pappysmarket

On 4/16/2024 at 1:18 PM, RickS said:

i.e.    good ole days

Mannix was the first 'real' restaurant I ate in in 1998.

Wish I could remember for sure which year we first visited Ajijic but it was either in 97 or 98 so the same timeframe. We were scouting Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta for retirement possibilities. On a whim we booked a taxi driver to show us around the Lake Chapala area. He said the best Sunday brunch was at La Nueva Posada so there we went. Great food and a lovely view of the Lake, which had not yet receded so that was our first restaurant and it certainly was "real" also. That led to us moving to Ajijic in 2001 and also in 2008 moving to PV so we experienced the best of both. Mannix was a go-to for special occasions mainly for us. The old Pampa Tango opened, was close to our B&B so it was our everyday go-to place and then of course changed names to Ajijic Tango to settle a naming dispute with the original restaurant. Yep, the good old days. 

23 hours ago, vetteforron said:

Last I heard it was over $4000.00 for renunciation. I listen to Nomad capitalist on YouTube there is a ton of information. Andrew's dad lives in Ajijic. 

Great podcast. Never knew his dad lived at Lakeside. Thanks for that.

On 4/9/2024 at 8:55 AM, Ferret said:

In the U.S., I believe that mortgage rate interest is deductible on your income taxes. That is not the case in Canada.

Up to a certain limit it is deductible but for the vast majority of people, the new tax laws give a standard deduction greater than the total of your itemized deductions. It makes filing easier and cuts down on people exaggerating such things as charitable contributions. One remembers a former President's tax return taking a charitable deduction for donating used underwear. That's mostly now in the rear view mirror when filing one's taxes.

I have some Solar Eclipse glasses for sale, cheap. Only used once.

8 hours ago, Ferret said:

I have never understood the raising of interest rates to slow down inflation. Please explain. It seems to me that the only ones who benefit are those that have cash on hand and that isn't the people who are just getting by. Businesses can't expand and employ more people. Nobody buys houses so there are no furniture or appliance sales. Everything you want to buy, like a house or a car costs more. I still vividly remember the 70's in Canada when a house mortgage was 10% and a car loan was 19%.

Home mortgage rates in 1983 in the US were 18%. I don't remember what car loans were.

22 hours ago, Jreboll said:

Russia’s economy is not doing so well and their oil production is diminished by bombings by Ukraine. Brics is nothing more than a concept which hasn’t gotten very far. We’ll have to see if their gold backed currency gets off the ground. Let’s stick to the facts. 

Yes, we'll have to see if Brics is able to break the hegemony of the Petrodollar. They seem to be piling up huge amounts of gold which is driving the price up to new levels. The Ruble is doing quite well which would indicate the economy itself has recovered from the shock of sanctions.

Thanks to the US "sanctions" on Russia, their economy is now doing very well after shifting their markets to China and the Brics nations. If the Brics idea of changing how oil is priced from Petro Dollars  to whatever their currency ends up being I think the dollar will fall against every currency, not just the Peso. They hope to unveil a gold backed currency so we shall see.

2 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

We were fans for years but simply find Bruno's too pricey for having to put up with a lot of street noise and very  skimpy pours.  We buy excellent steaks at Costco along with Idaho potatoes and good wine and enjoy quiet meals on our Terraza for considerably less.

Didn't use to see empty tables there but the last few times we went, we did.  

I remember the days when Bruno was still there having to ask him specifically for Crema Acida for the baker. It was not offered but if he was around he would bring a little to the table. Then you would feel like a "regular", lol.

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.

...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.

On 2/17/2024 at 9:03 PM, NEWMtnMama said:

Interesting. For many years while I was there Boulder refused to allow Wal-Mart in the city limits for a variety of reasons.

Yeah, mainly snobbery.

On 2/17/2024 at 4:42 PM, Jreboll said:

Here in the Rio Grande Valley most towns have 80+% Hispanics. I’ve never seen an employee that doesn’t know English.  I’ve been to Laredo, lived in Houston and San Antonio and have never seen an employee that didn’t know English.

most Spanish spoken in Texas is 2nd or 3rd generation Spanish. Spanish passed on and not learned in a formal setting. You can distinguish a native Mexican from a Mexican American.

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.

On 2/17/2024 at 4:07 PM, Kiko said:

Rvgringo told me that the humidity in the valley was causing him issues with his heart so the move to the Tucson area.  He was an interesting guy with a life full of accomplishments but yet humble and down to earth.  DEP

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

20 hours ago, Kiko said:

I don't see many expats moving from lakeside to Brownsville because then they would have to learn Spanish. 🤣

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. 

44 minutes ago, Kiko said:

Here is a sobering thought, China's population has more than 20,000,000 who qualify for Mensa. Compare that to the US with 6,000,000 Americans.  I guarantee you that the Chinese Mensa members are not living in grandma's basement playing video games.

The Chinese want to be the leader of the world, and they have chosen to do this with their intellectual power rather than with their military.  They are smart enough to know that there is nothing to gain if the world is destroyed.  I'll put my money on the underdog in this dogfight.  As long as the US remains stuck in chaos with their destructive internal politics, China is moving forward with a comprehensive energy plan.  If they succeed, then we can expect that they will be the leading power of the world. Time will tell.

I spent some time with a couple of Chinese Elec engineers in Peru about 8 years ago and our climate change conversation was most illuminating.  They viewed this as a great challenge and without doubt humankind will solve this problem.  That is the attitude that needs to be keep on your radar not an attitude of helplessness, gloom and doom.

For those who have never been to Beijing, here is a snapshot in next post.

 

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.

23 hours ago, Mostlylost said:

TV news said it would end today 31 January

Typical of Mexican timetables. Just like "Monday". Which Monday I always asked? 2024 or which year?

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.

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. 

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

...Are we there yet? How much longer? We left Ajijic in 2008 and Ken was fixin ta move back then, lol.

20 hours ago, Mostlylost said:

And remember to always follow the money. There are huge profits to be made by calling climate change the result of people, none to be made if climate change is the result of natural cycles or forces.

 https://carboncredits.com/how-to-make-money-producing-and-selling-carbon-offsets/

 

 

and global warming is much better than cooling...IMHO

11 hours ago, dichosalocura said:

Youtube has about everything I care to see in the subject of documentaries and without the constant barrage of advertisements.

Yes, YouTube Premium is a Best Buy in streaming services.

15 hours ago, ibarra said:

I use a neck cushion as a cushion in wheelchair and to sleep on plane (if that is even possible).  You wear it instead of carrying it or trying to put it in carry on luggage. Can go around your neck, your arm or hook on purse if you carry one when you aren't sitting on it.  I use one that I purchased at Walmart, sturdy and decent material.  Here is a photo of one that is sold on Amazon to use as a reference.

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.

17 hours ago, Natasha said:

I would.... but no room.  Carry-on will barely manage for days away.

 

Me too.... but ONLY direct-flight option left between GDL and PV.

Shame that Almar closed up. They had great direct service to PVR with nice propjets and were always on time and somehow managed to serve a drink to everyone during what was a less than 30 minute wheels up to wheels down flight.

23 hours ago, HoneyBee said:

And what if the just in time new baby was a girl..😊

...You think they would have a problem with that? A baby is a baby.