Never really documented my times before, so forgive my lack of or too much detail.
We arrived on October 4, 2011 - picked up by friends from the local congregation, David & Kelly. They immediately took us to see 6 or so places to stay and this was a great thing to have done! We saw what you could get from 2,500 pesos to 11,000 pesos per month; $200 to $850 USD.
Our hotel, Casa Ejido, (more like a home with a pool and common kitchen area) was really nice. Lisa got it for $30 / night and breakfast was an additional $3 ea (coffee, fruit, homemade bread & various jams). Room has a king bed, large comfy couch, desk, sink, fridge, 2 burner cook-top and water dispenser. All in all, nice place and very "Mexico" feeling.
We found a great place 100 yards from the Caribbean and is hitting us for 10,000 pesos per month. The owner, Don, is Canadian and has been here for 16 years; nice to have good communication with the landlord, aye, hoser?
This is appx. $750 for a 2 br / 1 ba that is newly furnished (we got to pick out some of the furnishings) and also includes water, gas, electric & drinking water. The only thing we needed was bedding & towels...
We (4 of us) ate at a taco hut (brought our own beer from the local grocery) and all ate for 78 pesos ($5.75, I think the beer cost more than the food)...had dinner with them and 2 other couples; one from Canada and another from London / Italy and had a really good evening (dinner w/drinks on the beach for 300 pesos later or $21).
10/5 - Went out to look at furniture; found some we liked and told Don...kind of got some foot time in around town and had lunch for a whopping 41 pesos ($3) and went to the meeting that evening; small congregation, but very welcoming. Had 45 at the meeting & much opportunity to comment. Had a great visit afterwards, meeting some there. They come from everywhere...Argentina, UK, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Mexico & US. Maybe more, we just haven't met them yet.
10/6 - Signed up for the condo; biked there in 10-15 minutes from where we're staying. We had lunch for 22 pesos and then an early dinner for 90 (we splurged at $6.50).
Here's some things we'll be paying additional for (all monthly):
Internet - 2mb speed - $35 ish
Cable - would be $50, but I got Hulu working...using download speeds of less than 1mb...
Local cell - $10-20 / month
Use air conditioning - $75 ish
Transport - don't know, but budgeting $100 or thinking of bringing the car down.
Laundry service - $30 ish
Cleaning every 2 weeks (maybe) - $25 per visit
