My First Post: Relocation From Orlando, Florida.

Hello from Orlando, Florida!

This is my first post and I wanted to introduce myself to the board.

I am age 51, and planning to relocate to the Ajijic area in the next year.

My goal is to run my small business from there, while enjoying a higher quality of life than I am accustomed to, here in Orlando.

In relocation, I hope to make my monthly earnings stretch much further, this while decreasing my stress and improving my overall health.

I had thought about relocation for the last year and received coaching this evening from an international travel expert and author whose first recommendation was Ajijic, based on my Top 10 list of wants and needs.

I look forward to networking with some of you and finding a mentor who will help make transition to the Ajijic area much easier, based on expectations vs. reality.



Have A Great Day!

Joe In Orlando, Florida USA

Welcome to the forum Joe!! You will love it down here.

Thank You! Bob.

I am 51, I was born and raised just north of Philadelphia, in the State Of Pennsylvania and have lived in Orlando, Florida the past 24 years.

The primary reason I would like to relocate to Mexico is that my healthcare costs here in the U.S. are no longer affordable. I cannot justify spending over $1300.00 a month USD for premium healthcare, when I can live in Mexico for a portion of my healthcare budget. Likewise, I am heaving some challenges with my health and would like to have a staff of people to assist me, as I regain wellness.

My Top 10 List Included:

1. Affordable/Quality Healthcare. 2. A Stable Internet Connection To Run My Small Business. 3. Staff To Assist With Cooking, Cleaning, Laundry & Shopping. 4. Affordability / Inexpensive Cost Of Living. 5. A quality built rental home with a nice kitchen and luxury bathroom. 6. Scenery: a nice view of water or mountains. 7. A Safe Place To Live. 8. Ease Of Relocation/Immigration. 9. Great Weather. 10. Socialization: I love to network and meet people, both online and in person.

In my coaching session this evening, out all of all places in the world that are the closest match to the above Top 10 needs/wants list, the international relocation expert and author I spoke to felt that by far, Ajijic was the best fit!

My first question: I love to swim laps, in a lap pool, for exercise. What are the pools/fitness centers like in the Ajijic/Lake Chapala area?

All My Best,

Joe

Come visit and see. Answers are easy but correct ones may vary by needs and wants.

I will give my opinions on Internet. Have both. Telmex DSL (phone line modem) is most reliable and cheap. I pay for phone and 8 down and .6 up and it costs 400P per month. A good product that is fairly reliable. Now my Telecable cable modem service is a bomb. I pay 600P for basic cable and 5 down and 1 up internet. The price recently rose for this service as another cable company has bought Telecable. The more crowded the neighborhood using the cable modem the slower it is. On sunday afternoons I am lucky to get 2. Telmex is the winner here at least in my neighborhood.

My point is faster service is coming and we see it in Guadalajara but not lakeside yet. We don't have many repeater technologies here so if you are too far away from the DSL servers your speed may be down to 1 to 3. If internet is important you must consider this when picking a house out. If you are looking for service like my Mom has in Seattle area (175 down 20 up) you won't find it here. Also sometimes the pipes out of town are too small for the load offered especially on weekend.

Now not trying to scare you off many folks live with these speeds but sometimes uploading files to go north .6 can be awful slow so I do use the telecable 1 upload speed which is one of the reasons I have both services. Being Patient is a very important skill here regarding technology.

Hope this helps Joe

There are plenty of good fitness centers here. Not so many public pools. I know of only one around here. I believe it is in Riberas (between Ajijic and Chapala). Your best bet may be to find a rental house with a suitably sized pool.

Two places to swim, that I know of. The pool in Riberas in the S and S area and the Monte Carlo hotel in Chapala. The hotel charges something like 20 or 30 pesos a day.

There is a third choice. The public pool in Chapala on Pepe Guizar.

http://centronaranja.com/index.en.html

there is also a hot springs sauna and pool in San Juan Cosala, about a 15 min. drive west

In terms of 'affordable/quality healthcare' . . . I suggest when you get here you explore the gamut of possibilities and sign up for the best you can afford and qualify for.

We have excellent medicine in the area (that includes Guadalajara) and we have our share of Dr. Deaths. Do your due diligence and talk to a lot of people when you get here, then make the appropriate choice for you. Fees are reasonable and paying out of pocket without an insurance plan is an option as well.

Bienvenidos a Mexico! Enjoy.

Well said, TR. You might want to talk to a good insurance agent like Bellon Insurance (there are others) who can fill you in on the different policies available.

Well, if you mean that you can live on the north shore of Lake Chapala in Mexico for a portion of your healthcare cost of 1300 USD, I would strongly advise that you come down here on an exploratory trip and see what the rental costs are (assuming you are not buying) and what the living costs are. For me, 1300 USD would not be adequate, unless I lived in one room with a hotplate, a supply of beans and no car. And that does NOT count the cost of healthcare, a large proportion of which most of us expats here pay out of pocket. While healthcare here is very good, there being good local doctors and good hospitals in nearby Guadalajara, it is still large expense, and an unpredictable expense which can, at the drop of a hat, turn into a major expense, not to mention the costs of transport. Yes, it is possible to enroll in Seguro Popular or IMSS, which are government programs, but these are NOT like Medicare and Medicare Supplement programs. Many of us pay a substantial amount out-of-pocket for our meds and visits to private doctors among other things. So please do more research before you come down. And do plan on an exploratory visit before you move. And please do your learning from people who have PERSONAL EXPERIENCE! The advice you have received is just a SMALL BABY step in exploring where you can live happily and cheaply--and IMO NO move should be made on the basis of where you can live cheaply unless you make an exploratory trip first!

Your insurance cost here at age 51, depending on what preexisting conditions you have should come nowhere near $1300 USD a month. The best book I've read on living here is Judy King's "Living at Lake Chapala available on Amazon at $9.99 for the Kindle edition. You have to meet financial requirements to get your residency, temporary or if you want to go permanent right off the bat. It must be done at a Mexican consulate. Do come for a visit. You'll never know until you explore for yourself but tons of other people did move here & love it. Best of luck.

Depending on your pre-existing health problems, you may be able to get private health insurance for $1300 per YEAR.

I just got my internet (telcel) it worked for 3 hours. It had been down for a week. Telcel customer service is a joke. I reccomrnd to get a us cell phone with unlimited data (T-Mobile) and use it as your hotspot.

Anyone else wondering where Joseph Erik went?

We may be talking to ourselves.....

All,

I am reading your posts and researching additional information about the area.

I truly appreciate all of your comments and suggestions.

Everyone has a different understanding of what is needed for a comfortable life style.   And depending on where and how you live $1 300 us could be plenty or just a fraction of whats needed.   For myself I live on much less then that, but i live in Chapala, which is less expensive, rarely go to ajijic events, I do go out almost every night to local spots that are inexpensive ... dinner is rarely over 50 pesos and a beer out is 20.   I live in a simple but completely remodeled apartment that came fully furnished and outfitted, but no tv or car.   It has a full size oven, but have yet to cook beans on it   Fresh food is very inexpensive, if you insist on having the same selections as the US, your food cost can go thru the roof.    Sorry no personal experience with health care.

As others have stated coming here for a visit is the smart thing to do... not what I did tho.   I got lucky, after a week at the hotel Perico, found my apartment and a true appreciation for living in Mexico.   I wish you the very best in your research and future endeavors

What a nice post, Jerlyn. Absolutely right.

There are about a million different ways to live here, everyone must find their own path that fits within their income, lifestyle, and happiness parameters. Everything is possible.

All,

I wanted to take a moment and say 'Thank You' for all of your idea's and suggestions. I have 4 other geographic area's that I plan to research and compare to Lake Chapala. They include the Countries of Panama, Ecuador, Guatemala, South America and I wanted to see if there is a benefit to living in any of the Asian Countries. I will follow back up once that research is complete. Thanks Again, Joe.

Joseph Erik wrote:All,

I wanted to take a moment and say 'Thank You' for all of your idea's and suggestions. I have 4 other geographic area's that I plan to research and compare to Lake Chapala. They include the Countries of Panama, Ecuador, Guatemala, South America and I wanted to see if there is a benefit to living in any of the Asian Countries. I will follow back up once that research is complete. Thanks Again, Joe.

Check your PM's.