The Plain Truth About Living in Mexico: The Expatriate's Guide to Moving, Retiring, or Just Hanging Out [Paperback]

Doug Bower (Author), Cynthia M. Bower (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1581124570 | ISBN-13: 978-1581124576 | Publication Date: July 1, 2005

Expatriates Doug and Cindi Bower have successfully expatriated to Mexico, learning through trial and error how to do it from the conception of the initial idea to driving up to their new home in another country. Now the potential expatriate can benefit from their more than three years of pre-expat research to their more than two years of actually living in Mexico. They explain: How to begin the process of deciding whether Mexico is for you. How to evaluate locations and costs for expatriation. How to avoid being stereotyped as an Ugly American. How to find and set up your new home. Ways to cure culture shock before arriving in Mexico. How to master Spanish before moving. How safe Mexico really is. The benefits of cheap living, travel, and medical care. The modern technology available in Mexico. and much more! The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico answers the potential expatriate's questions by leading them through the process from the beginning to the end. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn not only how-to expatriate but will learn what to expect, in daily life, before coming to Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cynthia Marie Bower has been a teacher of English as a Second Language at two local private schools in Guanajuato, GTO. She has a degree from the University of Kansas in Secondary Education. She has been a permanent resident with her husband, Douglas Bower, in central Mexico since August 2003. Her first professional writing credit will appear in the AAA Go Magazine in November 2005.

Doug Bower is a freelance writer, Syndicated Columnist, and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He is a columnist with California Chronicle and more than 21 additional online magazines. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico. His newest book, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country is out with LuLu Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Universal Publishers (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581124570
• ISBN-13: 978-1581124576
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #689,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too much ranting, too little information, August 3, 2006

By 

Linda W. Jones "mountain.frog" (Conifer, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Plain Truth About Living in Mexico: The Expatriate's Guide to Moving, Retiring, or Just Hanging Out (Paperback)

There are quite a few books available on moving to Mexico. So far I've read 3 of them and this one was by far the least helpful. There are a few nuggests of information, but there are also pages and pages of the author's personal opinions about American TV commercials and teenagers owning cellphones. Not to mention all the details of the author's health problems. I didn't pay good money for this, nor do I appreciate the time wasted wading through it. Even the ranting about Ugly Americans, which I completely agree with, was repeated ad nauseum--there's no need to tell us over and over and over. If you want to know everything you possibly can about Mexico, then you might want to include this book on your list, but there are much better books out there.

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where was the editor?, July 18, 2006

By 

hollybcars "hollybcars" (Batavia, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Plain Truth About Living in Mexico: The Expatriate's Guide to Moving, Retiring, or Just Hanging Out (Paperback)

I totally agree with an earlier review. Someone should have edited this book big time. This was a magazine article stretched into a book. I got the ugly American issue the first time around. I didn't need to be hit over the head with it every other page. Halfway through the book I started to feel like I was sitting through someones slide presentation of their family vacation- their escape from American Malls, fast food and the rat race. This book is 80% opinion and that 80% is made up of a few themes restated over and over again.

If you are looking for a factual book with some solid suggestions look elsewhere, If you want to hear the authors rant about their own medical history and flaws in American advertising- this is the book for you.

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Basic Info, But Too Much Preaching, January 22, 2006

By 

W. Pacheco - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Plain Truth About Living in Mexico: The Expatriate's Guide to Moving, Retiring, or Just Hanging Out (Paperback)

This book offers some good, basic information about moving to Mexico. It focuses on the city in which the authors live, Guanajuato. This is great on a personal level as after traveling throughout Mexico, that is where my husband and I are planning to move. Even with this focus, however, the book can be helpful to people seeking to live elsewhere in Mexico, especially in terms of tips for everyday life (e.g., opening a bank account, water filtration systems, electricity outages, rent, bills, where not to eat, the "standing in line" experience, Internet accessibility, scorpions). The author might have been a little less harsh on Mexico City as he has never been there (by his own account). This is a good supplemental book to more complete guides to moving to Mexico.

The downsides of the book: Where is Cynthia? Although listed as an author, she shows up only as a character in her husband's prose. A woman's perspective would have made the book more complete. Then there is the matter of editing: The book badly needs a blue pencil, and the overly chatty tone can be annoying.

The book's biggest flaw is the author's direct and indirect proselytizing and several references to Judeo-Christian values and religion. He cites these as the reasons Mexicans are better mannered, treat their elderly and others with more respect, and are healthier; they put all their cares and woes in God's hand. I find this patronizing, insulting, and simplistic. As a Gringa married to a Mexican, I know that the unique characteristics of the Mexican people come from much more than their religion. I can tell you from first-hand experience that although sharing the same religion, Mexico and its people could not be more different from other Latin American countries and their people (which also differ from country to country); this is true from food to attitude to public behavior and so on. Mexico is unique for many reasons, and the reader would have been better served had these been more fully explored.