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How To Retire Without Money
By Bob Belmont
CHAPTER 8 MEXICO
Page 2 of 15
But tourists have a tendency to get in a rut. Like ants, they
follow blindly their leaders, speed madly along the same
paths. The real Mexico, the Mexican Mexico, the beautiful
Mexico, the economical Mexico, is still there—off the tourist
routes. All of which we intend to prove in this chapter.
I can say without hesitation that there is no country in the
world more suited for the average American to retire in than
Mexico. If you have a small pension or income, you will find
it as cheap as any place where you can enjoy gracious living.
If you wish to take up part time work or start a little
business deal of your own, here too Mexico offers as many
opportunities as any. The country is booming.
There is another great advantage. Mexico is so available that
you can experiment there. Whatever your present occupation,
you
can take off a little time, run down to Mexico and "case" the
situation. Find the town you like. Find your own niche. Get
your project under way—if it's a project that you have in
mind.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. No passport is needed to enter Mexico, but
you do need a tourist card which is issued at any Mexican
consulate, or at any entry point at the border. All you need
have is some proof of identity such as a birth certificate, a
service discharge, or some such. This permit costs three
dollars and is good for six months. At the end of that time
you must make a trip to the border to have your permit
renewed.
At the border your car will be listed on your tourist permit
and if you are carrying a typewriter, portable radio, or such
equipment it too will be listed. When you come back to the
border either to leave the country or have your permit
renewed, you must have all of these things with you or suffer
a fine. In short, they don't want you to sell them in Mexico.
This type of entry suffices for the average person, however,
if you wish to operate a business or to work, it becomes more
complicated. See further along under the heading, Work
Permission.
TRANSPORTATION. Getting to Mexico couldn't be more simple. You
can drive your own car or take a bus, train, airplane or a
ship. For that matter you can ride a bike or hitch-hike.
By car there are several points of entry including
Brownsville, Laredo, McAllen and El Paso, Texas; Nogales,
Arizona; and Mexicali, California. Of these we would recommend
Laredo, if you are coming from the East; El Paso, as the
central entry point; and Mexicali from the West Coast. I do
not recommend entry from Brownsville, on the Gulf of Mexico.
The last time I drove over the road between Brownsville and
Ciudad Victoria, I all but ruined my car. Of course, that was
several years ago, but nobody is in a particular hurry, in
Mexico. Possibly the road has been repaired considerably, but
I'd check first.
As a rule, the roads are quite good. You need not expect dirt
affairs on which you compete with burros. The main highways
leading down from the border are on an average as good as we
find in our own western states, sometimes better.
>>> CHAPTER
8 MEXICO Page 3
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