30 June 2008 131 views 9 Comments

Jennifer is a young web developer who moved to Mazatlan with her husband to escape the rat race. She has since opened her own business, MazPC (www.mazpc.com), and authors the blog Mexcape.net, which chronicles her adventures in Mazatlan.

Hola Jennifer! Thanks for talking with us. First off, of all the places in
Mexico, why Mazatlan?

We didn’t really choose Mazatlan. It chose us. We came down here on an exploratory trip in the Summer of 2006. We were only here two days before we knew we were going to move here. And we did, 8 short months later.

Of course, we did a lot of research on several areas in Mexico before we came down on our exploratory trip, and Mazatlan was at the top of our list.

Being near water was very important to us, so that narrowed down our options considerably. We are not retired, and I depend on the internet to do my work, so a place with several choices for reliable high-speed internet access was extremely important.

Mazatlan charmed us from the beginning. It is a resort city and tourist destination, but it also has a working port and is the shrimp capitol of the world, processing more than 40,000 tons of shrimp every year. Which means it’s a real city, not just a tourist town. Downtown is full of beautiful colonial buildings and homes. People gather in the evenings at the Plazuela Machado, one of the main squares in the city, to enjoy fine dining and wonderful music. There is a large cultural base here. We have ballet, opera, symphony, dance, and theater all at the beautifully restored Angela Peralta theater. Mazatlan is a very well rounded city that everything to offer.

As a bonus, there is a fairly large expatriate community here. Our American and Canadian friends really helped us get settled and adjusted to our new home. The help was invaluable.

What are your observations of the real estate market in Mazatlan? Do you see
any signs that would suggest future growth?

Real Estate here is booming. The number of real estate agencies here grows seemingly every day to service the increasing number of people looking for homes. Up north, in Nuevo Mazatlan, There are many new condominium projects. Right now, the biggest demand seems to be for the bargain fixer-uppers and the higher end properties. There is not quite as much movement in the middle ground properties, but they are still selling.

Can you talk about your impressions on the quality of the infrastructure in
Mazatlan: e.g. water quality, hospitals, reliability of electricity,
internet speed and availability etc.?

Infrastructure was one of our primary concerns when choosing a place to live, and Mazatlan’s infrastructure is more modern and stable than many places in Mexico.

The health care here is top notch and affordable. Living here, we have access to very accomplished doctors of every specialty. The hospitals are modern with advanced equipment.

Shortly after we moved here, I had an emergency appendectomy. My surgeon was a specialist. I was in a private room in a private hospital for three days. The nursing care was competent and empathetic. For meals, a lovely woman came to my room and asked me what I wanted to eat, and then went to the kitchen and cooked it from scratch. I was very well cared for. It’s been less than a year, and I really don’t have any scar to speak of. The best part is everything cost me only about $2700 US.

There are three choices for high speed internet, and a fourth provider is entering the market. The cable and dsl providers offer packages that include other things like tv and phone. You can get connection speeds up to 4 megabytes. We have chosen a fixed point wireless provider with whom we are very happy. A one megabyte connection costs us about $48 US per month.

Water is one of those things that scares people, but really, in Mazatlan, the quality of our water is pretty good, comparatively. I know an expatriate who does not buy bottled water. He uses the water out of the tap for everything, including drinking, and he has not gotten sick yet.

I am not quite that brave. I do use the tap water for many things, including cooking and brushing my teeth, but when it comes to drinking water, we use bottled water for ourselves and our dogs.

You can buy purified water in 5 gallon plastic bottles. If you get your water from the truck that delivers, it’s about $1.80 US. We choose to buy our water from our favorite water purification plant, and that costs us about $.70 per bottle.

One problem we are having is the growth of the city is out pacing the current water and sewage facilities. It is very important for a home to have a cistern and a tinaco, because you may be without city water for days. At this time of year, just before rainy season, our water sources are pretty depleted. This also means that the water you do get is a lot cruddier and you need to change your filter more often.

In some areas of town, especially up north where all of the condos are going in, the sewage system is inadequate. There have been some stinky messes. And there is a flooding problem when it rains.

Electricity is more reliable here than it was back in Fort Worth. Of course, we lose power occasionally during rainy season when a big storm blows through, but service is usually restored very quickly. One thing to be aware of is that most houses do not have grounded electricity, and since there are no electrical codes here, wiring tends to be of the “make it work” variety.

Telephone service can be very expensive. Having just a basic telephone line will cost you about $50 a month, and then you only get a limited number of calls before you start having to pay for each call. You will also pay a pretty large fee for calling a cell phone. Because of this, we have elected not to have a local telephone line. We use cell phones and our Vonage number exclusively. Many of the expatriates here have Vonage service, so we often use those lines to communicate. Plus, Vonage allows us to talk to the US for free, and our families can call us for no charge as well.

Was there anything that you discovered about life in Mazatlan that you
were not expecting?

Living in Mazatlan is all about discovering surprises daily. Mazatlecans have an exuberance for life that is contagious, and it is impossible for me to leave my house without smiling. It’s a joy to just be a part of the city.

The differences between here and the US are many. I think because of the proximity – we share a border – it’s easy to think of Mexico as an extension of the US that speaks Spanish, and that can really trip you up.

One of the biggest surprises and hurdles for me was the very elastic relationship with time most people here seem to have. As an example, if you hire a contractor to do work on your home, they may show up to do the work a few days or a few weeks late. I spent the first few months here is a near constant state of annoyance. But then I realized that I can just go about my life. If I am not here when someone shows up, they will not be annoyed. They will just come back later.

Another surprise was the number of expatriates living here that don’t speak any Spanish. I don’t recommend that, because you will miss out on a lot. But it is very possible to live here happily and well and speak only English.

The cost of labor here is ridiculously low. If you want to restore, renovate, or build a home, your largest expense will be materials. The average construction worker makes $9 a day. That also makes it cost effective to have things like your DVD player or camera repaired when they malfunction, rather than replacing them. Just about anyone can afford a maid and a gardener. Having your clothes custom tailored costs about the same as buying off the rack in the US.

I was expecting a lot of the products I was accustomed to buying to be unavailable, but there are a lot of American retail and restaurant chains here. You can shop at Office Depot, Office Max, Home Depot, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. There is also Dairy Queen, Subway, Burger King, McDonald’s, Dominoes, and Applebee’s. Most products you are used to buying in the US are available here.

What would you advise people who move to Mexico to watch out for?

Don’t leave your brain at the border. It’s amazing the number of people who do crazy and impulsive things in Mexico that they would never do at home. This city is enchanting and it can cause some people to make some very rash decisions.

I have seen people come to Mazatlan for the first time for a weekend getaway and end up buying a house. Some of them are very happy, and some of them have lost a great deal of money.

There is land, called ejido land, that cannot be legally sold. It doesn’t matter if you have a bill of sale or a deed, the land will never belong to you. Also, since Mazatlan is located entirely within the restricted zone, you will require a bank trust called a fideicomiso in order to purchase property. There have also been problems with condos that were never built. I highly recommend a qualified real estate agent to guide you through the home buying process.

The other thing to watch out for is theft. It’s easy to forget while you are strolling along the beautiful malecon or competing for parking with some very expensive cars that Mazatlan has a very real poverty problem. All the iron work you see on houses is not for decoration. Take sensible precautions with your home. Always use your locks. Don’t let strangers inside. Don’t leave expensive items in plain view.

You need to take precautions in public as well. Don’t go to Senor Frog’s, drink a gallon margarita, dance on the table, and be surprised to find your purse missing. Also, don’t leave your expensive digital camera and wallet with your towel on the beach and go play in the ocean. The same rules that apply to your behavior in the US should govern you in Mexico.

How difficult was the process of finding a home and purchasing it?

We have not yet purchased a home. When we moved to Mazatlan, our only experience with the city was the month vacation the previous August. We knew that was not enough experience to choose a part of the city or a neighborhood where we wanted to make a long term financial commitment, although it was evidently enough experience to pick up our entire lives, quit our jobs, and move here.

Mazatlan differs a lot neighborhood to neighborhood, and sometimes even street to street. I think it is a good idea to rent for awhile in the area you are considering before making a commitment. If you can’t rent first, visit the area frequently and spend time there at all hours of the day and night. You never know when you might have a neighbor who keeps roosters, or the house you are looking at may be the favorite soccer location for the local kids.

Finding a home is pretty easy for most people. There are homes available in a wide rage of prices in every part of the city. There are condominiums, apartments, duplexes, and single family homes. I know a guy who purchased a home for $15,000, put $20,000 in improvements into it, and ended up with a very lovely home. A nice home in one of the gated communities will go for $250,000 - $400,000. You can buy a gorgeous home high on Icebox Hill with amazing views of the ocean and the city in the $400,00 - $500,000 range. Or, you can go up into the millions. There is something for everyone here.

The most important thing when looking for a home is to engage the services of a qualified real estate professional, preferably one who has been doing business in the area for many years. The purchase process is very different than what most of us are used to.

If I had one day to experience Mazatlan, what would you suggest I do or see?

There is so much to do and see here, that it is tempting to give you a list of activities and sights that would pack your day. But really, if you only have one day, you should take it easy and experience life here the way it really is.

Spend a few hours strolling the malecon (the beach walk). Enjoy all of the sculptures and monuments along the way. Go down to one of the little beach restaurants. They will drag a table and chairs and umbrella out onto the sand for you, near the water. Have a wonderful lunch of ceviche while drawing pictures in the sand with your toes. Have an ice cold Pacifico.

In the afternoon, go to the central mercado and meander the aisles. Pick up a couple of fresh mangos and amazing tomatoes. Maybe buy a hand made leather bag or belt. If you are not too tired, climb the lighthouse hill and enjoy the absolute best view in Mazatlan.

In the evening, go to the Plazuela Machado. There are many really good restaurants to choose from. Sit outside on the sidewalk and leisurely enjoy your meal while watching the couples and families stroll by. Odds are very good that there will be a few musicians about to serenade you. Or, after dinner, you can go to Pedro y Lola’s for some great jazz. Cap your evening with a starlight walk on the beach and then have the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had.

Thank you very much for talking to us.

You are very welcome. Thank you for the opportunity.

You can read more about Jennifer’s experiences in Mazatlan at her blog Mexscape.net.