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"Pearl Of The Pacific"
 
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Published: 21 y
 

"Pearl Of The Pacific"



Mazatlán, Mexico!!

The City:

Mazatlán has more than 12 miles ofwide sandy beaches that seem to go on forever. Apicturesque Malecon (an oceanfront promenade) is a center for Mazatlecos
and tourists alike for walking, exercising and people watching.Unique to other tourist cities along the coasts of Mexico, Mazatlán is acommercial city. No question, it has the mega-resorts in the Golden and
Platinum Zones, but there are not the big housing areas occupied permanent-
ly by expatriates, like in Guadalajara. I live on a block in which I am the only
foreign citizen. I have Canadian and U.S. friends who live in almost all areas of
the city. Most of them have integrated into their Mexican communities with
few problems.The downtown area of Mazatlán is only a short bus ride from the tourist
zone, and completely different from the
resort areas. It has a bustling central mar-
ket where shopping daily for fresh food is
a way of life carried over from the days
prior to refrigeration. The "Old Town"
and Olas Altas areas have been rejuvenat-
ed the past few years and the number of
artists-in-residence has increased. The
Plazuela Machado, four short blocks from
the central market, has sidewalk cafes where one can sit quietly in the shade
enjoying a local beer or soft drink while watching the senior citizens on the
park benches talk while the children laugh and chase each other around the
gazebo.


Climate:

El Niño

Many of you have been asking how El Niño has been affecting us in Mazatlan, Mexico. The answer is that so far, we have never had better weather. This winter is a few degrees warmer than usual, and the sunny days have never been more wonderful. If you are tired of the rain, snow, an cold that El Niño has brought to the USA and Canada, come on down for a great respite.

The following monthly temperatures are averages. Clearly, it will be warmer during the day, and cooler at night. From my experience, the weather is very pleasant from November until May. Sometime in June, and definitely from July until September, it is quite hot and humid. January through March are the coolest months, with typical daytime temperatures in the high 70's to low 80's and evening temperatures in the low 60's. A great time to play golf or tennis. How do locals cope with the summer months? Simple, the Mexicans have a great invention called the Siesta. You get up very early, around 6am, and do whatever you want to do outside that is strenuous, such as playing tennis or exercising. You have lunch from 12 until 2 and then take a nice long nap from 2 to 4. After that, you start what amounts to another day, and go on with your business until 8 or 10 in the evening. All in all, it is a great way of life.




Medical Care:

I say this with no hesitation - the medical care I have received here in Mazatlan is ten times better than the care I have received in the USA. Why? Because there is no "factory" mentality here, and the lawyers haven't made the doctors paranoid yet. My doctor, who graduated from Creighton University Medical School in the USA, speaks perfect English and makes house calls. He is also a first rate surgeon.
A few years ago, Nadine had to have a mass removed from here right breast. We flew to the United States to have the surgery performed. Last year, she again had to have a lump removed and we had our doctor here in Mazatlan perform the same operation. The difference was night and day. In Mazatlan, her incision was smaller, her recovery time faster, and the doctors here were not afraid to prescribe medication for pain, which the doctors in the USA will only do if you are screaming and threatening bodily harm. In the states, we saw the doctor a week later at his office and he had his nurse remove the stitches. Here the doctor came to our house at least twice before removing the stitches just to see how Nadine was feeling and if there was anything he could do for her.

Let me tell you, unless I required something extremely high tech, I would prefer traveling to Mazatlan from the US for my medical care rather than the other way around. Furthermore, in 1995 a brand new hospital with all of the latest diagnostic and surgical equipment has opened here in Mazatlan. Everything they have is state of the art. Another thing, the prices here are as you would expect, much cheaper than in the US. If you are here as a tourist, chances are your current medical insurance will cover you if you incur any medical expenses while you are here visiting. That was the case with us when we still had Blue Cross of California. Since we are now out of the country for more than six months at a time, we switched insurance companies to one that handles international insurance. You can also buy coverage that is specific to Sharp hospital. It is available a the Presalud office which is right next door to the hospital. The Presalud plan covers 100% of your hospital stay at Sharp, as well as the doctors and surgeons fees, and whatever drugs you require during your stay. It also entitles you to a 70% discount on all lab tests done at Sharp even if they are for routine care. The price is based on age, but is quite reasonable. Also the price of drugs here is astonishingly less than in the USA. It is not uncommon for a drug to be ten times cheaper here than in the states. It makes you realize just how large the drug company profits are when you can buy the same thing here for ten cents on the dollar, and that was true even before the devaluation. As far as medical care goes, I'll take Mazatlan over Kaiser/HMOs/ER any day.




Safety and Security issues:

To give you a feel for the level of crime in Mazatlan, let me tell you about our local newspaper, the Noroeste. In their local crime coverage, which is printed every day, they often include pictures of the guys who stole a bicycle, and sometimes of the gun or knife that was confiscated. Finding someone with a gun is a big deal, and gets big coverage, with pictures not only of the villain, but of the firearm as well. Can you imagine the LA Times doing this? They would need to publish a 100 page crime section daily if they were to include pictures of guys stealing bicycles. Here the crime section is 2 pages long, and often includes traffic accidents when there is one.

I can honestly say, that Nadine and I feel much safer living here in Mazatlan than we have living almost anywhere else in the United States. We used to live in Oakland, and going down the hill to Safeway for some milk was a truly frightening experience. Here, we have walked in the heart of downtown at midnight on several occasions, and have never felt threatened in any way. In fact, even late at night you will still pass young men and girls strolling on the streets or in the parks, holding hands and making out.

I believe that the reason most Americans have such a negative impression of Mexico is because of the media and the "great sucking sound" politicians. It is always easier to denigrate your neighbor than to take a good hard look at what is wrong in your own society.



The cost of Living:

Basically, it is possible to live in Mexico with far less money than in the United States, though that is not to say that everything here is cheaper. Labor, food, and locally manufactured goods are much less expensive than their counterparts in the US. We go to the movies here every week, and a ticket costs $2, while popcorn is $.80. Our maid, who comes in 6 days a week for 8 hours each day, is paid approximately 500 pesos or $50 per week, and she is very well paid my Mexican standards. On the other hand, if you want to buy some imported electronics or appliances, be prepared to pay double for it. A large Whirlpool side by side refrigerator can run around $2000USD, and new cars are more expensive than in the US, especially if they are imported. All in all, I would say that you can live quite well on $1000 per month, and live like a king, or at least a high level prince, on $2000 per month.

http://www.maztravel.com/maz/index.html

 

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