# Colima



## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

Anyone have any night to Colima? Seems like a good place aside from the earthquakes and volcanoes!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

pictou said:


> Anyone have any night to Colima? Seems like a good place aside from the earthquakes and volcanoes!


Night to Colima ?? I live 2 hours away and visit the City of Colima fairly often (HomeDepot and Sams). Visit Manzanillo about twice a month which is an hour away


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

I meant insight. Just looking for alternatives to SMA that are green! And not too humid/hot.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Colima is an attractive city, as is the surrounding area. However, it is too far from the ocean breezes, at a lower elevation, and does get very hot and humid for much of the year. Cane is grown and burned before harvest, so there is a 'smoke season' in some areas very nearby.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> Colima is an attractive city, as is the surrounding area. However, it is too far from the ocean breezes, at a lower elevation, and does get very hot and humid for much of the year. Cane is grown and burned before harvest, so there is a 'smoke season' in some areas very nearby.


Damn...thought we might have gotten lucky with this one...ahh well the reserach continues! Thanks for that info though-VERY helpful!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The best research is done on the ground. When you are ready, come on down, rent a place and then do some travel by car to places that interest you. That will also give you a chance to talk to others with years of experience in Mexico, as well as visit other areas in different seasons.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> The best research is done on the ground. When you are ready, come on down, rent a place and then do some travel by car to places that interest you. That will also give you a chance to talk to others with years of experience in Mexico, as well as visit other areas in different seasons.


that is definitly our plan but will be a bit tricky due to our young ones...Manzanillo seems nice and from what I read the climate seems ok as well unlike many coastal locales...thanks for the advice though-i totally agree being on the ground is the best way to go!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

We like Manzanillo in the winter; not in the summer of fall. Remember, you don't have to live 'at the beach' to enjoy it; the drive for us is 3.5 to 5 hours, and allows us to get there and spend a few days as the mood strikes. We don't have to suffer the heat, humidity and other inconveniences of the off season, when residents who can, evacuate for several months.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2011)

I totally agree that the best research is done after you arrive. Yet, sometimes that is nearly impossible. My husband, children and I moved, sight unseen, to Taxco and we LOVE it! We did four years of research and planning. We read tons of cross-cultural books and books on Mexican history. Also, we researched as much as possible on-line. Actually, we've had very little unwelcome surprises and only have had more joy than we could have imagined! Many people said that we HAD to come for a visit before moving, yet for a family of four that would have taken a significant amount of our actual moving money. We felt we would have been sabotaging our ability to make this out of the country move by spending the money on a major research vacation. Also, with our children being young teens, we didn't feel we could make a research trip without them. They CERTAINLY wanted to be part of this whole process. It's been a wonderful family event from the beginnign and we're all enjoying immersing ourselves in the culture, going to neighborhood fiestas together and learning Spanish together. In any case, as everyone would advise I think it is always best to take an exploratory trip first but if that is not possible it all can still work out wonderfully! Besides, my husband and I finally feel freedom that we never felt in the states. If Taxco doesn't work out we can move to a different town. but for now, we live just outside of town, in the mountains and have the most wonderful and delightful Mexican neighbors!


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

Raquel'sCocina said:


> I totally agree that the best research is done after you arrive. Yet, sometimes that is nearly impossible. My husband, children and I moved, sight unseen, to Taxco and we LOVE it! We did four years of research and planning. We read tons of cross-cultural books and books on Mexican history. Also, we researched as much as possible on-line. Actually, we've had very little unwelcome surprises and only more joy than we could have imagined! Many people said that we HAD to come for a visit before moving, yet for a family of four that would have taken a significant amount of our actual moving money. We felt we would have been sabotaging our ability to make this major move by spending the money on a major research vacation. Also, with our children being young teens, we didn't feel we could make a research trip without them. They CERTAINLY wanted to be part of this whole process. It's been a major family event from the beginnign and we're all enjoying immersing ourselves in the culture, going to neighborhood fiestas together and learning Spanish together. In any case, as everyone would advise I think it is always best to take an exploratory trip but if that is not possible it all can still work out wonderfully! Besides, my husband and I finally feel freedom that we never felt in the states. If Taxco doesn't work out we can move to a different town. but for now, we live just outside of town, in the mountains and have the most wonderful and delightful Mexican neighbors!


Thank you for the uplifting comment! We have been to Mexico before but always on the resorts so no use comparing that! SMA was recommended to us when we first started looking at Queretaro and further investigation confirmed it would be a good place to start! We have a 6 month rental arranged there starting october, visas in place so all we need to do is go now! We just want to spend that first 6 months trying to pin down a place as quick as possible so we can establish some sort of "HOME" for the kids without moving about too much! We don't like the extreme heat too much but we do like the green. I work away every 3 weeks so my wife and kids will be by themselves when I am gone so having some kind of support group (ie: expats to start anyway) is important. We don't plan on having a car so location is imnportant as well and since our oldest girl (4) will be in pre-school being close enough to the school is important lest we spend all our money on taxis! It is a tough combination to find and when you don't speak the language it only makes it harder. I work in the middle east alot and know the medi ahypes things so we arent overly concerned about the drug news BUT I am a bit concerned about driving all over the place...ahh well as you say it will all work out-we'll have to come check out your town of Taxco as it sounds nice.

cheers


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2011)

Glad I could help! I would also suggest that your four year old daughter be "home schooled" (Doesn't have to be a life long choice just temporary) for preschool as personally I would have hated to add the school dilema to our move. Preschool is so easy to do at home and that way you wife and children could adjust to the culture before adding public or private school into the mix. Just my personal opinion. We may send our kiddos to public high school next year but home schooling them for this year has been a perfect decision for our family. (We home schooled in Colorado so it hasn't been any kind of a major shift for us.) Taxco is a wonderful town as long as you ignore the Saturday silver market. We basically have no interest in silver. The town and the out lying area has a life of it's own that isn't focused on silver which is the tourist trade of the city. You just have to ignore the tourist stuff and get into the real life of the town and her people. We love it!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

pictou said:


> ...We don't plan on having a car so location is important ...


Getting by without a car is much easier in Mexico than it is in the US. The local bus systems are very functional. Don't be put off by the appearance. The buses are often old and beat up. But they run frequently, often every few minutes and they are cheap, 5 or 10 pesos depending on the city. When you are looking for a place to live, pay attention to what bus routes are available where you live and where schools and work are.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

Pictou, I know that you are renting in Los Balcones which is a great place and you will have a lot of opportunities to walk and explore the botanical garden that abuts Los Balcones. Expect that you will get great exercise walking back from centro as pretty straight up. Must admit that for 1st month or so we walked down and road up. Good was only 15p(believe now 20p).
Saw that a new bilingual international school just opened, Allende, that is K-12 and University so even more choices.
Not sure why you are shying away from a car as a great way to explore. We took off last Sunday for a drive through the Sierra Gordas, spectacular!
I think that San Miguel a great and easy choice. Lots of family opportunities.


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## Guest (Aug 18, 2011)

The busses (combis) are great! We have no car and our family rides the combis all the time. Both my children are now aclamated enough to take the combi downtown alone, shop at the mercado, and bring the groceries back home! I LOVE Mexican life!


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

You are right that in cities/towns, little reason for cars but exploring Mexico, that's another story. I want to pick a route & go, not find out that I need to make 6 bus changes that only obliquely go where I want to go.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

conklinwh said:


> You are right that in cities/towns, little reason for cars but exploring Mexico, that's another story. I want to pick a route & go, not find out that I need to make 6 bus changes that only obliquely go where I want to go.


It really is a personal preference and a life style choice. I like the simplicity of living without a car. I meet lots of people traveling by bus and have gotten to lots of tiny places with buses, combis, and the occasional taxi. I even hitchhike occasionally. In rural areas, everyone drives a pickup and they will stop to let you ride in the back. You just tap on the cab when you want to get out.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

With a family, I suspect that you will soon visit a dealer and be looking at a small SUV. You will want to use Costco, Sam's, Home Depot, and other such places, as well as take day trips to interesting sites nearby. Here, we often go into Guadalajara, visit mountain towns, circumnavigate the lake, go to fiestas patronales in nearby towns, drive down to the Pacific beaches for a few days and explore along the way, etc., etc. In your case, especially, finding the ideal place to bring up your family will require some serious exploration; possible, but not practical by buses, which don't run much after 9 or 10 PM anyway.
As for 'homeschooling', I would rather see your 4 year old in a 'kinder' with children of her own age. She would be fluent in about six months. Children of that age aren't bothered by other languages, as they don't see them as 'other.' They simply take them in and use them. In Turkey, I knew a five year old who was very capable in five different languages and often 'interpreted' at gatherings where we were in groups speaking Turkish, English, German, French and Italian. It didn't bother him a bit, and I'm still jealous of that kid some 50 years later!


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

It is a lifestyle choice. I'm lost without a car but not necessary in San Miguel as great restaurants and shops. Expect that you will evolve into transportation as you get more comfortable and want to expand your horizons and explore.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

conklinwh said:


> It is a lifestyle choice.


Indeed it is. Without a car, I do all my shopping and local chores, and have visited a dozen Pueblo Magicos, a half dozen archeological sites, sailed the coasts of Baja and Western Mexico, hiked the Barrancas del Cobre, visited little towns no one has ever heard of, slept under the stars, and backpacked in the Sierra Madre. 

With small children, life without a car would be more challenging perhaps, for the adults, anyway. The kids won't care, at least when they are young.

In the US, living without a car means living in one of the big cities and never going anywhere. That is not true in Mexico. I suspect that people that have always relied on driving everywhere, have no concept of what you can do without a car in a place like Mexico with good public transit even to little villages.

It is not always peaches and cream. Everything you do takes longer. So it helps if you can relax and enjoy the "getting there" as much as the "being there". Sometimes you wait for hours for a bus that is supposed to come but never does. But in the meantime, you make friends with the other stranded people.

In the end, it is just a choice about how you want to live your life. There is no right answer.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

I agree with the comments above...we are used to having a car of course and I can't remember the last time I had to take public transit! Looking forward to the novelty and challenge of it all. We have to turn in our Canadian drivers licenses for residency purposes so will be trying to Mexican ones as soon as ww arrive so we can always rent a car from time to time if we need I suppose.

Thanks for the comments!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

>>>>> We have to turn in our Canadian drivers licenses for residency purposes 

What kind of residency requires turning in your licence?


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

To be a non-resident of Canada you need to turn in all your id's and such to show you are truly not living there. I am presuming this means drivers license also and definitely includes health care cards


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## DNP (May 3, 2011)

pictou said:


> I agree with the comments above...we are used to having a car of course and I can't remember the last time I had to take public transit! Looking forward to the novelty and challenge of it all. We have to turn in our Canadian drivers licenses for residency purposes so will be trying to Mexican ones as soon as ww arrive so we can always rent a car from time to time if we need I suppose.
> 
> Thanks for the comments!


Whose requirement to turn in your driver's license?

WashDC/SMA


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

>>>> To be a non-resident of Canada you need to turn in all your id's

I've heard you may have issues with Canadian health care if you remain out of country .... but think you are wrong about other ID needing to be turned in. You are not giving up Canadian citizenship. All your ID would include your passport?


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

Well health care for sure...not sure about the DL. Not passport though as you said.


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## AVEN (Jan 12, 2010)

As Sparks mentioned, you are not giving up your citizenship just becoming non-resident. My experience when I left Canada and not knowing for how long, I called Alberta Health and told them the date I was leaving. (you can have your health coverage when you go on holiday etc for 3 months at least) upon our return 2 years later it was then reinstated. We kept our driving licences, passports, bank accounts, house in Canada which we rented out.
Our reason for going non-resident was purely for income tax purposes as we would be paying taxes in another country and not Canada, you do have to be gone two years to be able to do this I believe.
Hope that clears that issue for you.
I have to mention this is my first post and hope I am doing things correctly! 
I too have been "lurking" for a long while and have gained considerably by doing so, thanks to all.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

AVEN said:


> As Sparks mentioned, you are not giving up your citizenship just becoming non-resident. My experience when I left Canada and not knowing for how long, I called Alberta Health and told them the date I was leaving. (you can have your health coverage when you go on holiday etc for 3 months at least) upon our return 2 years later it was then reinstated. We kept our driving licences, passports, bank accounts, house in Canada which we rented out.
> Our reason for going non-resident was purely for income tax purposes as we would be paying taxes in another country and not Canada, you do have to be gone two years to be able to do this I believe.
> Hope that clears that issue for you.
> I have to mention this is my first post and hope I am doing things correctly!
> I too have been "lurking" for a long while and have gained considerably by doing so, thanks to all.


Thanks Aven...we are doing this for income tax purposes as well but this is the first I have heard of 2 years! We are renting our house as well and of course keeping passports but wasn't sure about the DL. Health care I knew would be gone but that is no problem...it is a scam anyway IMHO. I think being determined as a non-resident is subjective with revenue Canada and you have to show that you have given up all significant ties and don't plan on returning any time soon. I certainly did not about 2 years before you can stop paying taxes-I sure hope this is not true


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## AVEN (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi Pictou.
I am sorry as I may not have made myself clear on the income tax issue. I have only made two posts including this one so cannot email you as I would prefer to do that, what I meant was that we did not pay income tax back into Canada as we were gone two full years and that is the requirement, or, I believe was at the time we were gone to be considered non-resident. During those two years we paid taxes in the the country we were residing in and not in Canada. This all occurred over 20 years ago. 
You mentioned that you were also renting your home out too. If it is in the hands of a rental agency there is a form that they have (or had at our time of doing this) that you can sign to have no income tax held back by the agent.
I hope this clarifies things a little better for you and I am sorry for any misunderstanding.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

@aven...from what my accountant tells me I will have a 25% with holding tax on the rental property but that is it. I will be taxed on my world wide Income by Mexico however. There is no 2 year issue with Canada-apparently this was the case back in the 90's but now no longer on the books. Trick is just making sure revenue Canada accept your non resident status. We will be declaring that after a couple months in Mexico.

Perhaps you can shed light on the income requirements for mexico residency however...when we got our visas it seems they looked at our monthly income but I have read elsewhere on this forum that you may need to have a full years living expense balance in your account when you re-apply. Do you know if it is a monthly income thing or a balance per chance?


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## AVEN (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi Pictou.
Well that explains it as we were out of the country in the early 90's!
From what I have read here it looks like the monthly income requirement is from $1000-1500. You are ahead of us with your plans as we at present just go down for vacations several times a year. We plan to retire there in 2012 and to date have not started that process.
Good luck to you and your family.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

AVEN said:


> Hi Pictou.
> Well that explains it as we were out of the country in the early 90's!
> From what I have read here it looks like the monthly income requirement is from $1000-1500. You are ahead of us with your plans as we at present just go down for vacations several times a year. We plan to retire there in 2012 and to date have not started that process.
> Good luck to you and your family.


If it helps we applied via the consulate in Vancouver. Small office, no line ups and easy process and very helpful staff (nice excuse for a holiday from AB too).

We supplied income statements from our online banking we printed off just showing total debits and credit summary and that sufficed. Once we get to Mexico in October we will have to get immigration there to issue us the official version I understand...we have contacted someone to assist us...maybe next time we'll do it ourselves but it is all so confusing it helps having someone who knows the scoop help us out for a few dollars! I have read on the forum elsewhere that some places have asked for a total balance to account for the required income whereas others state monthly so just thought i would ask-i get the impression it depends which province you are going to.

good luck!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

pictou said:


> ... I have read on the forum elsewhere that some places have asked for a total balance to account for the required income whereas others state monthly so just thought i would ask-i get the impression it depends which province you are going to. ...


While most everything can depend on the which Mexican state one is talking about, I think the issue with total balance versus monthly income is more a matter of what your total balance is. If the total is more than enough to meet the monthly requirements for a year, then no proof of monthly deposits is required. If not, then proof of monthly deposits is required.


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## yugr1 (Nov 19, 2011)

[Do not give up Colima. The weather is mostly nice. There are only a few weeks at the beginning and at the end of the rainy season where it gets uncomfortable, but nothing worse than NYC of DC during the summer. If you really want to avoid the hot humid weather you can go live higher up toward the volcano. There are a few nice towns starting with Comala, Suchitlan and Cofradia, 15, 20, 35 min away from Colima City. Cofradia is at 4300 ft asl and Comala around 2300 ft asl. The cusp of the Volcan de Fuego is at 12,600 ft above sea level, so that during winter rains (cabañuelas) is not rare to have both volcanoes cover with snow for a few days. There are great picts online from Comala where you can see the snow from the central plaza which is surrounded by palm trees, magoes and papaya plants.

This state and the city of Colima has many things to offer, now there is even a golf gated community available, but that to me is not really Mexico and I rather have the life style of a true Mexican village, the likes of Comala and Nogueras.




QUOTE=pictou;588974]Thank you for the uplifting comment! We have been to Mexico before but always on the resorts so no use comparing that! SMA was recommended to us when we first started looking at Queretaro and further investigation confirmed it would be a good place to start! We have a 6 month rental arranged there starting october, visas in place so all we need to do is go now! We just want to spend that first 6 months trying to pin down a place as quick as possible so we can establish some sort of "HOME" for the kids without moving about too much! We don't like the extreme heat too much but we do like the green. I work away every 3 weeks so my wife and kids will be by themselves when I am gone so having some kind of support group (ie: expats to start anyway) is important. We don't plan on having a car so location is imnportant as well and since our oldest girl (4) will be in pre-school being close enough to the school is important lest we spend all our money on taxis! It is a tough combination to find and when you don't speak the language it only makes it harder. I work in the middle east alot and know the medi ahypes things so we arent overly concerned about the drug news BUT I am a bit concerned about driving all over the place...ahh well as you say it will all work out-we'll have to come check out your town of Taxco as it sounds nice.

cheers[/QUOTE]


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

Thanks for that! We have been in SMA now for a little over a month-kids in school and all is well with the world so far but the cold mornings are a bit of a drag! We have committed to stay in SMA for a year and a half at least before moving so we can truly assess it-we do love it though but what we really love about warmer countries is the warm mornings and evening and SMA hasnt had that so far...of course in the coast you will have it but then you get the hot hot days. Anyway now that we have a base of operations we will be taking some trips out that way to explore and see alternatives to mull over while we enjoy our time in SMA.

thaqnks for the comment!



yugr1 said:


> [Do not give up Colima. The weather is mostly nice. There are only a few weeks at the beginning and at the end of the rainy season where it gets uncomfortable, but nothing worse than NYC of DC during the summer. If you really want to avoid the hot humid weather you can go live higher up toward the volcano. There are a few nice towns starting with Comala, Suchitlan and Cofradia, 15, 20, 35 min away from Colima City. Cofradia is at 4300 ft asl and Comala around 2300 ft asl. The cusp of the Volcan de Fuego is at 12,600 ft above sea level, so that during winter rains (cabañuelas) is not rare to have both volcanoes cover with snow for a few days. There are great picts online from Comala where you can see the snow from the central plaza which is surrounded by palm trees, magoes and papaya plants.
> 
> This state and the city of Colima has many things to offer, now there is even a golf gated community available, but that to me is not really Mexico and I rather have the life style of a true Mexican village, the likes of Comala and Nogueras.
> 
> ...


[/QUOTE]


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