kimanjome

Pets very easy to relocate and adjust well to new surroundings. Teenagers=not so much.

New federal laws about the cohetes. Now cohetes only allowed to be sold by the churches, and set off between 8 am and 9 pm, or something like that. Of course, the law hasn't been completely enforced (no need to piss off the parishioners) yet-- and even so, what is the poor priest to do, rush around trying to find the culprits in the dark, wee hours? However, it appears Chapala is now beginning to move towards enforcing the law, poco a poco, per the insistence of the head honchos in Guad. These things can take years and years, but progressive Zapopan regs slowly trickle down to other areas, as the percentage of educated, middle-class Mexican populus grows.

Just want to add my 2 cents. Internet from Guad to Tijuana, then entered the US through the other end of the building, it's called Cross Border Xpress, and a $12- fee. Incredibly nice US border agents. The flight I took both ways was Interjet, came to $68 round trip. All in all, the cost was less than $100. Once on US side of the airport terminal, you can hail a cab, Uber, or get a rental car. Weather in San Diego area always perfect. Pleasant day, cool 50s at night. No super heavy clothing needed. SAT my second choice.

Mt dad was the head of the meat department in a chain of grocery stores in New England. We always had the best meat, despite my mother's terrible cooking. I remember my father bringing home big pieces of beef and letting them age in our cold-ish basement, prior to the holidays. I was always concerned about the meat going bad, but he explained to me how the ideal temperature kept it "safe" and the enzyme activity created very tender meat. Sometimes we look back and realize just how much we learned from our parents--my dad taught me a lot about handling knives and how to cut, carve, and cook meat correctly..

I'm in lower San Antonio near the lake, where folks have been ecstatic when a steady speed of 2 mbps download speed was achieved. About 6 months ago we noticed speeds at about 9 mbps down and 0.5 up. I just checked and I'm showing a whopping 36.2 down and 9.99 up. These are averages from several different speed tests.

If you PM me I can tell you.

Does anyone who uses Sol y Luna know if personal photos can be shipped (free) to our Laredo box? If so, is there a limit? My elderly parents want to ship about 100 photos to me to scan for their digital frame. I guess I could pay the minimum $12 USD customs fee, if necessary....for a manilla envelope filled with family pictures.

I asked this question of our contractor, when our (tiled) pool was being installed 2 years ago. First: NOB we use cement/concrete/gunnite to line the pool because it is cheaper. A tiled pool NOB would be double the price of a normal pool. VERY high-end homes or spas will tile their pools. There was an article a couple of years ago in Architectural Digest which was about Mexican master pool-tilers being flown into the US to tile some 5+ million USD estates. Second: durability. As my contractor explained, pool tiles are durable and incredibly long-lasting. A Mexican builder--who turns up his nose at the way US homes are constructed, with drywall and cardboard interior doors--is of a mindset that if something is built, it should be built to last, to withstand earthquakes and various other forces of Mother Nature. True, construction in Mexico may be wonky, and crooked, because everything is built by hand. Nevertheless it is generally built with longevity in mind.

Now, Tuesday evening and yet ANOTHER power outage in SAT? What's going on? The weather is fair. My cleaning lady told me this morning that word on the street is the power was out because some muchachos--her word for young hoodlums--had cut the guy wires supporting the transformer box. The gardener agreed, saying "se caje, it fell". She says they are doing it for jollies. If this is the case I would think CFE would put some kind of protection around the box or maybe even a rigged, live line to give the guys a taser touch, bit of a jolly there... Then again, it may be just be a fault in the transformer, possibly a short within the transformer itself. Probably cheaper for CFE to pay the technicians OT to continually fix it than it is to buy a new transformer.

Question if there is a place to get the Prevnar / Pneumovax 23 shot, whether free or otherwise, in Chapala area. About 6 years ago I went with my husband (he was 65, I was 52) to get a "Pneumonia shot" given out to all seniors here in Florida. We paid our $20, stood in line with the rest of the geezers, and boom boom, flu and pneumonia shots. We have no idea what type of "Pneumonia shot" it was. This past February I came down with bacterial pneumonia while Lakeside, took me 2 months to fully recover, antibiotics and oxygen/steroid treatments everyday for 2 weeks. So, whatever shot I got wasn't very effective! I think I need the "23" and I am assuming I had the 13 before. I'm back in the USA for a short time on business and my insurance won't cover me for the "23" because I am under 65. That's why I'm asking if I can get the 23 there Lakeside, when I return next week.

Yes, Angus's photo is exactly what I want. In Florida the covered patio area is called the "lanai". The actual structure itself is called a "pool cage" or a "pool screen" or "screen cage". Its only purpose is to keep the bugs and leaves out. As a side benefit the smaller pets--and possibly children who are above drowning age--are kept inside an enclosed area. It is not a theft deterrent. They are ubiquitous in Florida. 90% of the single family homes have them, as do most multi-family villas and condo units, pool or no pool. It makes sitting outside far more enjoyable. In Florida we had them in every house in which we lived. I can't understand why they don't exist Lakeside and other areas where there are mosquitoes.

We are looking for an aluminum pool cage company, the kind that put cages around the pools in Florida, Texas, etc. Really, we want to screen in part of our terrazza, but they would be using the same materials. Thanks for any leads.

I have a mid-20s daughter who has been with us on-and-off since we moved here almost 3 years ago. She finished college, traveled some, and then came to Mexico. Mind you, she had been visiting Mexico with us since a tyke, and she was familiar with Latin culture (raised in Key West and South Florida) and speaks functional Spanish. Anyway, she would then go off to the big, big world for a while to work (NGO work) or further her education, and return to us in Ajijic. She is always thrilled to be back--the first week. She goes in the pool, she walks around and buys fresh fruits and iced coffees, and plays with the pets in the garden. And then, she is absolutely over it, the isolation. But that is because she hasn't formed any deep friendships here. At least our daughter is at the age when she can use dating apps like Tinder, and she has met some nice, young men from affluent and educated families in Guadalajara and Mexico City. They have all been bilingual and well-traveled. Each and every one of them has attended private, expensive, bilingual schools in the "big city", like the American School, etc. where SATs and IB programs are offered. So that option exists--for a price. Like $8,000-$12,000 USD a year. Another would be to have your daughter visit a few of these private schools and ask her opinion on the matter. She can always board during the week and visit you on weekends, Lakeside. I think if your daughter is a loner type, or is already miserable in her current life situation, or has no friends, or is a misfit who thrives on cultural challenges, she would do okay. But if she is your "average" American teen it would be a risky move indeed.

I did not have a power outage last night, but I had one about 10 days ago, the transformer on the pole on Privada Jesus Garcia blew (again). This happens at least 1x a month in the rainy season in our particular area (intersection La Paz and Privada Jesus Garcia). It happened to us both on Christmas Day and New Years' day last year. Sometimes I wonder if the gods are smiling on the repair workers, they would get triple pay overtime Anyway when I call I am always asked if there is an OXXO or other store nearby that is also without power. I think this is because maybe they don't want the commercial vendors going without power for too long, or their goods will spoil. So I always say yes, there is an abbarotes store nearby (there is, Pachita's) and they are without power (they are--sometimes). This seems to get the CFE crews out fairly quickly. Also the main transformer in SAT is pretty old, or so I have been told, and is need of an upgrade and/or replacement parts. It can't seem to handle the capacity we have noew so I wonder with all the construction going on how it will be able to handle additional customers. We shall see.

Thanks. Actually these are our US wills which do not require notarization, but only two witnesses. We have also voluntarily includ toed a Self-Proving Affidavit, which, per Florida law, does not need to be notarized--but a notarial seal or legal stamp of any kind (by treaty, any country) is an extra precaution to ensure the validity of the two witnesses signing the Affidavit. We could, alternatively, have three witnesses--or four or five, for that matter--but the notario stamp/seal will be more than sufficient. My spouse is a retired attorney and very familiar with the Hispanic notario culture of South Florida, and he stresses how much more legal clout the notario has over a US notary. Too bad many institutions in the US fail to understand this. But at least the US court system does.

We don't need a great (translation: expensive) Notario to handle a real estate transaction or an in-depth legal matter--we just need one who can "notarize" our US documents with an official stamp and 2 witnesses. Anyone you can recommend in SAT area?

Hopefully all are well. Don't know how true this is but my MXN insurance agent told me that a lot of retiree expats drive here on suspended licenses--meaning, they were suspended in the US/Canada and those dang folks can't get around "up north" so they decide to move here and drive, regardless, figuring what the heck, the MXN government can't touch my assets here, as I have none. Really selfish thinking, IMHO.

Happy, when you start adding the $5300 and $6800 together, that is more than the annual cost of an insurance premium with decent coverage. Granted, you may not have costs in excess of $11,000 USD every year, but one year you might have $20K, the next year, $3K and then an insurance premium starts to make sense. I'm all set now because I am still relatively young, but over 70+ then you start gambling with this kind of thing. You don't know when a stroke or heart attack is going to happen, and even with evac insurance you can't be flown until you are stabilized, which could take a few days. I guess one can rely on SP to stabilize, but you would still need to evac insurance to get you back to where you have Medicare coverage or whatever. With my partner (72) I figured if something big and bad happened I would hire a driver to take him to the border, then we would head into Texas. But that is assuming he would be well enough to be driven. I don't know how those of you over 70 are doing it. If prices continue to increase so rapidly here, how can it be managed?

I am in lower SAT on La Paz corner Jesus Garcia, and I posted about 10 days ago that our speeds have increased substantially. Most of the time I am getting 10 down, and 3 or 4 up. Sometimes I will get 20ish down and 8 or 9 up. I have the same old modem, no change. It is more than sufficient for me and I have only noticed stuttering and buffering when I am using a VPN and a few live news broadcasts here and there. Small miracles for which I am grateful.

OP here with update: more info to help you all, so you don't end up in the same situation. 1. I have since learned that several hospitals are now charging US prices and insurance companies either won't cover at all, or only a percentage. No discount for cash. Unless your policy allows you to utilize them and you have it in writing, avoid Country2000, Puerto de Hierro, and Galeana. I glanced over my hospital bill and saw that I had been charged US $22- for a bottle of Microdycin antiseptic spray (saline water) that I bought for myself at the farmacia for $3-. That upcharge/gouging is a US trick. 2. If you have the time, find someone--hopefully your doctor, if you don't have insurance--who can act as a health care advocate to negotiate on your behalf in advance. Not having insurance, I blindly followed my doctor's guidance, assuming he/she would know a rough estimate of what this procedure should and would cost and would act in my best interests (and I still don't know if the doctor was aware it would cost so darn much). Unfortunately, I was in a lot of pain, and I wasn't confident I would be able to fly back to the US and have the surgery right away, so I took the local route, thinking there was no possible way this surgery would cost more here in Mexico than in the US, paying cash! 3. Believe it or not, had I gone to the US I discovered that as a self-pay, cash, this particular surgery would have cost me appx $6,600 in Tulsa, $8500 in Dallas, Houston, and Chicago, and $11,500 in NYC. You are reading this correctly. Of course had I used my BC/BS in Florida, I would have had to pay a deductible of $2500, then the next 20% of all costs up to $5000---and this is decent insurance coverage. Doctors and hospitals will gouge an insurance payor, so I'm certain that had I used my US insurance my bill would have easily been $40 or $50k, and I would have ended up paying a minimum of $7,500 out of pocket, plus all the other little "gotchas". 4. Do your research. Although I am not gullible, and I did have previous surgery here at a moderate price, this second (unrelated) incident was a different situation inasmuch as that I assumed this particular surgery would also be priced fairly. After all, I knew the US prices, right? I did the best I could with the information I had, but you win some, you lose some, and in this case, I lost. 5. Be prepared for an emergency. Know the names of the hospitals that have the equipment and services you might need at reasonable prices. I've already heard from friends that Hospital San Francisco is reasonable and has a CAT scan machine and can handle strokes (although the new hospital in San Antonio may be able to do so, also--or at least be able to stabilize). San Javier is also full-service and reasonably priced. Plan ahead! About expat insurance: I'm only 58, and I can afford a decent expat policy at a kind-of affordable price. But when I turn 60, my policy will automatically increase by 25%, not including the annual rate hikes. Then there will be annual rate hikes after that, of course, and another 25% increase at age 65. By the time I am 72, an expat policy with a $5,000 deductible will cost me about $5,000 a year. That is far too rich for my blood. I would be better off living in the USA with a MediGAP plan (additional $250 a month) that covers almost everything, A to Z. I'm starting to think that PappysMarket has the right idea, moving to a border town. Or, if you can get an EU passport (much easier than you would think, if you have a mother, father, or grandparent from the EU) to relocate abroad, your partner can automatically go with you. The bottom line is, plan, plan, plan. Be up-to-date with what is happening in Mexican health care. The recessional economy and the shortage of public healthcare is creating a demand which will only drive up prices further. Of course the prices can go only so high before they implode, but in the meantime, be alert. Due to the shifting economy, some procedures which are being done in Mexico are being done in Costa Rica's best hospitals for considerably less cost. Call me, Poorer But Wiser (and healthier, too).

I paid CASH. That is why I am so incredulous. And the overflowing hospitals: Country2000, San Javier, Puerto Hierro Sud---a totally new experience. These increases are going to be reflected in health insurance hikes, that's for sure. And now the news on Bloomberg and Moody's that Mexico is headed for, if not already in, a recession, will add to the further decline of SP and IMSS.

No, US insurance won't cover outside of US (unless within the 25 mile border zone, and you have to just be passing through, not living there), period. Nor will Medicare. So, be prepared, as the saying goes.

Yes, Yes, Chillin, but the recent news is that the Joco hospital isn't functioning/open at all times or some of the new equipment is no longer available. And I have been reading of patients being turned away from Joco and sent to Guad. I think these are new developments and that the health care crunch is just hitting this area now. I remember when I moved here just under 3 years ago, the SAT clinic was open on scheduled days for services. Then it was only open sporadically, usually for flu shots. Now it is closed. Things are deteriorating, and quickly. Thus: if money is no object, or you have decent health insurance coverage, then you are okay. But if you plan to pay out of pocket as in the past, beware.

Wow. Even the $7,000 CDN--which seems somewhat reasonable--will probably have skyrocketed by now. I was driven to 3 different private hospitals, until we could find one with a bed available. I have discovered that this is due to the health care crunch here, which, as I mentioned earlier, is forcing patients who would otherwise be using SP and IMSS, into the private system--which has us "by the scrotum", so to speak. If it were just my experience I would chalk it up to bad luck, but the fact that my maid, gardener, and the non-Mexican insurance agent are all reaffirming this tells me that something is very amiss. And what AlanMexicalli says is true, I have been reading it in the news (unfortunately I did not foresee how this would affect me directly!)--the public healthcare system has basically run out of money and is falling apart. So we--all of us, Mexicans and expats alike--are at the mercy of whatever is available.

I want to caution other readers about something that has happened to me recently, and it was just confirmed when I spoke to an insurance agent here who is receiving the same news--prices here are increasing dramatically for hospital services. Last week I discovered I needed gallbladder surgery. I had been in a lot of pain for the prior few weeks, and this was a surprise attack--I didn't even know I had gallstones! Anyway, I made the decision to stay in Mexico and have the surgery, as opposed to flying back to the USA and using my BC/BS insurance there, which has a $2500 deductible. I thought, okay, maybe it will be $4,000-$5,000 in Mexico, considering in the US an average self-pay (I researched it) for laproscopic surgery is around $6K-$9K. Certainly Mexico would be less. No. The bill from the hospital, alone, with a 2-night stay, was over $7,000 USD!!!!!!!!!!!! I was not on a ventilator, or attached to a dialysis machine, nor in the ICU. I was in the surgical/prep/recovery area for about 5 hours, total. I won't even get into the other charges, separate, for the physicians, which I don't begrudge.The team did their jobs and I have recovered nicely. What is happening--I have been told, and some of you are aware of these changes--is that the national healthcare system, including places like the Joco Hospital--is running/has run? out of funding, or is receiving insufficient funding, and therefore unable to provide services in a timely manner. This is forcing patients into other options, ie, private hospitals, which is driving up the costs of care to a ridiculous level. Both my housekeeper (Seguro Popular) and my gardener (IMSS) have recently been discussing this with me, but I didn't pay attention until I witnessed it first-hand. We know Seguro Popular has lines that run around the the corner and down the block, but the IMSS system, which my gardener has, now appears to be be no better. He requires prostate cancer surgery and, after numerous trips and hours of waiting, has been sent home because the computer system is down, or the equipment is broken, and he is no better than when he started. This is confirmed by numerous articles we are reading in the press about how AMLO realizes there is a problem with the health care systems here and wants to overhaul them. But in the meantime... One of the reasons I had moved to Mexico was the reasonable retirement costs, which included quality medical care at affordable prices. I am re-thinking this. I can get a comprehensive medical insurance policy in Portugal or Spain for both myself AND my 72 year-old spouse for the same monthly fee ($350) that I have just been quoted for myself age 58, here in Mexico. Caveat emptor.