How much does it cost for a housekeeper or maid in Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?
Mirna Segura - Ajijic Rentals
Housekeepers in Chapala and Ajijic charge between 45 to 55 pesos an hour ($2.50 to $3 an hour). How long they stay in your house depends on you but in general, housekeepers spend about 4 hours to clean a medium-sized house, and they do a good job.
There are times when the homeowners need to go on vacation, for example, and they want the housekeeper to stay in their house while they are gone. Usually if you want a housekeeper to look after your house,...
Housekeepers in Chapala and Ajijic charge between 45 to 55 pesos an hour ($2.50 to $3 an hour). How long they stay in your house depends on you but in general, housekeepers spend about 4 hours to clean a medium-sized house, and they do a good job.
There are times when the homeowners need to go on vacation, for example, and they want the housekeeper to stay in their house while they are gone. Usually if you want a housekeeper to look after your house, people pay around 200 pesos or 300 pesos per day ($11 to $17 per day) if the housekeeper needs to feed the dog or the cat. For staying in the house while they are gone, some people would pay more or on top of what they pay their housekeepers for cleaning and some wouldn’t.
(Rental that allows dogs, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)
How much rain does Ambergris Caye get? When is the Rainy Season and the Dry Season in Ambergris Caye and what is it like?
Allan Lima
Ambergris Caye has very unpredictable weather. We have a sub-tropical climate, which means that the weather can be very beautiful at one point of the day and then all of a sudden, a cloud will come and it pours. Then the cloud will go away and it will be beautiful again. That is the kind of weather that we have.
Rainy season officially starts with hurricane season, which is from June 1st to December 1st. In January this year, when the US was having...
Ambergris Caye has very unpredictable weather. We have a sub-tropical climate, which means that the weather can be very beautiful at one point of the day and then all of a sudden, a cloud will come and it pours. Then the cloud will go away and it will be beautiful again. That is the kind of weather that we have.
Rainy season officially starts with hurricane season, which is from June 1st to December 1st. In January this year, when the US was having cold fronts with a lot of snow, Belize got a little tip of that weather. We got a cool air coming in. The lowest would be about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The average weather in Ambergris Caye is around 80 degrees, so going down to 60 degrees is a little cold for us. It also still rains a little, but we still get beautiful weather during the day.
How are the rules of etiquette or customs different in Panama?
Lourdes Townshend
Etiquette and rules in Panamá
Panamá is unique when comes to etiquette and rules, in every way. And the reason is that since the 15th century, Panamá is, by excellence, the path of the "Américas" and to the world, a tradition that keeps until the present day, in the 21st century.
Many foreigners consider the Panamanian and Latin women very beautiful. But, in all honesty, I can relate...
Etiquette and rules in Panamá
Panamá is unique when comes to etiquette and rules, in every way. And the reason is that since the 15th century, Panamá is, by excellence, the path of the "Américas" and to the world, a tradition that keeps until the present day, in the 21st century.
Many foreigners consider the Panamanian and Latin women very beautiful. But, in all honesty, I can relate that this is because they put a special "touch" in the way they dress, or make every move; very delicate, feminine and with a very special code of dress, always in style.
Panamanian, as well as all Latin American women, take pride in being gentle, and make their best effort to always look nice, especially in the afternoons, when very often they make plans to go out with their husband, friends or relatives. Even if they go only with their children, they also take care of their children's dress code.
Latin American people are very social and love parties. They don´t need any excuse to make one. If there is no reason, they invent one; but the idea is to have fun. No matter where they are-- in the city, country, mountain or beach, they always find a way to get together with neighbors and have good time.
Regarding different customs in Panamá, you may ask, "Compared to what?".
If you go to Europe, people are very culture- oriented and more formal. In Asia, they take extremely good care of their seniors. In Africa, tribes have their very own traditions based in the customs of their ancestry. In Oceania they have their very own way of life.
So, you ask. "What is it like in Panamá"?
Well, Panamá, as I said before, is unique. Their people are warm and caring. They will help you in any way they can, no matter if they know you or not, as long as you are not rude to them, and you make an effort to speak any word of their language. They will giggle and try to understand. This is especially true in the "interior" (or countryside), where more of the people are farmers, but also in all the modern resorts spread out through the country and in the expats communities.
In the city almost everyone speaks English, and the city is very modern and cosmopolitan. In the city you will find anything and everything, like a "mini New York City".
Yes, we do not expect to be a super city... there are some aspects to take in consideration, like sometimes, due to city budgets, garbage is not picked enough; or the streets are not signed the way they should be; or the traffic is heavy because of the numerous cars in the streets. But great things make Panamá great, like the very new "metro" in the city; our singular Panamá Canal (which is one of the Eight Wonders of the World); our beautiful train from Panamá to Colón, and wonderful fishing, water rafting, scuba diving and all kinds of outdoor adventure opportunities. Ahh... and what to say about our great abundance of birds, rainforests and plants, which are unique in the world?
Regarding folklore, Panamá has an enormous tradition of beauty and elegance. We have all kinds of dresses throughout the country, and a singular "pollera" (our national dress), that are handmade, and sometimes take up to three years to make, and for which, complete with jewelry, the price could go up to $20,000 (US dollars). And what about the beautiful congo dances in Colón? All that, because of the "crisol de razas" (crucible of races) that is Panamá. We have beautiful things brought from every corner of the world, just ready to share with our visitors.
Food costs in the Algarve are cheap compared to most other countries in Europe. Here there is an abundance of locally grown fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and good quality meat. Many of the products are produced or farmed locally and sold in the towns’ markets, which are friendly and delightful to shop in. This means that the fresh food is not only cheaper, it lasts longer and is more environmentally friendly. It is noticeable that all my guests who come from outside Portugal...
Food costs in the Algarve are cheap compared to most other countries in Europe. Here there is an abundance of locally grown fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and good quality meat. Many of the products are produced or farmed locally and sold in the towns’ markets, which are friendly and delightful to shop in. This means that the fresh food is not only cheaper, it lasts longer and is more environmentally friendly. It is noticeable that all my guests who come from outside Portugal comment on the amazing taste and flavor of the food, something that as a foodie I enjoy immensely but have come to take for granted.
A loaf of Portuguese white bread costs around €0.80c (about 90 US cents or .6 British pounds), a liter of milk (a quart) cost €0.90c (about one US dollar or .7 British pounds), sliced cheese is around €3.00 per pound (about US $3.40 or 2.3 British pounds), smoked ham is €4.00 per pound (about US $4.50 or 3 British pounds) and free range chicken is around €1.50 a pound (about US $1.70 or 1.2 British pounds). Beer and wine are also produced locally so it is possible to buy a good quality bottle of wine (red or white) in the supermarket for under €5.00 (about US $6.80 or under 4 British pounds).
Most definitely you can buy furniture in Nicaragua. If you're on a budget, you could possibly furnish a three bedroom house with a washer and dryer for a couple of thousand dollars.
High-end furniture will cost you more obviously.
If you look around, you can find some wonderful dark wood furniture made by Nicaraguan furniture makers for reasonable prices.
Most definitely you can buy furniture in Nicaragua. If you're on a budget, you could possibly furnish a three bedroom house with a washer and dryer for a couple of thousand dollars.
High-end furniture will cost you more obviously.
If you look around, you can find some wonderful dark wood furniture made by Nicaraguan furniture makers for reasonable prices.
Making a list of the worst places to retire is a different process than listing the best places because the best are all about you. We can think about this by looking at people's jobs, for example. One guy is an artist, and the other is a lawyer. Each could say that their job is the best job for them. They're not going to be able to interchange jobs very easily, for the most part. That's why picking a country is so intertwined with your personality, your goals, and your...
Making a list of the worst places to retire is a different process than listing the best places because the best are all about you. We can think about this by looking at people's jobs, for example. One guy is an artist, and the other is a lawyer. Each could say that their job is the best job for them. They're not going to be able to interchange jobs very easily, for the most part. That's why picking a country is so intertwined with your personality, your goals, and your budget.
The country I put on my list as one of the worst places to retire is Russia because it's expensive to live there, it's cold, and they a lot of laws and rules. Legislation could change and everybody would have to leave. Lately, there are a lot of Russians who want to leave their country and go somewhere else for a better cost of living and a better climate.
Other worst places to retire would include be anywhere that is prohibitively expensive, really cold or otherwise have a bad climate, a drought like some places in Africa, somewhere where it's going to be uncomfortable and also places that are not safe. There are a few places that are probably obvious that you wouldn't want to go, which would include anywhere where there's a war, or there's terrorist or militants or is politically unstable. Those would not be ideal places to settle down. These would include a lot countries in Africa or the Middle East. For example, I've never been to the UAE but I'm always reading articles about foreigners getting arrested for doing things like posting a photo on Facebook or doing something that we normally classify as nothing to be concerned about. I would personally not want to go to a place where I would be afraid that by living my daily life I would somehow break one of their laws. I wouldn't want to go to a place where there is a lot of oppression of women, for example.
I would think like you're pretty good choosing almost anywhere in the Americas, but you're going to want to stay away from the places with the highest crime rate, such as Honduras and Guatemala. I know people love Guatemala. There are so many beautiful things about it but it's not the safest place to go compared to the other options that you have. In Mexico, for example, there's a clear division of cities that are safer to go to than others.
You want to consider the cost of living, the climate, and safety. You should probably be more cautious in choosing most of the countries in the Middle East, many of the countries in Africa and probably not countries like Honduras that have a high murder rate. Try to avoid places like that. For the most part, anywhere else is going to be okay as long as it's set within your criteria for your ideal life and your budget.
(With the Poker Stars on the Isle of Man, Kristen Wilson travels the world, pictured.)
We have just recently retired and plan to spend winters in our condo in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit. We bought the condo 3 years ago and have spent school holidays (I am a retired school teacher) setting up our condo and exploring our village and neighbourhood a little. We barely scratched the surface but look forward to learning more about the area in our 6-month trip this year!
What we have discovered, we love. The locals are so generous and accepting of us "gringos'...
These places would seem to the native inhabitants to be neglected lands of unruly bushes and trees with views that were pretty, but where one did not linger while on one’s way to somewhere else. But to Mike Cobb, these were places to turn into communities with a network of pathways close to the cool porches of neighbors one would regularly visit.
In this interview, Jet Metier learns that though not a builder by training or a developer by plan, Mike Cobb...
BANKING-- despite all their assurances that you have set up all the correct procedures and accounts, there WILL be problems. Not in your host country, but 'back home'. These will take the form of excessive fees, limitations on the maximum allowed currency, changes in their regulations, both Governmental and internal bank rules, staff changes, lock-outs for internet transactions and many, many others.
Should you try snail mail it may take weeks of effort; I once took a certified bank check wih...