The other side of the Mexican postcard

I would say you have to come to Mexico or any new country minus all the expectations except the expectation of a new adventure. Definitely leave all the stereotypes you have heard behind. People here are not "fat lazy, dishonest"etc. There are some who are more of a problem just like in the U.S. Be prepared for what you will find, not what you want or heard. What you will find will be a lovely mostly laid back environment that will not act like or be like where you came from. If I were to advise I would say do plenty of home work before coming. Contrary to real estate developer hype Mexico isn't very cheap, or a private paradise. It is more economical, and you find ways of getting things done, like the people who will wash your car  in many market parking lots, they charge a very reasonable price. Much easier than doing it myself. You will like it or you won't. It"s that simple.

People here don't live by the time frame you are accustomed to, deliveries will be made soon, repairs will be done in the next week perhaps. The phones have time that you buy, it will expire in 60 days ...period. People who come to do a job don't show up at a specific time so you might want to hang around home waiting for them. They have a different attitude about trash so if litter is a big problem for you and you don't want to work with
in the system to deal with it ,that may be a problem for you. If you assume litter means dirty that will be a problem for you also, because they are not lazy or dirty.  Despite all the warnings, I have not had anything taken in the house or any of the hotels. I don't leave valuables within eye sight but I also don't have everything locked up either. I have found the locals to be honest and reliable as long as I am respectful and reasonable.

It's a very good idea to become familiar with the language because it is very good  to blend into the culture. It makes a major difference in all aspects of your life.

I totally agree with travellight. A modern Mexican works longer hours than most (if not all) other countries so it's unfair to box all Mexican's into the lazy category. Anyway my experience is definitely one of contrasts. A lot of yours will depend on where exactly in Mexico you are located, and above all your attitude.

Also, if you speak fluent Spanish that will make a HUGE difference to the quality of your life here as in any Latin American country. Respect the culture and it will respect you back. Mexico has so much to offer, and I personally love living here.

I have lived in Guanajuato, Mexico for three years, right in the heart of the country. In a nutshell, we came because this country, this little town, this house is my husband's birthplace. We had retired from years of working the US, and found it difficult there to live on our retirement income.  And in general, we are able to manage very well here.

Since we are farming my husband's father's land and two other pieces of land he bought in the 80's we can't travel a lot. We do manage to go occasionally to towns in other parts of the state and in nearby states, and we enjoy the drives, the views, and meeting new people.

As musicians, we especially enjoy going to Paracho, Michoacan, for guitar music festivals. This trip, as short as it is, can become part of the other side of the postcard.

When we let our travel plans out, people start saying “Michoacan? Don't go there! There are many problems there, and it's dangerous!”

We have never had problems traveling to Michocan during our trips there – over 20 years of short trips. We haven't had any problem getting there, even when the roads were “closed because of violence”. Occasionally we are stopped and asked where we are from and where we are going. Then we are waved on.

The trouble we sometimes do have is with the federales and the Mexican version of Highway Patrol. We have been told we must turn over our car. We have been asked for money. We have been searched. We have been insulted.
There is red tape, very similar to the bureaucracy in the US.  You must pay for your car registration every year. You must pay property taxes. There may be problems with identification, addresses, money exchange.

You may have very different ideas about the intangibles of life than the people you live with. Opinions, ideas and ideals may differ widely. You may be ignored in your community. Language may be a problem if you find it difficult to apply your self to learning, or find it hard to make friends.

I think it's worth it. Yes, I do.

I definitely agree with Julien.  I've had a few frustrating experiences, but maintaining a calm demeanor usually gets through them.

Strange things do happen and sometimes it takes some effort to find a solution.  There's a problem pending that I'm just waiting for the time I'm in full control to investigate.  The night after techs swapped out my Internet modem, my bandwidth dropped from 5mbps to 3.5bps.  I called the help line and was told that's all that my package allowed.  When I went to pay my bill, (they don't accept US credit cards over the Internet, I was told I'd have to see the manager at the customer service center (where I was certain to find long lines.)  The thing is that in the last 3 years the company, on its own bumped my speed from 2mbps to 3mbps, then after 6 months or so from 3mbps to 5mbps sending me emails and printing a message on my bill that they were offering good customers the benefit of faster Internet.  The thing is that their advertising now indicates my package offers only 3mbps. It's entirely possible that an unofficial policy has been changed and when someone discovers an anomaly they "correct" it.  I'm not even sure there's any possibility of improving things by pursuing this further.

Don't take this as a complaint.  I'm not being singled out for special treatment.  #,5mbps is not all that much worse than 5.  That is, until I find a provider that offers both faster download and upload at a reasonable price.  There's not that much competition where I live.  I'm paying roughly $55 a month for landline, Internet & Dish HD.  More complaining might just make things worse. "Leave well enough alone," seems to be a good policy.  Making a nuisance of yourself just gets bigger and bigger stonewalls erected.  Having Mexican friends who are local and know managers at the important service companies can help.  If not actually solving the problem, guiding you in making the decision to contract or not.