Digital Nomad : Z Machine Mexico for 8wks - NEW Update: 6/17 -- [Formerly Icon in Costa Rica] (1 Viewer)

Buttonhook said:

Sorry for the slow response GB, but I'm trying to slow my real-life pace down to Costa Rica speed... (right, I wish that was my excuse).

Here’s our experience so far with purchasing a home in Costa Rica:

(1) Interest rates in Costa Rica are floating around 13-15% so that immediately turned us away from that option, never mind the idea of trying to deal with a foreign bank, in  foreign language, so planning on a “cash” purchase is the easiest option.

(2) The Costa Rican government is fairly strict about providing documentation and paperwork that proves where your cash to purchase your house came from, whether it was a previous house sale, a retirement account, a line of credit, etc.  This includes a request for an “Apostille” (something we had never heard of), which required us to send our deed of trust (from sale of our previous home) to the Secretary of State of Colorado where they certify, stamp and seal it and send it back to us.  Which has been a very tedious process because the employees in the state of Colorado are still working from home and this process requires hardcopies be sent through slow mail.   

(3) Real Estate agent commissions are about the same (about 3% both sides) and are paid for by the Seller.

(4) The “attorneys” down there do more than your typical attorney, they obviously write up the real estate contracts, but they also help you formulate your Costa Rican Corporation (which is the easiest way to buy a house down there), they obtain and review the title, prepare closing statements, and coordinate directly with the escrow company.

(5) The attorneys basically manage all of the closing processes, which is equivalent to the closing costs we pay in the States, which seems to be in the range of about 5% of purchase price, paid for the Buyer. 

(6) We also found out that if we own (buy) a property for at least $200,000 we qualify for residency in Costa Rica which was an unexpected bonus considering we are planning on this as a retirement spot.

(7) All homes sales are processed through the federal government, and with the country’s recent spike in COVID cases over the last month many of their offices have been closed down (off and on) which has caused quite a backlog.

So the process has been fairly tedious, which we were warned about upfront by our real estate agent, but we will hopefully still close in about 60 days, which isn’t that much different than the States.

Well, we better be closed within 60 days… we fly back to Samara on June 6th.

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Good for you man! If you're comfortable, I'd love to see a link to the place ya got / location. If you are more comfortable with DM that works too. If you'd rather not at all, I totally understand! 

Didn't know about some of that stuff... thanks for sharing!

@Buttonhookme too!  but understand if you don't want to share.

i shared my rental condo on here and some knob, from here,  sent 271 info requests.  thankfully vrbo, bunched them together into one email.

Week 3 in the books.

Went "artisan" shopping on Saturday after watching Atlético de Madrid win their first la liga title in 7 years.  It poured rain on us, but we trekked around the city center, visiting the big markets and such.  Got a few things to decorate the house and some $2.00 water guns for the kids that have already broken literally 30 mins after playing with them.  So crappy...  The evening weather was great after the rain, about 75F.  Finished off the night with some gelato.  It was a good day.

Off to Chichén Itzá with the whole family on Sunday, leaving relatively early to try and beat the traffic.  Hired a local guide (who said he was authorized by the Ministry of Culture...) to give us a tour for $45. Lots of talk about human sacrifice, the Mayan calendar, etc. Kids got bored, but the pyramids are pretty cool to see.  Too many vendors inside the grounds though IMO.  Detracts from the ancient architecture and experience.

Hit up a hacienda with a swimming pool, a crappy lunch buffet, and a big cenote with with yet another dope ### rope swing to fly off into the water.  I am glad that they make people wear the life vests because it's way easier to swim with a vest on.  Slower, but less energy since I'm not a regular swimmer.  Kids liked the cenote but also liked just jumping into the pool.  Kids made a few friends and played a bit with other kids there, but it took a while to break the ice.

So far, that's the major thing that's bugging me.  The kids have even less interaction with other kids here than they had in the US.  A lot of that is they don't know anyone here, and part is the pandemic, but damn...  they argue so much it's really getting on our nerves.

Oh and the roof over the kitchen which is just tile on rafters leaks like a mofo in a downpour.  Not ideal for an airbnb to have to place buckets in like 5 different areas, one of which is like a faucet.

The Z Machine said:

Week 3 in the books.

Went "artisan" shopping on Saturday after watching Atlético de Madrid win their first la liga title in 7 years.  It poured rain on us, but we trekked around the city center, visiting the big markets and such.  Got a few things to decorate the house and some $2.00 water guns for the kids that have already broken literally 30 mins after playing with them.  So crappy...  The evening weather was great after the rain, about 75F.  Finished off the night with some gelato.  It was a good day.

Off to Chichén Itzá with the whole family on Sunday, leaving relatively early to try and beat the traffic.  Hired a local guide (who said he was authorized by the Ministry of Culture...) to give us a tour for $45. Lots of talk about human sacrifice, the Mayan calendar, etc. Kids got bored, but the pyramids are pretty cool to see.  Too many vendors inside the grounds though IMO.  Detracts from the ancient architecture and experience.

Hit up a hacienda with a swimming pool, a crappy lunch buffet, and a big cenote with with yet another dope ### rope swing to fly off into the water.  I am glad that they make people wear the life vests because it's way easier to swim with a vest on.  Slower, but less energy since I'm not a regular swimmer.  Kids liked the cenote but also liked just jumping into the pool.  Kids made a few friends and played a bit with other kids there, but it took a while to break the ice.

So far, that's the major thing that's bugging me.  The kids have even less interaction with other kids here than they had in the US.  A lot of that is they don't know anyone here, and part is the pandemic, but damn...  they argue so much it's really getting on our nerves.

Oh and the roof over the kitchen which is just tile on rafters leaks like a mofo in a downpour.  Not ideal for an airbnb to have to place buckets in like 5 different areas, one of which is like a faucet.

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This is awesome! You suck at pictures though, GB

Yup. I do suck at the pictures.  I might have time on Friday...

This next weekend we're going to an all inclusive resort on Playa del Carmen. Nothing super fancy, but it'll be a place for the kids to play and maybe interact with other kids (even if they are probably gringo) while my wife and I don't do as much planning. I'm not an AI guy typically, but I think it'll be nice to relax a bit.

We'll take the long weekend and spend a half day going to Tulum.

The Z Machine said:

Yup. I do suck at the pictures.  I might have time on Friday...

This next weekend we're going to an all inclusive resort on Playa del Carmen. Nothing super fancy, but it'll be a place for the kids to play and maybe interact with other kids (even if they are probably gringo) while my wife and I don't do as much planning. I'm not an AI guy typically, but I think it'll be nice to relax a bit.

We'll take the long weekend and spend a half day going to Tulum.

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have fun  we did that as a family, 25-30 years ago.  damn, i might be getting old(i was a punk ### kid, back then)  tulum was awesome

The Z Machine said:

Yup. I do suck at the pictures.  I might have time on Friday...

This next weekend we're going to an all inclusive resort on Playa del Carmen. Nothing super fancy, but it'll be a place for the kids to play and maybe interact with other kids (even if they are probably gringo) while my wife and I don't do as much planning. I'm not an AI guy typically, but I think it'll be nice to relax a bit.

We'll take the long weekend and spend a half day going to Tulum.

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Where did you end up booking?

El Floppo said:

Where did you end up booking?

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Sandos Playacar

The Z Machine said:

Sandos Playacar

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It's pricey and super artificial, but the kids would have fun at Ixcaret

El Floppo said:

It's pricey and super artificial, but the kids would have fun at Ixcaret

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Yeah, we might consider that for a stay right at the end of this trip.  Have to look at the finances.

The Z Machine said:

Yeah, we might consider that for a stay right at the end of this trip.  Have to look at the finances.

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Or maybe I'm thinking xel-ha...the Mayan theme park.

El Floppo said:

Or maybe I'm thinking xel-ha...the Mayan theme park.

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Hmmm... I'll look into that.

OK update after a 3 day stay in Playa del Carmen.

Left on Friday afternoon from Mérida to drive the 3.5 hours to PdC.  Drive was uneventul except that the headphone splitter that my kids used started to fail.  Also, traffic in PdC sucked so the last mile took like 30 mins, so it was a 4 hour drive.  Arrived at the resort (Sandos Playacar) around 8:00 PM.  That's when it started to go downhill. 

They wouldn't valet the car so I had to self park.  I got lost in an unknown, dark resort trying to get back from the small customer parking lot since I didn't get a map.  Took 25 minutes of what should have been a 5 min walk.  Overall check in took over 45 minutes, and the lines moved sooooo slowly.  Way worse than Vegas.  Got the room, which was fine.  Dropped the bags, headed to the shuttle bus / trolley thing that goes from the rooms to the buffet.  Had to wait over 20 minutes as the first one filled up with people cutting in line (since there was no ability to queue properly).  Finally sat down to eat at the buffet after 9:15 PM.  I was in even worse shape than the kids, who were starving.

Overall the resort was fine.  Not super crowded due to COVID, so easy access to bars, food, etc.  Drinks were watered down and used fake juices (which tasted like fake sugar) so had to work around that.  I never really went for cheladas before, but in 90F with humidity next to a pool?  They work well.  Got nice and drunk the first day.  Beach was full of kelp, but we made due and waded / swam through it to get to clear water.  Definitely downgraded the beach experience.  Food was pretty good for a buffet, no complaints.  On site Argentinean restaurant was a disappointment.  Over seasoned steak and no chimichurri!  Cooked well, but I was expecting more.  Kids had fun at the pools / slides, etc. so that was a success.  The biggest problem was the lack of shuttle service.  Waiting 20 mins to get on a 5 minute ride is no fun, and we had to do this a bunch because my MIL came with us and she walks slowly with a cane.

We did one night in PdC proper and had a nice meal off the strip, then headed down into the melee of Playa.  It was a bit overwhelming to us since we've been pretty removed from crowds in the last year.  Lots of people getting drunk it seemed.

Check out Monday morning was also mess.  Took 40 minutes with random switching lines, etc.  My wife yelled at them.  I was fuming.  Good thing I didn't have a flight to catch.  The resort chooses to understaff these critical functions (reception and transportation) and it really detracted from the experience.  I wouldn't go back.  But that's what I get for going with one of the cheapest options.  Should have spent more on the resort... lesson learned.

After that disaster, we headed to Tulum to see the ruins.  Since checkout took so long, we got on site at 11:30 AM.  Not good for sun exposure.  It was brutal with 95F and 70% humidity.  My MIL couldn't handle it and made it only halfway around the site.  Kids melted down too and we had to deal with that.  Another lesson learned... don't be out in the sun anywhere between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

On the drive home the wife picked out the place to eat as we left Tulum.  Chose a lunch spot right on the beach.  Pictures looked good (website).  Didn't check the prices... Min charge for beach access (which was full of stinky kelp, mind you) was $6000 MEX or $300 USD.  We were like, nah...  But lunch for 5 (2 of which were kids) with 2 alcoholic beverages total was $4500 MEX with tip ($225 USD).  WAAAAY higher than any other meal we've had here, which topped out at like $2500 MEX.  Food was very good, 2nd best we've had thus far, service was excellent and the setting was Instagram picture worthy.  Good chill spot, but not for the locals.

Drive back was long, but uneventful.  House was HOOOOOT when we got home since AC was off for days.  Back to work again!

Oof.. rough side trip. Sorry GB. Sounds like you guys found a few sliver linings though. I've always wondered about PDC. 

[icon] said:

Oof.. rough side trip. Sorry GB. Sounds like you guys found a few sliver linings though. I've always wondered about PDC. 

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It's not a bad place to party in most circumstances.  More talent in PdC that I've seen elsewhere, that's for sure.

But that's not where I am with 8 year old twins and a mother in law in tow.

The Z Machine said:

OK update after a 3 day stay in Playa del Carmen.

Left on Friday afternoon from Mérida to drive the 3.5 hours to PdC.  Drive was uneventul except that the headphone splitter that my kids used started to fail.  Also, traffic in PdC sucked so the last mile took like 30 mins, so it was a 4 hour drive.  Arrived at the resort (Sandos Playacar) around 8:00 PM.  That's when it started to go downhill. 

They wouldn't valet the car so I had to self park.  I got lost in an unknown, dark resort trying to get back from the small customer parking lot since I didn't get a map.  Took 25 minutes of what should have been a 5 min walk.  Overall check in took over 45 minutes, and the lines moved sooooo slowly.  Way worse than Vegas.  Got the room, which was fine.  Dropped the bags, headed to the shuttle bus / trolley thing that goes from the rooms to the buffet.  Had to wait over 20 minutes as the first one filled up with people cutting in line (since there was no ability to queue properly).  Finally sat down to eat at the buffet after 9:15 PM.  I was in even worse shape than the kids, who were starving.

Overall the resort was fine.  Not super crowded due to COVID, so easy access to bars, food, etc.  Drinks were watered down and used fake juices (which tasted like fake sugar) so had to work around that.  I never really went for cheladas before, but in 90F with humidity next to a pool?  They work well.  Got nice and drunk the first day.  Beach was full of kelp, but we made due and waded / swam through it to get to clear water.  Definitely downgraded the beach experience.  Food was pretty good for a buffet, no complaints.  On site Argentinean restaurant was a disappointment.  Over seasoned steak and no chimichurri!  Cooked well, but I was expecting more.  Kids had fun at the pools / slides, etc. so that was a success.  The biggest problem was the lack of shuttle service.  Waiting 20 mins to get on a 5 minute ride is no fun, and we had to do this a bunch because my MIL came with us and she walks slowly with a cane.

We did one night in PdC proper and had a nice meal off the strip, then headed down into the melee of Playa.  It was a bit overwhelming to us since we've been pretty removed from crowds in the last year.  Lots of people getting drunk it seemed.

Check out Monday morning was also mess.  Took 40 minutes with random switching lines, etc.  My wife yelled at them.  I was fuming.  Good thing I didn't have a flight to catch.  The resort chooses to understaff these critical functions (reception and transportation) and it really detracted from the experience.  I wouldn't go back.  But that's what I get for going with one of the cheapest options.  Should have spent more on the resort... lesson learned.

After that disaster, we headed to Tulum to see the ruins.  Since checkout took so long, we got on site at 11:30 AM.  Not good for sun exposure.  It was brutal with 95F and 70% humidity.  My MIL couldn't handle it and made it only halfway around the site.  Kids melted down too and we had to deal with that.  Another lesson learned... don't be out in the sun anywhere between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

On the drive home the wife picked out the place to eat as we left Tulum.  Chose a lunch spot right on the beach.  Pictures looked good (website).  Didn't check the prices... Min charge for beach access (which was full of stinky kelp, mind you) was $6000 MEX or $300 USD.  We were like, nah...  But lunch for 5 (2 of which were kids) with 2 alcoholic beverages total was $4500 MEX with tip ($225 USD).  WAAAAY higher than any other meal we've had here, which topped out at like $2500 MEX.  Food was very good, 2nd best we've had thus far, service was excellent and the setting was Instagram picture worthy.  Good chill spot, but not for the locals.

Drive back was long, but uneventful.  House was HOOOOOT when we got home since AC was off for days.  Back to work again!

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All I have to say is... Argentinian restaurant and NO chimichurri???

That's one of my rules when I'm in Cartagena or elsewhere on the Colombian coast where there are things to see... stay inside between 11am and 3pm.

Dez89 said:

That's one of my rules when I'm in Cartagena or elsewhere on the Colombian coast where there are things to see... stay inside between 11am and 3pm

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Mistakes have been made...

enjoying the narrative Z ...pics please!

Weekly update time.

Enjoyed a few more of the variety of restaurants that are within walking distance of the house.  Thursday night the kids went over to the cousin's house for some Nintendo and pizza.  I'm really happy for 2 things: 1) this allows the adults to go to dinner without the kids, 2) the kids are forced to interact in a Spanish speaking environment without their parents.  Unfortunately, I didn´t get to watch the USA - HON Nation's League game since I was at dinner at a nice, modern restaurant called Nectar.  I thought this was the right place to try some Mexican wine, as the list was pretty expansive.  Really surprised how much I enjoyed the red from Querétaro.  

After we put the kids to bed, I headed out to find a bar that had people in it to watch the Mexico - Costa Rica Nation's League match.  Of course I wore my USAMNT WC2010 jersey...  No one gave me crap and I didn't get stabbed!  Maybe it was because I was obviously pulling for el tri.  Anyway, it was kinda boring at La Bierhaus so I bounced before the end of the match.

Friday night we went to see a free light show projected on the big cathedral on city square.  It was a bit of whitewashing of the history, as it could have been way more Maya focused, but I think it's a joint production of the city and the church, so they aren't going to talk too too much about the Spanish conquest and enslavement of the local Maya and destruction of their culture, but I digress.  The lights were cool though.

On Saturday, we made our way out to the closest beach at Progreso, about 45 mins away.  We went to a restaurant right on the beach.  If you spend $300 MEX / person min, you get your own palapa, loungers, tables, chairs, etc.  So for $1500 MEX (or $75 USD) spend on food and drinks you get a really nice beach setup with waiter service, which was excellent, and the food was good too.  The waves were calm and in the early afternoon the water was clear so the kids had fun in the water.  Overall it was an excellent time.  The only downside was that there was a national election yesterday, so there were NO ALCOHOL sales at any bar, restaurant, or store for Saturday or Sunday.  They didn't even have NA beer to make a chelada...

Yesterday, we hosted the cousins for an afternoon pool get together.  Again, kids had fun in the pool.  I finally got to meet the cousin's husband, who helped me cook the giant piece of beef called a "picaña".  As he was leaving, he said wished me luck in the game that night, "because you're going to need it."   In the end, we barely had enough booze to cover the 4 hour lunch and swim.  My FIL's 3rd wife attended (along with my MIL) but not my FIL, who was still in CDMX working.  3rd wife returned to Mérida to vote.  That evening, we had another horse and buggy ride through town, this time with the MIL on board.  

Then I watched an Instant Classic USA-MEX match.  Damn, what a great, fun game.  I forgot how much I missed watching a game like that where emotions run that high.  USA won 3-2.  I didn't chance going out for that one...

Oh and the local political party that won the mayoral election (PAN) shot off  big ### fireworks at like 11:30 PM when it was announced that their candidate had won.  My house is like 2 blocks from their office...  The timing almost felt like they were celebrating el Tri losing to the gringos.

The family got an invite to lunch at the sister of FIL's 3rd wife (let's just call her #3).  I've known her for 10+ years as she was on the scene before I was.  What I didn't know is that she comes from "landed gentry" here in Mexico.  Grew up in one of the top 5 fanciest houses on the fanciest boulevard in the entire city.  She is descended from people that owned huge plantations (but no slavery... just terrible working conditions, I'm sure) of henequen, a fiber that is used for rope and paper making.  

#3's father died while mother was pregnant with their 5th child.  That whole family moved into the "big house" and lived with their grandmother who helped raise them.  #3 lived in that giant house until she moved away from Merida.  The family sold the house to a bank in the 1970s.  I don't think #3 got a major inheritance, but who knows.

Anyway, I'm going to lunch at one of the other people who grew up in that giant house.  Hopefully my kids are well behaved... Wish us luck!

The Z Machine said:

The family got an invite to lunch at the sister of FIL's 3rd wife (let's just call her #3).  I've known her for 10+ years as she was on the scene before I was.  What I didn't know is that she comes from "landed gentry" here in Mexico.  Grew up in one of the top 5 fanciest houses on the fanciest boulevard in the entire city.  She is descended from people that owned huge plantations (but no slavery... just terrible working conditions, I'm sure) of henequen, a fiber that is used for rope and paper making.  

#3's father died while mother was pregnant with their 5th child.  That whole family moved into the "big house" and lived with their grandmother who helped raise them.  #3 lived in that giant house until she moved away from Merida.  The family sold the house to a bank in the 1970s.  I don't think #3 got a major inheritance, but who knows.

Anyway, I'm going to lunch at one of the other people who grew up in that giant house.  Hopefully my kids are well behaved... Wish us luck!

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Wow!

The Z Machine said:

The family got an invite to lunch at the sister of FIL's 3rd wife (let's just call her #3).  I've known her for 10+ years as she was on the scene before I was.  What I didn't know is that she comes from "landed gentry" here in Mexico.  Grew up in one of the top 5 fanciest houses on the fanciest boulevard in the entire city.  She is descended from people that owned huge plantations (but no slavery... just terrible working conditions, I'm sure) of henequen, a fiber that is used for rope and paper making.  

#3's father died while mother was pregnant with their 5th child.  That whole family moved into the "big house" and lived with their grandmother who helped raise them.  #3 lived in that giant house until she moved away from Merida.  The family sold the house to a bank in the 1970s.  I don't think #3 got a major inheritance, but who knows.

Anyway, I'm going to lunch at one of the other people who grew up in that giant house.  Hopefully my kids are well behaved... Wish us luck!

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Are you trying to tell us she did time in the "big house" 

Oh one more interesting thing happened today.  I got a package shipped to me here in Mexico from our factory in China for a new product I'm working on.  It only showed up a day later than a similar package shipped to a colleague in the US. 

Except, unlike any UPS package I've ever received in the US, this one had the import duties as C.O.D.  I could not pay this via card, had to be cash.  So the UPS guy waited outside my door while I rounded up $3217 MEX.  That's $163 USD.  Good thing I had enough on hand to pay the guy. 

Now I just need to figure out how to put that into Concur, the expense reporting software we use. 

The Z Machine said:

Oh one more interesting thing happened today.  I got a package shipped to me here in Mexico from our factory in China for a new product I'm working on.  It only showed up a day later than a similar package shipped to a colleague in the US. 

Except, unlike any UPS package I've ever received in the US, this one had the import duties as C.O.D.  I could not pay this via card, had to be cash.  So the UPS guy waited outside my door while I rounded up $3217 MEX.  That's $163 USD.  Good thing I had enough on hand to pay the guy. 

Now I just need to figure out how to put that into Concur, the expense reporting software we use. 

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Should be under shakedown/bribe/corruption.  

The Z Machine said:

Now I just need to figure out how to put that into Concur, the expense reporting software we use. 

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Good software.

Ok, weekly update time.

Friday last week we went over the rich people's house for dinner.  My wife, 2 kids, MIL met up with FIL, Wife #3, 2 sisters of #3, and some ancillary family.  They were certainly less rich that I would have thought based on their family history.  Upper middle class for sure, but the wealth of landowning has been dissipated over 3 generations.  They have a nice house, had people serving the food and cleaning tables (but this is common in Latin America to have domestic help).  Interestingly the domestic help was male, which I hadn't experienced before.  It felt like he was their usual help, but everywhere else I have experienced that it's been a woman.  I bet he does gardening, household chores, etc.  The hosts are in their 70s.  The man of the house is a retired archeologist (Mayan of course), but wasn't a blowhard know it all.  In fact he barely talked about history etc.  My kids played with some grandkids from the host and it was a pleasant evening.  Although dinner wasn't served until 9:00 PM, so my kids were starving.  Nintendo switch made it better...

That family invited us to their beach house whenever we wanted to go, even if they weren't there.  It is located 4 blocks away from the beach club we went to last week.  In only we woulda known... That beach house has been in the family for 80+ years I think.

Anyway, on Saturday my wife had a work event she had to virtually host so instead I hosted my FIL (who is accustomed to not lifting a finger, I had to cut up fruit to serve him and he didn't take his bowl to the kitchen, but I digress), my MIL, and the kiddos.  It was raining outside and they all got on my nerves so much I had to peace out in the afternoon and sit in my bedroom by myself.  Dinner Saturday night was at a lively Yucateco restaurant 2 blocks up.  it was too loud for the kids and they didn't like the food.  My FIL is scared of food here since last time he got sick for a week after eating dinner with us.  He had a quesadilla and wouldn't even try the other stuff.  His loss.  The panuchos were really good.  My MIL tried a chelada and thought it watered down the beer too much, so I drank it.

Sunday morning we wanted to do the "biciruta", but they closed it up early due to the rain.  Every Sunday morning, the shut down the large, fancy boulevard to car traffic and you cruise up and down on bicycle, tricycle, etc.  No motorized vehicles.  You can rent a bike for $20 MEX / hr, which is $1 USD.  Kids needed some time apart, so I took my son while my wife took my daughter.  We went to a "train museum" which is really a train graveyard, and is ostensibly closed due to COVID.  But with some petty corruption (my son is learning things, see), I bribed the guard to let us in for $100 MEX = $5 USD.  We hung out for 45 mins, ate some snacks, climbed around the abandoned locomotives and passenger cars, and generally tried not to get tetanus from the rusty steel and sharp edges.  It was fun and my son really liked it, but he got a little scared of the wild dogs sleeping under one of the cars...  My wife and daughter went on a tour of a fancy house, where every stone and piece of furniture was imported from France. 

This week it has been super rainy, like 3" in the last 2 days.  The house has a lot of roof leaks, especially in the kitchen, so we have to put out buckets and towels and stuff to soak it up.  Plus you can't dry clothes on the clothesline if it's pouring rain.  No dryer here on site, just a washer they installed 4 weeks into our stay.  The pool is overflowing it's banks and flooding the patio, but is unlikely to get into the house proper.  Floors are tile or concrete with floor drains, so unless the drains back up, we're OK.

My MIL left yesterday morning to go back to the US.  Things are much quieter now.

Kids had their last day of school on Tuesday.  So we were scrambling on what to do about them while we worked.  Local schools are still in session so no summer camps available.  We ended up hiring a nanny that watches them and feeds them between 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM, after which my wife and I take turns trying to work while minding the kids.     If the sun is out they can swim while I work on my laptop.  It's not so bad really.  My son is getting super into the EUROs, so he watches the late game every day.  He says England is boring and Slovakia is way more exciting.

The nanny has taken them to the zoo 2x (there are actually 2 of them in the city) and gone for walks.  She doesn't play with them like other nannies we've had, but the kids entertain themselves.  Either my wife or I drop them off in the morning at the zoo and then the other one picks them up.  It's good exposure to force them to be in 100% Spanish speaking situation without their parents around.  They've progressed a ton in just these last 6.5 weeks.  The nanny costs $300 MEX/day, or $15 USD...  That's less than $3 USD / hour.  Nannies in the USA cost $15-20 / hour so 5-6x cheaper here.... crazy.

So, we have 1.5 weeks left here, and only 7 days left in this house.  After that we go to a resort in Cancun (Grand Palladium) for 3 nights, then fly back to Baltimore.  I do miss some conveniences of home, and I miss my friends, but I do think I could live in Mexico full time.  

OK, that's all for now.  /blog

Oh I forgot to tell y'all about the ordeal I had trying to find a stand-alone 20V DEWALT battery that I needed for work.  I do product development for DEWALT tools and the tools they sent me didn't come with a battery.  I drove around to 3 hardware stores and each one told me to go to a different place. I went to Home Depot to get one.  The way it works is that you pull the ticket from the shelf, pay for it at the register (corporate card denied, paid cash), then they get it from the racks up top.  So after paying and waiting 15 minutes the guy at Home Depot tells me they they don't have any in stock.  I asked him, "why do you have the tickets on the shelf then?"  He didn't really have an answer and gave me back my cash.

The next day (Friday) I took my kids on a walk through the center of town to one of the hardware stores mentioned 2x by other hardware stores.  They did sell DEWALT tools and did have a single battery for sale.  Waited 15 minutes to be seen, then 25 more minutes for them to see if they could find the last unit they had in their warehouse.  It was a not fun time.  I did end up getting my battery for 50% more cost than in the US, but it took way too long.  This is an area that the USA gets right.  You can get your purchase done in a retail establishment pretty quickly.  Maybe you have to wait 3 minutes in line to pay.  There might not be many people offering to help you, and those people might not know jack ####, but if you know what you want, buying stuff in the USA is easy-peasy.  Not so much in Latin America.  

The Z Machine said:

Ok, weekly update time.

Friday last week we went over the rich people's house for dinner.  My wife, 2 kids, MIL met up with FIL, Wife #3, 2 sisters of #3, and some ancillary family.  They were certainly less rich that I would have thought based on their family history.  Upper middle class for sure, but the wealth of landowning has been dissipated over 3 generations.  They have a nice house, had people serving the food and cleaning tables (but this is common in Latin America to have domestic help).  Interestingly the domestic help was male, which I hadn't experienced before.  It felt like he was their usual help, but everywhere else I have experienced that it's been a woman.  I bet he does gardening, household chores, etc.  The hosts are in their 70s.  The man of the house is a retired archeologist (Mayan of course), but wasn't a blowhard know it all.  In fact he barely talked about history etc.  My kids played with some grandkids from the host and it was a pleasant evening.  Although dinner wasn't served until 9:00 PM, so my kids were starving.  Nintendo switch made it better...

That family invited us to their beach house whenever we wanted to go, even if they weren't there.  It is located 4 blocks away from the beach club we went to last week.  In only we woulda known... That beach house has been in the family for 80+ years I think.

Anyway, on Saturday my wife had a work event she had to virtually host so instead I hosted my FIL (who is accustomed to not lifting a finger, I had to cut up fruit to serve him and he didn't take his bowl to the kitchen, but I digress), my MIL, and the kiddos.  It was raining outside and they all got on my nerves so much I had to peace out in the afternoon and sit in my bedroom by myself.  Dinner Saturday night was at a lively Yucateco restaurant 2 blocks up.  it was too loud for the kids and they didn't like the food.  My FIL is scared of food here since last time he got sick for a week after eating dinner with us.  He had a quesadilla and wouldn't even try the other stuff.  His loss.  The panuchos were really good.  My MIL tried a chelada and thought it watered down the beer too much, so I drank it.

Sunday morning we wanted to do the "biciruta", but they closed it up early due to the rain.  Every Sunday morning, the shut down the large, fancy boulevard to car traffic and you cruise up and down on bicycle, tricycle, etc.  No motorized vehicles.  You can rent a bike for $20 MEX / hr, which is $1 USD.  Kids needed some time apart, so I took my son while my wife took my daughter.  We went to a "train museum" which is really a train graveyard, and is ostensibly closed due to COVID.  But with some petty corruption (my son is learning things, see), I bribed the guard to let us in for $100 MEX = $5 USD.  We hung out for 45 mins, ate some snacks, climbed around the abandoned locomotives and passenger cars, and generally tried not to get tetanus from the rusty steel and sharp edges.  It was fun and my son really liked it, but he got a little scared of the wild dogs sleeping under one of the cars...  My wife and daughter went on a tour of a fancy house, where every stone and piece of furniture was imported from France. 

This week it has been super rainy, like 3" in the last 2 days.  The house has a lot of roof leaks, especially in the kitchen, so we have to put out buckets and towels and stuff to soak it up.  Plus you can't dry clothes on the clothesline if it's pouring rain.  No dryer here on site, just a washer they installed 4 weeks into our stay.  The pool is overflowing it's banks and flooding the patio, but is unlikely to get into the house proper.  Floors are tile or concrete with floor drains, so unless the drains back up, we're OK.

My MIL left yesterday morning to go back to the US.  Things are much quieter now.

Kids had their last day of school on Tuesday.  So we were scrambling on what to do about them while we worked.  Local schools are still in session so no summer camps available.  We ended up hiring a nanny that watches them and feeds them between 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM, after which my wife and I take turns trying to work while minding the kids.     If the sun is out they can swim while I work on my laptop.  It's not so bad really.  My son is getting super into the EUROs, so he watches the late game every day.  He says England is boring and Slovakia is way more exciting.

The nanny has taken them to the zoo 2x (there are actually 2 of them in the city) and gone for walks.  She doesn't play with them like other nannies we've had, but the kids entertain themselves.  Either my wife or I drop them off in the morning at the zoo and then the other one picks them up.  It's good exposure to force them to be in 100% Spanish speaking situation without their parents around.  They've progressed a ton in just these last 6.5 weeks.  The nanny costs $300 MEX/day, or $15 USD...  That's less than $3 USD / hour.  Nannies in the USA cost $15-20 / hour so 5-6x cheaper here.... crazy.

So, we have 1.5 weeks left here, and only 7 days left in this house.  After that we go to a resort in Cancun (Grand Palladium) for 3 nights, then fly back to Baltimore.  I do miss some conveniences of home, and I miss my friends, but I do think I could live in Mexico full time.  

OK, that's all for now.  /blog

Click to expand...

Are you staying at the Palladium Costa Mujeres location or Riviera Maya?

Very interesting thread.  I know quite a few gamblers from US and Canada who live in CR, love it.  

Uruk-Hai said:

Are you staying at the Palladium Costa Mujeres location or Riviera Maya?

Click to expand...

Palladium Costa Mujeres "Family Section".

The Z Machine said:

Oh I forgot to tell y'all about the ordeal I had trying to find a stand-alone 20V DEWALT battery that I needed for work.  I do product development for DEWALT tools and the tools they sent me didn't come with a battery.  I drove around to 3 hardware stores and each one told me to go to a different place. I went to Home Depot to get one.  The way it works is that you pull the ticket from the shelf, pay for it at the register (corporate card denied, paid cash), then they get it from the racks up top.  So after paying and waiting 15 minutes the guy at Home Depot tells me they they don't have any in stock.  I asked him, "why do you have the tickets on the shelf then?"  He didn't really have an answer and gave me back my cash.

The next day (Friday) I took my kids on a walk through the center of town to one of the hardware stores mentioned 2x by other hardware stores.  They did sell DEWALT tools and did have a single battery for sale.  Waited 15 minutes to be seen, then 25 more minutes for them to see if they could find the last unit they had in their warehouse.  It was a not fun time.  I did end up getting my battery for 50% more cost than in the US, but it took way too long.  This is an area that the USA gets right.  You can get your purchase done in a retail establishment pretty quickly.  Maybe you have to wait 3 minutes in line to pay.  There might not be many people offering to help you, and those people might not know jack ####, but if you know what you want, buying stuff in the USA is easy-peasy.  Not so much in Latin America.  

Click to expand...

Man, is this true.  They have no sense of customer service, urgency, etc.  And that's basically for any aspect of daily life.  I certainly don't want to turn this political, but people who think that those worried about some sort of cultural shift here in the U.S. are just xenophobes, I think it's likely those people have never experienced anything other than U.S. culture.  I absolutely love Latin America and the various cultures there, but there's a reason why they are third world, in my opinion.  And there's a reason why we're the greatest.

Quick update:

Packed up our lives again and left the Airbnb in Mérida yesterday.  Made the 4 hour drive across the Yucatan peninsula to Cancun. I'm posted up poolside at the Grand Palladium in Costa Mujeres right now.  Definitely a cut above the last AI place we stayed. 

It was hard work to get packed again for the family - 6 suitcases worth of stuff including the mementos we bought while here. Mailed a high quality hammock chair back to the US via UPS - $80 USD for the shipping and $150 USD for the hammock.  More I gotta figure out how mount it. 

I'm gonna miss Mérida.  Such a cute town. Honestly where we were you could walk 2-3 blocks in any direction and find such great restaurants and bars. It was shocking how a place could look ho-hum from the outside and then be amazing on the inside or on the courtyard in the back.

We went out to eat 3x per week and maybe repeated 3 places in 8 weeks. 

I'll post more later, but all in all, it was a great experience for all of us.  My wife really didn't want to leave.  She's very comfortable in an upper middle class life in Latin America. 

The Z Machine said:

Quick update:

Packed up our lives again and left the Airbnb in Mérida yesterday.  Made the 4 hour drive across the Yucatan peninsula to Cancun. I'm posted up poolside at the Grand Palladium in Costa Mujeres right now.  Definitely a cut above the last AI place we stayed. 

It was hard work to get packed again for the family - 6 suitcases worth of stuff including the mementos we bought while here. Mailed a high quality hammock chair back to the US via UPS - $80 USD for the shipping and $150 USD for the hammock.  More I gotta figure out how mount it. 

I'm gonna miss Mérida.  Such a cute town. Honestly where we were you could walk 2-3 blocks in any direction and find such great restaurants and bars. It was shocking how a place could look ho-hum from the outside and then be amazing on the inside or on the courtyard in the back.

We went out to eat 3x per week and maybe repeated 3 places in 8 weeks. 

I'll post more later, but all in all, it was a great experience for all of us.  My wife really didn't want to leave.  She's very comfortable in an upper middle class life in Latin America. 

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it GB, I bet it was an amazing experience.  Thanks for sharing it all.  Mexico is where I cut my teeth in Latin America, so I've got a soft spot for it as well.  Can't wait to go get some tacos al pastor next weekend!!

But $150 for a hammock??

Dez89 said:

Glad to hear it GB, I bet it was an amazing experience.  Thanks for sharing it all.  Mexico is where I cut my teeth in Latin America, so I've got a soft spot for it as well.  Can't wait to go get some tacos al pastor next weekend!!

But $150 for a hammock??

Click to expand...

Wait till you see him mount it!

Dez89 said:

Glad to hear it GB, I bet it was an amazing experience.  Thanks for sharing it all.  Mexico is where I cut my teeth in Latin America, so I've got a soft spot for it as well.  Can't wait to go get some tacos al pastor next weekend!!

But $150 for a hammock??

Click to expand...

Go buy one in Colombia and bring it back for me, GB.  They call them chinchorros in Venezuela, BTW. That style is quite heavy with many hand knotted threads to make a dense weave. 

But we only got a nice hammock chair since that would fit best.

The Z Machine said:

Quick update:

Packed up our lives again and left the Airbnb in Mérida yesterday.  Made the 4 hour drive across the Yucatan peninsula to Cancun. I'm posted up poolside at the Grand Palladium in Costa Mujeres right now.  Definitely a cut above the last AI place we stayed. 

It was hard work to get packed again for the family - 6 suitcases worth of stuff including the mementos we bought while here. Mailed a high quality hammock chair back to the US via UPS - $80 USD for the shipping and $150 USD for the hammock.  More I gotta figure out how mount it. 

I'm gonna miss Mérida.  Such a cute town. Honestly where we were you could walk 2-3 blocks in any direction and find such great restaurants and bars. It was shocking how a place could look ho-hum from the outside and then be amazing on the inside or on the courtyard in the back.

We went out to eat 3x per week and maybe repeated 3 places in 8 weeks. 

I'll post more later, but all in all, it was a great experience for all of us.  My wife really didn't want to leave.  She's very comfortable in an upper middle class life in Latin America. 

Click to expand...

How is the seaweed or how has it been?  I'm hitting a hotel near there next week.  I'm hearing some bad stories, but it's hard to know exactly how bad it is.  

culdeus said:

How is the seaweed or how has it been?  I'm hitting a hotel near there next week.  I'm hearing some bad stories, but it's hard to know exactly how bad it is.  

Click to expand...

My daughter was there last week and it was pretty bad. She had no desire to go in the water so didn’t effect her but she sent us a pic and the water was pretty thick with it.

The Z Machine said:

Quick update:

Packed up our lives again and left the Airbnb in Mérida yesterday.  Made the 4 hour drive across the Yucatan peninsula to Cancun. I'm posted up poolside at the Grand Palladium in Costa Mujeres right now.  Definitely a cut above the last AI place we stayed. 

It was hard work to get packed again for the family - 6 suitcases worth of stuff including the mementos we bought while here. Mailed a high quality hammock chair back to the US via UPS - $80 USD for the shipping and $150 USD for the hammock.  More I gotta figure out how mount it. 

I'm gonna miss Mérida.  Such a cute town. Honestly where we were you could walk 2-3 blocks in any direction and find such great restaurants and bars. It was shocking how a place could look ho-hum from the outside and then be amazing on the inside or on the courtyard in the back.

We went out to eat 3x per week and maybe repeated 3 places in 8 weeks. 

I'll post more later, but all in all, it was a great experience for all of us.  My wife really didn't want to leave.  She's very comfortable in an upper middle class life in Latin America. 

Click to expand...

That's awesome! The way you describe Mérida makes me think of Samara again.
 

I really think the best places to do these mid-length nomad stays are smaller towns. I think you get so much more of a real experience vs gettin swallowed up in a big city.  

beer 30 said:

My daughter was there last week and it was pretty bad. She had no desire to go in the water so didn’t effect her but she sent us a pic and the water was pretty thick with it.

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Yeah looking at the photos on insta/facebook looks awful.  I may try to move our hotel up nearer isla.

Got back 8 days ago.  COVID tests came back neg for the kiddos so they are off to summer camp this morning.  Kinda sucks being back, but I do like the central AC in my house.

Also, my house is so full of junk and crap... Ugh.  I enjoyed the simplicity of life in Mexico.

[icon] said:

That's awesome! The way you describe Mérida makes me think of Samara again.
 

I really think the best places to do these mid-length nomad stays are smaller towns. I think you get so much more of a real experience vs gettin swallowed up in a big city.  

Click to expand...

I think for a short stay that would be true.  But for a longer 2-3 month stay like I'm hoping to do, I think I prefer the comforts of the big city.  Not to mention more chicas to choose from

The Z Machine said:

Got back 8 days ago.  COVID tests came back neg for the kiddos so they are off to summer camp this morning.  Kinda sucks being back, but I do like the central AC in my house.

Also, my house is so full of junk and crap... Ugh.  I enjoyed the simplicity of life in Mexico.

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So many parallels...

We appreciated the AC and missed the simplicity/lack of clutter when we got back. So funny you mention those two things. We did adjust our AC 4 degrees higher for a while then got soft and dropped it back down 2 degrees splitting the difference

Welcome Home GB