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Moving to Chapala area


Jacinto

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Hi y'all!  Greetings from New Orleans.

I am Jacinto. After living in the States for more than 20 years (I am from Mexico and my wife from Kentucky) my wife, Sebastien (our 4 y/o son) and I found chapala, and we loved it! We will be moving to this area pretty soon and just wanted to start having some chats to get more involved in this wonderful community.

My Wife Jennie just got her PhD in arts and education.

 I am a higly qualified handyman and a rustic furniture artist, want to start my handyman business in Chapala, here's my website www.handynola.com and would love to know what you think, suggestions, etc. 

Please do not hesitate sending me any thoughts, all helps.

Thank you so very much. Have a lovely weekend.

Jacinto.

 

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Welcome. I took a look at your website and you have some really nice examples.

I'm not in anyway trying to discourage you or trying to talk you out of any of your ideas. Sounds you guys would be very happy living in our area - and definitely seems like you would fit in and adapt (or "re-adapt" in your case - haha) very quickly. My only thoughts are on the amount of money you need/expect to make here. Most things are less expensive than in New Orleans but incomes are a MUCH different story.

Some comments -

  • There are LOTS of people in the area already doing what you are looking to do - and not all of them are busy all the time. It looks like you have a very high level of skills but you will be competing against lots of well established workers.
  • The going rate down here for what you are looking to do is more like $500 PESOS per day (a bit over $25 dollars per day) - not $500 dollars. A very small number of highly skilled craftsmen might make up to $1,000 pesos per day but not that many of them.
  • There are a number of places that sell handmade furniture right in our area with many more in Tlaquepaque, Tonala, Guadalajara, etc. I like your examples a lot but I think the market is relatively full. I could certainly be wrong but I think that is pretty accurate.

Since you are Mexican I wouldn't expect that you would have a problem with working here - no visa or other requirements. If your wife is also looking to work in Mexico make sure you know what she needs to do so she can do that legally. Not really too difficult but I suggest you make sure you understand the steps - and the opportunities.

Again - I hope I don't come across as negative or that I am trying discourage you in any way. Just trying to provide some thoughts as you requested. We have been here for almost 13 years and absolutely love it. Welcome to the web board and (hopefully) back to Mexico.

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A little clarification on wages. Several years ago the man we use for cleaning windows moved here from the US. He too is Mexican and moved here for family reasons. He and a helper spend a bit less than 5 hours on our home and I pay him $1500p. He is swamped for work and most days does 2 homes. Not sure how much he charges the others but say it is also $1500p. That is $3000p per day minus what he pays the helper. If it is $500, then he clears $2500 per day. 

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Hi Tomgates,

Thank you very much for your time. That sounds great. My wife and I are so excited to meet all that nice people in your community, we wanted to find a good place for our family and since my in laws don't like new orleans nasty weather (living in Pittsburgh) they may love to visit us more often in Chapala area, it seems like the weather is amazing most of the year!

Thank you again.

Have a wonderful week.

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What Tom Gates left out is that this window cleaner is a true professional and a perfectionist. He is also one of a kind. While others say they clean windows,  and they do, absolutely no one else does the quality of work that Saul Enciso does, so he really has no competition equal to him in this area. 

REC's comments were spot on and I agree with everything he wrote to you.

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