Editor’s Note: As yoga enthusiasts ourselves, we have been thrilled to see the increase in yoga classes in Merida and in the centro especially. Yoga is still new to many, and a comforting old friend to others. As many have discovered, it is also a type of exercise that can pursued at any age, with little or no prior experience. Yoga is especially lovely in this tropical environment, when muscles start more supple than in colder climates, and classes can be held outside or with open windows year-round. We hope you enjoy this rundown of the yoga classes available in Merida at the beginning of 2012 by our guest writer, Evelyn Jackson.

Yoga in Merida

Learning to Love Yoga

Oh no! It was bad enough to see those unwanted smile lines showing up on my face. Then I also found myself struggling to reach down to pick things up off the ground. Yes, my body was getting older but I wasn’t going to give in without a fight. I knew I had to find some sort of exercise that would help me stay in shape in spite of the inevitable aging process.

At the time, I lived very close to a YMCA and signed up to get myself back in shape. One of the many activities I tried was yoga, and thanks to a very capable teacher, I got hooked. Now I enjoy all the benefits that yoga provides for my health and well being. For me, yoga became the path to improved flexibility, strength, stamina and balance. It became critically important to my attempt to stave off the ravages of time.

The Search for Yoga in Merida

When I moved to Merida, one of the first things I did was look for a yoga studio in order to continue my practice. Unlike Canada and the US, where yoga studios abound, Merida centro provided a challenge when I was looking for a place to practice. An internet search gave me one option, and a good one at that. With a bit of legwork, I was able to find a few more.

The yoga studios in Merida provide challenging sessions for practitioners of any level. It doesn’t matter if you are inexperienced, inflexible, or have back or weight issues. Yoga is an activity that can benefit everyone. The important thing as a beginner is to… get started! To make that as easy as possible, I have noted those studios that offer beginner classes. For those of you who are experienced, this list will also help you find a challenging class to continue your practice at any level.

Different Styles of Yoga

Since styles of yoga vary, a review of the options will to help you choose what’s best for your situation.

Hatha Yoga is the style that most people associate with the word “yoga”. Ha means "sun” and tha means “moon”. The underlying principal in Hatha Yoga is that of creating balance while uniting opposites. In practicing Hatha yoga, you will learn to balance strength and flexibility in your physical body, while also learning to be centered through mindful breathing. Depending on the teacher, a Hatha yoga class can be slow-paced and gentle or it can be very strenuous. Or it can be a little of both.

Vinyasa (Flow) means breath-synchronized movement and these classes tends to be a more vigorous, fitness-based yoga experience. The classes are based on the performance of a series of poses in which movement is matched to the breath. Vinyasa classes can be based on other types of yoga, but will share the experience of moving steadily from one pose to another, as opposed to holding a pose still for a period of time.

The Iyengar style of practice is most concerned with bodily alignment. Teachers of Iyengar yoga will instruct students in the precise way to position your body in each pose in order to obtain the maximum benefits and avoid injury. Iyengar practices usually emphasize holding poses over long periods versus moving quickly from one pose to the next. Iyengar yoga classes can be strenuous, but can also produce significant results quickly.

Kundalini is one of the more spiritual types of yoga. While Hatha, Vinyasa and Iyengar as primarily focused on exercising the body, Kundalini goes beyond the physical performance of poses with its emphasis on breathing, meditation, hand gestures (mudras) and chanting. Some Kundalini sequences can be very physically intense as well. This type of yoga appeals to those who are up for both mental and physical challenges.

No matter what class you plan to attend, it’s always best to bring your own mat. I also recommend bringing a towel in case you need a bit of extra traction or need to wipe away some sweat. In fact, if you are practicing during the hot months of the summer, you might think you are in a HOT yoga class (also called Bikram yoga). All classes mentioned below last an hour or 90 minutes.

Yoga Centers in Merida

Semilla Yoga

There is a small studio in Garcia Gineres called Semilla Yoga which is run by Claudia Guerrero. At Semilla, you will find a traditional yoga studio with wood flooring, white walls and views of a small but peaceful garden. Semilla accepts students of all levels. I have found them to be especially helpful to beginning students and intermediate and advanced students will be challenged in their classes. Class dates and times are numerous. Some classes are offered in English/Spanish and some are Spanish only. They have several instructors trained in both Inyengar and Vinyasa yoga styles. They also offer meditation and restorative classes. They provide mats and other yoga equipment. You can try out a single class for $60 MX pesos or you can pay a monthly fee for a series of class sessions.

Location: Calle 15 #210 X 24 y 26, Garcia Gineres
Contact: Telephone 999-925-0248 or their website at www.semillayoga.com.mx

Villa Serena

Yoga is also practiced at the Villa Serena Self-actualization Center in Garcia Gineres. Susana Rodriquez founded Villa Serena about six years ago and has worked diligently to create a setting that is tranquil and welcoming. There is a tastefully-decorated interior room for yoga practice as well as an enormous outdoor practice area under a palapa, nestled into a serene garden with many tall, old trees. Villa Serena offers both Hatha and Kundalini yoga classes along with acupuncture, meditation and other self-actualization programs. For practioners of Kundalini, the talented Luciano Dominquez conducts his class in both English and Spanish on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 PM and Saturdays from 8:00 to 9:30 AM. His classes include all levels of students. Beginners will hold poses for shorter periods than their intermediate or advanced counterparts. Each session costs $90 MX pesos or you can pay $250 pesos for 3 sessions or $400 pesos for 5 sessions. If you want to practice Hatha yoga, expat Kate Baron leads a group on Wednesdays from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Just listening to Kate is a calming experience. I recommend her class for beginners and intermediate students. Kate will lead you through a variety of poses to enhance flexibility and strength. Classes are in English with Susana Rodriquez providing Spanish language translation. Cost per class is $75 pesos.

Location: Calle 24 #201 X 23 y 25 in Garcia Gineres
Contact: Phone at 999-920-5611 or email villaserena [at] live [dot] com [dot] mx

Tilo/Eyleen Rogers

Eyleen Rogers leads her yoga sessions in both English and Spanish. Eyleen, known as Tilo to her students, is an Iyengar practitioner and leads a challenging practice for intermediate and advanced students. What I particularly like about Eyleen is that she gives her students individual attention. She can decompose difficult poses into component parts so students build strength and skills over time, allowing them to eventually execute those poses with proficiency. She also offers alternatives that provide greater challenges to her more advanced students or she will have easier alternatives for those who find a pose to be especially difficult. She goes the extra mile. Here I have had a foot massage at the end of a particularly taxing session, listened to Eyleen play flute during the final minutes of class and had pillows brought to me so I could rest my head and cover my eyes. Classes cost about $70 MX pesos each or $520 MX pesos for 8 classes. Tilo provides mats and other yoga props. Classes for intermediate and advanced students are held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:00 AM, Tuesdays and Thursdays at :00 8PM and Fridays at 10:00 AM. On Wednesdays at 5:30 PM there is an intense class for advanced students. A new class for Beginners starts in January 2012 and will be held twice a week. Tilo also plans to add a meditation class (call her for details).

Location: Tilo’s studio is located at Calle 68 #425 X 47 y 49, in Santa Ana
Contact: Eyleen/Tilo at 999.739.3033 or email magadorada [at] hotmail [dot] com

A Hatha Yoga Studio

A Hatha Yoga studio is right across the street from Parque Santa Ana. Alonso Ojeda is the yoga teacher and for a guy in his 60′s, he’s one of the most flexible people you’ll ever meet. His classes are strenuous and I don’t recommend them for beginners. For those who like that sort of thing, he can provide a deep pressure adjustment (crack) to your back. Here you’ll pay about $50 pesos per class. His studio is large, clean, but very basic. Bring your own mat, water and towel. Because of the location, you can expect to hear a lot of traffic noise if the windows are open. He has classes on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays at 7:30 AM and 6:00 PM. Be advised that he only speaks Spanish, but English speakers can watch closely to follow the practice.

Location: Calle 60 # 421 at the corner of Calle 47, in Santa Ana
Contact: Alonso Ojeda on his cell at 999-228-3243

Monique’s Bakery

If you are an aficionado of Merida’s Slow Food movement, you know about Monique Duval’s bakery. What you may not know is that at 6:30 PM on Friday evenings in the room next to the bakery, Lorena Ulloa offers an hour of gentle Hatha yoga, a lovely way to end the week. Lorena conducts the class in both English and in Spanish and the cost is $50 MX pesos. Bring your own mats. I like this class because it is a nice change of pace. I find I spend the hour enjoying the aromas of the goodies being made in the kitchen, and often find myself going next door to partake of their offerings after class.

Location: The building inside the gate at Calle 31 #70 at Calle 12 in Churburna de Hidalgo. This is just one block off Avenida Tecnología, on Calle 31 (on the way to Costco from Merida centro)
Contact: Lorena Ulloa can be reached by phone at 999-203-5123 or you can email her at loren_um [at] hotmail [dot] com

Yoga Shiatsu

Donald Niedermayer and Paula Giovine have been leading yoga classes in Merida, on and off for over ten years. They currently hold classes in their lovely home in La Ceiba, north of Merida off the highway to Progreso. Classes at Yoga Shiatsu are taught in small groups or in private lessons. Don and Paula combine the practice of yoga with a bit of Shiatsu, focusing on alignment, strength, personal development and living life. Classes are taught in English or Spanish, or both. Paula might even throw in a little Italian from time to time.

Location: La Ceiba Golf Club (call for directions)
Contact: See www.yogashiatsuyucatan.com for phone, email and times.

ISSTE/Paula Zi

By far the best bargain in yoga is an evening Hatha practice that will cost just $15 pesos. The class is in Spanish only, and is lead by Paula Zi. The classroom is very large, giving you plenty of room to move around and stretch. As usual, be sure to bring your own mat. I found this to be a good class for beginners and intermediate practitioners. Paula positions herself in the middle of the room and it’s easy to follow her through the sequence of stretches and other poses that she establishes for each session. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6:00 PM. If you have the time and energy, come at 5:00 PM for an hour of Tai Chi (which also costs $15 pesos). (Tai Chi is not yoga, of course, but it has similar characteristics. It is a slow and steady repetitive movement that is learned and performed in unison. It incorporates many of the same principles of yoga, but in a different way.)

Location: In the ISSSTE Taller de Terapia Occupacional (blue building) on the corner of Calle 39 and Reforma (Calle 72), just north of the police station.

Yoga Everywhere Else

If you have transportation and time for the commute, you can find additional yoga studios in several of the other colonias. There are also a few expats who offer instruction for small groups of 3 or 4 students in their private homes.

When you go to the Mayan Riviera, yoga classes are easy to find in Tulum, starting with the Maya Tulum Hotel, which regularly hosts yoga teachers from around the world. Tulum is rather famous as a place to practice yoga in a pristine beach environment. Playa del Carmen also has numerous yoga studios, in addition to a regularly-taught teacher training class at Yoga by the Sea by Arielle Newman, one of Yucatan Living’s first expatriate interviews.

If you are thinking of getting away from Merida for a few days or even just a weekend, consider Izamal. Besides being a beautiful colonial town that is fun to visit, you can stay with Alfred and Emily at Hotel Macanche… and take yoga classes from Emily, a fabulous and very experienced yoga teacher, while you’re there. Check the Macanche website for details of upcoming retreats taught by yoga teachers from afar, or sign up directly with Emily. Hotel Macanche provides a garden setting for yoga and relaxation, as well as a lovely restaurant with the best food in Izamal.

Ask around to find a yoga class near you. You are more likely to regularly attend a yoga class that is easy to get to. Of course, it is also true that a satisfied student will travel far for a good yoga class! We hope that you will use the comments section to let us know about your favorites. We will gladly add consistently-held classes or bonafide yoga studios to our list as we learn about them.

The beauty, simplicity and efficacy of yoga is apparent to all that have spent any time practicing it. We encourage anyone who is interested to try it. Your body will thank you for it!

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Meaning of Hatha Yoga from The Yoga Journal magazine

About Vinyasa Flow yoga

More About Iyengar yoga at the official BKS Iyengar website

Kundalini yoga

Tai Chi Explained

Yoga by the Sea in Playa del Carmen

Editor’s Note: Dr. Steven Fry is one of Yucatan Living’s regular contributors, and has been a resident of Merida for many years. He also happens to be a guy who likes to know how things work and then write about them. In this article he shares his observations and experience about buying a used car. We’re pleased to say that there are some great tips here, whether you are looking in the Yucatan or the Yukon. We welcome your thoughts, comments and questions in the Comments section after the article.

Buying a Used Car in the Yucatan

Here in Yucatan, the prices asked for used cars are all over the map. After some research, you will learn that used cars don’t seem to lose value in Mexico like they do in the United States or Canada. Some people have reported to us that a five year old Yucatecan car can cost nearly as much as a new one, making moot the point of buying a coche "semi-nuevo" (used car). That said, in our most recent personal purchase of a used car in Merida, we found a 6-year-old used Nissan Sentra for $60,000 pesos (about $4,500 USD) in 2 weeks, with just 40,000 miles, and in good-to-excellent condition.

Many of our friends have asked if there are any “inside tips” on how to value and buy a car in our local market. This task is especially challenging because in this area, cars are likely to be beaten up by topes (those ubiquitous speed bumps), country roads and potholes, as well as suffer damage from the vagaries of a tropical climate, the hot sun and the marine influence.
Most ordinary buyers are not qualified to do mechanical checks of cars. The average person’s knowledge limits them to checking out the body, the interior, and the tires, and maybe doing simple motor oil & transmission oil dipstick checks, and exhaust system checks. But with that in mind, we offer the following advice, insight, tips and hints to help you become an above-average used car buyer.

Start with Research

Do your research and take your time if you can. Because the market is so diverse, there are deals to be found if you know what you are looking for. Do not feel forced to buy any used car. The process is a lot like dating: it helps to remember that there are lots of fish in the sea, as your mother used to tell you. If you can afford the time, it pays to wait for the right one!

Secondly, we suggest you pick a few models that you like and start the pricing process with the Kelley Blue Book. Check the Private Party used car values and also check Auto Trader’s comparable values from a reasonable market like Colorado (e.g. Fort Collins, zip code 80521. More accurate than high-value markets like San Francisco or NYC) (See links at the end of this article). After you determine a “blue book” value, add 15% – 20% to start to accommodate import tariff costs. Then, check the price guide on the Autoplaza website (linked at the end of the article). This website has a Used Car pricing guide for all of Mexico, much like the Kelley Blue Book guide that you might be used to. Once you have all these points of information, you should be able to extrapolate a range of upper and lower prices for the cars you are interested in.

Tips For Checking A Used Car

Now you are ready to go look at some used cars! Here is a list of quick and easy things to look for when you are evaluating the "health" of a used car:

• Only look at cars in the daytime, in good light, and bring a rag with you.
• Check the Fit and Finish.
• Use the magnet trick to identify plastic or fiberglass repairs.
• Look at the paint color in the trunk compared to the exterior color for repainting issues.
• While in the trunk, also look under the mat and around the spare tire for stressed metal, cracked paint, broken glass, rust or mud. Even a careful detailing usually will not reach the area around the spare tire.
• Notice how the doors, hood, and trunk-lid align and fit with the body, looking for constant reveals.
• Look under the hood for evidence of previous wrecks: rusted or bent metal, spider-cracked paint, non-matching paint, etc.
• While under the hood, look at the oil dipstick and transmission dipstick for signs of burning (roasted or heavily discolored metal is not a good sign), or blackened fluid.
• Open the oil filler cap and use your rag to wipe up-inside the valve cover with your finger or your rag.
• Heavy gunk or burned gunk or smelly gunk is not good, as it is evidence of running too hot for too long & without sufficient oil changes.
• Greyish or whitish gunk is really not good, as it indicates the mixture of coolant+oil emulsion, which in turn indicates a blown head gasket.
• When you pull the transmission dip-stick, smell the fluid. It should smell new – not musty, not funky, not burned.
• Open the cap on the brake fluid reservoir.
• The brake fluid should be clear and colorless.
• Dark fluid or rusty fluid is not good – not a deal buster, but it can be an indication of problems and should certainly indicate more price-negotiating leverage.

Paint Issues

If you observe different paint shades between the trunk or hood interior and the car’s exterior, here are a few things to keep in mind. Repainting is okay; in fact, unless a car has been religiously garaged, repainting can be expected on older used cars. The hot tropical sun is brutal on car paint, especially on the hood or roof of the car.

However, the value of the car is less if it received a low-quality paint job. Look at the paint surface using reflecting angles and grazing angles to observe any subtle dents or ripples, dust in the paint, puddling, differences in gloss, (caused by many back-yard shops who do not clear-coat their re-painted areas), depth of color, or oxidation. Check especially the roof, hood, fenders and doors, and the trunk lid. A sharp, good quality paint job can be almost as good as the factory paint job. A cheap paint job can add up to $500 USD to the value of the car, or nothing at all if it is really bad. A good paint job, or a garage-kept car, can add as much as $2,000 USD to the value of the car. The strong sun here oxidizes even good paint jobs after 6-10 years, so many slightly-older but good used cars are repainted here.

Other Issues

To do a quick exhaust system inspection, block the tailpipe tightly with your hand covered by your rag while the motor is running. The motor should bog down or threaten to stall out. Even if the motor coughs, there might be small leaks. Listen for chuffing (this requires having one person to block the exhaust pipe, while the other person walks up to the front of the car to listen).

It is also good to know the condition of the tires when you buy a used car. If you do not know tire costs locally, then check out tire prices beforehand for the vehicle of interest to get an idea of what a new set of good quality tires cost for that vehicle. Older tires with good tread can still have some tread separation or belt crawling issues, due to tope and pothole damage, so look for damage and surface irregularities too that do not normally occur in Canada or the USA. Cheap small tires cost $400 pesos each in Merida, and high-end, large tires can cost $1,500 – $1,800 pesos or more each.

When looking at tires, you can check the shocks and struts for fluid leakage by looking under the car. You can also stress the springs and shocks by rhythmically and vigorously bouncing each bumper’s corner, up and down. If all is well, the corner should dip just once more and come to a stop after you stop jouncing the suspension. Squeaking is not good. Also, more than a half bounce or partial full bounce (partial or damped up-down cycle) means the car has strut problems (if the problem is on the front) or shock absorber problems (if the problem is on the rear) in a vehicle with a solid axle. If the car has four-wheel independent suspension, then more than a partial bounce on the rear could also mean strut problems, which are expensive. Shock absorber problems are less expensive.

If you feel adventurous, get down on your knees at each front corner and inspect the CV joint boots. Torn boots might mean boot replacement or could require an entire axle replacement, depending on how much grit entered the torn boot. If it is a recent tear on a non-beach car, then the axle could still be in good shape. If you feel exceptionally adventurous, wipe the inside of the torn boot with your finger, and rub the grease between your fingers to check for grit. If there is no grit, that’s a good thing. If there is a lot of grit, or if you hear clicking when you drive the car through an extreme right-hand or left-hand turn, that probably means you are going to need a new axle.

The Harsh Environment of the Yucatan

As you go through the process, remember that typical Yucatecan roads exact a harsh toll and can cause hard wear on cars here. Unexpected topes and random potholes can take a serious toll on suspension parts and tires). Heavy stop-and go-driving, especially with “jackrabbit” starts and stops, is very hard on motors, brakes, transmissions and clutches. While the roads in the Yucatan get better every year, the average Yucatecan still does not go through any sort of driver training, and certain bad driving habits can also be tough on a car.

Negotiate with the Seller

As you would in your home country, plan ahead to be firm. Be prepared to walk at any point, and tentatively start to walk away if the seller is asking an outrageous price and won’t budge. Make it clear that you have cash in hand. Bring a printout of the KBB page for the car you want to show the seller an “official” price, giving your offer credibility.
As you see any problems during your inspection, point them out to the seller. This establishes your credibility as a knowledgeable buyer, and subtly, step-by-step, gets the buyer into the process of realizing that their “baby” is not as perfect as they imagined. Keep your tone factual and pleasant. You don’t want to make the seller defensive, but you want to build momentum on your side.

If you have explained up front that you have cash in hand, show them the official KBB printout and take the time to do these official-looking tests, then the combination of your tests and the evidence of your research is usually enough to impress the typical seller, and give you a negotiating advantage. This approach shows that you mean business, and that you are not some naco just in from his milpa. Conversely, it also demonstrates that you are not some greenhorn gringo with a walletful of easy cash, scheming to cheat the seller with a low-ball insincere offer.

Test Drive the Car

It is a good idea to have the seller drive you somewhere for you to do a test drive. On the way, carefully note how the driver drives and how he or she treats the car. Especially note how the driver acts at stops and starts, going over topes, and whether he or she avoids bumps and potholes. Many short trips mean a lot of wear on the starter and brakes, and also means an exhaust system and a motor that do not heat up to full operating temperatures. Full temperatures burn off condensed water from the exhaust, and that means less rust. If you are lucky, you will hit the jackpot and find a single owner who commutes to Cancun or Chetumal, so that almost all the miles are wonderfully gentle highway miles. 40,000 rough street miles in the city can be equal to 100,000 highway miles on a car’s actual mechanical condition.

When considering the value of the car, always remember to ask about and to consider the single owner versus multiple owners issue. A single owner car is usually more valuable, but much has to do with how the car was treated.

One other thing. When you drive the car, smooth acceleration is evidence that the owner used a good fuel system cleaner like Techron ($9 USD per bottle in Yucatan) every 4-5 tankfuls, keeping pumps, injectors, and emissions sensors and valves clean. After time, this translates to a clean fuel and emissions control system. Remember when you are test driving, drive with the windows open on both sides of the car. A car in good condition will exhibit no rattles or squeaks going over a rough street or topes.

Beach area cars should never be a first choice for buying a used car, due to salt and rust issues. If you are considering a car that has been kept or driven at the beach, be sure to investigate these issues thoroughly.

These above tips are a starting point and going through them will teach you a lot about a car. The list is not meant to be complete, but it does include enough “insider’s tricks” to give readers a foundation for checking out a used car without touching a wrench, getting dirty, or putting the car on a lift. Even in the Yucatan, cars that have less than 30,000 to 40,000 miles and are less than four years old should not have serious mechanical problems, and may not need an experienced mechanic’s inspection. Older or higher mileage cars should definitely be checked out by a qualified mechanic before making any offer.

What Else?

You might have noticed that we left out all the obvious stuff like checking headlights and brake lights, windshield wipers, turn signals, the radio/stereo, door handles and window handles. We left out checking to see if switches and motors function smoothly, if the seats move properly, if seat belts present and working, if the driver’s seat is not broken-down, if the car smells like an ashtray or an ashtray full of air freshener, if the windshield is pitted, if the air conditioning is strong (or works at all) and if all the driver’s controls & switches are working. We have not told you to sit in the back seat and check out the little things, or to be sure that the driver has the original auto sale document or the owner’s manual with original sale documentation sticker to prove that the car is not stolen. We figure you are smart enough to know those things already.

We would caution you, just in case, to check to see that the car’s VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) matches the VIN listed on the official sale document.

What About Documents and Paperwork?

Speaking of documents, it is important to know that cars sold in Mexico by new car dealers do not to have a “Title” issued by a State, like in the USA. Instead, the original bill of sale, a factura, functions as the title for the car. Original facturas are identifiable as being printed on official dealer invoice paper (pictured to the left) and have an official Hacienda logo in the lower left corner that contains the dealer’s RFC number. If your vehicle’s owner is using the original factura, check the back of the factura for handwritten documentation of any prior sales/transfers of the vehicle.

The sale of the vehicle will probably be described as simply as:

“Cedo los derechos que ampara la presente factura a favor de (buyer’s name) por asi convenir a mis intereses: ” (Printed Name of Seller), Address, Date of Sale, and Seller’s signature. (Translation: I grant the rights stated on the invoice to the (buyer’s name) because it is in my best interest to do so)

Vehicles that have been permanently imported from outside Mexico by private parties have the title issued by the owner’s foreign (USA? Canada?) home state, or the state where the car was registered. The foreign title must be accompanied by a Pedimento, a document from Aduana (Customs) that documents that the vehicle was properly imported under a Permanent Import permit (see on the right). It is worth noting that foreigners can only sell cars with Mexican license plates, and it is prohibited to sell temporarily imported permit cars that have foreign license plates. When a vehicle has a foreign license plate, it is here under the same visa as the owner of the car and cannot be switched to another owner.

Vehicles newer than 2000 may also have an official card issued by the Secretaria de Economía that proves the vehicle was officially registered with Mexico’s Registro Nacional de Vehiculos. This Constancia de Inscripcion Vehicular card looks like a credit card, but it has the car’s VIN (NIR) number, Model, Motor ID, and Chassis ID. Not all vehicles have these cards, as the original owners must pay roughly $500 pesos to register the car in this national program. All of these measures help prevent the sale of stolen cars.

In addition to these general proof-of-ownership documents that are used across Mexico, Yucatan has several other documents that help prove ownership. Vehicles with Yucatan license plates have a registration document that is called a Tarjeta de Circulación Vehicular issued by the S.S.P. (Secretaria de Seguridad Publica). Owners should keep the original of this current registration in the vehicle at all times (below to the left). Newer Yucatecan-plated vehicles should also have a copy of the proof of payment of the annual tenencia (see below to the right) called the Declaración de Pago del Impuesto Sobre Tenencia, and a windshield holographic sticker (all the way below to the left) from the State of Yucatan which also indicates that your tenencia is paid.

Where to Look for a Used Car

As in your home country, used cars are advertised online. The best place to look online these days include Autoplaza.com.mx, Autosyucatan.com.mx, the classified section in the Diario de Yucatan, YoListo.com’s classified section, Yucatan’s section of Craigslist, Tacolist and more (all linked below).

If you drive for more than a few hours anywhere in Mexico, you will see cars with dollar signs on the windows. Actually, these are not dollar signs, but they are the symbol for pesos… and in this instance, they signify that the car is for sale. If you see someone driving a car you are interested in, feel free to flag them down or get the phone number on their windshield to find out more. In addition to used car dealers, which we don’t think we need to educate you about (they are the same everywhere…), there is at least one official used car market in Merida, where individuals go to sell their cars.

Every Sunday, in the Parque de la Paz (pictured on the banner at the top of the page), between the Zoo and the Ex-Penitentiary, people have come from all around for the last thirty years to sell their cars. It can get to be a pretty festive atmosphere and there is always a large selection of used cars for sale. Of course, buyer beware! In this market, there are no guarantees about anything… so you might get a great deal, or you might pick a lemon. If you use the tips provided earlier in this article, you can probably avoid some of the worst possible problems.

There may be other problems here, however. This 30-year-old auto tianguis, as it is referred to, is being threatened with a move… this weekend! The government has plans for Parque de La Paz, and wants to move the auto market to the Central de Abastos, a wholesale market out to the west near the Periferico. This may or may not happen… but if you go to the park looking for used cars and they are not there, you will know where they went.

Time To Buy A Used Car

We have told you what to look for in a used vehicle, the rules of thumb for wear and tear here in the Yucatan, and given you information about documentation and where to look for a used car. You might get lucky and be able to buy a car from someone you know, but in that case, be sure to follow the rules about vehicle importation. If you are not buying from a friend (or maybe even if you are…), be sure to follow as many of the tips shared above to do your best to ensure a safe purchase.

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Auto Parts Terminology (Spanish/English) on Steven Fry’s Yucalandia website

Yucatan’s SSP (Secretaria de Seguridad Publica) website (in Spanish)

Kelley Blue Book, Private Party Used Car Values

AutoTrader

Autoplaza.com.mx

AutosYucatan.com

Tacolist Used Cars in Yucatan

Craigslist Yucatan Cars for Sale

YoListo Classifieds

The Diario Article about moving the auto tianguis from Parque de la Paz (the title is a colloquialism that roughly means "They are trying to trick us" or "They are making promises they won’t back up". Literally, it means "They are giving us atole (a drink) with a finger". )

About two or three times a week, we are asked why we moved from California to the Yucatan. And when we answer, we are reminded that one of the main reasons we came here was to learn a second language. We briefly considered setting up shop on the island of Bali in Indonesia, but decided that speaking Indonesian was not going to be very helpful outside of Indonesia. Spanish, on the other hand, is spoken around the world. In fact, according to a recent study by SpanishSEO, 6.78% of the world’s population speaks Spanish. On a web page entitled “Ten Facts About the Spanish Language“, we learned that with 329 million native speakers in the world, Spanish ranks as the world’s No. 2 language in terms of how many people speak it as their first language. There are actually more people speaking Spanish as their first language than English (328 million) but far less than Chinese (1.2 billion). So it seems like a particularly useful language to learn, don’t you think?

In 2002 we arrived with a lot of English writing and speaking skills (Working Gringo even has a degree in English!), and might have even been considered erudite in certain circles. But with only California place-names and one semester of a UCLA Spanish course under our collective belts, we were at a preschool level when it came to speaking Spanish. This was nothing if not a humbling experience.

As we were just normal gringos when we first arrived (we weren’t Working Gringos quite yet), we spent our days in the streets of Merida exploring, paying bills, finding needed items, and learning about our new community. We would come home exhausted at the end of the day with the stress of trying to communicate in this new foreign language. We would huddle in the living room and watch the Warner Channel on television just to hear spoken English. The comfort value was almost as good as a cup of hot tea with milk and honey and a cookie.

But the next day, we’d be ready again to brave the language immersion, and indeed, immersion is the best policy when it comes to switching idiomas (languages). Years later, we no longer need to watch the Warner Channel, though the voice of the announcer reminds us fondly of our early days here. We are far from fluent, but we no longer dread making a phone call to order pizza or inquiring about a strange charge on our bill at Telmex. We can even hold passable conversations with our Spanish-speaking friends about everything from what our children are studying in escuela (school) to what we think about current events. Though all this is true, we are still relieved when a conversation with Mexican friends is switched to English for our sake (and humbled…). We still have a lot to learn, and we are now convinced it will be a lifelong pursuit.

How did we get this far? When we first moved here, we took formal classes. We chose the Benjamin Franklin Institute because at the time, they provided the only classroom situation we could find without having to ask directions or get in our car. The three of us (one of our daughters was here with us) took classes three mornings a week, struggling through grammar and pronunciation in a classroom setting. If we had to do it over, we would still make a point of learning the basics, but some of us might have chosen a different venue. We discovered that we all learned differently and at a different pace. And being stuck inside a dark classroom for three hours a day is never our idea of the right way to learn.

At the same time, we hired a young bilingual Yucateco who had been introduced to us. His name was Oscar and we paid him to walk around town with us, explaining to us how things worked and helping us learn the names for places and things. Oscar was a kind, fun and thoughtful young man (who has since moved to Toronto… hola, Oscar!) and we have fond memories of our days of wandering through the markets and streets of Merida, Kanasin and even San Cristobal in Chiapas. We found these lessons much more enjoyable and effective, and the Spanish started to sink in.

Where we really started to learn our day-to-day Spanish, however, was where the rubber meets the road: when we had to. We learned to communicate with the albañiles working on our office restoration, with the woman who cleaned our house and with José on the street where we parked our car. We learned to talk with our neighbor who took us to la corrida (a bullfight), with our Cuban neighbor who fixed our plumbing and eventually with our clients who came to us for help promoting their services to an English-speaking public. None of this would have worked as well, of course, if we hadn’t had that foundation in grammar and pronunciation.

We have learned that our experiences are not particularly unique. Many expats who come here to live either see learning Spanish as a gift or a necessity. And everyone trying to learn Spanish in Mexico has told us how helpful and patient the locals are when it comes to listening, communicating and teaching their language. Anyone who has spent any time in France trying to use their high-school French will understand how important it is that the locals enjoy your attempts at mangling their native tongue.

Oftentimes, we have learned the most from conversations with waiters or bus drivers or tour guides who are happy to exchange on-the-spot Spanish lessons for a few English lessons in return. And listening to how Spanish speakers mangle English has taught us how the Spanish language works. As we try to fit Spanish into the syntax and expressions that are comfortable in English, we realize that our Spanish-speaking friends are doing the same in reverse. Parsing those mistakes teaches us how to do it right in Spanish. Entiendes? Sure you do… and if you don’t yet, keep trying. You will!

Learning Spanish is not just for those of us who live here. Turistas (tourists) come to Merida for the express purpose of learning Spanish. On extended vacations for anywhere from a week to several months, they come for Spanish immersion programs with one of the local schools. They stay with local families (home-stay), attend classes (usually in the morning) and go on field trips. All in Spanish, of course. Merida is becoming more and more popular as a destination for this type of study, competing with cities in Guatemala and other parts of Mexico.

In the spirit of assisting our fellow extranjeros (foreigners) to develop their Spanish language skills, or in helping travelers find local Spanish language immersion schools, we are listing here the schools in Merida and the surrounding area that we know about and can recommend. Some are better than others, and when choosing a school for yourself, it is important to remember that everyone’s learning needs are different. Many schools have classes that start every Monday. Some have programs that are geared towards college students, while others might be more appropriate for adult learners. We highly recommend that you speak on the phone or correspond with the school to ask them questions before you sign up, but we’re pretty sure that no matter which one you choose, you’ll enjoy your experience and you will learn some Spanish!

We are also listing the names of some language tutors that we know, though this is a more fluid list. We encourage you to write us with your recommendations if you have found a good tutor and we will include them. If you are in Merida, you could also check the physical bulletin board at the Merida English Library for tutors offering their services.

Before the list, however, we’d like to add a few thoughts for you to consider.

• Learning Spanish has probably been one of the most mind-altering events of our adult lives, although the effect has not been sudden or dramatic, nor particularly obvious to an outside observer.
• Learning Spanish has had the effect of rearranging the furniture of our understanding of the world around us.
• Learning Spanish has given us insight into the entire Latin culture that makes up such a large part of the world and its history.
• Learning Spanish has taught us subtleties and nuances in life that as English speakers we had never considered.
• Learning Spanish has opened up cracks in our worldview, allowing us a glimpse into an entirely new way of looking at the world.
• Learning Spanish has given us an appreciation for the way that Spanish-speaking people think, talk, love, party, plan, lie, count, pray, learn… it has taught us that it is probably impossible to really grok people who speak a different language until you can speak and understand their language.

More than anything, it has given us an increased appreciation for the intricate, infinite, delicate, magnificent and awesome differences that all somehow dance together to form humanity.

As you try to wrap your tongue around yet another verb tense, we encourage you also to keep in mind the well-accepted fact that Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn. English is one of the hardest. Learning Spanish has given us a new appreciation for all the Mexicans in the US that we know who have learned to speak English. Our own employee, Joseph, speaks English like an American and has not spent more than four weeks total in the United States in his entire life. How did he DO that?

We wish we had enough lifetimes to learn other languages, and to appreciate the myriad cultures that they represent. We are grateful for this time and opportunity to learn Spanish. And we can only wish you the same paradigm-bending experience. The following is an as-comprehensive-as-we-can-make-it list of Merida’s Spanish Language schools.

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Alianza Francesa
Phone: +52-999-927-2403
Website: www.merida.af.org.mx/
Contact: Diana Castillo
Address: Calle 23 #117 x 24, Colonia México
Homestay: No
Languages taught: Spanish, French
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Private tutoring only.
YL Notes: Alianza Francesa is where local families send their children to learn French. But they also teach Spanish… but not Mexican Spanish. They teach Latin American Spanish, and there is a difference. They teach writing and reading, speaking and listening. One of their teachers speaks English, and the rest are Spanish or French (or both) speakers.

Benjamin Franklin Institute
Phone: +52-999-928-6005>
Website: www.benjaminfranklin.com.mx
Contact: Rosy Cetina
Address: Calle 57 #474-A x 52 y 54, Centro
Homestay: They will provide names of families, but do not have a formal program.
Languages taught: Spanish, English
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Both
YL Notes: Housed in a big old colonial building, this is the granddaddy of language schools here in Merida. They teach Spanish to foreigners but we think the bulk of their activity is teaching English to locals (they are the oldest English-teaching outfit in Merida).

CIS – Centro de Idiomas Sureste
Phone: +52-999-923-0954 (Centro), 926-9494 (Norte), 920-2810 (García Ginéres)
Website: www.cis-yucatan.com.mx/
Contact: Chloe Pacheco, Director or Jose Luis Lopez Espinosa , Spanish Program Coordinator
Address: Calle 52 #455 x 49 y 51 (Centro), Calle 11 #203-C x 26, Col. García Ginéres, and Calle 14 #106 x 25, Col. Mexico
Homestay: Yes
Languages taught: Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Japanese
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Both, as well as Business Language classes to companies.
YL Notes: With three locations and a wide variety of languages taught, CIS seems to us to be the most serious linguistic training school here. Chloe Pacheco, the owner, came here in 1968. She started working with CIS in 1978, teaching English. She and her husband purchased the school in 1980 and have been running it ever since. Their most popular Spanish course is a 5-day/week, 5-hour-day Intensive class that has classroom in the mornings and cultural activities in the afternoons. It is the oldest Spanish-teaching program in Merida. They also have special classes for Yucatan residents conducted every week at 5 PM for an hour and a half.

Ecora Spanish School
Phone:+52-999-953-4974 or cell phone (+044) 999-163-5379.
Website: www.spanishschoolecora.com
Contact: Susana Villanueva, Academic Coordinator.
Address: Ave. 50 # 361 x 53B y 53F, Fracc. Francisco de Montejo
Homestay: Yes
Languages taught: Spanish
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Both. Can send private tutors to your home or hotel for lessons by the hour.
YL Notes: ECORA Spanish School is the only Spanish School in Yucatan that has received the “M” certification from the Mexican government. This is awarded to schools that are environmentally friendly, socially responsible and culturally respective. The school is open year-round including during the Christmas, Spring Break and Summer holidays. If you want to include some fun Spanish or Mexican/Mayan Culture classes with your lessons, that can be arranged. ECORA Spanish School offers Spanish Immersion Programs at school or personalized private tutoring at home or hotel by the hour. They also have free cultural activities and field trips as part of the classes. Private tours with a teacher, group excursions, internships and volunteer placement are available at an additional cost. Classes are held in Spanish but all teachers are bilingual and have University degrees in language education. Classes can be customized for Spanish for Legal, Medical or Spanish for Teachers. ECORA can provide University Credit for programs of one week or more. They have free wireless internet at the school.

Habla: The Center for Language and Culture.
Phone:+52 (999) 948-1872 or US Phone (401) 374-3237
Website: www.habla.org/en
Contact: María del Mar Patrón Vázquez and/or Kurt Wootton
Address: Calle 26 No. 99 B x 19 y 21. Col. México
Homestay: Yes
Languages taught: Spanish, English, Art
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Spanish Immersion program, Locals Spanish classes and custom Spanish Courses. Private tutoring on request.
YL Notes: We have heard nothing but great things about this school. We’ve talked to a number of expats who are taking classes here, and thoroughly enjoying the multidisciplinary approach to learning. If you are living here and wanting to learn Spanish because you actually want and need to learn it (as opposed to taking it as a class to earn a degree), or if you are coming to Merida and would like to take a Spanish Immersion course, we encourage you to check this school out. It was started and continues to be run by a brilliant, young and innovative couple with new ideas and lots of interesting connections. We’re thrilled that they’ve decided to set up shop in Merida. Read more about this school and their owners in our interview here. Also read about a recent mural that was painted at the school here.

ILET: Instituto de Lenguas Extranjeras y Turismo
Phone: 969-935-7980. To talk to someone who speaks English, 999-738-6196 & 999-197-9179 (both cel phones).
Website: www.yucatanliving.com/sponsors/ilet-language-cooking-school.htm
Contact: Alma Torres Ugalde and José Humberto Vargas Avila
Address: Calle 29 #127A x 74 y 76, Progreso (across from the Telmex building)
Homestay: No
Languages taught: Spanish, English, Italian, French, German, Cooking
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Both
YL Notes: Alma Torres Ugalde has a degree as Instructor of Foreign Languages and has 8 years of experience teaching Spanish and foreign languages classes. José Humberto Vargas Avila has an Industrial Chemical Engineering degree, lived in Canada for 1 year and has 5 years experience teaching both English and Spanish. The other teachers in the school include a Spanish teacher, and two Cooking teachers, one with a degree in Gastronomy. ILET is located in Progreso, the popular beach community 30 minutes north of Merida.

Institute of Modern Spanish
Phone: +52-999-911-0790 or toll-free 1-800-4MERIDA
Website: www.modernspanish.com
Contact: Miguel Ceron, Director. Our contact was Janese Ott.
Address: Calle 15 #520B x 16A y 18, Col. Maya
Homestay: Yes
Languages taught: Spanish
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Classroom training or Private classes. Also have business training.>
YL Notes: The Institute of Modern Spanish is geared to those people who are coming to Merida to learn the language and immerse themselves in the culture. Classes are held in Spanish, but they also have other offerings such as Business Spanish, Mayan Culture, Yucatan History and Spanish-American Literature. They provide students with the option of booking tours of the local sites as well as participating in student excursions (at an extra cost). They can provide college credit for programs of two weeks or more. They also have a program for assisting local children with their English, allowing Spanish language students to work and offset the cost of their programs.

Instituto de Lengua y Cultura de Yucatan
Phone: +52-999-125-3048
Website: www.ilcymex.com
Contact: Cecilia Novelo
Address: Calle 13 No. 214 x 28 y 30, Col. Garcia Gineres
Homestay: Yes
Languages taught: Spanish
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Classroom
YL Notes: This school offers Spanish language training in an immersion program of their own design. They combine classroom training with real-life situations such as going to the bank or cooking a meal. They also provide specialized classes upon request such as Spanish for Legal, Medical or Diplomatic needs.

Lengua Alternativa
Phone: +52-999-943-9181
Website: www.lengualternativa.com
Address: Calle 37 No. 539 x 72a y 74, Col. García Ginéres
Homestay: Yes
Languages taught: Spanish
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Classroom training and private tutoring.
YL Notes: This school offers ten levels of Spanish instruction. The average length of stay for their students is 12-16 weeks. They cater to college students taking Spanish for credit. They also offer holiday courses for families wishing to study together, as well as Spanish for Business, Secretaries and Assistants, Medicine and Healthcare, Emergency Personnel and for Teachers.

MJ International
Phone: +52-999-925-4692
Website: none
Contact: Gabriela Bojorquez
Address: Calle 13 #214 x 28 y 30, Col. García Ginére
Homestay: No
Languages taught: Spanish
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Tutoring only.
YL Notes: This school has five English-speaking Spanish teachers who are available for one-on-one tutoring. They also have teachers who can teach French or German.

  Spanish Institute of Merida
Phone: From U.S. and Canada: 1-800-539-9710. From Mexico and the rest of the world: +52-999-925-4475
Website: www.simerida.com
Contact: Christian Cuellar, Academic Director
Address: Calle 60 x 37 #358, Centro Histórico
Homestay: All our students get private accommodations with private bathroom and A/C.
Languages taught: Spanish
Classroom or Private Tutoring: Group classes and one-on-one classes.
YL Notes: The Spanish Institute of Merida has received the “Educational Excellence Award” for 2007 from UNESCO, and was named the “Best Immersion Program” in Mexico in 2006 by Language Learning Magazine. It is a non-profit organization that specializes in teaching the Spanish Language and its culture and has been doing so since 1984. Their program conforms to ACTFL standards. More than a 100 Universities in the USA and Canada have given credits for classes taught here. All teachers have University degrees in Spanish as well as experience teaching Spanish as a Second Language.

Spanish Language Tutors:

Monica Tort- Monica can be reached by email at moniktort [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] mx or by telephone at 01(999)921-5230. Read more about Monica Trot here.

Rafael Curiel – Rafael has ten years of experience teaching Spanish and English. He can be reached via email at vitalous [at] hotmail [dot] com or by cel phone 044-999-129-4017.

Ricardo Alfonso – Ricardo has a Masters degree in Education. He can be reached by cel phone at 044-999-228-7310 or by email at rifago [at] hotmail [dot] com.

Zulai Marcela Fuentes – Zulai is a published writer and poet with over 35 years translation experience for publishing houses in Mexico City. She speaks Spanish, English and French fluently. She can be reached through email at alecramialuz [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] mxor by phone at Tel. 01(999)212-1235, Cel. 044-999-264-6765.

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Interested in languages? You might like our article on basics of the Mayan language.

If you are looking for schools for your children in Merida, read our article on Schools in Merida Mexico.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published in December 2008. It has been two and a half years since then, and we decided it was time for an update. What follows is basically the original article (with some added comments) and updated prices. For comparison, we have included the 2008 prices in parentheses wherever possible. In editing the article and putting in the new prices, we found a lot of interesting changes. The prices of avocados and martinis have not changed, but the price of gas and electricity sure has. Some price changes are hard to quantify… the price of real estate is all over the map, and while prices are not rising as much as they were a few years ago, they haven’t exactly fallen either. We hope you enjoy the update and we look forward to your comments!

What Does It Cost to Live in Merida Mexico?

One of the most common questions we have been asked by readers of Yucatan Living is also one we often hesitate to answer: What’s the cost of living in Yucatan? Our standard (and rather evasive) answer has been: “Well… it depends”. We are particularly surprised by those who ask us, “Can a person live on $4,000 dollars a month down there? Or $2,000 dollars?” Because the answer, of course, is “Yes, there are thousands, maybe millions, of Mexicans living here on much less.”

Unlike the United States and other developed counties where money talks and the consumer is king, Mexico and the Yucatan in particular, do not have homogenous economies. In so-called “developed” countries, most people have a wage-earning job, drive a car, shop at the mall, save with an IRA, use a credit card, pay income taxes and share a common – if not equal – economic reality.

But the long and very special history of Mexico has produced a different economy here. Either through imposition or experimentation, Mexicans have incorporated, and to a varying extent maintained, economic systems inherited from Native America, Colonial Spain, the Napoleonic Empire, the Catholic Church, Capitalism, Socialism and Communism, just to mention the heavy hitters. There are whole communities in Mexico that still live off the land, like our great, great grandparents who settled the “wild west”. At the other extreme, the richest man in the world makes his home in Mexico. And almost every other conceivable economic arrangement is also found here.

While the trend is that more and more Yucatecos are joining what we call the “money economy”, most campesinos still prefer to bargain and barter, avoid banks and loans, and minimize formal payrolls and income taxes. While those in Gringolandia tend to pay top dollar for the “next big thing”, Yucatecos boast of finding el precio mas barato (the lowest price) for their last purchase.

When we first moved here, a gringa friend of ours had composed a little ditty entitled “You Paid Too Much!”. We don’t remember the song, but we remember and appreciate the sentiment: no matter what you tell someone you paid for something here, the reaction is almost universal… you paid too much! At first it was unnerving, causing us to walk around feeling like we had been duped at every turn. Gradually, we have gotten used to it and realize that this feeling is just the symptom of a mindset that is always looking for a bargain.

These and other significant economic and cultural differences mean that the cost of living in Yucatan (and much of Mexico) depends more on your lifestyle and personal financial decisions than they probably do in your own country. There are simply more options here. Many commodities can be found at very different prices depending on location, context, and quality. The Mexican economy is like eBay, a swap meet and a garage sale wrapped in a department store in a mall at Disneyland (we refer to Cancun). For example, you can watch the same Hollywood blockbuster in an old, art-deco theatre in downtown Merida for about $2.50 USD that would cost you $8.50 USD lying in a barcalounger in a modern cineplex in northern Merida. Or you can go to a government-sponsored film festival at the Olimpo or Teatro Merida and pay $1.50 USD to see an art film.

One important way to reduce costs is through immersion and assimilation. The more Yucateco you become, the less you’ll find yourself paying (and willing to pay) too much. It’s obvious to most of us who live here that speaking Spanish and adapting to local traditions will almost always guarantee finding a lower price or a lower-priced alternative. What’s not immediately obvious is how thrift becomes a way of life when it is supported by the culture that surrounds you. You can drive across town to Home Depot for that machete (yes, you might like to have one here), or you can walk to the corner hardware store and buy one for less. The choice is yours.

About the Mexican Peso

With only a few exceptions (real estate and lodging come to mind), you’ll be paying for everything in pesos. After the horrific peso devaluation of 1994, there have been important changes in Mexican finance, which includes a virtual peso “peg” to the U.S. dollar. Over the past six years at least, the Mexican peso has tracked the value of the dollar at an exchange rate of 11 pesos to one dollar, plus or minus half a peso. In mid 2011, when this article has been last updated, the exchange rate of the peso was about 12.3pesos to the dollar. For comparison purposes and quick calculations, we will use the 12 to 1 ratio in this article.

Unlike Europeans and Latin Americans, who are conditioned to think in multiple currencies, most norteamericanos have a difficult time understanding the value of anything not quoted in dollars. But it’s not that hard. Just divide the price in pesos by 10, and then give yourself a 20 percent discount. For example, something that costs $100 pesos costs $10 dollars minus 20%, or $8.00 dollars, mas o menos.

As a service to you, our reader, the rest of this article quotes most of the prices in pesos, so you can practice doing the math…

Housing

One of the more fundamental expenses is housing, and prices in Yucatan are particularly difficult to generalize. The cost of housing has increased over the last ten years just like everywhere else in the world, but from such a low value that there are still many locations that are affordable by North American or European standards. And the rise in prices was not caused by an over-abundance of loans, as most Mexicans own their homes outright. Mortgages are only now becoming available to the growing middle class, and are still practically impossible to get if you are a foreigner.

A renovated colonial house in the centro historico of Merida that cost $150,000 dollars five years ago may now sell for as much as $350,000. Unrestored properties can still be found for well under $100,000 dollars. The center of Merida, along with the beach areas along the Gulf Coast, have appreciated the most. But there are numerous other safe and attractive neighborhoods in Merida, such as Colonia Mexico or Chuburná, as well as smaller towns around Yucatan State, such as Cholul, Motul, Izamal and Valladolid.

Fortunately for the real estate shopper, there are numerous agencies here with comprehensive websites where you can gain a broad view of the market. Just Google “Yucatan real estate” or “real estate in Merida Mexico” (when you have a lot of time). Don’t forget that all prices are negotiable.

Of course, another option is to rent, at least until you have some “on the ground” experience with life here and have shopped the real estate market to your heart’s content. Many foreigners do rent before they buy, but the variety of rental properties makes determining a price range almost as difficult to generalize as real estate for sale. We have rented modest houses in the centro historico for as little as $200 dollars and as much as $500, but these were rented from locals by locals. A typical two bedroom rental downtown in the most desirable areas might go for $600 to $1000 USD per month, and vacation rentals, rented by the day or week, cost a lot more (Click on the Vacation Rental topic on the right side of this page to see some of the local offerings).

If you’re not a local, you’ll be competing with tourists, foreign professionals and student travelers when you rent. Depending on the condition of the property and its location, you will likely pay more. This is especially true of restored colonial vacation rental houses. Unfortunately, these are the most frequently advertised on the Internet. The most affordable properties are advertised by painting En Renta on the façade. Finding a suitable and affordable rental property therefore usually requires a visit to the area, and lengthy communication in Spanish with the owner. For the cost-conscious shopper, we recommend staying in one of the low-price hostels while shopping rental properties like a local.

Income and Value Added Tax

Very few people in Mexico pay income tax. Well, technically, nobody pays income tax. If you are employed at a company that pays salaries and reports earnings, the company withholds and pays your personal income tax for you. But the number of wage-earning jobs subject to income tax in Mexico is relatively few compared to the United States or Canada.

Many Mexican workers earn their income, in whole or in part, abajo de agua (literally “under water”, but it means under the table). These workers include private farmers, artisans, independent contractors and construction workers, small restaurants and other sole proprietors of small businesses. This practice is not illegal. In Mexico, you can choose to participate in a “gray” economy, without reporting any profit or loss to the government, or you can participate in the formal economy through serialized invoices called facturas, and report both profits and losses. Many businesses must operate in both economies, depending on the client. Ours is no exception.

To compensate for a lack of tax revenue from income, the Mexican Government imposes a rather steep national sales tax, or Value Added Tax, called Impuesto Valores Agregado in Spanish, which is abbreviated to IVA and pronounced ee-VAH (or ee-BAH by many). You are expected to pay IVA for everything you purchase except medicines, unprepared foods, water and other basic necessities of life.

However, there are many cases, depending on your lifestyle choices, where IVA is not added to the price of your purchase (referred to as mas IVA, or plus tax). For example, you can eat fast food, where IVA is added, or you can eat at a private cocina economica, where it is not. You can contract with a professional cleaning service for your housekeeping needs and pay IVA, or you can hire a free-lance housekeeper. You can buy a machete (you really should get one) at Home Depot mas IVA, or you can buy it at the Mercado, sin IVA. The choice, once again, is yours: WalMart or Chetumalito? Bit by bit, that 15% savings adds up.

Property Taxes

Your property’s value is determined by a state government agency called Catastral or Catastro (strangely, the same agency, two different names, both correct), and is based on the historic value of the property more than the (usually understated) last sale price. Every year, starting in January, you will receive a bill for property taxes, called a predial (pray-DEE-al). In most cases, you will be stunned to learn that this is profoundly less than you paid in your own country. For example, the former Yucatan Living offices, which was a two-bedroom, restored colonial in the centro, had a market value of over a million pesos. It has been appraised by Catastral at $212,000 pesos. We were billed $110 pesos for predial in 2008. And if we paid before March, there was a discount! Predial prices have not changed much in the last few years, but if you renovate your house, your predial will be raised to reflect the new appraised value.

Honestly, the property taxes are so low that we try to give back to the city whenever we can. Anyone who asks us for a donation or wants to sell us flowers on the street will get a few pesos from us… it’s our way of contributing to the life around us here.

Fidecomiso

As anyone who has shopped for real estate in Merida or along the coast has learned, we are in the so-called “restricted zone”, which means we foreigners cannot own the property directly, but must purchase it through a bank trust called a fidecomiso (FEE-day-co-MEE-so). These trusts charge a hefty annual maintenance charge. Just when you thought you were escaping the costs of property ownership: bang, the fideicomiso bill arrives.

Still, adding together the $4,500 to $6,500 peso charge for our bank trust along with the cost of the predial, the net expense is a tenth of what we paid in property taxes back in California, so we try not to complain.

After housing, most foreigners expect to pay for basic modern conveniences like water, garbage, gas, electricity, telephone, cable and Internet. The per-unit cost of your monthly utility bills are not negotiable, but the total cost is directly affected by lifestyle choices.

Water

The water supply is delivered by a company called JAPAY (HOP-eye). There really is no shortage of water in Merida, nor in most of Yucatan, so prices are low compared to the rest of North America. The least you will pay in the centro historico is $58.5 pesos per cubic meter for up to three cubic meters of water (up from $50 pesos three years ago). One cubic meter is 164 gallons. An average toilet flush is about 2.5 gallons. A five-minute shower is roughly 13 gallons. A load of laundry in a modern washing machine runs between 30 and 40 gallons. The more water you use, the higher the price per cubic meter, as the table below illustrates. In updating the prices from 2008, we notice that most prices have been raised 6 to 10 pesos.

You will notice in the table that if you consume less than 20 M3′s per month, you are billed a flat rate. Above 20 M3′s, you are billed per M3. So a consumption of 25 M3′s will run you about $112.50 pesos. To add to this complex billing structure, prices also vary depending on location. In the southern (less affluent) areas of Merida, prices per cubic meter start at $47 pesos (up from $40), while in the northern (affluent) areas, they start at $61 pesos (up from $52). There is also a higher rate for business locations. We are billed every other month and pay on average about $170 pesos. Yes, we take showers AND we use a washing machine.

Many Yucatecos who own swimming pools choose to drill their own well to fill them, as well as to irrigate their gardens. This probably made more sense back in the day when water was pumped using windmills, but not as much (as we will see) now that the pumps are electrical.  It may again make more sense if you install wind or solar energy generators. For more information about water prices, you can check JAPAY’s website. You will note that the last price update was January 2010. Since water is a basic human need, prices for water tend to stay fairly stable.

Garbage

We are familiar with two garbage collection companies in Merida: Servilimpia and Pamplona. Both charge only $17 pesos per month to collect your garbage. They have different collection days depending on your location. Where we live now, Servilimpia works Colonia San Sebastian on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. In the tourist areas of the centro historico, they collect whether you pay or not. Sometimes, they forget to stop by for some reason, but in general the service works.

Have something big or unwieldy you want to throw away? Put it outside. If it is at all valuable or reusable, chances are a neighbor or passerby will pick it up before the garbage truck even gets there. If your garbage requires more effort or ingenuity on the part of the garbage company to haul it away, you might find them banging on your door, even in the middle of the night. Tip them $10 or $20 pesos and they will be happy. If not, they’ll tell you how much they want to take away your couch or old refrigerator.

In addition, you will occasionally see a group of men (and sometimes women) in orange vests, sporting brooms and rolling trashcans, making their way along the streets of Merida to pick up after those who toss candy wrappers and plastic bottles from their cars or from the buses. We would be knee-deep in modern, brand name detritus if not for them. The discussion about stopping those people from tossing the candy wrappers in the first place is for another article.

Electricity

La Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is the national electric company that supplies power to all of Mexico. Although they are a “World Class Company”, (as the slogan on their trucks remind us), they do not pretend to be affordable. Without a doubt, electricity is the most expensive utility in Yucatan. 

We in Yucatan benefit from the previously mentioned socialist influences within the Mexican economic system by living in a region classified as 1C, which means that because we have an average summer temperature of 30 degrees Celcius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), our electric bills are subsidized during the summer months of May through October. (Or, if you are a die-hard capitalist, you could say we are gouged the rest of the year.)

For a private residence in Merida, the three summertime electricity rates are:

up to 300KW/H

Basic: $0.643 pesos (up from $0.567 pesos) up to 150 Kilowatt Hours (KW/Hr)
Intermediate: $0.742 (up from $0.668 pesos) up to 300 KW/Hr (this limit used to be 600 KW)

more than 300KW/H

Basic: $0.643 pesos (up from $0.567 pesos) before 150 Kilowatt Hours (KW/Hr)
Intermediate: $0.965 pesos (up from $0.668 pesos) for 150 to 450 KW/Hr (this limit used to be 600 KW)
High: $2.553 pesos (up from $2.255 pesos) after 450 KW/Hr

During the rest of the year, the rates are:

Basic: $0.733 pesos (up from 0.661 pesos after 150 KW/Hr) up to 75 KW/Hr
Intermediate: $1.229 pesos (up from $0.780 pesos up to 600 KW/Hr) up to 150 KW/Hr
High $2.593 pesos (up from $2.350 pesos after 600 KW/Hr) after 150 KW/Hr

For those who are not familiar with the term “KW/Hr”, it means kilowatt-hour, which is a thousand watts of electricity consumed in an hour. If you burn ten, 100-watt light bulbs for an hour, they consume one KW/Hr of electricity. Naturally, here in Yucatan, low-cost fluorescent bulbs (11 to 17 watts) have been widely adopted, not just to conserve electricity, but also because they survive power fluctuations caused by our lovely afternoon electrical storms better than standard incandescent bulbs.

How much electricity does your lifestyle consume? If you plan to live like most campesinos outside Merida, you do not own a refrigerator. If you want a cold drink or fresh eggs, you walk to the corner store, which serves as the community refrigerator. You don’t own a washing machine, either, preferring to wash your clothes by hand. You might own an electrical fan, but you certainly don’t own an air conditioner. You hang your hammock in a shady spot and let the breezes cool you off. Probably the only electrical appliances you own are a (rather loud) radio and a television, along with a few light bulbs (and maybe a string or two of Christmas lights, (para La Virgen).

With the exception of a few ceiling fans, a small refrigerator and perhaps a washing machine, many working class Yucatecos living in Merida don’t consume much more than their campesino cousins, although a growing number own a DVD player and a battery charger for their cell phone.

We observe that the Yucatan middle-class owns an assortment of electrical appliances similar to most middle-class expatriates, but they do not have as many and they are not used as often. You won’t find a garbage disposal or dishwasher in most Yucatan kitchens, including ours. But the obvious socio-economic dividing line is air conditioning. The modern miracle that made Las Vegas possible and lures thousands of campesinos and working class Yucatecos to the malls every summer is what takes the biggest bite out of anyone’s electric bill.

Here at the Yucatan Living offices, we have two “mini-split” air conditioners that run throughout the business day. (Only for the comfort of our clients and our computers, of course.) It is not unusual for our bills to run $6,000 to $8,000 pesos per month. At home, we only have air conditioners in the bedrooms – a common practice among homeowners who chill electrically – and we try to avoid using them whenever possible. If you consume more than 850 KW/Hr, you will be rated DAC (De Alto Consumo) (High Consumption) and the rate is $3.281 per KW and a set charge of $74.69 each month. And no discount during summer months. You guessed it… we have been rated de alto consumo, so for the luxury of a large renovated house and an air conditioned office, we are paying top dollar.

The CFE bill is delivered every other month, so expect to see double when it arrives.

Propane Gas and Carbon

There are no natural gas mains running under the calles of Merida. Every home and office has some sort of propane tank on its roof or in a closet. The gas is delivered from a truck operated by one of several independent companies with names like Z-Gas, Delta Gas and Gas Peninsular. The price of propane has nearly doubled since we moved here in early 2002. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s still one of the least expensive utilities and one of the most efficient energy sources.

A typical three-bedroom colonial home has a 300-liter stationary tank on the roof. At a price of $5.94 pesos per liter (up from $5.48 pesos per liter when we first wrote this article in 2008), it costs $1,782 pesos to fill it. The gas heats our calentadores (water heaters), secadora (clothes dryer) and is used for cooking, although we often use the campesino method, where cooking is done on open wood fires or with charcoal (In other words, we use a barbeque with carbon (pronounced car-BONE). A tank lasts us five or six months, so we pay an average of about $350 pesos a month for gas.

Still, to save both gas and electricity, we also try to hang our clothes out to dry as much as possible, and only use the clothes dryer for rainy days and during the rainy season. We also disable our water heaters during the summer months or if we are gone from the house for more than a week or so. By the way, just like everything else here, if you use carbon for cooking, you can buy it in two ways. You can get the branded briquettes you are familiar with at Costco or WalMart, or you can buy a small bag or two at your corner store. That carbon is made locally in the countryside, and costs about $8 pesos per small bag.

Transportation

Anyone who reads the financial press or studies Mexican history knows the entire oil industry is consolidated into a state-run institution called Pemex. The Mexican government nationalized the oil industry after the Revolution and sets the prices for gasoline at legislated intervals. Despite protestations and seductions from free-market advocates in Gringolandia, this native bit of socialism has been working out rather well for “We The Consumer”.

There are two grades of unleaded gasoline at the pump. Regular is called Magna and premium is called, well, Premium. A liter of Magna currently costs $9.32 pesos per liter (it was $7.05 pesos per liter in 2008). Premium costs $10.32 pesos per liter (in 2009, $8.77 pesos per liter). To convert to dollars per gallon, here’s the math:

(Pesos-per-liter times 3.7854) divided by pesos per dollar

Using an exchange rate of 12 pesos per dollar, the cost of unleaded regular gasoline is (drum roll, please) $2.93 a gallon.

If that sounds like great news, then you probably spend a lot of time in your car. However, you don’t have to drive very much in Merida. Many who live in the centro find themselves walking more, and if you need to make a quick trip to the mall or the Mercado, you can always find a taxi, combi or bus to take you there. A bus ride to anywhere costs $6 pesos (up from $5 pesos in 2008). (Find out everything you need to know about taking the bus in our article about Taking The Bus in Merida). A typical taxi ride costs about $30-35 pesos (up from $25-30 in 2008). And in many cases, what you need – groceries, prescription drugs, dry cleaning – can be delivered to your home at no additional cost.

Auto Insurance

It is your civil responsibility in Mexico to carry auto insurance. A policy to cover everything your vehicle does to others, but without coverage to yourself, will cost you about $2,000 pesos a year. The cost of total coverage depends on the kind of vehicle you have. For our ten year old SUV, the cost for car insurance is $7,000 pesos, which is about $585 USD a year.

Telephone

Like everywhere else in the world, your telephone options are mind-boggling. And even though Telmex (and its little cellular brother Telcel)  is still the monopoly of old (oops! did we say ‘monopoly’? Carlos Slim would not be happy with us…), it has been increasingly forced to compete with other companies, if not in price, at least in features. You may want to compare offerings from Axtel, Telefonica, Movistar, IUSACELL, and others (not to mention VoIP options) before making any decisions, but you could find yourself spending a significant part of your life shopping telephone service.

If your new or restored home has never enjoyed telephone service, you’ll need to order a line from Telmex. This process has been known to take weeks and costs about $2,000 pesos. After that, basic service is $200 pesos a month, which includes 100 local calls. Additional calls are $1.50 pesos flat rate (They used to be $4.50 pesos flat rate… a price that has gone DOWN since 2008!).

If you want to upgrade your Telmex service, there are several options. For about $400 pesos a month (it used to be $600 pesos in 2008), you can order “Telmex 1000” service, which includes the 100 local calls, 100 minutes of long distance within Mexico and a 1 MB broadband Internet connection with wireless router. For twice the bandwidth and unlimited long distance calls within Mexico, you can order “Telmex Without Limits”, which costs around $990 pesos (it used to be $1,100 pesos) per month.

Television

Most Yucatecos of every economic persuasion own a television. What’s more, you can watch television while waiting in line at the bank, having your hair done, strolling down the aisle of your supermarket, riding in a taxi, or having your teeth cleaned. At many drinking establishments, you’ll be greeted by at least half a dozen flat panel televisions encircling the bar overhead. Yucatecos love television.

There are several local broadcast channels you can watch for free, but most people purchase a cable or satellite service. The cable provider in Merida is CableMAS. They offer various packages of different local, national, sports, movie and pay-per-view channels. They also offer Internet services. Basic service with 26 channels and a 1 MB Internet connection (in 2008, it was only a 256 Kb Internet connection) still costs $350 pesos per month.

In 2008, the only real option for satellite service was from SKY, (famously pronounced, esk-EYE here,) a part of Rupert Murdoch’s global news and entertainment empire. A few years back, they purchased Hughes DirectTV, eliminating the competition at the time. In 2011, a standard SKY package costs $250 pesos per month (down from $400 pesos per month in 2008), but includes more channels than the basic cable package. For about $650 pesos (this price has not changed), you can have nearly all available channels, including familiar movie channels like HBO, Cinemax and Showtime, along with news from Fox, CNN, BBC and Bloomberg. Other English language channels include Discovery, TLC, National Geographic, Warner and E! In 2011, we have another satellite service available in Merida, Dish TV, which is offered through your Telmex account. For a cost of $150 pesos per TV you can have access to more than 40 channels. For all access, you will pay about $400 pesos per month, and enjoy more than 60 channels.

The Cost of Health Care

Like everything else in Mexico, there are multiple socio-economic levels of health care, ranging from free to affordable. If you opt for free or co-paid government-sponsored services, you may have to wait longer and the conditions will be less agreeable. If you choose a private hospital, you will pay more but will be treated to world-class facilities.

There are also several, affordable health insurance options that will take the sting out of any expensive procedures or chronic conditions. For example, our health insurance is multinational, which means it covers costs anywhere in the world. Being rather young and healthy, and because routine health care in Mexico won’t bust our budget, we chose a high deductible plan ($5,000 dollars) that costs about $1,400 per person annually (in 2008, it cost $1,200 dollars per person annually). Emergency services are not subject to the deductible, so we recently received a claim of $68 dollars for an emergency room visit here in Merida involving a sprained ankle. If you want to live like a local, you can sign up for health insurance through IMSS, the Mexican health care system. There are age and other restrictions, but if you qualify, that insurance will run you about $300 USD per year.

We have written several articles about our medical experiences in Yucatan, as have others (look in our Health Section), and there are plenty of sources of information on the Internet about this subject, so we won’t elaborate here. In short, there is very good healthcare available in Mexico and it is surprisingly inexpensive compared to Gringolandia. In addition to great prices, we have found that there are none more patient or gentle than Mexican healthcare workers. Many medications can be purchased without a prescription (although that is no longer true of antibiotics or some other commonly abused drugs). We recently surveyed the prices of some basic dental and medical services, and here is what we found:

Dentistry (in 2011, prices taken from www.yucatandental.com, Dr. Jesus Sanchez)
Dental implant: $13,000 pesos
Porcelain crown: $260-350 USD (was $2,000 pesos in 2008)
Root Canal: $180-260 USD (Was $1,200-1,700 pesos in 2008)

Ophthalmology
Cataract Surgery: $15,000-17,000 pesos per eye.
Reflective Surgery (Eximer Laser): $15,000-17,000 pesos per eye

One Hour Doctor Visit
$400-600 pesos per visit

Blood Tests (in 2011, prices taken from Biomedicos, the leading local laboratory)
Hematology: $132 pesos (was $100 pesos)
Cholesterol: $82 pesos (was $70 pesos)
Glucose: $82 pesos (was $50 pesos)
Uric acid: $82 pesos (was $60 pesos)
Hepatic test: $396 pesos (Was $350 pesos)
Triglyceride: $88 pesos (was $70 pesos)
Urea: $82 pesos (was $60 pesos)

Glucose, colesterol and uric acid tests together cost $421 pesos , with an additional $65 pesos if they come to your home. (In 2008, a complete blood test taken at your home, including reports was $750 pesos)

Urine Test: $78 pesos (was $80 pesos)

Medicines
Advil (12): $32 pesos (was $20 pesos)
Aspirin (40): $24 pesos (was $20 pesos)
Insuline (10ml): $600 pesos
Pedialite (500ml): $25 pesos
Prozac (28): $700 pesos
Tabcin (12): $37 pesos (was $20 pesos)
Tafil (Xanax) (90): $750 pesos
Viagra (1): $170 pesos (was $150 pesos. Also, there are now generic options, starting at $80 pesos per pill)

Groceries

Food is where the choice of lifestyle really kicks in. But again, the range is broad, and you can eat well for very little if you choose to eat local cuisine.  As our article on grocery shopping explains, there are a variety of places to shop for groceries, and as any walk or drive through the city will show you, an almost infinite number of places to eat. You can check out the Merida Restaurants section of this website for a never-complete-but-always-trying list of restaurants in Merida, with approximate price levels when we know them, as well as hours, addresses, directions and reviews.

So, let’s talk about groceries. A recent trip to various grocery stores resulted in this informal price survey, with 2008 prices in parentheses:

Coke 500 ml:                                                               $6.5 pesos ($ .60 USD)
Loaf of 540 grs. multigrain bread:                              $24 pesos ($20 pesos)
Box of whole milk:                                                     $15 pesos ($13.50 pesos)
Box of 510 grs. Special K Cereal:                              $42 pesos ($37.40 pesos)
Tomatoes per pound:                                                  $12 pesos ($12 pesos)
Haas avocados per kg:                                                $12 pesos ($12 pesos)
Papaya per kg:                                                             $10 pesos ($ 5.5 pesos)
Bananas per kg:                                                           $9 pesos ($4.9 pesos)
Granny Smith Apples per kg:                                     $28 pesos ($18 pesos)
Mexican limones per kg: $5-10 pesos (We just added these to the list this year)
Philadelphia cream cheese                                          $22.50 pesos ($22.58 pesos)
Bag of 3 kg (6.6 lb) cat chow:                                   $92 pesos ($86 pesos)
Can of Purina cat chow:                                             $8 pesos ($8pesos)
Bag of 4 kg (8.8 lb) Purina Dog Chow:                     $110 pesos ($99 pesos)
Arm and Hammer (1.36 Gal.) Laundry Soap :          $100 pesos ($84.50 pesos)
Generic (1 kg) (2.20 lb) ;Laundry Soap:                     $19 pesos ($15 pesos)
Instant (100grs.) Nescafe:                                           $42 pesos ($30 pesos)
Pound of sugar:                                                           $8 pesos ($5 pesos)
Absolut Vodka (750 ml):                                            $195 pesos ($195 pesos)
Whole Chicken (3.50 lb):                                            $55 pesos ($ 42.80 pesos)
A bag of charcoal (large):                                           $35 pesos ($32.02 pesos)
Pack of Marlboro’s at OXXO or similar: $38 pesos ($25 pesos)>

Carton of Marlboro’s at Costco:                                 $350 pesos ($261 pesos)

Prices Vary by Season and Store

Now, keep in mind that some of these products come from the United States, so the prices are probably higher here. A note about tomatoes, which are NOT from the United States. Tomatoes are cheaper in the local markets, but mostly the cost varies by the season. Tomatoes can go as low as $8 pesos per kilo, or as high as $30 pesos per kilo, depending on the season. Coffee is grown in Mexico, so as long as you don’t insist on an American brand, you can find it cheaper. And it will be even cheaper (and probably better) if you have time to go to one of the coffee shops downtown and have it ground right there for you. Chickens are locally raised, as are pigs and turkeys. But beef can be more expensive, especially if you go for the Argentinian beef that is not raised in the Yucatan. Prices of anything grown or raised locally will be even lower if you go to the local mercados, and even lower at the central mercado.

Of course, the savings in price has to be weighed against the time and money it costs to run to all those different places to get everything you need. It definitely is cheaper to eat local foods from local stores and shop in local markets.

Dining Out

You’ll find everything from taco stands to fast food outlets to gourmet restaurants in Merida. If you live in a major urban area in the States or in Canada, you’ll probably find fewer foreign food choices here, such as Thai or Indian restaurants. A new exotic restaurant (anything from Asia, basically) is always cause for celebration among Merida expatriates. Often those restaurants do not last long, and at this writing in 2008, they are still hard to find.

A meal at Burger King costs about $55 pesos, more than the kids working there make in a day (but that’s another story). A taco at the Wayan’e taco stand costs $7 pesos and a drink $10 pesos, and we’ve never met someone who didn’t rave about the food. A hamburger at Hennessys Irish Pub in Merida costs $95 pesos, and meals at any upscale restaurant can run from $120 pesos up to and over $300 pesos. A martini runs from $70 pesos up to about $120 pesos, depending on the restaurant, and that price has not changed in three years.

Again, you can spend as much or as little as you want. You decide.

Maintenance

Nearly every expat we know here has someone cleaning their house. We do too. This is an affordable service in Yucatan, and with all these tile floors, practically a necessary one. Housekeepers are paid anywhere from $125 pesos per day to $250 pesos per day, and a lunchtime meal should be included. Laundry is often not included, and some people hire specialists just to do their laundry. Those specialists charge about $150 pesos per day for cleaning and ironing. Laundry services abound, as do dry cleaners. Yucatecans are known for dressing in white and always being clean, so there is no shortage of services towards that end.

Gardening is another service that is easy to come by. Gardeners are usually paid about the same as housekeepers. Our gardener costs about $50 pesos per hour and comes once a week. There are viveros (nurseries) here that will deliver and install plants, and there are landscape consultants who will design and install a garden. They will cost a lot more than our gardener, but still probably less than in the USA or Canada.

Plumbing and electrical maintenance is also a rather constant expense. Not regularly, like a gardener, but in a tropical environment with a lot of rain, lightening and humidity, stuff happens. Whether you need a shower head replaced or a hose bib somewhere where you didn’t have it before, or a new tinaco on the roof or a whole new kitchen, plumbing services will run you about $50-75 pesos an hour. Electrical is sometimes done by the same people, but more and more we are finding specialists who just do electrical work. And usually, they don’t charge by the hour, but by the job. You describe the problem and they quote a price that doesn’t include materials. You pay for materials up front, which they will purchase and return with your receipt. The obra de mano (the work that they do) is paid for when the job is done.

Painters are another type of worker you might end up seeing every couple of years. Our painter charges us $24 pesos per square meter, plus materials.

A typical expatriate-targeted handyman service still costs about $150 pesos an hour plus supplies. You can hire them to do anything from ironwork to painting to plumbing and electrical repair. You can usually find a local guy in your neighborhood with the same sort of offering for less (maybe $50 pesos per hour or $150 pesos per day), but he typically will have less knowledge about the type of quality you are expecting.

Tipping

La propina is a very important part of the Mexican economy, and it behooves one to carry a pocketful of coins wherever you go. We keep a stash in the car at all times. If you drive and consequently find yourself parking somewhere, you are bound to run across a little (usually old) man with a red cloth who will guide you into your parking space as if you were a returning 747 at a major airport. He will expect a tip when you get out or when you return. After grocery shopping (where it is customary to tip the person who bags your groceries), you can expect those same guys in the parking lot to help you with your groceries (especially if you are a woman) and they should also be tipped. Waiters, of course, should be tipped (the normal 15-20%, depending on the level of service). People who make home deliveries should be tipped. Anyone who helps you through your day should be tipped. 5 pesos here, 10 pesos  there. It adds up, but not to very much. It helps grease the economic skids, and it is an important part of some workers’ income. So when in doubt, tip!

A Random Price List

Here’s a smattering of prices for other things you might find yourself buying on a semi-regular basis. Feel free to add to this list in the Comments section!

Purified water 4.4 Gal: $22 pesos ($20 pesos)
Spanish lesson: $250 pesos per private class
Movie theater ticket: $61 pesos, on average (Now some complexes offer senior discounts, and the prices are different in each cinema complex. Prices range from $50 pesos to $70 pesos, with VIP tickets ranging from $80 to $100 pesos, and 3D movies from $70 to $100 pesos. Of course, the most expensive ticket is the VIP 3D movie, ranging from $70 to $130 pesos. In some movie theaters there is a discount for seniors at $46 pesos.
Santiago’s movie theatre ticket: $30 pesos ($25 pesos) (this is the cheapest movie ticket in Merida for a first run movie)
VIP Lounge ticket (barcalounger seats): $80 pesos ($80 pesos)
1 liter bottle of fresh-squeezed orange juice: $20 pesos ($12 pesos)

Official Disclaimers

Yes, we know. Somewhere in this article, we paid too much for something. Elsewhere, maybe we misquoted the price we most recently paid. We do not have a full-time accountant or economist on the payroll, but we do what we can. This article is not intended to be an exact accounting of our expenses here. It is intended to communicate the idea that living a thrifty lifestyle is more easily achieved in Yucatan than in many parts of the so-called developed world (looking at you, California!). But your mileage may vary. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. And in the end, the savings you take is equal to the effort you make.

As always, and especially on this article, we and all the other readers welcome your comments. This has always been a very popular article and there are a lot of comments. Read them for more information, and then add yours!

Editor’s Note: By December 2011, every car driving in the state of Yucatan must have a copy of Ley de Tránsito y Vialidad del Estado de Yucatán y Su Reglamento in the car. Failure to have a copy of this book will result in a fine. The Yucatan Expatriate Services (YES) offices (www.yucatanyes.com) are stocking copies of the book and they can be picked up there for a cost of $50 pesos. Because this is an important update to the Road Rules of Yucatan, we feel it is a good idea to remind our readers of these rules, the requirement of the book, and the way to obtain one.

Yucatan has just become an even more interesting place to drive!

Yucatan "Rules of the Road"

Yucatan’s legislature passed a new law in February 2011, with a set of rules that takes a mere 288 pages to describe. A brief scan of Yucatan’s new "Rules of the Road" offers definitions of cars, passengers, pedestrians, underpasses, and even fire hydrants, with additional sections on who is allowed to install topes, what you are supposed to keep in your Emergency Road Kit, approved types of cellular phone usage and another 250 or so odd pages on baby seats, helmets, insurance requirements, emissions testing and drug testing. We now have laws governing everything from "no red lights on top of your car" to the red lights required for night-time use as part of your emergency kit, and from fire extinguishers to fines based on one-hundred times the Minimum Wage.

There is even a whole section on the special officers in Bright Yellow Vests who will help guide us through the first 180 days of Yucatan’s plan for implementing the key points of the new road rules, in what looks to be a lifetime’s worth of Spanish-English translations of legalese.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road Rules

So what we all want to know is the nitty gritty, the details, where the rubber meets the road (especially this one!), where the tough get going while the meek go home, whether to run with the big dogs or stay on the porch, to be or not to be… yes, there are a lot of questions, and that is only one of them.

After reading it through, we think this is the bottom line: There are so many details in this 288-page law that it staggers the mind to imagine any single article like this one that could accurately and completely describe and condense what may be as many as 4,050 details that are catalogued here.
Frankly, there are so many requirements and miniscule details covering Peritos (the name for the special police officer that comes out to investigate auto accidents. These officers are specially trained and work for SSPPE del Gobierno del Estado de Yucatan) to peatones (pedestrians), that Yucatecan officers could study for a year to learn just one half of the rules they are supposed to enforce. Not to mention that it could take a decade to get a state full of laid-back Yucatecans to comply.

Where Do We Start?

What does a rational person do in this case? Ask the experts! In a search for what things are important, which are urgent, and just how we can eat the elephant, we decided to evaluate Diario de Yucatan‘s interviews of a number of Yucatecan officials on the subject. We have also reviewed the document to bring out the features we think will affect expatriate drivers.

We have gleaned the important bits that Yucatecan officials chose to discuss in interviews with the Diario de Yucatan and some of the Diario’s expert’s opinions expressed in a series of articles starting on Feb. 15, 2011 – June 22 – June 23 – June 25, 2011.

Key Points

In no particular order, the following is a list of the key requirements and parameters that have been reported and evaluated in the past week:

1. The law prohibits and punishes drivers who talk on their cell phones without using hands-free sets. Fines range from $1,000 to $1,400 pesos. (p. 283)
2. Children under five (5) years of age must be buckled into car-seats placed in the back seat of the car (officially: Silla Porta-Infante or Silla Porta-bebé). (Article 48, p. 30)
3. Children weighing 10 kg (22 lbs) or less must use car-seats that face backwards (away from the direction of travel).
4. Vehicles must have an insurance policy for at least Responsabilidad Civil coverage for injuries caused to third parties and their property, and each vehicle shall get a hologram window sticker that proves that they have an insurance policy in force. (Articles 104 & 105, p. 58)
5. Vehicles will be required to get an annual emissions test. Vehicles that pass will be given a hologram window sticker. (Article 103, p. 58) Careful readers may note that this means each valid vehicle will ultimately display 3 Yucatecan stickers that are renewed annually, and there are further rules dictating where the stickers must be placed.
6. Drivers are prohibited from holding other people or animals while driving and are prohibited from doing any other activity that distracts them from driving. (Article 197, p. 96)
7. Drivers may not wear headphones/earphones and no blowing the horn excessively, especially in front of public places. (Article 197, p. 96)
8. Motorcyclists shall wear helmets and people in cars shall wear seatbelts.
9. Only government officials are allowed to install topes. (p. 272)
10. There are different categories of infractions, ranging from Warnings (Amonestacion o Apercibimiento p. 246) up to Serious Infractions (Sanciones Graves pp. 282-286) The serious infractions like excessive speeding (30% over the limit), driving while intoxicated, and driving with a revoked license can result in the driver being arrested on the spot and be assessed 16-100 days of minimum salary penalties. ($1,000 pesos – $7,000 pesos). (See Annexo 1, pp. 246-286 for a catalog of all the infractions in a beautiful tabular format)
11. It is illegal for drivers to refuse drug or alcohol testing, and drug and alcohol use are prohibited inside vehicles on the public roads. (Article 279, p. 128)
12. There is a new State Registry Department for Vehicular Control (Registro Estatal de Control Vehicular), responsible for planning and implementation of traffic requirements on all public roads.
    It will:
    • Maintain a registry of all Yucatán-licensed vehicles, including title changes, losses, thefts, or destruction
    • Issue provisional permits to drive without license plates
    • Issue learner’s permits and driver’s licenses
    • Register commercial drivers or firms who offer passenger or freight services, including taxis, tow trucks, or vehicles for disabled people
    • Confiscate vehicles as determined by the competent authority.
13. Only police cars and official emergency vehicles are allowed to install or use a blue or red light on top of the vehicle roof or have or use a siren. (Article 447, p. 223)
14. New driver’s licenses will display the driver’s approval to be an organ donor. (Article 128. p. 57)
15. Owners must register their vehicle purchases within 30 days of the purchase. (Article 110, p. 60)
16. Advertising materials of any kind are prohibited from being attached to a vehicle.
17. Double-tinted or multiple-tinted or smoked windows are not permitted.
18. Vehicles must carry safety equipment including: Fire Extinguishers, Traffic- Cones/Reflective Triangles/Flags for daytime markers, and lights for night-time markers. (Secc. 9, p. 30)
19. No unauthorized street drag racing is permitted.
20. Radar detectors and all mechanisms and systems used for the purpose of eluding the police or enforcement of infractions are prohibited.
21. Vehicles are prohibited from driving with more people than can be properly seated in seats.
22. The total number of people traveling on a bicycle or motorcycle cannot exceed the number of seats or the number of seats listed on the tarjeta de circulacion (registration card).
23. It is prohibited to drive a vehicle with packages or objects that obstruct the view to the front, the sides or the rear of the vehicle.
24. Front, side and back windows must be clear (transparent), shatter-proof, and without breaks or cracks. (Article 42, p. 28)
25. Circular zigzagueando is now clearly prohibited. (No weaving!) Article 197, p. 97)

Enforcement

During the 180 day start-up period, drivers found guilty of minor infractions will be given two free warnings, issued by those special yellow-vested officers. The 180 day start-up period ends around December 22, 2011 and is intended to give people time to understand the law, equip their vehicles with seat belts, buy child seats, and do the other things they need to do to comply to the new laws.

After the two free warnings, the new fines increase with each repeated infraction. Serious infractions have fines starting at $1000 pesos per infraction and going up to just under $6000 pesos for the third infraction.

Speed Limits

In the law, there is also a posting of speed limits, which is something we all need to know and pay attention to. The following are the speed limits that will be enforced when there are no signs posted:

• Typical State highways: 80 kph & 60 kph (maximum/minimum) (50 mph/37 mph)
• Chicxulub-Uaymitun: 90 kph & 70 kph (maximum/minimum) (56 mph/43 mph)
• Merida’s Periferico: Center and left lanes: 90 kph & 70 kph (maximum/minimum)(56 mph/43 mph)
• Merida’s Periferico: Right lane: 80 kph & 60 kph (maximum/minimum) (50 mph/37 mph
• Cargo vehicles are only allowed to use the right lane of the Periferico.
• Divided Avenues & Primary trafficways: 60 kph & 40 kph (maximum/minimum) (37 mph/25 mph)
• Calles: 40 kph & 20 kph (maximum/minimum)(25 mph/12 mph)
• Hospital, school, and church zones (and meeting hall zones when marked): 20 kph (12 mph)

Stay Tuned

We certainly hope that the 180-day transition period goes well, and that this tome of new “Rules of the Road” improves driving conditions, making for even safer travels on our fine Yucatecan motorways. We also cannot help but notice that most of these new rules are rules that have been in effect in the United States and Canada for a long time, and should be no trouble for expats to comply with. One more note… this article is meant as a public service announcement, not as legal advice, and it will be updated as understandings and interpretations of the new law develop. You may also want to read the more detailed rundown of the major rules and penalties on the Yucatan Expatriate Services website, New Yucatan Road Rules.