Expat life

Tag

What I Have Learned from Living in Mexico

We have lived in Mexico for thirteen and a half years. I have learned a lot living here, and these lessons have made me a better person. Here are a few of the things I’ve noticed. I am more patient. You get a lot of chances to practice patience living here. When driving, you’ll often wait behind someone unloading furniture – or grandma – or stopping to say hello to a friend. The thumb and first finger motion means “un...

What I Like About Living Lakeside

Every day I read the news and think about how lucky I am to live here. Today, I will tell you a few of the reasons why. Life is so much simpler. I walk to most places to do my shopping. Within a couple of blocks of us are the Monday Market, the Friday fruit and veggie tianguis, and a Saturday organic market at the vegan restaurant. Also within a few blocks are a healthy supplements store and a mostly...

Finding Your Best Life

  • September 29, 2019
  • /
  • Expat

  Most people want a good life – a happy life – but inertia keeps them frozen in place.  Some struggle to put their finger on exactly what they need and others jump into change without knowing where they’ll land.  Certainly we are all different but there are more similarities between us than you would think.   Connection and community.  People who make time for each other.  New challenges.  Supportive friends.  These are some of the reasons people yearn for change....

We are settling in to life at Lake Chapala

It’s been two weeks since we made the move to San Antonio Tlayacapan in the Lake Chapala area.  We’ve had some adjustments but all in all things have gone very easily and we are happy with the move.  Here’s our first impressions: The community – We had never really considered this area as a place to live until recently – but it has surprised us and likely will continue to.  Yes, there are lots of gringos here – and a...

Hello Again!

Well that was quite a gap between posts! Somehow after TEN YEARS blogging (my first blog post here was October 21, 2006!) all the little odd things that happen each day are no longer odd and blog worthy to me. I need to find my blogging mojo again, and I truly intend to try.What have I been up to? – I had dengue. Well, that was awful. Seriously painful bone pain and overwhelming sleepiness for several days, then an intensely...

Eight years of fun in Mazatlán

Life here is less challenging than it was at first, and not just because we have better Spanish. For example the list of things that I buy in the US is getting smaller and smaller. You can now find organic food, decent peanut butter, and Keen sandals. Kindles and iPads make it easy to get any book you want. Netflix Mexico has pretty decent programming. You can even buy things on eBay and with the Estafeta connection have them shipped...

The Shame of House Hunters International

It’s our guilty pleasure, how about you? I love reading books about the expat experience but I also love to watch House Hunters International and see people look for a place to live in interesting locations around the globe. We have our DVR set up to record the show, and lately we’ve seen people move to Budapest, Sarajevo, Brussels, and Dublin. But we’ve been watching the show for ages and there are a few things that we see over and...

The Expat Life

When you start planning your move to a new country, you’ll be trying hard to predict what your new life will be like. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of people telling you horror stories about people who moved away and then moved back when they realized life wasn’t like they expected. No one wants that to happen to them! I had considered that I would need to live in a place with other Americans (or Canadians) only until I became...

Five years of the good life in Mazatlán

I remember our first visit to Mazatlán back in February of 2007.  We stayed at Casa de Leyendas, and were introduced to lots of people and activities through the generosity of owners Glenn and Sharon.  Practically as soon as we got home we started planning another exploratory trip. Mazatlán had really grabbed us, that’s for sure.  To make a long story short (go to the Monthly Archives at left if you want to read from the beginning) we bought a...

Shopping for things I can’t find in Mazatlán

When I travel – whether it’s to the US or within México – I always think about shopping for items I can’t find here in Mazatlán. This post is a rundown of some of the things I brought back with me this time. When I fly North I always pack a fold-up duffle bag which then becomes my overflow and can be carried on. No need to pay another $25 for a second bag! This time I was lucky, too...

The Expat Forum in México City

I’ve been home from the 1st National Forum on the North American Retiree Community: Expectations & Options for Living in Mexico since Sunday, so it’s high time I report out to all of you! Thursday evening we all gathered for cocktails at the hotel and got to know each other.  It was great to meet so many people who make México their home. There were people from Puerto Vallarta, Mérida, Los Cabos, La Paz, Ensenada, Mazatlán, Colima, Acapulco, Rosarito Beach, Ajijic,...

Expat Forum in Mexico City

I am leaving early in the morning Wednesday on my way to México City. Paul is staying home this time, as he still works part time and on Fridays helps out at the Luna Gallery. This Friday should be even more interesting as it is also the First Friday Art Walk, so there should be a lot of visitors to the gallery in the early evening. That ought to keep him out of trouble! I’m heading to Mexico City as...

Thoughts on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day has always been one of my favorite holidays, a day where you take note of the the things in your life you are thankful for. Since Thanksgiving Day isn’t celebrated in Mexico, we thought as part of our private celebration we’d share our Thanksgiving Day thoughts. What are we thankful for? Our Readers – Thank you for your loyalty and your comments. You keep it fresh and fun. Our City- We love it here in Mazatlán. The community...

Just a few more days…

Paul has been gone for more than two weeks taking intensive Spanish classes in Puebla. He returns this weekend, at long last. Three weeks is a long time to be apart, and it felt much longer than I expected. This is the second intensive Spanish course he’s taken – a couple of years ago he went to Guadalajara for two weeks and this time for three in Puebla. We’ll be doing a blog post on his experiences when he gets...

How to be a successful expat….

-or- How to Move Away From Your Home Country and Not Want to Move Back in Six Months. People go on vacation every day and comment “Oh, I would so love to live here! Maybe someday!” That’s fine, but would you really? How would you do if you actually made the move to México? Here are my thoughts on what makes a successful expat. Know Yourself You know what you love and hate, what will irritate you and what you...