Shopping in Guanajuato is mostly a daily affair. When we lived in Kansas City, we shopped for groceries about once a week. This involved driving about five minutes to the store, grabbing what we needed for the week, checking out, loading everything into the car, and then driving home. The total time spent on this chore was less than an hour a week. If we forgot something or had a hankering for something different midweek, no problem. A mere 15 minutes was sufficient to complete the task. After moving to
Guanajuato, we found we had to change the way we shopped entirely. For one thing, we no longer had a car. This meant we had to carry all our groceries. No more loading a mountain of food into the trunk of the car and letting the car do the carrying.
There is a limit to how much food one person can carry, especially if one also has to walk all the way home.
Since I didn’t want to make numerous trips to the stores in one day to buy enough food to last all week, I learned to buy only what we would eat for the next day or two. This is how many Mexicans, especially those who don’t own cars, shop.
Instead of buying a 10-pound bag of potatoes, as I did in Kansas City, I now buy four potatoes at a time. Instead of buying a 24-pack of toilet paper, I buy a 4-pack. Instead of buying milk by the gallon, I buy it one liter at a time (maybe 2 liters at a time if I’m feeling particularly strong.).
Another change is where I do the shopping. Virtually the only place to buy groceries in Kansas City is the supermarket. In Guanajuato, there is only one supermarket (a second one is being built on the edge of the city). The usual places to shop are the small mom-and-pop grocery stores, butcher shops, bakeries, fruit and vegetable stores, and tortilla shops. These are scattered throughout most neighborhoods. There are also two large indoor markets that have individual stalls selling grocery items as well as lunch counters where you can grab a bite to eat. In addition, there are a few small grocery stores that offer a larger variety of foods than the neighborhood stores.
There are so many places selling basically the same items (some right next door or across the street from each other.) I find it difficult to see how they can all stay in business. In a two-block area on our street, there are three fruit and vegetable stores (which also carry some grocery items), two butcher shops, a store that only sells chicken, six mom-and-pop grocery stores, a bakery, a candy store, and two stationery stores.
The prices in the neighborhood stores are generally slightly higher than they are in the larger stores. However, the slight difference in price may be worth paying if you don’t feel like walking a long distance to shop in the supermarket or in one of the larger grocery stores.
How does one decide which store or stores to frequent when there are so many choices? I shop in several stores regularly. One store may have an item or brand I can’t find in other stores. Another store may have a greater variety of products. Yet another may sell milk, hot dogs, cheese, or lunchmeat at slightly lower prices. If the produce at one fruit and vegetable stand looks picked over, I go to another one until I find what I want.
Some other ways to choose which stores to frequent are the proximity to your house or apartment, the availability of parking if you want to drive, the cleanness of the store, and the friendliness of the employees. I usually don’t return to stores where I have felt my presence was an inconvenience to the owner or employees. The exception is the larger grocery stores and the supermarket. Some employees are less than friendly, but the prices and selection outweigh the employees’ lack of enthusiasm.
There are other changes we had to make in our shopping habits and expectations that you will have to make as well if you want to be a successful expatriate. If you cannot cope with these, many places in Mexico will not be for you.
In general, you will not be able to hop in your car, run to the store for a few items, and then get back home in a few minutes. You can drive to Guanajuato’s one supermarket and park (for a price), if there is room, in the small parking lot. If the lot is full, you will have to spend considerable time driving the surrounding streets looking for a place to park. Hopefully, you will find a legal spot. Otherwise, the police will remove your license plate and hold it hostage at the police station until you pay a fine.
Even if you find a parking place in the lot, your drive time to and from the store can be lengthy as Guanajuato’s two main streets are one-way and carry a considerable amount of traffic. There are frequent traffic jams, especially in the tunnels under the city.
If you prefer shopping at warehouse-type supermarkets like Sam’s Club, Costco, Wal-Mart, or Gigante, you will have to drive to Leon (at least 45 minutes each way) or Silao (around 30 minutes each way). You will be able to find ample parking at these stores. You will find many products from the USA as well as many items you won’t find in Guanajuato.
The following title, Mexico: The Trick is Living Here has some excellent cost of living tips.
Also check THIS SITE for apartment prices.
Mexico: The Trick is Living Here is a humorous guide on how to live or retire in Mexico, useful for any extended stay in Mexico. It includes sections on climate and staying comfortable, transportation including riding buses and driving, eating, drinking, grocery shopping, staying healthy and health care, finding doctors, working and making a living in Mexico, getting a residence visa, bringing a car, bringing household items, residency issues unique to Canadians, banking, and international communication. Housing and cost of living are dealt with in a completely unique way that helps the reader to visualize what their lifestyle might be like once they are in Mexico. This section shows Mexico as it is so that the reader can decide for him/herself if Mexico might be a comfortable place for them to live. Key cultural information lets the reader have an insider's view of how it feels to live in Mexico and provides important tips on how to get along and understand people. This is information that takes most people years of experience to discover by trial and error and is one of the best and most unique aspects of Mexico: The Trick is Living Here. A chatty style with funny anecdotes helps the reader to relate to the descriptions and feel comfortable living or traveling in Mexico the way Mexicans do, all the while making the reader laugh about the challenges. The book is full of pointers for the reader's successful transition to Mexico.
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Cost-of-Living: Going Native
If you want to expatriate to Mexico to find an affordable cost of living then there is one thing you must do--Go Native! Now, this is not as scary as you might think. I am not talking about living in the jungles of Puerto Vallarta and hoping the locals will show you how to beat your clothes clean on the rocks "down to the river", (I've seen some Mexicans still doing this)...Read More
