Moving to Mexico – The Road to Becoming a Mexican
Four years ago I move to
Mexico to live and work. In these articles I'll relay my 'adventures'
on the road to becoming Mexican.
Moving to Mexico was more of something that aligned in the universe for me, rather than an orchestrated relocation to Baja Sur. Just having past my four year anniversary of living and working in Mexico I thought it was time to take a look back. I’ve had so many experiences in the journey, I though it might make a good series of articles on the trials and tribulations of moving to Mexico.
I’m a corporate run-away. After more than two decades in the fast-paced Southern California advertising industry, I had endured enough. My 17 mile drive to work each day absorbed an extra 2 hours of my life daily, while the stress was certainly trimming time from the other end of my candle. One day, while violently cursing the lineage and mental challenges of the driver in front of me, who was obviously 'not on the same page', I decided it was time to do something else with my life. With almost uninterrupted easy, I stepped through the door into a new life in Mexico as my 22 years in California came to a close.
Uninterrupted ease – that’s the way it seemed at first. A good friend said in my rookie days, “There are three phases to living in Mexico. First you love it. Then you hate it. Then you accept it.” Enjoy that Honeymoon Phase folks, because that is what gets you through the Second Act.
A Roof Over Your Head
First item on the agenda when moving to Mexico is to find shelter. I had discovered La Paz while cruising in 2000-2001 and my 37’ boat had remained behind on the hard (in storage) After a month’s worth of refit, she was back in the water and provided very enjoyable housing in the Ensenada de La Paz. If you are more of a landlubber, rooms can be rented for under a couple hundred bucks a month. You can rent a nice house for under $500/mo in La Paz, even cheaper if you have time to bargain hunt.
Your Money Pipeline
Let’s face it, it’s not likely that a major firm is going to pay to relocate you to Baja. So, your second step should be to establish your financial link to your money back home. If you have owned a business before, remember how long it takes to start turning a profit. Let's just say everything seems to take longer in Mexico. So, you will need access to your savings or credit back home. We'll look at the ways you can access money stateside and the things you need to do to make sure the access is uninterrupted.
Bringing Home the Bacon
Step three is to find income. Many of those who relocate to Baja begin by working illegally. Odd jobs for other gringos or a quiet job consulting are the usual first steps. I used my first few months to survey what might make me the kind of income I would require to live in Mexico. Probably your best bet is to start a business. A business is an investment. To protect your investment you should take steps to make your operation legal as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you could be looking out the back window of a northbound bus, as your investment of time and money disappears over the horizon. We will cover some of the steps in becoming legal in future editions. Then there are the factors of what immigration will allow you to do, what NAFTA means to those with a degree and more.
When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do
Step four was important to me. Although it may not be important to everyone who visits or relocates to Baja, learning about Baja and Mexico was an imperative. So important in fact, that it is the overall theme of the BajaInsider. I am fortunate in the wealth of information my associate James Glover of Baja Real Estate and Consulting and many other long time residents and friends here in Baja have provided me. I consider that I have had a very condensed education. As a whole you will find almost everyone who lives here, gringo or Mexican more than willing and helpful in the process of education you in the differences. But this is a very broad category so let’s break it down a little…
The Language
One of my favorite language jokes is by Steve Martin. In an early sketch he talks about visiting Tijuana where he says: “Those darn Mexicans, they have a different word for everything.” My espanol was pretty much limited to the tourist phrases including cervesa, bano and comida. After four years in Mexico I think I speak on just about that level – that of a 4 year old. I have not yet taken the time for a formal education, but it’s on the agenda. I can follow a presentation at a professional function but asking me to speak in espanol at an event would be a mistake. I’ll pass on some of the tips that I’ve tried in expediting my learning.
The Culture
There are many cultural differences between the US and Mexico. Although some of the lines are beginning to blur, Mexico as a whole seems more polite to me. Tourists walk down the street in shorts and no shirt, or run into the convenience store in a bikini. Those that live here know that that would be considered rude. Do you use the bread tongs at the bakery or do you only touch the ones you buy?
Doing Business
Most of my business experience was in fast moving, high pressure industries. You had 90 seconds of a client’s time – make your point and make your pitch and move on. Down here in Baja, that just doesn’t fly. “How is your family?”, “What about the weather?” and “How has business been for you?” all come way before the “Order before midnight tonight!” part. Just like you NEVER gift a clock to a Japanese businessman (tell you why later) there are things that are done differently down here. There are differences and similarities to the ways we have learned in business up north, from Hacienda (the Mexican IRS), one and only one signature and banking (whoa! - BANKING) The fastest way to find yourself on the hard end of a conversation is to say, “That’s not how we do it back home!” – I don't think we're in Kansas any more Toto!
Getting Around
This includes everything from not stopping at stop signs to finding streets without street signs. Knowing where to find things, from federal forms to insulating foam is also an art. My experiences over the last four years have included filling police reports and taxes, having an accident, paying traffic citations and more than a dozen drives up and down Baja.
Dating and the Sexes
I moved to Mexico a single guy and I find Mexican women exotically beautiful. There are cultural differences that I must say, I am only familiar with the male side of the equation and am certainly no Ann Landers. But I now know why a gentleman always walks closest to the curb when with his lady, do you? We may even solicit some experiences from our readers (I’ll take notes too!) when we start to tackle this tricky subject.
Becoming Mexican
The final step to all this is actually BECOMING Mexican. This will be the final step for me, in my new country. The culmination of the learning process of assimilating will be attaining my Mexican passport. We will take a look at the various avenues and reasons in becoming a Mexican citizen, advantages of becoming Mexican and follow my progress as I go through the steps in the months ahead.
I don’t have all the answers, yet. As this new series progresses we will include feedback from our readers along with my experiences. If we can turn one more from Ugly Gringo into a Good Immigrant it will be easier for all of us. It's not better or worse living in Mexico and the way they do things here - it's just different!