If you are a follower of International Living Magazine (
http://internationalliving.com) or Kathleen Peddicord (
www.kathleenpeddicord.com), the appeal to living abroad now counts into the millions of US Citizens flocking to different places all over the world. Sometimes it is not only the cultural exchange, but economics play a part in the decision to leave the comforts of the USA and live aboard.
I think most American expatriates love their homeland and their patriotism could not be challenged. Many are just looking for a change in lifestyle, others want to get more for their retirement dollars. Let's face it, the US is expensive compared to many foreign countries, also some locations in the US may not be the safest place to retire.
Climate also plays an important role in where a person wants to spend their golden years. Active retirees may not want to spend their winters inside in front of the fireplace, or hang out under the air conditioner all summer.
Travel in Oregon in our Class A 2012
RVers have found a way to control the weather and watch their pocketbook in the US. (We RVed for seven years in the US and Mexico.) Head north in the summer and south in the winter. During our last seven years in our RV, I have never enjoyed a sense of freedom more than traveling in our RV. One can read about our RV travels in two other blogs. One dated from August 2005 to November 2006 (
www.mytripjournal.com/Garvin )and the other from May 2007 to December 2008 (
www.garvinwanderlust.blogspot.com)
Travel in New Mexico in our Class C 2011
I was surprised when I discovered that living in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico gave me that same sense of freedom. And the climate...one need not go south or north. The climate is about the same year round with no air conditioning (either heat or cold). Multimillion dollar homes as well as fifty thousand dollar homes all lack air conditioning...it is not needed.
Economics is one of the main reasons for our settling in Ajijic. We made decisions 25 years ago to live a life out of the box. As a result, our retirement dollars dwindled. During those 25 years we had a blast and enjoyed an adventuresome lifestyle at the expense of our retirement savings. We wanted to maintain our standard of living during our retirement and living abroad was a good solution for us.
Ajijic is not the least expensive nor the most expensive area to live in Mexico, but we had spent time here in the 90's and lived full time for two years in 2000-2001. We were familiar with the area and many of our friends we met along the way still lived in Ajijic.
Thanksgiving dinner at the Nuevo Pasada Restaurant
We wanted to be able to live a comfortable lifestyle and still live within our means. We wanted a maid once a week to help around the house. We wanted a gardener to tend to our trees and plants. We wanted to eat nutritious meals with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as eat at quality restaurants without breaking the bank. We now eat two meals and a snack each day usually one of the meals we eat out.
Farmer's Market is every Wednesday in Ajijic
We wanted to travel and experience the culture in a foreign country. Head for the beach during the high season (Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo are only a few hours drive from Ajijic). We have access to a beach house in Cuyutlan (a small beach town south of Manzanillo) which we will take advantage of during the winter.
The beach house in Cuyutlan
View of the pool and casa - Cuyutlan
On the beach in the Pueblo of Cuyutlan
Now you know a few of the reasons we are here. Finding a comfortable casa was our next challenge once we arrived. We wanted to be in Central Ajijic, close to the Square and close to the shore of Lake Chapala. So, the search began.
