I was talking to my brother, Fred, on the phone yesterday, complaining to him that I was concerned that I was beginning to run out of topics to put on the blog. I am aware of the fact that I don't want to get repetitive, and I DON'T want this blog to be, like so many others I've seen, a self-indulgent travel log, like an on-line series of postcards: "Having a great time, wish you were here!" Fred reminded me that what may be mundane to us is still foreign and interesting to him, and probably to others. I was also thinking I needed to put a certain number of photos with each post. Fred is visually impaired and can't see the photos, so he's more interested in the writing. I was confessing to Pearl Sawyer, one of our friends form the Auburn UU church that I wasn't writing much poetry yet. She suggested that my blog was the writing I was doing now. THEN I worry, who wants to read all this anyway? Of course, those who are not interested, won't bother. SOOOOOO...as this project is constantly morphing, I'm not sure where it's going, but I hope to make it interesting and, perhaps most of all, enable my friends and family to experience this wonderful country through my eyes, and not through the stereotypical, xenophobic lenses of mass media and popular myth.
One of the most interesting, and sometimes difficult, aspects of living in Mexico, of us, is the constant awareness that we are living outside of our element. We don't know the language well enough to have a normal conversation, we don't understand many aspects of the culture, and, quite honestly, we stick out like sore thumbs. This can be disconcerting. Many gringos here are constantly worried that we are being taken advantage of. Of course we are! We are bringing our money to spend, and the Mexicans, entrepreneurial spirits that they are, will try to figure out any angle they can to get some of the action. But this is part of the economic culture here. When I go to an area of Chapala or Guadalajara where there are few gringos, I see Mexicans selling anything they can think of to try to hustle other Mexicans. This is a culture where everyone is responsible for him or herself. That's partly why it is such a vibrant and energetic place. The gringo money here is yet another opportunity for people to get in on the action and improve their situation. Whether it's hawking watches or watermelon on the street, to giving out tastes of mango and cantaloupe in the market to get you to buy THEIR fruit, to driving gringos around showing them ridiculously high-priced real estate, they are responsible to make their lives better. As the foreign expats, WE are responsible for making good decisions about how we spend OUR money. If we get a bad deal, it's our tough luck. We should have been paying more attention. An example: Pixie and I saw a guy selling cherries on the street the other day. I asked Pixie if she wanted some, and she did. "Quanto?" I asked. Cinquenta (50) pesos for a half a kilo, cien (100) pesos for one kilo. Fruits and vegetable are always cheap, huh? So without thinking clearly, I said, "Medio kilo, por favor," handed over 50 pesos and took the bag of cherries. It wasn't until we were home that I realized we'd paid about $5 for a rather small bag of cherries. I figured it to be about 12 cents per cherry. Not really that cheap. Chalk one up for experience. Won't do that again.
Not speaking the language is a very obvious aspect of being in a foreign country. Although I can speak better Spanish than I did, it is very rough, and I know my pronunciation is not good. I have been studying the language on my own for about a year, though, and I can carry on a conversation reasonably well with people who speak little or no English. I just jump right in and give it a whack. Sometimes they look at me quizzically, and I know they missed whatever it was I was trying to say. Then I back up and rephrase, point, mime, or use some other cheap tactic to try to get my point across. Eventually they smile with an "aha" look and correct me. One of my favorite strategies is to point to something and say, "Que en Espanol, por favor?" (What is this in Spanish?) I get lots of free lessons that way. The two Mexican children who live on our property, Yoselin and Jesus are also very helpful. They speak no English, but are always dropping by to visit. They laugh hysterically when I say something wrong but are very nonjudgmental when they correct me. This is one of the aspects of living here I enjoy the most. I was always a poor language student in school, but here I'm somewhat successful, even though I'm probably just as bad!
One of the aspects of living here that is most difficult for me is the obvious difference in economic security between us and the Mexicans. Yoselin and Jesus have very little, as do their parents. They all live in a two-room house and earn $250 a month for providing gardening and maid service for the six houses here. The children are all well-dressed and very polite. Daniel and Dora, the parents, are always very helpful, work hard, and are always pleasant. We are retired, spend most of our day doing what we like, can afford a laptop computer and eating out in restaurants, live in a much larger and nicer house, and have them to do all the "dirty work" for us. I feel awkward sitting on the patio reading a book and sipping iced tea while Daniel weeds the garden and vacuums "our" pool. I know he's glad to have a job, etc. But I've always felt uncomfortable about the random advantages some people enjoy largely by being born in a certain place or with certain advantages. I am sure I feel more awkward about it than Dora or Daniel, or any of the countless Mexicans working in this community doing menial jobs to support their families. Menial work here is not looked down upon as in the US. Being a gardener, a maid, or a waiter are seen as respectable professions. It's my issue, and has been since I was a young Marxist in college!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Guadalajara
Right over the mountains from Lake Chapala is Mexico's second largest city, Guadalajara, home to 4.1 million people. (Mexico City, Mexico's largest city, has a population of 19.1 million, the largest in the Western Hemisphere). Checking on Wikipedia, I discovered that it was founded as an old colonial city in 1532, and still retains its historic center with some of the oldest colonial buildings in Latin America. It is also a large commercial, industrial, and cultural center as well as the capital of the state of Jalisco. A number of high tech corporations have built plants in the city as a result of NAFTA, and it is a major banking and economic center for the country. Culturally, it is quickly becoming the cultural center of Mexico. The Guggenheim foundation has approved the construction of the 6th museum in the world in Guadalajara, and it will be the tallest building in Latin America. Guadalajara will also host the 2011 Pan American Games.
For those of us who have chosen to live in the Lake Chapala area, Guadalajara is clearly one of the factors that makes this area so attractive. Miguel Hidalgo International airport, between Guadalajara and Lake Chapala, is about 40 minutes from Ajijic and has many connecting flights to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and other American hubs daily. Flights from Boston are generally about $500, which makes it easy to return home for visits and for friends and family to visit us in Mexico. It also gives us access to excellent medical care which would not be as available in more remote areas of Mexico. Delcarmen and St. Javier hospitals are two of the finest hospitals in the country with many US-trained and English speaking doctors. I doubt that if it were not for the proximity to Guad (as local residents refer to it), we would have many fewer "northamericanos" living here.
There is also the opportunity for shopping in Guadalajara. Many Americans who live here are very concerned about having many of the products they are used to at home. As a result, many of these folks make regular trips into Guad to shop at Walmart , Sam's Club, Cotsco, and Home Depot, all available there. We have visited Walmart and Sam's Club and have, frankly, not been too impressed. Most of the products are Mexican, for Mexicans, and are easily available here in Ajijic or Chapala. There are some American products which are available, some in large quantities, which draws people there. The cost of some of these American items is cheaper at these stores than in the few stores near Lake Chapala which stock, and mark up, American imported products. As I've mentioned before, we tend to stick to mostly American products and don't mind spending a little extra for rare American products like Peanut Butter here in town. But the big box stores are so popular with some lakeside residents that they schedule bus trips just to Walmart and Sam's club for people who are not wild about driving in themselves.
Two of the most popular shopping districts of Guadalajara are Tlaquepaque and Tonala, the former being very tourist-friendly and more expensive. We drove into Tlaquepaque with a friend one day and had a chance to explore the area. There is a big pedestrian area with lots of shops and restaurants there, and it's fun to walk around, but the prices ARE high. Many of the pottery and glassware for sale is made in Tonala and is available there for much lower prices. We drove into Tonala by ourselves on Saturday and found it much more in our budget. We didn't buy much, but we'll be back, I'm sure.
Driving in Guadalajara is an adventure. Mexicans are mild mannered people, until they get behind the wheel. We have driven in three times so far, and I think I am figuring it out. It's definitely not for the fainthearted. Luckily, reliable bus service is cheap and easily available from Ajijic. We are looking forward to some interesting experiences in Guadalajara!
For those of us who have chosen to live in the Lake Chapala area, Guadalajara is clearly one of the factors that makes this area so attractive. Miguel Hidalgo International airport, between Guadalajara and Lake Chapala, is about 40 minutes from Ajijic and has many connecting flights to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and other American hubs daily. Flights from Boston are generally about $500, which makes it easy to return home for visits and for friends and family to visit us in Mexico. It also gives us access to excellent medical care which would not be as available in more remote areas of Mexico. Delcarmen and St. Javier hospitals are two of the finest hospitals in the country with many US-trained and English speaking doctors. I doubt that if it were not for the proximity to Guad (as local residents refer to it), we would have many fewer "northamericanos" living here.
There is also the opportunity for shopping in Guadalajara. Many Americans who live here are very concerned about having many of the products they are used to at home. As a result, many of these folks make regular trips into Guad to shop at Walmart , Sam's Club, Cotsco, and Home Depot, all available there. We have visited Walmart and Sam's Club and have, frankly, not been too impressed. Most of the products are Mexican, for Mexicans, and are easily available here in Ajijic or Chapala. There are some American products which are available, some in large quantities, which draws people there. The cost of some of these American items is cheaper at these stores than in the few stores near Lake Chapala which stock, and mark up, American imported products. As I've mentioned before, we tend to stick to mostly American products and don't mind spending a little extra for rare American products like Peanut Butter here in town. But the big box stores are so popular with some lakeside residents that they schedule bus trips just to Walmart and Sam's club for people who are not wild about driving in themselves.
Two of the most popular shopping districts of Guadalajara are Tlaquepaque and Tonala, the former being very tourist-friendly and more expensive. We drove into Tlaquepaque with a friend one day and had a chance to explore the area. There is a big pedestrian area with lots of shops and restaurants there, and it's fun to walk around, but the prices ARE high. Many of the pottery and glassware for sale is made in Tonala and is available there for much lower prices. We drove into Tonala by ourselves on Saturday and found it much more in our budget. We didn't buy much, but we'll be back, I'm sure.
Driving in Guadalajara is an adventure. Mexicans are mild mannered people, until they get behind the wheel. We have driven in three times so far, and I think I am figuring it out. It's definitely not for the fainthearted. Luckily, reliable bus service is cheap and easily available from Ajijic. We are looking forward to some interesting experiences in Guadalajara!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Cost of Living in Ajijic
One of the appeals for the migration of retirees to Mexico and other Latin American locales is the cost of living. However, as places like Ajijic become more prosperous and populated by more Americans and Canadians, the cost of living inevitably rises. So the question becomes, is it really cheaper to live in this area of Mexico? The answer is yes...and no.
Perhaps the most noticeable high cost of living here is housing. Many of the ads in the real estate ads are selling houses in the $250-300,000 USD range. This is because many wealthy American, Canadian, and Mexican developers have figured that there is a market for these homes, usually built on the mountainside with a view of the lake, and separate from where most of the people live. Many US retirees who have sold expensive homes in the US can afford to pay cash for these houses. It's really not much different from Maine or anywhere else. Where there is wealth, there will be expensive homes.
But these ads are a bit misleading. There are homes in the Lake Chapala area in all price ranges. Because there are very low property taxes in Mexico, usually $50-100 per year, people are not as much in a hurry to sell, and prices are often higher than the property is worth. Overall, I'd say property in Ajijic is equivalent to what we would find in Maine, although I have seen decent properties for under $100,000 advertised in Chapala and Jocotepec.
Rentals vary as well. Pixie and I are enjoying our rental and the fact that we don't have the hassles of home ownership. Many people here rent. We know people who rent small but very nice places in Chapala for about $300 a month. Our beautiful lake front cottage in Ajijic is $700 a month. For $600-700 a month, it seems one can find very nice rentals almost anywhere. Of course we also see rentals advertised for $1500 a month as well. In terms of housing, you can pay as much or as little as you want, but overall, it's certainly not dirt cheap.
I won't discuss medical care because I covered it in my last post. It is a significant expense of living here, although cheaper than the US.
Food is very economical, IF you buy Mexican and local products. We shop for food in several places. First, we got to the outside market (called the Tiangas) every Wednesday. There we typically buy things like fruit (mangoes, pineapples, limes, melons, apples, strawberries, bananas) and vegetables (zucchini, beans, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, nopale--edible cactus--, and peppers). Usually we buy about $5-6 dollars worth which gets us through most of the week. We buy locally made yogurt (unusual flavors--celery pineapple, carrot orange, strawberry walnut-- ALL good-- for about $1.50 for a half liter). We buy fresh fish (brought in every morning from the Pacific, NOT Lake Chapala!), usually red snapper, for about $4.00 for a serving for two. (You pick the fish, and he fillets it for you). Huge shrimp are available for about $8.00 a kilo--2.2 lbs.) Bread is available for about 50 cents a loaf. Granola is available in bulk for about $2 a kilo. We also buy a bunch of fresh flowers for the house each week for about $3-4 for a large bouquet. You can also buy household goods, electrical supplies, batteries, and clothing at the market. We usually spend about $30 there.
We also shop as small neighborhood stores which are everywhere. We tend to buy our milk, eggs, tortilla chips, beverages, soap and other miscellaneous items from these local merchants. One nice thing here is that you can buy whatever you need: one egg, two small rolls, one small bottle of white glue, one piece of wrapping paper. I love fresh corn tortillas which I buy from a local tortillaria. I usually ask for 5 pesos worth ($.50) which gives me 20 or so tortillas which last a week or more. I heat them on the tortilla heater which our stove is equipped with.
We do have a few supermarkets which sell many other products, but not always cheaper than the local merchants, surprisingly. We tend to buy things like olive oil, which is harder to find at these local shops for a good price, at these larger stores. We go to them less than we did however, as we discover local resources. American products are available for a premium price.
Pixie loves plants, of course, and this is plant -lovers paradise! We have slowly been picking up plants, mostly in big ceramic pots (so we can take them with us if we move) for very reasonable prices. Typically large tropical plants like the ones illustrated here, cost about $5-8, and the large ceramic pots cost $7-12. We've been picking up about one each week. It's fun, because we know we can leave them out all year, and it gives our home a more tropical look. As you can see, Pixie has a good eye for this.
Here are what we have found the costs of some other items to be:
Toothpaste: $1
Shampoo: $1
Shaving cream: $4
Gasoline: $2.80/ gallon (one price everywhere)
Gas (for stove and hot water): $28-- we're still on our first one.
Electricity: No bill yet, but we're told about $50 for two months
High speed wireless Internet: $40/month, but we're sharing cost with two others
Phone: $23/ month
Haircut: $4 (me) $8 (Pixie)
Massage: $20/hr (Pixie loves these)
Maid/Gardener (ours are included in rent--good news they just hired a new couple so I don't have to mow the lawn!) $3.50 per hour in the Ajijic area.
Vet: Maggie had to go get dewormed, antibiotics, and a shot of something, plus an exam which cost $40.
Prescriptions: These prices vary. Many generic drugs are cheaper down here, but brand name drugs can be very expensive. Drugs are available over the counter, so it pays to shop around. My heartburn medicine will cost me $14 a month. Some prescriptions can cost $50 a moth or more. A significant cost.
Eating out: This varies. You can get a very nice meal in a fancy restaurant for about $45 with drinks. We rarely do this. There are lots of good restaurants where we eat for about $20-30, for both of us. We also love some Mexican restaurants where you can eat for $10-15 for both of us including cerveza. we also like to get food to go: tamales for $3.50 (dinner for two), roast chicken (whole) with roasted potatoes $7.
So, overall, you can live comfortably for about $2000 a month, excluding travel, major medical problems, and extravagant shopping. Many live on less, many on much more. What's nice is that we CAN live on what we have.
A few other notes: As I mentioned, they've hired a new maid and gardener for our compound. the maid is wonderful...we don't know about the gardener since he hasn't started yet. We took a boat trip to Mescala Island 12 miles out in Lake Chapala with some of our UU friends. It demonstrated to us how HUGE the lake is! We are both well and seem to have adjusted to the Mexican environment!
Perhaps the most noticeable high cost of living here is housing. Many of the ads in the real estate ads are selling houses in the $250-300,000 USD range. This is because many wealthy American, Canadian, and Mexican developers have figured that there is a market for these homes, usually built on the mountainside with a view of the lake, and separate from where most of the people live. Many US retirees who have sold expensive homes in the US can afford to pay cash for these houses. It's really not much different from Maine or anywhere else. Where there is wealth, there will be expensive homes.
But these ads are a bit misleading. There are homes in the Lake Chapala area in all price ranges. Because there are very low property taxes in Mexico, usually $50-100 per year, people are not as much in a hurry to sell, and prices are often higher than the property is worth. Overall, I'd say property in Ajijic is equivalent to what we would find in Maine, although I have seen decent properties for under $100,000 advertised in Chapala and Jocotepec.
Rentals vary as well. Pixie and I are enjoying our rental and the fact that we don't have the hassles of home ownership. Many people here rent. We know people who rent small but very nice places in Chapala for about $300 a month. Our beautiful lake front cottage in Ajijic is $700 a month. For $600-700 a month, it seems one can find very nice rentals almost anywhere. Of course we also see rentals advertised for $1500 a month as well. In terms of housing, you can pay as much or as little as you want, but overall, it's certainly not dirt cheap.
I won't discuss medical care because I covered it in my last post. It is a significant expense of living here, although cheaper than the US.
Food is very economical, IF you buy Mexican and local products. We shop for food in several places. First, we got to the outside market (called the Tiangas) every Wednesday. There we typically buy things like fruit (mangoes, pineapples, limes, melons, apples, strawberries, bananas) and vegetables (zucchini, beans, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, nopale--edible cactus--, and peppers). Usually we buy about $5-6 dollars worth which gets us through most of the week. We buy locally made yogurt (unusual flavors--celery pineapple, carrot orange, strawberry walnut-- ALL good-- for about $1.50 for a half liter). We buy fresh fish (brought in every morning from the Pacific, NOT Lake Chapala!), usually red snapper, for about $4.00 for a serving for two. (You pick the fish, and he fillets it for you). Huge shrimp are available for about $8.00 a kilo--2.2 lbs.) Bread is available for about 50 cents a loaf. Granola is available in bulk for about $2 a kilo. We also buy a bunch of fresh flowers for the house each week for about $3-4 for a large bouquet. You can also buy household goods, electrical supplies, batteries, and clothing at the market. We usually spend about $30 there.
We also shop as small neighborhood stores which are everywhere. We tend to buy our milk, eggs, tortilla chips, beverages, soap and other miscellaneous items from these local merchants. One nice thing here is that you can buy whatever you need: one egg, two small rolls, one small bottle of white glue, one piece of wrapping paper. I love fresh corn tortillas which I buy from a local tortillaria. I usually ask for 5 pesos worth ($.50) which gives me 20 or so tortillas which last a week or more. I heat them on the tortilla heater which our stove is equipped with.
We do have a few supermarkets which sell many other products, but not always cheaper than the local merchants, surprisingly. We tend to buy things like olive oil, which is harder to find at these local shops for a good price, at these larger stores. We go to them less than we did however, as we discover local resources. American products are available for a premium price.
Pixie loves plants, of course, and this is plant -lovers paradise! We have slowly been picking up plants, mostly in big ceramic pots (so we can take them with us if we move) for very reasonable prices. Typically large tropical plants like the ones illustrated here, cost about $5-8, and the large ceramic pots cost $7-12. We've been picking up about one each week. It's fun, because we know we can leave them out all year, and it gives our home a more tropical look. As you can see, Pixie has a good eye for this.
Here are what we have found the costs of some other items to be:
Toothpaste: $1
Shampoo: $1
Shaving cream: $4
Gasoline: $2.80/ gallon (one price everywhere)
Gas (for stove and hot water): $28-- we're still on our first one.
Electricity: No bill yet, but we're told about $50 for two months
High speed wireless Internet: $40/month, but we're sharing cost with two others
Phone: $23/ month
Haircut: $4 (me) $8 (Pixie)
Massage: $20/hr (Pixie loves these)
Maid/Gardener (ours are included in rent--good news they just hired a new couple so I don't have to mow the lawn!) $3.50 per hour in the Ajijic area.
Vet: Maggie had to go get dewormed, antibiotics, and a shot of something, plus an exam which cost $40.
Prescriptions: These prices vary. Many generic drugs are cheaper down here, but brand name drugs can be very expensive. Drugs are available over the counter, so it pays to shop around. My heartburn medicine will cost me $14 a month. Some prescriptions can cost $50 a moth or more. A significant cost.
Eating out: This varies. You can get a very nice meal in a fancy restaurant for about $45 with drinks. We rarely do this. There are lots of good restaurants where we eat for about $20-30, for both of us. We also love some Mexican restaurants where you can eat for $10-15 for both of us including cerveza. we also like to get food to go: tamales for $3.50 (dinner for two), roast chicken (whole) with roasted potatoes $7.
So, overall, you can live comfortably for about $2000 a month, excluding travel, major medical problems, and extravagant shopping. Many live on less, many on much more. What's nice is that we CAN live on what we have.
A few other notes: As I mentioned, they've hired a new maid and gardener for our compound. the maid is wonderful...we don't know about the gardener since he hasn't started yet. We took a boat trip to Mescala Island 12 miles out in Lake Chapala with some of our UU friends. It demonstrated to us how HUGE the lake is! We are both well and seem to have adjusted to the Mexican environment!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Medical Care in Mexico
Well, I've reached a point with the blog where I don't think I'll be able to come up with photos which necessarily go along with what I'm writing about. I want to keep you posted on how Pixie and I are doing and also make it interesting. So I plan to try to stick to a basic topic for each posting. However, I may put some irrelevant pieces into the posts, just to keep you updated on some irrelevant points! Overall, though, I want this to be a blog about what it is like to live in Mexico.
This brings me to the topic of today: medical care. Last week at the local market, I found a copy of Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" (before it was even released in most US theaters; don't ask, don't tell). I plunked down my 30 pesos and took the movie back to our casa to check it out. (Another interesting thing about living abroad is that DVD players are zoned differently around the world. Latin American DVD's won't play in a zone one player, only a zone 4 player. Europe has a different zone too, as does Asia, I think. So, we had to find a "multi-zone DVD player in Guadalajara to play all kinds of DVD's, because God knows what kind of DVD's they sell at the market!) At any rate, the movie is a provocative look at how the American medical system does not do a good job providing access to all American people, unlike France, England and Cuba. This was essentially a no brainer for me, but he did present his case well.
From the limited experience we've had so far with medical care in Mexico, it seems as though it is very good, and reasonably priced, if you can afford it, like me. Mexico does have a national health care system: IMSS. Anyone can join this system for a modest fee, and many employers offer it as part of their benefits package. I think the very poor, of which there are many, often are not enrolled. I'm not sure about this, though. The cost for us to join now would be about $200USD each, per year. There is a two year waiting period for full coverage. It covers everything from doctor's fees to hospital care to drugs, completely free. The catch is that there can be long waits for non-urgent care, and they may not always have all drugs in stock. Many gringos here enroll in it for emergency back up, but plan to go back to the US for Medicare if they can. We've heard all kinds of reports about IMSS, from rave reviews to horror stories.
The other option, which we have selected for now, is to purchase a good major medical plan with about a $2000 USD deductable, which will mean that you can get care at the best hospitals in Guadalajara and it will only cost $2000 at the most. The policies, at our ages, cost us $2300 for the first year, but prices will go up as we get older. So, by the time we are eligible for Medicare, we'll probably keep IMSS for emergencies here, but plan to return to the US if we became seriously ill, because the major medical coverage would eventually become too expensive.
To be honest, though, from what I've seen, I think I would prefer to be treated in Mexico. We have found a highly recommended doctor here in Ajijic. I went for a physical exam with him on Tuesday, and it was very thorough. I had the physical exam, which took about 45 minutes, and a series of typical blood tests. The entire bill was $108. (His exam fee was only $15). He wants me to have a colonoscopy sometime soon. That will cost $280. The office is not fancy. He has no nurse, and only one receptionist. He takes the blood himself. Because in Mexico, it is very difficult to sue anyone, physicians do not have to pay for malpractice insurance. They have a very low overhead. This doctor has specialists from Guadalajara visit his office each week: a cardiologist, an orthopedic surgeon, a urologist, a psychiatrist, a dermatologist, and others. He gave me his cell phone number to call him anytime, night or day, if I had a question or an emergency. If I have an emergency, he will call an ambulance and decide which hospital in Guadalajara would be best for that problem. If I am too sick to come see him, he will make house calls.
Now, of course, I have not been sick yet. But from what I've heard from the other expats who live here, the medical care they receive is top notch, and very caring.
We can buy prescriptions over the counter, and we are told many of them are cheaper. We don't know yet, because we haven't bought any. From the minor drugs like aspirin we've bought, they seem pretty similar in prices to the US.
We're hoping that we'll STAY healthier here. With regular walking, fresh fruits and veggies readily available, and the low stress of living here, that may be true.
A few personal notes: we are joining a Great Books discussion group. We hope that is as interesting as it sounds. Maggie has "wandered" away several times to explore the neighborhood on her own. Luckily, all three times, friendly Mexicans helped us find her. But much to her annoyance, she is now being CLOSELY supervised! We've been picking up a few Mexican items for the house, some of which are illustrated here. We also found our first SCORPION! It was on our patio, but it was dead. Finally, I am giving a sermon on Buddhism to our UU fellowship on Sunday, and leading the congregation in two hymns on my guitar and harmonica. That should be interesting!
This brings me to the topic of today: medical care. Last week at the local market, I found a copy of Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" (before it was even released in most US theaters; don't ask, don't tell). I plunked down my 30 pesos and took the movie back to our casa to check it out. (Another interesting thing about living abroad is that DVD players are zoned differently around the world. Latin American DVD's won't play in a zone one player, only a zone 4 player. Europe has a different zone too, as does Asia, I think. So, we had to find a "multi-zone DVD player in Guadalajara to play all kinds of DVD's, because God knows what kind of DVD's they sell at the market!) At any rate, the movie is a provocative look at how the American medical system does not do a good job providing access to all American people, unlike France, England and Cuba. This was essentially a no brainer for me, but he did present his case well.
From the limited experience we've had so far with medical care in Mexico, it seems as though it is very good, and reasonably priced, if you can afford it, like me. Mexico does have a national health care system: IMSS. Anyone can join this system for a modest fee, and many employers offer it as part of their benefits package. I think the very poor, of which there are many, often are not enrolled. I'm not sure about this, though. The cost for us to join now would be about $200USD each, per year. There is a two year waiting period for full coverage. It covers everything from doctor's fees to hospital care to drugs, completely free. The catch is that there can be long waits for non-urgent care, and they may not always have all drugs in stock. Many gringos here enroll in it for emergency back up, but plan to go back to the US for Medicare if they can. We've heard all kinds of reports about IMSS, from rave reviews to horror stories.
The other option, which we have selected for now, is to purchase a good major medical plan with about a $2000 USD deductable, which will mean that you can get care at the best hospitals in Guadalajara and it will only cost $2000 at the most. The policies, at our ages, cost us $2300 for the first year, but prices will go up as we get older. So, by the time we are eligible for Medicare, we'll probably keep IMSS for emergencies here, but plan to return to the US if we became seriously ill, because the major medical coverage would eventually become too expensive.
To be honest, though, from what I've seen, I think I would prefer to be treated in Mexico. We have found a highly recommended doctor here in Ajijic. I went for a physical exam with him on Tuesday, and it was very thorough. I had the physical exam, which took about 45 minutes, and a series of typical blood tests. The entire bill was $108. (His exam fee was only $15). He wants me to have a colonoscopy sometime soon. That will cost $280. The office is not fancy. He has no nurse, and only one receptionist. He takes the blood himself. Because in Mexico, it is very difficult to sue anyone, physicians do not have to pay for malpractice insurance. They have a very low overhead. This doctor has specialists from Guadalajara visit his office each week: a cardiologist, an orthopedic surgeon, a urologist, a psychiatrist, a dermatologist, and others. He gave me his cell phone number to call him anytime, night or day, if I had a question or an emergency. If I have an emergency, he will call an ambulance and decide which hospital in Guadalajara would be best for that problem. If I am too sick to come see him, he will make house calls.
Now, of course, I have not been sick yet. But from what I've heard from the other expats who live here, the medical care they receive is top notch, and very caring.
We can buy prescriptions over the counter, and we are told many of them are cheaper. We don't know yet, because we haven't bought any. From the minor drugs like aspirin we've bought, they seem pretty similar in prices to the US.
We're hoping that we'll STAY healthier here. With regular walking, fresh fruits and veggies readily available, and the low stress of living here, that may be true.
A few personal notes: we are joining a Great Books discussion group. We hope that is as interesting as it sounds. Maggie has "wandered" away several times to explore the neighborhood on her own. Luckily, all three times, friendly Mexicans helped us find her. But much to her annoyance, she is now being CLOSELY supervised! We've been picking up a few Mexican items for the house, some of which are illustrated here. We also found our first SCORPION! It was on our patio, but it was dead. Finally, I am giving a sermon on Buddhism to our UU fellowship on Sunday, and leading the congregation in two hymns on my guitar and harmonica. That should be interesting!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Observations About the Mexican People
Living in Maine, we really had very little experience knowing Mexican people. As we all know so well, many Mexicans are poor. Manual laborers in Mexico earn an average of $300 per month, while professionals earn an average of about $1000 per month. These are averages. Some earn more, some earn less. One of our primary concerns about moving to a community with lots of "Nortamericanos" was that there was bound to be a big divide between us and the Mexicans. I was concerned that there would be resentment towards us because of the fact that we are here with money to spend, in stark contrast to most Mexicans.
We have been very happy that most Mexicans are extremely friendly and courteous. I am sure there are some resentments; it is inevitable. But by and large, they seem to accept having us here and appreciate the fact that our presence is creating lots of jobs in this area of Mexico. We are living on the West side of town, which is predominantly Mexican, so we have regular contact with many local people. As we would expect, they like it when we speak Spanish and they are very helpful when we don't know the correct word to use. They often go out of their way to help us find what we are looking for. And, of course, they all seem to like Maggie who transcends the language barrier.
The Mexican people we have known and observed work very hard. We have a couple of men working on a roof next door. Now this roof is made up of flat tiles cemented onto a cement roof. It took them over a week to pick axe the old roof off. Now they are mixing cement and putting the new tiles on the roof. It is hot, exhausting work. We've been bringing them ice tea every day, and they are very appreciative. These guys work very hard, but they seem happy and content. We often hear them laughing and even singing as they work. We try to make jokes in Spanish, but I think I usually confuse them. But they are polite and laugh anyway.
We have a young couple, Antonio and his wife Claudia, who take care of the six cottages in our compound. In exchange for a very small casita and $300 a month, Antonio is the caretaker/gardener for the houses, and Claudia cleans all the houses once a week. They are always around and very helpful. I needed to order a new tank of gas to have it delivered, but the people at the gas company only spoke Spanish, so Claudia called and ordered the gas for me. Antonio carried the Buddha in from the car for me and is going to weld a small grate to fix up our charcoal grill so we can use it. They both speak excellent English and politely correct us when we mispronounce Spanish words. It would probably be easier for them if we just spoke English, but they are happy to try to figure out what we are trying to say in Spanish.
Clearly, the most important characteristic of the Mexican people is their devotion to family. Although many Mexicans have family members who have gone to the United States to work, their dream is to come back to Mexico and be with their families. Their lives are not defined by their work, as ours tends to be in the US. They work to live, of course, but they will not give up family holiday time to work, even if they can earn extra money. They are used to making ends meet and I do not think money is the central focus of their lives. This family orientation is evident in their attitude towards their children. You often see tough, macho Mexican men tenderly carrying infants in the plaza or in front of their homes. Mothers always meet their children after school, buy them a sweet snack, and walk them home, carrying their backpacks for them. The children here seem remarkably well behaved. They have little, but they clearly feel loved and treasured.
Although we have not run into any serious problems on the road, a number of our friends here have related stories in which they were stuck in the middle of nowhere, either because of an accident or mechanical problems, and people have immediately stopped to offer help, transportation, food, even a bed for the night, often at their own personal inconvenience. I have yet to hear of any banditos! The culture here, in one sense, reminds me of Italy. Although it is much less formal, and there is less prosperity here, the Mexicans have the same high standard of hospitality. You can sit in a restaurant all night if you choose. You will not be offered the check until you request, "La cuenta, por favor." It is a very civil and polite culture. Although I have noticed that there is a generational difference here. The older Mexicans tend to be more strict about this. Although many younger Mexicans are very open and helpful, some are clearly less so. Things are changing in Mexico as in the US. As more prosperity comes to Mexico, their culture will likely change even more, perhaps to become more like the US. Hmmmmmm.
We have been very happy that most Mexicans are extremely friendly and courteous. I am sure there are some resentments; it is inevitable. But by and large, they seem to accept having us here and appreciate the fact that our presence is creating lots of jobs in this area of Mexico. We are living on the West side of town, which is predominantly Mexican, so we have regular contact with many local people. As we would expect, they like it when we speak Spanish and they are very helpful when we don't know the correct word to use. They often go out of their way to help us find what we are looking for. And, of course, they all seem to like Maggie who transcends the language barrier.
The Mexican people we have known and observed work very hard. We have a couple of men working on a roof next door. Now this roof is made up of flat tiles cemented onto a cement roof. It took them over a week to pick axe the old roof off. Now they are mixing cement and putting the new tiles on the roof. It is hot, exhausting work. We've been bringing them ice tea every day, and they are very appreciative. These guys work very hard, but they seem happy and content. We often hear them laughing and even singing as they work. We try to make jokes in Spanish, but I think I usually confuse them. But they are polite and laugh anyway.
We have a young couple, Antonio and his wife Claudia, who take care of the six cottages in our compound. In exchange for a very small casita and $300 a month, Antonio is the caretaker/gardener for the houses, and Claudia cleans all the houses once a week. They are always around and very helpful. I needed to order a new tank of gas to have it delivered, but the people at the gas company only spoke Spanish, so Claudia called and ordered the gas for me. Antonio carried the Buddha in from the car for me and is going to weld a small grate to fix up our charcoal grill so we can use it. They both speak excellent English and politely correct us when we mispronounce Spanish words. It would probably be easier for them if we just spoke English, but they are happy to try to figure out what we are trying to say in Spanish.
Clearly, the most important characteristic of the Mexican people is their devotion to family. Although many Mexicans have family members who have gone to the United States to work, their dream is to come back to Mexico and be with their families. Their lives are not defined by their work, as ours tends to be in the US. They work to live, of course, but they will not give up family holiday time to work, even if they can earn extra money. They are used to making ends meet and I do not think money is the central focus of their lives. This family orientation is evident in their attitude towards their children. You often see tough, macho Mexican men tenderly carrying infants in the plaza or in front of their homes. Mothers always meet their children after school, buy them a sweet snack, and walk them home, carrying their backpacks for them. The children here seem remarkably well behaved. They have little, but they clearly feel loved and treasured.
Although we have not run into any serious problems on the road, a number of our friends here have related stories in which they were stuck in the middle of nowhere, either because of an accident or mechanical problems, and people have immediately stopped to offer help, transportation, food, even a bed for the night, often at their own personal inconvenience. I have yet to hear of any banditos! The culture here, in one sense, reminds me of Italy. Although it is much less formal, and there is less prosperity here, the Mexicans have the same high standard of hospitality. You can sit in a restaurant all night if you choose. You will not be offered the check until you request, "La cuenta, por favor." It is a very civil and polite culture. Although I have noticed that there is a generational difference here. The older Mexicans tend to be more strict about this. Although many younger Mexicans are very open and helpful, some are clearly less so. Things are changing in Mexico as in the US. As more prosperity comes to Mexico, their culture will likely change even more, perhaps to become more like the US. Hmmmmmm.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Some Interesting Things about Living in Mexico
Well it had to happen sometime...I committed a traffic violation and got busted. I was coming out of the big Mexican department store, Sorianas, and trying to get back to the town of Chapala. Although there is a clearly marked, "no left turn" symbol on a sign as you come out of the driveway, a friend had told me that they don't "enforce" it, and, indeed, I have seen many others go out that way. Well, of course, when I tried it last Saturday, after having done it successfully several times before, I was pulled over by a municipal "Policia." He was very nice and explained in broken English how I should go out around another way. I was very polite and thanked him for the information.
Then, he pulled out his pad and said, "But, Senor, I have to give you a ticket for this."
"Okay," I replied. "How much will the ticket cost?"
"Two hundred pesos." (About $20).
Now, I remembered several people telling me that if you get a ticket, they may take your American drivers license and you will supposedly get it back once you pay the ticket. I was not anxious to give up my drivers license, but I replied, "OK. Then I guess I get a ticket."
He looked at me and waited. He was not writing anything. This was, it became obvious, the time for me to offer to pay him instead. I did not want to encourage corruption, yet I also did not want to lose my license. I understand that these local police officers make very little money, and this is a way they supplement their income. After a quick internal ethical debate, I caved.
"So, Senor," I asked, "Could you pay the ticket for me?"
"Si."
I thought later I should have told him I only had 100 pesos, but instead I dutifully produced a 200 peso note, whereupon, he politely returned my license. I had paid my first "mordida." I had come of age as a gringo in Mexico!
Driving, in general, is a bit more challenging here. Traffic laws seem to be more "suggestions" than laws, at least for the Mexicans. I get the feeling that driving a foreign-plated car in Mexico puts you at more risk of getting pulled over. Mexicans seem to violate the ridiculously low speed limits in some areas. I try to follow the limits, but the Mexicans whiz by me when I do. I feel like an old feeble driver driving so slow, but I don't want to get pulled over either. So, I try to keep up with traffic, within limits. I often see Mexican drivers, usually young men, take great risks in passing on hills and such. We frequently see a pickup truck full of young children in the bed of the truck, sometimes sitting on the edge of the body. Someone mentioned that their deep faith, and perhaps fatalism, leads them to put their lives "in God's hands." I do see evidence of this.
We went to a fiesta last week in the neighboring town. At about midnight each night, they set off amazing fireworks on a wooden scaffold with spinning wheels, rockets, and even animated moving contraptions (we saw a butterfly flapping its fiery wings). They make absolutely no attempt to clear people away from the fireworks scaffold before they light it. The general rule in Mexico seems to be, "Pay attention. You are responsible for yourself." It's just very different from the US where we are constantly being "protected" from our own bad judgment by laws and regulations. No OSHA here!
Finding what you need here is probably much easier now than it may have been a decade ago, but there are still a few challenges. Good black tea is difficult to find unless you go to expensive import stores and buy small boxes of Bigelow tea, or some other expensive brand. We prefer Tetley's British Blend, which is nowhere to be found here. We'll have to stock up on that on visits home. Herbal tea, on the other hand, is plentiful and cheap. You can buy a box of 100 tea bags of chamomile, peppermint, spearmint or lemon tea for about 30 pesos, about $3. Also, no good microbrew beer here; everything is a lager, like Corona. They have a couple of darker lagers I do like: Negro Modela, and Indio. There IS peanut butter here, after all, cheaper than I thought: about 25 pesos.
Finding reading material is always a challenge. The stores do sell a weekly English-language newspaper here, The Guadalajara Reporter. There a re a couple of English language magazines here, The Lake Chapala Review and Ojo del Lago (Eye of the Lake), published by and for the gringo population. Used English-language books are sold at the Ajijic weekly market, but they are never very good, and the same ones every week. The best option is the Lake Chapala Society library, which has about 20,000 English books. I now read my favorite newspapers and magazines on line.
We are venturing into Guadalajara tomorrow to see what we find! That should be an interesting drive. We drove in last week with a friend who knew where he was going to navigate. We're going tomorrow on our own.
Last night it rained all night, very hard, and we awoke to two big leaks in the house. Glad we are renting! No one knows how many leaks they have until the rainy season starts. I think it has started in earnest. I imagine people are discovering new leaks all over town! It's nice and cool here now.
I've posted a few photos to go with this post, but not many. Let's see what adventures another week or so brings!
Then, he pulled out his pad and said, "But, Senor, I have to give you a ticket for this."
"Okay," I replied. "How much will the ticket cost?"
"Two hundred pesos." (About $20).
Now, I remembered several people telling me that if you get a ticket, they may take your American drivers license and you will supposedly get it back once you pay the ticket. I was not anxious to give up my drivers license, but I replied, "OK. Then I guess I get a ticket."
He looked at me and waited. He was not writing anything. This was, it became obvious, the time for me to offer to pay him instead. I did not want to encourage corruption, yet I also did not want to lose my license. I understand that these local police officers make very little money, and this is a way they supplement their income. After a quick internal ethical debate, I caved.
"So, Senor," I asked, "Could you pay the ticket for me?"
"Si."
I thought later I should have told him I only had 100 pesos, but instead I dutifully produced a 200 peso note, whereupon, he politely returned my license. I had paid my first "mordida." I had come of age as a gringo in Mexico!
Driving, in general, is a bit more challenging here. Traffic laws seem to be more "suggestions" than laws, at least for the Mexicans. I get the feeling that driving a foreign-plated car in Mexico puts you at more risk of getting pulled over. Mexicans seem to violate the ridiculously low speed limits in some areas. I try to follow the limits, but the Mexicans whiz by me when I do. I feel like an old feeble driver driving so slow, but I don't want to get pulled over either. So, I try to keep up with traffic, within limits. I often see Mexican drivers, usually young men, take great risks in passing on hills and such. We frequently see a pickup truck full of young children in the bed of the truck, sometimes sitting on the edge of the body. Someone mentioned that their deep faith, and perhaps fatalism, leads them to put their lives "in God's hands." I do see evidence of this.
We went to a fiesta last week in the neighboring town. At about midnight each night, they set off amazing fireworks on a wooden scaffold with spinning wheels, rockets, and even animated moving contraptions (we saw a butterfly flapping its fiery wings). They make absolutely no attempt to clear people away from the fireworks scaffold before they light it. The general rule in Mexico seems to be, "Pay attention. You are responsible for yourself." It's just very different from the US where we are constantly being "protected" from our own bad judgment by laws and regulations. No OSHA here!
Finding what you need here is probably much easier now than it may have been a decade ago, but there are still a few challenges. Good black tea is difficult to find unless you go to expensive import stores and buy small boxes of Bigelow tea, or some other expensive brand. We prefer Tetley's British Blend, which is nowhere to be found here. We'll have to stock up on that on visits home. Herbal tea, on the other hand, is plentiful and cheap. You can buy a box of 100 tea bags of chamomile, peppermint, spearmint or lemon tea for about 30 pesos, about $3. Also, no good microbrew beer here; everything is a lager, like Corona. They have a couple of darker lagers I do like: Negro Modela, and Indio. There IS peanut butter here, after all, cheaper than I thought: about 25 pesos.
Finding reading material is always a challenge. The stores do sell a weekly English-language newspaper here, The Guadalajara Reporter. There a re a couple of English language magazines here, The Lake Chapala Review and Ojo del Lago (Eye of the Lake), published by and for the gringo population. Used English-language books are sold at the Ajijic weekly market, but they are never very good, and the same ones every week. The best option is the Lake Chapala Society library, which has about 20,000 English books. I now read my favorite newspapers and magazines on line.
We are venturing into Guadalajara tomorrow to see what we find! That should be an interesting drive. We drove in last week with a friend who knew where he was going to navigate. We're going tomorrow on our own.
Last night it rained all night, very hard, and we awoke to two big leaks in the house. Glad we are renting! No one knows how many leaks they have until the rainy season starts. I think it has started in earnest. I imagine people are discovering new leaks all over town! It's nice and cool here now.
I've posted a few photos to go with this post, but not many. Let's see what adventures another week or so brings!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
The Village of Ajijic
The village of Ajijic is the center of the expatriate population on Lake Chapala, although hardly the only village around the Lake Chapala and Guadalajara area where many Americans, Canadians and Europeans have settled. As you can see from the map, Ajijic is one of several towns on the north shore of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest fresh water lake. The two closest towns, Chapala and Jocotepec have fewer Nortamericanos, but there is clearly more development headed in those directions. Chapala is much larger than Ajijic, and Mexicans have come for years to vacation at its lake front.
Ajijic has been the center of expartiate settlement in this area for decades. It attracted a lot of artists and writers, and the village still feels this influence. There are many art galleries and shops. Tennessee Williams, Somerset Maugham, and D.H. Lawrence all lived and wrote in the Ajijic area.
The streets remain rough cobblestone, except for the "Carretera" which runs between the towns. The population of Ajijic is estimated at about 15,000, with about 3-4,000 full time expatriate residents. Even though the expatriate residents have brought money into the area, and driven prices up, many of the Mexican families have stayed in Ajijic. In fact, Mexicans are probably drawn to the area because of the work opportunities created by the influx of "gringos." By the way, the term gringo first came as a nickname for the American soldiers who occupied Mexico during the Mexican American war and was, of course, a pejorative term. Today, the term appears to be more neutral; we hear Mexicans refer to their "gringo friends" and well as "dumb, arrogant gringos," a moniker we are trying to avoid!
The village is dominated by the lake on the south side, and beautiful mountains on the north side. The north, or mountain side, of the Carretera, was, until recently undeveloped. The lake side contains the old village. The mountain side has now been developed with a number of gated communities designed exclusively for gringo retirees. These homeowners, building up the mountainside, have beautiful lake views, but live isolated from their Mexican neighbors.
We live on the west side of Ajijic, on the lake side, an area that is primarily Mexican. Many Guadaljarans own lakeside cottages on the lake. Our casita is in a group of six such cottages which have been owned for use on weekends. Four of these are owned by Mexicans and the other two by gringos, one of which we rent. Saturday night when we came back from dinner to celebrate our 33rd anniversary, a family of Mexicans in one of the other cottages invited us to visit with them. We enjoyed their company and had a good opportunity to work on our Spanish; they spoke very little English.
As you might imagine, there is quite a bit of building going on in Ajijic. Most of it is being done by hand, very slowly. The overall sense you get when walking or driving around the area is that people everywhere are selling food, crafts, and just about anything they can make pesos with. I think Mexicans love to eat, and there are opportunities everywhere to find food. Many families own small tiendas, or shops, which are very tiny and sell food, clothes, beer, tortillas, or other useful items. They live in the back, and it provides the family with an income. The Caraterra is full of businesses and restaurants and has a bit of a chaotic feel to it. Mexico is not a quiet place! There is litter and graffiti. They don't seem to have any zoning or development laws here. You might see a nice new restaurant next to an empty lot with goats, next to an auto repair shop, next to a boutique. But it is full of people of all types living their lives, peacefully and courteously.
Overall, Ajijic is an interesting mix of pure Mexican life and gringo amenities. We often see our Mexican neighbors riding horses through town, herding cows down by the lake, or cooking corn to sell on their front stoop, while, at the same time, the town has at least 50 restaurants of all types and prices, wireless high speed internet access, cable and satellite TV, and many other services the gringo retirees seek.
I do worry about where this is all headed, as more boomers retire here, which is one reason we are renting here instead of buying. But, for now, it's a very pleasant combination of authentic Mexican culture, comfortable living, stupendous lake and mountain views, tropical birds and, of course, beautiful weather.
Ajijic has been the center of expartiate settlement in this area for decades. It attracted a lot of artists and writers, and the village still feels this influence. There are many art galleries and shops. Tennessee Williams, Somerset Maugham, and D.H. Lawrence all lived and wrote in the Ajijic area.
The streets remain rough cobblestone, except for the "Carretera" which runs between the towns. The population of Ajijic is estimated at about 15,000, with about 3-4,000 full time expatriate residents. Even though the expatriate residents have brought money into the area, and driven prices up, many of the Mexican families have stayed in Ajijic. In fact, Mexicans are probably drawn to the area because of the work opportunities created by the influx of "gringos." By the way, the term gringo first came as a nickname for the American soldiers who occupied Mexico during the Mexican American war and was, of course, a pejorative term. Today, the term appears to be more neutral; we hear Mexicans refer to their "gringo friends" and well as "dumb, arrogant gringos," a moniker we are trying to avoid!
The village is dominated by the lake on the south side, and beautiful mountains on the north side. The north, or mountain side, of the Carretera, was, until recently undeveloped. The lake side contains the old village. The mountain side has now been developed with a number of gated communities designed exclusively for gringo retirees. These homeowners, building up the mountainside, have beautiful lake views, but live isolated from their Mexican neighbors.
We live on the west side of Ajijic, on the lake side, an area that is primarily Mexican. Many Guadaljarans own lakeside cottages on the lake. Our casita is in a group of six such cottages which have been owned for use on weekends. Four of these are owned by Mexicans and the other two by gringos, one of which we rent. Saturday night when we came back from dinner to celebrate our 33rd anniversary, a family of Mexicans in one of the other cottages invited us to visit with them. We enjoyed their company and had a good opportunity to work on our Spanish; they spoke very little English.
As you might imagine, there is quite a bit of building going on in Ajijic. Most of it is being done by hand, very slowly. The overall sense you get when walking or driving around the area is that people everywhere are selling food, crafts, and just about anything they can make pesos with. I think Mexicans love to eat, and there are opportunities everywhere to find food. Many families own small tiendas, or shops, which are very tiny and sell food, clothes, beer, tortillas, or other useful items. They live in the back, and it provides the family with an income. The Caraterra is full of businesses and restaurants and has a bit of a chaotic feel to it. Mexico is not a quiet place! There is litter and graffiti. They don't seem to have any zoning or development laws here. You might see a nice new restaurant next to an empty lot with goats, next to an auto repair shop, next to a boutique. But it is full of people of all types living their lives, peacefully and courteously.
Overall, Ajijic is an interesting mix of pure Mexican life and gringo amenities. We often see our Mexican neighbors riding horses through town, herding cows down by the lake, or cooking corn to sell on their front stoop, while, at the same time, the town has at least 50 restaurants of all types and prices, wireless high speed internet access, cable and satellite TV, and many other services the gringo retirees seek.
I do worry about where this is all headed, as more boomers retire here, which is one reason we are renting here instead of buying. But, for now, it's a very pleasant combination of authentic Mexican culture, comfortable living, stupendous lake and mountain views, tropical birds and, of course, beautiful weather.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Our Mexican Home: We're Not in Kansas Anymore!
We've moved into our Mexican casa at last! Actually living here is wonderful, yet I can tell we will have to acclimate to living in a different climate and a different culture. In this post, I'll show you our new home and discuss some of the differences between this home and the kind of homes we're used to.
First of all, Mexican houses are constructed entirely differently. They use very little wood, except for trim, because of termites. The houses are constructed of brick and concrete, and many interior surfaces are ceramic tile. I am so used to worrying about water damage, ice dams, etc, that I like the idea of everything made out of tile so if the roof leaks, no big problems. Our house has dark blue tile throughout, including on the two patios. The kitchen and bathrooms have old handmade tiles on the wall surfaces. In this area of Mexico they build brick "Boveda" ceilings which are arched for stability. Overall the houses have a different look, and are easy easy to keep clean. The floors are obviously hard and less "giving" than wood floors. But no vacuuming, just sweep and damp mop.
Most houses here are made to accommodate outdoor living. We have the two patios, but many homes have entire open garden spaces within the walls of the home. Restaurants are the same way. That is a very different and appealing concept to us Mainers who must have a clear differentiation between inside and outside! There are few bugs now, but in the rainy season, I am told, we will get mosquitoes until the dry season returns in October. No black flies, but swarms of "bobos" At least they don't bite. I haven't seen any scorpions yet.
One reason we didn't bring any furniture with us is (besides the cost of moving it) that the furniture here is different. Because of the dry climate, our New England furniture's wood joints would dry up and come loose. Plus, it would look out of place in Mexican houses. The two types of furniture I see in most Mexican homes are rough carved rustic wooden tables and chairs (like the colorful ones they have at Margarita's in Lewiston), and leather Equipal furniture, native to this area of Mexico, made from wood, leather, and cactus fibers. It's comfortable, but, as you can see, it looks totally different from any other furniture. Mexican beds are hard; they don't use box springs. We got a thick matress pad to bring with us, and it's not bad.
Mexican plumbing is not like the US. HaHa. First of all, you can't drink the tap water, not because the water is polluted, but because the way it's transported and stored, often on tanks on the roofs of the houses, it can develop bacteria. Our house has a ultraviolet purification system on it (which can be purchased for about $800 USD), which make all the water in our house safe for drinking. We have bottled water to use during power failures, but we drink the tap water and it tastes good. Mexican homes have little gas hot water heaters which produce limited hot water. The pressure is often low, but it's great in our house. The water doesn't get scalding hot, but hot enough. Now here's the delicate part: Mexican toilets generally don't do well with toilet paper because the pipes have lots of right angle elbows. TP clogs up the system. So in most Mexican homes (ours included) used TP is folded neatly and put in a special covered trash receptacle and emptied every few days. It does not smell and is easy, once you get used ot the idea. Really!!!
Because the climate is so temperate, the houses in this area of Mexico have no central heating system. We have small fireplaces in the living room and bedroom which can provide heat during the colder winter nights with temps in the 40's. Because the houses are made of concrete and brick, they have little insulation from the cold, and temps in the 40's can seem quite cold. So we need heavy blankets for the middle of winter. During the day, the temps rise to the 70's though. Although it would be nice during this time of year, there is generally no AC. We have four ceiling fans, and if we close the curtains and keep the fans on, it's not too bad in the hot part of the day.
Electricity here is reasonable, but the cost per kwh rises as you use more. So if you cross a threshold of electricity use, your rate goes up for all the electricity you use. By not having a dishwasher or dryer we hope our bills are not too high. We also lose power or partial power frequently. People here just deal. I think that's why everyone has gas stoves. This morning our ceiling fan slowed way down. We thought, "Oh, no. It's broken." But it was just a brownout. The electricity waxes and wanes a bit. We need to have voltage regulators on our electronic gear to prevent damage. After about an hour, the fan was working fine again. When I mentioned it to some UU friends at church this morning, they said it's a fairly common occurrence.
So....living here has its challenges as well as its rewards. Pixie is feeling better already. We are spending lots of great time together. We have our Vonage phone hooked up, and it works great, so you can call us at our old Auburn number 783-3900. I will try to think of interesting things to write about Mexico and post to this blog every week or two.
First of all, Mexican houses are constructed entirely differently. They use very little wood, except for trim, because of termites. The houses are constructed of brick and concrete, and many interior surfaces are ceramic tile. I am so used to worrying about water damage, ice dams, etc, that I like the idea of everything made out of tile so if the roof leaks, no big problems. Our house has dark blue tile throughout, including on the two patios. The kitchen and bathrooms have old handmade tiles on the wall surfaces. In this area of Mexico they build brick "Boveda" ceilings which are arched for stability. Overall the houses have a different look, and are easy easy to keep clean. The floors are obviously hard and less "giving" than wood floors. But no vacuuming, just sweep and damp mop.
Most houses here are made to accommodate outdoor living. We have the two patios, but many homes have entire open garden spaces within the walls of the home. Restaurants are the same way. That is a very different and appealing concept to us Mainers who must have a clear differentiation between inside and outside! There are few bugs now, but in the rainy season, I am told, we will get mosquitoes until the dry season returns in October. No black flies, but swarms of "bobos" At least they don't bite. I haven't seen any scorpions yet.
One reason we didn't bring any furniture with us is (besides the cost of moving it) that the furniture here is different. Because of the dry climate, our New England furniture's wood joints would dry up and come loose. Plus, it would look out of place in Mexican houses. The two types of furniture I see in most Mexican homes are rough carved rustic wooden tables and chairs (like the colorful ones they have at Margarita's in Lewiston), and leather Equipal furniture, native to this area of Mexico, made from wood, leather, and cactus fibers. It's comfortable, but, as you can see, it looks totally different from any other furniture. Mexican beds are hard; they don't use box springs. We got a thick matress pad to bring with us, and it's not bad.
Mexican plumbing is not like the US. HaHa. First of all, you can't drink the tap water, not because the water is polluted, but because the way it's transported and stored, often on tanks on the roofs of the houses, it can develop bacteria. Our house has a ultraviolet purification system on it (which can be purchased for about $800 USD), which make all the water in our house safe for drinking. We have bottled water to use during power failures, but we drink the tap water and it tastes good. Mexican homes have little gas hot water heaters which produce limited hot water. The pressure is often low, but it's great in our house. The water doesn't get scalding hot, but hot enough. Now here's the delicate part: Mexican toilets generally don't do well with toilet paper because the pipes have lots of right angle elbows. TP clogs up the system. So in most Mexican homes (ours included) used TP is folded neatly and put in a special covered trash receptacle and emptied every few days. It does not smell and is easy, once you get used ot the idea. Really!!!
Because the climate is so temperate, the houses in this area of Mexico have no central heating system. We have small fireplaces in the living room and bedroom which can provide heat during the colder winter nights with temps in the 40's. Because the houses are made of concrete and brick, they have little insulation from the cold, and temps in the 40's can seem quite cold. So we need heavy blankets for the middle of winter. During the day, the temps rise to the 70's though. Although it would be nice during this time of year, there is generally no AC. We have four ceiling fans, and if we close the curtains and keep the fans on, it's not too bad in the hot part of the day.
Electricity here is reasonable, but the cost per kwh rises as you use more. So if you cross a threshold of electricity use, your rate goes up for all the electricity you use. By not having a dishwasher or dryer we hope our bills are not too high. We also lose power or partial power frequently. People here just deal. I think that's why everyone has gas stoves. This morning our ceiling fan slowed way down. We thought, "Oh, no. It's broken." But it was just a brownout. The electricity waxes and wanes a bit. We need to have voltage regulators on our electronic gear to prevent damage. After about an hour, the fan was working fine again. When I mentioned it to some UU friends at church this morning, they said it's a fairly common occurrence.
So....living here has its challenges as well as its rewards. Pixie is feeling better already. We are spending lots of great time together. We have our Vonage phone hooked up, and it works great, so you can call us at our old Auburn number 783-3900. I will try to think of interesting things to write about Mexico and post to this blog every week or two.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Trip Progress
May 30: We made it! The border crossing was easy; we were able to bring in our carload of stuff without paying any duty, and we were able to obtain our car import sticker with no problem. Everyone was kind and helpful. The 750 mile trip down through Mexico was both stunningly beautiful and heartwrenchingly sad. The conditions under which the very poor Mexicans live is unimaginable to those of us who have lived in such a prosperous country. In any event, we made it to Ajijic yesterday afternoon, exhausted after 3550 miles but full of gratitude to be here. Our little dog Maggie loves all the new sounds and smells. Our house is not ready for another day or so, so we are staying at the B&B with our landlord. Once we get into the house, I'll post some new photos and observations. I'll try to make future posts a bit more interesting and not just a list of what we're doing like this trip log has been. Please email and keep in touch. You can add comments to the blog, but remember, everyone can read them :})
May 27: Crossing tomorrow morning. Will be off line for a few days. Will post next from Ajijic!
May 26: We visited our family in Port Aransas, on the Gulf coast, including my very special Aunt Alice. We enjoyed some succulent gulf shrimp expertly prepared by Gerry. Tomorrow we head down to Harlingen to prepare for our border crossing. I hope we have all our documents in order!
May 25: Still in Texas about 100 miles north of Corpus Christi. Driving through Texas is tedious...lots of BIG Baptist churches and BBQ pits. East Texas is greener than we had imagined. Will drive down to Port Aransas near Corpus Christi today to visit my cousin Martha, her husband Gerry, and my Aunt Alice who is visiting from Indianapolis. Then tomorrow we finish our drive through Texas to Harlingen TX near the border for an early morning crossing Monday at the Los Indios crossing.
May 24: We have arrived in Texas after a long drive through Arkansas. We stopped to see Bill Clinton's birthplace, Hope, Arkansas. Tomorrow we'll head directly south on some back roads on our way towards Corpus Christi.
May 23: After enjoying a wonderful four days with Eric and Crystal, we had a long drive today (450 miles) and arrived in Arkansas this evening. Tomorrow we're hoping to cross over into Texas.
May 21: We've been enjoying some wonderful Hoosier hospitality and some R and R with Eric and Crystal. Finally, some warm weather too. We have been hearing from some of our Maine friends and family. We're off on Wednesday morning to Texas to visit my cousin Martha, and plan to cross the border on May 28 or 29.
May 19: Arrived safely in Muncie, Indiana to visit our son, Eric, and daughter-in-law Crystal.
May 18: Great visit with my friend from Brown, Dennis Sykes and his wife Deb and their son, Craig at their Centerburg, Ohio home. Dennis is still the Mayor of Centerburg, and Deb the resident piano teacher.
May 16: In Seneca Falls, NY: the National Women's Rights Historical Museum, and Wesleyan Chapel, site of the first Women's Rights Conference in 1848.
May 14: Leave Maine after a lifetime of memories!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Ready to Depart
To everyone's relief, we are finally on the brink of actually leaving for our new life in Mexico. We have had a wonderful couple of weeks with almost every day busy with some "send-off" activity of some sort. We are a bit overwhelmed with the love and support expressed by all our dear friends and family, and we carry all of you in our hearts as we take this new step. Thank you all!
Our colleagues from the Humanities Department, Lucy, Ethel and John, feted us with a trip to New York City for the day on April 28. We enjoyed a beautiful spring day taking in the Frick Collection (my special request), wandering around Central Park, and seeing the John Lennon memorial in Strawberry Fields across from the Dakota, and finishing up our day with a gourmet meal at an outdoor Brazilian Restaurant.
On April 29, Claire and Mary Kay hosted a dinner for us at their house with other members of our small fellowship group.
On May 4th, our dear friends from the UU church in Auburn gathered at John and Paulette Brooks' house, decked out with numerous fiesta decorations, to enjoy an evening together. About thirty of our closest church friends attended, and we ended the evening with a rather raucous music jam, singing and making music together in our UU tradition.
This last week or so, we've enjoyed dinners and breakfasts with many other friends who want to say a special goodbye to us.
We said a final goodbye to all our friends at CMCC at the commencement on May 11. We are now officially retired, although that part has not sunk in yet...but I am sure it will in the coming months!
Today our daughters, Wendy and Cassie, and Wendy's boyfriend Troy, are hosting one last goodbye/Mother's Day celebration. This will be a very special day as we prepare to head out tomorrow!
THANK YOU EVERYONE...OUR FAMILY, OUR WORK COLLEAGUES, OUR UU FRIENDS, MY YMCA FRIENDS....EVERYONE WHO HAS MADE US FEEL SPECIAL AND LOVED! After all, we have a good life here. We are moving on to a new life but plan to stay very much connected with the old.
We've just about got the car packed with all our remaining possessions. It's amazing what you can fit into every nook and cranny of a vehicle when you need to. We have a "rain bag" packed on top, and even a little pillow for our little dog Maggie to sleep on during the long ride south. I feel a bit like the Joads in Grapes of Wrath!
We'll try to post a bit on the way down, as we have access to the Internet. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. And we're leaving with the Red Sox in first place with a comfortable lead over the Yankees! Enjoy that while we can!
Our colleagues from the Humanities Department, Lucy, Ethel and John, feted us with a trip to New York City for the day on April 28. We enjoyed a beautiful spring day taking in the Frick Collection (my special request), wandering around Central Park, and seeing the John Lennon memorial in Strawberry Fields across from the Dakota, and finishing up our day with a gourmet meal at an outdoor Brazilian Restaurant.
On April 29, Claire and Mary Kay hosted a dinner for us at their house with other members of our small fellowship group.
On May 4th, our dear friends from the UU church in Auburn gathered at John and Paulette Brooks' house, decked out with numerous fiesta decorations, to enjoy an evening together. About thirty of our closest church friends attended, and we ended the evening with a rather raucous music jam, singing and making music together in our UU tradition.
This last week or so, we've enjoyed dinners and breakfasts with many other friends who want to say a special goodbye to us.
We said a final goodbye to all our friends at CMCC at the commencement on May 11. We are now officially retired, although that part has not sunk in yet...but I am sure it will in the coming months!
Today our daughters, Wendy and Cassie, and Wendy's boyfriend Troy, are hosting one last goodbye/Mother's Day celebration. This will be a very special day as we prepare to head out tomorrow!
THANK YOU EVERYONE...OUR FAMILY, OUR WORK COLLEAGUES, OUR UU FRIENDS, MY YMCA FRIENDS....EVERYONE WHO HAS MADE US FEEL SPECIAL AND LOVED! After all, we have a good life here. We are moving on to a new life but plan to stay very much connected with the old.
We've just about got the car packed with all our remaining possessions. It's amazing what you can fit into every nook and cranny of a vehicle when you need to. We have a "rain bag" packed on top, and even a little pillow for our little dog Maggie to sleep on during the long ride south. I feel a bit like the Joads in Grapes of Wrath!
We'll try to post a bit on the way down, as we have access to the Internet. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. And we're leaving with the Red Sox in first place with a comfortable lead over the Yankees! Enjoy that while we can!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Why Mexico?
We never intended to retire in Mexico. Our plans to retire were centered around living going somewhere warm in the winter and spending the rest of the year in Maine. We were initially considering such places as the Carolinas and Arkansas, or even the Southeast as possible winter destinations. I had been working at the same job for 31 years, and was considering trying something new. Pixie had been enjoying her new role teaching at the college level, but was increasingly uncomfortable, especially in the winter months. We were discovering that many of the retirement locations in the southern US were expensive, especially for seasonal living only. In January 2006, a friend of ours who used to attend our Auburn, Maine UU church asked me at the gym one day if I had ever considered Latin America as a retirement destination. I have to confess, Pixie had suggested Mexico a number of years ago, but I had rejected the idea as preposterous. Everyone "knew" Mexico was a dangerous place, after all. Jim shared with us that he had spent a winter in Ajijic, in the central state of Jalisco, and found it very pleasant, although he warned me that many American and Canadian expatriates lived there. We checked it out on line, and it sounded very pleasant. We decided to plan a three week trip there in June 2006 to check it out for ourselves.
Soon after we arrived in the Lake Chapala area, which many residents refer to as "Lakeside," we were enchanted with Mexico. The weather was a bit hot but dry (it was the end of the dry season, the least comfortable season at Lake Chapala, with midday temps in the high 80's but dry and sometimes dusty). The pace of life was slow, the food was good, and we instantly felt relaxed and excited to be in a new culture. We both love to travel and experience new cultures. Well, to make a long story short, we became more and more captivated with this town, with the Mexican people, and the interesting American and Canadian expats. The food was good and not expensive. And, after three days, Pixie felt well enough to navigate the cobblestones. She felt better than she had in years. We began to seriously consider moving there. It had become very obvious to us that living there part time, while maintaining a home in Maine, was not really financially feasible. One of our friends in the Lake Chapala UU Fellowship, Steve Barr, suggested we should "do the math" and determine if we could afford to retire and move to Lakeside. We did, and we determined that we could!
Of course, moving to Mexico had its challenges in addition to its very obvious benefits. First of all, we'd have to leave our family and friends! This would not be easy to do. After all we had a good life in Maine; we both had good careers, a beautiful house, and many people we cared about. Living in Mexico would be difficult: mail service was slow and unreliable, our medical coverage would not work in Mexico, living in a foreign culture would be difficult (especially since neither of us spoke Spanish), and we'd have to get rid of all our "stuff," not an easy task.
Well, needless to say, we took the plunge: we sold our house, gave away/sold our possessions, picked up a vehicle (a Toyota Rav 4) large enough to fit all our remaining possessions. We have a unique opportunity to feel healthy, reinvent our lived at an age young enough to establish ourselves in a new culture, and live, as Thoueau suggested, "intentionally." We went back for ten days in January. Returning confirmed our affinity to the area and to the people. Again, Pixie had her discomfort disappear after just three days. We have found a new spiritual home in the Lake Chapala UU Fellowship. We already have a number of friends in Ajijic. We decided to rent a two BR, two bath house in the west end of the village, on the shore of the lake, about a 25 minute walk from the plaza in a mixed Mexican Gringo neighborhood. We are leaving in about six weeks to make the drive down.
In sum, we find the climate beautiful and therapeutic, the Mexican people caring and family-oriented, the Gringo expats interesting (even though some are a bit crazy), the food healthy, and the expenses easily affordable on our expected income, allowing regular visits back to the US to visit everyone! We are looking forward to hosting our children and their partners next Christmas, and regularly thereafter.
Once we leave on May 15, we will update this blog periodically with photos and news.
Soon after we arrived in the Lake Chapala area, which many residents refer to as "Lakeside," we were enchanted with Mexico. The weather was a bit hot but dry (it was the end of the dry season, the least comfortable season at Lake Chapala, with midday temps in the high 80's but dry and sometimes dusty). The pace of life was slow, the food was good, and we instantly felt relaxed and excited to be in a new culture. We both love to travel and experience new cultures. Well, to make a long story short, we became more and more captivated with this town, with the Mexican people, and the interesting American and Canadian expats. The food was good and not expensive. And, after three days, Pixie felt well enough to navigate the cobblestones. She felt better than she had in years. We began to seriously consider moving there. It had become very obvious to us that living there part time, while maintaining a home in Maine, was not really financially feasible. One of our friends in the Lake Chapala UU Fellowship, Steve Barr, suggested we should "do the math" and determine if we could afford to retire and move to Lakeside. We did, and we determined that we could!
Of course, moving to Mexico had its challenges in addition to its very obvious benefits. First of all, we'd have to leave our family and friends! This would not be easy to do. After all we had a good life in Maine; we both had good careers, a beautiful house, and many people we cared about. Living in Mexico would be difficult: mail service was slow and unreliable, our medical coverage would not work in Mexico, living in a foreign culture would be difficult (especially since neither of us spoke Spanish), and we'd have to get rid of all our "stuff," not an easy task.
Well, needless to say, we took the plunge: we sold our house, gave away/sold our possessions, picked up a vehicle (a Toyota Rav 4) large enough to fit all our remaining possessions. We have a unique opportunity to feel healthy, reinvent our lived at an age young enough to establish ourselves in a new culture, and live, as Thoueau suggested, "intentionally." We went back for ten days in January. Returning confirmed our affinity to the area and to the people. Again, Pixie had her discomfort disappear after just three days. We have found a new spiritual home in the Lake Chapala UU Fellowship. We already have a number of friends in Ajijic. We decided to rent a two BR, two bath house in the west end of the village, on the shore of the lake, about a 25 minute walk from the plaza in a mixed Mexican Gringo neighborhood. We are leaving in about six weeks to make the drive down.
In sum, we find the climate beautiful and therapeutic, the Mexican people caring and family-oriented, the Gringo expats interesting (even though some are a bit crazy), the food healthy, and the expenses easily affordable on our expected income, allowing regular visits back to the US to visit everyone! We are looking forward to hosting our children and their partners next Christmas, and regularly thereafter.
Once we leave on May 15, we will update this blog periodically with photos and news.
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