Veteran's Day, Damn it!

This is the second Veteran's Day I've spent in Mexico. Last year I had only been living here for just three months and didn't have a full appreciation of how not the U.S., Mexico is.

I was half asleep this morning when I overheard CCN on my wife's TV. The talking head was reading a story about where Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush and Mr. "Whatshisname", the current vice President, were going to be honoring me on Veteran's Day. When I determined that none of them were coming to Mexico to thank me for my service in Viet Nam, I decided to go to the market and see if there was a parade.

Not to be unpatriotic, I put on my T-shirt from the VVA National Convention in 2007, my 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines Jacket with the Corpsmen patch indicating that "we did our best", and my Camo cap with those pins and patches that label me a Viet Nam Vet who needs to have others know it.

It was early on this cool Autumn morning. The dew was still on the grass, somewhere. But in Ciudad Victoria it was already getting warm and there was no dew. Just the aroma of fresh tortillas and carne asada mixed with the smell of papaya and mangoes being prepared for the crowds of locals making their way through the stalls and alleys of the mercado.

After finding a place to park I got out of my car and adjusted my uniform. I was already questioning the wisdom of wearing the lined jacket. The sweat was already staining my T-Shirt. But I decided that I wanted everyone there to know that this is my day. Veteran's Day. So I began my own parade of one, fully expecting the people I met to smile and thank me for being a veteran. After all, if the United States hadn't sacrificed our men and women in wars around the world, Mexico may not have become a major player in North America. Mexico didn't send anyone to Viet Nam, Korea, Europe in either World War, and they do not have any troops in the middle east. As a matter of fact, the last time Mexico was involved in armed combat it was against the United States. And yet, they enjoy all of the benefits of our sacrifice. With this frame of mind and the self confidence that only comes from an egocentric American, I set out. My black satin jacket with the patches and medals shining in the early morning sun and the brim of my cap darkening from sweat, screamed out to be acknowledged. I am an American combat veteran, damn it. This is my day.

Well, you know the rest. Nobody understood the symbols I was wearing. No one cared that I was a veteran. And, no one said thank you. Except the old woman who sold the watermelon and papaya she grew in her back yard. She said "Thank you" in English when I bought my breakfast melon and papaya juice.

That's enough for me, for now.

Hug a Vet, today. We earned it.

Excerpt from my book RETIRE TO MEXICO-20 QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ANSWER

RETIRE TO MEXICO--Cost of Living

Even before we decided to retire and move to Mexico, our family, friends, and sometimes even total strangers, questioned our sanity. They all want to know why we would sell off everything we own, leave our home town and all of our friends and family behind and move to another Country. ESPECIALY MEXICO!

Well, the answer is simple. Money! The low cost of living, to be more specific. In Mexico our meager pensions go much farther than they would in the States. Overall, the costs in our part of Mexico are about 30% lower than they were in Pennsylvania.

There are places in Mexico where the cost of living is the same or higher than retirement communities in the States. These areas are either prime tourist areas or communities with heavy concentrations of American and Canadian retirees. Many of these areas boast of a clean, healthy climate and oodles of Mexican culture. I looked into these areas and found that some of the Mexican culture was becoming a caricature of itself. The mere presence of so many gringos in one area had resulted in little enclaves of American culture secluded within walled communities. The 'clean healthy climate' in these areas was not that different than that found here in our community. The biggest impact these mini American cities have on Mexico is inflation. Because there are so many dollars being injected into the local economy, the costs of housing and food in these areas have become so high that native Mexicans can no longer afford to live in their own home towns.

We live in Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas in Northeast Mexico. This is not a tourist area and there are very few expatriates here. While we freely admit that we live a very quiet lifestyle, our costs are pretty much what we expected. This is mostly due to two very important factors:
I had visited the area some years ago during an extended trip to Belize. I stopped in Ciudad Victoria and explored the area. I didn't know it at the time, but the germ of an idea was forming. In the following year when telling the stories of my trip to Belize, I found myself remembering this small city with fondness.


COST COMPARISONS

As I said, this area is not a tourist area, it is not a "quaint" colonial town, nor does it have any significant history. As a matter of fact, Ciudad Victoria is never listed as a place to retire, and Tamaulipas is not mentioned in most travel books. When it is, Tamaulipas is described as a "vast wasteland" that "is best passed through as quickly as possible". Of course, this is not true. Tamaulipas is a huge garden with millions of citrus trees, sugar cane fields, and large fields of corn and sorghum for the cattle that range the high chaparral in the north.

We love it here. We are just three hours drive from the US border on very good multi-lane highways. We are just an hour away from the pristine, sugar white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico and the mountains are literally right outside of our back door. The climate is very friendly with 300 + days of full sunshine and cool, crisp nights when a sweater is necessary.

There are some down sides. It does gets HOT here in the summer. And it gets cool in the winter. We don't have air conditioning and we don't have a furnace. We use a space heater when it gets really cool and a fan when it gets hot. There is always a nice breeze, though. Ciudad Victoria is nestled up against the mountains to the west and is about 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the east. To the North is a flat expanse of agricultural tracts and thousands of acres of high desert where cattle graze and wildlife is abundant. We also have maybe the best Bass Lake in the world. Travelers going south will find a more tropical ecology, colonial Mexico, and higher prices. Being two or three hours from anywhere else, Ciudad Victoria is an oasis of culture and commerce, as well as a very nice place to live.

The prices listed below are NOT remarkably low for this area. We live 'on the economy'. This means we live in a Mexican neighborhood, shop in the local markets, buy what's fresh that day, and avoid expensive treats. I have listed some of the major expenses we have here in Mexico. The currency exchange rate is in our favor right now. But this changes everyday so I am going to quote the prices in Mexican Pesos.

• Rent of a large (for Mexico) two bedroom house on a quiet lane in the city...$2600. This came unfurnished, I mean completely empty. Before we could move in we needed to buy new kitchen appliances, furniture, hot water heater, and even the tank to hold the propane gas for the stove and water heater. The rooms are very large. The living room/dining area is larger than the entire apartment we had I Pennsylvania which costs us four times as much. Our house is literally surrounded by big windows that let the breezes flow through every day. We even have a little apartment attached that was intended as the servants quarters. It has it's own entrance, private bath/shower, closets, and space for a bed, small table and chair. We use this for guests housing.
• Electric...~$250/month. The electric service is the same as that found in the United States. It is provided by hydro-electric power and is very reliable. We lost power once when a truck hit a utility pole on the next block. It was restored in about two hours.
• Water/sewer...~$45 every 3 months. Our water is drinkable right from the tap. There is no need to boil it or use those purification tablets other writers say are necessary. 1
• Cable/Internet...$850 for the premium level Cable. 200 channels, about half of which are in English provide all of the popular shows with the exception (mores the pity) game shows. We also subscribe to the highest speed Internet (2megs). Neither of these services have ever been interrupted in the past 14 months.
• We don't have a phone because we use SKYPE, the Internet based telephone communication service, for all of our international calls (free to other SKYPE users-2¢/minute to other phone numbers). I have a TelMex phone card for the pay phone on the corner for local calls. (pizza delivery)
• Gasoline is high right now at $9.90 per liter. Gasoline as well as all other petroleum products, is regulated by the government company PEMEX. Although the prices do vary from place to place, they are all controlled by PEMEX and are kept relatively stable. During the recent economic fiasco in the US, our prices did increase gradually. However, when world prices fell, our costs went down sooner and more radically then those in the States.
  

Everything you could possibly need is available in the local Mercado or street market. Shopping at these markets can be a fun way to spend a few hours in the morning. With our difficulties getting around, we seldom go there, though.2 We shop at the local supermarket, Sam's Club, and Walmart. Fresh fruit, veggies, and meat are very inexpensive when compared to the US. Almost all of the produce available is grown within a hundred miles of here. Things like apples, pears, grapes, broccoli, and cabbage come from the US by way of NAFTA and South America, especially Chile. We can by Tyson precut and packaged chicken in the supermarket, but the locally raised poultry are so much better and less expensive. This is live stock country and beef and pork is very inexpensive and of the highest quality.

Canned goods from Mexico are a good bargain but those from the US and Spain are expensive. Cleaning supplies are about the same as the US. Many of the US manufacturer have Mexican brands of the very same products from the US. Mr. Clean is Mr. Musculo, for instance. Clothes, bedding, and furniture can be expensive. You have to watch were a product was manufactured. If the item you want was made in the US or Europe the cost will be about the same as in the US. But if it was made in China, watch out. There is a 1000% import tariff in effect right now and all things Chinese are very costly.

Movies in either of the two megaplex theaters cost $38 if we go to in the afternoon. Most of the time there is at least one new film in English with Spanish subtitles.

As the capital city of the State of Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria is the hub of culture for this area. Live theater, concerts, art exhibits, and sports events are very popular and VERY inexpensive. The local government values the Arts and underwrites the costs, making these events affordable to most of the residents.

If we need a break there are several very nice restaurants and fast food joints in the area. Applebees, McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Church's Chicken, Subway, and Domino's Pizza to name a few. These are nice and exactly like those in the States. However, these American brands are expensive when compared to the vast variety of local restaurants and street vendors who offer everything from shrimp cocktail, tacos and gorditas, and hot dogs, to roasted ears of corn and fresh orange and grapefruit juice. My personal favorite is the tamales made fresh by the lady on the next block and sold door to door everyday.

Medical care is available. We joined the government health scheme for about $2000 a year. This gives us unlimited access to medical, dental, vision, and emergency care with no further costs. This system is crowded and the clinics are slow. But it covers all of the costs of t our prescriptions, a savings of $400.00US each MONTH in co-pays. We have this local medical program primarily to cover catastrophic injuries from a car accident or medical conditions which preclude a road trip to Texas. Should a major medical situation arise that can wait, as it did when my wife needed to have her gall bladder removed earlier this year, we can go to Texas and have Medicare cover the expenses.

The bottom line is, of course, the BOTTOM LINE. When all is said and done, we have a hard time spending $800US per month here in Ciudad Victoria. As I stated earlier, we live a very quiet life style. Neither of us smoke, we don't drink, and we stay at home most of the time. We moved to this area because it offered everything we needed, a comfortable home in a modern city with affordable prices that allow us to live on our social security and veteran's pensions.

1. One of the reasons utility prices are so low is because the companies pass on the costs of emergency repairs to the customers who suffered the interruption. An example of this occurred just last month when a water main broke, causing a six hour interruption in service. The water company sent in a crew of several dozen men who worked well into the night to repair the problem. The costs of this emergency repair showed up on the next bill as a “surcharge”. When I questioned this practice, I was told that the cost of making this repair was shared with all of the customers who were effected by the break and then spread out over the next four billing cycles. The result is a $30.00Peso increase in my bill for the next year.
2. My wife relies on a wheelchair and we seldom have problems getting in and out of most places. Although sometimes not up to ADA standards, the city has ramped most sidewalks at intersections and all public buildings are required to offer ramps.