# Snowbirds/Rainbirds



## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

As I may have mentioned, the imminent birth of my first grandchild has us rethinking our plan, to one where we'd live about 8 or nine months/year in Italy, on the sea, and 3 in MX, in the winter, on the beach. The remaining month would be spent traveling.

Does anyone here have experience with being, as it were, a dual expat, in MX and another country? Is it crazy-making, or doable?

One of the advantages of IT/MX, of course, is that Italian and Spanish are so similar that if you speak one, you can get by pretty well in the other for conversation and reading, if not writing. I daresay that someone who's learned Italian will make numerous spelling mistakes in Spanish, and vice versa!

After last winter's extended tour in MN, I am so eager to get the ball rolling. But, realistically, it'll probably be more like a minimum of 2, and more likely, 3 years, before we get moved.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

What kind of a visa do you have to get to live 8 or 9 months in Italy? 

Getting dual citizenship is doable in many countries but they each have their own rules. In Mexico you cannot be out of the country more than 3 months in the previous two years to your application and you have to have a permanent visa for some years not sure how many any longer.
Each country has their rules so you ll have to check with the Italian or Mexican consulates or the SRE site in Mexico.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

citlali said:


> What kind of a visa do you have to get to live 8 or 9 months in Italy?
> 
> Getting dual citizenship is doable in many countries but they each have their own rules. In Mexico you cannot be out of the country more than 3 months in the previous two years to your application and you have to have a permanent visa for some years not sure how many any longer.
> Each country has their rules so you ll have to check with the Italian or Mexican consulates or the SRE site in Mexico.


My dad was born in England, and became a citizen in the US in the 70's. That means that I'm eligible to be a UK citizen, so I can live in the Eurozone, no problem. My kept man )) can live with me, of course.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

That is good because long term visas can be a real pain to get. Do not know what is takes to be a UK citizen or get a visa for a spouse. I just would hate to have to go through all the paperwork. I never looked into it for my husband so I was just curious.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

It's not a lot for UK, and once I have the dual citizenship, my spouse is considered OK--although, whether you're an Italian or a Brit or any other citizen, you still have to register in the town/city where you live as a resident. But that's a separate issue.

For UK, the biggest thing is a birth certificate for the parent, and I have that. I could, actually, become a dual citizen with Ireland, as well, as my maternal grandmother was born there, and they will go back two generations for citizenship.

But she was born during the time that a lot of the Irish thought that it was a really good idea to burn the birth and baptismal (that works, too, for Ireland) certificates, so that those damn British wouldn't know how many of them there were. We--including cousins--have searched in vain for her certificates.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

mickisue1 said:


> It's not a lot for UK, and once I have the dual citizenship, my spouse is considered OK--although, whether you're an Italian or a Brit or any other citizen, you still have to register in the town/city where you live as a resident. But that's a separate issue.
> 
> For UK, the biggest thing is a birth certificate for the parent, and I have that. I could, actually, become a dual citizen with Ireland, as well, as my maternal grandmother was born there, and they will go back two generations for citizenship.
> 
> But she was born during the time that a lot of the Irish thought that it was a really good idea to burn the birth and baptismal (that works, too, for Ireland) certificates, so that those damn British wouldn't know how many of them there were. We--including cousins--have searched in vain for her certificates.


An interesting contrast to today when many people are happy to share their personal lives with half the world on Facebook, while still worrying about NSA spying on them.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

mickisue1 said:


> As I may have mentioned, the imminent birth of my first grandchild has us rethinking our plan, to one where we'd live about 8 or nine months/year in Italy, on the sea, and 3 in MX, in the winter, on the beach. The remaining month would be spent traveling.
> 
> Does anyone here have experience with being, as it were, a dual expat, in MX and another country? Is it crazy-making, or doable?
> 
> ...


We spent 4 years wintering in San Miguel, then summer and fall in San Miguel/Pozos. Latter became too much hassle as moved every 3 months so we now do 9 months in Mexico and the rest traveling. 

I think key is to decide where you want your base to be. If you are looking at longer term 8-9 months in Italy, then make that your base and the rest travel. If that travel includes 3 months in Mexico so be it but why limit yourself, there are a lot of options for 3 month getaways.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

conklinwh said:


> We spent 4 years wintering in San Miguel, then summer and fall in San Miguel/Pozos. Latter became too much hassle as moved every 3 months so we now do 9 months in Mexico and the rest traveling.
> 
> I think key is to decide where you want your base to be. If you are looking at longer term 8-9 months in Italy, then make that your base and the rest travel. If that travel includes 3 months in Mexico so be it but why limit yourself, there are a lot of options for 3 month getaways.


I agree that there are lots of places to visit. My goal is to find a place, year round, that we can feel at home, that we know the people around us.

I love to travel, but get to the point where I want to be HOME. If we have a base of operations in Italy, and one in MX, then both those places can be home. I was curious to know if there are others on this forum who now have homes in two different countries, neither of which was their original home.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

We only have homes in Mexico and travel to Europe, all I can tell you is that the travelling back and forth to Europe can be a real pain as you get older. 
We went last year to France to visit my mother and we have to go this year for a wedding and I dread it, I cannot see doing this for the rest of my life a times come when you want to be home and not have to travel to go to another home... My mother quit coming when she was around 75 and my father 70. I do not see going back and forth past that age either. The jet lag takes a toll o you and does not get any better...
We have two homes in Mexico 1400 km apart and that too will end when I am around 70..who needs the headaches..

Citlali not hound dog


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

My next question is why not have a place to travel from in the US where you already have a network of people you know why start new in Mexico when you are starting new in Italy?


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## gwizzzzz (Apr 21, 2013)

I to am not up for the long haul flights i now try and work travel to Europe around short haul to a port and a repositioning cruise that can work out very cheap if you catch the right time recently saw on from Denmark to Miami that worked out to just over $22/day of travel. No jet lag


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Citlali, I don't want to live in the US anymore. 

I foresee less and less of a social safety net here, more and more stratification by income, and poorer and poorer results for those below the middle class, as their ability to get everything from a good job to a good education to a decent place to live is squeezed harder and harder.

Already, today, there is a signifcant drop in the upward mobility of people in all classes below the wealthy. We have the opportunity to have a great country, but the dominant forces in the US seem determined to destroy it. 

In addition, my current homebase has temperature extremes similar to only one other place on earth: Siberia. In the Twin Cities, we get temps up to 100+ and down to -25 and lower.

THAT is getting old. I will visit here, but I don't want to live here.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

The climate where you live would be enough to convince me, that is the main reason why I do not want to live in France..I was just talking to my cousins this morning and they told me that people were already complaining about the weather getting colder actually the grey is what gets people , the cold is not so much a problem . My cousins have a son living in Taiwan so they leave in November and go back to France in May. My other cousin will be arriving from Africa stay until Christmas and will show up here after that like she does every year, my sister is in Crete and so on. My cousins are also beginning to complain about the over 10 hour flights..
Mexico is a nice place to live but it is far from Europe so it makes it tiresome to go back and forth.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

What is the name of the cruise? Still have to fly fro Miami and flying in and out of the States is not my idea of fun either..


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## gwizzzzz (Apr 21, 2013)

search under repositioning cruises there are lots depending on time of year


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

mickisue1 said:


> Citlali, I don't want to live in the US anymore.
> 
> I foresee less and less of a social safety net here, more and more stratification by income, and poorer and poorer results for those below the middle class, as their ability to get everything from a good job to a good education to a decent place to live is squeezed harder and harder.
> 
> ...


We have been having a poor summer since July here. I think when my wife is free to travel at leisure we will spent July, August, and September in San Diego every year as here it is rainy, overcast and cool at night many days. There it is warm/hot and sunny most of these 3 months. Rainbirds going NOB for better summer weather. SLP is about 6000 ft. elevation.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Commachio, on the Adriatic coast of Italy, is warm but not hot in the summer. 

The 20 kilometers of sandy beach that run along its sea coast don't hurt, either. I used the term snowirds/rainbirds because it gets dreary and rainy in the winter. Hence the thought of warm Mexican seaside towns. There really is nowhere in Europe that is warm enough in winter to think beach life, you know?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

You are right, my sister has to escape the dreariness of Europe every winter and she always ends up going to Martinique or Guadalupe. You cannot escape the grey and wet.One Easter she went to Rome and she had snow..


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

citlali said:


> You are right, my sister has to escape the dreariness of Europe every winter and she always ends up going to Martinique or Guadalupe. You cannot escape the grey and wet.One Easter she went to Rome and she had snow..


My daughter used to live in Bari, where it never snows. Except when it does. And the only time it snowed when she lived there, she was at a New Year's party, wearing three inch, open toed shoes...because it never snows, of course!


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## Newyorkaise (Nov 30, 2010)

MickiSue, this is a bit off-topic, given that you're planning on getting your UK citizenship, but if you still want to find your grandmother's birth/marriage/death certificates from Ireland, you might contact the General Register Office at The General Register Office Ireland :: An tSeirbhs um Chlr Sibhialta. I believe their records go back to something like the mid-1860s. They were very helpful when I was gathering documents to help a friend apply for her Irish nationality. Of course, you may already have given them a try...

In any event, I envy you your plans for the future - best of luck!


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Newyorkaise said:


> MickiSue, this is a bit off-topic, given that you're planning on getting your UK citizenship, but if you still want to find your grandmother's birth/marriage/death certificates from Ireland, you might contact the General Register Office at The General Register Office Ireland :: An tSeirbhs um Chlr Sibhialta. I believe their records go back to something like the mid-1860s. They were very helpful when I was gathering documents to help a friend apply for her Irish nationality. Of course, you may already have given them a try...
> 
> In any event, I envy you your plans for the future - best of luck!


Thanks for that. But, although I, personally haven't contacted them, my cousin, a professor, and her husband worked with them AND with a professor at Trinity college, to no avail.

I found the baptismal records for her relatives, both before and after about a five year span around the year of her birth. But nothing, for siblings or cousins or her, during that time.


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## Newyorkaise (Nov 30, 2010)

Ah, well, I guess it was a lot more common to stay off the radar screen during that era. Lucky for you to have the UK option, then.

Again, best of luck in the future!


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