Aquaponicsman

Mainecoons is 100% correct. Use this site for good references. As for all the apologists for the scam-artists who are "just Mexicans trying to make a living".. go jump in the lake. "You just dont understand the culture" is total BS... and posturing yourself as noble is even worse. In law, we call that a criminal co-conspirator. Living here as long as I have... I am possibly more Mexican than my bloodline shows. A crook is a crook no matter where they were born or their nationality.

The realtors I have spoken with said that we used to have more Americans than Canadians -- 60% Americans to 40% Canadians and now that number has shifted to 60% Canadians vs 40% Americans... but also there have been a lot of wealthier people from Guadalajara moving lakeside, as well. Needless to say, these are merely personal observations from Realtors, without any scientific data that I am aware of, but it aligns with my observations, as well. The Drudge Report had a linked headline today, "She's 63 and living by beach in Mexico on $1,000 a month: 'Can't imagine living in U.S. again'..." (Some gal in Mazatlán) But, such well-published stories will certainly entice many Americans to consider moving to Mexico. There are 10,000 Baby-Boomers retiring every day in the USA. [Baby boomers are defined as people born between 1946 and 1964.] About 77 million Americans were born in this time period. Many cannot afford to live in the USA, and half cannot even afford a $400 medical emergency expense, according to some news reports. I would suspect many will be seeking more affordable living conditions (and certainly less expensive medical care) and move to areas where they will feel comfortable, i.e., well-established expat communities. According to my same real estate friends, rental rates are going through the roof... to such an extent that many retirees on fixed incomes can no longer afford to live in Ajijic and are being forced into outlying communities. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. I have a friend who moved from Ajijic to Riberas del Pillar and she would not stop saying, "I can park... oh my goodness, I can park!" <g> So, to answer the OP's initial question: YES, I think more people will be moving here. Renters vs Buyers? That is a tough one to answer. A wise person rents here first before buying, to make sure they like where they are planning to buy. That said, with the higher minimum income immigration requirements to be able to live here, I suspect there will be more long-term buyers and lots of 6-mo tourist visa renters who decide they cannot meet the minimum requirements on their Social Security checks alone ($1000/mo as referenced in the article above, is insufficient income to be allowed remain in Mexico as a foreigner.)

Saturday morning and again Saturday afternoon, neither Superlake (which I believe uses Multiva for processing cards) and Vinos Y Licores Paz (which I believe uses Santander for processing cards) could accept credit or debit cards. The 7-11 in Riberas del Pilar could (and did) accept and was able to process my Chase (US based) Debit card. (I did not need to try one of my Credit Cards.) The situation did, however, bring to mind the article below from Mexico News Daily, and caused me to wonder about the practicality of such a proposal -- especially in the event of problems processing cards as was experienced by so many on Saturday. Government considers prohibiting use of cash for gasoline, tolls August 9 - The federal government is considering a ban on the use of cash to purchase gasoline and pay tolls as a means to fight tax evasion and money laundering.

This review came in one of my new-tech gadget newsletters this past week: Review: Langogo's Genesis translator takes a pocket-sized axe to the language barrier The Langogo Genesis is a hand-held pocket translator, smaller than a smartphone, that uses noise-cancelling microphones to translate between more than 100 languages, while offering you a 4G WiFi hotspot while you're travelling. We've been using one for the last few weeks. Read more

I bought some in bulk (1 kilo) in a plastic bag at the Chapala tienges for very little. Not sure if the lady is still there. Great to keep in the fridge to eliminate odors and apparently Baking Soda ( Bicarbonato de sodio) mixed with honey (or maple syrup) and heated together for a few minutes (Google the recipe) is supposedly a cure for many deadly diseases. Good stuff to have on hand... and comes in handy for certain recipes as well!

Scooters are great and economical... and would have loved to have one when we had the gas shortage a few months ago. I had a Vespa when I was a kid and loved it. Now, if I were inclined to buy a scooter I would probably go with Honda, because of their quality. (I had a Honda 750F Supersport that lasted years... and when I sold it, it was running as well as when I first bought it.) I drive a Honda CRV (SUV) and love it. Just real high quality manufacturing. I have been a Harley guy for years now and have a '79 Superglide... mostly out of nostalgia, but like I said above, would have loved having a scooter, too.

I was just relating how I did it.... and thought it needed to be done. One month I paid $150 pesos, as usual, but forgot to tell them Paquete 150 and they applied it as just a regular recharge and I ran out of time in 2 days calling the US.

I have a Telcel package "Paquete 150" which costs $150 pesos (@ $7.90 USD) per month with unlimited calls to landlines and cellphones for all of Mexico, USA and Canada. You have to go into the Telcell store (I used the one at Laguna Centro on the Libramiento) to set it up but then you can pay every month at an Oxxo or 7-11 (make sure you point out that it is "Paquete 150" which is one of the selections on their screens) and you are good for another month. I do not use data on my cell, but I think it comes with data, too. I also use Vonage with a Texas area code.. so there is no charge for people who call me from the USA. I also use Skype for its ease of texting and for calling countries other than Mexico, USA and Canada

Put it outside with a For Sale (Se Vende) $2000 pesos sign on it and someone will steal it within an hour. Problem solved.

We are supposed to non-political I am sorry I opened that can of worms.

Yep... never saw so many people crawling under barbed wire to get into concentration camps! They must not get CNN wherever they are and don't know about the concentration camps, yet. And to think... Americans used to try to get out of them!

Additional pics

Soon you can just renounce your citizenship, go back to the States as an illegal alien and your healthcare will all be free! And you will get more in benefits than you get from Social Security as a citizen!

I got a pizza to go there a couple days ago... and don't know what changed, but it has, as we had to throw it out after one slice each. It was inedible for us.

Miomama, please follow up and let us know what Telcel says.