When you mention the standard of living that we are “accustomed to,” I have to smile. I’m not exactly representative of U.S. Americans you may have known. I’m university educated and worked as an editor for years. So you’d think I lived the typical American suburban dream.

I’ve never owned property of any kind, have never owned a car newer than 13 years old, have never lived in a U.S. apartment with a separate bedroom, have never seen a wage beyond the 20s (in the U.S.). I live in what in Japan is called a “six-tatami” room, meaning a small room of six tatami mats that just barely fits a sofa (if I had one), a desk, and a futon. I cook in a kitchen in a house with 15 other people … I doubt I’d be shocked much by the living standards on offer in Mexico and quite a few other “slightly” more advanced developing countries — at least in the cities. And there are thousands of others like me. We’re just not exactly a stimulating subject for the pundits.

Perhaps in PV I’d not find much of anything, but I hear in Guadalajara there are jobs, and in Queretero and other urban locations. My real dream is Europe, Spain specifically, but the visa rules make that one a real challenge.

Thanks for responding. Have a wonderful summer! :-)

The wages in Mexico are so low that you´ll probably not find any employment that will pay you a livable wage. I would not suggest anyone move to PV with just a little money and hopes for a decent income to provide the standard of living that they are accustomed to; they´ll probably be disappointed.

We all have high speed Internet and satellite TV with about 350 channels from the US. There are 4 beautiful new hospitals in PV with excellent English speaking doctors and most all the new sophisticated diagnostic equipment that you´ll find in the US; all for about 1/3 the price in the US. (I recently had a ruptured appendix laporoscopically removed with absolutely no problems). There are many banks that hold your US dollars, Canadian dollars, or Mexican pesos; Banamex is owned by Citibank in the US and ScotiaBank is Canadian owned.

For 70+ articles pertaining to living in Vallarta, please see my website at http://www.PVREBA.com. They will answer every question you may have about PV.

Jim

I will work hard in the next 11 years until I’m of retirement age, but I don’t much fancy spending my mature years slaving away somewhere for minimum wage in a dangerous neighborhood in the U.S. (I’m currently in Japan but my contract here will expire in December and I have to go somewhere fast.)

Excellent perspective. Thank you for sharing the PV opportunity for American Ex-pats.
Is there broadband connectivity in PV? Are there banking and healthcare services there?

Thanks in advance,
–Tiger

This post was mentioned on Twitter by EscapeAmerica: Escape From America Without Leaving America http://bit.ly/2UWWDD via @AddToAny…

The story of America being named after Amerigo Vespucci is a folk myth, and is not considered valid by most historians. At that time, a person’s Christian (first) name would never be used in this way, unless the person was a Royal. If the story were true, America would probably by called Vespiccia , as the article implies. It is also unlikely that a minor crew member like a cartographer would be honored in such a way.

A far more likely scenario is that it was named after Richard Amerike, a wealthy English merchant who was the sponsor of John Cabot’s exploration voyage to America in 1497 and the owner of the ships Cabor used. It was probably called Amerike’s Land, and eventually America.

A small, and possibly anal-retentive point, but worth knowing, and useful for boring people at parties.