Where does Hollywood go when it’s sick of Hollywood? Mexico!
Meet newlyweds Heidi and Mark Rice. In their mid-thirties with no kids, they literally traded their corporate Los Angeles jobs for a tent in Mexico (for a few nights anyways). Why?
Heidi Rice: Some people understand perfectly well why we live here. Puerto Vallarta is warm and relaxed and feeds our soul. For others that don’t, here’s the truth: In Mexico, we have sprung ourselves from the prison of more-more-more. Who has not occasionally wished to simplify their life? Who has not longed to pare down their life to just the essentials? Moving to Mexico accomplished the “whole enchilada” to simplify.
Here’s how they did it:
Melissa Gorzelanczyk: Describe a typical day in Venice Beach, California, before the move.
Heidi Rice: Life was busy. Our schedule consisted of driving to work, drive for work and then driving home from work. With only one vehicle and Los Angeles traffic, this took up about 12 hours per day. Once we were home from work, we’d let the dogs out, start making dinner and watch some TV. Then it was off to bed to do it all over again the next day! In two years time we put more than 70,000 miles on our car.
Melissa: Describe income then vs. income needed now.
Heidi: In Los Angeles we had the typical dual income, no kids scenario. We were working hard and able to save a lot of money. Still, we kept feeling there must be a better way to spend our time and a different way to make money. Sometimes it takes stepping out of a comfort zone to really be able to reflect on life. Our choice was to do this in Mexico. In the states we were spending about $4,000 a month on rent, food, gas, entertainment, etc. In Mexico, we only need about $1,000 a month to live comfortably.
Living comfortably in Mexico means having an ocean view, being able to afford a maid, buying all organic produce at the market for one-third the cost and eating fresh shrimp that was caught the day before.
Melissa: Describe the “Mexico Moment.”
Heidi: The story of a Mexican fisherman really impacted us. It basically illustrates how a full life has nothing to do with money or “stuff.”
Melissa: How did you prepare for the move financially?
Heidi: Save, save, save. We worked hard and spent a lot of evenings and weekends at home. We’d cook great meals and only head out to restaurants during happy hours when we could get a good deal. We sold all the big and clunky items that would be easy to repurchase upon our return. Anything irreplaceable, sentimental or small & functional we put into a a 4 x 6 storage unit that costs $13 a month.
Melissa: What do you want from living in Mexico?
Heidi: RELAXATION. The pace of life is so slow here. We want time to contemplate what’s really important in life. Being newlyweds, it’s a great opportunity to sync our dreams and desires for our future. Being able to step outside of structured life and reflect upon what’s really important is a gift. That is Mexico’s gift to us.
Melissa: What advice can you give to people that are sick of a busy lifestyle and want to change … but are afraid to give up “security?”
Heidi: Sometimes you just have to let go. No time is right to move to another country. No time is right to have kids. There is no “right time” to do anything. We live here because it feels right for us right now. Living in the moment and living in a country that is very much a culture of the eternal present.
Melissa: What do you do all day in Mexico?
Heidi: We sleep late, cook great meals at home , read, spend time at the gym, take siestas, walk our dogs and travel to other small Mexican villages for fun. We are presently working on not being so hard on ourselves for how little we actually accomplish from dawn to dark.
Heidi Rice: Some people understand perfectly well why we live here. Puerto Vallarta is warm and relaxed and feeds our soul. For others that don’t, here’s the truth: In Mexico, we have sprung ourselves from the prison of more-more-more. Who has not occasionally wished to simplify their life? Who has not longed to pare down their life to just the essentials? Moving to Mexico accomplished the “whole enchilada” to simplify.
Here’s how they did it:
Melissa Gorzelanczyk: Describe a typical day in Venice Beach, California, before the move.
Heidi Rice: Life was busy. Mark worked about 45 mins from our house in Los Angeles. I worked as a sales rep covering accounts all over Los Angeles. To help save money we had one car so every morning I would drive with Mark to work. This meant driving 45 mins southeast of our house (and outside my work territory)…if traffic was bad it could take even longer. I’d then jump into the drivers seat and head 45 mins north for my day of sales calls to retail clients. After driving all over Los Angeles I’d drive back down to Anaheim to go pick up Mark. I’d wait for him in the parking lot until he got done with work around 7:00. He’d jump in the driver’s seat and bring us home. Once we were home we’d let the dogs out, start making dinner and watch some TV. Then it was off to bed to do it all over again the next day! In two years time we put more than 70,000 miles on our car.
Melissa: Describe income then vs. income needed now.
Heidi: In Los Angeles we had the typical dual income, no kids scenario. We were working hard but for our efforts we were able to save a lot of money. Still, we kept feeling there must be a better way to spend our time and a different way to make money. Sometimes it takes stepping out of a comfort zone to really be able to reflect on life. Our choice was to do this in Mexico. In the states we were spending about $4000 a month on rent, food, gas, entertainment, etc. In Mexico, we only need about $1,000 a month to live comfortably. Living comfortably in Mexico means having an ocean view, being able to afford a maid, buying all organic produce at the market for a 1/3 the cost and eating fresh shrimp that was caught the day before.
Melissa: Describe the “Mexico Moment.”
Heidi: The story of a Mexican fisherman (LINK) really impacted us. It’s a story of a local mexican fisherman and the fullness of his life. He fishes every morning for the basic necessities of his family and then spends the rest of his time enjoying life. One day he meets a Harvard MBA and the man proposes a business plan to the fisherman. The Harvard MBA shows the fisherman how to work really hard over the next 15-20 years (sacrificing time with his wife, kids and friends) to make millions. The mexican fisherman doesn’t understand the MBA’s thinking at all because his life is already full and he doesn’t need anymore money. The story is our “Mexico Moment” because it reflects our values.
Melissa: How did you prepare for the move financially?
Heidi: Save, save, save. We worked hard and spent a lot of evenings and weekends at home. We’d cook great meals and only head out to restaurants during happy hours when we could get a good deal. We sold all the big and clunky items that would be easy to repurchase upon our return. Anything irreplaceable, sentimental or small & functional we put into a a 4 x 6 storage unit. I did a lot of research and found a place about 1 12 hours from our house that charged $13 a month.
Melissa: What do you want from living in Mexico?
Heidi: RELAXATION. The pace of life is so slow here. We want time to contemplate what’s really important in life. Being newlyweds it’s a great opportunity to sync our dreams and desires for our future. Being able to step outside of structured life and reflect upon what’s really important is a gift. That is Mexico’s gift to us.
Melissa: What advice can you give to people that are sick of a busy lifestyle and want to change … but are afraid not to be “secure?”
Heidi: Sometimes you just have to let go. No time is right to move to another country. No time is right to have kids. There is no right time to do anything. Why do we live here? Because it feels right for us right now. Living in the moment and living in a country that is very much a culture of the enternal present.
Melissa: What do you do all day in Mexico?
Heidi: Not a whole lot. We sleep late, cook great meals at home , read, spend time at the gym, take siestas, walk our dogs and travel to other small Mexican villages for fun. We are presently working on not being so hard on ourselves for how little we actually accomplish from dawn to dark.
Heidi’s words to live by: ”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain
Heidi’s words to live by: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain
TRAVEL. WORK FROM ANYWHERE. These guys are:
Karol Gajda of Ridiculously Extraordinary
Corbett Barr of Free Pursuits
Chris Guillebeau of The Art Of Non-Conformity
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Loved this post! Sounds like they are being rewarded for their willingness to let go. I think a lot of people forget that they have ablity to take control and as a result, let other people and circumstances control them. People get so used to conforming and complaining that it becomes how they use the time they could be using to turn their dreams into goals and live a unique and fulfilling life. It takes a lot of courage to really be who you are and sometimes a lot of effort to help people understand it. I’ve got first-hand experience with this
Good to see you here Joan – and I miss you!
Your comment is right on – it is an act of bravery to write your own life. Email me sometime and let me know how your new story is going. xoxo
Great interview, Melissa! I like how Heidi really breaks down the how and the why. I would love to do this, except on some Caribbean island. In fact, I spent my commute into work this morning day-dreaming about it!
Hi Jen! If that’s your dream, I say go for it. Even if it’s just for a short time … sail away from the safe harbor. And keep me posted.
Awesome story, Melissa and Heidi. Thanks for sharing. Doesn’t that story of the Mexican fisherman just about say it all?
Heidi is totally right about the cost of living in Mexico. It is much cheaper than the States (especially if you’re from a big expensive city like L.A.). There are villages and small towns in Mexico where a foreigner could live comfortably for $500 a month or less.
That’s amazing, $500 a month. Inspiring, too!
Thanks for your support today.
Amen! I love that interview – How inspiring! Hard to believe such a thing is possible, right? But I’m glad it is. It’s good to be reminded of the importance of “sailing away from the safe harbor.”
I’m glad it is, too. So often we put our lives in a box. The phrase think outside the box is cliche, but if only we followed that advice more than settling back inside our safe little walls.
Very inspiring!
Good to see you here, Sil! Miss you, we should catch up sometime…