El Zorro

Hi, everybody. I'm a retired English-Spanish interpreter and live in L.A. I'm a US citizen, but I've always thought of retiring to Mexico. I had become sort of disheartened through the years due to media reports—of which you're all aware—but this forum has dispelled most of my fears.

I've done my share of searches in the forum, but considering that the situation around the border is somewhat fluid, some of the info may be outdated. I have some questions, if those in the know would be so kind to answer them. You got me interested in the Rosarito area.

First one: If it is true that you can pay in dollars for just about everything down there but getting a fair exchange rate may be a problem, could one try getting the exchange rate for the day, and with a calculator in hand figure out on the spot how much you have to pay for something, and do so?