why DO people leave?

I don't usually get involved in the forum discussions but this one hit me right where I live.

First is why I left California. We lived in the Sierra foothills in between Tahoe and Yosemite surrounded by about one hundred wineries with a beautiful home on an acre with a 180 view.

BuT after sixty five years of living in California we decided we were bored and needed one last adventure. So we pondered where we might move to and my wife suggested Mexico. We googled retiring in Mexico and up jumped the Focus on Mexico site. We came for the one week seminar and also came back three months later for a visit on our own. We saw lots of flaws with Ajijic such as trash, stray dogs poorly maintained streets and crazy drivers but we thought this would be part of the adventure. We decided to give Ajijic a whirl and sold the house and all possessions and headed out.

Fast forward five years and the trash, stray dogs, bad streets and crazy drivers have lost there charm . As it turns out the grass is not greener. The fact that some things are cheaper here was never part of the equation.

We have travelled to virtually every city in Mexico in the past five years from colonial to coastal and no where have we seen conditions like they are in Ajijic. So, I am not anti Mexico but have become less enchanted with Ajijic. We have a lovely home here and a broad circle of friends but still find it difficult to overlook the things that have not gotten any better in five years and in many ways worse.

So given the chance to recreate what I had in California I probably would go back or more likely would ( will ) go elsewhere in Mexico.

Smartalex wrote:I left Ajijic in order to get away from the Village People. Now I live in Chapala. My Spanish has improved considerably and I feel about 20 years younger. Oh yeah, I'm an old gringo too...just don't need to be reminded of it all day long.

Like.

I leave Mexico three times each year. And I really look forward heading north to Seattle and when the sun is out Vancouver Island. And yes I love my internet speed.  

It is  


Yet give a week or three and I start wanting to go back to Ajijic were the speeds are less than one tenth of that but all my neighbors are great.

Hold on a sec lol.  What are the internet speeds there are we talking less than 8 Mb/s download?

They certainly can be less than 8mb/sec. I actually would be happy with a CONSISTENT 5mb/sec....but steady and consistent do not exist with Telmex or Telecable.
When it works, it's wonderful...kinda like sunshine in Vancouver is so spectacular that you forgive the last three weeks of rain.
If you want fast speed then you want to be in Guadalajara 'cuz the infrastructure lakeside sucks.

This is probably the most honest, realistic conversation I've ever read here.
Sometimes I think I must be living in some parallel universe than the people who see
this area as "Paradise".
After nine years, we've personally seen the good and the not so good side of life here,
but still we have no plans to return to the long,cold,boring winters of "home".
I don't know what it would take to get us to move, the thought of the hassle involved
is more than we could face at this time of our lives.
I appreciate Spencer's courage in keeping it real, but then he sees more than most of us
will ever know.

ferret wrote:kinda like sunshine in Vancouver is so spectacular that you forgive the last three weeks of rain.

Jajaja.........that is so true.

Aer- wrote:Hold on a sec lol.  What are the internet speeds there are we talking less than 8 Mb/s download?

Ok relax but internet is not that good here but better than it use to be.   Telmex DSL comes in 3,5,8,10 but it depends on your location. Farther from DSL switch slower the speed. They are in the process of updating to VDSL but when for all is not known.  We were updated six month ago from .8 to 2 to 5 and now we have 8 down and .6 up for 400P and includes phone.  We had Telecable cable modem running at 10 up and 1.8 down (??close to this) but only product sold now is 5 down as they have overloaded lines out of the area.  

So yes compared to my Mom's house in Seattle who gets 175 down on her cable modem internet is slow here but it works.   It is changing but when for all people nobody knows.

ferret wrote:They certainly can be less than 8mb/sec. I actually would be happy with a CONSISTENT 5mb/sec....but steady and consistent do not exist with Telmex or Telecable.
When it works, it's wonderful...kinda like sunshine in Vancouver is so spectacular that you forgive the last three weeks of rain.
If you want fast speed then you want to be in Guadalajara 'cuz the infrastructure lakeside sucks.

Only certain areas in Guadalajara have the high speeds you see advertised on the billboards at the airport. Its better than lakeside but not Internet nirvana.

Z

and yet 15 years ago there were 2 fiber optic cables being installed from Guadalajara down to Melaque, did they both go to Manzanillo?

(They passed close to Joco.)

islandiver wrote:and yet 15 years ago there were 2 fiber optic cables being installed from Guadalajara down to Melaque, did they both go to Manzanillo?

(They passed close to Joco.)

Fiber optics don't really have anything to do with overall internet speed over a DSL CCT (curcuit). DSL traffic doesn't traverse fiber cable, it is terminated at the exchange on a DSLAM. The weakest link is the CCT between your home and the exchange. The signal runs over a 24 or 22 gauge pair of wires, the quality of which varies considerably, as you probably can imagine. The greater the distance from the exchange the greater the impact on through-put.

When I moved here 8 years ago I had one DSL with Telmex and was very happy it worked in the rain at all. Telecable didn't work at all period in my Hood.  Now some of us can at least see the future with Telmex VDSL and eventually  Izzy Cable company will invest in us.  Last I talked to Telmex they indicated late in the fall for many of us to benefit from new system. We shall see but personally going from .8 4 years ago to 8 now in the same house and wiring I am happy but I live within a mile of Telmex DSL switch.

Zedinmexico wrote:

Aer- wrote:Hold on a sec lol.  What are the internet speeds there are we talking less than 8 Mb/s download?

Ok relax but internet is not that good here but better than it use to be.   Telmex DSL comes in 3,5,8,10 but it depends on your location. Farther from DSL switch slower the speed. They are in the process of updating to VDSL but when for all is not known.  We were updated six month ago from .8 to 2 to 5 and now we have 8 down and .6 up for 400P and includes phone.  We had Telecable cable modem running at 10 up and 1.8 down (??close to this) but only product sold now is 5 down as they have overloaded lines out of the area.  

So yes compared to my Mom's house in Seattle who gets 175 down on her cable modem internet is slow here but it works.   It is changing but when for all people nobody knows.

Well I do not need in the 100s, that is fine and many many places do not get that.  I do however need at least 8ms/s or very close to it, to avoid insanity lol.

Also looks like I will be re-reading about DSl lol... Anyone around sell a T1 line, lol?

Aer- wrote:

Zedinmexico wrote:

Aer- wrote:Hold on a sec lol.  What are the internet speeds there are we talking less than 8 Mb/s download?

Ok relax but internet is not that good here but better than it use to be.   Telmex DSL comes in 3,5,8,10 but it depends on your location. Farther from DSL switch slower the speed. They are in the process of updating to VDSL but when for all is not known.  We were updated six month ago from .8 to 2 to 5 and now we have 8 down and .6 up for 400P and includes phone.  We had Telecable cable modem running at 10 up and 1.8 down (??close to this) but only product sold now is 5 down as they have overloaded lines out of the area.  

So yes compared to my Mom's house in Seattle who gets 175 down on her cable modem internet is slow here but it works.   It is changing but when for all people nobody knows.

Well I do not need in the 100s, that is fine and many many places do not get that.  I do however need at least 8ms/s or very close to it, to avoid insanity lol.  

Sorry man but I am just telling you the truth.  Eight is about the best you PROBABLY will get but it works.  Probably away from DSL switches 5 is all you should expect.  Telecable is merging with megacable and Izzy (sp??) now bought the combined companies and things are screwed here for cable modem. 7 Cable here is equal to 5 DSL ever with higher upload speed of Cable modems.  Cable company can't even print bills right now.  Personally if you can afford it get both than you can figure out what is reliable. Frankly any advice is local to the hood only.  Where you live will determine  what your speed is.  Its doable just you have to understand it is extremely variable. Some places stop working in the rain. It could be bad local wires in your house or out in the street.   I just don't want you to get the idea that we compare to up north yet. We see the ads for 30 and such in Guadalajara and I have seen the new paper ads  for VDSL Telmex 100 for 999P or somethng like that with Telmex.  They want to take our money at least. Can't even talk to the local cable company so we have no idea what our future is.  PM me if you want to disscuss this very boring subject for most folks about T1 lines. Too slow.
VDSL is a good product.  Regular DSL here can be OK. You be surprised how a good quality 5 DSL will work for you.  Its the way it is now. Working here is very possible. High upload speeds and server stuff is a different subject for example fixed IP is difficult as folks don't seem to know many times what they are doing and you will just get pissed off.

Hope this helps. I worked on the technical staff for an HP factory as a Telecom and IT Dilbert.    Relax and accept the reality.

Z

Hate to be a party pooper, but I doubt that internet speed is a deal breaker in whether people stay or go unless they're making a living working remotely.

It's big deal for some people, I know. We have one friend, long since retired from his IT job who is constantly complaining about speed. What is he doing with it? Downloading pirated movies.

gringal wrote:Hate to be a party pooper, but I doubt that internet speed is a deal breaker in whether people stay or go unless they're making a living working remotely.

It's big deal for some people, I know. We have one friend, long since retired from his IT job who is constantly complaining about speed.  What is he doing with it?  Downloading pirated movies.  

Ohhhhhh no you have that wrong with certain type of  techno folks. He said 8 is his bottom line and that probably the best he can hope for.  We do things you don't do. Yea I am sure much of us is about movies and crap but some of us are moving code north and south. So at my house I can download at 8 but I can only upload at .6.  That is slow compared to up north.  My Mom at 86 years old  ( and a Geek)  pays for  175 down and 20 up in Seattle area.  We do many things at once over the internet.  We are also spoiled assholes bandwidth wise LOL LOL.  We know.   The lesson to learn is you can live with DSL 5 here.  He or she will figure it out.   I wouldn't trade Ajijic for any high speed internet service. Its good enough for most of us even the folks who want to work here just get both Telmex and Telecable if this stuff is A1 important.

Z

Zedinmexico wrote:

gringal wrote:Hate to be a party pooper, but I doubt that internet speed is a deal breaker in whether people stay or go unless they're making a living working remotely.

It's big deal for some people, I know. We have one friend, long since retired from his IT job who is constantly complaining about speed.  What is he doing with it?  Downloading pirated movies.  

Ohhhhhh no you have that wrong with certain type of  techno folks. He said 8 is his bottom line and that probably the best he can hope for.  We do things you don't do. Yea I am sure much of us is about movies and crap but some of us are moving code north and south. So at my house I can download at 8 but I can only upload at .6.  That is slow compared to up north.  My Mom at 86 years old  ( and a Geek)  pay for  175 down and 20 up in Seattle area.  We do many things at once over the internet.  We are also spoiled assholes bandwidth wise LOL LOL.  We know.   The lesson to learn is you can live with DSL 5 here.  He or she will figure it out.   I wouldn't trade Ajijic for any high speed internet service. Its good enough for most of us even the folks who want to work here just get both Telmex and Telecable.

Z

I guess what I'm trying to politely suggest is that we do have a tech forum for you guys, girls and geeks of all stripe on here. This thread was about reasons for scooting back home or away elsewhere. Our internet speed sucks, but the rest of life is good.

Telecable: the service that leaves for the weekend, trouble afoot or not. Telmex: the one that tells tales of speed, but doesn't deliver.

gringal wrote:
I guess what I'm trying to politely suggest is that we do have a tech forum for you guys, girls and geeks of all stripe on here.  This thread was about reasons for scooting back home or away elsewhere.  

I'd like to upvote this comment, but it's not clear to me how you do that on this site (it seems it is possible, since there is a "reputation" value for each poster).

For some people slow internet is a reason to go home depending what they want to do. Just because you folks think its not doesn't make it so for others. It sounds like it could be an issue for Aer if he thinks 8 is his minimum. Sure 95% of us get along fine but have you talked to the folks trying to run a server here or get a fixed IP number? These things are very very common north of the border but here they could stop people cold.

STOP HIJACKING THIS THREAD!! There, is that clear enough for you?

holdrja wrote:STOP HIJACKING THIS THREAD!! There, is that clear enough for you?

Sorry not my intent, internet speed is low end, reason to leave for some.  That I feel is germane to the thread, tecno talk about it no.  So not trying to ruffle any feathers.

In the 11 years I've lived here I've seen people move NOB for the following reasons;
Health issues, their own or aging parents NOB.
Divorce.

David wrote:In the 11 years I've lived here I've seen people move NOB for the following reasons;
Health issues, their own or aging parents NOB.
Divorce.

Death of a partner.

Anyone that concerned about internet speed best stay where they are. Most are only concerned that there is internet at all.......jaja.

Missing the grandkids.

Another thing is I believe people don't see the street dogs, trash in the street, road conditions, corruption etc when they first get here with their rose-colored glasses on. Then, after awhile, things get to bugging them. Then they think it will get better, they form committees and spearhead changes in the things that bother them - but it never changes or only does temporarily while that group are still motivated. The original Ajijic Limpia is a good example.

It's a big mistake to think that anything will change so I'd say leave your expectations at the border when you cross over and accept this country for what it is or don't make the move.

I think for some the novelty just wears off. I heard someone state that they were leaving after 5 years because it wasn't quaint and charming anymore.