Coming to Lake Chapala in August

I have a one way ticket to visit you all in early August. I was seriously going to try out living there but now not so sure because of the increase in criminal activity in the area and guns make me nervous. Since I already have my ticket and a B & B reserved in Ajijic, I thought I would come and see how it feels being there. One day at a time. Wanted to touch base and make some connections with some of you lovely people before I land.

I'm not retired. I am a writer/musician and work via the Internet. So how is the Internet reliability in Ajijic? Heard a lot of negative info about the Internet on another forum. Slow? Unreliable....

K

Don't worry....

The Guns go off so often, ya hardly even notice them...

You will have some options on internet.
I've got TelMex and they offer various packages.
Since I am watching TV over a Slingbox, I moved from the lowest speed up to one that runs 999 pesos / mo, and that seems to improve the Slingbox and Vonage. My experience over 12 months is very few outages.
If you rely on heavy download / upload that may be a little more touchy.

Come on down and give us a PM when you get here, we'll have a drink, or a meal. My wife and I love meeting new people.

Don't worry about Hocks, Kaleah. He's still hiding out in Saskatchewan and hasn't learned the difference between gunshots and cohotes (fireworks) yet.

In all likelihood you will not even notice anything of a criminal nature on your visit any more than you notice things in town you are from.

As far as the Internet goes I also do a lot of work on it and the only time I find it slow is when I am downloading any large files.

BTW.....welcome to the forum.

CanuckBob wrote:Don't worry about Hocks, Kaleah. He's still hiding out in Saskatchewan and hasn't learned the difference between gunshots and cohotes (fireworks) yet.

In all likelihood you will not even notice anything of a criminal nature on your visit any more than you notice things in town you are from.

As far as the Internet goes I also do a lot of work on it and the only time I find it slow is when I am downloading any large files.

BTW.....welcome to the forum.

Sheesh... It wuz just a little Joke....

hockables wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:Don't worry about Hocks, Kaleah. He's still hiding out in Saskatchewan and hasn't learned the difference between gunshots and cohotes (fireworks) yet.

In all likelihood you will not even notice anything of a criminal nature on your visit any more than you notice things in town you are from.

As far as the Internet goes I also do a lot of work on it and the only time I find it slow is when I am downloading any large files.

BTW.....welcome to the forum.

Sheesh... It wuz just a little Joke....

Yes, Hocks is our on line jokester with a very fine tuning in logic.

I can't contribute much to this discussion (other than to suggest getting together for a drink since we are both arriving around the same time. Cheers!)

But I do have to defend Hocks - that was a great paraphrase of a Dan Akroyd line from Blues Brothers.

kaleah wrote:I have a one way ticket to visit you all in early August. I was seriously going to try out living there but now not so sure because of the increase in criminal activity in the area and guns make me nervous. Since I already have my ticket and a B & B reserved in Ajijic, I thought I would come and see how it feels being there. One day at a time. Wanted to touch base and make some connections with some of you lovely people before I land.

I'm not retired. I am a writer/musician and work via the Internet. So how is the Internet reliability in Ajijic? Heard a lot of negative info about the Internet on another forum. Slow? Unreliable....

K

Approx how long might you be staying for a visit?

I have lagunanet which we have had very few problems with over the past 10 years. Others use Telmex called prodigy which starts at 299 pesos, fine for many people.

Maybe Bob could get a small Board meeting together for the newbies??? I hope I'm not putting you on the spot Bpb.

Maybe, however I'll be in Vancouver for about 8 weeks as of Aug. 11/12. It would need to be between Aug. 2nd and 9th.

I'm arriving on the ninth so will just miss you Bob. It is a one-way ticket so will leave when I feel like it's time to go.

Axixic, when are you arriving and what is bringing you to Lake Chapala?

Well hopefully you will still be here when I get back in October.

kaleah wrote:Axixic, when are you arriving and what is bringing you to Lake Chapala?

Driving down with a trailer from Calgary - leaving on the 25th or 26th of July and not definite as to how long to take on the road (in part, depends on the dog.) Rental house in La Floresta is all set and ready for the grand arrival.

I am officially "retiring" in that I will no longer be employed but I plan to work on many things. Like you, I am a musician - but only semi-pro - so that will occupy a lot of my time. I also plan to start my second novel (with great hopes that it will do better than my first.) There has even been some conversation with a few associates already in place there about co-ownership of a bar/club. On that, we shall see.

So, what is bringing me there? The rest of my life is bringing me there.

Axixic it sounds like an incredible journey you are about to embark on, and it sounds like we have a lot in common with the writing and music. I'm looking forward to that drink to find out more; even if it is a coffee.

So you aren't really retiring. Sounds more like you are changing your lifestyle to embrace what you love without pressure of accomplishment. That is what I love about my life. I have managed to create freedom doing what I love.

Nicely put, Kaleah. I don't think people so much "discover" themselves as create themselves and in many ways that is what I am doing. Or re-creating myself, might be a better way to phrase it. Lakeside seems like a good place for that.

I notice that you said you have a one way ticket and I wonder if that may present problems with Mexican Immigration. Others here will have more insight but it seems to me that I read of people being required to have a return ticket in order to enter the country on a tourist visa.

Maybe Spencer/Intercasa (local attorney) or one of the many knowledgeable people here could weigh in...

One way ticket is no problem at all. We came down with one ways. Your FMM (tourist) visa that you get on the plane is valid for 180 days. Within that time you can apply for the FM3 visa which is renewable every year from within the country. You do have to meet an income (or savings) requirement to be eligible for the FM3. Otherwise you need to leave the country within the 180 days and come back in on another FMM.

Glad we got the one-way ticket worked out. I was concerned about that too at first, but then someone told me that Mexico loves tourists to come and stay; and bring our wallets.

Okay great. I must have been remembering it wrong - certainly not the first time my memory has let me down.

Kaleah - which B&B are you booked into?

kaleah wrote:Glad we got the one-way ticket worked out. I was concerned about that too at first, but then someone told me that Mexico loves tourists to come and stay; and bring our wallets.

Are you going to rent a car or use taxis or public transportation?

I'm staying at Estrellita's with Lorraine and she is sending a Taxi to pick me up. I won't have a car when I am there but plan on getting a bike, walking and taking Taxi's.

Estrellita's - excellent. And pet friendly, although I gather you are travelling alone.

Another good one is Casa de Flores.

Axixic wrote:Okay great. I must have been remembering it wrong - certainly not the first time my memory has let me down.

Kaleah - which B&B are you booked into?

It is the US (and probably Canada) that have an issue with tourists entering their country on a one way ticket.........

kaleah wrote:I'm staying at Estrellita's with Lorraine and she is sending a Taxi to pick me up. I won't have a car when I am there but plan on getting a bike, walking and taking Taxi's.

You can stay in my Casita that's fully applianced on the busline 1 1/2 miles from Ajijic centro. You can walk it for excercise, return by taxi or bus. You can cook some meals, if you want instead of eating out everyday. And the best part is it's about one quarter the price of ANY B & B.

I'm only booked for a week at Estrellita's as I planned on finding a rental right away for longer term. If I decide to stay longer I would want to rent a casa, one or two bedroom.

John, could you tell me more about your place? Is it a rental house or apartment? Long-term, short-term? How much?

Kaleah
My wife and I just made our initial check it out visit to Ajijic....it was relaxed, comfortable and not the slightest hint of problems(not that they don't exist, we just did not notice any) We were out late, walking streets and everyone, perhaps the Mexicans even more that the Ex pats, (Not counting the highlyu likable nuts on this board-you know who you are, that were even more friendly) were very friendly. Some friends of ours from Mexico city stayed at Estrellita's and loved it....good choice.

Best Wishes

kaleah wrote:I'm only booked for a week at Estrellita's as I planned on finding a rental right away for longer term. If I decide to stay longer I would want to rent a casa, one or two bedroom.

John, could you tell me more about your place? Is it a rental house or apartment? Long-term, short-term? How much?

Kaleah, there is a banner ad at the top of the forum for 2 bd apartment rentals. I have stayed at Casa Dulce and it is very reasonably priced and in an excellent location, 1 blk from the lake. Click on it for more info.