Article by Al, co-written by Carol and Jeff
Believe it or not, I had always considered retiring in Mexico. My interest grew after chatting on the internet with an American living in Mexico. After discussing this with my wife, we seriously starting to consider moving there. We spent many hours on the internet doing research. Why would someone want to retire in Mexico? The three big reasons: weather, cost, and adventure. The weather never gets hot or cold. The typical day is in the 70's. Things in Mexico are about 40-50% cheaper in Mexico. My wife and I could live there on social security and retirement, without having to work. Selling everything you own, moving to a foreign country, and learning a new language is definitely an adventure for a 64 year old.
Through our research, we found that the Lake Chapala/Guadalajara area was popular area for Americans to retire. We decided to take a tour of this area with Si Mexico, a tour group for retired Americans who are considering moving to Mexico.
We stayed Ajijic, which is a small village on the shore of Lake Chapala that has many retired Americans living there. Every night, we went to a different restaurant with a different group of Gringos (Americans living in Mexico) and talked about the possibility of living there.
While in Ajijic we attended many seminars about living in Mexico. We went to San Juan Cosala Spa, which has natural hot spring thermal pools, thermal whirlpools, a natural thermal underground rock sauna, waterslides, smack areas, and picnic areas - all for $6 for the day. My wife celebrated her birthday when we were there, which included a Mariachi band singing Mexican and English versions of "Happy Birthday."
We also visited Guadalajara, a city of over five million people. We attended the Mexican Folk Lore Ballet at the Degollado Theater, went sight seeing, and visited Mercado Liberdad Guadalajara, the largest indoor marketplace in Mexico.
Due to pressure from the Gringos, Ajijic decided to open a Fire Department. This is a little odd, since Ajijic had never had a fire! All of the buildings are made of brick or adobe. The daily routine for the Fire Department included drills and exercises, since they had nothing also to do.
The Police "patrol car" was a pick up truck with 6 men, 2 in the back holding machine guns.
We went to a restaurant that had a bottomless Margarita! They kept it filled like they do coffee and iced tea in America.
The average meal in a four star restaurant costs between $4 and $6 and $6-$8 in a five star.
You can buy a brand new Volkswagon Beatle (the original style) for under $6000.
The minimum wage is $3.85/day. Forty-three percent of Mexicans live on less than $15/week.
There are many things we liked about Mexico. The Mexicans and the Gringos both were very friendly. The weather was great - not hot or cold, and low humidity. The food is great. The atmosphere is very laid back and relaxing. What didn't we like? The scorpions, being far away from home, poor phone service, poor mail service, and you can't drink the water. So after visiting Mexico, do we still want to move there. The answer is yes. It may take a few years, but we do plan on moving there. Viva Mexico!
Melanie's Bed and Breakfast in La Floresta, Mexico, Lloyd's Bank in Chapala, Mexico, Downtown Chapala
Downtown Guadalajara, Mercado Liberdad, Degollado Theater, Artwork from Hidalgo Govenor's Palace, Hotel Real de Chapala
Hotel Monte Carlo, Seminar at Monte Carlo, San Juan Cosala Spa, Real Estate in Mexico, including Carolina Garden Villas, Group at Jocotopec
Pictures taken by Al & Carol