Although luxury real estate is by nature expensive in any country, there can be a huge variance from place to place. I had a bizarre juxtaposition illustration of this a couple weeks ago when I watched two House Hunters International shows back to back. In the first, a couple was looking for a beachfront home in Ecuador. All three choices were fabulous and all were under $200,000. The next show I watched had a couple looking for a French home in Provence. Their budget was $1.2 million and every place was a fixer-upper dump. Once didn’t even have a bathroom!

Most of Latin America falls somewhere near the bargain end of that scale. Apart from a few exceptions like Rio de Janeiro and maybe Santiago, what you get for your money is going to be a better value than what you could find in the U.S. or Canada when it comes time to buy a luxury vacation home or a retirement home. Sometimes a much better value.

Apart from real estate though, what’s it really cost to live in these places? Answering that question is not as simple, but International Living is doing its best to help. They have just released a series of detailed budgets which give a break-down of all the major outgoings on a monthly basis in some of the world’s favorite overseas retirement hotspots.

All of them are places we cover here in Luxury Latin America: Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama, Ecuador and Roatan in Honduras.

They include information on things like rent, utilities, entertainment, health care and groceries, as well as tips and pointers on how to make retirees’ money stretch further.

“Most of us think about living the good life abroad but things rarely develop beyond a daydream,” said International Living magazine editor Eoin Bassett. “Resources like this can help equip readers with the information they need to bring those dreams to reality.”

The figures were put together by International Living contributors on the ground in each of the seven retirement hotspots, so this info is much more reliable than what you’ll find in a Mercer cost of living study, for instance.

“This 4,000-plus word article is a massively useful tool for anyone considering retirement overseas,” added Eoin. “But it’s really just one among many must-read resources we provide on everything from budgeting for a life abroad and buying a beachside bargain property, to getting the best deal on dental treatment or setting up a small business.”

I’m a subscriber to International Living and think it’s well worth the money. This report is free though. You can see the entire article here: Seven Easy, Affordable Retirement Spots.

If you’re looking for in-depth and level-headed news coverage, it’s hard to beat the Economist. There was a great article in the August 27 issue on Mexico’s economy, with a look at what’s going right there and how their roller coaster ride compares to that of red-hot Brazil. Read the full article here online.

There are all kinds of interesting tidbits about Mexico in there, from its overpriced monopoly telephone system (see the graph here) to its current trend of stealing manufacturing business back from China as wages in the latter keep rising. What’s most interesting to me is its comparison to Brazil, the current poster child for developing economy growth, but a country plagued with very serious problems. Here are some examples.

- Brazil, which is less dependent on business with the United States, has grown to double the size in GDP of Mexico (now #2) in just 10 years.

- Mexico did $400 billion of business with the U.S. last year, behind only Canada and China.

- The World Bank says Mexico is the easiest place to do business in Latin America (and is ahead of Spain). Their schools are also ranked the highest in Latin America.

- Despite all the attention on the drug war in Mexico, Brazil actually has a higher murder rate and the violence is less concentrated in one region. In Mexico’s Yucatan state, the homicide rate is on par with Belgium.

- The richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, is Mexican. Last year his worth rose by $20.5 billion. (A monopoly knows no recession, apparently.)

So what does the future hold? From a tourism standpoint, Mexico is in better shape than Brazil, despite all the bad publicity. There’s no reciprocal visa fee, it’s cheaper than Canada and the U.S. for hotels and restaurants, whereas Brazil is now more expensive, and flight connections are both easy and reasonably priced. The World Cup and Olympics are coming to Brazil though, so all bets are off then. Price sensitivity will fly out the window.

We’re working on some new hotel reviews and luxury real estate features running soon, but meanwhile here’s a look at what others are reporting on for travel and living in Latin America.

Here’s the 857th journalist surprised that Colombia feels like a safe place to travel. (OK, I’m just guessing on that number but it feels like it.) The article carries the not-so-catchy title of Colombia, South America’s undiscovered luxury market with exceptional potential for growth. The gist of it? Colombian people live well, buy nice brands, eat out a lot, and are building lots of high-end business hotels in Bogata. Oh, and the country could pass Venezuela by 2015 in oil production. That could be interesting…

Those Mexican immigrants may be richer than you. Violence in Monterrey is causing many wealthy Mexicans to high-tail it out of there and buy real estate in the United States. In this article, Drug War Sparks Exodus of Wealthy Mexicans, the Washington Post says this new wave is changing the face of many gated communities in Texas. The mayor of San Antonio is quoted saying that Mexicans own at least 50,000 of the 500,000 homes in his city. From the article: “I’ve never seen so many Maseratis and Porsches in my neighborhood,” said Carl Bohn, a businessman who lives in what is formally called Sonterra, a tranquil development of homes with red-tiled roofs, palm trees, colonnaded entrances and backyard pools.

So does this mean a chunk of those new jobs Rick Perry keeps saying Texas has created have been created by…Mexicans? Oh, the irony! Because they can’t just be rich people, they must be “job creators.”

Is it okay to be a luxury resort again? The New York Times reports that after the banking crisis, the bailouts, and the stock market crash, the AIG Effect caused many meeting planners to pass on luxury resorts. Many of those places, especially in the U.S. went so far as to take the word “resort” or “spa” out of their name. In a sign things are turning around, however, the stigma seems to be lifting.

Fast track to wealth in Brazil. In Brazil, luxury goods sales rose 28 percent last year and luxury yacht sales are rising 30 percent per year. The number of millionaires in the country is expected to triple by 2020.

I’m currently in central Mexico, where the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations are in full swing. Here the dead get remembered in strange and wonderful ways. Visiting the graves. Building alters in the home that are full of symbolism—and the favorite food and drinks of the deceased. Making special rolls and candy skulls. And women getting dressed up like walking skeletons, complete with fancy hats and dresses.

Meanwhile though, this is a time of festive celebration. So how about some cocktails? These come from the people at Espolón Tequila. Their reposado is made from 100% pure Blue Agave from the Los Altos region and is aged six months in American Oak barrels. This is a brand whose label is about as true to Mexico as you can get, with imagery related to Day of the Dead and the Mexican revolution. (At a retail price of $25, it’s also a great value.)

I’ve only tried the first cocktail below—I was missing too many ingredients for the others—but they all look like a fitting way to toast the dead.

Marigold Ofrenda

Created by Christopher Bostick
The Varnish Bar, Los Angeles

2 oz. Espolón Tequila Reposado
1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
.75 oz. Orange Curaçao or Triple Sec
.5 oz. Light Agave Nectar
.5 cup peeled and chopped cantaloupe
1/8 tsp. Chile de Arbol powder
1 small edible marigold for garnish

Directions:
Muddle cantaloupe, Agave Nectar, and Orange Curaçao in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients, excluding garnish. Add ice and shake very well for at least 10 seconds. Double strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with edible marigold.

Ashes to Ashes

Created by H. Joseph Ehrmann
Elixir, San Francisco

1.5 oz. Espolón Tequila Reposado
.5 oz. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Sweetened Cocoa Mix
.25 oz. Agave Nectar
1 pinch Ground Cinnamon

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a mixing glass, fill with ice, cover and shake well for 10 seconds. Strain up into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cinnamon dust.

Fresa Katrina

Created by Thomas Waugh
Death & Company, New York

2 oz. Espolón Tequila Blanco
.5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
.75 oz. Simple Syrup
1 small strawberry
10 whole black peppercorns
Splash of Absinthe

Directions:
Muddle strawberry with black peppercorns. Rinse a cocktail glass with absinthe. Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker and fine strain into the rinsed cocktail glass.

In an attempt to make things more difficult for money launderers in Mexico, the government has also made things much more difficult for tourists. In a development that I just found out about via this USA Today article, tourists in Cancun and the Riviera Maya must now pay in pesos for any purchase over $100 that is paid in cash.

In addition, there’s a stipulation that you can’t change more than $1,500 from dollars into pesos in any month. Don’t ask me how they would monitor that, especially if you use different banks/exchange booths, but that’s what it says.

Obviously this is going to be a major pain, especially for cruise ship passengers and people staying in off-the-grid locations like Tulum where credit cards aren’t even accepted. Basically, your strategy needs to be to hit the ATM machine upon arrival for your cash and then use a debit or credit card instead of cash when buying jewelry or other souvenirs that are more than $100. Use plastic for big meals with a group.

Don’t forget, all credit cards are not created equal. Here’s a good article on the best ones and worst ones out there. You could pay 0% in extra fees or 3% depending on which one you’re packing. I use my American Express Platinum card in the U.S., but it’s Capital One only when traveling abroad.

Plus I have to say I strongly disagree with this statement from the article:  “U.S. travelers should purchase pesos before they arrive in Mexico ‘to minimize any inconvenience the exchange cap at banks may cause.’” I’ve never seen a Mexican airport without an ATM machine (or 5). Just get the cash after arrival; otherwise you’ll get a horrible exchange rate by doing it from home.