Mexico v Thailand

[HappyExpat57]

52 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Depends on where uou are. There are some very nice areas in Mexico. But, the nicer areas tend to be quite expensive. A lot more than here. 

I was living in a 2-bedroom 2-bath on the water in Na Jomtien, around $750 US/month.  A comparable in Zihuatanejo was $1600 and as I posted before, electric was beyond ridiculous, NO hospital anywhere near, no shopping center, no internet, and the nightlife was non-existent. So basically: No.

[save the frogs]

99 per cent of the best "culture" is available digitally online, practically for free.

live venue shows are generally over-priced, over-rated, out-dated (they date back to an era when the internet didn't exist), and unnecessary. 

with a few possible exceptions ...

Mexico has Day of the Dead celebrations ... that sounds like fun. 

 

[josephbloggs]

12 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

And using the same alphabet is immensely easier, in addition to not having to deal with the ridiculous tones.
 
And the last part is the most important one. I find that throughout Latin America, when I am trying hard to be understood, people reciprocate that effort, and try hard to understand me. And I think they may be more creative, or more linguistically skilled than most Thais (able to dance in circles intellectually, to interpret and figure out an answer to an unfamiliar problem). You seem to get huge credit for trying to speak Spanish, even if it is very imperfect. I do not get any of that here. Nunca. Nada. Zero. You do not pronounce it perfectly here, we have no idea what you are saying! And there is no effort made to attempt to figure it out. Lame. Very lame. That gets very old. 
 

You're reading too much in to it and looking at it from a biased perspective (Thais not culturally nuanced or "linguistically intelligent / skilled").

The "ridiculous" tones are part of the language and almost like part of the spelling. What, to the linguistically unintelligent, sounds the same and is just a silly tone, to the Thai sounds like a completely different word entirely with entirely different meanings and contexts (context plays a big part in Thai language). So you think the Thais are lame for not getting you, I think you are lame for not understanding better after being here for so long. I definitely think you are lame for blaming the Thais for this and suggesting they can't be bothered trying to figure you out - you simply don't understand their language or how it works.

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 2:29 PM, bradiston said:

Yeah, that's an obvious drawback. Are gringo lower in status than farang?

Gringo is much more of a derogatory term than f-rang.

Interestingly it is neutral in other countries such as Ecuador.

There are numerous reports that backlash/resentment of expats especially digital nomads is on the increase (because of gentrification and the usual ugly American stuff). 

But overall there are some great reasons to move to Mexico. 

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 2:50 PM, Chicksaw said:

Yep, gotta learn the local lingo. Thai is hard. Spanish much easier. I studied it in the US and was actually holding my own in conversations on trips to Central America.

 

I understand Portuguese is a not too distant cousin of Spanish. Should be a fun project to try and learn it and then head over to Brazil, even if only for a vacation.

 

Btw, when you say South Brazil which towns in particular?

Latin Americans will expect you to learn the language more than Thais do. Of course you can get by without it in expat havens.

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 4:54 PM, spidermike007 said:

Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht!

 

In Mexico in nice areas, expect to pay $1,000 per month, and up for a nice condo or a small house. 

 

Mexico has gotten alot more expensive.

If you want to live on a budget you need to head to less popular areas.

Forget about San Miguel Allende, Puerto Vallarta, Lake Chapala, etc.

More off the beaten track by expats places like Aguas Calientes still offer great value.

There are also middle level places.

Mexico is surprisingly to many a VERY LARGE country. There are lots of options for pleasant affordable living where you can choose your climate and crime level as well. 

[save the frogs]

In Mexico, if you have 5 million dollars in your bank account, the banks will tell the cartels and the cartels will kidnap you.

 

Most people don't have that much money, but not sure what the cutoff point is though. 

 

 

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:16 PM, bignok said:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Mexico&city1=Mexico+City&country2=Argentina&city2=Buenos+Aires

 

Buenos Aires much cheaper than Mexico City.

But Argentina is kind of crazy with inflation and constant crises.

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:23 PM, save the frogs said:

not sure, but i think you can apply for mexican citizenship after 5 years of permanent residency.

which means access to health care.

there's around 1.6 million americans living in mexico. how bad can it be?

 

Mexico has massively better for expats residency options than Thailand.

The income and/or show money levels go up every year (they have already gotten rather high) but with the right income or show money you can get instant permanent residence! Almost too good to be true. If you're under you can get temp residence and get perm residence in 5 years without ever proving income or money again! 

I don't really see why most people would bother with citizenship. Some might have special reasons. 

Even on temp residence you're eligible for very basic Mexican national health. Really not good enough at that level but I guess better than nothing.

If you're looking for countries that get you into decent health care systems from the get go, look into Colombia and Ecuador. 

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:26 PM, HappyExpat57 said:

That was the only thing I found very decent in Zihuatanejo. The seafood was amazing! Frequently a fisherman would bring a huge tuna up to the top of the beach and let people take pictures. And almost every night a woman would cook up two huge cauldrons of tamales, 7 for a US dollar. People lined up about 30 minutes before she started selling them and they were well worth the wait (if you were in the mood for tamales).

Yeah I had a great time in Ziguatanejo too but I would be bored to death living there.

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:36 PM, save the frogs said:

I don't know ... I think this forum is biased towards Thailand since pretty much everyone has settled here.

If I find a Mexico forum and I can probably find a bunch of expats there who think Mexico is better than Thailand.

 

Yes and no.

They've heard about the weed scene here and they're jealous.

[MrJ2U]

On 6/4/2023 at 2:23 PM, Chicksaw said:

Absolutely. As long as you can dodge inter-cartel crossfire and having your head blown off, Mexico is a very competitive alternative to Thailand.

Don't forget the women with there lard driven waistlines. 

[Jingthing]

21 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

Mexico was my first choice for a long time but the cost of living there went up a lot. I would not live in the big tourist areas of Mexico. Oaxaca was my choice of place to live. I do like Mexican food more than Thai. I don't really like Mexican women. They like the men wear their emotions on their shirt sleeves. Loving and kind one minute, cutting your throat the next.

Mexican food in Mexico (especially in foodie places like Oaxaca) is for my taste better than Thai food among the best in the world. For those that haven't eaten there widely, you don't really know about it. But like anything I get bored with local stuff fairly quickly, and want variety. Mexico City would work well for that but Mexico overall is not going to well satisfy international cravings (outside of American) especially for Asian food! So overall I think Thailand wins easily. There are exceptions of course but just talking in generalities. 

[stoner]

i'm leaning more towards mexico......

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/02/americas/mexico-missing-staff-body-parts-bags-intl-hnk/index.html

[Jingthing]

On 6/4/2023 at 9:35 PM, JimTripper said:

One good thing about Mexico is as a U.S. citizen you can get Mexican citizenship, yes citizenship, pretty easy. I think you need about 120k-150k ????????‍♂️ usd and your fast tracked in basically just extend things out for some years with minimal hassle. You can also come and go into and out of the country as you please.

 

So that balances out the “safety” factor somewhat. You won’t ever get kicked out like you could in Asian countries. That’s “safer” for a lot of retirees that may not have a place in their home country left to run to. Or if there’s some kind of problem you have rights and won’t just be jailed, etc stuff like that.

There is no instant citizenship there just showing money. Instant perm residency yes. Mexico makes good on their promises. Get perm residency there and it really is for life.

[Jingthing]

BTW, Mazatlan (a big beach city) is still a decent lower/mid budget option for beach bound expats. But it's in Sinaloa of the famous cartel. Your relatives will be worried.

 

The interior colonial cities such as Queretaro (getting expensive) offer year round mild weather if you want to get away from heat and humidity.

 

If you like big cities, Mexico City is one of top cities in the world. If you're willing to go with a smaller apartment in a somewhat less popular neighborhood, it's doable on a mid level budget.

[save the frogs]

26 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Don't forget the women with there lard driven waistlines. 

you could probably take a jaunt over to Cancun and meet women from all over the world there.

it's one of the busiest airports on the planet, i think. 

[save the frogs]

30 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

look into Colombia and Ecuador. 

I read crime rates are going up in colombia.

their shady past creeps me out. 

but thx for info about mexico. i will look it up. 

[save the frogs]

54 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Forget about San Miguel Allende, Puerto Vallarta,

I saw a video on youtube recently. she recommended a small town an hour away from Puerto Vallarta to save money.

you do need to drive to the beach though ... 

 

[Jingthing]

32 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I read crime rates are going up in colombia.

their shady past creeps me out. 

but thx for info about mexico. i will look it up. 

They are in popular Medellin.

But coffee region cities such as Manizales and Armenia not so much and much more affordable too. 

[Jingthing]

14 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I saw a video on youtube recently. she recommended a small town an hour away from Puerto Vallarta to save money.

you do need to drive to the beach though ... 

 

True that but for me small beach towns way too boring.

I love Puerto Vallarta (but too expensive).

I could live in Mazatlan though. 

I like places where everything is easily available (like Pattaya ha ha). 

[Jingthing]

More specifically ... 

The big problem in Medellin, etc. is foreigners meeting loose women online or in bars who are working in gangs. They're drugged with scopolamine, everything is stolen (the victims help), and often enough they OD on the drug and die.

A much lower risk of this in cities that aren't big foreign tourist magnets as the gangs operate where the pickings are abundant and easy.

[Hanuman2547]

On 6/4/2023 at 2:37 AM, jaywalker2 said:

You've got a lot of Thais fleeing Thailand as well. I met a Thai woman studied in the U.S., became a doctor, and settled in California. She was back visiting and I asked her if she ever thought about moving back to Thailand. "Who would ever want to live here if they didn't have to?" she said.  America is great if you've got money.

Back in the 80's my Thai wife and I knew a number of Thai medical doctors in the US.  Most had come to the US for advanced training in their specialty.  It seemed that after completing their training they would be hired on somewhere in the US to gain experience.  One thing leads to another and after a few years they had pretty much put roots down in the US.  

[Hanuman2547]

2 hours ago, save the frogs said:

In Mexico, if you have 5 million dollars in your bank account, the banks will tell the cartels and the cartels will kidnap you.

 

Most people don't have that much money, but not sure what the cutoff point is though. 

 

 

Why would anyone (expat) keep $5 million US dollars in a Mexican bank?  Wealthy Mexicans with that kind of money don't even do that!

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Why would anyone (expat) keep $5 million US dollars in a Mexican bank?  Wealthy Mexicans with that kind of money don't even do that!

Yeah it would be crazy to do that.

Many expats don't have a bank account there at all. 

[save the frogs]

1 hour ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Why would anyone (expat) keep $5 million US dollars in a Mexican bank?  Wealthy Mexicans with that kind of money don't even do that!

true.

ignore that comment.

but still interesting (to me) that the cartels have so much power that the banks are colluding with them. 

[bignok]

9 hours ago, Jingthing said:

But Argentina is kind of crazy with inflation and constant crises.

Not an issue if you earn us dollars or other. Bad for locals.

[GinBoy2]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Mexican food in Mexico (especially in foodie places like Oaxaca) is for my taste better than Thai food among the best in the world. For those that haven't eaten there widely, you don't really know about it. But like anything I get bored with local stuff fairly quickly, and want variety. Mexico City would work well for that but Mexico overall is not going to well satisfy international cravings (outside of American) especially for Asian food! So overall I think Thailand wins easily. There are exceptions of course but just talking in generalities. 

Well as for food me and Mrs G have had some heated arguments about that.

 

My family is originally from Guadalajara and in the past few years after we moved back to the US we try to spend at least a week every year there with family.

 

I think the food there is unbelievable, not that I don't love my wife's Thai cooking, but secretly I'd take my Aunt's cooking any day!

 

Planning a full family reunion later this year.

 

We're introducing my American daughter's baby son, and my Thai son's baby.

 

When Mexican families gather like this, you don't come away feeling anything left than stuffed to the gills! 

[Lacessit]

On 6/4/2023 at 8:13 PM, bignok said:

Chiang Mai has plenty of culture. Udon does not.

IIRC you started another thread asking what there was by way of entertainment in Chiang Mai.

[Woof999]

11 hours ago, save the frogs said:

you could probably take a jaunt over to Cancun and meet women from all over the world there.

it's one of the busiest airports on the planet, i think. 

The airport might tell everyone who will listen that, but I don't think its true. It did have somewhat of a captive market during COVID and so it's numbers increased dramatically, as did prices, with service levels dropping to match.

 

Realistically before and now, it's probably in the top 50 worldwide, below airports such as Antalya, Munich, London Gatwick. Still pretty busy though.