# new member



## Guest (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi, I am new to this forum, but have lived and worked in Mexico for almost 2 years now. I live in a Mexican town north of Mexico City (I have only encountered one American, and no other foreign nationals since coming here). 

Still trying to adapt to some of the changes of living in Mexico, and the biggest (maybe the only change) is living without mail/magazines/packages from the US, but that's a price I have been willing to pay.

I have lived in Latin America for 8 years now, and am fluent in Spanish. Hearing of "****** enclaves" is a somewhat new idea to me.


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## Martin Pierce (Nov 18, 2007)

*hola carlos*

I"m also new to this forum, and am interested in a less ****** area of Mexico to retire than Chapala. I'm lucky enough to still have a teenage daughter at home, so that will be interesting. We expect to be able to have her do high school in Mexico either bilingual school or long distance on the internet through our home town in the Pacific Northwest. We are ready for the change but have another two years from June to decide for sure.. We loved our experiences in GDL, Tlaquepaque, Colima and Manzanillo. not so much at Chapala. Best wishes on your new adventures~! MP


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## pedro (May 15, 2007)

i wouldn't write off chapala so quickly if i had a daughter still in school.
i have some friends here who's daughter just turned fifteen and they came here when she was 12. she's absolutely thriving with primarily mexican kids as friends and goes to a great school. in canada she was in french immursion and is now pretty well tri-lingual[as an old fart,i wish my espanol was even 1/4 as good as hers] and at the top of her class here.
they rent an acreage right on the lake and have 3 donkeys and assorted cats and dogs.
one can live here and never hobnob with gringos if that is your choice.
yes,ajijic is a ****** ghetto but there are other places around the lake with a lesser presence[sic].


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## teadust (Aug 4, 2007)

Welcome to the forum GringoCarlos and Martin Pierce. 

Carlos - how was the mail/magazines/packages from the U.S. service in the other Latin America places you lived for 6 years?

Martin - fellow Pacific Northwesterner here - given the places in Mexico you've already experienced, what are your requisites besides "less ****** area than Chapala"? How close to quality hospitals, larger shopping choices, beaches, cultural activities, airport, etc., do you wish to be? What kind of climate appeals the most to you? 

I know many expats desire NOT to live amidst large populations of other epxats; however depending on your grasp of the Spanish language, access to such a group can be a good support network initially for assistance with a lot of "every day living" tasks from licenses, paperwork, local laws, local businesses, the ins and outs of adapting to a new country, town and neighborhood as you get to know where everything is and get to know the community. As Pedro mentioned you can find places to live at "Lakeside" and not feel immersed in expats, and still have access to that network should it be helpful, especially during the transition period.

There are places in Mexico that have existing "****** enclaves" and others that have relatively few, if any, Americans or Canadians and of course in the latter, rents and real estate prices will be lower, but you may or may not find that the infrastructure of services is not what you require. 

It's great that you've already gone to several places to experience those locations - what other places are on your list to check out? Cuernevaca? Puebla? Merida? Todos Santos? Queretaro? Jalapa? 


Cheers-
Katie


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## Martin Pierce (Nov 18, 2007)

with the 12 year old in tow, we need to be American enough that she can feel not alienated and be able to make friends whether American or Mexican or whatever. this will be the hard part. My only requirements are to be within a reasonable drive of an airport a reasonable flight from family near Seattle. I thought Lakeside would be it, and then I thought Colima would be it. and also the weather, but anything south of Portland is an improvement on Seattle/Tacoma, WA. My wife is leaning toward the beach, I'm more inclined to the highlands. the recent 100+ heat of GDL with the air and water problems put me off a little. we'd like to be near the center of a town, that was the biggest draw of Tlaquepaque. we can walk to market on a daily basis, not having to report to work. in fact we look forward to that kind of life, we even hope to have chickens. I don't want to be near D. F. - I don't think I'd be very welcome there. Guanajuato and Leon' appealsto me, but aren't as flight convenient as Manzanillo and Barra. 
Nice to have your responses and input, thanks to all. M Pierce, Tacoma, WA


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## pedro (May 15, 2007)

colima is hot,hot,hot for 4-6 months same goes fer the pacific beaches.
i have 2 friends that live in melaque. one from florida who loves the heat but his power costs $600/mth because of ac. the other came from seattle and during the hot season he travels the cooler interior to get away from it. my electric bill runs between $35-43 cdn per 2 months even thogh the per kwh rate here is about 4 times higher than alberta.without ac and heating ya just don't use a lot of electricity.
chapala's weather does not relate to guad at all. it boasts the most temperate climate in the world along with a place in kenya.
we walk everywhere here in chapala.we don't have no chickens because our courtyard is only big enough for our 3 dogs plus one of 'em is a retired bird dog so chickens wouldn't last a nano second.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

*Another vote for Chapala*

Pedro is absolutely right; you would probably do well to give Chapala further consideration. It is a complete small city on the lakeside with everything within walking distance. Both we and Pedro live in downtown Chapala. Our previous experience was a few years in Ajijic, which is more of a 'boutique village' and more heavily populated with expats. Chapala is also the 'county seat' and the center of government for the larger 'municipalidad'. There is excellent bus service along the north shore of the lake and that would make your choice of private schools easily available to your child if you didn't wish to drive twice daily. There is also a bus station in Chapala with service to Guadalajara every 30 minutes during the day. Parque Cristiania offers green space, pools, lakefront, picnic areas and shells for musical events, etc. and there is a museum/cultural center nearby.
I will also advise against the coast or any of the lowland cities. The oppressive heat and humidity are intolerable for those brought up in the north. On the other hand, they are so close that they are readily accessible for a quick getaway to the beach in the winter months. Many Lakeside residents take advantage of 'shoulder season' rates for a few days in Manzanillo, Melaque, Barra de Navidad, etc.; all half a day away by car.
The only difficulty in choosing Chapala will be the fact that it will take longer to find a home. Realtors seem to focus on Ajijic and/or the newest crop of subdivisions along the highway. We prefer, by far, living in town in a more normal environment without the complications of 'homeowners associations' and 'group-think.' In spite of being 'downtown' and within three blocks of everything, we have a large yard with gardens and a small pool. We and three dogs are quite comfortable but we did kick out the chickens when we moved in. Chapala is very popular with weekenders from Guadalajara and any house you choose should have a garage; on street parking can get pretty tight, especially at fiesta times.


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2008)

Teadust, in the 2 other countries I have lived in, mail service from the US was fast and relatively cheap. Packages - 2 or 3 days after they arrived in Miami. Normal correspondence - 2-5 days after arriving in Miami.

Cost was about the same in both countries at about US$2.50 to $3.00 a pound.

and NOTHING ever "disappeared".


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## Martin Pierce (Nov 18, 2007)

How's the heat been near the lake these last few weeks? Our paper says you're seeing 100 F. in GDL and more. that's hot. 
teadust - My list is getting shorter, but I will take the advice of many and look for renting to start with.. I will give Mazatlan and Guanajuato a good look. Manzanillo is right up there in the short list (including Barra) and as far as summers, that would be the time to return home to watch grandkids -pocketbook permitting... I will give the Chapala supporters some credit, I need to do more research. Interesting what you say about the cost of electricity. I guess that's balanced with the cost of property taxes.... but you can't buy sunshine around here at any price. I'm hoping our equity will hold up long enough for us to make our move. mp


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

High temps are about 86F now in Chapala. You are looking at Guadalajara, which is often 10 degrees warmer, or more. If you are looking at Chapala's temps, they are computer generated and not at all accurate. Go to Chapala.com and look for a local weather report from one of the local expats who has a home station in Ajijic.


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## pedro (May 15, 2007)

ya don't hafta go to that board that rv mentions. there are some ugly and sicko people on there unfortunately.

here is the link to an actual weather station right in riberas which is a few hundred yards west of the town of chapala: Lake Chapala Weather Net


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## EEK! (May 15, 2007)

Chapala vs. coast. I lived in Ajijic and now live in Mazatlan. Don't even try to compare the two. I love both for different reasons, and both have their pros and cons. One is a small retirement community and the other is a large resort city. Decide what your priorites are as an expat, then look to which ever community meets these needs. The best advice I can give you is, never,never buy a house any where until you know the community, the culture, and the the realty market. Live somewhere for at least 6 months before buying. EEK!.


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## Martin Pierce (Nov 18, 2007)

great advice, EEK! the weather site is excellent and shows a big difference between Lakeside and Guad. If we could afford both towns (mazatlan and San Juan Cosala) and a rental at home for parts of some summers, I think that would be ideal... and dreaming. for the near future, exploring other towns and renting for quite a while to come sound like the way to go, but so much different from the life we've known. we're kind of traditionally boring. something warmer is all I require. Have you been to the little towns higher than Mazatlan, like Concordia? Is there life up there? I loved Jocotepec when we were there. the people are so friendly and purposeful. I won't be back to paradise till the week after Christmas on a woefully indulgent cruise; PV, Maz and Cabo, but I haven't been to any of those cities, and can't wait to see the cathedral and shopping at Mazatlan.... Le vaya bien, M. Pierce


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Concordia is a neat little town but you would probably get lonely and bored really fast.


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## Martin Pierce (Nov 18, 2007)

thanks for that RV. how far is that (Concordia) from the city center at Mazatlan?? and when I read that it's 100% humidity in Mazatlan, is that just unlivable, or is the ocean breeze a nice compensating factor? I went to GDL in August on purpose just to see what summer was like, and I could live with that, but it still wasnt' 100%; and what they say about rain only at night in their rainy season seemed to be true, or close to it. I kinda liked the occasional thunderstorm. MP Tacoma, WA


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## EEK! (May 15, 2007)

Martin. Weather: The Lake Chapala area is about the best in the world (despite a little colder winter and warmer summer this year). Mazatlan, PV, Manzanillo have great winters, but watch the hot months (July,Aug/Sept.) If you are not used to humid and heat, you will be miserable. 
A lot of people do have a summer home and a winter home. 
Contact forums in the cities you are interested in or google the cities for additional info. The cities I like on your list to explore ate Mazatlan, Lake Chapala area, Guadalajara and VP (real expensive). If you want small cities, try the array of Pacific coast cities between Manzanillo to Mazatlan. I personally do not like anything in the Baja, but some do. Mexico offers a large variety and you have to seek out what you want. What are your priorities in a place to live (weather, cost of living, activities, culture, etc)? Good hunting. EEK!


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