd say culture shock-lets in general ... lots of little things aren't "like they were back home," but folks who are expats living in Thailand already have dealt with that.  Maybe the language would be the biggest problem, even though it's easy enough to get around with English only, although maybe not as easy as it would be in Bangkok or Pattaya?

After two pages of reading I understand Mexico and me are not compatible.

I rather be in Italy or Tokyo as I normally do.

14 hours ago, Kiujunn said:

No

No

No

 

Quality of care in private hospitals in Mexico is good, but not top-notch.

It's waaay more expensive than Bumrungrad etc. Maybe you haven't seen a lot of bills from both locations to compare, outpatient and inpatient, different fields of medicine.  I have.

It is generally even more expensive than the USA. 

 

 

Okay, I was relying on second-hand reports.  Now we can get first-hand data from you!  Can you share the prices of Thai vs Mexican private hospitals from your experience, please?

 

My first-hand experience with a cataract operation at IECO in Merida versus what Rutnin in Bangkok charges:

 

- My cataract surgery in 2021 at IECO was ~US$1,400.  (I previously said $1,100 from memory, but I just went back and re-added my receipts.)

 

- The most recent post I can find (from 2017) quoted Rutnin as THB85,000 (~US$2,725 at today's exchange rate) for a lens that corrects astigmatism (which my IECO lens does.) 

 

- Rutnin would have been about twice the price of my Mexico operation, assuming no price changes at Rutnin since 2017.

They are used to much higher interest rates in Mexico.. That pushes up the prices on a lot of medical diagnostics. 

1 hour ago, wpcoe said:

 

Okay, I was relying on second-hand reports.  Now we can get first-hand data from you!  Can you share the prices of Thai vs Mexican private hospitals from your experience, please?

 

My first-hand experience with a cataract operation at IECO in Merida versus what Rutnin in Bangkok charges:

 

- My cataract surgery in 2021 at IECO was ~US$1,400.  (I previously said $1,100 from memory, but I just went back and re-added my receipts.)

 

- The most recent post I can find (from 2017) quoted Rutnin as THB85,000 (~US$2,725 at today's exchange rate) for a lens that corrects astigmatism (which my IECO lens does.) 

 

- Rutnin would have been about twice the price of my Mexico operation, assuming no price changes at Rutnin since 2017.

I don’t see how Mexico (as previously claimed) could even come close to the costs in the US.  The last time I saw a specialist (gastroenterologist) at UCLA, as a cash pay patient, for a 10 minute appointment, they tried to charge me US$850.00 (until I raised hell in the waiting room and they lowered it to $350.00

For cataract surgery in the US (Los Angeles, California) at one of the “discount” clinics, this is what I found online...

 

”If you do not have health insurance coverage of any kind, we offer reasonable rates for care. For standard IOL care (conventional implant) cataract surgery costs are in the range of $4,600 per eye. This includes our preliminary testing, facility fee, surgeon fee and anesthesia fees. Cataract urgery costs for Lifestyle IOLs and Refractive Services, and Laser-Assisted Cataract Care, if desired, are additional.”

 

source: https://www.la-sight.com/services/cataracts/cataract-surgery-fees/

 

6 hours ago, wpcoe said:

 

Okay, I was relying on second-hand reports.  Now we can get first-hand data from you!  Can you share the prices of Thai vs Mexican private hospitals from your experience, please?

 

My first-hand experience with a cataract operation at IECO in Merida versus what Rutnin in Bangkok charges:

 

- My cataract surgery in 2021 at IECO was ~US$1,400.  (I previously said $1,100 from memory, but I just went back and re-added my receipts.)

 

- The most recent post I can find (from 2017) quoted Rutnin as THB85,000 (~US$2,725 at today's exchange rate) for a lens that corrects astigmatism (which my IECO lens does.) 

 

- Rutnin would have been about twice the price of my Mexico operation, assuming no price changes at Rutnin since 2017.

It's not that  easy.

In Thailand,  there is a certain price level that you get used to. (And a certain standard of care.)

In Mexico,  many of their bills just make you faint.

It's mainly a problem in the tourist traps of the Yucatán, but  look at the DF:

 

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-test-costs-up-to-10000-pesos-in-private-hospitals/

 

So what did they do? First,   they charged people way more (almost 500 USD) than in Thailand for tests. Second,  they didn't even have those tests, so they charged people still 4 times more, and people got nothing in return. 

 

This is very typical for medicine in Mexico. For 2000 USD, you got friendly talk. And these were reputable big hospitals in the DF, not some sleazy private clinic in the Yucatán selling you brain surgery (that you won't survive) for a couple of hundred thousand dollars.