GETTING HERE IS MORE THAN HALF THE BATTLE!

We decided to move to San Felipe last May when we bought a 39 foot 5th Wheel trailer at the El Dorado Ranch. In September when we came down to ready the trailer for our move in November, we spotted a 12 x 60 modular home that suited our needs much better. However, it would mean moving a good deal of our household furniture and belongings. We bought the modular home after we returned to our town, just south of Chicago. To make the move to our permanent residence, we would need permission from the Mexican government.

We contacted the Mexican consul in Chicago, and we were told that first we would need our FM3. If we had applied for it in San Felipe, it would have been a bit easier as the requirements are not quite as stringent as they were in Chicago. For our FM3, we needed a letter from our police department attesting to the fact that we have no criminal records. We needed a letter from our doctor stating that we had no contagious diseases. We needed a letter from our bank showing the amount of funds we have on hand, plus a copy of our tax return to show the amount and source of our income. With all of these documents, plus two photos, and our passport, we were issued our FM3 in three days. The consular fee was $82.00 per person.

To get permission to bring our furniture and household goods, we needed to supply an inventory of everything we were taking. All electric appliances, and electronic items had to be listed individually with manufacturer's name, model number and serial number. All other items needed to be put into boxes and labeled with a description such as, clothes, dishes, utensils, tools, etc. All of this had to be typewritten single space in SPANISH with five copies. This we presented to the consul and we were issued a visa for the household goods. The fee was $100.00.

To bring our two dogs, we needed to provide a statement from our veterinarian and a properly filled out INTERNATIONAL health certificate for pets. There was no fee, but the veterinarian charges for the two dogs came to $160.00.

The next problem on the agenda was transporting the goods. We contacted several movers who would deliver our furniture from our home to San Felipe, but the cost was nearly $8,000. We decided to get a rental van and move it ourselves. None of the rental companies would allow us to take the van into Mexico. But, we contacted a U-Haul outlet in a neighboring town, and he agreed that we could rent the van if we returned it either to Yuma or San Diego. He did check and allowed us to take it across the border into San Felipe. To douible check we contacted the Mexican Consul in Mexicali and he told us that we could bring the van across the border as long as we did not go any further SOUTH than Sonora.

Our son and our grandson drove the U-Haul, and we followed in our 93 Ford Escort wagon with the two dogs. The one dog, a 12 year old Golden Retriever needed a carpeted ramp built so that she could get into the car. We spent four nights in "pet friendly" motels, that allowed us to bring the two dogs into our room with us. We stopped in Calexico to get insurance for the U-Haul which was $89.00 then we crossed the border at Mexicali about ten o'clock, hoping to get to San Felipe in the early afternoon. At the border we were told that we needed to get a licensed broker's manifest in order to bring the household goods in. At the border there were several brokerage agencies, and we had no problem getting a broker. He prepared all of the necessary papers and collected a fee of $139.00. We also had to get a permit to take the truck back out. The truck had to go back through the commercial truck check point. There was no problem, except that one of the lanes broke down and the wait was nearly three hours.

We arrived at the El Dorado Ranch at 4:30 just in time to get the keys to our house and unload.

John Wozny - El Dorado Ranch, PVS 2 - Block 17 - Lot 19