Transcription
Oh my gosh. I see y'all. I promise I do. Like this comment or this comment, but that one, this one, that one, that one, all of these. I see y'all.
Today, I'm spilling the tea on why I left Mexico. Everything you need to know if you're possibly thinking about going or things that I wish I knew before going. Just answering the general questions that you guys have, giving you some tips here and there, just my experience overall and the real reason why I love Mexico.
[Music] Okay, so first question. What was the final straw that made me pack my bags and like leave Mexico? In all honesty, it was time for my lease to be up. So, I was moving anyway. My landlord didn't want to renew. He didn't want to he wanted to move back into the property is what we were told. So, that was one reason that we left. It's just I didn't want to go through the hassle of moving again. Secondly, my grandparents are getting older. There were a lot of things that I wanted to do here in the States that I just couldn't complete while I was living in Mexico. So, that played a major part in me moving back as well. So, I can say nothing traumatic happened where it was just like, oh, I got to get out of here. But, I was getting to the point where it was just like I kind of am over this experience. It was a beautiful experience while I was there. Glad that it happened, but I was just searching for more. I wanted, you know, to get back to the States basically, essentially. So, yeah.
Next question. Did the food slap or was it just all good vibes out there? Neither. Now, don't get me wrong, there were some good vibes. So, I definitely was not in Merida for the food. If you speak to a lot of locals, they will let you know that Merida has some of the worst food in Mexico. So, I definitely was not there for the food, to say the least. Half the time I didn't like the food that I was eating at places. It was mad bland. It just it wasn't my cup of tea. And don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking nobody's culture or hating on anybody's culture or anything like that. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I most of the time cooked in the house because it just was not for me. Just being 100% honest. You may enjoy the food. You may find restaurants that you enjoy, but I did find myself eating at a lot of the American chained restaurants when I was going out to eat instead of like local spots because all of the local spots that I sorry all of the local spots that I had tried just were not my cup of tea. So that was just me. For me, it was the vibes. I was definitely in Merida for the friends and the relationships that I had built with people while I was there. So it it was not the food that was holding me there to say the least.
How are the people? Did I feel welcomed or was I given side eyes? As my journey in Merida got to the point where it was starting to become um getting to the end of the journey like I was starting to wind down of being in Merida, I realized there are a lot of people that do not want us there. My experience driving back from Mexico was the worst experience of my life. It took us 4 days to get back, 5 days, somewhere like that. This was a traumatic experience. in case I try to put it out of my mind. We drove to Mexico. So, let's start there. We drove to Mexico. So, if you first and foremost, if you haven't watched my previous video of me answering questions about living in Mexico, this is while I was currently still there. Go back and check that video out. That'll answer a lot of questions. It'll fill you in and bring you up to speed on where we are right now. We drove to Mexico so that we could have our vehicle there. Great experience. We didn't really, you know, have trouble driving in. They would maybe stop us in a roadblock. It wasn't like any targeted stops. But of course, every roadblock you were going to get stopped. That's just a given. And there was no deep dive search into the paperwork. They just, "Okay, you got your tip. Keep going." That was all cool. And I'm a-okay with it. They weren't even asking for a driver's license. Like literally, show me your passport just so I can see that the name matches the tip. Good to go. Waving you all through. Just just keep going. And it was just that simple. We only drove in the daytime, so it did take us about 4 to 5 days somewhere in there to get there. Same experience coming back four to 5 days we did our drive at night stopped in the same cities that we stopped in the first time you know coming on back through when I tell you guys that we were stopped over 30 times and this was not just traffic stops this was police officers getting behind us pulling us over we were stopped in traffic stops and every traffic stop we were stopped in you could tell that they were out to humiliate us they wanted to remove everything out of the car search us we could have just gotten stopped 5 minutes up the road they didn't care they were going to do it again and again and again. On top of the constant searches, every time we gave them our paperwork, they made us wait at least 10 to 15 minutes to go through the paperwork. So, it really prolonged our trip. There was one particular day where I was just like very frustrated because we had been stopped so many times and it was like you can tell that it was a targeted thing and for me that tainted my whole Mexico experience. That trip driving back really made me like, okay, forget everything that happened the past 4 years that I was there. This right here lets me know how y'all really feel. This lets me know what it is.
In all honesty, that experience made me realize like we as black people, and I just got to be candid about it, we as black people are not accepted anywhere. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is every Mexican. I'm that's not what I'm saying. But if you really sit back and look at the comments that a lot of them make about expats moving, I have so many people that argue me down in my comments saying things like, "You're not an expat. You're not this. You're not that." While we're on this topic, for all of the Mexicans that have commented, all the white Canadians, whatever, whoever it was, this is the definition of an expat. So, I'm an expat. Secondly, you can't tell somebody what they are. If I said that I'm a damn unicorn, that's what I am. Y'all accept all these pronouns, they them, and stuff, but y'all going to tell me that I can't tell y'all what I am. You can't tell me what I am. I know what I am. Anyway, sorry about that tangent, but it was experiences like that that really made me look at Mexico a lot differently.
Now, granted, this is not going to be everybody's experience. I'm not saying that like you're going to experience this while you're there. While I was in Merida, I didn't really have those types of experiences. Of course, there are a lot of stairs. people going to be looking at you. I had someone to touch my locks because at the time when I was living in Mexico, I had locks. I combed them out right before I left. That was really the end of a chapter. You know, when a black woman change her hair, baby, that's the end of a chapter for real. But anyway, I had an instructor to touch my hair. I guess she was just curious about it, but I feel like that's so disrespectful. I know that people are cur Don't touch my hair. Don't touch anything on Don't touch me. I was in a pole class and she was standing behind me. She touched my hair and I didn't feel it. My girlfriend actually told me that she did it and I didn't go back to the class from there. Don't get me wrong, it's a great studio. Um, they have great classes, but that's just a no-go for me. Like, don't touch me like I'm a science experience. That is a no-go. Like, absolutely no go. So, yeah, that drive from Mexico, my experience of living in Mexico, I didn't see the hatred until I got out of Mexico. The things that these people say about us and how they don't want us here shock me. And I think that a lot of them are now using the excuse that Donald Trump is in office to blatantly show how much they don't like us, how much they don't rock with us. Because if you feel like that now, you was feeling like that back then. But now that they feel like he's retaliating this against them or he's shunning them, they feel like this is their opportunity to say whatever it is that's been on their mind for the past couple of years or decades or whatever it is. So yes, I did have that experience.
Also, while you're in Mexico, you're going to get that gringo price. They're going to hit you with it. Anything they can do to get over because they feel like you have money. They feel like you're coming for money. You're going to get hit with that gringo price. And I find it very disrespectful for them to just assume that we have money because we moved to Mexico. What a lot of them are not realizing is a lot of people move to Mexico for a cheaper cost of living because they cannot keep up with the economy in America. So it's not necessarily that all Americans move there because they have money. Also, I don't like that a lot of them make comments saying like how we are making it more expensive for them there when that's not the case. we're adding to their economy. You would think that they would be more appreciative of that. And I can't tell anybody how to feel. This is just my opinion on it and just me speaking my truth about it. But a lot of them don't want us there. They feel like we are running the cost of living up. We're taking over. We just don't belong. So, you know what I did? I took my black ass back to America because one thing I can do, and I'm going to be hated everywhere I go. Well, cuz I'm not I don't think that we're hated. I think that they secretly love us, but they don't know how to show that. So, it comes off in a form of hate or they're envious of us. And it's not just the expats. You're gonna meet some YT people that are not friendly there as well because they don't think we should be there either. Not saying again, this is everybody because there are a lot of great Mexicans there. There are a lot of white people there that are great. There are a lot of black people that are great. This is just the harsh reality of it. if I'm going to experience that in a place where it is not my foreign tongue, I can go home and do that. And that's exactly what I did. I moved back to my hometown where the cost of living was cheaper. It was in comparison to Mexico. So, I wasn't paying as much in rent, which is the main reason that I left the DMV and moved to Mexico because the cost of living was way too expensive. Like, I just got to be honest about it. Like, it was very expensive to live there at the time. My rent was going up to like $4,000. I'm like, I'm not going to keep paying these people this. So, I packed my bag and I went to Mexico. Yeah, that experience um I don't care what nobody tells you. There are going to be experiences where they're going to absolutely love you. There are going to be experiences where they're going to absolutely hate you. And those experiences of them showing me how much they hated me or hated my people. Yeah. Not saying that I would never go back to Mexico because I definitely will. I will go back to visit, go back to like, you know, see my friends that are still there cuz I do have some friends that are still there. Go for vacation. But as far as living though, I can stay here for that because I really do think that it's messed up because like in a traffic stop, I'm just speaking on what I think. I don't know for sure. I guarantee you when Mexicans come to America before Trump cuz you know some people are getting deported right now. I don't know what their experience is right now. When a police is riding down the street, do you think that they're going to pull over that Mexican first or that black person first? Realistically, answer that question to yourself. So to go over to Mexico and y'all doing the same thing that they doing in America. Yeah. That changed a lot for me.
Next question. Did I ever feel like I stuck out? Yes. All the time. Like you're not going anywhere and they're not looking at you. Like they're staring very much so. So yes, I every day that I left my house, I stuck out. Stuck out like a sore thumb. Unless I was in my car with my tenant windows where nobody could see me. Like yes, you're going to stick out. That's just what it is. I'm just speaking as a black expat. don't really know anybody else's experience, but me, yes, definitely stuck out.
What was the wildest thing you saw or experienced? I think my experience driving back was the wildest experience that I had. I caught one of my landlords saying that he was not going to give us our deposit back because we didn't have the um there's like a little promisary note type of thing that they're going to give you when you first sign your lease. You have to keep up with that because at the end of your lease, they're going to expect to get that piece of paper back and that's how you'll receive your deposit back. That has happened to me in two experiences when it came down to moving. Well, I've only stayed in two places, but the two places I stayed in, that was the experience. If you don't have that piece of paper, you are not getting your deposit back. Just 100% honest. So, you have to have that. But I could not find mine when I was moving out of my first place. Granted, I stay in that place for 2 years. So, when I resigned my lease, I didn't get a new one. I still had to keep over my original one from when I first moved in. And I couldn't find it at the time because I had just moved all of my stuff. Something told me to turn on the translate app as he was calling his wife and I overheard him on the phone saying that, "Oh, they don't have the paper. I don't have to give their deposit back. It's ours. The money is ours. We can keep it." So, I feel like that was kind of shady because like sir, we've built a great rapport and that piece of paper is not going to make or break anything. But he said that if I didn't have the paper and I ended up coming up with the paper and he gave us the money back, we could have went and sued because I don't know, it was something he was trying to explain to me. But like, so whatever. And then the second experience, the guy wanted to give us half of our deposit back because he said that we killed the grass. Yeah. Anything they can do to keep your money, they're going to do it. But I ended up negotiating a price with him or me and my girlfriend ended up negotiating a price with him and we were able to get back majority of our deposit. But it's just like little experiences like that where I just feel like they really try to get over on us which I feel like is very unfortunate because when they come here and this is just my experience. I don't know anybody charging them more because they're here. You know what I'm saying? So it it's just little things like that that kind of rubbed me wrong when it came to my whole experience of living in Mexico.
What's one thing nobody tells you about living in Merida? I say more than one. For one, you got to get your AC units cleaned. They're the AC units that are up on the wall. These are just let me just run down a few things that are out of the norm for people who live in the US and I don't know if this is for everybody but just my experience things that were very different for me. For one, the AC units on the wall have to be cleaned. Got to get those cleaned. I've run into a lot of people that live in Mexico that did not know they had to get their AC units clean and they had never had it clean and been in their place for like 2 years. Got to get them cleaned at least every 6 months to keep it working properly. Two, you may have gas fillups on top of your house where they have to come out, the gas company literally has to come out and fill up a tank at your house. Depending on your living situation, I've heard people that say they lived in an apartment and they didn't have to do that. When I first lived in our townhouse, the gas tank is on the top of the house. So, they come out, they have these really tall ladders that climb to the top, fill your gas up, and that's how your stove and oven are running. It's running off of gas. So, you're going to need that gas, your stove, your oven, and your washer and dryer. At least in our house, this how it was. The stove, the dryer. Oh, shoot. The hot water, the gas, stove, oven, and your dryer because your dryer is going to be gas. See, you're not going to have no hot water if you ain't got no gas. Nobody told me that. We moved into this house and didn't have hot water for like a month because we did not know.
Three, the plumbing situation in Mexico is horrendous. You are not supposed to flush toilet paper. Now, I still flush toilet paper cuz ain't nobody put no shitty toilet paper in the trash can. I'm just being honest. But if I could cut down on the amount of times that I flush as far as like toilet paper, I would. Like, I'm not flushing for like if I peed, I don't need to flush. But if you got some brown stuff on that uh t piece of tissue, you need to flush it. Yeah.
Four, you're going to have a lot of power outages. The power goes out. Sometimes it can be for days at a time. So be prepared for that. If you are a remote worker, you are going to experience some power outages. I've had it one too many times, more times than I can like really count on one hand. And then also, I see a lot of people talking about like their water pressure in their house. I never had issue with water pressure. Like my water has always been good. You are going to need a filter on your shower. It's very important that you have one cuz the water there is very harsh. But um you can actually get a pressurizer on like your water system in your house to make the water flow better if your pressure is bad. So I didn't have that experience, but I do see a lot of people talking about it.
Next question. What's an answer you learned from the whole experience? I'm definitely going to say that paradise is different for everybody. Because something looks beautiful on social media, because it looks nice online doesn't mean that it's going to be for you. So before going to Merida like really go and see if it's where you want to be because I went to Merida sight unseen. So I had never been to Merida. I had been to Mexico before other parts but I had never been to Merida. So for me when we moved we literally went out there sight unseen. We went out there to find our place. It was no question about if we were moving. It was a question about what place are we getting. We connected with Laura. We went out there and the rest is history. Like, so I I definitely say and I I ran into a lot of people that were there and they were just like, I thought Merida was going to be so different. Like, they had way higher expectations for it because of what people posted online. Like, yes, Merida can be a beautiful place. Yes, you're 20 minutes from the beach. Yes, the weather is nice. Yes, for me, I love extremely hot weather. And Merida is extremely hot. If you don't like hot weather, baby, that ain't the place for you because you going to have to run that AC and that AC bill be different. I didn't see people with ACBs in the thousands of dollars. So, keep that in mind. But definitely go out there and do your research on this place. Don't just take videos of people on social media or people here on YouTube telling you about it. Go out there and see it for yourself because everybody's experience out there is completely different. I've met people that didn't even last 2 months in America. They were just like, "Yeah, no, this is not it." Like, it looks so much different when other people were posting it or things like that. So, I would definitely say the lesson that I learned is that paradise looked totally different for each and every person. So, make sure you keep that in mind if you're thinking about moving.
Would you ever move back or is it like never again energy? Never again. I'm not moving back to Mexico. I would definitely go back to visit, but I'm not moving back to Merida. That just was not Like I said, it was fun while it lasted. I met some beautiful people, had some great times, you know, made some great memories, but my home is here in the US. Like, this is where I belong and this is where I'm going to stay. Like, I may move to another part of the US, but I'm not moving back to Merida. I'm just not doing it.
So, what's one thing people romanticize about Merida that's actually a struggle? How cheap it is. I wish people would stop screaming that. Like, I know I've said it before, but stop saying that. If you want luxury, like a really nice place, not saying you can't get one on a cheaper scale, but you're more than likely going to pay a pretty penny. Like, the last place that I was staying in, if I'm not mistaken, it was like $1,100 a month. Yeah, like stop talking about how cheap it is because it adds up. If you want like luxury luxury, you going to pay for it. It's not just going to be like, oh, okay, it's, you know, everything's $500 and I'm going to get a big big old house and, you know, no, I really wish people would stop romanticizing that. And a lot of things are not cheap because you have to understand that we are very accustomed to a certain lifestyle here in America. Vanilla wafers, you going to pay by $7 a box. Jiffy cornbread. You're going to pay about $5 a box. Yes, certain things are cheaper when you're living there, but a lot of things are not like at all. Gas is not cheap over here. A lot of people don't even drive, so they don't even realize it. But gas ain't cheap. Yeah, you can get you a cheap Uber ride or going bowling is cheap. Well, bowling is cheap in the States, but there are certain things that are cheaper, but as a whole, overall, no. Like, you can move down south and still pay cheap price and still be in the US.
What's one thing you low-key miss about Merida now that you've left? I'm definitely going to say like the fresh fruit. Not saying we don't have fresh fruit here. Going to the markets on the weekends, going to the butchers to get my chicken. I do miss that. Um cuz everything was very fresh. Like you probably are getting the chicken with the guts still inside. It's baby, they just went outside and cured this chicken and puck the feathers off. It's very fresh. The fruits and vegetables at the market are very, very fresh. I'm pretty sure my girlfriend would say that she missed going to the market getting like fresh coconut water. Little things like that. I definitely can say that I missed um the price of it was a little bit better to say the least. Maybe you still were getting the gringo price, but the price was a little bit better, but I definitely do miss that about Merida. And I also missed the proximity to the beach.
So now I'm going to get into my connects. First I'm going to put Laura's information on the screen. Hold on. Before I put Laura's information on the screen, don't text this lady and waste her time. Like, please, y'all have to understand you are really not moving to Merida like in the next week or two or three or four, the next month. It's no need to text about a place because places are going to go so fast that yeah, you asked her about a place a month ago, that don't mean that it's still there. So, if my best advice when it comes down to looking at places is get on Facebook Marketplace because 10 times out of 10, the places that the realtor are going to have are going to be on Facebook Marketplace and you can see them before you waste her time and have her sending you places. Okay? But if you are ready to move and you're looking for a realtor, Laura is the best. This is her information right here. Tell her Sierra sent you hands down best person ever. Like Laura and I became friends outside of her being my realtor and helping me with places. Like Laura has come over and she ate dinner with me. Like she invites us out. We go out together. Like Laura is my girl. She's a great connect to a lot of things and she can help you in a lot a lot a lot of different ways.
Next, I'm going to give you cleaning people recommendations. I have two that I can give you their info. Oh no, I have three. I'm so sorry. So so sorry. First, we have Maria's info. Great lady. Maria does have kids and her kids are going to have to come with her to clean. She doesn't have a babysitter. So, keep that in mind. If you are someone that is not kid-friendly, you don't want your kids the kids around. You don't want hear a baby crying every now and then. Maria may not be the girl for you, but she's a great cleaner. Love her so so so so much. She's has the sweetest spirit ever. Like, I love her down. Love her so so bad. The next person we have is Fatima. Fatima is able to do the job by herself depending on the size of your house. Um, she may also need help. So, if she needs help, it may be double the price. I don't know what her prices are now. It has been a while, of course, since, you know, I've been there. The same with Maria. Honestly, same with any of these people. When you text them, you just need to let them know the size of your house, how many rooms you expect to have cleaned, you need the outside cleaned, like what all you need cleaned, and they can kind of give you pricing on there. if they need to bring somebody, they will do so, but they will find all of that information out on their own as far as like who they're bringing with them. Again, please do not hit these people up if y'all don't live in Merida. Like, don't hit them up talking about, "Oh, next month I know I'm going to need to clean her, so can you do this?" Like, no. Like, come on there. Lastly, we have Miss Vicki. So, I started out using Vickiy's daughter. Then her daughter went off to college and Vicki started cleaning for us. Um, Vicki is a great cleaner. Um, sometimes you do kind of have to maybe go behind her, not go behind her and clean, but like point out little things that you might want to clean. She is an older lady, but she is a very sweet lady. She's she's sassy, too. Very sassy, but she's a sweetheart. These are the three cleaners that I've had. I can say that they are good people. They clean well. Um, yeah. As far as cleaning people, take your pick, hit one of them up. But again, please don't waste these people time, okay? Cuz you don't want nobody wasting your time. Just keep that in mind.
Next person is my pool guy. So, if you have a pool in your home, you're looking for a pool cleaner. This is my pool guy. I'll leave his information here. Um, he tends to get very busy, so make sure, especially during certain times of the year. Um, so make sure you are staying up on what you need from him. He does not speak, none of these people speak English other than Laura. So, he can speak a little English, but he's a great person, great cleaner. his prices are fair. Um, so this is his information.
Next is going to be my yard people. There's usually like a group of like eight of them that are going to come. Well, maybe because my yard was larger, but if you need somebody to clean your yard, um, they do all landscaping projects. They can put down plant flowers for you, like everything. Um, they're really good and they are so so so so affordable. Like for my whole yard, it would be like 600 pesos.
Last but not least, we have my plumber/AC cleaner. He is absolutely amazing as far as like your plumbing needs. He can basically do anything you need. If you need the pressure on your house to be better, he can put the pressurizer on there, like basically do anything you need as far as plumbing. So, he's really good. And then I found out that he cleans ACS as well. This is his information and you can reach out to him if you need either of those either of those services done. Like I said, great person. Um, he typically can come last minute as well. So, this is him.
My exterminator. This man right here. When he comes out and sprays, we had no bugs. Like, none beneath them. That man, I don't know what it is that he be spraying that lizards, they still going to come. I don't know what to tell y'all about them lizard, but bugs. We had a very bad bug problem in the first place we moved in. It was a brand new build. So, it was just like ant city. Like, oh my god. Ants eating a dog food. It was just ants everywhere. We found him and we've been rocking with him. Well, we were rocking with him for a very long time before we left. But he's a great great exterminator. This man right here. Yeah, y'all got him. And I would say we will use him. We will have him come out like every other month, baby. Make sure y'all check him out.
As we close out this video and close out this chapter of Merida all the way around. So sorry it took so long for me to make this video. This is goodbye to that chapter. Starting on a new one, starting fresh here. I hope that all of you that have tuned in to this video or are tuning in to this video now, whether that's a year from now, 10 years from now, however long it is, I hope that you stick around, stay a part of my other journeys throughout life, subscribe to my channel, like the content. If there are any questions that you have, try to go over to my Tik Tok and ask the question on one of those videos because it's a lot easier for me to make a video with an explanation on Tik Tok than it is here on YouTube. I will try my best to respond to all comments. If you guys have absolutely any questions, anything that you want to know, let me know. I will be glad to help any way that I can. Please just try to keep in mind that this is the ending of a journey, the ending of a chapter. So, I may not be as available to answer questions all the time on this topic, but I will do the best that I can to answer as many questions as possible. Thank you guys for tuning in to this video. I absolutely love you guys. I hope that your Merida journey is just beautiful. I hope this answers questions about you potentially moving to Merida. If you're just wondering, curious, anything, I hope that it scratched that itch that you had when it came to Merida. Make sure that you make that journey for yourself. Experience the journey on your own. Love you guys and I will see you all in the next video. Bye.