What To Do With My Money?

[Ceviche]

what is "semi-good-lookin"?

 

[Ceviche]

the wise expats usually have local friends with accounts abroad. transfer money in their account and they give you their dollars here and then you change as and when you like either in florida or wherever

 

[Joe]

what is "semi-good-lookin"?

It's an ugly person you meet at the bar after a few drinks.

 

[Matt84]

I have NOT, personally, had any bad experience in Florida

Don't take it literally, this is not true when applied to the state.

 

[TaraE4F]

Hi semigoodlookin

I sent you a PM.

Kind regards and best of luck

 

[jeff1234]

There are many good suggestions here.

When I want to reevaluate how I get cash I usually take an hour, check out the blue rate on ambito, then see how many pesos I would get if I used Xoom, Ria, went to Colonia, etc.

In your case since you are being paid out of the US maybe a US bank account + Xoom would be a viable option.

For the last few years I've used Xoom. Never a problem except once or twice a year they want to see a lot of my documents. Otherwise I'm usually walking out in 15 minutes with my money. But they have been expensive. Now that they have a strong competitor in Ria, I see that they are giving conversion rates closer to the blue rate and have cut their fees a lot.

I considered going to Colonia but it's too expensive and takes a whole day. Maybe if I lived near the ferry it'd be a better choice for me.

A few months ago Xoom was giving me 30% less than a cueva. As a native New Yorker I am naturally paranoid about the streets but I got some dollars from the US and took a weeks worth of dollars up to a cueva. I bought pesos at very close to the blue rate (13.50 yesterday) and did the transaction in a doorway close to the street and had no problems at all. I kinda think that the cuevas know it would be bad for business if bloody tourists started staggering down their streets.

I always observe the same took common sense as any experienced tourist. I don't take more money at any time than I can afford to lose. This means that I go every 2 weeks. Always stop as soon as I'm on the street with my money and take a good look around. Get in a cab or stop again on the next block, in front of a store, and have another good look around. And dont be afraid to run or cross the street if you see trouble.

Good luck.