I have talked with several recent expatriates who are surprised at the daily cost of living in Mazatlan. It is not expensive by any standard to live here, but it is also not cheap. It's easy to be fooled into thinking Mexico is cheap, especially with the proliferation of travel books out there like "Mexico for $18 a Day". It is possible to live here for $18 a day, but you are probably not going to like it.

I have a cousin who lived in Mexico for a scant $500US a month. He lived in a hut on a remote beach with a few meager possessions: a hammock, a blanket, a pot, a pan, a few plates, cups, and forks, a change of clothes, and that's about it. He didn't even have walls. He fished for his meals. Honestly, most of his budget was beer money. While that may be a great, carefree adventure for a 20-year-old, it's not the way most of us want to live.

So, how much does it cost to live here? It really depends on what you buy and where you shop. Anything with a plug is going to cost more than in the US, especially recreational electronics like TVs, computers, and cameras. Some of the price difference can be mitigated by shopping in the right places, but when I had to replace my digital camera, I ordered it in the US and had a friend bring it down to me. A bottom-of-the-line, basic, point-and-shoot Sony camera was around $4,000MXN at Sam's Club.

Appliances are similarly expensive. A small refrigerator goes for about $8,500MXN. A washing machine at a large retailer will sell for $6,800MXN. I was in the high-end department store in town and saw a Kitchenaid stand mixer for $7,500MXN. That is a very extreme example, but, generally, you can plan on paying 40%-100% more for electrical items here.

Mass produced goods are also a little more expensive here. As you can imagine, this category covers a lot of ground. If you want to go to a store and buy furniture, clothes, shoes, a hammer, body wash, or curtains, it's going to cost you. The price of convenience foods can make you choke. A Healthy Choice frozen dinner will cost you about $70MXN.

Don't lose heart though. A lot of stuff is cheaper. You can go out and have a lovely dinner for the same price as the Healthy Choice frozen meal. Beer is cheap. In fact, at most places a Coke, a bottle of water, and a bottle of beer are all the same price. Quality entertainment like the live music or a folkloric ballet is very inexpensive.

If you actually cook, eating can be extremely inexpensive. When we were getting ready for our party a few days ago, we ran down to our local fruiteria for a few things. We got 3 bell peppers, 3 avocados, 9 jalapeños, 2 heads of garlic the size of your fist, 16 limes, 4 onions, a carrot, 4 cucumbers, 10 tomatoes, a tube of chorizo, and refried beans for $63MXN; that's about $6US. If you look at the recipe section, you'll see that we eat pretty well, and we spend less than $400MXN a week on food.

Shoes and clothes about killed me when we got here. They are very expensive. I thought we were going to be one of those couples that made annual trips back to the US just to go shopping. But once I got outside my comfort zone and really looked around, I found out the secret. If you want to go to a store and buy off the rack, it is pricey. But if you want to go to a seamstress and have your clothes custom made, clothes will cost you about the same as going to a store like Walmart in the US. You can have household items like curtains made inexpensively as well.

I was looking for sandals and couldn't find a decent pair for less than $300MXN until I walked into a small shop downtown. When I say small, I mean less than 8 feet wide. I got a great pair of all-leather, hand-made sandals for $60MXN.

Once you discover the possibilities of having things custom made, you can really save some money. I looked at a cheap, straw purse in Walmart for $200MXN. I had a leather purse that will last me for years to come custom made for $300MXN. We had a beautiful, solid wood desk hand built for Chuck for $6,000MXN, the same price as the pressboard, assemble-it-yourself desks in the stores.

The cost of labor is much cheaper here, so the cost of services is greatly reduced. A doctor's visit will cost about $200MXN. A Maid will run you about $150MXN a day. A one-hour massage is about $200MXN. Having your car detailed is about $60MXN.

Reduced labor costs also means it is feasible to have your things repaired when they malfunction. When your refrigerator, floor fan, or camera is broken, you don't throw it away. You call one of the many qualified repairmen in the city. For the first time in our lives, it is makes more economic sense to have Chuck's favorite boots resoled rather than buy a new pair.

Can you live here cheap? Yes. Would you want to? Probably not. But you can live much better here for less money - as long as you know what to buy and where to shop.