# Mountain Living in Mexico



## ScottRyan

Hello. After an abrupt retirement caught me off guard, I got a 5th wheel and went down into Mexico to find a place to live on a very modest pension. The Baja was too barren for me. So I came to the Copper Canyon area. I'm in Creel. The mountain climate is perfect. The open forests and fields and canyons provide lots of hiking opportunities with my dogs without having to drive miles and spend on gas. I am surprised, though, that there are no expats living here. Makes it a bit lonely for just me and my dogs. Looking online at other places to retire in Mexico, almost all focus on highly populated areas where there is no wilderness for miles. Does anyone know of some low cost, sparsely populated mountain communities like this wonderful place in Creel that might have a few Americans to take the bite off of the cultural barrier?


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## fmr pnw

I think there may be a few expats in San Sebastián del Oeste, about 90 min from the Pto Vallarta area. Don't know if you'd want to go so far south. I think there's also a healthy expat community in the Lake Chapala area, though it's substantially colder there (outside the Guadalajara area).

Good luck with your retirement, and may you be happy wherever you land!

Gayle


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## Isla Verde

fmr pnw said:


> I think there's also a healthy expat community in the Lake Chapala area, though it's substantially colder there (outside the Guadalajara area).


The OP is looking for a "low cost, sparsely populated mountain communit[y]", which is surely not an accurate description of the Lake Chapala area.


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## izzenhood

Santa Rosa near Guanajuato?
I believe there are a few expats in Santa Rosa and Guanajuato is a short bus ride away.


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## Isla Verde

izzenhood said:


> Santa Rosa near Guanajuato?
> I believe there are a few expats in Santa Rosa and Guanajuato is a short bus ride away.



Are you familiar with Santa Rosa? Tell us more about it. It's a place I (and no doubt other forum members) have never heard of before.

¡Gracias!


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## TundraGreen

ScottRyan said:


> Hello. After an abrupt retirement caught me off guard, I got a 5th wheel and went down into Mexico to find a place to live on a very modest pension. The Baja was too barren for me. So I came to the Copper Canyon area. I'm in Creel. The mountain climate is perfect. The open forests and fields and canyons provide lots of hiking opportunities with my dogs without having to drive miles and spend on gas. I am surprised, though, that there are no expats living here. Makes it a bit lonely for just me and my dogs. Looking online at other places to retire in Mexico, almost all focus on highly populated areas where there is no wilderness for miles. Does anyone know of some low cost, sparsely populated mountain communities like this wonderful place in Creel that might have a few Americans to take the bite off of the cultural barrier?


How about Mazamitla or Tapalpa. They are Pueblo Magicos, in the mountains, and there might be some resident foreigners there. Not a lot but maybe more than Creel.


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## sparks

West of you is Alamos with expats .... maybe on the outskirts


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## chicois8

sparks said:


> West of you is Alamos with expats .... maybe on the outskirts


Scott, don't you think Alamos is a little up scale for someone with "a very modest pension"?


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## chicois8

Isla Verde said:


> Are you familiar with Santa Rosa? Tell us more about it. It's a place I (and no doubt other forum members) have never heard of before.
> 
> ¡Gracias!


Isla, Santa Rosa,GTO is a cute little hillside town, when I was visiting there was this huge ceramics company who's showroom looked more like a museum and across the street was a woman's co-op that made the most delicious jams and jellies, the mango being my favorite.


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## izzenhood

*Santa Rosa*



Isla Verde said:


> Are you familiar with Santa Rosa? Tell us more about it. It's a place I (and no doubt other forum members) have never heard of before.
> 
> ¡Gracias!


I'm not all that familiar with Santa Rosa. We did visit the town in 2006. Most residents are Mexicanos. Many work in the mines. SR is somewhat famous for the large Talavera pottery factory in town. I only believe that there are a few expats because I saw real estate listings in 2006 by expats. I liked the area because it was fairly high altitude (8300 feet), thus cooler than Guanajuato (6600). They sometimes get snow. The country is a mix of forest and open areas. Easy to get around in; i.e. not brushy or jungley. I hiked around quite a bit, off trail, just outside of Guanajuato, when I was there.

ScottRyan

How about Real de Catorce. I haven't been there but it sounds facinating. Elevation 9000 ft or so.


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## TundraGreen

chicois8 said:


> Isla, Santa Rosa,GTO is a cute little hillside town, when I was visiting there was this huge ceramics company who's showroom looked more like a museum and across the street was a woman's co-op that made the most delicious jams and jellies, the mango being my favorite.


Another option for a mountain town with foreigners would be would be Ciudad Guzman.


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## Anonimo

*A smalll taste of Santa Rosa GTO*



Isla Verde said:


> Are you familiar with Santa Rosa? Tell us more about it. It's a place I (and no doubt other forum members) have never heard of before.
> 
> ¡Gracias!


We have only been there for part of a day. I liked what I saw, but then it was too brief a visit to accurately assess the town. It's home to a well known restaurant, as well as the Conservas Santa Rosa, a womens' cooperative dedicated to making fruit preserves. I think that it has been successful in producing and marketing its products.

Street view of the store.









Here's a photo inside their store









The countryside seems to be semi arid hill country. We had an enjoyable comida rústica (country style food) at Puerto Barrientos, back a few kilometers in the direction of Guanajuato Capital, a rustic restaurant called "La Cabaña de Lola".









Cecina estilo Cabaña de Lolita, a specialty of the house.

I'd gladly go back there for another visit.


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## Anonimo

*Brrrr!*



ScottRyan said:


> Hello. After an abrupt retirement caught me off guard, I got a 5th wheel and went down into Mexico to find a place to live on a very modest pension. The Baja was too barren for me. So I came to the Copper Canyon area. I'm in Creel. The mountain climate is perfect. The open forests and fields and canyons provide lots of hiking opportunities with my dogs without having to drive miles and spend on gas. I am surprised, though, that there are no expats living here. Makes it a bit lonely for just me and my dogs. Looking online at other places to retire in Mexico, almost all focus on highly populated areas where there is no wilderness for miles. Does anyone know of some low cost, sparsely populated mountain communities like this wonderful place in Creel that might have a few Americans to take the bite off of the cultural barrier?


Have you experienced winter in Creel?


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## sparks

chicois8 said:


> Scott, don't you think Alamos is a little up scale for someone with "a very modest pension"?


He's in an RV so he can put it anywhere ...... and with expats around it can't be too down-scale


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## TundraGreen

The original poster has not been back to visit the site since he posted his question. I think we are just casting suggestions to the wind.


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## izzenhood

TundraGreen said:


> The original poster has not been back to visit the site since he posted his question. I think we are just casting suggestions to the wind.


Even so, it has been an informative thread for myself and others who seek the same type of retirement locale. I will be checking the towns that were suggested.


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## derek.larson

izzenhood said:


> Even so, it has been an informative thread for myself and others who seek the same type of retirement locale. I will be checking the towns that were suggested.


I'm doing a pre-move recon next month and will be checking out a few high elevation towns in Queretaro (San Joaquin & Pinal de Amoles).


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## Anonimo

*Pátzcuaro -7200 feet ASL*

I don't know if Pátzcuaro has been mentioned in this thread. It's at about 7200 feet ASL, and there are smaller towns in the area around the lake of the same name. Our house, 10 miles north of Pátzcuaro, is at 6800 feet, but the ridge immediately behind us rises about 2000 feet more. There are modest sized villages in the upper areas that are almost alpine in feeling.

The downside is that winter nights are cold. But the rest of the year, the climate is benign.


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## Mitch1717

Thank you for all the wonderful information. I am on a very tight budget also so it is very nice to see this thread.


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## Isla Verde

Mitch1717 said:


> Thank you for all the wonderful information. I am on a very tight budget also so it is very nice to see this thread.


If you're on a very tight budget, you may not be eligible for a resident visa. It that's the case you will have to settle for living here on a tourist visa and leaving the country every 180 days to renew it.


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## Andreas_Montoya

I am just outside of Cordoba in the mountains and the climate is great. Pico de Orizaba is 25 kilometers away and I have a beautiful view of it. Cost of living is very low as is crime. Pico de Orizaba came in as one of the lowest cost of living in Mexico but they still have a large mall.


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## Andreas_Montoya

I lived just outside of Playa del Carmen for a year and the cost of living was like the U.S. Here it is about $500.00 per month with a lot of rum and cigarettes. I'm quitting smoking now and it should be less but I built a house so no rent.


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## JeriLyn

Lake Chapala is a large area ~ the lake is about? 50 miles in length. There is a huge expat community in Ajijic, that is reduced as you move out around the lake, and prices reduce accordingly. I get tortilla's hot off the grill/machine for one peso for four of them, enough for me. down at the plaza I pick up a sack of veggies for 20-30 pesos and enough bacon for one really large serving or two normal for about 20 pesos. This is in Chapala, if you stay away from the "******" stores, most things are quite inexpensive. But it is nice to have a place to pick up a box of KD and montreal steak spice


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## ScottRyan

Thanks very much for all the suggestions. I am looking into them.


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## rocklandpr

Hi Scott,

We visit Creel often and may eventually retire there. Let me know if you are still living in Creel and we can try to get together the next time I am there. We love Creel.

Thanks

Rocky


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## TundraGreen

rocklandpr said:


> Hi Scott,
> 
> We visit Creel often and may eventually retire there. Let me know if you are still living in Creel and we can try to get together the next time I am there. We love Creel.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Rocky


I spend a couple of weeks in Creel every May or June. But I don't think I would want to live there.


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## CasaColibri

Know this is an old post, but I just joined the forum today. You stil in Creel? I live in Guanajuato in the mountains, just a twenty-minute drive to the centro and about 15minutes down the hill from Santa Rosa (an area that has federal forests, fruit and nut orchards and is near the continental divide.) Warm days, cool nights. Never has snowed where I've lived these 20 years, but can get chilly at night in the winter. Pull out those thick wool socks and you're good to go. Hilly town, so not as attractive to some as Lake Chapala as far as walking around, but about 200-300 expats. I work for university here and plan to retire soon. I also plan to stay RIGHT HERE in my idea of near paradise till the day I die. No beaches or valleys for me. No sireee!


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## RickS

I thought that Santa Rosa was a pretty small village.... up from Guanajuato City. You say that there are 2-300 expats living there?


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## CasaColibri

*Santa Rosa*

Sorry if I confused you. I don't know any ex-pats who live in Santa Rosa, though there may be some. It's tiny. I'd guess 200-300 ex-pats living in Guanajuato City area, more seasonally.


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## RickS

OK... that is more understandable. Thanks.


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