# Best place to spend six months in Mexico?



## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

Hello I am a newbie currently living in Cambodia. I would like a change from south-east Asia and I was wondering about Mexico for about six months because with my passport. I am allowed that period of time without a visa.
You guys, particularly from America would know all the good places Mexico very well i am sure. Much better than me anyway. I have been to puerto vallarta many years ago and also Mexico City on my way to Cuba. But i am not interested in those places again.
Can anybody here please recommend where would be the best small coastal town in Mexico where I could rent a small house for six months and just chill out? Ideally I would like somewhere where there is minimal crime though I realise it's impossible to avoid it altogether.


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

obelisks said:


> Hello I am a newbie currently living in Cambodia. I would like a change from south-east Asia and I was wondering about Mexico for about six months because with my passport. I am allowed that period of time without a visa.
> You guys, particularly from America would know all the good places Mexico very well i am sure. Much better than me anyway. I have been to puerto vallarta many years ago and also Mexico City on my way to Cuba. But i am not interested in those places again.
> Can anybody here please recommend where would be the best small coastal town in Mexico where I could rent a small house for six months and just chill out? Ideally I would like somewhere where there is minimal crime though I realise it's impossible to avoid it altogether.


I think I have answered my own question since writing the original post.
I have found a place called Mazatlan on the west coast which is perfect because it is already on Google street view so I've had a bit of a virtual tour already and it looks great. It's quite flat so perfect for cycling, which I really enjoy doing.
Has anybody on this forum been there?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

obelisks said:


> I think I have answered my own question since writing the original post.
> I have found a place called Mazatlan on the west coast which is perfect because it is already on Google street view so I've had a bit of a virtual tour already and it looks great. It's quite flat so perfect for cycling, which I really enjoy doing.
> Has anybody on this forum been there?


Good choice. It is my favorite of the larger coastal cities. I spent a few days there a couple of years ago, and plan to be there for a weekend at the end of November.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Mazatlan is a great place but is not a "small coastal town" .... it's a large city


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Here's a small beach town with Google Street views

Melaque - Barra de Navidad
https://www.google.com.mx/maps/@19.203072,-104.6714385,13z


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Forget these places. Mazatlán, as was pointed out, is a big city. other beach towns around this middle western part of Mexico are Ok but often full of foreigners and old folks´cotton Candy stations. If you are looking for small beach towns where you can "chill out", I suggest;
* Puerto Arista, Chiapas and environs
* Parts of Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca
* San Agostin, Oaxaca
*Dzilam de Bravo, Yucatán
*Tulum (or environs) , Quintana Roo
* Xcalac, Quintana Roo

There are a number of other places you might settle but stay the hell away from the greater Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán áreas and in that I include every place from San Carlos, Sonora to Manzanillo, Colima. Lots of people like these áreas. I am just going by what you said you were seeking in a place to live.

By the way, what´swrong with Cambodia? 

If your desire to get away from Cambodia has to do with hot, humid weather, forget the beaches in Mexico south of Ensenada - hot, humid places that will curl your hair. Go for the Highlands at around 5,000 feet. The best climate in North America.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> If your desire to get away from Cambodia has to do with hot, humid weather, forget the beaches in Mexico south of Ensenada - hot, humid places that will curl your hair. Go for the Highlands at around 5,000 feet. The best climate in North America.


Agreed!


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

Hound Dog said:


> Forget these places. Mazatlán, as was pointed out, is a big city. other beach towns around this middle western part of Mexico are Ok but often full of foreigners and old folks´cotton Candy stations. If you are looking for small beach towns where you can "chill out", I suggest;
> * Puerto Arista, Chiapas and environs
> * Parts of Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca
> * San Agostin, Oaxaca
> ...


Wow hound dog. Thank you very much for all those places.
I'm going to research them them individually. I had no intention of going back to Puerto Vallarta and I will take on board your comments about Mazatlán.

There is nothing wrong with Cambodia, and I have no problems with humidity but like I said it's just nice to have a change from the south-east Asian culture where I've been for the last 10 years. And I love Mexican food. 

Incidentally, what is your opinion about small places to the extreme south of the Baja California peninsula? I would imagine it would be a bit more touristy or can you enjoy secluded destinations down there as well?


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

sparks said:


> Here's a small beach town with Google Street views
> 
> Melaque - Barra de Navidad
> 
> ...


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

obelisks said:


> Wow hound dog. Thank you very much for all those places.
> I'm going to research them them individually. I had no intention of going back to Puerto Vallarta and I will take on board your comments about Mazatlán.
> 
> There is nothing wrong with Cambodia, and I have no problems with humidity but like I said it's just nice to have a change from the south-east Asian culture where I've been for the last 10 years. And I love Mexican food.
> ...



Without having yet started to research any of the places that hound dog has kindly suggested, would any of those places on that list be classified as “ small fishing towns “ because that is the kind of atmosphere I would enjoy the most


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## travelinhobo (Sep 17, 2010)

Eh, sorry, but I've been to Cambodia (not as a tourist) and I could list a myrid of things wrong with that country. Which I can imagine is the need for a break from it. Why don't you try Viet Nam? Infinitely better!


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

Xcalak is definitely a small fishing town - but may be the most remote location in Mexico. It has been perhaps five years since we stayed there so things may have changed - but if you are not a diver or fisherman you may go crazy. I'd give the diving a B+ - especially offshore - but otherwise it is kind of like a mangrove swamp.

We first started visiting Huatulco 15-20 years ago when it truly was a small fishing village. You used to be able to sit barefoot on the beach under an umbrella and eat cheap great fish. Years ago no one ever mentioned Huatulco. Now it seems to get mentioned more than Acapulco. It is no longer the small fishing village it once was.

We love the area about 20 kms north of Tulum - It is directly across the channel from Cozumel. But there are like settlements rather than towns. You might have to go as far north as Akumal.

We enjoyed our visit to Puerto Escondido area.

I love Mexico - but perhaps you might consider Bavaro / Dominican Republic.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

travelinhobo said:


> Eh, sorry, but I've been to Cambodia (not as a tourist) and I could list a myrid of things wrong with that country. Which I can imagine is the need for a break from it. Why don't you try Viet Nam? Infinitely better!


I have also been to Cambodia (not as a tourist). But I didn't see anything of the country beyond a few kilometers of jungle.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Have fun on your trip Obelisks.

I have never been in Baja below Ensenada and that was durirng the 60s when there were no decent roads to the south and Baja Sur was remote and mostly visited by fishermen flyinng in in their puddle-jumpers. Much different today but I am not the person to ask.

All of those smaller towns I recommended are fishing towns. If I were you, I´d cruise the Gulf Coast from about Celestun to Dzilam de Bravo checking out all those small fishing villages on that coastal strip until I found one that caught my fancy. I share your enthusiasm for small fishing villages (we used to live near Bayou La Batre the fishing village on the Alabama Gulf of _Forrest Gump_ fame) and, at one time, we considered moving to the Mexican coastal área before ending up instead at 7,000 feet in San Cristóbal de Las Casas in the Chiapas Highlands. I guess it was that two years in the 70s when we lived on Mobile Bay, not a climate my wife was used to being from Paris so we moved to San Francisco for the cool breezes off the Pacific. After some 40+ years living in San Francisco we have become too thin skinned for heat and humidity.

That reminds me of when we were considering (briefly) moving to Xcalac, Quintana Roo. This is a middle of nowhere place but attracts a lot of fishermen who fly in from all over for the reef exploring and fishing in and near the national park there (Parque Nacional Arrecife Xcalac). I would say beach houses there are (or were then - 2005) somewhat overpriced. This homeowner there wanted $650,000USD for his beach house. Meanwhile, he had moved back to Indiana for some reason -I think to retain his sanity. I asked him what there was to do in the Xcalac área and he responded (after he realized I was not a potential buyer) , "Well, we get up early and either go diving on the reef of fishing and then about noon, we get loaded down at the hotel bar and pass out and then the next day we do that all over again. Once in a while we take the long (about 3 hour) trip into Chetumal to go shopping for essentials or see a doctor - that sort of thing. " Somehow I figured boozing every morning with that suntan until one passes out when the nearest competent doctors and fully staffed clinic is three hours distant over some really lonely backroads was a doomsday clock ticking away but, what the hell, if it´s only for six months then maybe it´s OK. We got the hell out of there and ended up at Lake Bacalar - a cenote fed, crystal clear lake before heading home but , while there might be good fishing there as well, you don´t want to stay there too long.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

obelisks said:


> Hello I am a newbie currently living in Cambodia. I would like a change from south-east Asia and I was wondering about Mexico for about six months because with my passport. I am allowed that period of time without a visa.
> You guys, particularly from America would know all the good places Mexico very well i am sure. Much better than me anyway. I have been to  puerto vallarta many years ago and also Mexico City on my way to Cuba. But i am not interested in those places again.
> Can anybody here please recommend where would be the best small coastal town in Mexico where I could rent a small house for six months and just chill out? Ideally I would like somewhere where there is minimal crime though I realise it's impossible to avoid it altogether.


I suggest Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, a city of approx. 80 - 90,000 175 km north of Acapulco. Here you can live as "local" or as "touristy" as you wish. Close-by, just 30 km or so to the north or south, the tiny communities of Troncones and Barra de Potosi are as quiet as anyone could want. In fact, of all the beach communities on the Mexican Pacific coast we've spent time in, (that's most of them between San Carlos in the north and Huatulco to the south), Zihua has them all beat, hands down. We drive down here to Zihua from Canada and have spent 1/2 the year here for the past 9 years. We rent a small apartment over a hardware store in Centro in Zihua. We have always enjoyed Mazatlan, and spend 3 or 4 days there on each of our north and southbound journeys, but Zihua's where we choose to spend our winters. The weather in Zihua from November though April is more dependable that Mazatlan's, (which can get downright "chilly" sometimes during that period)....and Maztlan is actually hotter and more humid during the summer months, in spite of the fact that it's perhaps 1000 km north of Zihua.


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## Jolga (Jun 5, 2012)

Why not fly into Mazatlan? Spend a few days here and then take at look at the smaller villages along the Pacific coast? When I researched places to retire, I imagined myself and my wife lying by the pool or on the beach and that was it. 

Then when we tried to do that we got bored very quickly. Mazatlan has a great cycling subculture. There is everything a committed or occasional cyclist could require and more. It goes all the way to weird garage welded chopper cycles to (like our neighbors) custom made imported bikes, with all the accoutrements.

There is an active group practicing every sport and activity imaginable in a tropical, ocean-side city.
When you do go look at the fishing villages. There might be a few caveats to spending 6 whole months in one of them.

Sometimes, small, tightly knit communities take much more time to adapt to newcomers coming in. Also you will need a reliable car as there will probably be little or no bus service. Then there's the eternal health question, if something, God forbid, were to happen, how far is the hospital and how would you get there quickly? Are you ready to spend most of your time alone, on the beach by the beach, walking around a tiny town square? Also, the tiny fishing villages have non-existent health regulations so dengue fever is more of an issue than in the urban areas. What about security, an outsider, newbie in an isolated village can be a prime target for criminals? The old saying about there being safety in numbers fits well here. 

I know that reflective, solitary types, though rare, do exist and more power to them. If you are really that type of person then perhaps an isolated fishing village is for you. Just make sure that you have thought this out fully before jumping in head first.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Jolga said:


> Why not fly into Mazatlan? Spend a few days here and then take at look at the smaller villages along the Pacific coast? When I researched places to retire, I imagined myself and my wife lying by the pool or on the beach and that was it.
> 
> Then when we tried to do that we got bored very quickly. Mazatlan has a great cycling subculture. There is everything a committed or occasional cyclist could require and more. It goes all the way to weird garage welded chopper cycles to (like our neighbors) custom made imported bikes, with all the accoutrements.
> 
> ...


I really like this post, Jolga, but keeping in mind that the OP only wants to spend 6 months in Mexico, maybe a small isolated seaside village would be right up his alley.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

> ...I know that reflective, solitary types, though rare, do exist and more power to them. If you are really that type of person then perhaps an isolated fishing village is for you. Just make sure that you have thought this out fully before jumping in head first.....


Dawg is, in fact,a relective, solitay type who would not even consider Mazatlán or Puerto Vallara as places to plant my butt but when I recomended the Northen Gulf Coastal zone bteween Celestun and Dzilam de Bravo, I was recommending an área of pleasant fishing villages within easy reach of the Merida metropoltan área in case the old machinery breaks down or needs new wheels. I am closing in on 73 years old and in no way inclined to isolate my sorry ass distant from medical care. Mazatlán is the antithesis of what you seek if I read your inquiry correctly. Move there in haste and regret in leisure. A large, unattractive city with Big Macs and Cokes in fast food joints a la Fresno but fronting unpleasant brown beaches and a dismal, turbid sea about 100 kilometers from anyplace you might wish to be. 

I could , in the year 2000 when I ,retired, have afforded to live anywhere in Mexico that suited my fancy. Mazatlán was never in the running and still isn´t for me., 

To each his/her own. Your choice.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Hound Dog said:


> Dawg is, in fact,a relective, solitay type who would not even consider Mazatlán or Puerto Vallara as places to plant my butt but when I recomended the Northen Gulf Coastal zone bteween Celestun and Dzilam de Bravo, I was recommending an área of pleasant fishing villages within easy reach of the Merida metropoltan área in case the old machinery breaks down or needs new wheels. I am closing in on 73 years old and in no way inclined to isolate my sorry ass distant from medical care. Mazatlán is the antithesis of what you seek if I read your inquiry correctly. Move there in haste and regret in leisure. A large, unattractive city with Big Macs and Cokes in fast food joints a la Fresno but fronting unpleasant brown beaches and a dismal, turbid sea about 100 kilometers from anyplace you might wish to be.
> 
> I could , in the year 2000 when I ,retired, have afforded to live anywhere in Mexico that suited my fancy. Mazatlán was never in the running and still isn´t for me.,
> 
> To each his/her own. Your choice.


Just to emphasize your last point, I, another reflective, solitary type, also could afford to live anywhere in Mexico that I choose. Your two choices, Ajijic and San Cristobal, would never be in the running for me. Mazatlán on the other hand would be. I don't really have much interest in beach towns nor their humidity, but of all the coastal places I have visited (Puerto Vallarta, Tulum, Progresso, Barre de Navidad, Melaque, La Manzanilla, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Ensenada, San Blas), Mazatlán is the only one I might consider living in.

Thinking about the original poster's question, if I really wanted to live in a small fishing village, I might consider Yelapa, about 100 km south of Puerto Vallarta. It is only accessible by boat and has just enough tourism to give it some decent restaurants, but has nothing like the atmosphere of the too touristy beach towns. It is just a few coves south of Mismaloya where filming occurred for Night of the Iguana, a great movie starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

lhpdiver said:


> We first started visiting Huatulco 15-20 years ago when it truly was a small fishing village. You used to be able to sit barefoot on the beach under an umbrella and eat cheap great fish. Years ago no one ever mentioned Huatulco. Now it seems to get mentioned more than Acapulco. It is no longer the small fishing village it once was.


Actually, there is no "Huatulco". The name is a shortened abbreviation for "Bahías de Huatulco," the 8 or 9 bays which are located there. It's been a less successful than hoped for government-developed tourist destination for probably the past 30 years. La Crucecita is the market center from which there is public transport to one of the region's beaches, if a traveler is not staying in one of the more expensive waterfront AI resorts. Huatulco is not particularly easy to get to by air (limited service compared to many other possible destinations), and there is hope that a highway connecting the city of Oaxaca with the region will increase interest and ease of reach.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Yelapa that is the place I would not touch with a ten foot pole. You get invaded by tourists and they finally leave with the last water taxi. The locals are out for money and you are stuck with them.
It probablt was nice when Ava Gardner and Burton were there as it was very isolated but no more...
Depending on water taxis to go in and out is a royal pain as well.
The Jalisco, Nayarit , Oaxaca have nice vfishing villages and offer all kinds of different life style but it is al a question of coice. If you want remote villages go to the Oaxaca coast.
The Nayarit and Jalisco towns have American and Canadian expats, the Oaxaca coast has some Americans and Canadians and quite a few Europeans.
If you want to be really out of the way go to the Guerrero coast known as the costa Chica. Terry can tell you all about it.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

TundraGreen said:


> Just to emphasize your last point, I, another reflective, solitary type, also could afford to live anywhere in Mexico that I choose. Your two choices, Ajijic and San Cristobal, would never be in the running for me. Mazatlán on the other hand would be. I don't really have much interest in beach towns nor their humidity, but of all the coastal places I have visited (Puerto Vallarta, Tulum, Progresso, Barre de Navidad, Melaque, La Manzanilla, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Ensenada, San Blas), Mazatlán is the only one I might consider living in.
> 
> Thinking about the original poster's question, if I really wanted to live in a small fishing village, I might consider Yelapa, about 100 km south of Puerto Vallarta. It is only accessible by boat and has just enough tourism to give it some decent restaurants, but has nothing like the atmosphere of the too touristy beach towns. It is just a few coves south of Mismaloya where filming occurred for Night of the Iguana, a great movie starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr.


My daughter's in-laws from British Columbia have spent every winter in Yelapa for several years and just love it. I've never been, but hope to get there one of these days. I have too many places and people I want to visit, and never enough time!

Here's a link to information about the town, how to get there, accommodation, the "pie ladies" selling pie right on the beach, etc. They have a motto: "A palapa in Yelapa is better than a condo in Redondo".

Welcome to Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico

Here's a quote from the website:
_ "If your timing is right, don't miss one of the full moon bonfires, which are usually attended by quite a few of the locals. If you still find the need to explore, you can arrange a day trip to the Marietas Islands (a bird sanctuary), a boat excursion to one of the many secluded beaches, a deep sea fishing trip, or a horseback tour (guided or non-guided) to spectacular waterfalls, and swimming holes up the river. On Sundays, watch the community soccer team compete against one of the local villages, or even participate in a softball game, or a croquet match."_


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

citlali said:


> Yelapa that is the place I would not touch with a ten foot pole. You get invaded by tourists and they finally leave with the last water taxi. The locals are out for money and you are stuck with them.
> It probablt was nice when Ava Gardner and Burton were there as it was very isolated but no more...
> Depending on water taxis to go in and out is a royal pain as well.
> The Jalisco, Nayarit , Oaxaca have nice vfishing villages and offer all kinds of different life style but it is al a question of coice. If you want remote villages go to the Oaxaca coast.
> ...


Citlali and Hound Dog, I enjoy all of your posts and find that I am almost always in agreement with your sentiments, but it looks like we part company on places to live. My one visit to San Cristobal de las Casas in the winter was enough for me. It is too cold for my blood. Also, I prefer a more arid climate and open spaces. Too much vegetation makes me feel claustrophobic. As far as Ajijic goes, much is written about it. I enjoy visiting. It is a nice day trip from Guadalajara. But once every few years is often enough for me.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

We are in Chiapas for the culture obviously not the climate which is the pits. The good part about San Cristobal is that isf you are too cold there you can go down the mountain and soon you will be too hot..
The cultture there is something I enjoy from the indigenous cultures to the wealthy families who basically own the state and everything in between. The city is small enough that you can experience all the different sides of the society . Something that is way more difficult to do in a larger place
.If you like nice weather going to San Cristobal in the winter is not the best thing you can do.
The climate in Chiapas is not for the faint of heart and you can experience from freezing cold to vey hot in the same day which is not my idea of a great climate.
As for the vegetation you should like San Cristoal since there is very ittle vegetation and the highlands are pretty open vertical fields..not much vegetation there..
We got to know several locals in Yelapa who were trying to sell us a house there or more correctly lease them to us since you are not an owner..no thanks.. 
Again for a short vacation it is nice but 6 months. is way too long for me..

Ajijic has a great climate and lots of space to go on hikes that is a nice side to the town. When I am here I relax and rest from my hectic schedule down south so it is perfect for me but to each its own have Guadaljara Mazatlan and Yelapa , I wil not crowd your space there and you will not crowd mine in Chiapas or Ajijic..a perfect world.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

TundraGreen said:


> Citlali and Hound Dog, I enjoy all of your posts and find that I am almost always in agreement with your sentiments, but it looks like we part company on places to live. My one visit to San Cristobal de las Casas in the winter was enough for me. It is too cold for my blood. Also, I prefer a more arid climate and open spaces. Too much vegetation makes me feel claustrophobic. As far as Ajijic goes, much is written about it. I enjoy visiting. It is a nice day trip from Guadalajara. But once every few years is often enough for me.


Well,TG, I (HD) must tell you that Lake Chapala has, perhaps, the best or nearly the best climate on earth if one likes almost constant sunshine interrupted briefly by rains mostly at night and moderate temperatures almost all year long in the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit. Then, if one lives near the lake there are endless hard-packed beaches for running the perritos with total abandon and the semi-tropical vegetation is spectacular with constantly blooming flowers and abundant citrus fruits free for harvesting perhaps four times a year each morning for, in our case, oranges, limes, lemons, grapefruit, tangerines and on and on. It never gets cold and rarely gets hot during the short spring season in May and, anyone living in the U.S. knows this brief hot spring is of no consequence and soon gone with the wind. 

Highland Chiapas in San Cristóbal is, on the other hand, a complicated and far more enticing urban environment than the more sleep-inducing environment around the lake but then everything in this life is a trade-off. The climate in Highland Chiapas is a bit of a challenge with changable and often unpleasant damp chill off of the Gulf of Mexico modified unpleasantly by the 7000 foot altitude. 

Too bad every place has trade offs but one thing is certain. Outside of Coastal California, the U.S. has nothing to offer that even remotely approaches the splendid climate around here whether at Lake Chapala or Chiapas.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Hound Dog said:


> …
> Too bad every place has trade offs but one thing is certain. Outside of Coastal California, the U.S. has nothing to offer that even remotely approaches the splendid climate around here whether at Lake Chapala or Chiapas.


On that we can agree. Guadalajara shares the year round comfortable climate of Lake Chapala without the bucolic sleepiness of the lake environs. That is either a plus or minus depending on one's proclivities.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

TundraGreen said:


> On that we can agree. Guadalajara shares the year round comfortable climate of Lake Chapala without the bucolic sleepiness of the lake environs. That is either a plus or minus depending on one's proclivities.


Agred, TG. Because of my personal proclivities, when I wax abit younger, I spent considerable time in soem exotic places with pleasant climates. We settled in Higland Mexico upon retirement for a number of reasons but I though it might be fun to talk about alternatives for those inclined to moderate climates. I´ll start and welcome input by others even if that input contardicts my input. My input is only oplaces I have travele over the past 50 years. I am simply drawing from memory and using no Atlas if anyone wishes to join in. This should be fun:

* East and Nortteast Africa from the city of Addis Ababa to about Mount Kenya to Mount Kilimanjaro and around there including Nairobi, Kampala and countless other places in the highlands where the climate is splendid but also coastal and lowland áreas such as Mombasa, Dar es Salaamare quite pleasant, 

* Many parts of Highland India from Darjeeling to Bangalore and on and on. Fabulous climates.

* The Cameron Highlands in Malyasia to the highlands of Thailand.

My favorite retirement fantasy was to be William Holden, drinking heavily of Uganda Waraagi and hunting out of my lodge near Mount Kenya with a bunch of local bearers carrying my changes of underwear and fine old Scotch going, hello Bwana, more Scotch? as I sat next to some sexy broad from the 1950's lusting after the moment we entered the tent with the giant poisonous spiders on the canvas from whose bite we miraculously escaped at the last minute after having experienced unforgettable sexual drama and, while I keep soiling my bedsheets, that spider never succeeds in destroying me or my bedmate.God, I love Hollywood,. 

Of course, as most of us know, William Holden got drunk in his home in Southern California a decade or so ago, fell down and hit his head on his dinnig room table killing him instantly without the assisstance of even one Hollywood Starlette. Pooped in his pants and was gone.



*


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## Jolga (Jun 5, 2012)

Hound Dog said:


> A large, unattractive city with Big Macs and Cokes in fast food joints a la Fresno but fronting unpleasant brown beaches and a dismal, turbid sea about 100 kilometers from anyplace you might wish to be.
> 
> I could , in the year 2000 when I ,retired, have afforded to live anywhere in Mexico that suited my fancy. Mazatlán was never in the running and still isn't for me.,
> 
> To each his/her own. Your choice.


I am happy that you had the financial wherewithal in 2000 to live anywhere; reality is, not everyone is as fortunate as you. We don't know the OP's financial situation, but perhaps he is on a tight budget? Generalizations and assumptions are risky endeavors at best.

Speaking of which, Mazatlan was never in the running for you does not mean it isn't the ideal solution for many people. Yes, the OP is probably the small fishing village type, however, he has to fly in through an airport regardless, so why not though Maz? Then, he can take a quick look and decide for himself if things have changed from 20 years ago when you dismissed the city?

Subsequent to having recently been in the OP's position while looking for info re: Panama and then finally Mexico. I found it was wisest to give credence to those who were more balanced in their opinions. I shied away from those who made polarizing statements such as the so-and-so coast is Hell on Earth” or this or that city is the “devil’s armpit”. Reality is usually a hybrid i.e. neither black nor white but infinitely varying shades of grey. One man's poison is another man's pleasure.

If you are ever in the Pacific Coast area why not stop by and see what changes have come about in Mazatlan over the past 20 years? You might be pleasantly surprised.


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

lhpdiver said:


> Xcalak is definitely a small fishing town - but may be the most remote location in Mexico. It has been perhaps five years since we stayed there so things may have changed - but if you are not a diver or fisherman you may go crazy. I'd give the diving a B+ - especially offshore - but otherwise it is kind of like a mangrove swamp.
> 
> We first started visiting Huatulco 15-20 years ago when it truly was a small fishing village. You used to be able to sit barefoot on the beach under an umbrella and eat cheap great fish. Years ago no one ever mentioned Huatulco. Now it seems to get mentioned more than Acapulco. It is no longer the small fishing village it once was.
> 
> ...


" but perhaps you might consider Bavaro / Dominican Republic. "

no i would not


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

HolyMole said:


> I suggest Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, a city of approx. 80 - 90,000 175 km north of Acapulco. Here you can live as "local" or as "touristy" as you wish. Close-by, just 30 km or so to the north or south, the tiny communities of Troncones and Barra de Potosi are as quiet as anyone could want. In fact, of all the beach communities on the Mexican Pacific coast we've spent time in, (that's most of them between San Carlos in the north and Huatulco to the south), Zihua has them all beat, hands down. We drive down here to Zihua from Canada and have spent 1/2 the year here for the past 9 years. We rent a small apartment over a hardware store in Centro in Zihua. We have always enjoyed Mazatlan, and spend 3 or 4 days there on each of our north and southbound journeys, but Zihua's where we choose to spend our winters. The weather in Zihua from November though April is more dependable that Mazatlan's, (which can get downright "chilly" sometimes during that period)....and Maztlan is actually hotter and more humid during the summer months, in spite of the fact that it's perhaps 1000 km north of Zihua.


 Thanks a lot for that useful information and advice Holy Mole


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## obelisks (Oct 28, 2014)

Jolga said:


> I am happy that you had the financial wherewithal in 2000 to live anywhere; reality is, not everyone is as fortunate as you. We don't know the OP's financial situation, but perhaps he is on a tight budget? Generalizations and assumptions are risky endeavors at best.
> 
> Speaking of which, Mazatlan was never in the running for you does not mean it isn't the ideal solution for many people. Yes, the OP is probably the small fishing village type, however, he has to fly in through an airport regardless, so why not though Maz? Then, he can take a quick look and decide for himself if things have changed from 20 years ago when you dismissed the city?
> 
> ...


Jolga I am not on a tight budget and fortunately I can afford to go anywhere


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## Jolga (Jun 5, 2012)

obelisks said:


> Jolga I am not on a tight budget and fortunately I can afford to go anywhere


Yes, that's good news for you and those giving you suggestions, means that the possibilities are boundless in Mexico, that's probably why you came to the forum. Mexico is so big and so varied that we feel like a kid in a candy store.

If you enjoy your 6 month stay in whatever location you choose, could this also become a more permanent choice? E.G. many people who are now retired now in Mazatlan came here only for a one day stop during a cruise and were bitten by the bug. The same thing could happen to you in a smaller fishing village?


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