You've found your tropical paradise in a bucolic seaside fishing village on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Things here are different. The people are jovial, kind , always quick with a smile and a friendly "hola, amigo". The local cuisine is delicious and slow-cooked, prepared with much love from the doñas with their tidy aprons, concrete stoves and fruit-laden oil cloth covered plastic tables. Here you will find no rush, no hustle-bustle, no honking of horns or midday traffic jams. There are few stop lights in town and only a few years back there were none at all.
So now that you have found your paradise, why not build a home here?
Yes, it's possible to have your cake and eat it too. Why not live where you love? If you've fallen in love with a place and can honestly see yourself living there and loving it why not take the plunge? Well, this is half the struggle simply because there is a major difference between loving a foreign culture and living in it. You can love a culture for its richness, its diversity, its foreignness from your own ... however living in it, well that can certainly be a challenge.
What really attracts us to the Mexican culture is its warmth, carefree spirit and ability to remain indifferent to the stress and pressures of the outside world. This quality is what makes us yearn to shuck off the invisible shackles we (in the western world) have created ... to money, success, economic growth, 401Ks, luxury automobiles and other iconic symbols of economic stature. Yes, we care about money and we care about getting things done ... quickly and correctly, the first time around! Well, that right there is just too much of a first-world ideal to expect when you are living in a third world country. And unfortunately for all of its economic and population growth, most of Mexico still remains third-world. But that is exactly why its attractive to us. And that is exactly why it is difficult for us to actually live here and not just love it here.
But ... and yes, there always is a but ... if you are willing to see things from their perspective sometimes, compromise, forget a few of the basic principals you were taught, you can be very happy here. And you can make a very nice home here. But you have to be willing to make those compromises which isn't always easy.
So, getting back to some things you should consider before building your dream home in Mexico.
Local construction methods are basic, labor intensive and time consuming. The majority of homes built on the Pacific coast are made of brick, mortar and concrete. The methods are simple and they require a great deal of man power. At the rate of pay in other countries, this would make construction totally prohibitive but since the average pay of a day laborer in Mexico is around $150 pesos (sometimes even less) it's easy to see why these labor intensive methods are still in use here while elsewhere in the world there are power tools that take care of the same job in less time and with less effort.
As a very basic example, there are no pre-formed materials being used that would allow for electrical conduit or plumbing installations. This basically means that for every wall that is built there is a crew of guys chipping away at the brick & mortar to make lines that will be used for plumbing and electrical wires. This is a completely labor intensive process and a major waste of human resources. However, simply put this is just how things are done. And it's employed from the construction of very simple homes to the building of large beachfront developments where millions of pesos/dollars are being invested and where delivery time lines are or should be crucial.
Project methodology ... what's that? Most Mexican architects, even the famous ones, do not have project or construction management teams. They may have an engineer overseeing various projects at the same time but there is no one dedicated to one project at a time, making sure things are being done correctly and according schedule. Project methodology and project time lines are generally not put to use in local building projects.
Mostly, the process is defined (loosely in some instances) by the architect and the client is almost never involved in that process other than to make occasional visits and at some eventual date, to be handed over the keys. If the architect is famous and in high-demand the client is not expected to complain about how long the project is taking or that certain aspects of the project are not up to snuff, but rather they are to be thankful that the architect actually accepted their request to build in the first place. In most cases its considered disrespectful to criticize an architect or builder, especially if they are a national and their client is foreign.
However, things are changing ... slowly albeit but they are changing. Some architects have hired project managers to appease their foreign clientele and also to get their project completed quicker and more efficiently. Most however still don't see the full value of having a dedicated project manager ... leaving much room for improvement.
If you want your creature comforts you are going to have to pay for them. Major home appliances and electronics that we may consider as part of our basic life-support package are not considered wholly necessary here. Rather, they are deemed luxury items and taxed heavily in accordance. Additionally, the Mexican line of appliances from big names like GE, LG and Maytag tend to be simplified and smaller versions of their US counterparts but still end up costing the same if not more. If you're thinking European or professional brands like Viking, they are almost unheard of around these parts. Sure you could buy them elsewhere and have them shipped, but when it comes to professional installation or servicing ... fuggedaboudit ... that four thousand dollar range you just bought will be as useful as a chocolate teapot.
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