2. If you are a foreigner prepare to get a lot of attention
This is common in most countries where you are an obvious foreigner. So if you are blonde, red-headed, super white, black, or tall expect to get some (often unwanted) extra attention. Which is why you should…

3. Avoid wearing clothes that will get you extra attention
I am not one going to tell you how to dress, but speaking from my own experiences as a gringa that sticks out so much already I try to avoid making myself a bigger target by attempting to blend in as much as possible.

4. You shouldn’t drink the water.
I imagine everyone is somewhat familiar with this rule. In San Luis Potosí the majority of locals don’t even drink the water so I would try to stick to bottled water or dispenser water. I do take ice in my drinks, brush my teeth with the water, and buy drinks and fruit from side carts. However, I have also had diarrhea for 6 straight months, so don’t listen to me.

5. Don’t flush the toilet paper
The majority of Mexican plumbing is old and can’t handle the toilet paper. You can usually tell what toilets you can’t flush toilet paper down because there will be a small trash bin next to the toilet and it will be filled with TP. So always be polite and put it in the trash.

You don’t’ want to be the gringa/o that plugs the toilet with your tp. Fortunately, our house is a newer build and can handle it so if you come to my house you better put that tp in the toilet!

 

6. Mail takes a while to arrive
If you have family or friends who even bother putting your super long address on a piece of mail before sending it, prepare to wait at least 3-4 months for it to arrive. I sent a postcard to my niece and nephews in March (4 months ago) and they still have yet to receive it. On a positive note, this has helped curb my Amazon prime addiction - I never tried out Amazon Mexico though.

7. Bureaucracy
It takes a long arse time to get any type of official paperwork done here. I’ve had to go to immigration 5 times to get my temporary visa filed, and I’m still waiting for my work visa hoping I will get it before I move back to the USA. The hardest thing is that you have to allocate either a whole day or at least a half a day to get any type of official paperwork done, which can be difficult to do if you are working full time.

READ: 11 Things No One Will Tell You About Expat Life

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Money

9. Cash rules
You can often expect to pay more with a card than cash. Grocery stores will actually have two different set prices for items, a card price, and a cash price. It took us a few months to figure this one out.

As a renter here in Mexico we also have to pay our total rent in cash, which can be difficult because we have to plan out our ATM visits a week or 2 in advance since the ATM only allows a max amount of cash you can take out. Why don’t you use the bank you ask? Well, we only get paid part of our salary in pesos, while the other part is deposited in our USA bank account. (Also, banks seem to always be closed here)

10. The peso to the dollar is mobile people!
Good thing we bought that washer and dryer when the peso to the dollar was at 22 to 1, it has now significantly dropped to 17 to 1. Moral of the story, the peso to dollar exchange is always changing and that goes for whatever currency you are getting paid in.

11. Most things are cheaper here
Depending on where you shop you can buy most things cheaper here than you can in the United States, but when it comes to well-known branded products (ex. Nike, Adidas, Banana Republic), vehicles and other “luxury” products they are much more expensive than they are in the US.

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photo source

14. Roads are jank
Rarely are there lanes painted on the road and if there are they are often faded from years of the sun beating down on them. There is also an ungodly amount of potholes. I’m not talking about your friendly neighborhood potholes, I’m talking behemoths, lose-a-tire-potholes, maybe fall in and come out in China potholes. They are ridiculous and if you hit one when you aren’t paying attention, expect that you will need to put on a spare. My husband has popped over 3 tires since we have been here and I’ve had to replace 1. Also TOPES - road bumps from hell. They usually sneak up on you at night or possibly in the day when they aren’t marked.

READ: The Ultimate Guide to Driving in Mexico

15. Road flooding
When it rains here it rains hard, so naturally, with the bad drainage system the roads flood, think a good 1-2 inches of water in the street. The rain also causes quite a few delays; including traffic and people. My students are always at least 10-15 minutes later than normal when it has been raining outside.

16. Traffic is horrendous
Traffic is bad in most big cities in Mexico and rush hour can easily turn a 30-minute commute to a one hour plus commute. It is so terrible in SLP because so many people work in the industrial parks outside of the city and when people leave they all leave at once. Cue traffic jam.

17. Parking
If you park in a parking lot where you need a ticket, which is most parking lots, then you must pay for your ticket either inside at the cash register or at a machine outside of the store. Then when exiting the parking lot you must feed your ticket into a machine that will then allow you to exit the parking lot. If you are not used to this and forget to pay first, it can be an embarrassing ordeal when you hold up a parking lot line.

 

23. You can drink (alcohol) in the car
Well, everyone except the driver that is and that often doesn’t stop many. I have seen people walk out of the grocery store crack open a beer bottle and hop into the driver’s seat. Be careful out there! (Edit: This is not looked at positively all throughout Mexico. Different states and cities have different laws, learn them and abide by them).

26. Meals happen later
Expect all meals to take place about 2-3 hours later than US meal times. My stomach starts grumbling around 11:30 and I do my best to make it to 2 o’clock if I can help it. This also means that Bobby and I beat most dinner crowds when we walk into a restaurant at 6:30 -7 p.m. The dinner rush doesn’t really get started until 9 p.m. Meals don’t only happen later.

27. Meals last longer too
I have had a lot of dinners that lasted from 8 pm to midnight which feels like a long time to be sitting while surrounded by wine and postres (desert). After you have had your Entrada (appetizer), your meal, and a dessert, you must also have some coffee. Due to the fact that dinners are long and unpredictable, this means you have to ask for the check (la cuenta por favor!) because the waiter/ess doesn’t want to be rude and bring it to you before you are ready for it.

28. You should make reservations, even if it is a weekday
If you are eating at a taco stand or a bar this isn’t necessary, but if you plan to eat out at a nice restaurant the hostess will expect you to have a reservation, even if the restaurant is dead. I still don’t make reservations, but I should so I can stop catching all those dirty looks from the hostesses.

29. The climate is on point!
Being a Michigan native I’ve become accustomed to cooler climates and was a tad worried that when I moved to Mexico that I would shrivel up and die from the heat. Well what a pleasant surprise, apart from a few scorchers in May, the temperature has been relatively cool here. It’s also dry here in SLP as we are in the desert and situated at an elevation of 6,000 or so feet which allows us to welcome sunny days and cooler nights.

30.. It rains a lot here as well
Locals try to tell me it doesn’t rain so much, but I’ve also heard that with climate change it has started to rain a lot more than usual. It is also rainy season right now, which means it rains for about 30 minutes once every other day or so. I love the rain so I don’t mind a bit and with the rain comes cooler days, which is always a plus.

36. Machismo and sexism are extremely prevalent.
Machismo which is a strong identity of masculinity and pride is extremely prevalent in Mexico as well as much of Latn America. The macho culture is all pervasive in Mexico and many think its emphasis on male pride is a contributing factor in the high rates of violence against women that Mexico is experiencing.

As I have not personally experienced any physical attacks, I know many who have. I have however experienced machismo in the small comments and the attitudes exhibited towards me. When I order a wine they bring it to my husband to taste, wearing clothes that expose my legs becomes an invitation for staring and catcalls, and when I tell people I am married they ask why I don’t have children. These are just a few, many of them I have experienced in the USA as well.

 

38. Privilege has never been more obvious
The white privilege here is heartbreaking. We wake up every day in a country that is not our own and are overcome with how much privilege we have. We live in a private neighborhood, both drive cars and can afford to eat at considerably nice restaurants. All of this privilege comes from the opportunities we received based on where we were born. While I wouldn’t say my circumstances were always comfortable and easy and I worked hard in school and at work, but people here work just as hard if not harder than I did and only receive a fraction of the results.