Forums > Areas > Jalisco's Lake Chapala Region

Bill_N

Nov 4, 2003, 6:11 AM

Post #1 of 17 (1883 views)

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What about Joco?

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I don't often see much discussion on these boards about pros and cons of living in Jocotepec. This summer when we visited the Lake Chapala area we had the pleasure of staying at Los Dos B & B in Joco and we enjoyed our stay there very much. Granted it was a bit of a drive (maybe 10 minutes as I recall) to drive to Ajijic but that didn't seem to be a major inconvenience if we wanted to do something there. I understand that Joco is not the "center" of the ex-pat community in the Lake Chapala region but I would be interested in hearing from some folks that live in or nearer to Joco. What are the pros and cons of living there. It seemed to my wife and I that it was a nice town and retained more of the true Mexican village flavor than places like Lake Chapala proper and Ajijic.

We saw one "gated type development" I believe called Las Fuentes. But we didn't see other colonias where gringos might live. What can anyone tell us about Joco as a potential place to relocate after retirement?

Thanks

Bill Newell

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Georgia

Nov 4, 2003, 6:32 AM

Post #2 of 17 (1863 views)

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Re: [Bill_N] What about Joco?

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Hi, Bill, you and I have exchanged observations on the Joco area before, but I will repeat them here for the benefit of others. Joco has a quieter pace, a very good selection of shops for your every day needs, and a lovely village square where the young and old gather on Sunday evenings for the traditional paseo. My teenagers love the place and have made friends there. There are not as many English-speaking shopkeepers in Joco (if any - I just don't know, since I speak Spanish) but I suspect they will go out of their way to accommodate. There are some gringo residents in Joco - not hoards, but a few. My personal, non-scientific observation is that the prices of things I purchase in Joco (groceries, household items, services) is somewhat less than in Ajijic or Chapala. I like it there also, because the "back road" to Guadalajara is beautiful: you pass lovely blue agave plantations and enter more on the west side of the city. It's a beautiful ride. My husband and I live in El Chante, a colonia that is part of the Joco municipality. Even smaller than Joco. The local templo is a gem and the people are very welcoming. It is a very laid back, more "country" kind of place, no organized gringo activities, lots of fiestas, a bit more humble, perhaps, but thoroughly charming. Out past Joco, to the south of the town is another subdivision, Roca Azul.

Lest anyone think there is no "culture" in the area, we have a dedicated tuba player in our neighborhood who heats up on Saturday nights. In front of the little sundries store, Dona Lupe's, across from our house, people gather on the weekends to visit and sometimes engage in impromptu entertainment - I believe the tuba player participates actively in these little pick-up gigs. One of our poodles accompanies the tuba player which riles up our roosters and the neighborhood donkey: El Chante's version of a concert.

jbush

Nov 4, 2003, 10:34 AM

Post #3 of 17 (1834 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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WE first visited the whole lake chapala area about two weeks ago. WE thoroughly loved the area and hope to be there soon. I really like ajijic but because I need a bit of sleep at night I think we would rather be out that "whole ten minutes" from ajijic more towards Joco.

We looked at a couple of great homes in Las Fuentas but after posting a similar question on "the other board" I got some negative responses about some deed issues on homes in that area.

So for those of you lucky enough to already be there please help those on their way not to make a huge mistake in purchasing a home.

Bill_N

Nov 4, 2003, 4:00 PM

Post #4 of 17 (1793 views)

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Re: [jbush] What about Joco?

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Thanks Georgia and jbush (whoever you are :-) for contributing to this discussion. I too would be interested in any other observations about Joco and about Las Fuentas etc. I agree with Georgia from my limited observation and time spent in Joco, that it is a much more laid back. I loved the plaza in Joco which I thought was pleasant to just sit and visit with people (if and when I can speak Spanish). It did seem that Spanish would be more necessary in Joco than in Ajijic.

Thanks again for both of your contributions to the discussion.

P.S. If for no other reason, there is a a great Texas BBQ place just outside of town at the intersection of the road leading to Guad. At least my wife and I enjoyed some good BBQ there one day while we were there. I believe it was called Toms.

Bill

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Jean

Nov 4, 2003, 4:52 PM

Post #5 of 17 (1781 views)

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Re: [Bill_N] What about Joco?

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I think Joco is a wonderful little area that is not spoiled by the influx of people from NoB. I find the people there to be extremely friendly and quite willing to help when needed. But the noise situation will be there as it will be in any Mexican community. I would possibly suggest you look at Roca Azul, just outside of Joco if you want to be near Joco, yet be away from the noise of celebrations. One thing I would do is before moving to any area is to go and sit there at night (during festival times especially) and see what the noise level is like.

We too stayed at Los Dos when we first came and even there, there was a certain amount of noise, but the noise never bothered us, whether at Los Dos, or right in town in Ajijic for one simple reason. We knew ahead of time that Mexico meant noise and we were quite willing to accept that. Because we had this attitude the noise has never been an issue for us. Roosters crowed and firecrackers went off right outside of our door and it simply became background noise after awhile and we rarely noticed it.

The only time we did have noise issues was Christmas eve the first year. The second year we simply bought soft earplugs and that solved that problem.

You might want to consider a quiet neighborhood for your first six months, to give you a certain comfort level, while you explore all the wonderful and different areas of Lakeside.
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FeelinGroovy

Nov 5, 2003, 1:29 PM

Post #6 of 17 (1720 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Georgia,

Can you explain - My husband and I live in El Chante, a colonia that is part of the Joco municipality. Even smaller than Joco. - does that mean it's a small town or a neighborhood?

Thank you,
Libby

Georgia

Nov 5, 2003, 1:51 PM

Post #7 of 17 (1714 views)

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Re: [Libby] What about Joco?

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More like a village within a larger township.

esperanza

Nov 5, 2003, 2:48 PM

Post #8 of 17 (1700 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Just like Ajijic is a village in the municipality of Chapala. My *official* address on my drivers license and other legal papers shows Municipio de Chapala, even though I live in Ajijic.

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Uncle Jack

Nov 5, 2003, 3:21 PM

Post #9 of 17 (1697 views)

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Re: [esperanza] What about Joco?

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What about postal addresses? We live in Canacinta but out postal address is an APDO # in Ajijic.

uj

Bill_N

Nov 7, 2003, 4:48 AM

Post #10 of 17 (1635 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Georgia,

Do you and/or others living in this "greater" Lake Chapala area have pictures posted on the internet of sus casas? I think it would be interesting for those of us who are considering living in this area to see houses that people live in or rent. Let us know the web addresses of your "picture pages" if you don't mind.

I'll start by posting my Picture Album of our trip to Morelia and Lake Chapala last July.

http://www.photoaccess.com/...0E357279C7&cb=PA

Best viewed by "Launching the Viewer" and then enlarging the pictures. You can set the "slide show in the viewer" for 5 or 10 second intervals and it will just flip through all the photos.

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(This post was edited by Bill_N on Nov 7, 2003, 7:40 AM)

Georgia

Nov 7, 2003, 6:27 AM

Post #11 of 17 (1625 views)

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Re: [Bill_N] What about Joco?

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Great photos, Bill. Photos of my home and family can be viewed at www.shutterfly.com. To enter, use name: geonucci@yahoo.com. Password is "aztec." (Clever) The file labeled "casita" is the casita we rent out. The rest are labeled by month and year and are mostly in and around our home in El Chante - the parades at Christmas, our vast family (yes, those are all either my kids or grandkids), the interior decoration and features of our house, the lake, and our numerous pigs and chickens. Not very illuminating, I guess.

Bill_N

Nov 7, 2003, 7:30 AM

Post #12 of 17 (1614 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Thanks for sharing the pictures. Bev and I recognized many of the places in your pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

Bill

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Flemming

Nov 11, 2003, 6:43 AM

Post #13 of 17 (1518 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Georgia,

We have a question re: El Chante and Riberas del Pilar. We have heard that the ground in both places are unsettled, which will create cracks in the foundation. Know anything about that?

Georgia

Nov 11, 2003, 7:14 AM

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Re: [Flemming] What about Joco?

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I know there have been some problems in Las Fuentes. We are down on the "lakefront" (which is actually becoming a lakefront this year!) in a thirty or forty year old house. No problems here. As with any home purchase, an engineer should take a look before you purchase. I'm married to one, so ..... (and he's a "soil nut" to boot, very fussy about soil conditions).

As a sidebar to this question, when the real estate salesperson kept referring to our house as being desireable because it was lakefront, I kept getting hiccups trying not to laugh. I had no idea the lake had ever come near the property. The name of the street "Ribera del Lago" should have been a clue, but I thought it was just because it was the last street parallel to the lake, not actually near the lake. One day I inquired about the concrete pad and ramp out back and she calmly said, "Oh, that's the dock." I damn near died of hysteria. I was going to put a little gazebo out there and call it "Esperanza" and park my kayak out there. Well, anyway, I digress, but not really. Real estate agents work for the seller. I used to be one in a prior life, and I know. It is really wise to have two things checked out by people who work for you: the physical plant and the title.

Flemming

Nov 11, 2003, 8:08 AM

Post #15 of 17 (1505 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Georgia,

Thank you very much for your reply. Do anyone know about Riberas del Pilar?

Georgia

Nov 11, 2003, 8:30 AM

Post #16 of 17 (1500 views)

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Re: [Flemming] What about Joco?

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I should modify my last post by pointing out that some doesn't mean all. We know people in Las Fuentes whose houses don't have cracks or whatever, and we have also heard of others that do. I suspect it is a problem of not building for the soil type. Each house is different. Again, have an engineer check it out.

mkdutch

Nov 12, 2003, 11:15 AM

Post #17 of 17 (1438 views)

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Re: [Georgia] What about Joco?

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Excellent advice, Georgia...and even in areas of relative stability problems can arise (or be created...8^).

For example, when the road(s) going up the mountain in Chula Vista were built, a large volume of soil was taken from where cuts were made into the mountainside. It was moved onto what had been stable soil to create level "pads" upon which to build homes. The homes and retaining walls (both older and more recent) that were later built there have developed cracks, even though trees and other vegetation was planted to better hold the soil in place. Homes across the street have no problems.

An investment in a soil survey and engineering study (both for lots and existing homes for sale can save one heartache later. Also look carefully for new patches and any difference in wall heights that may mask a problem. Sometimes it's better to refinish a home after you buy it than buy one that is freshly painted...it's easier to confirm all is well with the basic structure...Dutch