Topic - Lifestyle

Today, over half of all commercial transactions in ‘industrialized’ nations like the USA, Canada, Western Europe and Australasia take place using some form of electronic money. Although the use of electronic money is increasing in Mexico, cash still remains king here . . .

Americans and Canadians have very different motivations for traveling to Mexico for medical treatment . . .

Cars in Mexico are symbols of social status, and switching from public transport to owning your own vehicle is regarded as a step up on the social ladder here. The paradox is that some expats who are living in Mexico, who came from countries where cars are also symbols of social status, feel delighted to have dumped their car–as they have come to know just how expensive and cumbersome becoming dependent on one can be . . .

For variety, there’s little that can beat the entertainers and purveyors of unwanted services who work the traffic lights of Mexico City . . .

Stray dogs are still part of the Mexican landscape. The number of street dogs has diminished substantially over the years with the work of the catchers, but strays – mongrels for the most part – can still be seen hanging around the markets and street stalls, where their scavenging for food has a greater chance of success . . .

Ten years ago, the neologism “BRIC” – referring to Brazil Russia, India and China – was popularized, as economists asserted that these countries would be new power economic houses of the 21st Century. A decade on, Mexico has entered the spotlight amidst the popularization of another, related, neologism, MINT: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey – now tipped to be countries with enormous potential and whose economies could enter the global top 10 within a generation—over-taking the UK, Germany and France . . .

If you’re scouting for a place to live or to retire in Mexico, one of the key factors about choosing your location wisely will be matching the climates you know you can live with and your short-list of locations . . .

However advanced technology becomes, language remains the prime means by which we interact with other peoples and cultures, and is the principal way in which we learn from each other. If you’re planning to move to Mexico to live, work, retire or establish a home—full or part-time—learning Spanish should be high up on your list of ‘to-do’s’. Every-day living in Mexico demands that you exercise at least a modicum of Spanish language usage and you will get much more from your experiences in Mexico being able to speak some Spanish . . .

People from the United States and Canada have been traveling south to Mexico for medical treatment for decades. This includes people in the border regions who simply find care on “el otro lado” convenient and familiar, especially for those who have roots in Mexico, and also to those needing major surgeries such as an organ transplant or hip replacement and find that care in their home country is not affordable or will be delayed for months . . .

It requires a good deal of courage to emigrate and start a new life in a foreign country, and moving to Mexico is no exception . . .