@@user-bg9em7ch6k yup. We were surprised when we moved down here. Remember, tho, we are in a small town. I would think larger cities were more affordable
@@BajaSwans it would totally depend on which part of which city and which small town… however, I am familiar with the very small, very gringo intensive town of Ajijic, and those costs would be very high here.
Hi Baja Swans! Love the info you're sharing. We’re also based in Mexico, living in San Miguel de Allende, and it's always great to see fellow expats sharing their experiences. We'll be launching our channel tomorrow with our first video and covering similar topics like life in Mexico and global retirement options and slow travel. Looking forward to following your journey and learning more from your videos!
I live in Baja Sur, too--near Todos Santos--and overall Baja is much more expensive than most of the mainland. I've traveled in many areas of the mainland and much of it is up to 50% lower than Baja. However, we bought our little house 10 years ago before prices went bonkers, and we grocery shop often at the smaller Mexican shops that don't cater to gringos and so are less expensive. And when we travel, which is often, we rent out our place and also do a lot of housesitting--so we have ways to live the life we love at a lower cost. Overall, though, we live light (our house is small, and we have only 1 older car), and that's my happy place. PS: I liked your video about the anxiety of adjustment. So honest. And yay to sobriety! PSS: Loreto is sweet. We've spent time there as well.
Hi there. Thanks so much for your comment and insight. Sometimes I think of Baja as the "Hawaii" of Mexico - separated, almost an island of its own. Everything you said makes total sense. Thanks again.
We have a house in Northern Baja and have been building it since the 90s. I think its cheaper here, but prices have gone up sharply over the last 4 years. Most people ive talked to that have moved to Mexico got rid of medical insurance, but im sure having it gives you some comfort.
@@Conquistadordecielo it’s something we are talking through now. Definitely have it for peace of mind. But being open to other options. Thanks so much for your comment.
@@1Skeptik1 we were surprised at the costs. We are in a small town so I’m guessing the larger cities won’t be this high, but can’t answer that for sure.
I also live in a small town in Mexico (which by the way is usually cheaper than the larger cities). I don't own a house but my living costs are about half of what you list here including rent, utilities, groceries, entertainment, etc., and I live very well, so I don't think this is a true picture of life in most places in Mexico.
Cool. Thanks for sharing that. And yah, why I made sure to say it's our experience and this isn't what is "typical" mexico. It's interesting reading these comments, it's made me aware that in the states there are a range of costs of living. We are from California which has a higher cost of living than a lot of places in the states. So, some of the costs down here are about half what we paid. We are on the peninsula and I'm looking forward to doing a road trip on the mainland b/c I know there is so much of Mexico I haven't seen. Thanks for your comment!
That's is exactly what I said! After hearing what she and her husband are paying to live in Mexico I couldn't help but to start making assumptions concerning her mindset and lifestyle, only because I am able to live and eat like a Rey (King) for around $1300us max. per month. That's counting every tiny little thing, even down to the total costs incurred to secure my 4 year Residente Temporal. I could do it if I rented a bigger place right on the beach but I would find it really hard to spend upwards of $2000us. I retired early and moved here from a very exclusive and expensive neighborhood in CA called Calabasas so I know and have lived a good life but I don't feel as privileged as she appears. Maybe that's just me? I rent and live in a more expensive and nice colonia in Ensenada, Baja where the mountains roll down to ocean and the weather is perfect year round. I don't even have a/c so just my electricity bill is less than $10.00us per month. Right now I'm relaxing in my hammock on my palm frond shaded patio that overlooks the ocean waves and the beautiful city lights at night. I surfed and took a jog on the beach this morning, the surf was small but the water was refreshing. Afterwards I took a walk on the harbor malecon to La Guerrerense and splurged for a freshly caught seafood lunch. That's the place made famous by Anthony Bourdain who called it one of the best food stands in the world. It cost me around $10.00us. I picked up three avocados and two mangos from the organic fruit, veggie and juice place across the street and it cost me a total of $1.75us. Heck even her HOA fees are easily twice as much as the majority of others I know who are living in Mexico. I'm just pointing out what an average persons cost would be to live in Mexico and trying to be more realistic. Buena suerte!
@@davidsebastianelli1326 That's closer to how I'd want to do it. I couldn't live in a condo or apt building, couldn't have people doing everything for me either. Seguro que ayuda cuando uno habla español. Bendiciones.
Hola Wallace! Just how spoiled of a lifestyle would suit you? Look on Face Book Marketplace in some of the different cities you are interested in. You can see sales costs along with rentals. Keep in mind that popular "expat" spots and touristy areas will always be considerably more. You can find a nice modest place in a Mexican neighborhood for anywhere from around $300 up $800us on average depending on the city. You could spend as much as you want. There are huge mansions in my neighborhood that rent for over $3000us and up. I like living in a mostly Mexican neighborhood because it doesn't matter what your age or how you look your neighbors will "adopt" you into their families! One of my neighbors just sent her kids over to give me some tamales! I have a car but I can easily walk to get everything I regularly need. Buena suerte!
One of the things we were surprised about was the cost of goods in general. Grocery shopping gave us a bit of sticker shock, to be honest. We haven't been to the mainland yet and we're curious about cost of living there.
for us mexicans we have to run out of Mexico as fast as we can and get a decent living in USA. 50cents an hour is what we get paid. even walmart tries to pay less in Mexico. USA walmart 12 dollars an hour in Mexico walmart only 250 dollars a month. ridiculous pay here.
Holycow, this is far more expensive than any other Mexico expense video I've seen... Are you living in an upscale neighborhood or something!? Most people move to Mexico to save, and based off your expenses this doesn't seem like much saving compared to the US if any. I am looking into moving to Mexico, and there's no way I would ever move there with prices like this, and this can't be all of Mexico...
It definitely isn't all of Mexico. If you read other comments, folks have posted what they are paying. The $1200 health insurance is something we are now reevaluating, to be honest, thanks to the comments on these videos, because we pay as we go for medical and it's been very affordable. Have the plan for catastrophes. And yes, we do live in an area where there are expats and, unfortunately, you're right, it does drive up prices. I think if you research you'll definitely find places in Mexico where it's super affordable. For us, we came from California so paying $800 for hard costs monthly for us is a HUGE reduction in what we had to pay in the states. Thanks for your comment!
@@unclefester6501 compared to what we were paying in the states it’s about half. We are really happy with the work they do and what we pay is competitive for the area.
I have a girl who comes in who does my cleaning, laundry and even prepares Mexican specialties for lunch and dinner. Sometimes she'll bring some things she made at home. I treat her to lunch so she just tells me what purchase and she is a great cook! She charges me $400 pesos and I give an $80 (20% when 10% is standard) peso tip. That's around $25.00us per visit. Buena suerte!
@@davidsebastianelli1326 Thanks for sharing your experience and costs - I've been slowly learning a lot getting insight from other areas of Mexico. Buen Dia!
wait you pay someone to pay your electric and water? nobody pays utilities in mx hahahha i lived in acapulco for two years i aint pay it and they never turned it off. btw my cost of living in mx in jalisco 2 min walk to beach was 200 dollars including food/rent.
Interesting... HOA? Property manager? Cleaners? Gardener? 😮 Do you guys do anything for yourselves? You obviously didn't move there to live less expensively! You're spending a good bit more on monthly hard costs. Never mind, you're getting handymen, pedicures, massages, hair services, groomer for your dog, and people to sew stuff for you. I can't even imagine. They must be glad to see you coming! Why did you move there, though?
@@elgringoec 😀 in retrospect I can see how it appears that way. I only wear flip flops now and trust me if you saw my feet….ugh. It’s isn’t vanity as to why I get a pedicure 😀. As for the doggies, it gets really hot here, so we make that a priority for them. Our biggest expense is health insurance, which we pay 1100 a month so without that we pay $800 US in hard costs. That is way less expensive than where we moved from. We would never be able to not be working if we still lived in the states. We moved to live a smaller, slower and quieter life and it is. It took some getting used to but now we cherish it and our very grateful.
@@BajaSwans I'm glad to hear you're happy and enjoying life. What gets me off is different, and that's okay. We can live inexpensively now because we worked hard and saved through our youth instead of splurging on instant gratification. We have always done our own maintenance, repairs, building, cooking, gardening, cleaning, etc. Never hired anyone in or taken stuff in to anyone. Chose to live in farmland and have acreage to work relatively unrestricted. We can target shoot and hunt, ride our OHVs around, choose our designs and colors without begging for permission, cut whatever grass we want when we want and have "wild" areas and woods. Sometimes I'm out and about the place and think about how people who live in the rat race would pay big to come spend a few days here with nature. And because we were discerning and paid as we went, we can now live very comfortably on very little income. Health insurance is next to nothing because our income is low. We have no medical expenses because we've been diligent about carefully controlling our diets and staying fit and capable. Once we're on Medicare we can pull more from our retirement accounts and travel more, if we want. But we managed to fit in a pretty good amount of travel over the years, again, knowing how to mitigate costs and speaking the language. Baja is one of the places I want to visit. Take a motorcycle to Cabo and back, on the sand and rock roads that cut across the countryside through the hills and remote towns tucked in along the way which aren't reached by pavement and places like rancho El Coyote that your typical tourist is less likely to venture to. But, you know, to each their own, there's something for everyone, and the bottom line is really about making the most of what you have and enjoying the marvels of life -- whatever that entails for each of us. Thanks for the eye opening view into a different world. Did you ever say where in Baja you chose? I was trying to picture where you were on the map.
@@elgringoec Yes! 100% agree. We spent years paying off debt and it wasn't always pretty. But, as you know the feeling of paying all that off is awesome. We went heads down a long time, but for us, it was worth it. Selling our house let us buy something small here and we have a monthly budget. It can be restricting at times, but when we look at the alternative of still working? Nope. We're hoping to improve on that health insurance cost so I have more research to do. Our Toyota 4Runner is the same age as my 27 year old son and we love that truck. You're right. People would pay a lot of money to vacation where you live. It sounds amazing. I think you would really like Baja, especially on a motorcycle. We haven't fully started exploring yet, but from what we've seen and hear, it's wild and untamed still. People from the states ask us "do you ever get bored?" b/c it's a small town and not a lot going on. (We live in Loreto). My husband and I smile at each other. I used to be afraid of being "bored" of not going 100mph. Now we've learned to embrace it. From what you've told me I think you'd enjoy the Baja peninsula. It's still pretty wild and untamed and as you mentioned a lot of off road areas that take you some incredible coastline and mountain areas. I really appreciate your comments, super interesting to learn about different lifestyles and points of view.
@@BajaSwans Hola nena! Absolutely! It's been on my list for years. From the magic of the Baja races (500 and 1000) that I first saw ages ago, through the written accounts accompanied with a spattering of photos, to more recently the talking videos of travelers scouting the peninsula, it's created quite a draw. The beauty, the adventure, the people... And pretty good food, too, from what I hear, all makes me want to experience it. And it's also a unique environment for adventure motorcycling, with a mix of easy and challenging terrain to keep you delighted and on your toes. The lack of oppressive traffic control, at least for off-pavement tracks, means no problem wicking it up to 100 if called to when conditions permit. Though a few have reported injuries from losing it due to quickly changing conditions. There's something about that town I feel like I should be remembering, it's just not coming to me at the moment. But there's something. I keep telling myself I should keep notes from things I glean from various traveling accounts, but you can imagine how that goes. I suggest for one of your first forays into the wilderness, a trip to Agua Verde and back. It's not that far down the coast, but to access it you have to take the dirt tracks that work through the interesting terrain, onto which you turn from the main road after it heads inland. It probably takes longer than it looks but the views are great and a nice little beach community awaits. One of the motorcycle travelers we watch went there and ended up doing a fundraiser to help one of the local vendors set up a solar power system to run a refrigerator for a little restaurant. He stayed the night there too but you could opt to make it a full day excursion out and back. You've got the ideal truck for the job of conquering those tracks. Do you really need health insurance there, though? I get that we're accustomed to thinking we need it, but have you checked the cost of cash services? It's typically so much less than what we see in our insurance driven market. That 13k yearly for "peace of mind" could go a long way for really big services, plus hang out in your money market funds and presumably grow, rather than bleed. I think you'll be surprised when you go around investigating. Chances are, you'd use the healthcare for things like random acute illnesses and minor to moderate injuries. Probably anything like major surgery you'd end up going to the states for, but for even that there, the cost would be a fraction of what it would be in the states. Food for thought. How can you get bored? There's no end to what you can do. Only the kind of people who get bored would get bored; the kind of people who find joy in the simple things never get bored. They use the power of their imaginations to come up with things with which to involve themselves. It's a choice! Que disfruten!
@@elgringoec Yes! Agua Verde is on our list! It's starting to finally cool down and the humidity is going away - looking forward to hiking adventures - folks tell us there are some fantastic trails. And yes, doing some road trips. We've barely scratched the surface. Healthcare - you really got me thinking. And yes, I am going to do some more research and we're going to sit down to evaluate what it is we really need. My husband just had cataract surgery down here and we were able to pay cash - $5k for both eyes. Couldn't be happier with the care and doctors. I'm going to do research and talk about it in my video Wednesday. Really enjoyed chatting with you. Sounds like you know a lot about the area. The weather is cooling and it's a perfect time for a road trip! :) Have a great week!
These are literally the highest costs I’ve ever seen in Mexico 😳
@@user-bg9em7ch6k yup. We were surprised when we moved down here. Remember, tho, we are in a small town. I would think larger cities were more affordable
@@BajaSwans it would totally depend on which part of which city and which small town… however, I am familiar with the very small, very gringo intensive town of Ajijic, and those costs would be very high here.
Hi Baja Swans! Love the info you're sharing. We’re also based in Mexico, living in San Miguel de Allende, and it's always great to see fellow expats sharing their experiences. We'll be launching our channel tomorrow with our first video and covering similar topics like life in Mexico and global retirement options and slow travel. Looking forward to following your journey and learning more from your videos!
@@AandFBeyond hello! Nice to meet you! I’ll check out your channel!
@@BajaSwans thanks!! The first video is up. 😅
Thanks for sharing. It is an informative video. You are doing a good job on youtube already!
@@kb1916 Thanks so much. I'm also learning a lot!
I live in Baja Sur, too--near Todos Santos--and overall Baja is much more expensive than most of the mainland. I've traveled in many areas of the mainland and much of it is up to 50% lower than Baja. However, we bought our little house 10 years ago before prices went bonkers, and we grocery shop often at the smaller Mexican shops that don't cater to gringos and so are less expensive. And when we travel, which is often, we rent out our place and also do a lot of housesitting--so we have ways to live the life we love at a lower cost. Overall, though, we live light (our house is small, and we have only 1 older car), and that's my happy place. PS: I liked your video about the anxiety of adjustment. So honest. And yay to sobriety! PSS: Loreto is sweet. We've spent time there as well.
Hi there. Thanks so much for your comment and insight. Sometimes I think of Baja as the "Hawaii" of Mexico - separated, almost an island of its own. Everything you said makes total sense. Thanks again.
I just subscribed. I love budget videos! :) Thanks for showing this!
Thanks!
We have a house in Northern Baja and have been building it since the 90s. I think its cheaper here, but prices have gone up sharply over the last 4 years. Most people ive talked to that have moved to Mexico got rid of medical insurance, but im sure having it gives you some comfort.
@@Conquistadordecielo it’s something we are talking through now. Definitely have it for peace of mind. But being open to other options. Thanks so much for your comment.
If you can just convert to USD, it would be so much easier to understand. Thanks
Thanks for the feedback. And I agree, looking at it now, it would have been much clearer. Thanks again.
I live in a well-appointed Country Club near Tampa Fl, (entertainment is for the asking) and my costs are less.
@@1Skeptik1 we were surprised at the costs. We are in a small town so I’m guessing the larger cities won’t be this high, but can’t answer that for sure.
Cell phone service is definitely cheaper in Mexico. It adds up in the long term.
@@saintluke2nd I need to look at some plans. We’ve just keep what we have. Thanks for your comment!
I also live in a small town in Mexico (which by the way is usually cheaper than the larger cities). I don't own a house but my living costs are about half of what you list here including rent, utilities, groceries, entertainment, etc., and I live very well, so I don't think this is a true picture of life in most places in Mexico.
Cool. Thanks for sharing that. And yah, why I made sure to say it's our experience and this isn't what is "typical" mexico. It's interesting reading these comments, it's made me aware that in the states there are a range of costs of living. We are from California which has a higher cost of living than a lot of places in the states. So, some of the costs down here are about half what we paid. We are on the peninsula and I'm looking forward to doing a road trip on the mainland b/c I know there is so much of Mexico I haven't seen. Thanks for your comment!
That's is exactly what I said! After hearing what she and her husband are paying to live in Mexico I couldn't help but to start making assumptions concerning her mindset and lifestyle, only because I am able to live and eat like a Rey (King) for around $1300us max. per month. That's counting every tiny little thing, even down to the total costs incurred to secure my 4 year Residente Temporal. I could do it if I rented a bigger place right on the beach but I would find it really hard to spend upwards of $2000us. I retired early and moved here from a very exclusive and expensive neighborhood in CA called Calabasas so I know and have lived a good life but I don't feel as privileged as she appears. Maybe that's just me? I rent and live in a more expensive and nice colonia in Ensenada, Baja where the mountains roll down to ocean and the weather is perfect year round. I don't even have a/c so just my electricity bill is less than $10.00us per month. Right now I'm relaxing in my hammock on my palm frond shaded patio that overlooks the ocean waves and the beautiful city lights at night. I surfed and took a jog on the beach this morning, the surf was small but the water was refreshing. Afterwards I took a walk on the harbor malecon to La Guerrerense and splurged for a freshly caught seafood lunch. That's the place made famous by Anthony Bourdain who called it one of the best food stands in the world. It cost me around $10.00us. I picked up three avocados and two mangos from the organic fruit, veggie and juice place across the street and it cost me a total of $1.75us. Heck even her HOA fees are easily twice as much as the majority of others I know who are living in Mexico. I'm just pointing out what an average persons cost would be to live in Mexico and trying to be more realistic. Buena suerte!
@@davidsebastianelli1326
That's closer to how I'd want to do it. I couldn't live in a condo or apt building, couldn't have people doing everything for me either. Seguro que ayuda cuando uno habla español. Bendiciones.
Why did you not include food costs? The cost of food must be figured into any budget.
What town are you in? I love Baja but Los Cabos and San Jose are getting too busy
We are in Loreto, on the Sea of Cortez - about 4 1/2 hours north of La Paz.
This video is incomplete without housing cost. What did you pay for your home? Or what is a comparable rental?
Hola Wallace! Just how spoiled of a lifestyle would suit you? Look on Face Book Marketplace in some of the different cities you are interested in. You can see sales costs along with rentals. Keep in mind that popular "expat" spots and touristy areas will always be considerably more. You can find a nice modest place in a Mexican neighborhood for anywhere from around $300 up $800us on average depending on the city. You could spend as much as you want. There are huge mansions in my neighborhood that rent for over $3000us and up. I like living in a mostly Mexican neighborhood because it doesn't matter what your age or how you look your neighbors will "adopt" you into their families! One of my neighbors just sent her kids over to give me some tamales! I have a car but I can easily walk to get everything I regularly need. Buena suerte!
Thanks for the information ✋
@@MariaAcevedo-t5y right on. Hope it was helpful.
Well no reason for me to move based n these prices.
One of the things we were surprised about was the cost of goods in general. Grocery shopping gave us a bit of sticker shock, to be honest. We haven't been to the mainland yet and we're curious about cost of living there.
Agreed! This location would not be good for me
@@TravelswithLlama I’m guessing larger cities have more competitive pricing.
for us mexicans we have to run out of Mexico as fast as we can and get a decent living in USA. 50cents an hour is what we get paid. even walmart tries to pay less in Mexico. USA walmart 12 dollars an hour in Mexico walmart only 250 dollars a month. ridiculous pay here.
And yet, wages in Mexico are better than wages in Russia.
Thanks for your comment. It's crazy to me the wide ranges of pay...also see this a lot in the states.
The wages in Mexico are better than the wages in Russia.
Many other countries have worse wages than in Mexico
Holycow, this is far more expensive than any other Mexico expense video I've seen... Are you living in an upscale neighborhood or something!? Most people move to Mexico to save, and based off your expenses this doesn't seem like much saving compared to the US if any. I am looking into moving to Mexico, and there's no way I would ever move there with prices like this, and this can't be all of Mexico...
It definitely isn't all of Mexico. If you read other comments, folks have posted what they are paying. The $1200 health insurance is something we are now reevaluating, to be honest, thanks to the comments on these videos, because we pay as we go for medical and it's been very affordable. Have the plan for catastrophes.
And yes, we do live in an area where there are expats and, unfortunately, you're right, it does drive up prices.
I think if you research you'll definitely find places in Mexico where it's super affordable. For us, we came from California so paying $800 for hard costs monthly for us is a HUGE reduction in what we had to pay in the states.
Thanks for your comment!
You pay way too much for the house cleaners.
@@unclefester6501 compared to what we were paying in the states it’s about half. We are really happy with the work they do and what we pay is competitive for the area.
I have a girl who comes in who does my cleaning, laundry and even prepares Mexican specialties for lunch and dinner. Sometimes she'll bring some things she made at home. I treat her to lunch so she just tells me what purchase and she is a great cook! She charges me $400 pesos and I give an $80 (20% when 10% is standard) peso tip. That's around $25.00us per visit. Buena suerte!
@@davidsebastianelli1326 Thanks for sharing your experience and costs - I've been slowly learning a lot getting insight from other areas of Mexico. Buen Dia!
In Chapala Jalisco, 500 pesos for a days work is good
@@carmentorres1426 Thanks for your comment. I've learned so much from the comments on this video of the range of prices and costs. Thanks!
wait you pay someone to pay your electric and water? nobody pays utilities in mx hahahha i lived in acapulco for two years i aint pay it and they never turned it off. btw my cost of living in mx in jalisco 2 min walk to beach was 200 dollars including food/rent.
@@47nodoubt nice! We really loved it in your neck of the woods. Can’t wait to do some traveling and check it out again.
Interesting... HOA? Property manager? Cleaners? Gardener? 😮 Do you guys do anything for yourselves?
You obviously didn't move there to live less expensively! You're spending a good bit more on monthly hard costs.
Never mind, you're getting handymen, pedicures, massages, hair services, groomer for your dog, and people to sew stuff for you. I can't even imagine. They must be glad to see you coming!
Why did you move there, though?
@@elgringoec 😀 in retrospect I can see how it appears that way. I only wear flip flops now and trust me if you saw my feet….ugh. It’s isn’t vanity as to why I get a pedicure 😀. As for the doggies, it gets really hot here, so we make that a priority for them.
Our biggest expense is health insurance, which we pay 1100 a month so without that we pay $800 US in hard costs. That is way less expensive than where we moved from. We would never be able to not be working if we still lived in the states.
We moved to live a smaller, slower and quieter life and it is. It took some getting used to but now we cherish it and our very grateful.
@@BajaSwans
I'm glad to hear you're happy and enjoying life. What gets me off is different, and that's okay. We can live inexpensively now because we worked hard and saved through our youth instead of splurging on instant gratification. We have always done our own maintenance, repairs, building, cooking, gardening, cleaning, etc. Never hired anyone in or taken stuff in to anyone. Chose to live in farmland and have acreage to work relatively unrestricted. We can target shoot and hunt, ride our OHVs around, choose our designs and colors without begging for permission, cut whatever grass we want when we want and have "wild" areas and woods. Sometimes I'm out and about the place and think about how people who live in the rat race would pay big to come spend a few days here with nature. And because we were discerning and paid as we went, we can now live very comfortably on very little income. Health insurance is next to nothing because our income is low. We have no medical expenses because we've been diligent about carefully controlling our diets and staying fit and capable. Once we're on Medicare we can pull more from our retirement accounts and travel more, if we want. But we managed to fit in a pretty good amount of travel over the years, again, knowing how to mitigate costs and speaking the language.
Baja is one of the places I want to visit. Take a motorcycle to Cabo and back, on the sand and rock roads that cut across the countryside through the hills and remote towns tucked in along the way which aren't reached by pavement and places like rancho El Coyote that your typical tourist is less likely to venture to.
But, you know, to each their own, there's something for everyone, and the bottom line is really about making the most of what you have and enjoying the marvels of life -- whatever that entails for each of us. Thanks for the eye opening view into a different world. Did you ever say where in Baja you chose? I was trying to picture where you were on the map.
@@elgringoec Yes! 100% agree. We spent years paying off debt and it wasn't always pretty. But, as you know the feeling of paying all that off is awesome. We went heads down a long time, but for us, it was worth it. Selling our house let us buy something small here and we have a monthly budget. It can be restricting at times, but when we look at the alternative of still working? Nope. We're hoping to improve on that health insurance cost so I have more research to do. Our Toyota 4Runner is the same age as my 27 year old son and we love that truck.
You're right. People would pay a lot of money to vacation where you live. It sounds amazing. I think you would really like Baja, especially on a motorcycle. We haven't fully started exploring yet, but from what we've seen and hear, it's wild and untamed still.
People from the states ask us "do you ever get bored?" b/c it's a small town and not a lot going on. (We live in Loreto). My husband and I smile at each other. I used to be afraid of being "bored" of not going 100mph. Now we've learned to embrace it.
From what you've told me I think you'd enjoy the Baja peninsula. It's still pretty wild and untamed and as you mentioned a lot of off road areas that take you some incredible coastline and mountain areas.
I really appreciate your comments, super interesting to learn about different lifestyles and points of view.
@@BajaSwans
Hola nena! Absolutely! It's been on my list for years. From the magic of the Baja races (500 and 1000) that I first saw ages ago, through the written accounts accompanied with a spattering of photos, to more recently the talking videos of travelers scouting the peninsula, it's created quite a draw. The beauty, the adventure, the people... And pretty good food, too, from what I hear, all makes me want to experience it. And it's also a unique environment for adventure motorcycling, with a mix of easy and challenging terrain to keep you delighted and on your toes. The lack of oppressive traffic control, at least for off-pavement tracks, means no problem wicking it up to 100 if called to when conditions permit. Though a few have reported injuries from losing it due to quickly changing conditions.
There's something about that town I feel like I should be remembering, it's just not coming to me at the moment. But there's something. I keep telling myself I should keep notes from things I glean from various traveling accounts, but you can imagine how that goes. I suggest for one of your first forays into the wilderness, a trip to Agua Verde and back. It's not that far down the coast, but to access it you have to take the dirt tracks that work through the interesting terrain, onto which you turn from the main road after it heads inland. It probably takes longer than it looks but the views are great and a nice little beach community awaits. One of the motorcycle travelers we watch went there and ended up doing a fundraiser to help one of the local vendors set up a solar power system to run a refrigerator for a little restaurant. He stayed the night there too but you could opt to make it a full day excursion out and back. You've got the ideal truck for the job of conquering those tracks.
Do you really need health insurance there, though? I get that we're accustomed to thinking we need it, but have you checked the cost of cash services? It's typically so much less than what we see in our insurance driven market. That 13k yearly for "peace of mind" could go a long way for really big services, plus hang out in your money market funds and presumably grow, rather than bleed. I think you'll be surprised when you go around investigating. Chances are, you'd use the healthcare for things like random acute illnesses and minor to moderate injuries. Probably anything like major surgery you'd end up going to the states for, but for even that there, the cost would be a fraction of what it would be in the states. Food for thought.
How can you get bored? There's no end to what you can do. Only the kind of people who get bored would get bored; the kind of people who find joy in the simple things never get bored. They use the power of their imaginations to come up with things with which to involve themselves. It's a choice!
Que disfruten!
@@elgringoec Yes! Agua Verde is on our list! It's starting to finally cool down and the humidity is going away - looking forward to hiking adventures - folks tell us there are some fantastic trails. And yes, doing some road trips. We've barely scratched the surface.
Healthcare - you really got me thinking. And yes, I am going to do some more research and we're going to sit down to evaluate what it is we really need. My husband just had cataract surgery down here and we were able to pay cash - $5k for both eyes. Couldn't be happier with the care and doctors. I'm going to do research and talk about it in my video Wednesday.
Really enjoyed chatting with you. Sounds like you know a lot about the area. The weather is cooling and it's a perfect time for a road trip! :) Have a great week!
The background noise is upbearable.
@@Catherine_2571 thanks for the feedback. I had the fountain on - I’ll turn it off next time.