MexConnect.com Forums: Areas: Jalisco's Lake Chapala Region: How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?: Page 2

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mkdutch

Jul 21, 2012, 7:03 PM

Post #26 of 40 (1393 views)

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Re: [bronco] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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Hope this is consistent with the OP's query...Have owned homes Lakeside since 1999, but am only a part-time resident. Speaking from the perspective of someone wanting enough services to be comfortable and a living style close to that experienced in the USA, there have been significant changes. THEN: few restaurants with consistent quality and service and most with low survival rates, few market alternatives where a variety of foodstuffs were available, unreliable electric service, especially during the "Rainy Season", poor internet availability & transmission rates, cumbersome immigration process, difficulty in obtaining competent & punctual repair services, little in the way of animal control & husbanding services, and other nitpicks. NOW: Vast improvement in the variety and quality of restaurants, markets, electric service, internet service, streamlining of the "FM" process, availability of repair services, animal control, etc. It's a lot easier for a Canadian or USA-raised citizen to live here - full or part-time.

From an "outsider's" view of the quality of life for the average Mexican National...THEN: Most transportation was by bus, bicycle, horseback or old pickup truck. Wages were extraordinarily low with few protections for the worker, housing options not the best, the economy wasn't working well for low-income people. NOW: Judging by the volume and type/age of vehicles on the road - enormous improvement. Same for the relative percentage of Latinos patronizing restaurants and large supermarkets, improvement in housing conditions, wages, worker protections, clothing worn, cell phone/internet usage, etc. There have been noticeable improvements in the material quality of life for those I've observed in public. To be sure, some may have not improved their lot, but...

The above is all from a "Gringo" perspective; one raised in a different culture with a different value system. It can be argued, as it should, that these changes have not all been to the benefit of our host country. OTOH, people tend to vote with their feet & pocketbook when they have the opportunity to do so. The evidence seems to be here that they have.

bronco

Jul 21, 2012, 9:48 PM

Post #27 of 40 (1361 views)

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Re: [mkdutch] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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i liked it better in 19 EIGHTY 9. & the new posada was always here. since i hate cars (never owned one), i guess we see it differently. also cant deal w/obesity in sweatpants, so we are on different planets. the visuals are hard to take, i like good looking people, will this ban me from the forum? the electric problem (in my area) has gotten worse in 15 yrs. apparently theres overload, & they never upgraded the proper generator. home invasions w/attacks & violence were almost unheard of- now its the norm. that &the drug violence, has changed ajijic for the worse, but thats only my feeling. if you like it better, thats fine too. now people can read both views. yours is more popular.

bronco

Jul 22, 2012, 9:38 AM

Post #28 of 40 (1321 views)

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Re: [bronco] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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to add: before 15 yrs ago the woman dressed like women.

don pedro

Jul 22, 2012, 10:53 AM

Post #29 of 40 (1313 views)

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Re: [bronco] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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to add: before 15 yrs ago the woman dressed like women.

and who says they don't now. see pic
http://chapalamexicoinfo.createforumhosting.com
naivete is a chronIc disease and by its very nature;the afflicted never know they have it.-SNORK!

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hot ajijic gringas.jpg (130 KB)

joaquinx

Jul 22, 2012, 11:29 AM

Post #30 of 40 (1297 views)

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Re: [bronco] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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In Reply To

to add: before 15 yrs ago the woman dressed like women.

. . . and men dressed like men?
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

Gringal

Jul 22, 2012, 4:09 PM

Post #31 of 40 (1257 views)

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Re: [Rolly] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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So, here we are with the "good old days" and the "real Mexico" themes, ones which have been cussed and discussed over and over again on this an other forums.

I'm not going to get into whether change is a good or bad thing in itself, but change is what happens...all over the world and though some would like to .......why waste time mooning over the past?

I get the impression from some of these negativity-infused posts that there was an idyllic time in Mexico when burros and horses rather than cars ruled: When things were somehow purer and more real in Mexico.

That's the movie. The reality is what the average Mexican wants, which may explain the proliferation of cars, the special buses bringing people from the "real Mexico" out in the country on Tuesdays to shop at Walmart and the growing middle class.

How about rolling with the inevitable and "being here now" instead of longing for the "good old days"? Life is good in Mexico; trash, modernization and all. In fact; life is good any day you wake up in the morning.

sfmacaws

Jul 22, 2012, 7:08 PM

Post #32 of 40 (1231 views)

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Re: [Gringal] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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I'm with you Gringal - once again :) - but this glorifying of the 'good old days' of burros and borrachos irritates me. Let's not even go into the 'women dressed like women' BS. Mexico is not a zoo exhibit, there is no way to rationalize a desire to keep it locked into a past age as anything but chauvinistic.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

bronco

Jul 22, 2012, 10:16 PM

Post #33 of 40 (1205 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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i came here for the farms & burrows & to take the horse shopping. that was peace of mind. we didnt talk about home invasions body parts what ever. i would walk home late from the new posada. no one was in my face. i was not ashamed to tell anyone where i lived/visited. now they can go to the internet & see liz taylor dosnt live here. a politicans home is now a nursing home. they will see joe the plumber, joe the slhubber & walmart. walmart is not for the middle class, its for lower class, lower middle. the rest is americana mono culture. so i dont mention the town, its like i live in a place people will make fun of. gee, if they were going to modernize i can think of better ways of urban planning. ok im negative, but thats the way it is.

(This post was edited by bronco on Jul 22, 2012, 10:25 PM)

Anonimo

Jul 23, 2012, 6:18 AM

Post #34 of 40 (1189 views)

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Re: [Gringal] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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Saludos,
Anonimo

FHBOY

Jul 23, 2012, 7:45 AM

Post #35 of 40 (1177 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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Just a quick comment: No matter who you are, no matter what you are talking about, we as humans tend to negate the negatives of past experiences in memory (do you really want to remember the pain of childbirth when you look at your kids?)and try and succeed in only remembering the good things. It is not that you want to suppress the bad, it is just that you do...we can all recall that great job we had where everyone was friendly and the boss was tough but fair. The reality was there were colleagues we didn't get along with, the work day was tough and long, and the boss really was an SOB to us while we were there. and yet "it was the greatest place to work"

Likewise with places we live...again we tend to romanticize them. I grew up in NYC and long to go back there, but "there" isn't there any more. When I'd visit my Mother I rave about how great NYC was, how I missed it. She was very wise and said, "You are a visitor here, you do not know, any more, what it takes to live here. It is not all great." She passed away about 6 years ago having lived her entire life in NYC.

So, yes, Ajijic of 10 years ago, 20 years ago was absolutely the best place to live, life was fine, and nothing ever went wrong, lives were easy to adjust to and we miss that. Truth is that we've blocked out realities that made it difficult, as we should, and romanticize it. To those of us who are just coming to Ajijic, we will believe that this is the best of times. And for us...it is, we know no other. We may find that it is not the absolute Nirvana those who yearn for the past had, but it is our Nirvana, until it becomes untenable.

Conclusion: I can appreciate the nay sayers about life - life is a personal paradigm and from their POV the place is going to hell in a hen basket, but to those of us to whom this is all new and fresh...I do hope that y'all are wrong.

Gringal

Jul 23, 2012, 11:58 AM

Post #36 of 40 (1133 views)

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Re: [FHBOY] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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Well said.
I might add that the OP has displayed enough negativity and bizarre English usage to make a potential newcomer run for cover. I just don't "get" what it's all about. Sounds like the old folks who spend too much time condemning what's become of the world rather than accepting change, warts and all.

Perhaps relevant, but on a trip to Italy, we bussed to Florence, passing old stone farmhouses now converted to barns, with more modern houses built near them for the farmers to actually live in. The yahoos among us were wondering how such a thing could be when the antique is treasured. Took a while.

IMO, Lakeside is a fine place to retire, with or without good Spanish skills. How about just counting our blessings while the area is struggling to obtain the so-called comforts of the modern world?

(This post was edited by Gringal on Jul 23, 2012, 11:59 AM)

bronco

Jul 23, 2012, 2:21 PM

Post #37 of 40 (1105 views)

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Re: [Gringal] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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this was a discussion about the north american trade agreement. globalization, industry, corruption & the affects on quality of life. new comers are not my concern, they can judge for themselves. this is a far cry from italy, my discussion was not about sentimentality. stuff is happening world wide, & it can be negative. hello? maybe just maybe there ARE negative things. gringal, you especially, were not supposed to "get it".

(This post was edited by bronco on Jul 23, 2012, 2:27 PM)

Gringal

Jul 23, 2012, 2:45 PM

Post #38 of 40 (1097 views)

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Re: [bronco] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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Sentimentality is exactly what it was about. There have always been negative factors, though being an expat in the "good old days" must have been much nicer for you. A better movie. Being a Mexican back in 19 eighty 9 was probably much less pleasant. I got it.

(This post was edited by Gringal on Jul 23, 2012, 2:50 PM)

bronco

Jul 23, 2012, 7:06 PM

Post #39 of 40 (1058 views)

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Re: [Gringal] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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how can you speak for mexicans? they all have different opinions, many same as mine. then again, it looks like you know whats best. i would love to see the day when n americans can let go of "the obsession" but thats another topic. (& i hope they can join tat discussion). bye bye.

Rolly

Jul 23, 2012, 8:10 PM

Post #40 of 40 (1044 views)

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Re: [bronco] How has Ajijic changed in the past 15 years?

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This thread has wandered too far afield and gotten a bit weird.

Rolly Pirate

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