TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Working in Baja California / Mexico

That's interesting and normal Wiley.... it is nice to see citizens seek to protect jobs within their own nation....
Obviously, that doesn't fly NOB for many folks.

Originally Posted by soulpatch

That's interesting and normal Wiley.... it is nice to see citizens seek to protect jobs within their own nation....
Obviously, that doesn't fly NOB for many folks.

No .... here your called a racists...

Originally Posted by wessongroup

No .... hear your called a racists...

Or a coddled union member and liberal

Originally Posted by soulpatch

Or a coddled union member and liberal

funny how that works...

Wiley - was the mechanic in Cabo working legally?

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Wiley - was the mechanic in Cabo working legally?

I don't believe so, he did have and FM3.. and said he was paying the cops off to leave him alone.. but, the charter boats and their political juice still did not like him cutting into their business... and he indicated he HAD to leave ...

He just had a small house with an open garage, steel poles and welded I beams which had a tin roof... cover

He was trying to find his sister over in Apple Valley, who he had not been in contact with for over 8 years..

Never heard from the guy again ... he drove us to the airport... the roads were pretty much closed, he had a Toyota 4 x 4 .. and the police let us make a try getting out of Cabo ... in was early August and a really big hurricane had come up and brushed Cabo .. huge waves and heavy, heavy rain... saw a Greyhound type bus .. floating in a circle in downtown where water drains into the harbor in the launch and boats area ... ... we almost did not make back in ... from Tuna fishing... got caught on the fringe of it... think it was called Guillermo,, ripped the canvas off the bridge cover.. water got into the electronics.. lost some power, but the engine kept putting along ... was really glad to see the "rock" at lands end ...

Originally Posted by wessongroup

Meet a guy in Cabo years back ... he was 72 and was getting out of Dodge... had been living in Cabo for a decade or so ... this was 1987 ..

Had retired down there and then started doing engine repair on boats.. as he was a mechanic ... his business did quite well, as he had all his tools and did a rather good job.. and did become quite successful ... which "cut" into local boat repair folks... big time...

Pressure was applied to where this guy had a hard time doing anything in town ... let alone do any "jobs" .....

The man was trying to leave and get back up and across the border and back to the United States... and was proving very hard.. as he was moving back into the economy of the United States after being in Cabo for many years... and in some cases it does get hard to go back to a higher economy ... from lower over all numbers to live.. back to the states..

Was down to go fishing ... and we had brought a "part" with us for this guy ... to repair a boat ... a heat exchanger which we were able to carry through custom's ... with many questions... was my first jump on bringing something in ... which provided interesting ... and an insight into ex pats living full time in Baja making a living working on the side... and how the locals felt about an American retired making a living in Baja.. with a small business which completed against them directly ... not to positive IMHO

Wiley
Was that "Doc Ross" by any chance that you were referring to in your post? What a character he was.
Larry

Larry, can't remember his name... had to go look in my Quicken for the year

If it is the same guy, he always had a Boheimia beer in his hand.
Larry

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

I met lots of gringos living and working down here without so much as a tourist visa, much less an FM3 or visa lucrativa. Human nature is what it is, on both sides of the border...

Ees laik Meester Queso say.

Originally Posted by Islander

I wonder if baja locals see gringos like many NOB locals view hispanics? I think that we here tend to see all Hispanics, expecially those with limited English, as illegals. Isn't it reasonable to assume the same is true when Hispanics look at us?

No, the racism of the NoBs is not the same racism you find in Baja. NoB Mexicans tend to be poorer, uneducated Mexicans hoping to provide food for their families. Gringos in Baja have historically been "filibusteros" (look up William Walker) out to take control of the territory and are viewed with suspicion to this day

The gringos north of Maneadero have it different from the gringos in BCS. And the ones in between, well, you'll just have to ask Queso Grande.

Originally Posted by JESSE

My personal view is that regardless who what baja you are on, TRUE locals that are from baja don't mind americans, but that changes for mexicans from other parts of Mexico who have moved to baja.

Well, here in Tijuana, it seems that people from Sinaloa and San Ysidro are in disgrace because of their bad manners. Gringos are accepted or rejected based on their willingness to be a respectable part of their neighborhood. The Sinaloans and the folks from San Ysidro don't understand that you get respect only by giving respect. Color and language are secondary; willingness to get along is paramount.

Now, then, if you plan on working illegally, that means you will have to be working for cash. Cash means your employers will be dinged about 25% on their income taxes because they can't demonstrate to the SAT to whom they made your payments. Employers who are willing to do that are either desperate for your services or else are happy to be able to launder illegal income.

Not sure if I should start my own topic for my question, or hitch a ride on this one, but here goes...

My wife owns her own business, which is incorporated in the state of Massachusetts. Since it's a one-person company, she'll check in on things even when on vacation. When we were last in Baja, for example, she spent an hour or two each day making sure that the wheels of the operation were turning smoothly. I'm guessing that this wouldn't raise an eyebrow if we only spend a week at a time in Mexico twice a year, but that it might make a difference when we start living there months at a time. My question is: what is the time threshold that makes this type of remote work illegal - if any? Does it depend upon the type of visa? And what would it take to make the operation "legal"?

Thank you as always...

Originally Posted by pauldavidmena

Not sure if I should start my own topic for my question, or hitch a ride on this one, but here goes...

My wife owns her own business, which is incorporated in the state of Massachusetts. Since it's a one-person company, she'll check in on things even when on vacation. When we were last in Baja, for example, she spent an hour or two each day making sure that the wheels of the operation were turning smoothly. I'm guessing that this wouldn't raise an eyebrow if we only spend a week at a time in Mexico twice a year, but that it might make a difference when we start living there months at a time. My question is: what is the time threshold that makes this type of remote work illegal - if any? Does it depend upon the type of visa? And what would it take to make the operation "legal"?

Thank you as always...

Why would remote work be illegal at all? The money you make is being taxed by the IRS in the USA and you have no business footprints in Mexico. You're good. If you offer goods or services for sale inside Mexico- that's a different animal. jmho

Originally Posted by Woooosh

Why would remote work be illegal at all? The money you make is being taxed by the IRS in the USA and you have no business footprints in Mexico. You're good. If you offer goods or services for sale inside Mexico- that's a different animal. jmho

Good point. All of her customers are in the U.S., with the majority in the Boston metropolitan area, but that could certainly change once we spend substantially more time in Baja.

Originally Posted by pauldavidmena

Good point. All of her customers are in the U.S., with the majority in the Boston metropolitan area, but that could certainly change once we spend substantially more time in Baja.

As you will discover, handling dollars in Mexico is the tricky part. Getting dollars into your Mexican personal account to auto-pay your local bills (CFE electricty and CESPT water) can be a challenge. There are plenty of ways to handle your business money north of the border and it should stay up there. You can withdraw smaller amounts of money from ATMs in Mexico and deposit that into your Mexican bank account for local bills. Expect phone/internet bundle to run about $100 USD a month. Both phone/internet and electricity can be more expensive in Mexico. If you run your Mexico house like you do your house in the sates you will be at the highest rate tier for electricity and it could be double (our CFE bill in Rosarito Beach runs about $600 USD every two months).

Don't know where you will finally settle, but in Ensenada our bundled phone and DSL internet (via fiber optic) runs 575 pesos per month. Our electricity runs anywhere from 1500 - 2000 pesos per 2 month billing cycle. I have replaced ALL of our light bulbs with LED's, so we will see how that shakes out. Also considering a 1500 watt solar electric system (direct feed, no batteries). Water bill is about $35USD a month. We do not have air conditioning, just use fans in the summer and roll around propane heaters in the winter, if necessary. The only other propane appliances are the stove/range and the tankless water heater........propane is about 1200 pesos every two months........depends on your lifestyle and how you manage your utilities........YMMV (and probably will)