The Newbie Invasion is Real

Here's another good one: you wake up one morning and discover they devalued the peso of overnight and your bank account is worth 50% less than it was last night.

If you can roll with all these kinds of things, then the dust of Mexico is on your heart too.

CanuckBob wrote:
Well I've had dengue, food poisoning and the worms. Most recently I had the typhoid too. Viva Mexico!!

Oh man, I hope you got your worms at the bottom of mescal bottles!

CanuckBob wrote:Welcome aboard!! The ship is far from sinking. Some of the ole timers just hate the change from the good ole days......

Sure as hell....not me.  I welcome the change(s).

mattoleriver wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:
Well I've had dengue, food poisoning and the worms. Most recently I had the typhoid too. Viva Mexico!!

Oh man, I hope you got your worms at the bottom of mescal bottles!

They said I may have gotten them from my dogs so I had them dewormed too. I've also had parasites........

ha ha ditto...

lakeside7 wrote:

So is Prudence still alive and around. She was also a decent golfer

Prudence was the golfer, but I don't know about tennis. She recently left Tizapán el Alto to move back to the U.S. for good (at her daughter's insistence, I believe). We've tried to stay in touch, but the telephone lines are giving trouble, and she hasn't responded to my emails.

(Sorry for the delayed response -- I failed to keep up with this discussion.)

My wife and I may soon be newbies "invading" Chapala. We are coming for a visit in Oct to check it out. I have been doing research on different places for the last year and Chapala certainly looks suitable.

I am turning 60 this year. I have had some health issues and decided I don't want to continue working full time. I figured if we can lower the cost of living, I don't have to work as much.

There are many options these days - besides Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama are popular destinations for retirees. In Europe, Portugal, Spain, and others are quite popular.

Definitely other options. It pretty hard though to beat Lake Chapala for year round temperate weather, proximity to international airport, proximity to the US/Canada, proximity to world class medical care and all the local amenities. I haven't found it yet.

Try Arusha, Tanzania.

Been there, Bubba, many moons ago. Nice view of Kilamanjaro, but little else. The hotel waiter was shocked that I wanted iced tea...sacriledge!

CanuckBob wrote:Definitely other options. It pretty hard though to beat Lake Chapala for year round temperate weather, proximity to international airport, proximity to the US/Canada, proximity to world class medical care and all the local amenities. I haven't found it yet.

I am not disagreeing with you just to be awkward - I know it works for you as you have adult children and a successful small business to run - but really now - nothing better!?!? Lets start with countries, so many culturally rich, mind numbing beautiful places in Europe. I don't mean just the tourist cities like Paris, Rome and London - but rather like resort cities on the Black Sea like Montenegro - accepted into the EU this year. Then I have always been a fan of Medellin, Colombia - just the right size, exceptional infrastructure, and better climate than here, and a quick hop to an old Caribbean pirate port. Won't get into South Africa, the Australian Gold Coast, Himalayan foothills, etc.

As far as Mexico. I am great fan of the wild ocean, and have seen photos and videos the breaking waves in Puerto Escondito. Reminds me of the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. I have never had a problem with the surfer crowd - and they keep the prices down. November to April great. Then up to the pockets of Mediterranean climate south of Tee - Juana and into the Valle de Guadalupe. Still inexpensive, and memorable trips into Ensenada for seafood treats. I would still like to drive however. If I dummied my suv down even more, put an old beat up longboard on the roof, with my surfcasting tubes, I'll bet the police would take no interest me whatsover.

Well then give us a list of places that meet my specified criteria above. To begin, most will be far away from home, in vastly different time zones.

I guess it all depends on your outlook. I spent 4 years living in Europe, and my parents are European. I have also travelled some of the most wild places in British Columbia, where time is meaningless.

Most other countries have a higher cost of living than Mexico. For me, this is as close to perfect as one can get; close to Int'l airport, shopping, medical care, the ocean and lots of great places to visit.

David wrote:Most other countries have a higher cost of living than Mexico.  For me, this is as close to perfect as one can get;  close to Int'l airport, shopping, medical care, the ocean and lots of great places to visit.

Yeah, if I had my 'druthers -- I'd rather be in Austria or Germany, since I'm fluent in German. But I couldn't do it on my retirement income, so ... MEXICO!

Costa Rica and Panama are much more difficult and expensive to establish permanent residency for a foreigner.

Lehrer wrote:

David wrote:Most other countries have a higher cost of living than Mexico.  For me, this is as close to perfect as one can get;  close to Int'l airport, shopping, medical care, the ocean and lots of great places to visit.

Yeah, if I had my 'druthers -- I'd rather be in Austria or Germany, since I'm fluent in German. But I couldn't do it on my retirement income, so ... MEXICO!

I get that.......2 months in Ireland equals 10 months in Mexico.....and I know my way around and speak Gaeilge.
4.50 euro for a pint vs. 25 peso cerveza for starters...
Believe it not.....Baileys is at least 25% to 50% more at a liquor store in Dublin where you can throw a rock and hit their main/home bottling plant that at Costco in  GDL.  You don't want to know the price Corona and Herradura in the pubs.
And that's before you even start thinking about buying food, or petrol (gasoline) 1.50 euro per liter, that's liter not gallon, or paying 21% VAT (IVA).

If I were younger, I would split for Split, Croatia, a delightful city with a wonderful harbor and nearby islands for cruising in a Mediterranean climate & with easy access to Venice, Italy, or the rest of Europe by car, train or plane. Few are fluent in Croat, so English is pretty widely spoken, along with the more common European languages. It is part of the EU, too.

CanuckBob wrote:Definitely other options. It pretty hard though to beat Lake Chapala for year round temperate weather, proximity to international airport, proximity to the US/Canada, proximity to world class medical care and all the local amenities. I haven't found it yet.

Well put! The proximity to the US/Canada and proximity to a major airport are important considerations for both my wife and I (otherwise we would have considered Malaysia, Portugal, Spain, etc.)  My sister and her family are here in Austin, TX, my mom and brother (and his family) are in Toronto, while my wife has siblings in Ottawa and Halifax.  This criteria itself narrowed our search to Mexico and Central America.  We ruled out Ecuador, Nicaragua, Belize, Columbia, and Honduras for various reasons, leaving Costa Rica and Panama.  

We visited Costa Rica and liked it, but the infrastructure (roads etc) are not as good as Mexico.  Costa Rica and Panama both have areas that feature the "eternal spring" temperatures like Chapala: Grecia is just an hour out of San Jose and has many expats as does Boquete in Panama.  But they aren't as close to medical, airport etc. For what we are looking for, Chapala seems to have almost everything we are looking for, which is why we want to come for a visit and check it out.

Welcome! I am sure that you will find it appealing... We are nubies and are finishing our second year here... The weather is perfect or near to it.
You will find any number of opinions as to where the best living is.

We did a month survey and hit all the areas. We decided on Ajijic as it is central to most of our shopping... It is more expensive than other villages and is a gringo magnet... That said, it works for us...

I would be happy to answer any questions. You can PM me if you like.

Again, welcome!

Great discussion! I can't help but speak up and share something I was just going to post in the For Sale/Rent/Wanted/Free category] but I think it could be applicable here, as well.

On Thursday, September 28th from 9 AM – 1 PM at LCS, I am facilitating an educational workshop about renting, buying, and building here in Lakeside.

The workshop is for new residents who are still in the data gathering stage and see value attending a workshop on the subject of Lakeside housing. Participants spend half a day with other new expat listening to a panel of local experts share experiences and inside knowledge about Lakeside housing. They will also hear a panel of vetted expats share their stories, their lessons, and their advice about finding their dream or maybe their nightmare home.

This is about education and not sales. All profits go to a local charity selected by each participant.

To learn more about this workshop and the charities please visit:
https://www.lakechapalaresourceacademy.org/

Hopefully, this will become a new resource for new people transitioning into our community.