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frito

Jul 20, 2011, 4:38 AM

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Oaxaca or ?

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Hi, I've been looking at possible retirement locations in several countries. Ran across some info about Oaxaca and have been reading everything I can find. I'm wondering about other possible options in Mexico with similar qualities. What I like about Oaxaca is interesting Colonial center, low cost of living, readily available furnished apartments with everything included at reasonable cost, a small expat community. I like that I can fly into Oaxaca, will give up my car. And the weather appears to be nice most of the year. And it seems Oaxaca is pretty safe. So that I give other locations every consideration are there other cities that are comparable? Don't want high costs on a limited budget, hate heat+humidity, not fluent so looking for a "turnkey" situation where they're used to English speaking tourists and are set up to accommodate them. Prefer big enough but not too big. I guess that's alot to expect but Oaxaca seems to have this to some degree and I'm looking forward to checking it out soon. Thanks for any opinions!

esperanza

Jul 20, 2011, 6:37 AM

Post #2 of 13 (2721 views)

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Re: [frito] Oaxaca or ?

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After an absence of many years, I just spent several days on business in Oaxaca as part of the Mexico Today management team. Oaxaca is absolutely lovely, just as I remembered. The population there is about one million, but it has the aspect of a much smaller town.

It's wise to remember that Oaxaca also has the history and deserved reputation of a politically active town, one which sometimes suffers the consequences of free expression. My friends there, all Mexicans, complain about the frequent blockage of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic due to political demonstrations. In recent years (2006 forward), Oaxaca suffered terribly from serious violence and unrest due to long-term manifestations by opposing groups. Tourism there continues to suffer the consequences of those years.

You would enjoy reading http://www.oaxacadream.com/. Casa Machaya might be a terrific place to stay as you start your investigations into moving to Oaxaca.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

joaquinx

Jul 20, 2011, 8:16 AM

Post #3 of 13 (2696 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Oaxaca or ?

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Isn't the population somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000. I've been there a number of times and it just doesn't seem that big. Of course, the traffic jams do make it seem larger.
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

tonyburton / Moderator

Jul 20, 2011, 9:53 AM

Post #4 of 13 (2671 views)

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Re: [joaquinx] Oaxaca or ?

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According to INEGI, population of 593,592 for the Oaxaca Metropolitan Area in 2010.
[actually I think it's 593,522, sorry about the typo]

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Jul 20, 2011, 10:08 AM)

esperanza

Jul 20, 2011, 9:55 AM

Post #5 of 13 (2667 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Oaxaca or ?

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According to my informants in Oaxaca, one million. It's possible that they are half a million off. LOL...

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

joaquinx

Jul 20, 2011, 10:07 AM

Post #6 of 13 (2662 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Oaxaca or ?

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In Reply To

According to INEGI, population of 593,592 for the Oaxaca Metropolitan Area in 2010.

I was in a traffice jam at Cinco Señores, and everyone of the 593,592 was there with their car and trucks.
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

frito

Jul 20, 2011, 4:38 PM

Post #7 of 13 (2608 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Oaxaca or ?

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Thank you, very helpful. I followed the big teacher protests in 2006. From what I've read the upshot is a much larger police presence in the central area. Is it safe to say that Oaxaca is probably what I'm looking for? I was interested in San Cristobal but decided the rain and cold there is more than I want to deal with.

Gambrinus

Jul 20, 2011, 6:02 PM

Post #8 of 13 (2592 views)

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Re: [frito] Oaxaca or ?

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Good idea to give up the car if you decide to settle in Oaxaca. The drivers here are bad even by Mexican standards

frito

Jul 20, 2011, 7:39 PM

Post #9 of 13 (2572 views)

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Re: [Gambrinus] Oaxaca or ?

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I guess that rules out using a bike too.

YucaLandia

Jul 21, 2011, 3:21 PM

Post #10 of 13 (2504 views)

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Re: [frito] Oaxaca or ?

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Oddly enough, the driving culture in Yucatan is used to many peddlers, workers, and assorted small businessmen on cargueros, bicimotos, on a variety of bikes, so that even the buses give NOB pedalers a wide berth. High levels of awareness for bikes exist (?) because 2&3-wheeled vehicles are a regular part of the video-game-like experience of Yuca-motoring.

I've had far fewer close calls while on 2 wheels here, than on 4. People may toot their horns at you though. Many drivers also don't quite know where the right side of their vehicle is, so, many of us ride on the left side of our 1-way side streets (close to the drivers) to get a wider berth.

I sure hope Gambrinus tells us how things are for bikes in Oaxaca.
steve
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E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

sioux4noff

Jul 21, 2011, 8:50 PM

Post #11 of 13 (2449 views)

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Re: [YucaLandia] Oaxaca or ?

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In the Puerto Vallarta area there are also many peddlers, workers, and assorted small businessmen on cargueros, bicimotos, and a variety of bikes. However, it doesn't seem to translate into any type of respect for cyclists. IMO.

cookj5

Jul 22, 2011, 5:57 PM

Post #12 of 13 (2386 views)

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Re: [frito] Oaxaca or ?

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We visited Oaxaca last August and it was wonderful. The weather was actually somewhat similar to where we live in Lake Chapala, which has a reputation for some of the best weather in the world. We noticed that a lot of things had prices lower than Lake Chapala, like mid-range restaurants. I believe some of the apartments we saw listed were a bit lower too.

I seems to me that your biggest hurdle might be your lack of Spanish (if I interpret correctly your desire for a place that is "used to English-speaking tourists"). Your lack of Spanish in Oaxaca could well result in isolation.

Being an English-only tourist is not the same as living somewhere and being English-only. While there for 9 days, we ran into very few locals who spoke much English, even in the tourist oriented businesses.

In fact, in terms of foreigners, we ran into no Americans and only one Canadian couple. The foreigners we did see were mostly young European backpacker types (Germans and French mostly). Maybe there is a large underground of English-speaking expats living there, but we sure didn't see much evidence of it. We did find a small English language library however, so somebody is reading those books.

The best way to judge whether you might want to live somewhere is to go there and stay for a while, a month or two at least. Then you can directly investigate, test out your assumptions, and see if you really like the feel of the place.

If you'd like to check out our photo-journal blog postings on Oaxaca, here is the link: http://cookjmex.blogspot.com/search/label/Oaxaca

I'm not smart enough to figure out how to make the link live, so just copy and paste it into the url box of your browser. Enjoy!

frito

Jul 22, 2011, 8:39 PM

Post #13 of 13 (2356 views)

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Re: [cookj5] Oaxaca or ?

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...Your lack of Spanish in Oaxaca could well result in isolation...Being an English-only tourist is not the same as living somewhere and being English-only...

Your point is well taken. Trouble is that everywhere there's a large number of English speaking expats the costs are significantly higher too. There are American expats in Oaxaca, and the English library is supposed to be the focal point for that community. Luckily I thrive on reading, Internet surfing, and watching tv. That plus a good dog is about all I need. I am working on the Spanish, but am pretty certain that being immersed in it will make a big difference. I am finding ads on craigslist in English for apts with English speaking landlords. Ultimately it'll be up to me to make it work, and, at least until Social Security starts, I'll have to find the best situation that I can afford. Which is why I'm asking about similar but possibly better locations that meet my criteria. So far Oaxaca is it, at least in Mexico. Appreciate the very valid points you make!