Surviving Mexico

October 19, 2018 · 1:00 pm

Quest for internet

See that tan spot in the center of the country that indicates less than 8% of the area has internet? That’s where I live!

September was a bummer month for me work-wise. Every other day the internet went out. And if it wasn’t the internet, it was the electricity. Even with the UPS, I missed a number of classes and my performance review for the quarter was deplorable. This caused me to exclaim in exasperation one day that we had more stable power with one solar panel in La Yacata than at the rental in town connected to CFE (the Mexican electric company).

So, with that being the case, I decided to see what I could do to set up my office from home rather than continue to rent the Little House in Sunflower Valley with its myriad of problems.

A chance remark had me thinking. One of the ladies that makes tortillas with my sister-in-law is from Los Amoles, which is way up the mountain. She said that they had internet through DishTV since Telmex didn’t have any lines up that way.

Therefore, we spent the day looking for the Dish TV office in Moroleon, which we couldn’t find. Apparently, there had been an office, but it had moved out.

We went to the main TelCel office to see about satellite internet and talked with a representative about 30 minutes. We weren’t entirely convinced on the whole deal. There were a number of requirements, payment upfront, and the fact that my cell phone is through Telcel and often does not have a signal out in La Yacata.

Then we decided to check out a few other places. SkyTV also offered internet service called Blue Telecom which was comparable to what I have now with TelMex but uses the satellite setup like TelCel. Only, an agent would have to head to out La Yacata to see if there was a signal strong enough for internet reception. Okie Dokie. But it wouldn’t be today.

Next we headed to a place called Wi-Fi Moroleon. The name seemed promising. Unfortunately, their service only extended as far as Los Juzgados (2 km from La Yacata). They did have solar panels though and we bought two.

Then we tried Telecable. However, this company uses electric lines to provide internet. As La Yacata hasn’t any electric lines, it wouldn’t work.

On the way home, we came across a Dish TV car parked in the shade of the mesquite tree. We screeched to a stop and had a little chat with their representatives, who were on their way to a meeting in Morelia. They confirmed that Moroleon no longer had a DishTV office but that internet would soon be available in the area and that they were offering 20 megas which was double any other service in the area. It would just be a few weeks…..well, a few weeks in Mexico could be quite some time.

DishTv internet service ON coming soon!

The next day the SkyTV representative came out with his stuff and lo and behold, we got a pretty good signal. So we signed up on the spot. We had to pay for the modem outright which was the same make and model that TelCel offers but at half the price. Then to sign up for the service we needed an IFE (Mexican voter’s identification card). My husband has one of those. And we needed a comprobante de domicilio (proof of residency like water or electric). Umm, well this was an issue. La Yacata doesn’t have either water or electric service, therefore, we have no bills to provide as proof. Fortunately, the representative said that the certificado de propiedad (owner’s certificate) that we had for our lots would work. Whew!

We picked up the modem the next day and plugged it in. Voila! Internet at the house. I’m not entirely convinced it will be adequate for teaching online, however. Cloudy days reduce signal strength and just like TelCel, there are periods when the signal drops altogether.

What this means is that I most likely will not continue teaching online once my contract expires in December. As it is, at the Little House in Sunflower Valley I have issues every single class with bandwidth on the lined internet provided by Telmex which theoretically is more stable than satellite internet. So I’m looking at other options for regular income.

8 Comments

Filed under Electricity issues, Employment

Tagged as are there areas in mexico that don't have internet, getting internet in Mexico, internet options in Mexico, problems with internet in Mexico

October 17, 2018 · 12:00 pm

Easy Access International, LLC

Having gone through the Mexican immigration process myself, I can say that the whole ordeal is made easier with the help of someone who knows what they are doing. To that end, over the next few weeks, I am going to be highlighting some agents that work with those struggling to immigrate to Mexico legally. While these agents may not be located in the area in which you currently live, you can get a feel for what different agents offer and what you still will need to do yourself.

My name is Alexis Martha Cepeda [Duarte]I am a litigating attorney at law with a Master in Criminal Law and Forensic Science. Also, I am a certified/registered interpreter/translator for the state of Yucatan. Any translating services would be done in-house by me.

I am partnered up with Attorneys Jose Carlos Medina and Karla Mendoza.
We work with different “Notarios”, not to be confused with Notary Public agents which in Mexico are called Authenticators of Signatures.

Our business is “Easy Access International, LLC” and our website is www.yucatanwantsyou.org

We provide assistance with:

Immigration: all processes necessary to obtain a temporary and/or permanent status in the country. Translation of all document needed and on sight interpretation.Foreign Affair process to become a Mexican Citizen.
Legal Counseling and litigation: Criminal, Family, Civil, Mercantile and Real Estate
IMSS health insurance acquisition.
Funereal: Funeral, cremation, inhumation and exhumation, body repatriation services through “Funeraria Reyes Rodriguez”.

Although all immigration processes could be done without an agent, many people find that it is very confusing to navigate the Mexican system and very time-consuming.
Having an agent will alleviate any undue stress allowing those moving to Mexico to concentrate on other important matters that only they can take care of, for example, where to live, packing and shipping household goods, etc.

Aside from passports, I would suggest those moving to Mexico bring their identity paperwork, such as their birth certificates duly legalized or apostilled.

When driving an automobile into Mexico it is of extreme importance to go through the first immigration post on the route and getting the necessary customs permit for the vehicle.

In order to bring in your household goods, these must be duly itemized, and you must have the “temporary” visa on your passport that allows you to continue with the process in getting your temporary residence in the city you are going to settle. This temporary visa will expire 6 months after it has been placed in your passport while you are still in your country of origin. However, you only have 30 days to finish the process in the nearest INM office to your new home in Mexico. It is always best to finish the process before the 30 days expire.

If you are making Mexico your permanent home, funereal services must be considered, and cremation services could only be done by the next of kin. I would suggest bringing paperwork to show the next of kin is such, especially if they don’t have the same last name. In these cases, one must bring: children’s birth certificates, divorce papers, marriage certificates and/or any legal document to prove kinship.

You can contact me:

By email: acepeda@yucatanwantsyou.org
US phone: 818-805-5750
Mex. Phone: +52-999-285-3239
Mex. Cell: +521-999-159-1390

Medical Tourism in Mexico

Medical Tourism is big business these days in Mexico. In fact, the recently formed department ProMexico, the Medical Tourism Advisory Council, estimated that in 2013, medical tourism earned Mexico $2,847 million dollars, which was the equivalent of all tequila and beer exports combined for that year. In 2016, income generated from medical tourism reached $4.7 billion dollars.

Medical treatment in Mexico is often 36% and 89% cheaper than the same procedures done in the United States, making U.S. citizens Mexico’s number 1 client list.

The most common reasons people come to Mexico is to have bariatric surgery, stem cell, cancer, and fertility treatments and dental work. Bariatric surgery is about 70% cheaper than the U.S. and most dental work about 60% less costly. Rhinoplasty is about 56% cheaper and heart valve replacement is nearly 89% less expensive than the U.S. In 2012, Mexico treated more than a million foreigners ranking it number 2 worldwide providing such services.

Tijuana, Mexicali, Cancun, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta are among the top medical tourism destinations in Mexico.

There is a cost to Mexican citizens, however. Although most are covered under one of the three universal health care programs (Seguro Popular, IMSS and ISSTE) 66% of the hospitals are privately owned, ensuring that public hospitals that accept the national health care coverage are overcrowded, understaffed, and often lacking medications which necessitate out-of-pocket expenses. Although these are affordable to U.S. citizens paying with U.S. dollars, prices in the private sector have increased steadily to capitalize on medical tourism income, making it more difficult for the average Mexican to pay for services provided by private hospitals.

According to a 2015 report, 65% of those traveling to receive treatment do not have medical insurance. While the lower cost of the procedures allow for affordability even without insurance, there are some occasions when it would be in a patient’s best interest to have some sort of coverage. Mexico scores 9^th out of 9 nations for destination environment factors due to public perception about pockets of extreme violence and civil unrest. Of course, it’s not all a matter of perception. There are areas that should be visited with extreme caution so best to do your homework before availing yourself of the medical tourism opportunities.

***********************

Surviving Mexico

Quest for internet

Share this:

Easy Access International, LLC

Share this:

Medical Tourism in Mexico

Share this: