How are the RV parks faring?

Russ: Mexican stats are not to be trusted. The basket of food they use for inflation excludes a lot of the items that have increased. I bet that basket is from 1950. Not long ago it did not include milk. I just know that when I go to Ley's or read the ads in the paper most food items have really gone up. And I use pesos as the currency. Wasn't it last year when Tortillas went up by double digit? That alone would cause a substantial increase in inflation. Mexicans eat them by the Kilo!

Moisheh

mexicoruss wrote:
"Consumer prices in Mexico increased 2.48 percent year-on-year in October of 2015

Amusing. A good seller, I'll give you that. But I wouldn't trust official sources in Mexico. Grocery has gone up 10-15% in pesos - some didn't change, some changed a lot. Depends on location as well - because of increased transportation costs.

Besides - I'm sure that you, of all people, are well aware of this - campsites and other gringo services often charge in $US, raising prices - in $US - every few years. You won't find these numbers in newspapers.

Almot wrote:

iguana07 wrote:
Why they {Argentinians} tell us because the dollar is so stable ...

Correction - "more stable than Argentine peso".
It is also "more" stable than Mexican peso. This simply means that your money in $US in Mexico inflate "less" than in pesos. Prices of most everything in Mexico have gone up a lot in pesos, but it also gone up in $US.

Please dont talk about things you know nothing of "Consumer prices in Mexico increased 2.48 percent year-on-year in October of 2015, slightly lower than a 2.52 percent rise in September, hitting a fresh record low for the sixth straight month. The inflation rate has been below the central bank’s 3 percent target since May due to sluggish growth and lower telecom and housing prices and despite a nearly 12 percent depreciation of the peso against the USD since the beginning of the year. Inflation Rate in Mexico averaged 26.24 percent from 1974 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 179.73 percent in February of 1988 and a record low of 2.48 percent in October of 2015. Inflation Rate in Mexico is reported by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI"inflation report Mexico 2015

iguana07 wrote:
Why they {Argentinians} tell us because the dollar is so stable ...

Correction - "more stable than Argentine peso".
It is also "more" stable than Mexican peso. This simply means that your money in $US in Mexico inflate "less" than in pesos. Prices of most everything in Mexico have gone up a lot in pesos, but it also gone up in $US.

moisheh wrote:
I cannot speak for Baja but RVing on the mainland has been in decline for at least 8 years. And it will continue to decline. Almot should have stated that RVing in Mexico has lost it's luster ( mainland).

Yes, this is what I meant - RV-ing is in decline in Mexico. We are talking about Mexico here, this is what this section of the forum is for.

4x4Dodger: you see what you want to see.

US economy has picked up over the last 12-18 months but it's not growing at the moment and most projections for US GDP are pointing to decline now:
http://knoema.com/qhswwkc/us-gdp-growth-forecast-2015-2019-and-up-to-2060-data-and-charts

Gas prices in Mexico were cheaper than in the US and Canada for many years, now they are the same or higher.

When Mex govt withdrew gas subsidy in January 2015, the prices for most goods and services have gone up. And they have been going up all the time, inflation in Mexico is high.

Expensive properties (and other developments) do not attract more people in RV, and do not make living here more affordable either.

"People buying waterfront properties since Roma times"? "Has no effect on Rv-ing"? You must've skipped those history classes in grade school. Nobody was buying waterfront properties in Baja in Roman times. This is a recent. And it does have effect on RV-ing here.

Yes I never disagreed that there is poverty in U S Not sure if there is a country without it I am just stating the inflation rate for the year in the U S.
We are currently in Argentina and they are wanting our U S dollar like crazy giving 50% more on the streets than the banks. Why they tell us because the dollar is so stable
Poverty in the U S. Does not even come close to the poverty in Mexico

moisheh wrote:
Iguana: I was referring to Mexico. 4x4 obviously has a distaste for Canadians. Or maybe he just dislikes everyone! Chris is correct : The USA has many pockets of extreme poverty with no or very little social benefits. Just look at the people living ( not staying) on Wal Mart lots, rest areas and city streets in both Washington and Oregon. The jobs 4x4 talks about are minimum wage jobs that no one wants. But then we should be talking about Mexico not the USA.

Moisheh

I certainly have no distaste for Canadians. What I have a distaste for is ignorance of simple easily available facts, hyperbole and utter exaggeration which is what was in some of these posts.

So if preferring actual facts about the economy over feelings or anecdotal information makes me sound "Very America" so be it.

But if you knew me I am probably the LEAST "very American" you would ever meet having spent a good share of my life overseas. Once again some here including you are jumping to conclusions based on your own prejudices, provincial attitudes and jingoism.

The fact that the Canadian Lady I wrote about couldn't do math doesn't seem to be a national issue but it did Highlight why some people come to incorrect assumptions and beliefs and repeat them over and over, rather than dealing with facts...or just doing the math.

As for "EXTREME" poverty; you can find extreme poverty in Cambodia, Nigeria, Mali, and many other countries. I have seen it and lived among people suffering from actual "extreme" poverty.

Even the worst poverty in America does not rise to the level of the term extreme. In many countries that do have Extreme poverty there is no social net of any kind by any organization governmental or otherwise.

While America does have poverty in terms of our overall population it is a truly small percentage. In some countries as much as 50 to 80% of their population is in extreme poverty.

The overuse and misuse of this term does a disservice to those who are TRULY in extreme poverty by diluting the definition beyond all reasonable bounds.

So if seeing some of what little poverty really does exist in America bothers any of you as you traverse this country in your very expensive motorhomes and RV's on your way south to a truly poorer nation to take up residence for the winter perhaps you should ship it around by sea. Complaining about American poverty and prices on the way to Mexico in your half-million dollar motorhome seems just a bit disingenuous to me.

Iguana: I was referring to Mexico. 4x4 obviously has a distaste for Canadians. Or maybe he just dislikes everyone! Chris is correct : The USA has many pockets of extreme poverty with no or very little social benefits. Just look at the people living ( not staying) on Wal Mart lots, rest areas and city streets in both Washington and Oregon. The jobs 4x4 talks about are minimum wage jobs that no one wants. But then we should be talking about Mexico not the USA.

Moisheh

Snowman9000 wrote:
What I'm getting out of the discussion is that Mexico used to be rustic, scenic and a bargain, and now it's run-down but also developed, and expensive. Is that a fair take on it?

Judging by the deserts of AZ, for many RVers, cheap costs outweigh shortfalls of ambiance and amenities.

I guess if you don't want great beaches and weather, waterfalls, lakes and green plants, the great food and friendly people then a desert in AZ is probably good enough. The days of cheap are over in some places in Mexico, caused by the people who complain about it, mostly. Paying in US dollars and accepting a 5% increase every year is pretty dumb. Food is still cheaper if you can live without name brands from the US, and some can not or will not live without "their" brand of supplies.
If cheap boondocking is the answer to escape the snow and cold wind, Arizona seems to be the place to go. Others want more out of life.

4X4Dodger wrote:

iguana07 wrote:
Not sure I agree with prices skyrocketing if you are talking about U S
The U S inflation rate for this year is .02%

x2 exactly....where DO they get these ideas? In fact the FED has been agonizing over raising the interests rates. But there is no reason to as there is virtually NO inflation.

No inflation???? Groceries, car parts, hardware, lumber, restaurants - it costs way more to live now.
The government has buggered how unemployment is calculated as well as how inflation is measured to the point those figures are meaningless.

When I pay $70 for a restaurant dinner that used to cost $45 that's not my imagination. (same restaurant, same meal, same number of drinks).

Now I'm in New England and maybe elsewhere things are better, but these are my experiences, hence my participation in this discussion.