# Canadians in Chiapas?



## Shaynelle (Aug 18, 2012)

My husband and I are planning a few trips to the Chiapas area to visit a friends family (a good friend of mine is from Tuxtla Gutiérrez and we are travelling with her and her husband and baby back to Mexico). We currently live in Ontario.

I know there are not too many expats around this area, but I am hoping to correspond with any Canadians who have moved to the area if possible, to get some advice and find out more. I've been reading a lot online and in books, and can't wait to get there to see in person if it's something we want to peruse for a retirement abode or not, and it would be nice to chat with other Canadians if they don't mind.


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## Heyduke (Jun 17, 2012)

I am not a Canadian but am from the US. I live in San Cristobal. Maybe I can help you. What do you want to know?


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## Shaynelle (Aug 18, 2012)

Thank you Heyduke, I appreciate your reply.

A few of the questions I had about real estate I've answered somewhat by reading previous posts, but I just want to verify that in San Cristobal it's possible for foreigners to own real estate as it's not in the 'restricted' zone, is this correct?

The housing I have looked at online (rentasyventas dot com, vivastreet dot com.mx and casas.trovit dot com.mx) it seems a lot of the houses right in San Cristobal are a type of row housing, is this correct? Are detached houses common?

The biggest issue we may have is my husband and I have next to no Spanish, and it's a bit of a catch 22 in that we don't want to invest time and energy right now learning Spanish unless we know fairly certainly we want to retire in Mexico but at the same time I know learning Spanish before we go visit will help us. During our initial visit will have our friend with us who will gladly interpret for us (she is a close friend and I trust her 100%), but beyond this I assume we will have to be fairly fluent in Spanish to make daily living comfortable, is this correct?

In todays dollars we will have an income of at minimum $2000 US $ a month (most likely over $3,000). We are hoping to buy a house and have enough to live a modestly comfortable life while allowing some $ for travel. From what I have read, and based on our level of expectation we should be able to live off this amount, but I would appreciate any feedback as the more input the better IMHO.

For our initial visit, keeping in mind we will be scoping things out to see if we want to retire in the area or not, could you please suggest anything we should check out while we're there? (We will take additional trips before deciding but we want to at least find out if Chiapas interests us enough to look more seriously at retiring there or not.)


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## Heyduke (Jun 17, 2012)

!st if you are looking to move to San Cristobal I think you should move here first and rent a house for a few months to see if you like it here. Yes you can own property in San Cris. There are many different type houses in SC but most common are cinder block houses. Hardly any houses in SC have any heat except for a fireplace and it does get cold here in Jan and Feb. It has been known to frost. This means that your house can get almost as cold as the temp outside. 
Knowing Spanish is a plus because hardly anyone speaks any English. You should at least know some Spanish.
You should be able to live very comfortable on $2000.00 to $3000.00 a month. I assume its Can dollars and I don't know the exchange rate but I'm sure its close to US Dollars. If you plan on owning a car while here it would be cheaper buying a car in Canada. If I think of anything else I'll post it here.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Shaynelle:

We also live in San Cristóbal for about six months of each year from about December to May when the rainy season, or, perhaps I should say inundation season, kicks in and at Lake Chapala in Jalisco for the rest of the year, primarily during the summer rainy season when the climate at Lake Chapala is pleasant and the weather in San Cristóbal is for ducks. We, as is the case with Heyduke, are not Canadian but U.S. and French citizens respectively. We have owned a home in the historic center of San Cristóbal since 2006 and have been permanent residents in Mexico since 2001. We enjoy the striking contrast between Chiapas and the Lake Chapala area as well as Oaxaca State , the Yucatan Peninsula and Southern Veracruz State where we often travel from our base in San Cristóbal. Chiapas is a spectacularly beautiful state with many contrasting climates because of its dramatic topographic variances so, should you continue to have an interest in living in that state, there are many choices from high mountain alpine environments to splendid but steamy jungles to an extensive and somewhat primitive but rustically charming Pacific Coastline. By inquiring about San Cristóbal you have zeroed in on the cool, high mountain region which can be an acquired taste - especially if you choose to live in the Jovel Valley region all year around. 

A few points from my point of view if I may:
* Absolutely rent at first and I would suggest renting through an entire annual weather cycle before you commit to purchasing a home in San Cristóbal as you may, over time, find that that area is not your cup of tea.
* San Cristóbal and the surrounding area at 2,000 meters and much higher, has a heaven-sent climate when the weather warms up and the crystal clear, pure mountain air and skies prevail but can often get quite chilly and damply overcast during the day periodically and even quite cold at night with regularity and Heyduke is right that many homes and hotel rooms may not have heat. If you rent at first as he suggests, a very good idea, always check the proposed rental for interior heating and make sure it is adequate to keep you comfortable as, as Heyduke says, it can get bone-chillingly cold inside the houses which the locals in general seem to find acceptable but you may find unpleasant if you are not used to it. While you are at it, also keep in mind that when it rains in San Cristóbal it pours and pours and then pours some more and your landlord may not have the same attitude toward leaks that you may bring with you so scope out any potential rental well before making a decision to rent. 
* You really need to either speak Spanish acceptably or plan to learn Spanish as a priority if you are going to truly enjoy San Cristóbal or, for that matter, Chiapas any place you settle there as English is, to say the least, not widely spoken. Achieving fluency in Spanish for English apeakers is more difficult than most imagine and the language schools in San Cristóbal are simply OK at best. This is another reason to rent at first as you measure your own personal propensity at learning Spanish unless you have already mastered it.
* Yes, San Cristóbal, as is true of any colonial city in Mexico, consists largely of "row" housing on small lots. Now, that "row" housing can be quite attractive, especially in the historic center, but if you plan to move there, be prepared to live in close proximity with your neighbors unless you live out of town or in suburbia - a choice I would not recommend for a number of reasons. 
* You can live well in San Cristóbal on $2,000 to $3,000 U.S or Canadian Dollars a month including rent if you live reasonably frugally and learn to shop as the locals do. We live a couple of blocks from the huge indigenous market there where we buy a variety of excellent fruits and vegetables brought into the market by indigenous farmers from the surrounding hills and sold at astonishingly low prices. You can also find inexpensive meat, poultry and fish at reasonable prices at the market or at butcher shops around town or at one of several big box retail supermarkets at higher but affordable prices if you prefer.
* I would move to San Cristóbal without a car if I were you. You do not need a car in the city which is eminently walkable in its core and all areas of the city plus surrounding areas are easily accessed by inexpensive taxis, combis and buses. When we drive down from Lake Chapala, where we consider a car to be a necessity, we park our car in our garage and rarely use it, preferring, instead, to walk or take taxis or combis anywhere in town or even to outlying villages near the city. When and if you do buy a car, we recommend that you buy it locally in San Cristóbal, where there are several reputable dealers in new or used cars or in the nearby large city of Tuxtla Gutierrez rather than bring in a foreign plated car from Canada or the U.S. We brought down two Cañifornia plated cars which we later drove back to the border to sell when we purchased a Mexican plated car in Guadalajara in 2004 - a decision we have never regretted. There are several reasons we recommend this I won´t go into here but one reason really stands out. If you plan or think you may one day plan to become a permanent resident ("inmigrado" status) or citizen of Mexico eventually, it is illegal for you to own a foreign plated vehicle. If you want me to go into the other reasons I strongly suggest a Mexican plated car over a foreign plated car for driving about Southern Mexico, just ask.

I hope my comments help and, if you do decide to move to Chiapas you will be moving to paradise - warts and all.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

Hound Dog said:


> Shaynelle:
> 
> We also live in San Cristóbal for about six months of each year from about December to May when the rainy season, or, perhaps I should say inundation season, kicks in and at Lake Chapala in Jalisco for the rest of the year, primarily during the summer rainy season when the climate at Lake Chapala is pleasant and the weather in San Cristóbal is for ducks. We, as is the case with Heyduke, are not Canadian but U.S. and French citizens respectively. We have owned a home in the historic center of San Cristóbal since 2006 and have been permanent residents in Mexico since 2001. We enjoy the striking contrast between Chiapas and the Lake Chapala area as well as Oaxaca State , the Yucatan Peninsula and Southern Veracruz State where we often travel from our base in San Cristóbal. Chiapas is a spectacularly beautiful state with many contrasting climates because of its dramatic topographic variances so, should you continue to have an interest in living in that state, there are many choices from high mountain alpine environments to splendid but steamy jungles to an extensive and somewhat primitive but rustically charming Pacific Coastline. By inquiring about San Cristóbal you have zeroed in on the cool, high mountain region which can be an acquired taste - especially if you choose to live in the Jovel Valley region all year around.
> 
> ...


 Myself, I am glad to see HoundDog keep the response to a comment and not a thesis as is usual. Thanks Dog.


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## edgeee (Jun 21, 2012)

I am still pretty new here, so i would not presume to challenge what i see here.
but what i see here is pretty challenging.

there is very good info here, but it takes effort to sift through it.
As it should be.
Thanks for all the info.
:clap2:


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## Heyduke (Jun 17, 2012)

I have a few disagreements with Houndog and Tepetapan. One is there is no need to own a car. I disagree with that if you enjoy traveling off the beaten path. Its true you can travel without a car but to get out into the country side and off the main roads it really helps to own a car. I would also disagree about living out in the suburbs. I and many people I know live out in the berbs and I like it. I live in Cuxtitali on the west end of town and its quiet and safe. I wouldn't even call San Cris a colonial town because the only part that is is just a couple of blocks in el Centro. The rest of town is just like any other Mexican city. If a person wants to live close to el centro it is expensive. Once you have lived in San Cris for a few years the downtown area is not as appealing as it is when you first move into town, Its just for tourist.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

Heyduke said:


> I have a few disagreements with Houndog and Tepetapan. One is there is no need to own a car. I disagree with that if you enjoy traveling off the beaten path. Its true you can travel without a car but to get out into the country side and off the main roads it really helps to own a car. I would also disagree about living out in the suburbs. I and many people I know live out in the berbs and I like it. I live in Cuxtitali on the west end of town and its quiet and safe. I wouldn't even call San Cris a colonial town because the only part that is is just a couple of blocks in el Centro. The rest of town is just like any other Mexican city. If a person wants to live close to el centro it is expensive. Once you have lived in San Cris for a few years the downtown area is not as appealing as it is when you first move into town, Its just for tourist.


:confused2:


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## Shaynelle (Aug 18, 2012)

Thank you Hound Dog for the excellent response. We intent to take a few trips there, and if we still are interested in potentially retiring there, rent a house for at least a year, then after that if we're certain, we will buy something. We will most likely not buy a car there, certainly not bring one with us, although we have open minds and that may change and we may decide to buy a car, but for now, I don't see a need to have one while we're only scoping things out.

I agree with edgeee, excellent information on this site that I would not be able to receive from anywhere else (except in person of course!). Thank you everyone!


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