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pappysmarket

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pappysmarket last won the day on November 2 2022

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    Ajijic 2001-2008 Puerto Vallarta 2008-2018 Currently in Alamo, Texas
  • Interests
    Opened Casa Flores B&B on Zaragoza in Ajijic in 2002

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  1. Insuring a 70 year old person against health costs would be similar to writing a policy on the Titanic...after it struck the iceberg. Most companies are not that stupid. IMSS like all national health insurance schemes relies on getting premiums from a large portion of the population that is young and healthy to pay the claims of those who need care. The problem is most young, healthy people don't want to pay a premium for something they are unlikely to need. So the government then must either compel participation or use general tax revenue to make up the shortfall. Or in the case of the US, just print more phony money and increase prices. This is the classic cause of inflation, too many dollars chasing too few goods or services.
  2. ...and make sure your electric meter still has the working parts. CFE cuts off service by physically removing your meter. Found out the hard way in 2002 when we never received a bill. Guy with shirt and tie came to the door and apologized profusely and then removed the meter. Back then you rarely got a bill but the locals knew it was their responsibility to walk to the paint store and ask how much your bill was. You then paid the lady and she gave you a receipt. That's how you learn stuff in Mexico. Oh, our Maestro, Luis, just hooked two wires into the old meter and with a piece of PVC put them up on the power lines so we had power until we could go to Chapala and arrange reconnection. No power for a half hour was all we suffered...thanks to Luis.
  3. For sure, some of the uh, not so nice, "expressions" I learned in Mexico are not known here. If I want to let one of the locals know I know a little Spanish I ask them if they know the expression Saludca. "Saludca???" "Yeah, Salud Cabxxn". 3 second pause and huge laughter. That one hasn't made it to The Valley yet.
  4. Wow, did he ever have stories to tell. Quit his good job with Eastman-Kodak and sailed the Pacific with his family for several years. Truly a humble man. Yes, people here do complain about the humidity and surely it must be higher than in Tucson but after 10 years living in PV we assure the locals "You ain't seen nothin". Lol
  5. True Dat! Actually, here in the Rio Grande Valley a large proportion of the residents speak both Spanish and English. The first language is almost always Spanish but their English is usually better than your Spanish so you end up speaking English. Frustrating after living in Mexico where your Spanish is better than their English so you get to practice your Spanish. Some, obviously, don't speak any English and then knowing Spanish is a big advantage, especially over the Winter Texans that are baffled over Hola. Spanish is surely the predominant language you hear people speaking in almost any store you go into. We live in Alamo which is closer to McAllen than Brownsville. Our subdivision is Alamo Country Club, which has 524 homes around a 9 hole golf course. Consistently voted best 55+ community in the Valley. There are about 80% stick built homes and the rest MH but no more mobiles are allowed even if your home would burn down. We are in a MH of about 1300 sq. ft. which would sell for about 115 K if we put it for sale. Many people here walk across the bridge to Progreso for dental work and generic prescriptions along with hair care, pedicures, etc. We all have golf carts to get around the subdivision and our HOA fee is $190/Mo. which includes golf, pool, etc. and best of all 24 hour security at the gate. In almost 5 years here I have never heard of any crime whatsoever. Alamo is starting to grow just as the whole Valley itself is. COL is definitely lower than the Houston area with food probably about the same but housing still lower. Our property tax is just under $900/Yr. with the Homestead exemption. Those who remember RV Gringo on this board may know they lived here for a while before returning to Yuma where he passed. Our Medicare Advantage plan prevents us from seeking medical care in Mexico and thus we needed to get back to the US but we only made it about 10 miles inside the border. We love being in Hidalgo County which is 87% Hispanic. If anyone else finds a need to get inside the US for any reason I would suggest Googling this area. Traffic is nothing like Guadalajara or even Lakeside for that matter.
  6. I have a Brother-in Law who is a past president of the Pittsburgh Mensa organization. If he is a typical representation of people with that high of an IQ I would have to respectfully disagree with Kiko. If you want to discuss theoretical issues he is the best. Practical issues...no.
  7. Typical of Mexican timetables. Just like "Monday". Which Monday I always asked? 2024 or which year?
  8. Wi-fi only with a hub that connects to your router either via ethernet or now just by wi-fi. We have two such phones. One is a Clear Choice phone connected by ethernet that has the closed captions screen that my wife prefers to use. The other one is an Ooma that connects via wi-fi that still has the same number we have had in Houston since we moved from there to Mexico. We ported it a couple of times from previous wi-fi setups that we had in Ajijic and PV. Works pretty good with the usual hiccups that cell phone service has, namely the caller moving from tower to tower as they drive along.
  9. Many restaurants in PV did not take foreign credit cards when we last lived there in 2018. According to one owner I spoke with, the problem is with tourists contesting a charge once they return home. The bank puts a hold and it is extremely difficult to fight the allegation, especially from out of the country. I have had a couple of contested charges for items we sold on eBay. The tracking clearly showed they were delivered but the customer said no. One was resolved in our favor and the other one in the customer's favor but eBay stepped in and took the hit instead of us. The owner said it usually involved large groups and lots of alcohol with one person paying the entire bill. Once they sober up, they are horrified at how much they spent and take a stab at getting the bank to help them out.
  10. We always and only used Estafeta USA the entire time we resided in Mexico. They hand off to Estafeta in Nuevo Laredo and never once had a problem importing absolutely anything we wanted, including many items Amazon said Do Not Ship to Mexico. YMMV
  11. ...Are we there yet? How much longer? We left Ajijic in 2008 and Ken was fixin ta move back then, lol.
  12. and global warming is much better than cooling...IMHO
  13. Yes, YouTube Premium is a Best Buy in streaming services.
  14. It's also great to be able to sleep in a recliner. I recently had two separate hernia surgeries and the doctor suggested sleeping in a recliner the first couple of days and this neck pillow made it very comfortable. Without it you constantly wake up as your head droops, lol.
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