Head for Mexico: The Renegade Guide

Rating:
Summary: Head for Mexico.........worth every penny!
Review: If you had your little heart set on another warm and fuzzy Living In Mexico On Umpty Five Dollars a Month treatise......"ya better ride on, partner, cuz this ain't it!". Don Adams just ain't that kind of writer and Head for Mexico is not the kind of book that will be irrelevant or out of date next month if the dollar/peso exchange rate fluctuates 15%.

What really gives Don Adams a leg up, and also makes this book somewhat unusual, is that he actually knows what he's writing about. Yes, he really lives permanently in Mexico and has for some time. In this day of quickie, formula written guides to almost everything, that's a pretty unique concept! Don has been visiting Mexico on a regular basis since the 1960s. Don has crossed the border more times than many of the restaurant workers in El Paso, TX. Don has personally dealt with Immigration, Customs, auto importation permits, permits for your pets, monthly government checks, banks, ATM cards, credit cards, travelers checks, doctors, hospitals, prescription drugs, Realtors, rental agents, grocery shopping, and, of course, the fine art of street corner taco stand dining al fresco. (Donnie's dining habits are a bit more adventurous than most of us.) He also tells you what you can bring, what you can't bring, what you don't need to bring, and a few things that maybe you should bring.

Having been a "Special Education" teacher back in real life, Uncle Donnie is well qualified, both professionally and psychologically to "splain" things to us expats and those desiring to join our ranks. As most of you already suspect, folks who willing entertain the idea of leaving their mother country, their families, their friends, and whatever other social support system they have in order to move to a foreign country with a different language, different customs, different culture, different laws, and where you are pretty much responsible for your own actions, are a little dingy anyway. Authorities generally agree that most of us are, at best, 4 or 5 degrees out of phase. Uncle Donnie has taken this into consideration and, realizing that most of us have serious learning disabilities and are attention span challenged, added a little humor.

Well, actually, he added a lot of humor. Reading Head for Mexico is the first time I have ever chuckled my way through instructions on dealing with Immigration or clearing Customs. Either activity can be a harrowing experience if you are not prepared, or don't have the proper attitude. Accept Uncle Donnie's Good Old Boy, Down Home humor for what it is; an initial inoculation necessary for your healthy survival in Mexico. It's his way of suggesting that if you are lacking in patience, or do not possess an active sense of humor, you just might consider moving to Sun City, AZ instead of Mexico. The Mexican people are warm, friendly, courteous, understanding, and very forgiving. However, Mexican Customs (Aduana) Officers or Immigration (Migra) officials do not always deal kindly with arrogance, deceit, rudeness, or pomposity.

Uncle Donnie's book is much more than just a beginner's guide on how to get to, and successfully cross into Mexico. Head for Mexico is a very complete manual that includes most every aspect of daily life you're likely to encounter here in Mexico once you settle in. Maybe, as a way of validating his own observations and experiences, Uncle Donnie enlisted the aid of a small cadre of other experienced expats to offer up their personal tales of passage to Paradise. This eclectic little band of unindicted co-conspirators is a pretty decent demographic representation of the Gringos living here in Mexico. These contributors include:
A single, divorced, middle aged, mother of two grown children, retired from a high pressure 80 hour a week job in California. She now writes and lectures on her time schedule and terms.
A retired business man and his wife from Texas who seem to having the time of their lives remodeling their new home and generally just enjoying themselves.
A single male who supports himself teaching English as a second language and tells you how you can do it too.
Another single woman who came down here 14 years ago, sick, depressed, confused and has somehow managed to support herself and build a new life. She recently returned from her High School reunion in a small town in Iowa. She couldn't wait to get back SOTB. She also writes for several local publications and a couple of online magazines.

Although, Head for Mexico is a complete guide in itself, Uncle Donnie included enough additional reference material to keep you busy for the rest of your natural life. Appendix I contains names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, websites, and or e-mail addresses for over 160 valuable resources for information about various aspects of visiting or living in Mexico. Most are free, a few are not.

Speaking of free or not, when you buy Head for Mexico, what you see, is what you get. Uncle Donnie ain't selling anything else here. He doesn't sell real estate. He isn't pimping for a monthly or quarterly "newsletter". The book doesn't ask you to buy additional "information packets". When you finally get to page 342, there is no pitch for you to send $19.95 to some pigeon drop P.O. Box in East Amboy, NJ for a poorly shot, amateurish video tape of beautiful Mexico. When you lay down your $23.95 USD for a copy of Head for Mexico, you get the whole enchilada. (Yes, pun intended.)

Oh, did I mention, it's a really funny book. I'm glad I got to read the manuscript. I only wish this book had been available a year ago when Patty and I first started to plan our move to Mexico. It could have saved us a lot of anguish and anxiety.

Jack Wolfe
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