Retired in Ajijic, Mexico- But Had Some Issues Along The Way!

To me it is better to land on sand (Expat Community) than to land on a cactus _(No Spanish language ability), (No people to KNOW, LIKE AND TRUST). I used to always want to live in the Punta Mita area, now this was back in the early 80s and that area is not the same today. I was born and raised on the Texas coast and Punta Mita was great compared to where I lived on the Texas Coast. The heat and humidity was no big deal since at night in Nov-Jan it would really cool off once the sun sat. The last time I was there was in 1987 and boy had it changed since the early 80s, no more $5 dollar lobster dinners where I got to open the ice chest and select my lobster, no more $1.50 red snapper lunch, no more 50 cent Corona de Barril or Pacific. Mita had grown up and I can no longer afford that life that I had experienced back in the 80s.

I've been retired in Ajijic full-time for almost 3 years and absolutely love it here! It is a wonderful place in so many ways - the people, the climate, the food and entertainment scene, and of course the fantastic climate and stunning natural beauty!

Thanks Mariana & Jeff for this conversation. I met both of you at the Mextranejero in Ajijic! We live in Chapala and can agree with much of what you discussed about the ease of acclimating in this area. It is a good soft landing where you can get a feel for the language and culture. Chapala is definitely less gringo centric than Ajijic and we are so happy to be here. Nos encanta nuestro nuevo hogar.

We have a house in Villa de Pozos, 10 mins from SLP. Their languge barrier was the problem. Not necessarily the complaints he had for SLP.

The Relocation Guide sells for $695. Are you crazy? I'm sure it has useful information, but nothing that I couldn't find on my own. Plus, it's an online publication, which costs you nothing to reproduce. I think you confused pesos with USD.

Would you ever be able to pay 6 or 12 months up front to save $ or would the transaction be rejected because of the large amount like a used car? Sounds complicated for large $ transfers.

Thanks Mariana and thanks Jeff; ( I don't blame you at all about your anxiety) great video from both

Greetings Jeff from a fellow Arkansan! Born in Russellville, raised in Fayetteville, I've spent most of the past 37 yrs in TX, first in Austin, now Houston. Retiring on Dec 31. Got my temp resident visa in San Antonio last month and will be travelling to Morelia in November to try and get my temp resident card (with Mariana's help, after I buy the guide.) I was very interested in hearing about your difficulties in SLP, since it's one of my potential landing spots. Thanks for your candor and for sharing, and thanks to Mariana for another great interview.

Wonderful conversation. Thank you for discussing the care options that are available if needed.

Wow, high rent.

I would like to speak with Jeff as I am also moving from Arkansas and know my first destination but compiling a backup list in case my first choice doesn’t work long term.

You have to be realistic if you are not in the advanced Spanish or fluent level. You have to have that in order to do well in retirement in cities like San Luis. Aguascalientes, Morelia, and other cities in Mexico that do not have a big English speaking population

Regarding elder care...You didn't state the obvious: most elder care in the US has been done by immigrants!! But now, tRump is deporting (or threatening) these people so those helpers are disappearing from the US elder care landscape. And yes, everyone knows immigrants (in general) are nicer to old people! (My parents were cared for my very nice Filipina women for many years). AND the BIGGEST point you completely missed is that care in Mexico is SO SO much cheaper than here in the US! A facility near where I live is $15,000/ A MONTH!! My parents had to pay $125,000/ YEAR for live-in care. Gulp. Very few of us can afford that! So that's why thousands of gringos are moving south!

Also, regarding the lake, do you really not care if it turns into a sewer dump? for environmental reasons? what if there are dead fish floating? We should take care of our environment...wherever we live! I don't know the local sewer/ water purification system, but I would certainly care and want to investigate it.

This kind of migration of expats concentrated into a region happens everywhere. One family moves in, likes it and spreads the word. I live in a Dallas suburb near a beautiful community called Frisco. Frisco is now called Little India as it’s now 40-50% people from India - largely tech workers. We have an Indian friend who lives there and says that tension is on the rise there amongst the Indian population between those that are not assimilating and those that are. Those that assimilate feel that the non assimilating are contributing to a negative view of Indian culture in the community. Rinse and repeat for enclaves the world over not just Ajijic. Great video.

We are a 100% disabled Veteran couple and we want to live off the disability. We turn 50 this year and this is impossible in the US. We live in NC now and like many other places the cost of living isn’t really worth it anymore. We just spent some time in Sevilla, Spain and fell in love with the Spanish culture. That is far from our daughters of 19/21.
Question: anyone else in the chat a retired or disabled veteran?

We access our money through debit and credit cards at ATM machines. Also, our cards work everywhere.

We moved to Ajijic in May of 2024. From the day I retired to the day we were here was 22 days. That included getting the Permanente Status started with the Consulate in Phoenix, having a huge sale of 80 percent of my household goods and belongings, (and taking a bath financially on it all because of the rush), getting our geriatric Cat ready to fly, securing a mover, (getting ripped off in the process), selling my car, etc , it was EXTREMELY STRESSFUL.
Worst thing other than the Mover giving a 15K estimate, then hijacking our stuff at the Border for an additional 12K, we rented a home based on a Realtor referred to us by our YouTube facilitator, as being reputable. SHE WAS NOT. She took videos of the property to convince us to rent and sent them, telling us it was a new home, unfurnished, with 1900 sq ft of "living space", 3 bdrms 3 baths.
Leaving our 3000 sq ft home in AZ, we had sold 80 percent of everything so we thought 1900 sq ft would work for our remaining furniture and goods. She neglected to tell us that 700 of the 1900 sq ft was a covered patio that was NOT enclosed, with construction workers walking through all day.
The house had no proper ventilation and no window coverings and the entire back wall was floor to ceiling sliding glass doors. Cost me 7K for the window coverings. We never got to unpack fully because there were NO Real Closets and my clothes stayed on rolling racks in the living room for the 8 months we lived there. The house developed a horrible Black Mold condition throughout and we were forced to move for health reasons. We are now in a beautiful rental home 3400 sq ft Lakeview and we are happy. But don't expect your first rental to last.
We have made a wonderful life here and have so many amazing friends. We recently returned to AZ for a week and both agree that Ajijic is HOME now and we have NO DESIRE to return up North.

Great conversation!!!! Thank you for sharing.

In my Southern Californian city, I’d never walk alone at 10:30 at night. But it’s because of our 4-legged neighbors (a mountain lion was recently spotted in a nearby backyard - nowhere near the mountains 😅 and we’ve got coyote gangs that have lost their fear of us 😩).

Been in Riberas for 5 weeks now. I agree with everything Jeff is saying. Life is easy here. Lots of friendly and kind people. I also have a house with the yard for my dogs. It’s off season and I pay $620 per month for a two bedroom two bath. Very safe neighborhood. But I have lost electricity twice for over 12 hours.

I don’t walk in your shoes so I can’t judge. I am glad you found your spot to be happy.

I live in California and planning to retire in Puebla.
Already building a tiny house and looking forward to retiring in 18 months. I will visit lake chapala soon. Best of everything to you and your wife

I visited lake chapala in february fpr 6 weeks. But it was too slow for me, not enough to do.

Hey Jeff!! We met you in Ajijic. How are you man? So good to see you. Please keep us updated on your travels. We think we are headed to Encenada Mexico. Hopefully, your wife is back in town now and you guys can come visit- next year when we're settled. Thanks for the video.

Great Video! For me good weather is "not a frozen hellhole for half the year". Ajijic is one of the places I looked at but really I can live anywhere that has electricity and an AC and decent Internet. And indoor plumbing. And running water. I thought I would not be able to deal with a lot of noise but it turns out I kind of like it. My barrio is alive with roosters and children and dogs and people playing boom boxes and quads and motos and vendors playing their jingles. At night there are parties and several restaurants have really loud live music. But I sleep like a log. Just something about it that feels good.

This lady interviewing is beautiful and shows a great ability to read Jeff’s cues.

Great interview! Jeff is great at sharing what he knows about, along with the downsides of things. Thank you for this!

Best app to transfer money from the States to Mexico or viceversa is ARQ (former DolarApp)

No one beats it

Excellent video!

Great candid conversation! I found Jeff's struggle during his initial landing in San Luis Potosi and the transition to soft landing in Ajijic very helpful and informative. Thank you both! 👍👍

I certainly understand the anxiety! I finally got my temporary residency card this February. But, due to very high interest rates and other things I have no control over, my house has been for sale for over a year and a half. As soon as it sells I plan to move to somewhere on the northside of Lake Chapala, at least for the first year. And, I want to add that the Mexico Relocation Guide is the reason I have my TR and so much of the information preparing me for the eventual move. Good video!

I appreciate Jeff’s candor about the challenges he faced and the way he resolved them. Thx Mariana & PaPaw