By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE Maybe this is no great discovery for other expats in Mexico, but it was to me. Since I was headed out of Mexico, I was wondering if it was better to wait and buy certain items on Amazon outside the country and bring them back to the old-fashioned way or just buy certain imported items
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco — If you walk down some streets in Mexico City’s trendy neighborhoods like Polanco, Condesa or Juárez, you might assume the fifth-largest city in the world is full of foreigners from listening to the English, Chinese and host of other languages spoken. In some restaurants, patrons sometimes have to request a menu
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By JUAN DE JESUS BREENE PUERTO, VALLARTA, Jalisco — When most people think of retired expats living in the likes of Lake Chapala, San Miguel de Allende or Puerto Vallarta, they tend to image well-heeled seniors who live several months of the year in high-end condos and villas. Retired grandparents — abuelos, in Spanish — typically do not begin charities
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco — Who do most Mexicans trust? It’s doubtful that if you threw the question out to a random group of Mexicans that anyone would even guess the correct answer. But a fascinating study with a significantly large sample group is conducted every eight to 10 years by a nonsectarian organization called the
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE Based on legislation recently changed in Mexico’s Federal Penal Code, you might now just be a little safer inside your own home in Mexico. Until the recent unanimous change by the Mexican Senate in October, a house burglar had the same sort of rights to self defense as the home’s owner, the same as if
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco — Online groups for foreigners and expats in Mexico are filled with questions like: What are my rights in Mexico? and What can I do if I feel I am being falsely targeted by a police officer? The level of misinformation out there is high. And as in most countries, there are
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco — In most developed countries, it is pretty easy to know who the seniors are. They are the ones who get discounts at Denny’s and at the hotel and car chains. There are a some discounts in Mexico for seniors, but not many. Part of the problem is that is is not
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE As some level of normalcy returns to Mexico City, more foreigners are coming to the city to live and work. hey are usually pleasantly surprised at the low cost for electricity, water, internet, cell phone service and the somewhat-low cost for natural gas, although that has recently been on the rise. But those same foreigners
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco — Leftist Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) is now halfway through his six-year term, and has promised to not try to stay in office when that term expires on Nov. 30, 2024. Which begs the question: Who will succeed him in that office? Is it too early to predict next
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By JUAN DE JESÚS BREENE PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco — Cancelled last year as a precautionary measure due to the covid-19 pandemic, Mexico City’s Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) parade is back on track this year. The parade — a recent phenomenon popularized by Hollywood-style movies (specifically, the 2015 James Bond thriller “Spectre”) — is a mobile collection of
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