kimanjome

There's a whole $@#$%^&*^ of us expats here in lower San Antonio who will jump at signing up with Ilox. We all live here year-round and we will be glad to wait at home for an installer to show. BTW about a month about there were installers on our street (La Paz) and we asked what they were installing, they told us "fiber optiic, from here to Riberas" (in Spanish) but unfortunately my husband didn't catch the company name. I did go up the hill to TelCel and a rep there told me, after speaking with the manager, that they are going to be putting in the 10 mps service here soon (right now we are lucky if we get 1.5 mps) but we would rather go with Ilox for sure!

Went to the doctor at the Benavides Pharmacy adjacent to Soriana. Older man with salt-and-pepper hair, a "real" doctor. Pleasant man who spoke excellent English. 70 pesos. BTW just went to the link https://www.indeed.com.mx/cmp/Farmacias-Similares/salaries and I see that a Doctor/a averages 9,600 pesos a month. That is about as much as my housekeeper makes working for me 15 hours a week, and no university education! Something definitely wrong with the payscale here.

Re: getting a script, can the pharmacy doctor write a script for a refill for a US prescription for anxiety meds, like Ativan for flying? I usually have an annual, non-refillable supply of 30, as I travel a lot, and I ran out on last flight back here.

Returned from Guad late yesterday, also, and could see the fire on the northern side of the slope. Tonight it is on the southern (Chapala) side. Seems to be spreading this way with the northerly winds that come at night. But as the winds shift, so, too, will the fire. Couldn't figure out what was going on with the helicopter.... Thought someone had gone out on an inflatable pool toy and couldn't make it back to shore, so a rescue effort was called in. Now I know.

Thanks for all the info, everyone. I figure I am going to be paying an extra $60-70 USD on the next CFE bill, and possible $30-$40 on the bill following that...Maybe a grand total of $100 USD for running 3 mini-splits during the hottest part of the year. Still beats the $300 USD I was spending on electricity every month (think: central air) in Florida.

So the conclusions I can draw are: If 1.8 is LESS than 2.8, then I will be banking credits with CFE If 2.8 is LESS than 1.8, then I will be owing CFE. ----------- Right now my 1.8 meter reads 3951 [Friday April 19 it read 3931] And now for 2.8 meter reads 3939 [Friday April 19 it read 3930] Therefore, at this point in time, I am "owing" CFE 12 kWh, correct? But this is because I am running 3 mini-split a/c units at night in the bedrooms, each for a few hours. If the usage continues as is based upon Friday 19 April to this morning 23 April, it appears I am using 3 kWh a night from CFE for all the a/c units combined. Over the course of a month it will be appx 90 - 100 kWh I am pulling from CFE. So, I may get a small-ish bill from CFE in June for somewhere around 200 kWh, right? Yet when the rains come in late June my mini-split usage will go down or even disappear, and I will start "netting" more kWh and thus, not need to pull from CFE, true? .

@Bisbee Gal or GoSolar,, can you also assist me in understanding my bill? The meter I understand: one number represents "what the solar panels are producing" and the other represents "what the home is consuming". The difference between those amounts is what is (hopefully) sent to the grid. But, what does 1.8 represent, and what does 2.8 represent? Which is which? It is the CFE bill that has me baffled. This is what I do know: --The monthly minimum charge, Cargo Fijo, has increased from 39.80 to 40.10. {Tariffs for Basico have increased; Intermediate range has increased; I think DACA rates went down) -- Lectura Anterior means "meter reading/amount of previous bill" --Lectura Actual means " meter reading/amount for this current statement" QUESTION: What is the TOP number on my bill, Energia and the lower number, Cargo Minimo? and over to the right, Total Periodo? ------------------ Note: I do understand kWh, I have a Kill-o-Meter and check everything. Also I keep trying to upload scans of my bills and jpg of my meters but I continually receive "Attachment Failed" messages, even when the size of the attachment is <200kb

Last week I took an Uber from Zapopan to SAT and it was 440 pesos. I was feeling sorry for the driver because I thought he would have an empty ride back to Guad, but even before we had reached the WalMart intersection he had a fare lined up to go TO GDL airport. He said he really likes doing the Guad to Chapala trips because he always has a fare back to Guad, and most of the time it's the airport. And then he will catch another fare right outside the airport and back into the city.

Last minute change of plans and now we are searching for a place that will be open for brunch on Easter Sunday. Thanks.

A few solutions to the higher temps of March, April, May and some of June: Install a mini-split air-conditioner in the bedroom. Now you are thinking, what about the CFE bill? Well, yes, there will be an increase. But if you run the a/c for only an hour a night to cool the bedroom off--the concrete walls retain the cooler temps--then you are only adding 1 kw hour a day, or 30 kw hours a month, to your bill--not enough to send you into DAC. Then I run a floor fan for the rest of the evening, measured with a Kill-a-Meter to be 40w an hour. Assuming you own your home, you can make a lot of improvements to reduce the heat. First, we repainted the imperbelizante on the roof from brick red to white. The white reflects the sun/heat. Using our laser digital thermometer we noticed a definite decrease in heat on the ceiling, by about 3C/6F. This lowered the room ambient temp, too. Next, we hung thermal insulated curtains over all the windows. This dropped the room internal temps by another couple of degrees. We put at least one big potted plant in each room. Plants respirate and decrease ambient temperature. Big potted plants (palms) outside on the terrace to filter out strong afternoon rays. I had a local carpenter make solid, internal shutters for my hottest windows. Like plantation shutters, but solid. They look great, reduce noise, and act as another insulation barrier to reduce heat. They also insulate rooms in the winter to maintain heat when we use a space heater. Overall the house's internal temperature now is about 73-75F, max, depending upon the room. That is really good this time of year, considering when we bought the house it was like a sauna and averaging about 85F this same time of year. Had some serious design flaws which I changed. All of these things cost money but then again, I am saving money by not paying to leave here for several months. ,

I am in lower San Antonio, on Calle La Paz. A lot of us expats are here. Right now there is a truck outside my house as I type, and according to the cable installer, these are Ilox lines going in. At present I get 1.9 down and .4 to .6 upload speeds. Yes, you read that correctly. If I can get 50 down and 15 up I would be thrilled.

thank you, just what i wanted

I bought the last 3 little goldfish at the pet store by Soriana, but I would like a few more for my big fountain. These little guys I bought aren't even 2" long, so I hoping to find something a bit bigger. Are there any pets stores or places that sell them around here, or a private individual who has them for sale?

We have a 22,000 BTU inverter 220/240v minisplit from TioSams for a very large bedroom 6*7*4 meters. We run it during April, May, June, July and August, and our CFE bill has never gone above 46.00 pesos with 8 solar panels. Cost 5100 pesos to wire plus parts. İ want to add 2 small mini splits 110v to 2 bedrooms each 3*3*4 meters. Saw some brand name units at Coppel in the 7000 to 10,000 pesos range. İ want these for nightime cooling between 9pm and 3am, for visitors during the hot months.

I have the same issue and "purchased" a Skype #. I receive the verification code as a voice. What I like about Skype is I could choose the state, region, and even the telephone number---they list all the available ones. If you don't like them available numbers you can choose another city and look through that list. Very handy for when I am doing business NOB. By the way, if you travel frequently to the US andneed cell service while you are there, there is a company that has free service, even a free SIM. It's called FreeUp. The only thing you have to do is go to the account every month and manually tick off that you want to continue free service.

Based upon the responses, it seems like there is a wide range of differences between employees and their expectations. Likewise, how employers treat their help. One couple I know have a maid and gardener 1x a week, 4 hours. They always provide their workers lunch. Another employer provides her maid with bus money, pastries for breakfast, coffee, and castoff clothing and household goods. There are those employees who pout or hint at getting something, and others who would never think of doing so. I have been an employee in the past, and I have done--and continue to do--menial labor. I shovel holes, I paint walls, I use a drill and a saw-zall. I know how hard that work is and I appreciate the effort and treat the workers more than fairly, or so I believe. However, I am feeling that the more I give, the more is expected, and it has become a vicious cycle. Yes: the best idea is to sit down and have a calm discussion to make clear our (employer) parameters.

Do we have to pay the vacation days at the end of the calendar year? We didn't. We thought we would pay at the end of one year, from the date we retained them. (Although we did pay their aquinaldo PLUS an additional 2-week bonus!). They haven't worked one year for us yet. Yes, they were paid their finiquitos at closing.

Thanks, Bisbee. I am familiar with your gardens and pool, they are the same sizes as mine, except my pool is smaller. Actually, our yard shrank when we put in a small pool, and the gardener insisted he would take care of the pool. After three months we noticed that he was unable to do so, and thus, we hired a pool service. So, his job duties have changed. Nevertheless, he still maintains our yard gardens satisfactorily, as well as the street side of the house, and he trims back large tree limbs as needed, so I need not call a tree service. When it rains we have him sweep the garage, or put the cars in the street to wash them. Sometimes he will leave, as there is truly nothing to do. We pay him, regardless. What I am not liking is how there seems to be some kind of competition between the gardener and housekeeper; if we give him something, like an old wrought iron grate, then the next time we are discarding something, she makes a point of stating that the gardener got it last time, and she would like to have it this time. And vice versa. Its almost like they sibling rivals, but they are both in their 50s! My husband has suggested that we (meaning, me and the gardener, then later, me and the housekeeper) sit down at a table and discuss vacation, sick days, and time off. So the policy of this household is clear. Take it or leave it. Also, do we continue to provide coffee and food for the housekeeper, and sodas for the gardener and his helper? Everyone I have spoken to says they provide drinks and food, as well as freebies, like old TVs and refrigerators, etc. About the gardener blowing up: yes, he became loud and agitated, waving his arms, insisting he is a good person (true)....due in part, I am sure, to his frustration in not knowing the rules of household, as they have been inconsistent between hubby and myself. On the other hand, should we really need to have strict rules?

General question do those who have household help, like maids and gardeners. İf your worker notifies you of a day off for medical appointment or illness, do you pay them? İf so, how many times do you do this per year? Mi In the past, whenever my gardener advised me in advance of an appointment, he would ask to switch workdays at my home, which was fine. A few times over the course of the year i would pay him, nevertheless, even if he didn't work. However, the last few times he had not made up the missed days (he always takes the entire day). He is averaging missing one day a month, that is, 1 out of 12 workdays. He is reliable and a good worker. This most recent time he showed me his cita, appointment notification, and I told him no problem. However, after I asked him if he would prefer to switch days or not be paid for his time/day off, he became upset and blew up at me. According to him, workers in Mexico have the right to be paid for doctors appointments and medical leave. I asked if he knew how many paid sick days or doctor appointments were allowed per year. He did not know, but told me that is a law i need to check on. This brings me back to my housekeeper, who wants IMSS, which means I become her employer. Although I want to do the right thing for her, I think by becoming her employer I lose a lot of my rights, and my gardener will want equal treatment for himself, and then suddenly I am running a business out of my home (with all the paperwork involved) which is the exact opposite of what I wanted when I retired. As a side question: why am I having these issues with my workers? I have had them for under a year, I retained them when I bought the house. I understand the previous homeowner who had them was scared to say no (she spoke no Spanish) and was very lenient. I have asked friends and neighbors and most are similar in mindset, they "let it slide" or "don't want to rock the boat". Then there are those on this forum who say we are being taken advantage of and this is not how most domestic workers act. I am confused!

Thank you very much for the information. Considering that cost includes insurance, aguinaldo, supplies, etc etc. it puts into perspective what one could/might/may pay a maid. In my current situation I am paying our maid 750 p a week for 15 hours, and she has recently asked me to consider providing IMSS--that is another 35% contribution on top of her 750--which would bring me to 1000 p weekly for 15 hours, or 67 p an hour AND my paying the aguinaldo, vacation, frequent gifts, and outlay of cleaning supplies. She is a great maid, but I am worried that if the peso should ever go down to where it was ten years ago---9 to the dollar--then there is no way I could afford to maintain her services. At least with Spring Clean I can cut back hours if my financial situation changes.

We have been checking into purchasing a golf cart in addition to our (existing) small SUV. The answer is to purchase a street legal (meaning: directional lights, headlights, seat belts, mirrors) golf cart, which is plated and insured like a regular motor vehicle. You may ask, why do that, why not just buy a car? Answer: a car is more difficult to navigate the narrow streets designed for horses and carts. Harder to find a place to park. Far more pollution and poor fuel mileage. We are specifically looking at the Yamaha gas-engine golf cart that IS sold already equipped as street legal, has a max speed of 25 mph (though on the back streets we would never drive that fast, regardless of type of vehicle) and gets about 180 to 200 mpg. That is an accepted vehicle which fulfills the local motor laws and regulations. I believe the ultimate intent is to limit unplated, uninsured motorized vehicles of any type. The quads will be next. I saw this in SMA, where regs were changed so that all quads had to be street-legal, plated, and insured. Ditto for golf carts, except they aren't used due to the steepness of the hills.

Perhaps you misunderstood my original query--or perhaps I was unclear. Never was I expecting an upholsterer to come to my house....after all, this is Mexico. I am trying to get a ballpark figure from those of you who have had upholstery work done in the past to determine whether or not it is worthwhile for me to even consider having my chairs reupholstered, before lugging a Parson's chair on the chiquito (bus) to the upholstery shop, or whether I should consider abandoning the idea of reupholstering completely, and instead, purchase slipcovers (about $20 USD each) or new chairs ($69 each at Ikea). I have 8 chairs. And I am surprised to learn, from both bournemouth and rvanparys, that Oscar does, indeed, come to the home with fabric samples and to give estimates.

Thank you, Lexy, for you specific response. Why is nobody else replying with what they paid? I know it might be comparimg apples to oranges, but both are fruit. And it isn't easy to get a quote, as I don't have an autmobile to lug a chair in for an estimate. And as you are well aware, calling over the telephone to have even a rough rough rough idea doesn't work here. In Florida I was able to bring a sample Parson's dining chair in to several upholstery shops for quotes for work while using my own fabric. A typical Parson's chair has only an upholstered seat and back. I was quoted quotdere from $190 USD to $325 USD per chair, labor only. That is how I learned that the cost to reupholster those simple dining chairs wasn't worth it. I could go to Ikea and buy the same chair, new, for $69 USD. I was hoping for the same ballpark info from these forums.

I understand there are a lot of variables. I'm looking for a ballpark figure for labor. $20 a chair? $200 a chair? (for that price I could buy a new chair). In the US the upholster charges are many times higher than the cost of a new item!

Speaking of the devil, I was just researching reupholstering 8 Parsons dining chairs. Does anyone have an approximate guess or experience in how much this type of job would cost? These are simple chairs, and I am debating whether to have them reupholstered, or whether I should just use slipcovers. Thanks for any info.