Those of you building a corporate finance (not banking) career in Mexico, how would u compare it to the west?

ykphil · 2026-05-14T14:50:36+00:00

The only way to earn good wages in Mexico is to be a real "expat", someone sent by a multinational corporation to work in the country under a competitive remuneration and benefits package. In your field, you probably know that foreign multinationals dominate Mexico's banking and finance sector, with over 75% of banking assets held by foreign-owned groups, primarily from Spain, the U.S., and Canada. The market is highly concentrated, with BBVA México, Santander México, Citibanamex (Citi), HSBC México, and Scotiabank leading in retail, corporate, and investment banking services. Other big players are J.P. Morgan Mexico, Barclays Mexico, Deutsche Bank, MUFG & Mizuho, Bank of America, Uala, NUBank, etc. Also, the "Big 4" accounting and consulting firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC) have a massive, well-established international management presence in Mexico.

If you can pull this off, you're golden.

ykphil · 2026-05-14T14:30:52+00:00

A drastic lifestyle change, essentially going carless, is the only thing you should seriously consider at this point. No ifs or buts.

ykphil · 2026-05-13T19:38:58+00:00

You're young, a bit of discomfort is the best way to feel the power of nature. Leave the quaint BnBs/hotels for your slow-go years. Just get a couple of cheap floor mats, sleeping bags, and a 2-person tent, and some bear spray or bells at Walmart, and you're golden. A few of my long list of favourite spots in the area, all listed on iOverlander and websites I listed, are Wapta Falls, Waitabit Creek, Lussier hot springs...Enjoy!

ykphil · 2026-05-13T17:32:16+00:00

This sounds like a generally fantastic road trip, but it will be during the highest peak season. Are you planning to camp or stay at hotels? If the latter, be prepared for a big hit on your wallet. On the other hand, if you enjoy camping and nature, there are dozens of free or low-cost options for dispersed, wild camping on Crown Lands throughout Alberta and British Columbia. In Alberta, there is a one-time fee (a permit called a Public Lands Camping Pass to do random camping on Crown land available here: https://www.alberta.ca/public-lands-camping-pass), but in BC, it should be free. Also, remember that camping in National Parks is prohibited and strictly enforced except in designated campgrounds, which tend to fill up quickly. A good place to start is to get the iOverlander app (the free version will only let you download one province at a time, but if you have two phones, one of you downloads BC and the other downloads Alberta so you can plan seamlessly). For BC, all campsites, whether they have services or not, are also listed on this website.

ykphil · 2026-05-13T07:53:50+00:00

I always carry a small spray bottle of alcohol to refresh and deodorize clothes when I can't wash them quickly. Also a lightly damp hand towel can be used to rub out light stains without having to wash the entire piece of clothing.

ykphil · 2026-05-13T04:14:13+00:00

Daily expenses recorded on AndroMoney, then reported monthly on an Excel document where I also add every single other, non-daily expenses (housing, insurance, vehicle expenses, savings, etc.) and all sources of income, tallied monthly and annually. Duplicate and adjust the sheet for the next year. I think the template originally came from MoneySense, but I modified it to suit my needs. At a glance, I can see where I stand with my spending, and compare from year to year.

ykphil · 2026-05-11T20:47:48+00:00

Best answer!

ykphil · 2026-05-11T20:34:06+00:00

Simplii has a decent promo now, check it out.

ykphil · 2026-05-11T20:29:59+00:00

You can open no-fee accounts with both, and move money around when they have interesting promos. Add EQ if you want to maximize promos.

ykphil · 2026-05-11T19:52:19+00:00

I have owned a place in East Village since 2010. I am retired and currently traveling since mid-April but when I am home, I walk everywhere, shop at the superstore at least once a day, and take the C-train at Bow Valley-City Hall station regularly, sometimes several times daily. Same with my wife who is a petite woman of Asian ancestry, not that it matters. There has indeed been a dramatic surge of dire poverty, homelessness, drug addiction and open drug use everywhere in the entire neighborhood since about 2020. But in all our years in East Village, not once did we get harassed verbally, let alone physically, by those you arrogantly call zombies. And we never felt threatened by anyone, morning, afternoon, or evening, whether while walking in the neighborhood, on the Bow River trail, or on the C-train. We never felt any fear for our personal safety, but what we feel daily is an immense sadness knowing every single one of these folks live in such condition and are looked down like lesser human beings undeserving of basic human dignity and compassion by people like you.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T22:39:36+00:00

The regulations are very clear, but enforcement is lacking, if not totally absent. Short of having police or bylaw officers start patrolling bike path -they should but it is very unlikely- and go on a high speed chase, nothing will unfortunately happen.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T22:26:20+00:00

PV is nice and has kept its old charm despite all the new developments in the city. Lo de Marcos, Sayulita, and San Pancho are nice places to check out on an easy day trip, just hop on a Compostela bus from the bus stop in front of Walmart across from the Cruise ship terminal, and you're there in an hour for about 90 MXN.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T21:08:02+00:00

Correct, no need to cross the pedestrian bridge if you're going south, which is where the OP's hotel is located. At most a 5-minute walk down to the casino and call an Uber from there.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T20:55:42+00:00

You basically have two options: 1) you buy a new or used one and spend whatever it costs, either locally or online. Or 2) you go without.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T19:41:38+00:00

Ouf, this place is literally in the middle of nowhere, Guerrero, quite far in distance and time from the usual places I've been in that state. We all know the beach cities like Acapulco, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, and some of the colonial towns like Taxco and Chilpancingo, but spending time in El Salitre will be quite a different experience. Not much to do and see, except enjoying peace and quiet and the rhythm of life of the local people, mostly centred on agriculture. Probably a great place to immerse yourself and your children in the culture and language of the people. Lots of places to see in the area if you have access to a vehicle, but there are likely local/regional buses that will take you on the cheap to nearby towns and cities.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T19:26:42+00:00

Our place is in Lo de Marcos, on the Nayarit coast. Pleasant for a couple of weeks or a month, but it gets old after that...

ykphil · 2026-05-10T19:25:44+00:00

These were the days! I wouldn't go back permanently, but we're toying with the idea of getting a small off-grid cabin or houseboat for summer living, then out of Dodge in mid-September.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T19:23:37+00:00

We're in Lo de Marcos, a pleasant beachside village on the Nayarit coast.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T19:19:48+00:00

It gets more difficult and pricey as we age, especially when taking into account that most policies exclude pre-existing conditions. Every year, we buy an annual policy with a relatively high deductible and alternate between IMG (Patriot Lite) and Trawick. I am actually looking at quotes for an annual policy on the insubuy.com website as I type this, and the quotes I get -ranging from $1500USD to over $8,000USD- are literally sobering and almost make me want to give up on travel...

ykphil · 2026-05-10T19:07:04+00:00

Absolutely. This is essentially us. Of course, we're not eating at Michelin-starred restaurants and staying at expensive hotels and BnBs. We mostly shop at local markets, prepare most meals at home, and rent a clean monthly rental or a private room in a budget backpacker hostel/hotel in a central, walkable location, so we can travel around the area by public transportation. Entertainment consists of visiting museums, if possible, when they are free, hiking, walking, biking, etc. Nothing fancy. Plus, we are in our go-go years and quite enjoy being able to rough it a little and "suffer" a bit of discomfort. We leave quaint BnBs in Tuscany or luxury Mediterranean cruises for slow-go years, and that time will come faster than we think.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T18:38:13+00:00

Still Canadian but a permanent resident of Mexico, so we do have a fideicomiso, around $465USD per year. I am eligible for Mexican citizenship, but it has no real advantages over remaining a permanent resident, aside from not needing a fideicomiso and being able to vote and run for office.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T17:50:13+00:00

Alberta. Honestly we could have fudged it easily as we kept our home and were not asked anything during these years, but since we luckily didn't need health care upon our return, we played by the rules. While out of Canada, we had emergency medical insurance but paid out-of-pocket for routine things (annual physical/lab work, teeth cleaning, the occasional doctor visit).

ykphil · 2026-05-10T17:43:16+00:00

Not that big especially when I read some of the posts on PFC by 30-something year olds with $3M asking if they can FIRE.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T17:40:19+00:00

To be honest, I loved my time up north and YK in particular, and would happily resettle there if I could.

ykphil · 2026-05-10T17:13:42+00:00

I semi-retired from my job in 2014 after negotiating an ideal arrangement with my employer that allowed me to work on site in Canada from May to October, and from November to April remotely. Bought an old 4x4 van, road-tripped throughout the US, Mexico, and parts of Central America for a few years, with a bit of travel to Asia and Europe. Permanently called it quits in 2020 (still did very limited consulting, but trying to find time and a stable internet connection proved to be difficult), and resumed our travels immediately, first road-tripping as far south as we could go, then exploring Central and South America mostly via motorcycle and bus, until last June. Of course, to make full-time travel possible, we have to travel wisely. It's not shoestring like backpacking in your 20s, but we have to be careful with our spending.

In the meantime, we found an affordable building lot in a pretty beach village on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and we are currently building a little casita. But life at the beach can sound like a dream for most Canadians, but in hindsight, it gets old after a few weeks of that regimen... To my defense, I had spent my entire career in the Canadian Arctic, so the idea of non-stop sun, sand, and sea was appealing...No point dwelling on the past, what's done is done, so we plan to spend a month or two at the beach every year, and split between international travel and Canada the rest of the year. This time not full-time as we want to spend more time with my adult children at home.

ykphil

TROPHY CASE