What $100/month gets you in Oaxaca

Meet John, your host. 

Meet my new friend, John Schuler. He has been living in various parts of Mexico for a few years now, in Oaxaca for a few months. He recently offered to show Sarah and me the apartment he rents, so we can see "what $100/month gets you in Oaxaca". He even said it would be alright to take pictures and post about it on our blog. So come on in!

Actually, his rent of 1,000 Mexican pesos per month, at 14 pesos to the dollar, comes to $71.43 US. That's right. John pays $71.43 per month in rent. And that includes trash service and hot water (which are not always included here in Mexico). And Wifi.

In addition to his low rent, prices for domestic goods are generally really low. Bus fare is about $.43 US. A cab fare from and to anywhere in the Centro is about $2.86 US. But with the Centro only a couple of miles square, it's a walking city. The three course lunch "menu" at restaurants runs as low as $2.50 US.

From the window, if you listen carefully, you can hear the water flowing from the water utility plant out to the neighborhoods. It sounded to me like a creek running, very pleasant.

The view of the city is somewhat obstructed by tall trees, but they lend a touch of natural beauty to this urban location. 

There is ample space to loft the bed, but then John would lose his view of the sun rising on the mountains every morning. And that, he says, would not be worth the extra space.

The kitchen consists of a hot plate
in the open pantry. 

Hot water is included in the rent,
not always the case here in Mexico.

The bathroom sink is outside the bathroom,
which is a common arrangement. 

John says the heavy summer rains can make quite a racket
but he's gotten to where he sleeps through it.

John would like to get a wardrobe,
one of his future remodeling plans

One of the improvements John plans to make is to buy a stand alone wardrobe, since the apartment didn't come with a closet. Meanwhile, he hangs his shirts and coats on a curtain rod (lower left).

As soon as the construction below is completed,
John plans to move his kitchen outdoors
to the patio. 

Hanging out on the patio which
will soon become the outdoor kitchen. 

Climbing these stairs every time you want to go somewhere
gets old, according to John, so he plans to buy a motor scooter. 

Some people say "live simply that others may simply live".

Some people dream of freedom from mortgages, car payments, and the addiction of consumerism, but they can't bring themselves to shake loose - so in reality their possessions own them.

Some people wouldn't know what to do with the luxury of all that free time.

But for John, there is no place like home.