West Ajijic vs San Antonio Tlayacapan

We are finally making our way Lakeside and looking for a home to rent.  While we are familiar with most of the areas, give me the pros and cons between SA T and West Ajijic.   We’ve narrowed down a couple of possibilities to a home in Rancho del Oro which is pricier and another in San Antonio Tlayacapan that we had actually looked at when it was for sale.   Wondering specifically about internet for streaming and any water issues.  

There is another home on the west side for rent, but I discovered it was also listed for sale, so that made me leery that they would sell it out from under us during our lease.
That said, the husband and I, and our dogs can’t wait to get there.

Better internet in San Antonio closer to the shopping area for food , you can walk to more places and do not have to deal with the traffic as much.
Rancho del Oro has some very nice views and is less congested once you get there.Check that you have a house line and that the internet has the spped you want because out there t can be bad. I know I live below Rancho del Oro..

Which ever location , place your interest lies..check out the internet and water at each house...there is no blanket statement good or bad, the difference between adjacent houses can be significant

As far as traffic and access to amenities are concerned SAT would be my choice over West Ajijic.

It's going to depend on your personal lifestyle here. And, San Antonio covers a wide area even some developments on the libramiento so you would need to be specific.
I liked West Ajijic but was living in La Huerta. Every single place I wanted to shop at meant a trip through town which got tedious after a while... and that was before they put in the bicycle lane through town.
Where's your vet? Where is your Doctor? Where are the restaurants you like to eat at? Where are the stores that you like to shop at?
Internet is very location specific and I would talk to neighbours' of a potential rental and/or take your laptop and connect to the rental internet and do your own speed check. Water is also location specific and I would speak to neighbour's and find out about it.

Aren't leases legally binding even if a house sells?

We used a vet behind the Pemex and the shopping center where the movie theater is, so that makes the SAT home a bit more convenient. I also think the Dr that was recommended to us is near that area as well. We had looked at the home in SAT when it was for sale a couple of years ago and the area has changed dramatically, ie, new homes. It’s also closer to my favorite breakfast cafe. I’m still waiting to hear back from the realtor who has the rental listing.

lunateak wrote:Aren't leases legally binding even if a house sells?

I have no idea and that home is located behind Los Sabinos and we do have friends that live there and they seem to have pretty good internet.

Theoretically, the fiber optic internet will be up and running soon and will run the length of the Lakeside towns.  Theoretically.  How soon?  Nobody knows.  Meanwhile, the speeds vary.

I have a friend who lives in Rancho Del Oro.  Gorgeous views; nice homes.  You might have to do some looking to find a dog-accepting landlord in either location, but usually a good deposit is persuasive.

The distances to shopping destinations are not so much the issue as the time and congestion involved.  Pretty bad going East from West once you hit the edge of Ajijic proper.

As for the lease: it needs to be done properly for it to cover you in the event of a sale, so you might want to check that with an attorney first.

Welcome and good luck!

Just because a friend somewhere out there has good internet does not mean you will get good one.. Ask the next door neighbors and check it before signing any lease if it is mportant to you. I was at Telmex to compain a few months ago and there were 2 couples from Rancho del oro there, one was complaining about the internet and the other who could not get a phone line there. Telmex says they are upgrading but you need to check each specific location and not listen to hearsay,

Yes the fibre optic (iLox) will be up and running soon BUT it will not necessarily be available in ALL gated communities. Yours to discover and a really good question to ask if you're thinking about gated communities.

Please understand that traffic and congestion are being viewed from a local perspective. Yes, it can take 8 minutes to get across Ajijic on a holiday Sunday, but compared to going across town in a big northern city, it's nothing. Besides, what's your rush?

Canada_Mike wrote:Please understand that traffic and congestion are being viewed from a local perspective. Yes, it can take 8 minutes to get across Ajijic on a holiday Sunday, but compared to going across town in a big northern city, it's nothing. Besides, what's your rush?

Are you kidding me? It can take eight minutes to make a left turn out of Rancho Del Oro on a holiday weekend. I have a friend who lived in Villa Nova and it was 15 minutes to get from her home to Ajijic center. It sometimes took me 20 minutes to get from the liberamento intersection to her house. It gets old very fast.

on the other end if you live below the carretera going through the village is no problem.

on the other end if you live below the carretera going through the village is no problem.

I agree with that, Lady O.  We are in Ajijic Centro and it often takes more than 15 minutes to get from there to where we pick up a friend to go to lunch. She lives in  the first block of Villa Nova off the Carreterra.  Granted that we have no great reason to hurry, but sitting in gridlock traffic breathing exhaust fumes is not very enjoyable...or healthy.

In Fantasyland, I'd like to see a stop light at some point for both Rancho Del Oro and Villa Nova that would at least operate on weekends so people could leave safely. Yep, dreaming.

brigitte wrote:on the other end if you live below the carretera going through the village is no problem.

How do you see that working? The back streets are slow, too.

The traffic is relative, but...
San Antonio is probably more walkable to shopping.

The traffic on the carretera and in the illage depend on the time of the day , if you fo Early it is not bad but the middle of the day and late afternoon can be a bear. I go east less and less as we do have the La Huerta store that carries most of what we need. I go to SL and walmart once a week or every 2 weeks so it is not bad.
The fallacy about walking to the store s that you have to carry the stuff home so there is no perfect solution.
Here in Chiapas the store is accross a very narrow street and the large market is one block from the house . Lakeside is not walking friendly, there are no cabs you can catch when you need too and the bus system is not that great..

One of the reasons that we moved from Ajijic to Chapala Centro, was the ability to visit the mercado publico, just two blocks away, daily as needed. That, and all the other stores and shops, as well as better sidewalks, made life much more pleasant. The cars could stay in the garage most of the time.

Which ever town you choose, Chapala, SAT ,or Ajijic...every place it is getting miserable at weekends with all the out of townies visiting and parking is non existent ...more and more tinsel and glitter shops, sadly becoming a Coney Island or Disney World

RVGRINGO wrote:One of the reasons that we moved from Ajijic to Chapala Centro, was the ability to visit the mercado publico, just two blocks away, daily as needed. That, and all the other stores and shops, as well as better sidewalks, made life much more pleasant. The cars could stay in the garage most of the time.

Absolutely why we plan on renting for a year

RVGRINGO wrote:One of the reasons that we moved from Ajijic to Chapala Centro, was the ability to visit the mercado publico, just two blocks away, daily as needed. That, and all the other stores and shops, as well as better sidewalks, made life much more pleasant. The cars could stay in the garage most of the time.

The husband really likes Chapala and the malecon there

I do not think the mercado in Chapala is any great mercado everything comes from the abastos just like the vegies and fruit from the stores. It is good if you can walk there but I sue would not pick a house because of its location to that market.

Except for Joco, it's all we got.