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What's it like to be an expatriat living in Mexico?

Recently an acquaintance asked me what it was like to live in Mexico. It was a question I had been asked on numerous occasions and one I typically dismiss as a mere icebreaker question, the sort people ask in awkward moments when they can't find anything else to say. It serves the same purpose as, 'So! Some weather we're having, huh?' And so I brushed it off with some non-coherent response which my questioner had undoubtedly already anticipated. Later that night however, alone with my thoughts, I recalled the question, and for some reason decided to give it serious thought and analysis. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that one's opinion of life here in Mexico is more the result of one's preconceptions and expectations than of the country itself. If, for example, one assumes U.S priorities and standards of living should be the same for Mexico (or anywhere else for that matter), then one should not live here.

Mexico is not for everyone!!

• If you expect things to be done the same as in the US.
• If you expect ordinary processes to run smoothly
• If you make no attempt to integrate yourself into the overall community
• If you make no attempt to learn and appreciate the local culture
• If you make no attempt to learn Spanish
• If you are impatient by nature
• If you expect punctuality (Mexicans do not feel tied to the hands of a clock)
• If you are short-tempered
• If you are uncompromising

Then Mexico is not for you!!

If you subtitute all of the above "ifs" with a great sense of humor, a spirit of adventure and the ability to take life as it comes, then Mexico is an ideal place for an expatriat to live.

Some advantages of living in Mexico are:

• Its proximity to the U.S
• The cost of living
• The quality of life

Quality of life

For me, quality of life is not measured by the accumulation of creature comforts or a pampered lifestyle. It lies deep within our spirit. To laugh, love, to hold and cherish those we love as well as having the basic physical things needed to sustain us, is the true quality of life. Yes, poverty does exist here, but it is the poverty of things, not of spirit. In this, there is much an expatriat can learrn from the local population.

Here is a little story I borrowed from a book called. "Living Well in Mexico" written by Ken Luboff. It is a tale that illustrates two different perspectives of 'quality of life.'

"An American businessman stood at the pier of a small coastal village in Mexico, when a small boat carrying a lone Mexican fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, 'only a little while.' The American then asked, 'If it only took a little while to catch these fine fish, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?' The fisherman explained that this catch was enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, 'But what do you do with the rest of your time?' The fisherman replied, 'I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.' The American scoffed, 'I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.' The fisherman asked, 'But senor, how long will this all take?' The American replied, 'Fifteen to twenty years.' 'But what then, senor? inquired the Mexican, The American laughed and said, 'That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company's stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.' 'Millions, senor? Then what? asked the Mexican. The American said, 'Why then you would retire of course, move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings where you could sip wine, and play your guitar with your amigos.' "

While it is not necessary to believe the account of this little morality tale ever took place, nonetheless its stark depiction of the differences between the average U.S citizen's value system and those of the average Mexican's is undeniably accurate.

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I read somewhere that of all the countries in the world that border each other, the United States and Mexico have the most differences between them: language, history, socio-economics, religion, ethnicity and culture.

Yet more U.S citizens choose to retire in Mexico than in any other country, many of them to San Felipe, a small coastal fishing village where they can sleep late, perhaps fish a little, play with the grandkids, take siestas, stroll into town for a glass of wine and listen to the locals play their guitars.

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