Re: The gentrification of Ajijic

by brigitte Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:10 pm

Yes west Ajijic starts at Rio Zula . We live below the Danza del Sol and the escritura says we are in Tio Domingo.. never heard it called that but maybe at the time it was built it is what it was called so it may have been west Ajijic...who cares...

by NoVaDamer Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:32 pm

What is happening here is not gentrification. As the author of the article quotes (and then ignores), gentrification is the renewal of a rundown urban area. It happens in major metropolitan areas when people get tired of long commutes and decide the "bad part of town" is so much closer, cheaper, and possibly "better." There are a few early adopters and then the mass of buyers follow, drowning whatever local culture was there before.
What is happening Lakeside is just development. In the last generation, Mexico developed a middle-class which is looking for more than a room in the family casa, and willing to move beyond the confines of the town they grew up. Lakeside always had the rich with palaces up in the hills; the mass of development comes from the (relatively less) well-off, both Tapatios and gringos, moving in.
In both cases, local renters suffer, as they are priced out of the market. Local land owners win with higher rents, and get a one-time big payoff if they sell. The local culture always changes, from small town to boutique to mass market (if the trend continues).
The real question lakeside is which movement will predominate: gringo retirees or commuting Tapatios. Two very different scenarios.

by CHILLIN Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:16 pm

Very good observation NoVaDamer. Interesting too is the definition of "gentry". It is linked to the U.K. as landed gentry, those who have property and social status, but we're not connected to nobility, no matter how hard they tried. Now most of the people I have met here are down to earth and open, you can't deny many who moved here saw that this was an opportunity to enhance their social status compared to where they came from. These ones are typically defeated and return. Desperately wanting to unload their vanity properties.

by gringal Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:37 pm

I've met very few who aren't down to earth here, and when I find any who are otherwise, I avoid them. Life is too short to put up with phonies.

I think it's going to be both NOB expats and people who are from Guadalajara who buy the properties. Similar situations exist in the U.S. where people commute long distances so that their families can live in a more pleasant environment than in the big cities.

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