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Recent Cost of Living Info, Chapala/Ajijic


UrbanMan

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I've recently searched the web for information about costs in Chapala/Ajijic. I've been unable to locate current information. I'm not liking the idea of forecasting based on articles that are 2 or more years old.

Can anyone recommend a place to find current information? It can be specific blogs or message boards, or articles. Yes, I understand costs will depend on personal tastes and even luck, but imperfect data is better than no data.

Note, if it matters, I will be looking to rent, prolly for 4 to 6 months initially, a one or two bedroom suite, or very small house with minimal landscaping burden. Will also need a reasonably safe place to park a compact car.

Thanks.

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This is one of those places where you can drastically affect your personal cost of living based on where and what you chose to rent and where you chose to shop.

In general, the more "Mexican" both your living arrangements and shopping habits are, the less it costs to live here.

This area is relatively expensive as Mexico goes, both due to the influence of the proximity to Guadalajara and the widespread "gringo pricing" here.

The two largest lakeside villages with the most advantageous rents and shopping price are Chapala and Jocotepec.

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Mainecoons - thanks, those generalities I am aware of.

Let me give some sense of my perspective/outlook.

I read one blog in which a woman described where she lived in Ajijic/Vallarta (can't remember which) ... that it was regularly noisy at late at night with neighbors often partying, that another of her neighbors many mornings ran her loud clothes washing machine at the crack of dawn ... but it was a great place to live, cuz its cheap. That to me is not a great place to live. Some noise, sure, its part of Mexican culture, but I'd like to have quiet nights and early mornings 3/4 of the time.

Regarding the more Mexican comment, I absolutely want to mingle and very much hope to connect to some Mexicans in a genuine way. I speak some Spanish, I have a slightly better than average understanding of the verbs and grammar nuances, it will get better when I am in an environment with more opportunities to work on it. I also want to get to know and hang with other foreigners. One foot in each world. As far as food goes, I enjoy many authentic Mexican foods, but I'm also going to want to eat other cuisines with some regularity. Part of my attraction to the lake is, having visited it in 2015, is that I saw there is a fairly wide range of restaurants, and also stores that sell a good assortment of food products.

El Saltos - regarding your specific questions comment, I have indicated that what I have in mind is renting a one or two bedroom suite, or very small house with minimal landscaping burden. And that I will also need a reasonably safe place to park a compact car. If anyone has knowledge to offer re: the current pricing of this type of accomodation, I'm all ears. First person stories are always interesting to me.

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If you are planning on going down in the off season (after March, before Nov) you will have any number of places to rent that meet your criteria. Without any specific property in mind, I'd say you can rent a reasonable place for $400/$7000 pesos (even less in a predominately Mexican neighborhood) and surely for less than $600. Of course you can rent for much more but it doesn't sound like that is what you are after.

Many of the rentals will show up on bulletin boards around town; rental agencies will have the same 'quality' rentals for more $s.

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UrbanMan, you can find housing as you describe anywhere from $3,000 pesos a month to as much as you want to pay. I am assuming you want a fully furnished house which eliminates the $3,000 a month places unless you were very, very lucky. I think generally speaking given the circumstances you describe you will be looking in the $7,000 to $10,000 a month range.

Eating out will generally run from 50 pesos to 150 depending on what or where.

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I rent and have lived in 4 places in 6 years. Each one got better and bigger, and each one got cheaper. Each one also got further from Ajijic. I currently rent a monstrous house in Chapala for 8500 pesos, or $473 USD due to the strength of the American dollar. The more time you are here, and the more people you know, the cheaper and better things will get for you. Our first place in the heart of Ajijic 6 years ago was $750 USD. It's only fair to say the first three were furnished, the current one is not furnished. That's another variable.

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Ajijic and PV are worlds and several hundred kilometers apart! Any/every Mexican village is noisy, some parts more than others, but don't come to Mexico seeking peace and quiet! As far as rentals, check the real estate/rental agents and VRBO sites online. Sr. Google is your amigo.

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One caution: If you are renting in pesos I wouldn't use the current exchange rate for a long term guide as to what the dollar cost of the rental is. You might want to base that assessment on a more realistic 14:1 exchange rate just to be conservative.

The further away you get from the village center, the less noise. The more Mexican the neighborhood is, the more noise. The more affluent neighborhoods tend to be less noisy unless they adjoin a noisy area.

Your budget seems realistic to me.

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"don't come to Mexico seeking peace and quiet!" .... "The further away you get from the village center, the less noise." ....

While it sounds all nice to rent a place next to the plaza, or very near the shops, I think a little bit away from the village center might be more in line with my personality. I'll have a car. There's buses, cheap taxis, I'm fit and can walk a couple miles in under 20 minutes no problem. I don't need complete silence, I don't envision being in bed at 10pm surrounded by complete silence. I don't have that where I live now. But I also detest the idea of noise at 1am nightly.

Thank you RickS, Xena, Datura, for the posts that contained numbers. Also Mainecoons, your note about the exchange rate is wise.

Other costs I will have are: a) auto insurance for my USA-plated car, and, b ) catastrophic medical insurance. Anyone have info on these costs?

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When I moved here almost 8 years ago the exchange rate was 10 pesos per dollar. Since I am herefor the long haul, when I rented my current place I considered if I could afford it if the rate ever returned to that level. I can. In the meantime, I will enjoy having extra money in my budget for as long as I have it.

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Medical insurance will depend greatly on age, health history and deductible you are willing to pay. It's easier to get your own quote than find a similar person.

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I own a partially furnished three bedroom three and a half bath house in Ajijic village. It is one block from LCS and a few blocks from village square.

It has two miradors and a garden. In addition, there is an outside area where you can sit and relax.

Pet friendly. Immediant occupancy. Rent negotiable. No minimum stay.

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There are several insurance agents listed in various threads on this board. Do a search and email for a quote. Private insurance costs a lot more than IMSS.

Gasoline, propane and electricity are expensive when compared to the US. Costs here too will vary by usage.

Rental costs will be all over the map depending on location, condition of the house and size of the property.

A Telmex land line is $389/month.

TV can be included in the rent or must be acquired separately. There are lots of differences between Shaw, Dish and the Mexican cable and sattelite options. I pay $940/month for Telecable 10mb Internet and HD TV. Even that price can vary a lot depending on Internet speeds and programming choices.

Vegetables and fruit are cheap. Imported steaks from Costo not so much. Food costs can vary a lot depending on whether you cook in or go out.

It's almost impossible to give much in the way of specifics long distance. Many of your questions will be answered during the time you are visiting. You can come down for a short visit to get some of your questions answered. With that knowledge you can make plans for a longer stay.

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If this link works, here is a market basket survey of food items comparing prices between Walmart & Soriana. It's from last July & I would have gotten a more current one but the search function at the Reporter is a little weird.

http://www.theguadalajarareporter.com/index.php/expat-living/expat-living/living-in-mexico/46458-consumer-survey-july-25-2015

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Suegam...I just did what you suggested and can't believe the numbers that came up comparing Ajijic to Colima!

We lived for 2 yrs in Comala and never felt that Colima was "cheap".....it was average but less than Mazatlan.

I still feel one can live quite reasonably here...some parts of Lakeside more than others tho.

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The Numbeo site is not very accurate, especially now that electricity, gasoline and propane are going down nationally since Jan. 1, 2016. Things like a bottle of water is listed at 15 pesos when you can easily buy one for 9-10 pesos; whole milk is 24 pesos when not on sale.

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I've visited Numbeo previously. I agree entirely its usefulness is questionable.

Importantly for Mexico, it does not distinguish between renting furnished versus unfurnished.

It gets granular about what a tomato costs, what a bottle of water costs, but stays too high level on renting.

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Two reliable sources for Mexican Auto Insurance (on US plated vehicles) are:

Lewis & Lewis

San Xavier Mexican Insurance

Google either/both and do a quote request... neither will require you to purchase but will send you a quote.

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I've read on the net, that for a foreign plated car, if your plates do not remain valid/in-force, the insurance is not valid. That people have, in the case of an accident, ended up being denied coverage.

But in other places on the net, I've read it does not matter at all whether or not your plates remain valid/in-force.

I don't understand why it would matter ... but common sense often doesn't rule the day.

Anyone know the true bottom line on this issue?

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