09 August 2021 by Published in: Uncategorized 5 comments

Somebody asked me about costs in Mexico, specifically in Colima, where I spend a lot of time these days.

I just ate breakfast. 3 eggs, scrambled with chorizo and cheese, beans on the side, with tortillas. A bottomless cup of locally grown coffee.

Cost was $4.25 USD. My friend had two giant quesadillas with chorizo inside, and coffee. Came to about the same.

Last night had a couple of beers at my favorite watering hole. $1 apiece. Pricier places may go as high as $2. Depends on the mood.

My electric bill for two months with AC running constantly in my office and all night in my bedroom: $100, or $50 a month. Gas runs about $15 a month for the water heater and dryer and stove. Water about the same.

Rent for 3BR, 3 bath houses in gated communities run from $500-$800, unfurnished. On the street, more like $400 and up.

My favorite soda is 50 cents per liter. Or about $1 for a two liter bottle. A taxi ride 3 miles across town is about $2. My cell phone with unlimited US and domestic calls, and 2 GB of data, is $10 a month. I’m on wireless everywhere I go as all restaurants have it, so I rarely exhaust that, at which point I re-up for $5 to last the rest of the month.

Homeowner’s dues on an 18 hole, 5 star golf course are about $175 a month. Gym and club membership, including two pools, two restaurants, a bar, pilates, spin, karate, aerobics classes is $125 a month, including all the golf you want to play per month (I don’t play, but still, WTAF). A visit to the hospital ER costs $25. About the same for a specialist in private practice, although you can go to a doctor next door to the plentiful pharmacies and pay $2-$5 for a general practitioner who will write a prescription for whatever ails you. And the meds will cost you next to nothing. A two tablet dose of Ivermectin costs $4. A month’s supply of blood pressure meds $10. And so on.

To say that life is inexpensive is an understatement.

Crime is non-existent in Colima, the capital city of Colima State. Which is confusing, because Colima State has a high murder rate due to cartel activity in the port city of Manzanillo, over an hour drive away, and Tecoman, which sits near the border of Michoacan and is a contested town for narco-trafficking (the cartels shoot each other’s street dealers in the bad areas on a daily basis, which is very much like Baltimore or South Chicago or Compton or Hunter’s Point or East Palo Alto or any other city’s drug dealing neighborhoods).

Colima City is 45 minutes from there, but key is that it is far inland, so off the narco-trafficking route up the Pacific coast, with really only one highway in and out, so no way for the bad guys to escape if they’re being bad. That, and in a city of 400K, everyone knows who the scumbags are, so it’s hard to be anonymous when committing crimes. Plus it isn’t a college town, so not a lot of young males between 17-22, which is the demographic that commits most petty crimes and drug offenses. Those folks go to Guadalajara, two hours away, for university and to get out of the small town as soon as they can, so there aren’t the unemployed youths that get up to no good in many cities.

Been here over a year, and loving every minute of it. Not because it’s a bargain, but because it’s a nice place to live. I’m in Guadalajara maybe 8 days a month, and in beach towns for relaxation about 5 – 7 each month, so I mix it up between the big cosmopolitan city and toes in the sand. With the money saved due to the cost of living I can easily afford a trip to PV or Barra Navidad or Nuevo Vallarta or Punta de Mita or Cabo every month without stretching the budget.

If that sounds amazingly idyllic, well, it is.

In other news, I managed to get banned from Facebook for three days by posting an opinion piece that conflicts with the official COVID narrative, including citations from official sources. It appears social media doesn’t want anyone questioning that narrative, and is working with the MSM and the world’s governments to quash any rational skepticism showing that the narrative is pure malarkey. You can find the post that got me banned, as well as several others you might be interested, at my new Russell Blake Uncensored site.

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Comments

  1. Zarayna Pradyer
    Tue 10th Aug 2021 at 9:08 am

    For some unfathomable reason, my eye was drawn to your headline.
    Nevertheless, I’m glad you’ve figured out and achieved what you wanted and needed.
    A great advertisement for Mexico – allowing those who work hard and smart to grow and flourish.

    Reply
  2. Jon
    Wed 18th Aug 2021 at 9:49 am

    Always enjoy hearing from you Russell.

    Glad to see you’ve found a platform that allows free speech. It’s insane how much censorship is occurring over this covid crap.

    I listened to a leading doctor in the united states talk about how they are preventing people who have severe reactions to the vaccine from being heard, and the damage it is doing to people. For some its within minutes of getting it, for others, weeks, and for others months later. They were also pointing out some of the dangerous elements inside the vaccine. The way its designed. No one is hearing about that. Like sheep people are lining up thinking its the cure. When for some its the disease. Crazy.

    Way back in the day if you had a measles or polo shot it was one and done not now.

    Reply
  3. Andy j moran
    Wed 16th Feb 2022 at 3:25 pm

    Hi Russell: I’m new to your books and your web page.. but as we used to promise in the military, we have your back..at all times….don’t like that some fuckers like Facebook or other web machines can censor or ban free speech or free thought. The cocksuckers think they can do whatever they like if they don’t agree with your options. My somewhat crude Fuckyou motherfucking cocksuckers should be everyone’s credo……excuse the raw language Russell,..take time off, refresh yourself with plenty of cold beer, Mexican food and warm Mexican sun and waters.…..if you are inclined in that direction check out t the Mexican porn! It will help to work off your tensions……meanwhile I’ll check local bookstore for your books……take it easy, don’t let the cocksukers get to you…let’s bust their balls by speaking out….let’s continue to hear from you Mate…….AJ.

    Reply
  4. Daniel Russell
    Thu 18th Apr 2024 at 12:12 am

    Mr Blake
    If you’re still in Mexico you should update the costs for living the good life down here in Mexico.
    I am in Jocotepec Jalisco at west end of Lake Chapala.
    I am huge fan of your novels!
    Keep up the good work.
    Regards
    Daniel Russell

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 12th Jul 2024 at 3:11 pm

      I’ll add that to my list. It’s gotten a lot more expensive since the pandemic. Easily 50-60% more expensive for most things. Still a fifth of the cost of the US, but definitely higher.

      Reply

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