I live a lot cheaper here than in the states, but my home is much smaller, and no pool, spa, 2 car garage, big yard etc. Electric is a big variable. There are 3 rate categories based on kwh consumption. So if you have a big home, you quickly get to the highest per kwh rate. Example, the 2nd 150 kwh you use will cost you over 60% more than the 1st 150. Over 300 and category 3 costs about double per kwh than the 2nd category. So you could have a bldg with 3, 2br, 1 bath apts, and a big house with say 4br and 2 baths would cost you about 3 times the total of the 3 apts combined.
If you are talking about electricity, it is because the rate system is tiered. The more electricity the higher the incremental rate becomes. In my two bedroom apartment, sometimes I run my air conditioning 24 hours a day for days at a time. I have never had a bill higher than $100 US and those bills are for a two month period. Steve,in his much larger home, uses very many many more kilowatt hours that I do, even though he is efficient in his use. He simply has more space to cool and it takes him more kwh to do so. He quickly reaches the highest per kwh price and that price is ridiculously expensive. There are 3 2 bedroom apts and an efficiency in my building, on 3 meters. Collectively, we probably have more square meters than Steve's home but our coolective cost is dramatically less than his because collectively we are in the lower tiers. Clear as mud I suppose. And those of us who know Rawkus know that he is not normal. He is for certain an anomaly. Jaja Rawkus. You know it's true.
I shop for produce at Mega for the most part. You guys can do the math but bananas are about (all this is pesos per kg) under $10. Oranges are like $9 or less. Apples are usually $17.50-$24.50. That's all I remember off the top of my head for produce. And that's shopping on Wed. Oaxaca cheese is $97 and that's not the cheapest. Eggs are $145 for a box of 90 at Costco. $32.50 I think for a cartón of 18. A box of 12 liters of box milk that is cheap but decent, is $128. I personally don't find groceries expensive. HEALTH FOODS though are deadly expensive for the most part but I recently bought Goji berries cheaper here than I get them in Brooklyn. For me anyway, the day to day stuff is pretty cheap. My cell phone bill is ridiculously high but telcel is a virtual monopoly. Gas is $11.38 per liter and the exchange rate is good for USD recently at about $13 to $1 MXN.
I ran two ac's all night in July and August and one of them, most of the day, and my bill was $160 usd for two months. I consider that quite reasonable compared to the U.S. These mini splits are so much more efficient than central air in the u.s. Producing cold air in an attic with 200 degree heat is insanity. Most of the year I hardly use the ac's. Water, property taxes, car insurance, medical insurance, medical costs, and much more is a lot cheaper than the U.S. I really like being able to go to a 50 peso doctor any time of the day or night and get treated for minor issues. In the U.S. there's no such thing as a minor medical issue. You pay the price or you don't see the doc, and forget about nights and weekends. Most prescription drugs don't require a prescription, so, if you know what you need, just go get it, and most drugs are cheaper. Generics are widely available.
