April 2019

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”  English proverb

The above is one of my least favorite idioms. As a kid when someone would say this to me I would think, “money is made of paper and paper comes from trees so actually money DOES grow on trees.” Nobody thought my logic was very funny. Continue reading Editor’s Letter →

By Julie Etra

I have often wondered who the historical figures portrayed on Mexico’s paper currency are and why they were significant, as well as what the landscapes and images pictured on the opposite side were.   Continue reading The Many Faces and Places of Mexican Money →

By Brooke Gazer

The minimum wage in Mexico is $102.68 MXN (pesos) per day (it is higher along the U.S. border, and it differs by degree of urbanization in an area and employment status of individuals, e.g., apprentices). The term “minimum wage”, however, is a bit of a misnomer. Very few people actually work for $102.68 MXN per day (roughly $5.40 US).  Continue reading The Cost of Labor in Mexico →

By Susan Birkenshaw

We first arrived in Huatulco in 2006 – classic all-inclusive tourists!  We came with a few pesos in our pockets and walked into the resort a$$uming that we would not need any more than that!  We were SO wrong!  Even then the beautiful handicrafts were everywhere, the sites outside the resort were calling to us and the food that was so representative of Mexican flavours abounded.   Credit cards were virtually unheard of at that time and finding an ATM that we could understand took two days!  It is important to note that we have not been to an all-Inclusive resort since then.   Continue reading Avoiding the Bubble of A$$umption – Learning the Language of the Peso →

By Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.

Americans and Canadians are increasingly seeking early retirement destinations in the state of Oaxaca. Not wanting to be left in the poor house at age 70, they try to hedge their bets. Expatriates have selected predominantly Oaxaca de Juárez, the state capital, or beach communities such as Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.   True, in our lifetimes we will not likely be subject to anything like the 2008-09 financial crisis that left many with a fraction of what they thought would be their 401K, IRA, or RRSP nest eggs. But global instability is now a fact of life.  Continue reading Retirement: Top 10 Reasons to Consider Oaxaca →

By Carole Reedy

Mexico City is considered by many to rival Paris, London, Tokyo, and New York as a cultural destination. The energy, color, and joie de vivre of this grand city of more than 20 million exceeds most others because of the warmth you’ll find here, and not just from the temperatures, but also emanating from the people who live, work, and play here. The city sizzles. Variety dominates. Smiles are abundant. This city’s aura will haunt you. Continue reading A Weekend Getaway in México City: What Will it Cost? →

By Jan Chaiken and Marcia Chaiken

The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is hanging over a precipice and dangling from a very thin and fraying cord.  Will someone cut the cord and send the 26-year agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the US crashing to its death and replace it with a new treaty?  As of this date, it appears that the answer is “Yes,” but given the uncivil war between the branches of government in the US, a new administration in Mexico, and a prime minister under siege in Canada, all deals are at best uncertain. Continue reading What’s Happening with NAFTA? →

By Kary Vannice

With the seemingly endless talk of a border wall between the United States and Mexico and the current US administration’s dialogue about Mexico in general, it would seem that America is not too interested in anything that comes from “south of the border.” But last year’s statistics on Mexico’s international exports would suggest otherwise.  Continue reading Hecho en México →