As an American who recently moved to Mexico, I encounter small adventures on a daily basis. Tasks that were once mundane in my hometown are now full of newness. Each day when I drive to work, I learn rules and norms about driving in Mexico. For instance, topes are everywhere. They are basically speed bumps. Small towns have them to prohibit cars from speeding through their village and I’ve learned from experience to keep it slow on highways that have lots of small towns. Trust me, its much better to have plenty of time to reduce speed when approaching a tope than to be surprised by it, your suspension will thank you. There are many topes throughout large cities as well, used to keep traffic speeds at a minimum and to slow velocity when approaching a glorietta. Which moves us to our next topic, gloriettas are basically roundabouts. These took some getting used to as we have none in my hometown. From trial and error I learned that you always yield to cars in the roundabout, the inside lane is for going around and the outside lane is for exiting. I have to admit they are probably more efficient than stoplights but much more nerve-wracking and intimidating.
Visiting the supermarket is another treat. For the most part the same foods are available here and at a reduced price to boot. However, there are some conveniences I’ve had to live without such as canned diced tomatoes, velveta cheese and fresh milk. One can make due as there are a myriad of wonderful cuisines here that are unavailable in the states.
One surprising realization was the costliness of various items. Once my husband and I arrived, we planned on buying a car. Little did we know that vehicles, particularly SUV’s, are around a third more expensive here than in the US. The same goes for electronics. The saying “everything is cheaper in Mexico” does not apply to mass produced goods such as electronics, vehicles, furniture and even clothing. I buy a lot of these products online and even though there is the added cost of shipping, it is still usually cheaper than buying these goods locally.
Although I love living in Mexico, there are a few things that I just don’t understand that drive me crazy. One of these is the dialing of cellular phones. Depending on if you’re calling on the same network, i.e Telcel phone to Telcel phone, you do not need the area code. Unless you’re calling a number in a different state, in that case you DO need the area code. However if you call from Nextel to Telcel, you need the area code no matter what. I’m pretty sure something else happens when you call Nextel to Telmext and you’re in a different state. Rules change for Nextel to Nextel, home phone to cellular and so on. I’ve been here over two months and I still don’t understand which labyrinth of numbers to use when dialing. I recently found a spreadsheet over a page long with instructions for each configuration possible which has helped.
Overall, my husband and I love living in Mexico. The people are truly amazing here, always willing to help and most importantly they love to have a good time! We live in the Yucatan which is very safe; the murder rate here is comparable with Montana and Wyoming and is 15 times lower than Washington, D.C. There are a plethora of things to do such as museums, beaches and wonderful ruins. If you avoid large tourist areas, food and accommodations are very reasonable making weekend trips easy and cheap. Although I get homesick sometimes, I feel like I belong here and that Mexico is my home for now.
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