Working and Cruising in Mexico

[Controlled Jibe]

We are about to move to the Sea of Cortez, most likely based out of La Paz at first, and we are hoping to find some type of part time work to supplement our kitty and extend our cruise. We have extensive experience in guiding, resource conservation, carpentry, and GIS. Does anyone have any experience, or even unsubstantiated opinions on the feasability of finding work in this area?

[Ilenart]

Two years ago I spent a week in Mazatlan looking at a yacht. There were a few US citizens working in yacht broking, running shipwright businesses, etc. However there were a lot more US citizens living in semi retirement, that were also supplementing their income by doing odd jobs. Plus any non-skilled / semi skilled work was carried out by the locals.

I think you will have a fair bit of competition in finding work. To be successful you would have to have some skills that were not available locally, or a job where being a non-Mexican has an advantage (ie yacht surveyor). If I were you I would budget for not finding any work, then if you pick up some work it will be a bonus. Note that you can live pretty cheaply in Mexico.

Good luck.

Ilenart

[denverd0n]

Note also that, just like almost every other country in the world, to work legally in Mexico you need to have a work visa--something that is not terribly easy to come by.

Of course, a lot of people work "off the books" without the requisite visa. Most of them never get caught. Doing this, you then become the illegal alien in Mexico, just like the many Mexican illegal aliens that Americans complain about. And if you get caught you will, at the very least, be deported. At the very worst, you might spend some time in a Mexican jail, or be declared "persona non grata" and never allowed to return to Mexico.

[Controlled Jibe]

Thanks for the responses, those were basically the conclusions we had come to. We indeed would like to avoid the work that locals can perform, and as such were thinking that our niche might most likely be GIS work and mapmaking. Does anybody have any current experience with WiFi connections in Sea of Cortez ports, or other technology that might allow us an internet connection when away from port? Thanks again