[gsinplaya]

Over the weekend I had an interesting opportunity fall into my lap whilst on a trip in Mexico City.

Basically it involves running the entire ecommerce strategy for a large tourism park in the Riviera Maya, Mexico (5 million+ visitors annually)

I'm fortunate to be in a position where I am more or less retired now as I have a strong passive income stream and also cashflow coming in from trading/investing.

Having said this job would be an interesting experience in terms of developing an understanding of ecommerce in latin america, building business connections in this part of the world, and also give me easy access to hundreds of women working in the tourist park daily.

The biggest downside is obviously it reduces the level of freedom I have.

I've posed this question to a few people with mixed responses.

If you could retire now and knew you would be secure financially would you do it or would you continue to chase business/career opportunities?

[OSL]

In the context of the specific situation you laid out, I personally would take the job because it would be an interesting experience and challenge - I wouldn't frame it in terms of the money, even though that is clearly also a positive.

[iknowexactly]

Eliminate money from the happiness equation in your case.

Health and appeal to fertile, young women can and usually does decline quickly after 50.

If you are going to have anything like the access you are describing to hot chicks elsewhere ( without the job) I would focus on that. If the job overall not considering the money will be a net plus for your happiness do it.

I don't know your age, but unless you have an unusually robust constitution, you have to do everything right to stay in good shape, not
get flabby, have a decent sex drive.

That means for me little or no drinking, no smoking at all, healthy low carb
diet, making time without exception for enough sleep, and regular exercise.
If I fuck up in two of those areas my well-being rapidly goes downhill within days, not months like when I was younger.

My strategy was to retire as early as possible, accepting I'd have to go back and work later.

"Give them the shitty years." BY this I mean rather than work
straight through until retiring at, say, 65; work 'til 55, then retire for five years or whatever you can manage, then go back and work when you're 65, 70. Or if you're smarter economically, retire as young as you can.

People forget there's no guarantee you'll live to be 65 or 70. That's just an low average. Lots of people die younger,
or get some annoying chronic ailment that restricts your life in some way. I've got high blood pressure,
I have to struggle to keep my weight down, the medication has side effects, all sort of shit like that creeps up on people.

Being 55 is not like being a slightly wrinkled, grey-templed 35 year-old. Evolution only has marginally equipped us to live
this long. People talk about how great they feel and some are honest, but a lot of it is just bravado, or a dislike of telling people the bad news that getting old sucks.

From my point of view now, smoking ( tobacco or 420) is insane, and most of my other health problems came from moderately heavy alcohol use ( 1/2 to 1 bottle of wine a day). That caused weight gain, high blood pressure, and worsened depression. A LOT of stuff people complain about is secondary effects of doing something stupid they are in denial about.

[worldwidetraveler]

When you are able to retire, you start doing things because you enjoy them. I don't think I will ever stop working simply because I enjoy it.

[WestCoast]

(03-18-2013 07:48 PM)worldwidetraveler Wrote:  

When you are able to retire, you start doing things because you enjoy them. I don't think I will ever stop working simply because I enjoy it.

This is pretty much it.

"Retirement" in terms of sitting around playing with your balls all day and doing nothing is how broke people think about the word "retirement". The only way to think about money is "free to do what I want".

The only question you should ask yourself is do you want to go be the tour manager? Do you like Mexican girls? Do you like the types of girls that visit that particular city?

I have no idea how cute the girls are that go into that stuff, so if there are a bunch of 7+'s all the time I would say yes. If not I would say no. If you don't know then it depends on your other options, but end of the day you can always randomly quit because you don't need the job anyway. That last part is key.

[Aliblahba]

(03-18-2013 07:48 PM)worldwidetraveler Wrote:  

When you are able to retire, you start doing things because you enjoy them. I don't think I will ever stop working simply because I enjoy it.

Retirement means having the freedom to work because you choose to, not from necessity.

[Locksmith]

This is something really personal. Some people need to work hard all their lives regardless of the money, while some prefer to travel most of the time and/or are happy with focusing on their hobbies.

As for myself, I'll chose as a young retiree to get involved part-time with some things I enjoy doing professionally (so no day-to-day management) and I'll combine that with quality leisure, writing and extensive traveling.

In the end, it's all about finding the right balance which personally suits you. If you're experienced, you can objectively weight things and see if a certain scenario is likely to meet your expectations.

[gsinplaya]

some good responses - thanks.

they are throwing in a car and a house for me to sweeten the deal which is making it more appealing.

I've never worked in Mexico but from people I've spoken to they say it can be frustrating dealing with Management who can be inept and lazy.

This is a generalization of course but does anyone have any similar experiences whilst working in Mexico, Central or South America?

The good thing is that I dont need the job so I'm less likely to stick around if I get annoyed with the situation.

[Locksmith]

(03-19-2013 04:02 PM)gsinplaya Wrote:  

some good responses - thanks.

they are throwing in a car and a house for me to sweeten the deal which is making it more appealing.

I've never worked in Mexico but from people I've spoken to they say it can be frustrating dealing with Management who can be inept and lazy.

This is a generalization of course but does anyone have any similar experiences whilst working in Mexico, Central or South America?

The good thing is that I dont need the job so I'm less likely to stick around if I get annoyed with the situation.

Yup, I've coordinated a couple of projects in Mexico DF (short ones though, a few weeks timespan), besides my Brazilian experience. It wasn't on this field, so I don't know how relevant my input can be for you.

My experience is that you will find both incredibly inept and very professional managers mixed up, depending on your specific professional situation and how many different companies and different corporate cultures interact in a given scenario.

My direct Mexican agents/counterparts were legendary imbeciles and were only skillful in political backstabbing, whereas the American firm which was ultimately paying the bills sent over people who were usually focused and professional.

The Mexican branch of some other international company (which was also involved in the project), on the other hand, had a super professional local staff and even some gorgeous smart women (sorry, had to mention this too).

Because it's hard to generalize I suggest you do some quick research on the ground. Go there in person if you can and talk to people who are involved or who are close to what's happening. Be open to hear all the rumors and ask for informal tips over a few drinks, Mexicans are usually cool people and will usually not refrain from opening up if you know how to get to them.

Also, try to find out how many entities will be involved in the activity (sometimes the company is really OK but some provider or client, or even some distant boss who only shows up from time to time, sucks ass and will make your life miserable).

But, above all, trust your gut feeling.

[StudebacherHoch]

I could retire now (57), but I'm choosing to keep my cush job so as to not deplete my nest egg and to keep my health insurance going without paying an arm and a leg. That job, coupled with the fact that I dumped my spendthrift ex-wife and my portfolio is spitting off income like a slot machine now affords me the lifestyle I always dreamed of!

[Seadog]

Retirement is being able to call your own shots. As soon as work becomes too much of a hassle you can tell them where to go.

I worked internationally in a few places, and one was on the US side of the Mexican border. Of the 50 or so people I worked with in our shop, there were 4 non-Mexicans.

Now there were some very good people there. Friendly people who invited me to BBQs, (great food down there) and helped me and friends out of binds.

However, there were a good number of whom, despite being US citizens who were born in the country, still couldn't speak English. Not a problem for them, because the entire city spoke Spanish. I think the problems there are the same that would be present in any developing economy. I also had a dual-citizen friend (but was American) who for a while ran a business renting jet-skis etc on the beaches in Cancun and can speak to his experience.

Are you Mexican? Do you speak Spanish? I found working abroad, you get viewed as a "rich foreigner" and people will take as much as they can from you. Look out for you and your own seems to be the dominant theme. A lot of the guys I worked with were wily. In the US with the Mexicans there, they would always be trying for little victories. If we needed to fix a work truck, it would always go to their friend's shop, and there would be kickbacks to the employee, and a slightly higher bill for us. We say 'don't go there' but then they know guys at the next 20 shops. Buying $20 worth of smokes and chips with the company gas card and getting it billed as fuel. Go to the dentist and they would try and get you to do unnecessary things so they could bill your insurance. We had half a bag of potting soil stolen from our balcony. Another friend who worked temporarily a few hours south in Mexico proper for 3 weeks had all his t-shirts stolen by coworkers from his luggage. If we asked the guys out to dinner as a social gesture, a meal we couldn't expense, they still looked at us to pay. Contrast with Canada where it was an attitude of 'yes I'm your boss, but we can still go drinking together and I don't have to pay for you'

Regardless of how you looked at it, me, and the other white guys, Mexicans not born there, along with the Mexican manager were outsiders, and while they would never be actively bad to us, and decent enough guys, they were always playing the game. A game you will lose if you try to play. These people have been there all their life, rarely travel, knew everyone. Despite being a city of a few hundred thousand people, it seemed like a fairly tightly knit setup, but you remained the outsider. In a sense, the whole city was passively and implicitly set up like a union. Everyone looks out for their own, screws and steals from outside companies, bosses, etc as best they can, and then shares the wealth where you're able with those on the inside.

My friend with the jet-ski business in Cancun, was rarely there, and was always "just scraping by" never losing money, but never making a lot either. Until we went down there and managed it to see what the problem was. Then he made lots. Then a few weeks after he left again, same story. All the guys working for him were nice and kind and honest as ever when he was there, but as soon as he left, regardless of who he replaced, it would revert.

It's just a whole different way of doing business which took me a lot of getting used to, and can be immensely frustrating. Its built almost entirely around "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". Outside of US/Canada/Western Europe, I've also found a lot of places have zero sense of urgency. Here in Asia(for example), having a plane leaving in a little over 3 hours, and being a 3.5 hour drive away from the airport, that's no reason for the driver to fore-go a 20 minute shower. (missed the checkin by 12 minutes). On the other hand, its cool to live in exotic places, is fun to learn the language, and see new sights.

I would suggest going down there and meeting the people you'd potentially be working with. How do they feel about the job? Are they capable people looking for a strong leader so that all of you can accomplish the same vision? Or are they there for a paycheck to get as much as they can by giving as little as they can?

[Suits]

If I was able to retire now, I'd sure have a lot of fun, but instead of working a steady job, I'd probably devote myself to different projects to avoid getting bored and beginning to suck as a person.

Some of those projects might involve doing what others might consider work, but I wouldn't do anything I didn't want to. If it was fun, I'd keep doing it. If I didn't feel like it any more, I'd find some new project to invest my time in.

More than likely, if I was to retire right now with a continual revenue stream, I'd buy a sailboat and spend at least two years floating from here to there. Can't say I'd do it forever, but I think it would be a fun lifestyle for a while. Nothing classier than a date on a sailboat.

[BlurredSevens]

If you work for the money, you're doing it wrong.

[Ovid]

If I had a sufficient amount of savings to enable me to live comfortably, and a solid passive income stream, I'd retire in a heartbeat. However, I would find something to do in short order. Possibly even something fairly menial, simply because men need substantial projects to occupy our time and to pour our efforts into. The distinction would be that, as a financially independent individual, I wouldn't be constrained by monetary needs to work at a given job. I would work there for the satisfaction, or for the company it provided, or for the women, but I would be able to bail when I got tired of it.

From the sound of it, this job could be a great opportunity, or it could turn into misery. I would think long and hard before accepting it, and I absolutely second Seadog's suggestion to investigate further, and meet with the people you'd be working with, face to face.
Many third world countries are third world precisely because they do things in a way which we Westerners cannot help but see as inefficient or blatantly corrupt. When you're a tourist, it's charming and conduces to a laid-back atmosphere, but when you're trying to get things done in such an environment, it can be very frustrating. I have heard horror stories from friends who were involved in business deals in sub-saharan Africa. Mexico would probably be better, but it could still prove tiresome.