I’m working on a doozy of a post about being assaulted by the folks from Inspire.com, and about our friends Lucas and Caroline in San Diego, and their U.S. health-care nightmare.

Thanksgiving by Currier and Ives - a long way from Mexico!
But, with Thanksgiving on the way, we want to think only nice thoughts and be thankful for what we have – so I’ll leave the health care for my next post.
I found huge Butterball Turkeys on sale at Wal-Mart here in Mexicali! Who would have thought…?
Yes, Jim and Matthew are goinging to be busy cooking up a great Thanksgiving dinner for us and for some Mexicali friends – Oscar, and some others – time they learned what Thanksgiving dinner is all about.

The Federal Building in Colima
In the meantime, here is some interesting stuff about living and living expenses in Mexico. It’s from the kind folks at International Living like my blog so much that they gave me permission to quote their articles.
This article was just written on November 24, 2009 by Laura Michels who moved to Mexico two months ago. She’s studying Spanish and having a great time. Laura lives in a little city named Colima near the Pacific coast—you probably haven’t heard of it, but it’s the Mexican city with the best quality of life, according to Mexicans. I think she made a great choice. Colima is about 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and is south of Puerto Vallarta, and norht of Acapulco – not a bad place to be.
“I’m Amazed at How Far my American Dollars Go in Colima, Mexico”
I recently moved to the small city of Colima in Mexico to study Spanish and live internationally. I’m amazed at how far my American dollars go here.
I pay for everything in cash. An amount that would have lasted mere days in the United States, covers my expenses for week in Mexico.
Take grocery shopping, for example. I live directly across from a small family-owned grocery store. I can stock up on groceries for $20 a week. Oranges are less than 20 cents apiece, an entire package of tostadas is mine for the equivalent of $1, and fresh avocados cost me only pocket change. A bag of food for my cat costs less than $1.40. Also, the owner of the grocery store makes delicious refried beans which I can take home for pennies.
If I don’t feel like cooking, I can eat out for super cheap if I go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. My friends and I have a favorite taco place where we are frequent customers. We feast on huge plates of mouth watering meat and tortillas for less than $3 each. I can also get lunch at the restaurant right next my house for about $1.50. This homemade meal includes meat, beans, rice, and freshly prepared tortillas.
I didn’t even tell you yet what I pay in rent. I stay in a new house with tile floors, and brand new kitchen appliances. I also have my own bedroom, and my own bathroom. I pay $175 a month for this, and the cost includes all utilities along with wireless Internet. Some of my friends pay even less than this. The money I’m saving leaves me a lot of extra spending money for things like… authentic Mexican food. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it, and at these prices I will continue to be very well fed for some time to come. I think fresh guacamole is in my very near future.
So, you see, we aren’t the only folks to realize that Mexico is a great place to be.
Happy Thanksgiving from Jim, Matthew, and MaryAnn!
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