Carol Schmidt
Jul 14, 2005, 6:28 PM
Post #18 of 28
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Re: False stereotypes about San Miguel
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Out of 130,000 residents of the San Miguel region, only 7,000 are foreigners, mostly English-speaking though I'd guess 10% speak fluent Spanish, 20% can carry on a limited conversation, and another 50% have at least taken a class or two and can do the basics. My estimates only--I think "only" about 20% know very little or no Spanish, which is 20% too many, but that hardly means that 130,000 San Miguel residents speak only English. (Or deal in dollars.) Of course very few of the foreign tourists know Spanish, and we have plenty of them, though most of our tourists are from other parts of Mexico since this is a historic, beautiful city with lots going on at all times.
Again a very rough estimate: I'd say most of the top 5% economically of SMA Mexicans speak very good English, the 10% or so who have businesses with many gringo clients speak basic English, and only a few of the rest of the Mexican population can say more than bare basics in English. Certainly the 60,000 Mexicans who live on the outskirts and the poorer Indians inside the city limits speak almost no English.
If you want to do nothing more than just go to gringo-owned businesses and associate only with gringos, yes, you can get by with very little Spanish. But who'd want to do that? No one I know or would want to know.
So your put-down that everybody in SMA speaks English is ridiculous.
As for SMA being a "quiet" town--that's even more ridiculous. This is the party town of all party towns for the Mexican population, fiestas and parades every time you turn around, and the gringo population is far more active than any group over 50 I've ever experienced. This town rocks! Every day there are far more activities than anyone person could get to, with live music and/or dancing going on each night in a dozen places for the nights when there aren't art openings, concerts and plays. I'd guess there are at least 75 classes going on each week someplace, and always somebody is leading a tour to someplace else in Mexico. And friends drop in all the time, and call you up when they're cooking a good meal. I've got three dinner parties this week alone.
But you wouldn't know it living out of Centro in one of those wealthier developments going up on the outskirts. Those who say there is nothing to do never venture out their doors or make a phone call. They'd probably say there was nothing to do in New York City. Those who want to gripe and be miserable will gripe and be miserable no matter where they live.
And there are a whole lot of younger gringos moving here as well, most with little money but a great attitude of openness and a willingness to join in and have fun, too. Yes, we have 80-year-olds still working and playing, but people find their own kinds of friends at whatever age level (or class, nationality, sexual orientation, politics) they prefer.
Send me the name of your PV realtor--I have a bone to pick with him! But then he wouldn't want to hear it anyway--he makes his commissions off of telling people lies about San Miguel and other competitors. I am so sick of these false stereotypes of SMA.
Carol Schmidt
(This post was edited by Carol Schmidt on Jul 14, 2005, 6:34 PM)
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