Customer Reviews

The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico: The Expatriate's Guide to Moving, Retiring, or Just Hanging Out

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

If you are going to buy just one book about moving to Mexico, you will want to LOOK ELSEWHERE--but if you are serious about relocating south of the US border, you should acquire this book ONLY as a supplemental source of relevant information. To their credit, Doug and Cindi Bower address a smattering of issues that are not always covered in publications that deal with expatriation to Mexico--e.g., what to do with all the belongings that you leave behind in the US or Canada. The authors--who were still almost "newbies" in Mexico when they published their book--also give suggestions for what norteamericanos should know and do in order to adapt to the unique culture of central Mexico. While most of their insights are directly pertinent to Guanajuato, they are also roughly applicable to other locations in central Mexico, but less relevant to the farther extremities of the country, such as the border regions in the north. The book is written in a conversational and fairly accessible style, but BADLY needs a good editing--to correct, for instance, the many occurences of "that" in sentences where the writers clearly meant "than". A good editor also could have remedied the authors' propensity for rambling and repetitious diatribe. While Mr. and Mrs. Bower's complaints about the "ugly American syndrome" among expatriates are appropriate and warranted, their lengthy rantings on that subject serve more to sabotage than support the credibility of their book. In the midst of all that, however, there are a few morsels of helpful information, but the reader will have to be patient enough to find them amid so much digression and without the assistance of an index. In the final analysis, if you only buy one book about relocating to Mexico, you would best bypass this book and instead buy the latest edition of Choose Mexico for Retirement by John Howells and Don Merwin, or maybe--as a second choice--Living Abroad in Mexico by Ken Luboff.

As someone who has visited Mexico several times as I struggle with my study of Spanish, and who is thinking of moving there, I found this book to be far superior to the general run of guides on the expatriate life or retiring in Mexico. Some of the others of this genre just lack the ring of authenticity, or seemed to be aimed at people with a lot of bucks who are headed for a gated community or an expensive house in Cabo San Lucas. But the Bowers' book has that ring of authenticity and is squarely aimed at the (for lack of a better cliche) "average Joe" who is looking for a life that is different and/or better and needs down-to-earth practical advice on how an American can make this transition.

To date myself, the Bowers' reporting reminds me of the usefulness of a Travel Forum I used to frequent on one of the pioneer online services, CompuServe, where I got the best travel ideas and advice ever from the many participants who gave their firsthand reports, and to whom you could pose the kinds of questions that you don't see answered in newspaper travel sections or guidebooks.

The Bowers live in Guanjauato which is not far from where I always visit, which is a too-Americanized well known town that they don't quite approve of, San Miguel de Allende. [...]

[...]

So, if this is the kind of information you are looking for, buy this book as well as the Bowers' book on Guanajuato.

With so many good books on the topic available, don't waste you time on this one. Not well written, it is more of a series of the author's opinions about how the US has gone to hell in a hand cart and very little real helpful information about expatriation.

This was our first read about the idea of living in Mexico. While much of this was informative, we just gave up listening to the bias against just about everything American (U.S.) - Americans and American youth, NAFTA, American advertising on Mexican TV, American crime, American medicine, etc. Being expats ourselves for many years, we believe that some things in American culture are worthwhile. There was a very good discussion on Mexican crime (or lack of it) that convinced us that Mexico is generally safe. His story portrayed living on the cheap - a good thing and represents one end of the spectrum of lifestyles possible in Mexico. I found his understanding of the history of Mexico pretty shallow - statements he makes about the perceived secularization of the culture does not recognize that Mexico has a long, bloody history regarding the place of religion in that culture. And there were other places that the author seems to have missed more plausible historical explanations for what was being observed. The style was an easy read but don't let this be your only guide to living in Mexico or to expatriating in general.

This book fairly comprehensively reviews the practical issues involved in expatriating to Mexico in a very casual, conversational style. As in a real conversation, there is repetition and some tangential editorializing, but this does not significantly detract from the useful information provided. Better copy-editing in future editions would be a plus, however.
Addressing the differences in health care was useful, but I did not share the author's fascination with the details of his personal medical problems.
Having struggled through the process of learning a second language, I was most appreciative of his practical advice on learning Spanish efficiently. That chapter alone was worth the price of this book.

I am giving this book one star because it does provide useful advice on a topic, moving to Mexico, about which few books are written.
However, the useful information in this book-length temper tantrum could have been distilled down to a pamphlet. No doubt a judicious editor should have taken a very large axe to the original manuscript. It is continuously repetitive and the constant! use! of! exclamation! marks! wore! me! down!
If there is another edition of this book I hope the author focuses his energy on explaining important things we should know about moving to Mexico and less on tangential diatribes about what is wrong with America and modern society.

If you have seriously explored living or moving to Mexico via other books, websites or through travel, I suspect you will find this book repetitious, shallow and unattributed. The authors use lots of generalities. They do provide plenty of good cautions, plus criticisms for ugly American syndrome. They also do not gloss over the sizeable differences anyone living in Mexico must expect and accept--or be miserable. This book was a disappointment.