L.A. girl thinking about making the move to GTO :)

[Jamie]

Saludos!

I found this forum online while researching the cost of living in Guanjuato. I joined with the hopes of both connecting with folks and possibly getting some advice. I am a mid-career professional working managing a department in a very well known organization here and find my work deeply satisfying. I also am an artist and make extra income doing my art in Los Angeles. In other words, life is pretty good for me right now. Except for one thing...

The man I have been with for nearly two years and am madly in love with lives in Guanajuato. We met there. I have been visiting GTO for nearly 6 years since I did my graduate thesis there. I adore the place and cannot get enough of it. Plus, I have great relationships there that have endured the distance and years. When my boyfriend and I began discussing our options, the sacrifice of my career here began to look miniscule in comparison to the promise of living happily ever after with my man in GTO. But then came the doozie...

The wages. Yikes.

I work in the labor movement here so I am not one who's trying to become rich by any means but I'm definitely not looking to go back to the days of stressing about money. I have a hefty load of student loan debt from grad school and am not going to jump ship on that if I move to Mexico.

I know many people who have moved to GTO from the US but none are in my situation. Some were fresh out of college and are teaching English and seem to be less concerned about the wage issue than I am. Others are retirees. And of course there are those mystery bank account types that leave you wondering how they're pulling it off. But I'd like to hear from people who are in their prime career years and have figured it out in Guanajuato.

Anybody?

Muchas gracias and I look forward to the correspondence! :)

Cheers,
Jamie

---

I should mention that it is not off the table for him to come here to L.A. He also visits me often. But in weighing our options, moving here might present a bigger step back for him than moving there would present for me. MAYBE.

[Jzmackenzie]

Jamie,

If you were my daughter, I would say:

Mexico teaches us that nothing matters (in the long run) more than belonging (relationships)

Recovering from a career stall is harder than going steadily uphill. However, the economics in the USA right now offer little in the way of career security as so much labor is contracted off-shore

I graduated with my PhD in 2010. After 350 applications for employment, worldwide, I had one phone interview. Making enough to make the min. payment on 10 year repayment of student loans is a probably challenge almost anywhere in the world right now.

If I make as in a 10+ hour day as much as I made in an hour in the USA, that was an average day.

I have traveled through 49 US states, all of Canada, much of Europe, and 2/3rds of Mexico. I have never been happier in my life than in GTO.

It is a hard decision with no clear answers. Your heart and your head have a great deal to think about. Good Luck!

Jacquie

[Barbara]

Hi Jamie,
There's lots of good advice in Jacquie's reply. Here's my story and advice.

I was in your situation, I followed my heart when I moved here at the age of 35 and don't regret it. But I didn't come for the love of a man although there have been a few since then. I moved because of a growing dissatisfaction with the U.S. lifestyle and a love of Mexico. I left a good paying job at the University of Pennsylvania and came here with this plan: to learn Spanish, live here for a year, and then travel more in Latin America. To make a long story short, I have been living here and teaching English full-time at the Universidad de Guanajuato since 1992. My degree and work experience were in business administration, but this mid-life change was the best decision I ever made. I love teaching and I manage to get by on my salary, although in dollars it's ridiculous. I live comfortably here with no outside income or help from anybody. I can travel easily within Mexico and Central America, but airfares to other countries can break the budget. I don't have a car; I don't want one and I don't need one. Food is cheap, there's lots to do, the weather is good, and the people are amazing. Life is simple, and great.

Some questions for you to ask yourself and a few suggestions. If you're not sure about taking the jump 100% could you take a leave of absence from your job for a few months or a year? If you decide to live here, could you arrange a plan with lower monthly payments for your student loans? Have you thought about what kind of job and salary you would have here? Have you talked with local artists to get an idea about how much extra income you could make here? I assume your novio has an income, so some of your fixed expenses would be lower than mine. Are you prepared to give up the conveniences you have now?

I'm sure you've already considered all of the above, so I guess that all that's left for you to do is follow your heart. You can change your mind, but not your heart.

Saludos, y suerte!
Barbara

[Mykul]

My wife and I hope to relocate to Gto. this Fall.
We are both in our mid-thirties and are doing well here in Banff, Canada.
She is from Aguascalientes, Mexico and she took me to Guanajuato on my first trip to visit her home city in 2007.
We were engaged on a Gto rooftop in 2008 and have been planning our move ever since.
We plan to start a small business of our own to generate income and I would think this is the way to go for any young expat wanting to make it their home.

[peddler665]

Nice Mykul!
I proposed to my wife in room A-3 (Decembre '97) at the Los Cuatro Vientos Inn in Puerto Vallarta. After a very stressful trip down the coast of Baja for me, not her. She met me in PV.
Doubt she will ever retire or move south due to family but has no problem with me spending the Winter in Mexico as long as she gets to make frequent visits.

[AnnaPA]

I currently work in the student loan industry. If this is something you are serious about than you can do the IBR with your loan servicing company. The IBR (income based repayment plan) goes based off of your most recent years tax return. Stop living in the US means you will no longer file taxes here... No taxes means an IBR payment of $0.00. If you stay on the program for 25 years the loans will be forgiven. Private loans do not apply to this. Hope this helps!

[laconstance]

Before you buy a one-way ticket to Guanajuato, you should look into the current (just changed and still changing in the implementation) immigration laws. In order to get a M?xican resident visa, you now have to apply in your country of origin. You no longer can convert the 6-month tourist visa into a resident visa without leaving the country. And, you can't legally work or make income in M?xico if all you have is a tourist visa. The new immigration laws have increased the minimum amount of independent income you must have in order to qualify for a longer-term Mexican visa. Or, because you intend to work in Guanajuato, you may fall under one of the areas of a point system for Mexico's need for your skills, Spanish language ability, etc.

It would be a good idea for you to go to the M?xican consul in Los Angeles and get the scoop for your situation. Then, at the same time, have your boyfriend check with immigration here in M?xico (the office in Le?n or in San Miguel de Allende). Consuls are notorious for giving erroneous information (no kidding), so you should have two versions to compare. Good luck!

[Jamie]

Thank you kindly for the replies!

I should say that the idea of living in Guanajuato appealed to me long before I ever met my boyfriend there. It's like my second home! And while L.A. has been good to me in so many ways, my #1 fantasy in life is to not have to own a car! (Last night's trek across town on the 10 and then up the 405 had me throwing any and ALL reservations about this move right out the window :P).

Barbara, it's helpful for me to hear that you've been able to live comfortably and travel throughout Latin America on your teaching salary. One of the perks of Mexican life for me would be PUENTES! Wow... I can't even imagine getting that much time off. Last year, my boyfriend was baffled that I had to go back to work the day after the 4th of July. "Pero no es puente??". "Nah baby... things are a little different here." ;)

Someone told me that if you cannot make up your mind, flip a coin. Whichever side you are wishing for before heads or tails is revealed is what your heart truly desires.

Well, I know what my heart wants! Now I just need to work out the practical details of it all.

Lots of good suggestions here. I will look into the immigration laws. Haven't even touched on that yet. I am already on an IBRP with my student loans. But there's just something about carrying all that debt with me to Mexico that doesn't settle right with me. Maybe it's because I'm under the illusion that I will actually pay these suckers off one day (and I am NOT on track to do that with my labor movement career!).

Mykul, the few younger expats I know in GTO are small business owners. I don't consider myself to be very entrepreneurial but I see how this makes sense. Although, I've heard a few horror stories about unreasonable landlords and issues with theft. Sounds like a headache to me.

I think I'm already beyond romanticizing the place. I'm pretty cognizant of the conveniences I'll be leaving behind and the challenges I'll face culturally (like a future mother in law who swears I'm going to get sick if I go outside with my hair wet or walk on a tiled floor barefoot--I'll learn to deal :s).

I really appreciate all your sharing and hope for more. Again, thank you!

[mr bill]

Jamie, have you thought about Working-from-Home - AKA telecommuting? As a researcher you probably spend a large amount of time on-line so why does it have to be in LA when we have Internet here? Maybe you'd have to downgrade from full time to part time - or take on 'Special Projects' or be re-hired as an outside contractor but getting a US wage while working from here has its obvious advantages - and that would cover the Immigration solvency requirement as well.


I came here 17 years ago for 'two weeks' Around week 5 or 6 the first private Internet server opened - one last trip to the States for my stuff and computers and that's was it. I'm still here.