Job Discussion Forums

[MikeySaid]

SLOW DOWN! There are NO kids on the way. The wedding is in July and currently the fabulous Sindy and I plan on heading to Asia for a year or two to teach and put some money in the bank (that's the idea). What we want to do is come back to Mexico or the States... but the US is becoming less of an option as the economy gets deeper and deeper into the crapper.

We've talked about it before (she and I) and if we're not in the US in some little suburb in Texas or Florida, we have to pick somewhere in Mexico because Torreon just won't do it. Between the horrible air quality, slowly increasing presence of narcos, the ridiculously hot weather and urban sprawl... it just isn't a city well suited for raising children(although many many people do).

Given that I studied "World Languages and Cultures" (appears to have been a poor choice in terms of earning potential) and have made a point of choosing the path of a teacher in life, we need to be in a place with a fairly substantial population (correct me if I'm wrong) for there to be opportunities for the two of us, because she is an anthropologist by trade. That considered, I want to live (relatively) close to the ocean or the mountains (the kind with trees!) and reasonable pricing on land and building materials wouldn't be so bad either.

So... is anyone out there currently raising pups in Mexico or has anyone done so? Our plan is to start in about 5 years... but plans change. Since I can't find a list of the best cities in Mexico for kids or families... I'm looking for input from someone who isn't from Torreon... they all seem to think it's a great city... or just aren't willing to admit that it's a lead-polluted furnace with no style, no character and no X factor.

[notamiss]

[TheLongWayHome]

We're raising one in SLP. It's relatively very safe for Mexico and there's plenty of jobs here as it's also relatively boring but it has parks and isn't too polluted. Not a bad place to raise kids in my opinion. The climate is good too.

[MELEE]

I have twins in a small city in Oaxaca. The air quality is excellent. It's very safe. We live in an area with very little traffic which is great for them to learn to ride their bikes. We also live on the very last street on the edge of town--not the most convinient, but we walk in the mountains on a daily basis, see animals, wild and herds of goats, cows, donkeys on a daily basis. It's the hottest time of year, right now but nothing compared to my native Iowa. My house is positioned in such a way that it stays cool and I never wish I had air conditioning. (And there is potentional work for Anthropologists in the state.)

About you degree, I really see BAs in the libreal arts areas as human development, not vocational, so don't get discouraged. You're degree as made you a better person, and you can work on an MA in TEFL or a related field that will open up more jobs to you in Mexico. Mexico is still the type of place where an MA is a ticket to the upper middle class.

[MikeySaid]

[Mrs L]

Since we're on the subject of kids in Mexico, we're looking to start a family in the next couple of years. Did any of you parents have your kids in Mexico or did you make the move with them in tow? It's a dilema we're trying to decide on at the moment.
My (Mexican) husband is keen to get back to Mexico asap but his sister-in-law is currently pregnant and the financial burden on his brother is making him consider that a few more years in rainy England might not be so bad. Here the healthcare is free and you get excellent maternity benefits, but I feel making the move back will be harder if we have to consider housing for the pups as soon as we arrive. We can rely on the in-laws to help us out but they live in Zamora, Michoacan which isn't great for jobs.
On the other hand if we move to Mexico then have kids I worry how we'd survive while I took time off to have them. I know how much we can both potentially earn in Mexico (he's unskilled, I'm looking to do my MA) and I'll most likely be the main earner. Any suggestions?

[TheLongWayHome]

[MikeySaid]

Funny. the limeys look at Mexico and go "haha, that's not free??? and it's not the nicest hospital???"

Those of us from the States say, "wow that's almost free... but the hospital is kind of smelly."

Unfortunately not everyone has the ability to just go home and have free healthcare. To get it for free in England don't you have to be working?

Note: I just talked to a woman here in the states who squeezed every last drop out of the the State of California and got her 4 months (four weeks before she gave birth), and AFTER the insurance stepped in and paid up, it cost her about 12,000 dollars to give birth to her child and stay in the hospital two days.

I don't know about this whole "big family" thing.

[MELEE]

My children were born here--but as an American who has never had a "real job" with benefits in the US there is no way in he!! I was going to have them in the US.
My twin birth was a cesarean at 8 months, the total bill was 15,000 pesos. I wouldn't have gotten that for less than 150,000 dollars in the US.

I do have a British friend who has two children, one born here in Mexico (a home birth, I think they paid the midwife 500 pesos) the second was born in England, also with a midwife, but not at home. If you like I will contact her to see how she compares the two experiences. She's in England and not very good at writing, but I can give it a try if you want.

I have other female friends here from various English speaking countries who tell me they don't think they could have a baby here (not just the birth, but the experience of mothering a baby in Mexico.) I, on the other hand, am not sure I could do it at home. Here it's kind of like "back to nature" parenting!

[notamiss]

The local private maternity hospital here (this is in the boonies of south Mexico City) advertises heavily, but I don't know how it is. Anyway, to give you an idea of prices, the all-inclusive packages are $9999 MXN for a vaginal birth or $14999 MXN for a caesarian with 20% off either package for cash payment.

At the same hospital, a visit to the pediatrician or the gynecologist is $200 MXN each, or a Prenatal Package (doesn't say how much it includes) is a little over $500 MXN.

[dixie]

The thing here that I think is horrible, is the maternity leave. 3 months?!?! And I was told that is divided up half before birth, and half after. How ridiculous is that. I do not know how mothers do it.

It has been suggested to me that the short time is due to the assumption that there are other family members (grandma, or whatnot) who will look after the baby while mom goes to work. What a stupid assumption. Does anyone know why it is so short?

It scares me to have children here for that reason.

[MELEE]

I actually think it's to discourage mother's from going back to work.

However I do work with two Mexican women who came back earlier because "they were bored". I was like so why oh why did you want to have the baby??? (the each have elected to have no more, so to be fair maybe they thought they'd like motherhood more than they do...)

How did I do it? I planned my pregnancy to coincide with my sabbatical. The day after my maternity leave ended, my sabbatical began. So I had 1 year and 6 weeks off. I only was off 3 days before the birth because the birth was early. I spent most my prenancy aurging this. Me institing that I had to start it early--them saying there was no reason why I should assume they will come early. The funniest appointment was one in which the IMSS doctor told me I needed steriod injections to force their lungs to develop faster because they'd probably come early. Then about two minutes after that I brought up the topic of starting materity leave early, and she said, "No, there's no indication that they will come early."

Luckily it was summer and I wasn't actually teaching. I just sat in my office and occasionally closed the door, unrolled my mat and took a nap. I'll scan my last pregnant picture tonight if you want to see it.

[dixie]

[guatetaliana]

I'm glad this thread has come up, deals with tons of stuff I've been worrying about.

I'm impressed by the low cost of a birth in Mexico. And after just speaking to my father-in-law and mother-in-law (doctor and nurse in Mexico, respectively, but with experience living in the US), they assure me that this would be a good place to give birth. I'm encouraged by that.

However, I'm still concerned about how to handle childcare expenses (until school age), and later, how to pay for decent secundarias/prepas when both parents are teaching English. I have a college degree in Elementary Ed + TEFL certification. Husband (Mexican Citizen) has a high school diploma + 30 semester hrs of college credit in the US. I suppose at the very least, my husband (Mexican citizen) will need to pursue a degree and possibly find a career that pays more even if he dislikes it. Not sure how we'll even handle that financially, but recently we've seen that university costs are also very workable here.

The thought of raising kids here still terrifies me only because of the financial element, but going back to the US isn't really an option, at least for several years, so we'll just have to start planning.

[MELEE]

IF you have a job with IMSS or ISSTE you will not have to pay for child care AS THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE.

With IMSS your kids could go to an IMSS daycare (in my town it's one of the top three centers) from 40 days until 4 years of age without paying one cent. It includes meals as well. The menus are planned by a dietician--but I think they include way too much ham and hotdogs. There are nurses on hand in the center too. My center has one head nurse and two others, one who is always in the 40 day to 6 months room and the other roams among the older kids.

If you got a job with ISSTE--you'd have to look into getting the SEP to validate your Education degree, not sure if it would be possible or desireable--it'd be teaching in the public sector so bye bye bratty rich kids. BUT ISSTE's deal is sweater, they had free child care from 40 days to 6 years old. The ISSTE preschool is coveted and they "sell" a few private spots--but I have a friend whose kids go there and I think they have ridiculous rules for that age group.

Also do you know that Mexico actually pays it's citizens to go to graduate school? My husband got a stipen of 6,000 pesos a month for two years while he was doing his MA. And has just started getting a 9,000 pesos a month for his PhD. Meanwhile paying 0 tuition. Tell you're husband to buckle up and get back to school.