New to this website. Looking to retire to Lake Chapala and need coaching

Hi,

I am new to this site and was looking for guidance on retiring to the Lake Chapala area. Would any (or all of you....) be willing to teach me the ropes on what it takes to make the move?

I am currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA and my retirement pension is about to kick in. I would like to find a warm - safe place to make new friends and enjoy life.

How does a person start off on the right foot to make the move?

Thanks,
Gordy

GordyM:

You can learn a bunch from the following:
http://www.rollybrook.com/Page%20Directory.htm#Useful

Also a different prospective in jans blog how ever it it not on top of home page and unfortunately I don't have the link. Also Steve's weather site and his blog are a must read Steve has around 7 years of posts starting with sellingl his home up to this month and has quite a sense of humor.

Juans blog...sorry about typo

GordyM wrote:Hi,

I am new to this site and was looking for guidance on retiring to the Lake Chapala area. Would any (or all of you....) be willing to teach me the ropes on what it takes to make the move?

I am currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA and my retirement pension is about to kick in. I would like to find a warm - safe place to make new friends and enjoy life.

How does a person start off on the right foot to make the move?

Thanks,
Gordy

Start by pointing South...

Rolly's site is good but a bit on the technical side. You do need that but also need just to read books, message boards .... talk to a few via PM (private message) and just keep on reading. The more visits you can manage before ... the better

As far as hockey-puck-able .... he's always pointing south

Invest in some "retiring to mexico" books, but be sure the date of publication is recent. We read one that was good enough, but that was before the big box stores became almost ubiquitous and you could buy nearly anything you needed, such as appliances, right nearby.

Also, for an overall good site about Mexico with special sections for different areas, there's the grand old mexconnect.com

Hope all goes well.

I want to thank everyone who has replied. I have a lot of reading to do and educate myself.

Take care

Three more book suggestions:
- The People's Guide to Mexico by Carl and Lorena Franz (it's the Bible)
- Distant Neighbors by Alan Riding (for insight and understanding of Mexico)
- Lonely Planet Mexico, or any other good guidebook, to see what it's all about and where it all is and how you can be there too.

Ajijic is not the center of the universe or even the center of Mexico. There are many many other places in this great country that are more exotic and adventuresome, this area just makes a good home base.

Buena Suerte.

Trailrunner wrote:Three more book suggestions:
- The People's Guide to Mexico by Carl and Lorena Franz (it's the Bible)
- Distant Neighbors by Alan Riding (for insight and understanding of Mexico)
- Lonely Planet Mexico, or any other good guidebook, to see what it's all about and where it all is and how you can be there too.

Ajijic is not the center of the universe or even the center of Mexico. There are many many other places in this great country that are more exotic and adventuresome, this area just makes a good home base.

Buena Suerte.

Second on the Peoples guide to Mexico!!

Z

In the interest of making sure you're fully informed, GordyM, I would have to say that it's very true that Lakeside is a "warm place to make new friends" -- but "safe" is definitely not a word I would use right now. There are many sources to find out the latest on the safety/security issue (eg, under The Octagon on this forum), but you'll encounter rumors and panic as well as facts. You could check out Guadalajara Reporter (you may need to buy a short-term subscription to see the full text of some articles) and there are other reasonably reliable sources if you're interested (CSI chapala on Facebook, Gobierno Municipal de Chapala website, the newly resurrected Lakeside Crime Watch). I was just in Ajijic for three works during the worst of the troubles and still plan to return to live there in October unless things really go haywire, but it definitely didn't feel as comfortable as on previous visits.

Long story short, no published book is going to give you the latest info ... you need VERY recent info to make a fully informed decision.

[quote="sambrit10"Long story short, no published book is going to give you the latest info ... you need VERY recent info to make a fully informed decision.[/quote]

Yep, agree with Sambrit.

Probably the best course of action would be to come down and get a feel for the place. If, after a significant period of time, you still want to go ahead with your plan to move here then start reading and researching.

Suerte.

Ask lots of questions here of the old timers for a better perspective. You'll get many differeing points of view.

If you would like an "easy" way to learn all you probably need - and a wonderful vacation, I'd suggest the FOCUS on Mexico program. My husband and I attended in January, made some wonderful friends and are building a home in Ajijic. Honestly, I don't know how they are making any money - it was all inclusive, except for airfare. They picked us up at the airport, wined and dined us, arranged for sightseeing, heard experts speaking on immigration, taxes, health care and logistics. To us, it was worth it to have everything in one place. You can PM me if you have any questions. I don't work for them,just a very happy customer. Also, we already have a small community waiting for us. Since we're not very social, that really is easing our transition.

Hi Gordy,

I agree with coming down here for a month or so to get a feel for the place. However, right now you are probably unaware of the amount of logistics involved in making the move as well as how to get these things done and with whom.

If you Google moving to Ajijic you will bring up a web site for a company that specializes in educating people on how to move to the area. They hold a seven day seminar and at the end of that week you should have most of the knowledge you need. Still, most important is to come down and experience the place

Thanks to all who have replied to my post. I agree that a month long visit may be in order to get a feel for the place.

Thanks,
Gordy

Hi Gordy,

Actually you need to Google " relocating to Lake Chapala Mexico" to bring up their site.

That will probably take you to "Focus on Mexico" who's in the business of selling real estate. Take Judy King's seminar for $15 and you'll learn what you need, get your questions answered, and not be given a pitch for anything. 2-3 hours well spent.

How do I find Judy King's seminar?

I am new to all of this and don't know the people you mention....

Gordy

David wrote:That will probably take you to "Focus on Mexico" who's in the business of selling real estate. Take Judy King's seminar for $15 and you'll learn what you need, get your questions answered, and not be given a pitch for anything. 2-3 hours well spent.

http://www.mexico-insights.com/judysblog/?tag=/Judy+King

I found this using Google.

One of the reasons I am uncomfortable with this type of forum is that there are numerous experts that speak in absolutes and discount any postings they may not agree with. The opinion that Focus on Mexico is in business to sell real estate is partially true but they still provide experiences and knowlegde that cannot obtained in a short $15 course. However that is only my opinion. I would suggest that Gordy go to their site and decide for him self. Also, I purposely avoided mentioning any names and have no axe to gring in any way. I just wanted to give him some information.

I was a frequent poster on another forum and finally gave up because the experts dominated the board. I thought I had found something less dogmatic but I guess not. So... over and out !

I'm no expert, just speaking from my personal experience. I stated only facts about FOM and Judy King. Now Gordy's got options and he can decide for himself. Your rush to judge me was uncalled for.