Welcome back to the Indian Expat life series! I’m reaching out to Indian expats with families from across the world, to understand how they are leading their lives, in different countries. This week we are getting to know more about what living in Mexico is like!
Have you been to Mexico? Are you planning on moving to Mexico but don’t know what it is like to live there?
The only connection that I have with Mexico is their food. I enjoy Mexican food and have tried and cooked some of their popular snacks like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos etc
But not to worry I have you in safe hands. Today we have a popular YouTuber Deepthi Satish (you can find her here ) sharing with us her perspective of living the Indian Expat life in Mexico.
Before we begin let’s set a context to this vibrant place-
- Capital- Mexico City
- Population- 126 million people
- Currency- Mexican peso (1 MXN = 3.64 INR)
- Language- Spanish and AmerIndian languages (indigenous languages)
(Source- Wikipedia)
- Tell us a little about your background.
- According to you, what should anyone know before moving to Mexico?
- Where do you live in Mexico? Describe the place
- According to you: how much does one need to live comfortably in Mexico?
- Cost of living in Mexico
- What challenges have you faced living in the Mexico? And how are you overcoming them?
- What are some of the misconceptions about Mexico? And what's the reality?
- Are you working? How did you find work in Mexico? How different is the work culture from India?
- How has it been living here during Covid?
- What do you like most about your place?
- Is there anything that you don't like?
- How's the healthcare system here?
- How's Mexican food? Which dishes have you tried? Do you miss Indian food? How available is Indian food?
- What are your favourite things to do in Mexico?
- Which places in Mexico (or Queretaro) do you recommend visiting?
- What do you mostly do on the weekends? Which places do you hang out the most?
- Do you have any interesting experiences in Mexico that you can recall?
- What do you miss the most about India?
- Which Indian communities are you part of over here? Is it easy to find friends here?
- What lessons have you learned from your expat life in Mexico?
Tell us a little about your background.
My name is Deepthi Satish. I’m basically from Kerala but my parents are settled in Hyderabad and so I grew up there till I was 23. I am an MBA in HR.
In 2004, I got married to Satish after which we moved to Chennai for a year and then to Bangalore because of his job at TCS. From Bangalore, we again moved to Hungary in 2008. We were there until 2010 and then went back to Bangalore.
In 2012, Satish’s work again caused us to move to Mexico. We have two daughters, aged 15 and 13 years old.
According to you, what should anyone know before moving to Mexico?
Before moving to Mexico, you should know more about the place where you want to live. Just like any other country there are some areas which are not safe to live, so its better to know the safe neighbourhoods before moving to Mexico.
Where do you live in Mexico? Describe the place
I live in a historically rich city called Queretaro, which is also one of the safest and cleanest cities of Mexico. It is a 3 hour drive from the capital Mexico city and is excellently connected with the rest of the country as well.
According to you: how much does one need to live comfortably in Mexico?
Cost of living completely depends on each individual and their style of living and also if you are a single, living in a single or sharing room, or a family etc.
For example you can comfortably live with 10,000 pesos, eating street food Tacos, buying non branded clothes, going to government hospital and things like that.
But if you are a family and you want quality education for your kids then you might need 20K pesos. So it all depends on your priorities. It’s just like India. You can choose to live a rich life or live happily with the bare minimum.
Cost of living in Mexico
- Accommodation: Around 7000 to 18000 pesos per month depending on the area
- Transport : In Mexico City you might not need a car as taxis, buses and the metro system are good. In Querétaro and Guadalajara where the expat numbers are high, you will need a car if you don’t live close to your workplace. Petrol price is around 20 pesos per litre.
- Groceries: Around 1000 to 1800 pesos per week
- Internet: 350 pesos. Increases as you opt for more channels
- Education: ranging from 3000 pesos per month to 13000 pesos depending on the grade and also whether you’re looking at international schools. For example my 10th grade daughter goes to an international school for which we pay around 13000 pesos per month.
- Eating out/ Entertainment: Around 350 pesos to 1200 pesos depending on the type of food and restaurants.
- Clothing: 250 pesos to 1000 pesos
- Healthcare/ Insurance : Small clinics charge 50-100 pesos per consultation. There are very good government hospitals here. You just need a social security number to get started. Big hospital consultation charges range from 500-1000 pesos depending on the specialist. We pay around 2500 for insurance for a family of four.
What challenges have you faced living in the Mexico? And how are you overcoming them?
My biggest challenge was the language. You can survive with English if you are going to big places or to the supermarket. The real challenge comes when you have to go to local markets or communicate with a plumber, electrician etc
So I started learning the Spanish vocabulary from my kids school work and from supermarket conversations. To understand grammar I took a couple of classes too. Now it’s not that difficult for me.
As for culture shock, we haven’t faced much except for adjusting to the Mexican way of greeting. When you are introduced to anyone in Mexico, they greet you by hugging you or giving a peck on your cheek.
What are some of the misconceptions about Mexico? And what’s the reality?
There is a common perception that Mexico is a dangerous place to live in. However, just like in India, there are safe and unsafe places here as well. If you are at the wrong place at the wrong time, then yes you may fall in trouble but otherwise there is no problem. In fact as a woman I have felt safer in Mexico, than India.
Are you working? How did you find work in Mexico? How different is the work culture from India?
I was working as an English Tutor in a private institute. It is difficult to find a job here if you don’t speak the language. Work culture is definitely different from India. You are not expected to do extra hours and even if you do, you are paid.
I’m not sure of the corporate world, but my husband tells me that the labour laws are definitely well defined as compared to India. I used to enjoy going out and working there, meeting new students but like many people, I lost my job during Covid. Now I’m at home vlogging on YouTube by the name “Indian Mom in Mexico”. That’s my new hobby.
How has it been living here during Covid?
Covid like in every country had taken a toll on Mexico too. Many lost jobs. Many moved to smaller houses because their business was in loss etc. But the good thing here was people were very conscious and always wore masks. They were very patient in supermarkets too and maintained distance.
What do you like most about your place?
I like how clean the place is and how nature conscious people are. Even when they take dogs for a walk, they clean up after the dog poops. They try to plant trees all around the place. Once in two months, the locals get together and clean up the area around.
Is there anything that you don’t like?
The fact that there is not a single good Indian restaurant. And also the fact that a trip to India takes almost 30 hrs and is super expensive!
How’s the healthcare system here?
Since we are expats, we have the option of treatment through insurance at good hospitals but I hear from the locals that the government hospitals are also good just that it takes time to get an appointment and long waiting hours.
How’s Mexican food? Which dishes have you tried? Do you miss Indian food? How available is Indian food?
I love Mexican food. The only problem is that most of the dishes here are made with beef and pork which we don’t eat. The vegetarian and chicken dishes, though are amazing!
I miss Indian food a lot since we don’t have any good Indian restaurants here. There are a couple of them in Mexico city but that’s not convenient for us.
What are your favourite things to do in Mexico?
We enjoy exploring different places, especially the beaches. Mexico has some beautiful beaches and landscapes.
Which places in Mexico (or Queretaro) do you recommend visiting?
Cancun, Ixtapa, Los cabos, Teotihuacan pyramids.
What do you mostly do on the weekends? Which places do you hang out the most?
Initially when we moved here, we used to visit all the landmarks during weekends. On long weekends, we used to plan far away places but now that we have seen most of the places nearby, we usually have get togethers with our Indian friends or we go out as a family to have lunch or dinner in restaurants.
Do you have any interesting experiences in Mexico that you can recall?
I moved to Mexico in August 2012 while my husband was already here since February. For my birthday in October he had arranged a Mariachi (a band of 5 men singing Mexican songs) That was an interesting experience and something I learned Mexicans do here on special occasions.
What do you miss the most about India?
I miss my family the most.
Which Indian communities are you part of over here? Is it easy to find friends here?
Since there are not many Indians here, we don’t have any community as such. Just a bunch of Indians from my husbands office. So it’s just one community, which comes together to celebrate Diwali and other festivals. Unfortunately that has also stopped since two years due to Covid.
What lessons have you learned from your expat life in Mexico?
That coming to Mexico as an expat has its own advantages as we didn’t really have to struggle with the medical system, or with the immigration process or to find an Indian community etc.
Also in Mexico we don’t have a big Indian community and hence we don’t celebrate all festivals together. So the responsibility to keep our culture and traditions alive is on us. We try to fulfil that by celebrating it at home.
Hope you enjoyed reading Deepthi’s experience on living in Mexico as an Indian expat. Do check out her YouTube channel to know more about her life in Mexico.
Stay connected for the next country in our series, in the coming month.
If you’re interested in being interviewed for this series, or want to request a certain place featured email me at rubitah@beingrubitah.com
To leave a comment please scroll towards the bottom of this page.
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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me
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