How much does it cost for a gardener in Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc?
Iona Chamberlin - Hacienda San Pedro Nohpat
A gardener in Yucatan who works for 8 hours a day would charge 200 pesos (US $9.50) a day. You can hire a full time gardener in Yucatan who will work for 48 hours a week (6 days) for 1,000 pesos ($50) a week.
If you hire a full time staff in Mexico, you have to put them on some Seguro, which is the social system in Mexico that gives the workers a pension and medical insurance. The cost of Seguro for the employer is about 1,100 pesos ($52) a month per...
A gardener in Yucatan who works for 8 hours a day would charge 200 pesos (US $9.50) a day. You can hire a full time gardener in Yucatan who will work for 48 hours a week (6 days) for 1,000 pesos ($50) a week.
If you hire a full time staff in Mexico, you have to put them on some Seguro, which is the social system in Mexico that gives the workers a pension and medical insurance. The cost of Seguro for the employer is about 1,100 pesos ($52) a month per employee, and you also have to have a tax number or an RFC number to sign up for Seguro.
Seguro is a form of the Seguro Popular system. Seguro is like what we have in Canada with Canada’s pension plan). Seguro is a benefit system that provides security for workers, but if you just need somebody to show up once a week, you can just hire somebody local for 200 pesos ($9.50) a day.
The rules in Mexico are universal. Everybody is entitled, like in Canada, to have a social benefit program, and most people try to not pay into it, but the consequences of that can cost you $500 - $1,000. If you have any employee, you’re required to put them in that system. Most people don’t, if their employees are hired only once a week. Many people try and avoid that system because they don’t want to pay the cost of the security for having the employee.
If someone gets caught not paying for Seguro, the workers can ask for back compensation, holiday pay, Christmas bonuses, and vacation days. There’s a system in place for employers that don’t pay benefits for their employees.
(Iona Chamberlain working in her hacienda garden, outside of Merida, Mexico, pictured.)
How's the nightlife and entertainment in and around Placencia, Belize?
Tamrah Lozano
There is a lot of nightlife in Placencia. You will find something happening seven days a week in Placencia village. We have various bars and clubs. We have events like karaoke and dance. On weekends, they have DJs so there’s music and dancing. The beach bars are open until 12 midnight.
The bars serve various original food and recipies. One of the most popular bars is The Tipsy Tuna. There is a local bar here called the Charles Bar....
There is a lot of nightlife in Placencia. You will find something happening seven days a week in Placencia village. We have various bars and clubs. We have events like karaoke and dance. On weekends, they have DJs so there’s music and dancing. The beach bars are open until 12 midnight.
The bars serve various original food and recipies. One of the most popular bars is The Tipsy Tuna. There is a local bar here called the Charles Bar. It is on the main road as well. We also have karaoke bars and restaurants here. Karaoke is a big thing in Belize.
There are some live music venues on the beachfront. The type of music depends on the crowd that goes there but you will commonly hear R&B, hip-hop, Caribbean dance, house, reggae, etc. So you can go dancing any time you want to.
As far as other types of entertainment, we do not have a movie house in Placencia but we do have a bowling alley on the peninsula in Maya Beach.
Well... in my case I had little choice- my preferred country, Australia has become too expensive for me so I had to find somewhere that made my meager pension and savings go further. The argument that everywhere else is as costly as 'home' is false.
Originally my motivations were better prospects, warmer weather that cured my chest infections and a better future for my kids. These are universal motivations, surely? Therefore I find some...
Well... in my case I had little choice- my preferred country, Australia has become too expensive for me so I had to find somewhere that made my meager pension and savings go further. The argument that everywhere else is as costly as 'home' is false.
Originally my motivations were better prospects, warmer weather that cured my chest infections and a better future for my kids. These are universal motivations, surely? Therefore I find some of the comments a bit wide of the mark.
Besides that, I felt I had become a burden to my 'family' and this would get worse, meaning I'd be ever more dependent. At 70 this was not an option. The ME age has been hard for most older people. So I live in exile, really- and I'm not alone in this.
How's the kayaking, rafting, and canoeing in and around Algarve?
Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living
Rafting is not great in the Algarve because there are not steep and fast flowing rivers here. Kayaking and canoeing, however, are good.
We have two, large navigable courses in Algarve, the Guadiana River on the border with Spain, which is the largest, and the Arade River, which comes down from the mountains and flows into the sea between Portimão and Ferragudo. Those are fantastic courses because they are quite flat and there are a number of courses along the...
Rafting is not great in the Algarve because there are not steep and fast flowing rivers here. Kayaking and canoeing, however, are good.
We have two, large navigable courses in Algarve, the Guadiana River on the border with Spain, which is the largest, and the Arade River, which comes down from the mountains and flows into the sea between Portimão and Ferragudo. Those are fantastic courses because they are quite flat and there are a number of courses along the shores where you can stop your car and load your canoe into the water and paddle from there and back. There are also a number of inlets, which allow you to do even more sheltered canoeing.
There is also a fantastic picnic spot, where there is a boat ramp called Sítio das Fontes, in municipality of Lagoa. This is a wonderful place to take your family out for a picnic and take your kayak or canoe and go out from there even with the youngsters so you could teach them to kayak or canoe for the first time. There is no difficulty or risk of being on a big river.
The Arade River, which is used for the canoeing and kayaking, is also used for jet skis. The daughter of an Italian family that settled in the Algarve was the world champion jet skier for I believe 3 years in a row and she trained on Arade River, so it is big enough for this kind of activity. In the estuary at Portimão, the World Series powerboat competition is held once a year. They come to Algarve every year and people come to the banks to see these very powerful boats on the edge as they drive around the estuary and the river.
In addition to the jet skiing, here is calm kayaking on these rivers. You will see the people paddling up and down from a number of the beaches such as the Batata Beach in Lagos, the Dona Ana Beach in Lagos as well, and others that often have kayaks for rent. On a calm day you can paddle along the coastline and go into the caves and onto the little inlets of the coast. 99% of all kayaking and paddling here in the Algarve is of the quiet type.
There is also some kayaking on the southeast of the Algarve, but strangely enough, not as much as in other areas. The reason is that the whole estuary area called Ria de Tavira, which has low lying islands, sand banks, and the like, is very large and the distances are quite great. You would find that most of the people who explore the river in this area do so in small, motorized boats.
What's the price of a home, condo or apartment in Panama?
JuliAnne Murphy - Panama Pacifico
Pricing for real estate in Panama depends on where the property is located - not just the location in the country but the location within it's community. If you want something front and center with an ocean view, you'll pay more. City view - less. Ocean front - more. More amenities close by - in the city, probably more. Do you want to live in a suburb of Panama - like Arraijan or San Miguelito, which are each 30 minutes from the city? You'll probably pay less.
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Pricing for real estate in Panama depends on where the property is located - not just the location in the country but the location within it's community. If you want something front and center with an ocean view, you'll pay more. City view - less. Ocean front - more. More amenities close by - in the city, probably more. Do you want to live in a suburb of Panama - like Arraijan or San Miguelito, which are each 30 minutes from the city? You'll probably pay less.
It also depends on the level of home or condo you wish to buy. If you want a higher level of amenities or finishes, you'll pay more than if you get a simpler interior finish or a simpler design.
Really, Panama is not much different in this way than anywhere else in the world. It's important to do your homework and list out all the things you want from a community and a home BEFORE you buy anything or even contact a real estate broker.
Dental care in Nicaragua is great! It cost me US $200 - $220 for a crown whereas in Canada it would have cost me $1,000, so having dental care in Nicaragua is a good deal. The dentist here in Nicaragua did a good job, because my crown is still doing its job after 2 or 3 years.
The dental clinic facilities and equipment in Nicaragua were almost on par with what I'm used to in Canada and the dentist in Nicaragua knew how to speak English. Honestly, I...
Dental care in Nicaragua is great! It cost me US $200 - $220 for a crown whereas in Canada it would have cost me $1,000, so having dental care in Nicaragua is a good deal. The dentist here in Nicaragua did a good job, because my crown is still doing its job after 2 or 3 years.
The dental clinic facilities and equipment in Nicaragua were almost on par with what I'm used to in Canada and the dentist in Nicaragua knew how to speak English. Honestly, I was worried at first, because I've never had any dental work done in Nicaragua before, but it went great. Everything was clean and sterilized, the service was great and cheap compared to Toronto, and the work was good. They spent hours working on my mouth, so no, definitely no complaints here.
The teeth whitening in Nicaragua cost me around $99. Surely, the cleaning would be much cheaper in Nicaragua than in Canada.
Panamá is a 90% Catholic country, and follows "Jesus is the Reason for the Season". Based on this tradition it is customary that more than Christmas trees, Panamanians focus mainly in their Nativities at home.
Since childhood, you learn how to make your own Nativity (see the YouTube at the end of this post), and take pride in making the best one you can. Wherever you go in Panama, you see different...
I titled this "My Part Time Life in Volcan" because unfortunately I can only live part of the year in Panama. I'm still in my working years in the US and I still haven't figured out how to totally check out and live in Panama full time. It isn't for a lack of trying. Thus far I am able to work in the US for about 9 months and then take 3 months off, with as much of this time in Panama as feasible, depending on the year.
Last month while visiting and exploring Boquete Panama just happened to stumble upon a very interesting investment "Factional" Coffee Farm turnkey ownership. Just so happened we arrived the day before they were conducting a guided tour to their farms and processing plant in Boquete. We signed up and got a real education about how coffee is grown, produced, roasted and marketed plus got to taste some really excellent specialty coffees.