Mundane Things About Coming and Going

     Right now, I am starting to plan for another jaunt back down to the Quinta, where a stay of a little more than two weeks is anticipated.   We have a couple of clients coming down....one Mexican couple, I think from Mexico City, and another couple who are birdwatchers from up north.

     My to-do list is pretty much done.   While finishing the various bits of shopping that must be done, it dawned on me that our readers might be interested in the reality of going back to the border as it pertains to "special shopping realities".

     Alvaro's brother-in-law, Efrain, who is a very helpful and competent personality came to the Quinta two days before my departure this time, and gave me 200 American dollars and asked me to buy him a new Stihl weed-eater.   A couple of days before, my neighbours, who were staying at the Quinta while they supervise the beginning of construction of their new house next door, asked me to buy some Excedrin Migraine, and they gave me five one-dollar bills.

     Taking last first, the neighbours are very well-to-do and cosmopolitan, and they have the most luxurious HEB grocery store in North America just 10 blocks away from their home in San Pedro de Garza Garcia, the most wealthy city per capita in all of Latin America.   That HEB has a huge pharmacy, both for prescriptions and over-the-counter remedies.

     Both these parties are from different strata, one urbane and sophisticated and the other rustic and traditional....both parties being what they are by their own preference.     BUT, they share the notion that if something is bought in the United States of America....and more especially in Texas...that it will be better and cheaper.    It must not be bought unless it is clearly stamped "Made in America".

     In any regard, I finally found out that Stihl no longer markets around here anything labelled "Stihl".   It is a German company and they have established a completely independent subsidiary under the trade name of ECHO in the United States....and these products are the "sons" of Stihl, but American made.   I struck out then to find professionals using the these weed-eaters....around commercial buildings, cemeteries, etc. and had some success in learning that the ECHO weed-eaters are very highly regarded.   They rev higher...up to 12,000 and 13,000 RPM's.   BUT, they require a slightly lighter oil additive...MANDATORY!

     In any regard I bought one medium heavy duty ECHO weed-eater for Efrain, with a no-extra-cost 5 year warranty, along with the appropriate plasti-string, and now hope that it will be what he is expecting when I arrive.

It was 185.00 with the tax, oil, and 095 string.     Then, I searched out the Excedrin and found two boxes of 24 tablets each on a "buy two and take a dollar off" deal.   That was a total of four dollars.

     Now, here is the point of this whole thing.    It is difficult to judge what the actual amount of cross-border trade is between Mexico and the United States, because these purchases are NOT calculated into the statistical mix.   Mexicans who come and go each day and who come and go over a period of an extended stay almost always go back with the 300 dollars/person daily personal import limit.     Sometimes they have errand-gringos to do their shopping for them.    Pretty much the same thing exists for Gringos coming back from Mexico with junk, Tequila, fine handcrafts, dental work, etc.   These things are not put into the regular governmental calculations of cross border economic activity.   Such above-mentioned things can only be estimated.

      Mexico and Canada are the two biggest trading partners of the United States, and visa-versa, especially when it is considered that these "daily billions" on both borders cannot be estimated.      This considered,  these two trading partners become even more  important in the mix of North American economic power.   I am pretty much a free-trader....and would probably be an unbridled free trader if we could  prohibit the import of anything made in  Red China...and the export to the same country.    American industrialists are fooling themselves if they think Red China is any sort of "trading partner" much less an "ally". 

      Red China is the one country where the communist party leadership pretty much sees my grandchildren as organ donors for the children of the communist party leadership.   But that is another story. 

Some information sources we use

Breitbart.com
http://online.wsj.com/home-page
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics
We draw information from these and other information services that will be being posted here during the next several hours. Thanks for your patience as we try to build this entire blog into a decent, minor leaque hidey hole for people who would like to do their own reasonable speculation, rumination, and deduction.

Back to Things That Are Interesting

     It was of some interest that the McAllen Monitor had a good  article concerning  a bird known as the "tiger heron"  .   Its AKA is "bare throated tiger heron", and apparently is a rare sighting in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

     Here they are commonly found around the various small ( 1 - 3 square miles) irrigation control impoundments found on the east side of the face of the Sierra Madre Oriental all the way from Allende, Nuevo Leon to the area east of Valles, San Luis Potosi'.    It seems to like to wade along the edges of these huge ponds (or small lakes) looking for goodies to pluck out of  the shallows.

       They can also be found along some of the ancient Spanish Colonial period canals that are still in use in areas such as where our Quinta is situated.   Another area with an excellent combination of canals and irrigation impoundments and small brooks and rivers is that which is adjacent to the El Chorrito religious site and old site of the Hacienda de la Meza, about 25 miles northwest of the Quinta (by straight-line;   45 miles by highway).   The ancient canals and spring-fed character of the watercourses gives this heron...as well as others....plenty of fare on the menu pretty much on a year-around basis.

       Among others "leggy birds" that can be found with some dependability are  cattle egrets, common white crane (garza), green heron, "el gigante"-great blue heron, straight-bill and curved-bill curlew, and others that do not come to mind right now.   (Don't ever become old.)

       Sea gulls, beach snipes, pelicans, osprey, and other such maritime and coastal birds arrrive at the face of the Sierra Madre Oriental more often than is worth mentioning.    Because of its rarity it is also hardly worth the mention, but, every few years flamingos on their way to and from Campeche State's southeastern coast....and their whooping crane cousins from their Aransas winter address come around.    They are probably hung over from a hard night on the town the day before...or something....and wind up in our area when their GPS is out of kilter.   This is in no wise common, but it does occur.

     ALSO!!!!   About a week ago, I was out kibbutzing with my neighbour who is busy putting in quite a fancy place next door.   He is the brother-in-law to the hacendado of the oft-mentioned Hacienda de la Vega.   They live in the fancy city of San Pedro de Garza Garcia, adjacent to Monterrey, and are finally moving ahead with the building of a mansion of sorts next door to us.

     They are nice people, very organized, and they have three daughters who seem to like the country atmosphere and cheerfully participate in heavy gardening and even some of the lighter construction work. 

      As I was walking back up to the Quinta, I heard a sharp, cat-like shriek and instinctively thought it was an encounter between two old tom-cats who call the Quinta home (debateable).   Turning, I noticed that it was actually a bobcat who had been involved in a stare-down with our old dog Prince ( a mainly black w/brown tips dog whose ggggggrandfather was probably a Doberman).      This bobcat was a male, about 35 - 40 pounds, and oddly very dark in colour.   He ran off towards the Rio Corona about 100 feet away, where cover abounds,  and returned to Nature. 

     The good part for me, in a way, is that now my neighbours know that I am not just a long-winded Texan telling enthralling tales of the animals who move around between the dusk and the dawn in the Valley of the Rio Corona.

This particular cat was out a bit early, because normally they wait until darkness to sneak out free-range hen eggs (fairly common in our neighbourhood), left-over dog and cat food (very rare!).

    Thanks again for your attention.   There will be more later, as usual.

The Old Gringo

Another source of good information and experiences

      You can find us....and scores of other foreigners living in Mexico....and share experiences, ask questions, and compare notes.   A complex and interesting site with divergent views, left and right, younger and older, from all over the Republic of Mexico.   Clic onto this link,  expat-blog.com - or, better yet, just clic onto the header above....Another source of good information and experiences....and you will wind up where you want to go.

Very interesting questions that have convoluted answers

       There is a Canadian who is married to an American woman, and they are in the postion of being able to retire early and travel.   The thing is that they still have some home-based business activities and some computer-based business that they enjoy.    It was their understanding that employment or operation of a business in Mexico is permitted only under the strictist regulation, registration (tax numbers, sales tax participation permits, etc.).    All of this is true.    BUT.....

       Usually, the continued operation of a computer-based business in a private personally owned or leased home/apartment/condo....will not be subject to any special interest from Mexican authority.   One of the reasons people do not like Mexico is because of the possible "arbitrary" administration of business and labour law.......and conversely, one of the reasons why people like Mexico is because one can normally do almost anything that is otherwise morally correct....and if you keep under the radar....don't strut and brag...keep it cool, calm, and collected....almost always nothing will happen to you.   This is especially true if you are dealing in small amounts of economic activity....either in cash....or in such a way that you can conduct your business banking still in the United States.   It is figured that the money in the bank in the United States will filter, legally, into Mexico and continue to fuel the demand-driven, free-enterprize economic sectors. 

      In terms of keeping things cool, calm, and collected...I would liken this to the difference between the low-class dancing and writhing and acrobatic celebrations in the end-zone when a  wide receiver scores a touchdown as opposed to the players who put the ball down or toss it to the referee, and/or who kneel and quickly cross themselves or point to the Cosmic Giver of Talent to express gratitude, and then return to their bench to enjoy the moment.....it's a matter of class.     If you want to do a little something in Mexico, then you should be like the second player, and not the first.

       One smiles a bit when the drunk at the end of the bar belts out with something like , "Yeah, in Mexico there ain't no laws....if you can get away with it, pay off the right people...then you're in like Flynn.    Yeah, I've been there a couple of times, and I know what I'm talkin' about."     The fact is that Mexico....at a national, state, and local level is heaped up with tons of plus-sized laws.   The Constitution of 1917, the basis of law in Mexico.....is a gargantuan document that, some joke, establishes the distance between parking meters in Tampico....on Tuesday.     The beer, wine, liquors, distillates, and alcoholic preparations law in Tamaulipas needs to have three camel caravans of 1,000 camels each to bring in the amendments to the next State Congressional session.....almost.   What is funnier than these absurd statements is that no one really laughs at these jokes, because everyone knows that the jokes are closer to the truth than not.

      In short, the problem in Mexico is not the lack of laws and regulations....it is the massive number of laws and regulations.    So, my rule of thumb is....if you are a younger person and you have found the perfect place in Mexico where you know that you are going to live for ten years or until Death do ye part, and you have the capital on-hand (roughly three times more than what you have calculated.......seriously), then I would recommend, strongly, to establish your beauty salon, book store, Pollo Loco franchise (a good choice, actually) strictly along the legal lines....including the Draconian labour laws (more about that later).  Take out the permits, take out your tax number, register your employees in Social Security (Mexico's sabre-toothed, giant ground-sloth socialized medical system{default}) or devise a slightly more expensive private insurance program for you and your employees {preferred},  hire the CPA, as required to do your quarterly filings for the employees' housing fund contribution, Christmas bonus escrow, scholarship contributions for employees' minor dependents, personal and/or small corporation anticipated income tax withholding, etc.etc.etc.

      If, however, you are a geezer....or even a pre-geezer.....then it seems that the attitude among authority is that you are not really going to be doing any damage to the employment picture.....that your pensions and other capital improvements that you are presiding over in Mexico, and your  incidental employment of people to do "temporary projects"...will be tolerated....if you happen to recieve guests in a two or three bedroom bed and breakfast operation.   One of the reasons people will work for you without coverage as required in the common labour package, is because you will probably pay 3 to 6 times more than the minimum otherwise required by law and be a "kinder and gentler" employer.    Just make sure to pay your ad valorem tax on your house and property, every year or at least every other year.     More on these taxes later.

     Remember, that your humble correspondent is not authorized, credentialled, or in any way qualified by any authority save for that which is provided by a half-century of experience....and by the experiences dating back to the 1880's of family members living in and doing business in Mexico.    Also,  free advice could be considered to be worth the cost.....but one should also consider that each case is at least slightly different from any other case.    Like the Old Arriero (mule & donkey pack train driver) said one time when trying to describe the Gringos to the people back in his village...."Yes, I saw many of them in Guadalajara....they are very big and pale....They are....how do you say....like the snow-flakes....they all look just alike, but they are all a little bit different."     That is the case with your circumstances concerning remunerated economic activity in Mexico.

        

HELLO again from rural Mexico and/or deepest South Texas!!

FRIDAY, January 15, 2010

       Three "Winter Texans" encountered me as I came out of the HEB grocery near our place in Mission, asking if I were the same "crazy Gringo" who has a place in the interior of Mexico. It was a fairly predictable take-down.....one that occurs about three or four times per month. Usually they are folks who have been referred to me, or had me pointed out as "certifiable"....but that I could be considered at least a nominal authority about matters concerning Mexico. These folks were fairly normal in that they had the same reasonable questions and concerns about investing, living, and generally hanging around in Mexico. What I shall put in print below is a fair combination of this little meeting and perhaps a hundred others, at different times and in different places.

Point one

       A lot of folks have the idea that a Gringo can go to Mexico and live on 600 dollars a month. Please be aware that such is impossible, unless one would wish to diminish his standard of living to the extreme. To be blunt, my rule of thumb at this writing and under the economic conditions we are encountering, both good and ill, is that a minimum expenditure in an urban area for day to day living for a couple would be at least 2,000 American dollars/month. In some rural areas with adequate infrastructure and housing alternatives, a couple might be able to get along on 1,600 dollars per month.

      This usually would include about 300 to 500 dollars per month for a modest but comfortable house or apartment in a decent setting, and slightly less in the rural areas. In the rural areas there are fewer places to let, but they can usually be found with a little effort.

      Electricity, for instance, can be somewhat expensive, given what little the user may be powering. In our little place, for instance, we pay between 50 and 70 dollars every two months.....which seems reasonable....until one considers that we power a medium sized refrigerator, a few pig-tail lights and lamps and even fewer incandescent.....all of which are vigorously policed and turned off when not in use. There are two old-fashioned televisions, one of which is used quite a bit, and the other very seldomly, and two small air-conditioners, one in each bedroom.....which are also used very, very sparingly.

Point two

     It is all but necessary....I would go ahead and say unavoidable.... to take out essentially what is a Mexican passport....in the form of what is called Forma Migratoria - III, or the famous FM-3. This requires a visit to the Mexican counsul most convenient to the applicant. One must also have a valid American Passport, proof of income which can be earned without employment in Mexico which, at this writing, would be equivilant to about 1,600 American dollars per month.
     There are other somewhat mundane things, such as a letter to the indicated official of the Secretaria de Gobernacion expressing why the applicant would want to live in Mexico. Another is the provision of six passport photos.   With this document in hand the holder can purchase land anywhere in Mexico, with certain limitations concerning the size of tract, and with certain prohibitions concerning location of the land and/or house. The FM -3 also facilitates the engaging of everything from obtaining a telephone, satellite/cable television installation, and even making a longer term lease on a desired property. Normally, where purchases are not allowed, leases are....and in some cases....inheritable and renewable 99 year leases are permiitted.    It is also easier, sometimes requisite, to have your FM-3 in order to open a bank account or recieve money transfers.

Point three

     Buying and/or building a home may well not be the best alternative for a first-timer, or for a person who does not intend to be at his residence at least 80% of the time. In the opinion of the Old Gringo, it is best to "get one's feet wet", and rent or preferably lease for a year or so before jumping into the deep end of the pool. And...before even that.....the new Mexican "residente immigrante" should have either mastered the process of documenting his vehicle at the border for what is called "temporary importation" and/or how to master the Mexican autobus system. The Mexican bus transportation system is a marvel for those who can adapt, in that it provides comfortable medium and long distance travel for relatively inexpensive fares. Most 2nd class, and all 1st class and deluxe busses are almost almost always clean with functioning HACV systems, assigned seating (from the original terminal), clumsy but effective luggage control, and even terminals that are from survivable to pleasant.

     Another alternative for the newcomer that would beat hanging around in Mexico for excessively long and pointless periods of time is to take a couple of group tours....and enjoy them....no matter how funky they might be. Your objective on such a tour would not be to "survive" going to Mexico or to be entertained....but rather to determine if you can adapt to the order within the disorder, the contradictions, the inefficiencies, the food, the language,and so forth.

It will be my pleasure to continue my pontifications about the how's and why's and when's of doing things in Mexico, all from the point of view of one who....as Yogi would say...been that and done here.

Posted by The Old Gringo at 8:42 AM More later!