One of the most common general beliefs about Mexico is that it is much cheaper to live here than in the States. The reality is not quite as clear-cut. If you want to live as simply as possible (no air-conditioning, no fancy restaurants, no internet, not shopping at the large grocery stores) and are open to living in non-tourist areas, you can get by on very little money. Chelsea and I estimate a person could get by on $1,200 a month. Once you starting adding amenities, the costs escalate quickly. In order to paint a fuller picture, I’m introducing a series of posts that highlight a range of items from housing and gas to car washes, groceries, and restaurants.
Let’s kick things off with something that is shockingly inexpensive in my opinion: pan dulces. Pan dulces are sweet breads (cinnamon rolls, croissants, fruit turnovers) and cookies. You can purchase them at bakeries called panaderias. They are also available from walking vendors near the beach or there are vendors who drive small pickup trucks with shells covering the bed who drive the streets like an ice cream truck in the U.S. Some of them even play a prerecorded chant/song to let you know they are coming, just like the Pinky-Dinky man when I was growing up.
This a picture of my pan dulces loot from last night. I am going to pause while you guess how much I paid…
One dollar and 66 cents. The first time I bought some of these, it was late in the day. I assumed the bakery was about to close and they were just trying to unload stuff in order not to throw it out. Nope. Since then I have bought pan dulces from other bakeries, trucks driving through the neighborhood, trucks on the side of the road, and people walking the beach. Do I always pay $1.66? No, but for a similar quantity I’ve never paid more than $3 and I’m not sure I have paid that much.
To be fair, while they look great, they don’t taste like their American equivalents. They are much less sweet and overall pretty dry. The cinnamon roll-looking item is more like a yeast roll with icing. Same with the donut. I could easily imagine leaving off the sugary toppings and serving all of these items, other than the cookie, as a bread side with lunch or dinner.
Verdict? Sweet breads are much cheaper than in the U.S.