Yep, found the location on the shores of Lake Chapala. Not necessary to heat or cool, use the pool year round, 3.5 hours to Manzanillo and the Pacific, enough of a "gringo" community that we can do fine while learning Spanish.
We live in Ajijic and chose our home specifically because it was the best combination of ambiance, walkability, location and convenience. Loving every minute of living here.
I am told this is one of the best climates in the world. Having been here during all seasons now, I can confirm it is excellent. We are having a somewhat wet summer, rainfall is way above normal and as a result we are finding some of the leakage problems a big house like this has when pushed to the limit. But I have an excellent and reasonable contractor and we are getting on top of things.
Now as to the "Americanized" aspect, you can take your choice along the lake as to how gringo vs. Mexican you want to be. Chapala and Jocotopec are both much more Mexican than Ajijic, both are great towns that we visit often. And then there's the real pioneer territory, the south side of the lake.
There are several decent RV parks out by Jocotopec. Assuming you tow, I'd suggest you park there for the winter and explore the area. Of course, you can call on us for any help.
When we can be gone long term, Summer will not be here in Monterrey. I would like to find a deserted beach where it isn't too hot or humid or live in the mountains of Veracruz somewhere near Orizaba, Xalapa, Ciudad Mendez, or Fortin. I can't live in air conditioning 24 hours a day. I like to sleep with the windows open.
Next week we leave on a four-week trip around the state of Nuevo Leon boondocking. We should find some interesting cool mountain spots along the way. I will let you know via my blog.
If someone knows of this paradise I am looking for, please let me know. I prefer solitude and non-American enclaves. Gringos coming and going, rver types are fine by me.
qtla9111, you are looking for our Paradise also. When you find it let me know. If I find it first, I will let you know. I will be watching your blog. Have fun,
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
Perfect is so different for different people, even weather. I found Ajijic and GDL much too cold in the winter and too high in altitude and too dry. I love visiting but I wouldn't live there.
For me, perfect is always warm, never cold, and sea level. Also, I like being in a city. We've been fulltime RVers for 7 years now and we rarely spent much time in cities because it's not easy with an RV. I am looking forward to the music, food, art and liveliness of living in a city again so we choose Merida in the Yucatan. It has everything I'm looking for, warmth and easy living and old colonial houses and 20 minutes from a beach. For us, it's even better because we already owned a condo on the caribbean and it is only 3 hours away. So, we will have the house in the city and the condo on the beach. Heaven. The pluses are that it has some of the finest medical facilities in Mexico, is considered the safest city in Mexico and is a liveable size, about a million people. There are ex-pats but when you put a few thousand of them in a city of a million, they disappear unless you want them.
We're about to build a palapa on the Caribbean beach- Paamul. Previously, we have been up and down the Baja, the Pacific mainland coast, and through a lot of the Mexican interior.
I agree with much of the aforementioned, however;
Our criteria may be a little unique:
My wife is a water person, and little can compare to the beaches of the Mayan Riviera. We swam a lot in the Pacific, but it was often dangerous, and swimming pools aren't as pleasant, refreshing, or stimulating as swimming with the fishes.
For me, I want access to tennis courts and players.
We found quite a fun bunch at Rincon de Guyabitos for several winters. Then last winter near our new location on the Yucatan, I managed to get on to the courts 3 or 4 times a week at the dandy Desportes parks in Playa del Carmen.
So. Mexico is not the same tennis community as Texas, Arizona, Florida, or California, but I say, come on down and bring your racquets!
Thanks for the posts thus far. It is really interesting to view how other people have made/or are making their choice. We are still totally open to a location and will be visiting the area North of the Yucatan this winter. We also have been in the Yucatan and on down to Belize but never in the Summer or Fall. Underground weather is providing a hint of the Summer and Fall seasons.
Thanks again, more, more, more.
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
* This post was
edited 07/01/08 07:40am by rocmoc *
One should not equate the climate of Guadalajara with the climate on the shores of Lake Chapala. It is significantly colder in GDL in the winter and hotter in the summer. We have used our solar heated pool year round.
The altitude is a big reason this is such a great climate. However, some prefer the hot and muggy coastal climates. We like to visit them but sure wouldn't want to live there in the "off" season. But we really enjoy going to one of them in the winter.
Really Dan, that is the real bottom line. Most places you would enjoy leaving for a couple months a year, there in Jalisco you would go to the beach in the winter, here we would go to the mountains or the US in the spring. I'm pretty comfortable here year around but I do admit that it gets hot before the rains start, around April and May. For me, that is a perfect time to visit friends in the US or elsewhere.
Oh, and it is cold as heck in Ajijic as well as GDL. I had the furnace going full time one Thanksgiving there and I won't even bring up the Janurary we were there for a few weeks. It's cold, and while you may use your pool year around I have a solar heater on mine in Merida so I can use it in the winter. No polar bear club here.
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