Interesting read about Mexico (long)
This was written by an US citizen who has chosen to live south of the border. What makes it interesting is as you read the description, you can help but think, "If we did that in the US, the Mexican Government (and portions of our own government) would scream discrimination." Enjoy the reading.
But I Thought.
February 4, 2007
Sinaloa, Mexico
Having visited fifty-seven countries in the last five years, I'm accustomed to the extensive paperwork that's often involved when crossing international borders, especially in the Third World. But Americans easily pass their southern frontiers for family journeys along Baja beaches or sultry escapades into the seedy nightlife of sleazy border towns. The only complications are returning to long, dreary US Customs lines for both vehicles and pedestrians. This frustrating wait is a one-hour minimum.
The story changes if Americans want to travel further south on mainland Mexico beyond the eighteen-mile, military-checkpoint where strict immigration laws require a tourist-card. These visas can be purchased for twenty bucks at any border crossing. Want to drive your own vehicle? Since the alleged revenue-starved Mexican government doesn't want foreigners circumventing their oppressive tax schemes by selling US registered cars or motorcycles, they demand a five-hundred-dollar, credit card-backed guarantee that whatever is brought in, is brought out.
As long as you have a passport, travel visa and original title, this is a relatively painless one-hour process that repeats when returning. (Within six months) In general, Mexico welcomes dollar-laden foreigners for short periods but requirements stiffen if wanting to live there. Mexicans, like their neighbors, don't want anymore poor-people in their country and demand proof that you won't run out of money and try to live off their system. An FM3 residency visa costs a hundred bucks and the application must be supported by four months of bank statements reflecting a healthy balance.
In the US, anyone with enough money can legally buy real estate backed by title insurance. This is almost true in Mexico unless you are a foreigner trying to purchase within fifty kilometers of an international boundary. Although foreign ownership of coastal land is against the law, to encourage investment, the national legislator has provided a loophole in the form of Bank Trusts-a separate industry onto itself. This is easier to explain than understand but the accepted truth is that a major bank can hold land titles that allow foreigners to buy, sell or trade-which is technically against the law. Hmmmmmm
And once moved into your new house in Mexico, you may want to dodge expensive ATM charges by opening a local bank account. No problem, just bring cash (No US checks), your FM3 visa and an electric bill with anyone's name on it. Poof! Within eight exasperating hours of waiting in line and signing ten pages of documents all written in Spanish, you'll have a bank account that allows withdrawals of up to four-hundred dollars a day.
As a legal resident, you may want a state-issued drivers license. To be certain foreigners are financially responsible, an envelope full of documents and insurance papers are needed in order to take a written exam. Imagine the shock when discovering that in a Spanish-speaking country, the test is only written in Spanish. The same goes for voting-citizens only and the ballots are of course, printed in Spanish.
Want to generate living expenses in your newly adopted country? Find the government building and wait in line for seldom-granted, work-permits. If caught working without one, like starting a business that employs a dozen locals, you'll be jailed and subject to immediate deportation. Then again, state officials have been known to look the other way if adequately compensated for what's blatantly illegal.
If living in Mexico as an average Mexican does, expenses are lower than in the US-except when wanting to purchase luxury items like electronics, vehicles or anything made outside the country. Be ready for a shocking thirty-percent tariff on imported goods that are often made in Mexico, exported to the US and then re-imported to Mexico. Those stern-faced inspectors perched on ladders at international entry-points are not on guard for drugs, guns or outlaws, they're on the lookout for black-market TVs. Thank God for NAFTA?
The same goes for food. Bargain conscious Mexicans in border towns still find it economically wise to endure long border crossing lines to stock up on groceries and even, gasoline. Want cell phones, Internet or to use toll roads? Be ready to pay double US prices. Yet when dining out, if ordering protein-light meals, the bill is twenty-percent less than in comparative American restaurants. Unless choosing an expensive tourist hangout, no one will even understand ordering a steak. The closest you'll come is thin, grilled strips of seasoned meat with side dishes of the tastiest salsa on earth. Carne Asada.
But labor is cheap, and in the new, expanding tourist regions, is in short supply. With recent surges of foreign investment in vacation paradises like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Luca and Mazatlan, workers are desperately needed. Should there be a sign aimed south at notorious international people-smuggling points revealing this startling information?
Yet the land of milk and honey is still El Norte. Comparatively speaking, at least as far as the rest of the world is concerned, with sufficient effort, a healthy human in the US, can almost get ahead by accident. That is if we stop to notice that our cup is half full. As Americans bicker among themselves over who called who a mean spirited name or the nonsense of peeking into bedroom windows, few realize the good fortune attached to citizenship in a land of unprecedented wealth and opportunity.
Astonishing government fraud and sinister corporate corruption is rampant throughout the world. In developing nations it's worse, as soft-natured natives are pummeled into accepting mind-boggling, inequitable distributions of wealth. Greedy predators escape blame by fingering foreigners.
Mexicans often call attention as to how nice it must be to be from such a rich country like the US. So I correct them, "We are both from rich countries. You are the seventh largest supplier of oil with abundant natural resources, plentiful labor and decent enough infrastructure to reinforce your thriving agricultural." With tourism booming and so much gold changing hands, a familiar mystery arises--Where's all that money?
But I Thought.
February 4, 2007
Sinaloa, Mexico
Having visited fifty-seven countries in the last five years, I'm accustomed to the extensive paperwork that's often involved when crossing international borders, especially in the Third World. But Americans easily pass their southern frontiers for family journeys along Baja beaches or sultry escapades into the seedy nightlife of sleazy border towns. The only complications are returning to long, dreary US Customs lines for both vehicles and pedestrians. This frustrating wait is a one-hour minimum.
The story changes if Americans want to travel further south on mainland Mexico beyond the eighteen-mile, military-checkpoint where strict immigration laws require a tourist-card. These visas can be purchased for twenty bucks at any border crossing. Want to drive your own vehicle? Since the alleged revenue-starved Mexican government doesn't want foreigners circumventing their oppressive tax schemes by selling US registered cars or motorcycles, they demand a five-hundred-dollar, credit card-backed guarantee that whatever is brought in, is brought out.
As long as you have a passport, travel visa and original title, this is a relatively painless one-hour process that repeats when returning. (Within six months) In general, Mexico welcomes dollar-laden foreigners for short periods but requirements stiffen if wanting to live there. Mexicans, like their neighbors, don't want anymore poor-people in their country and demand proof that you won't run out of money and try to live off their system. An FM3 residency visa costs a hundred bucks and the application must be supported by four months of bank statements reflecting a healthy balance.
In the US, anyone with enough money can legally buy real estate backed by title insurance. This is almost true in Mexico unless you are a foreigner trying to purchase within fifty kilometers of an international boundary. Although foreign ownership of coastal land is against the law, to encourage investment, the national legislator has provided a loophole in the form of Bank Trusts-a separate industry onto itself. This is easier to explain than understand but the accepted truth is that a major bank can hold land titles that allow foreigners to buy, sell or trade-which is technically against the law. Hmmmmmm
And once moved into your new house in Mexico, you may want to dodge expensive ATM charges by opening a local bank account. No problem, just bring cash (No US checks), your FM3 visa and an electric bill with anyone's name on it. Poof! Within eight exasperating hours of waiting in line and signing ten pages of documents all written in Spanish, you'll have a bank account that allows withdrawals of up to four-hundred dollars a day.
As a legal resident, you may want a state-issued drivers license. To be certain foreigners are financially responsible, an envelope full of documents and insurance papers are needed in order to take a written exam. Imagine the shock when discovering that in a Spanish-speaking country, the test is only written in Spanish. The same goes for voting-citizens only and the ballots are of course, printed in Spanish.
Want to generate living expenses in your newly adopted country? Find the government building and wait in line for seldom-granted, work-permits. If caught working without one, like starting a business that employs a dozen locals, you'll be jailed and subject to immediate deportation. Then again, state officials have been known to look the other way if adequately compensated for what's blatantly illegal.
If living in Mexico as an average Mexican does, expenses are lower than in the US-except when wanting to purchase luxury items like electronics, vehicles or anything made outside the country. Be ready for a shocking thirty-percent tariff on imported goods that are often made in Mexico, exported to the US and then re-imported to Mexico. Those stern-faced inspectors perched on ladders at international entry-points are not on guard for drugs, guns or outlaws, they're on the lookout for black-market TVs. Thank God for NAFTA?
The same goes for food. Bargain conscious Mexicans in border towns still find it economically wise to endure long border crossing lines to stock up on groceries and even, gasoline. Want cell phones, Internet or to use toll roads? Be ready to pay double US prices. Yet when dining out, if ordering protein-light meals, the bill is twenty-percent less than in comparative American restaurants. Unless choosing an expensive tourist hangout, no one will even understand ordering a steak. The closest you'll come is thin, grilled strips of seasoned meat with side dishes of the tastiest salsa on earth. Carne Asada.
But labor is cheap, and in the new, expanding tourist regions, is in short supply. With recent surges of foreign investment in vacation paradises like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Luca and Mazatlan, workers are desperately needed. Should there be a sign aimed south at notorious international people-smuggling points revealing this startling information?
Yet the land of milk and honey is still El Norte. Comparatively speaking, at least as far as the rest of the world is concerned, with sufficient effort, a healthy human in the US, can almost get ahead by accident. That is if we stop to notice that our cup is half full. As Americans bicker among themselves over who called who a mean spirited name or the nonsense of peeking into bedroom windows, few realize the good fortune attached to citizenship in a land of unprecedented wealth and opportunity.
Astonishing government fraud and sinister corporate corruption is rampant throughout the world. In developing nations it's worse, as soft-natured natives are pummeled into accepting mind-boggling, inequitable distributions of wealth. Greedy predators escape blame by fingering foreigners.
Mexicans often call attention as to how nice it must be to be from such a rich country like the US. So I correct them, "We are both from rich countries. You are the seventh largest supplier of oil with abundant natural resources, plentiful labor and decent enough infrastructure to reinforce your thriving agricultural." With tourism booming and so much gold changing hands, a familiar mystery arises--Where's all that money?
0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
0 comments