Eight Big Ways to Pamper Yourself in Mexico (For Less Than $30)
Updated October, 2023
Living like it’s 1985
More than 25 years ago I made about $45,000 a year in San Diego. On that salary I could afford an occasional expensive haircut, a massage or a training session at the gym.
The last time I checked, people in my former profession, doing about the same job, were only making about $7,000 more a year than I did in 1988. We were all big hair, fashionable clothes and stilletos. What I saw in an interview before deciding to move to Mexico was home-dyed coiffures and safety-pinned skirts. I heart bled for them, victims of a the declining middle class in America.
Living in Mexico has taken me back to 1988. My first exposure to the better quality of life that Mexico would afford me was in my first six months in Mazatlán. My housemate informed me that a masseuse was coming for the day and asked if I wanted to join her and another friend for a long massage and a glass of wine. The cost: $25 dollars. I had returned to the good life.
The sweet spot for most personal services in Mexico is 350-500 pesos or between $17.50 and $25 dollars. Often, these providers will come to your home. Other services you can more easily afford in Mexico are:
Root-touch up or haircut at a local salon - 350 pesos ($17 U.S). Hair color done by professional at your home - 400 pesos ($25 U.S.). The “works", color, highlighting, cut and deep conditioning runs me $150
Housekeeping service - 400 pesos (sometimes this is included with the rent)
Massage - 500 pesos ($27)
Complete body exfoliation at an upscale salon - 500 pesos plus tip ($27)
Manicure or pedicure - 400 pesos ($20)
Personal training session at local gym - 400 pesos ($20 - my gym in Denver charges $80). Pickleball instuction with a coach - 350 pesos.
Yoga class - $15 dollars
Private Spanish tutor 500 pesos ($25) My tutor comes to my home. If you are willing to travel to a language center, you might pay as little as 350 pesos. I would think this would apply to any lessons you might seek (although for many subjects you’d need Spanish. )
The ambiance in most spas in Mexico may be a little more bohemian, or the hand car wash might be under tarps, but these services still give back pleasurable elements that had either gone from my life or I cut back on. I coul partake in these luxuries more frequently without any second thoughts about my budget that could put a damper on enjoying them to the fullest.
The decline of middle class life in the US - a key reason people move to Mexico
Having a home, healthcare, a car and being able to afford educating your children is the historical accepted standard used by sociologists to define being middle class. Studies calculate that today you'd need to be making around $130,000 in most mid-sized and larger cities in the US to qualify as middle-class.
Only 34.4 % of Americans earned over $100,000 a year in 2022. Moving to Mexico has become a means for many to return to the solid, pleasant middle class life that they, like me, remember from their younger days.
[left] - Personal trainer helping me with a work-out he put together to prepare me for ski season in Colorado. Cost: $20 dollars.
It’s easy to forget how much small luxuries can contribute to your sense of well-being. Whether it’s a personal training session, a great haircut or a massage, with a little Spanish and some networking, you can find skilled Mexicans in practically any personal service profession - people who can help you live like it’s 1988.
Related links:
The newspaper Mother Jones has been doing some good work these days, like this piece that includes 12 charts on how overworked Americans are compared to to the past.
Most recent:
The cultural adventure of riding a city bus in Mexico.
About the author:
Kerry Baker is a partner with Ventanas Mexico and author of four books.
"If Only I Had a Place" tells you how to rent in Mexico. Renting in Mexico has pros and cons for the expat. Avoid the pitfalls and avail yourself of the advantages you have as described in this book. Learn a system to rent luxuriously for less.
Her most second book is “The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico.” It shows you how to set up a mini-life in Mexico (with a timeline) and what to expect. Most recently she released a cookbook, “The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico,” for travelers, expats and snowbirds who want to maintain a healthy diet in a foreign culture.