Now back to the topic. I have looked into trading from Mexico and know a fair amount about the country growing up in So Cal, speak basic Spanish, and have traveled to Mexico about 20 times in my life. Big con, Mexico follows Napoleonic law ( look it up if you don't believe me ) you are guilty until proven innocent. When traffic accidents happen, and I have personally seen this, people flee because they know the corrupt cops will take them to a dirt jail floor and hold them until extorting money from them. If you are a gringo and get pulled over by the cops expect to pay a bribe in USD or go to jail. Back in the 80's it was a 20 USD now I am sure it's more. Transparency.org ranks Mexico as 70, higher number being worse, and USA as 20 for corruption. Part of the good, the cost for waterfront property is cheap comparatively speaking. There are no capital gains taxes, a big plus for traders. The water is warmer than in many parts of the US. If I am going to relocate to a Latin country I would consider Panama or Argentina, not Mexico, maybe some other countries in South America. True I could get a nice waterfront condo in Rosarito Beach and be only 3-4 hour drive from my OC family, but too corrupt and too dangerous for my wife to walk alone at night if she wanted to. I know of a couple of people that were murdered in Mexico and no one was brought to justice. Specifically, my Mom's good friends' hair dresser was raped and killed walking alone as a woman on the beach at night in Rosarito Beach, where many Americans go all the time in Baja Norte. This happened in the mid 80's. Could this happen in this US? Sure, but I don't know of anyone in my 38 years that has had the same set of circumstances happen to them in the US. The older I get the more I realize there is a reason the free market prices some things higher than others.
Interesting side note- I was watching a cop show looking at charts the other day and San Paulo, Brazil has the highest rate of kidnappings in the world, 1500 per year. Mexico has a bad reputation of such things too. Watch Man on Fire for some realism on the bad side of things in Mexico.
Interesting comments from all. What about living and tarding in say Puerto Vallarta. Is it a good place to live and what about solid internet connections.
I have been there twice. There is a nice surf break an hour away, although I haven't surfed it. A Wallmart and a Blockbuster too! I don't know about internet, but I like Acapulco more, more class, culture, stype, and more appeal than PV. Water is warm, but so many freakin time share salespeople halking timshares, boat trips, etc. Let's just say it was quite the gringo town. It's only a 2 hour flight from Western US so that's nice. Go check it out, call a realtor, start collecting info, chat on the net will only get you so far. Why do you want to go to Mexico? Let's start there.
I live in Rio de J and have done so for 5 years and now we are looking to buy land back from the coast a little way. We know CR, DR, Panama, Argentina and Venezula doesnt make the cut any more (big pity) so it really leaves Mexico before we make a decision.
That's a common myth - civil law does not presume guilt. It's innocent until proven guilty, just like common law countries. The difference is that usually there is no habeus corpus, so you can rot on remand until your trial if the judges take a disliking to you. However, I agree that in reality if you get arrested in a corrupt developing country, in many cases you will have to bribe people if you don't want things to be difficult.
I lived in Cancun from 2001-2003. Playa del Carmen( 1hr away from Cancun) 2000-2001 I enjoyed my time there in southern mexico very much but finally had to get back to reality....some what..I live in Suthbeach Miami now. Cancun i very amercianized...even have a Costco there. Also Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco are very nice too...Ive been to all these places but ultimately Cancun and Playa del Carmen have nicer beaches and plenty of visiting hot female tourists from Spain, Italy, Holland, sweden, etc.... Got a speeding ticked there once and "payed" off the cop $20 and i was on my way home....
I hear that! I spent 18 days south of the border. got back about 6 weeks ago. Anyway, we were trying to find the worlds best tequila by sampling them all and I had to run up to the main house to get something for the wife and I crushed my toes on the outdoor stairs. Guess I shoulda been wearing shoes. I came back down to the salon limping and everybody was freaked out because my second toe was bent over my third toe at a right angle from the joint closest to my foot. the wife got worried and said "you have to go to a hospital now" Most of the room was from mexico and they all gave me dozens of reasons why I did NOT want to go to a mexican hospital. To make a long story shorter, I did another shot, grabbed the toe, and with three very audible clicks, snapped it back into place. Well, not exactly in place, but its way better than it was before I tried to fix it. Still a little larger at that joint and it doesn't bend as much as the same toe on my right foot, but oh well, at least we did come to the realization that Sauza Tres Generations Anejo may be one of the best tequilas in the world.