Moving to Mexico Tips: How American Expats Change When Living In Mexico

👉 Book a Mexico Relocation Consult: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/consult 

👉 Need to start creating a location independent business so you can go anywhere in the world? Get started with our Get Your First High Paying Client Online Bootcamp: https://entrepreneurexpat.com/firstclient-yt


👉 Want to learn how to move to Mexico in the next 12 months? If so, click here https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/mexico

V I D E O S    T O    W A T C H    N E X T :


Online Business Tips to Working and Traveling In Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGH0voCyOc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j&index=2

Moving to Mexico: 10 Reasons Why We Chose to Live in Guadalajara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK23vD8_xjc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_LAY7UV78YMgms-f2e1UcwN&index=23

Tips for Moving Overseas: Top 5 Remote Work Skills That Make Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzjCrlNAL8&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j


 --------------------------------------------



Inquiries: community@entrepreneurexpat.com


--------------------------------------------


#livinginmexico #movingtomexico #digitalnomad #makemoneyonline #expatsinmexico #digitalmarketingtraning #geoarbitrage #moveoverseasfromus #digitalmarketingcourse #guadalajara #costoflivingmexico #digitalnomadvisa #digitalnomadnews #workandtravel #locationindependentlifestyle #locationindependentbusiness #locationindependententrepreneur #locationindependentbusinesses #locationindependentbusinessideas #secretsoflocationindendentbusiness #howtobecomeadigitalnomad

Transcript

0:38

A lot of people have been asking us how our lives have changed since moving to Mexico from the us. In this video, we're gonna talk a little bit about what some of the things are that have changed in our lives and in our personalities since moving to Mexico and what you might expect. We'll change on your end as well. Welcome to Entrepreneur Expat. I'm Amanda. This is Justin. And on this channel we teach you how to move to Mexico and other countries like Panama and Costa Rica. We also talk about how to make money online. We talk about international business opportunities and real estate. So if that's something that you guys are interested in, make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don't miss say single video. We have coming out on this channel. And also make sure to give this video a, like, we have a mission to get in front of 1 million entrepreneur expats or aspiring entrepreneur expats. And one very easy, simple, and free way that you can help us do that is by giving a like. To this video and if you have any questions about moving to Mexico specifically, we can now help you with the process. Everything from getting your residency to finding real estate, and we were just having conversations with some of our colleagues last week about opportunities to buy businesses in Mexico. A lot of you have been asking about these opportunities. We get real estate inquiries. Every week between YouTube and our personal Facebook pages, a lot of you have asking about things like insurance. We've got all that stuff covered in a database, so if you need help with any of those things, just book a Move to Mexico. Consult below, it's entrepreneur expat.com/consult, and we can use that call to kind of assess what your needs are, help you get started, and create a plan for the next steps. So what's the first thing that happened when we moved to Mexico in terms of our personalities and our beliefs and things that changed? I would say that the first thing was that things really are a lot slower pace here in the us. Everything is really go, go, go. You're constantly trying to keep up with your neighbors. Look good, get the next thing, move on to the next goal Here. There's a lot more holidays, uh, there's a lot more time off. The pace is generally laid back. You, you hear the word manana a lot and I, I think we talked about this a little bit in some of our other videos, but manana could mean tomorrow, which it literally means, it might mean next week. It might mean remind me in a few weeks and maybe I'll get around to it eventually. So you just have to understand that things, things really do slow down a little bit. You're not gonna necessarily have the same efficiencies as you do in the us. It might take a little bit longer to. Pay taxes on a package that you receive or perhaps get your, uh, issues with the electric bill sorted out or what have you. Yeah, and I would say that that's definitely shifted in terms of our lives, but I also think that's a major opportunity because we've learned to slow down, but. Only a teens, sea wing, sea bit when it comes to business. We're actually speeding up, uh, in a lot of ways. But I will say that in the first couple years, it's almost like you wanted to be on vacation all the time because, um, things are much slower here. And I think if you're coming from the US or Canada or parts of Western Europe, it's almost like your, your nervous system starts to detox a little bit and kind of forces you to slow down. And then you start to speed up. Uh, again, but that's'cause we're entrepreneurs. We like business, we like meeting people, we like to be on the go, but generally speaking, yeah, you learn to move, uh, a lot slower and you also learn to roll with the punches a lot more. So let's talk a little bit, uh, about that, because I know that can be challenging for westerners that are moving to Mexico. Absolutely. Yeah. So, so here you definitely. I, I would say that the landscape for business is a lot easier. Like there's less regulation. Um, it's easier to start a business. Uh, you, you don't have to do as much administrative stuff on the business end, but on the personal side, a lot of those things actually are even more complicated or slower than in the us. One example, like I mentioned just now is like you, let's say you receive a package internationally and you have to pay taxes. You're gonna get hit with a lot of just random things like that, that in the US it's like, okay, you owe, you owe some import tax. You probably just get billed. When you buy the thing, or maybe you go to the website on, on UPS, you pay it and then it gets delivered or whatever. Here, if you send it with, um, the postal service, which is the only way that you can receive things with batteries, for example, you have to send it through, let's say if it's from the US through USPS and then res in Mexico, which is their version of the postal service, which I try to avoid whenever I possibly can, but most of the time if, if you're doing electronics, you can't avoid it. And so if you owe a tax. You go there, they give you a little note, you have to go physically to the postal service, uh, after you go to the bank and pay it. So if you actually get the note at your house, which the first package we got that we had to pay taxes on, and we did not receive the note at all. Um, so we had to go to the postal service with the trackings thing, say, Hey, do you guys have this? After about 15 minutes of looking for it. Yeah, okay. We have it here, but we can't release it until the tax is paid. And then they write down, they can't even print it out. They write down the numbers. You gotta take the, the series of numbers to the bank. So I go to the bank, it was a Saturday that went to one of the only banks that was open in the neighborhood on a Saturday. And they said, no, you have to come back Monday'cause we can't take tax payments on a Saturday. I'm like, but you're open. No, no, no. It's'cause of the government. We have to call them whatever. We can't take your tax payment. So then I had to come back. So now I'm about three hours into this. Adventure of receiving one package.'cause there was, you know, a$30 tax due on it or something. So then I need to go back to that bank on a Monday, pay the thing with cash, and then go back to the postal service, wait around another 20, 30 minutes in line for them to find it, whatever. After paying it and then I finally get my package. So it's about day four or five after, um, realizing that it wasn't delivered at my. At my house and that, uh, it was being held. So yeah, four or five days. There's just stuff like that. I dunno if you have any other. Other examples that you've stated? Yeah, I do actually. Immigration, so we were looking at expat groups the other day, and I got interested in this topic because we just got married and one of the things that we were debating was whether or not I should take his last name. I would like to take your last name, but the immigration lawyers advised against it, and the reason they advised against it was because I, we each already had our residency here in Mexico. So if I go through a name change. It is gonna be a nightmare. Yeah. It'll complicate things even more than just having to do all the reporting and everything of the marriage in Mexico. Yeah, and it's interesting because yesterday I was hanging out in some of the expat groups on Facebook, and a lot of women were running into issues with immigration because they took on their, and they're married to Mexican men, but they had taken on their husband's last name because that's the custom in the United States. States, but in Mexico, people don't change their last names. You have, uh, the paternal last name and the maternal last name for your whole life, and it doesn't change when you get married. So their system is based on the paternal last name and the maternal last name. So a lot of them were running into issues because on their birth certificate, they have their maiden name, but then when they got married, they took on their husband's name, and then immigration was caught giving them a whole bunch of problems over it. So our lawyers advised us against me changing, uh, my last name. To my married name and we were like, you know what? If we're gonna be doing the international lifestyle and having residencies and passports and things, uh, that's probably a good idea. So I would say that's another example I've seen recently, uh, where it's just kind of like, uh, not as efficient, right? So you, you learn to roll with those punches a whole lot more. And I would say generally, if you're traveling a lot or living in any other country, you will. Tend to roll with the punches, uh, a lot more, especially if you're a westerner because we're accustomed to a certain sense of efficiency that perhaps does not exist, uh, in other countries. Yeah, and especially in Latin America. I mean, you go to Europe, maybe you'll have a little bit more luck other than perhaps Spain or Italy. Getting, yeah, getting things done quicker. But Latin America is notorious for just being much more of relaxed, as we say here. So number three, the, the other thing that we noticed changed us a changed us a lot, um, getting used to lifestyle here in Mexico was that people tend to be a lot more social in the US and I think that this is a big downside of the US and Canada. I. Uh, people aren't, I'm sorry guys, but you're not as friendly overall as people in Latin America. In the us. You rarely, or ever actually know your neighbor. At least not well. Um, maybe you'll know, you know that the couple people living right next door or across the street from you and you, you would've met them once or twice. Um. That's, that's totally different here. I mean, we know almost all of our neighbors on our entire block and our golden retriever daisy back there actually seems to have even more friends than we do. We'll, we'll see somebody, you know, riding a, riding a bike when I'm out walking with Daisy and they'll be like, Daisy, how are you? And I'm like, hi. I don't, I don't think I know you. So she somehow maybe sneaks outta the house at night to go make friends. I don't know. Um, she's a very social dog, but, uh, yeah, I mean, people are a lot more friendly here. Uh, you're, you're meeting your neighbors. You, you know, people on a first name basis, so you get invited to baby showers and parties, baby showers, parties, like you name it. When we first had moved into this neighborhood. Uh, our neighbor in front of us was like, Hey, let me invite you to my sister's baby shower so that you start getting to know people and start making friends. I remember being at the gym one time. I was in a dance class. Uh, I was obviously not from here. They know I'm Latina, but they know from my accent that I'm not Mexican. I'm, that I'm not from here. So within five minutes everybody was exchanging WhatsApp numbers and inviting me out to coffee. Uh, or for example, oh my gosh, during the holidays. In Mexico. I cannot keep up with the social calendar during the holidays. I mean, we just do not have a social battery, um, for this. And, and it's like they're energizer bunnies with the social calendars and the social events. Sunday, forget it. Sundays is for family. Everybody's at their family's house. Everybody's having parties. Everybody's, um, you know, going to go visit all the family members in one place and, um, oh, and leaving a party. Forget about it. Latin goodbyes last almost as long as the entire party. It's true. Yeah.'cause you have to individually say goodbye to everybody. Just like how you have to individually say hello to everybody when you arrive, uh, at the party. So that's, that's something to keep in mind. Mexico's a very social country. I've heard from a lot of other expats, both American and Canadian, that they also tend to become a lot more social being in Mexico, not just with Mexicans, but also with other Americans and Canadians because, um, and some Europeans, other Europeans like. Spanish, Portuguese, uh, Italian. They're very social, just like Latin Americans, but others not so much. They're a little bit more reserved, if you know what I mean. And when they come to Mexico and move here, they too start becoming mm-hmm. A lot more social. And they're like, I've, I've never had such a. Robust social calendar, uh, in my life. And we have a bonus one that I just thought of in terms of how you change, and I think this one's particularly for the entrepreneurs and investors, uh, in the group, which is, uh, a sense of optimism in the economy. Yeah. And making money and opportunity everywhere. Yeah. Bank, even banks here pay you over 10% a PR on your. Uh, on your money just to deposit it. They're, they're giving you like a, like a 10% to 15% yield, like for a savings account. I mean, the, the opportunities with the stock market here with other investments with real estate houses are growing by 10 to 12% a year in a lot of area cases as well in this area. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so I think that's something that's been very interesting because, you know, coming from the US where things are. Very chaotic right now in terms of the economy and also in Canada and also in Western Europe, to come to more of an emerging market where things are actually growing and they're going growing at a very rapid pace. I mean, you just start seeing opportunity. Everywhere left and right. So if you have that entrepreneurial mindset or you have that investor mindset, there is a lot of opportunity here in Mexico. Now, should you keep all your money in Mexico? No, you shouldn't keep all your money in any one country. Uh, but. There are definitely some interesting opportunities here. There is more of a sense of optimism, I think, uh, in people than perhaps you're seeing in the United States. Like I go on Facebook and I see all our American friends and colleagues and all they're doing is complaining all day long. And here in Mexico there's just more of a sense of things are improving in, in a way. It doesn't mean that they don't have concerns. Uh, over corrupt governments and things like that. But generally speaking, there is a bit more of a sense of optimism. What would you have to say? Because you've studied, you know, for example, buying businesses in the United States versus, versus Mexico, and you've seen some major differences there. Yeah, I, I mean, I think here businesses tend to stay in the family a lot longer and like passed on to kids and you don't see as many opportunities were. Let's say somebody's kid just doesn't wanna work in the business. Um, so, so a lot more like families working together and, and multi-generations of that. Uh, but business here, I mean, it, the, the consensus is like, things are, things are pretty solid. It's a good place to have a business there. You don't see as many small businesses, for example, going outta business because of regulation and taxes and it, you know, increased costs. It's just, there's, there's a lot more of a local. Family oriented kind of vibe. You know, we go to the corner store, there's a butcher shop. I mean, they're all like independently owned, right? It's not like it's just Walmart's in every corner. You can still get the Walmart and the Home Depot and whatever, but you still have more of that culture of small business. Yeah. And even if you want a bigger business, for example, we were just having lunch with someone, uh, the other day. And her and her ex-husband built a business with 250 employees here in Mexico. So I think, and, and we were having this conversation where, um, you know, for example, everybody thinks that the only place to make money is the United States or Canada, or parts of Western Europe. And it's just not true. Uh, especially not now. Maybe, you know, 40, 50 years ago we were looking at that, but now. We're starting to see a lot of other countries, Mexico included, starting to really catch up and people really starting to make quite a lot of money here, uh, in terms of business opportunities and to the point where we're now starting to get involved more in the re real estate relocation, learning more how that game works because so many of you have also noticed this about Mexico and are asking us what the opportunities are and. How to find them. So I would say, yeah, general sense of economic optimism or at least more so than what a lot of western countries are experiencing right now. And that gives you a bit of peace of mind, you know? Uh, but I will say, and you can add to this, it's almost like two different worlds that are going on right now. Like our American friends, they have a certain perception of reality and economics and how things are going. And then our Mexican friends. Have like another perception of economics and reality and how things are going. Mm-hmm. So that was a little bit about what we've experienced personally in terms of the differences here in Mexico, how it's shaped our lives, our experiences, our personality. And some of the things that you can look forward to when you move to Mexico as well. If you're looking at getting some more support, we do have an option available, which is our consultation. Just go to entrepreneur expat.com/consult and you can find out all about that and book yours today. And don't forget to like this video. It helps us out a lot in reaching more people and subscribe to our channel as well if you're new here.