MexConnect.com Forums: General: General Forum: Introduce yourself -- Part 1: Page 2

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CurlyGirl

Feb 23, 2006, 7:11 PM

Post #26 of 92 (10504 views)

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Well, I see the other lurkers have crawled out, so I will do the same. (I lurk not for lack of interest, but rather for lack of answers. At this point, I prefer to sit back and take in all the knowledge.)

I'm a 42-year-old, married freelance ad writer. My husband and I first visited Baja about 8 or 9 years ago. Have been back as often as we can. We're now in the process of looking for a small patch of land on the East Cape to hold on to until retirement (which I wish was sooner than it is). Right now, we're in dreary Ohio but we're originally from New Jersey. I still miss good pizza and real bagels. I guess I'm preparing myself for life on the East Cape.

We've also been to Guanajuato and loved it. But I'm tired of being landlocked and can't see living away from the water, if I have the choice. But I would love to explore more areas--especially Zihuatenejo (sp?) and the PV area.

This was a great idea, Rolly. And thanks for all the terrific info I've gathered this past year. It's been silently but greatly appreciated.

Dreaming of the East Cape...

loriwilson

Feb 23, 2006, 9:12 PM

Post #27 of 92 (10487 views)

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This is fun! I've been more of a lurker on this board than anything else, although I've posted a few times, too. I've gotten loads of useful information on living in Mexico from those of you with experience, and I appreciate it more than words can say. I'm 56, a social worker at a veteran's hospital in the US, married for (almost) 3 years to a wonderful guy who works for the FAA and will be retiring in 1 1/2 to 3 years. When he retires, I'm done, too. I come from an adventurous family, my mother and step-father moved to Spain almost 30 years ago, my father moved to Honduras, my brother met his wife in Germany and they've been living in England for a few years. For some reason I never made it out of the US. Until now, that is. I love Mexico and while we were still dating, introduced my husband to the many wonders of the country. We're now in the process of purchasing a small home in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (closing is scheduled for next week!!!!!). We can't wait to start spending the winter months in our new home and the summers in our RV exploring the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Some of our time in Mexico will spent exploring the interior as well as on down to Central and South America. It's been a goal of mine for years and I count my blessings that I found a guy who shares my dreams.

Thanks to all of you who have helped make my dreams come true by sharing your wealth of knowledge.

manda405

Feb 24, 2006, 11:15 AM

Post #28 of 92 (10428 views)

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My name is Amanda, I am just shy of 25. Married to Miguel to for 6 years, we have two kids, Cynthia (3) and Anthony (15 mos).
I was born in Spokane, WA and lived in Couer d' Alene, ID until I was 12. Then we moved to Richland, WA where I graduated in 1999, attended about half a quater at Columbia Basin Community college and then worked at Godfather's Pizza for 2 years. I have two little sisters (14 and 10) who I adore. My family still lives in Richland and they are not happy that I live in Mexico.
When I was 19, we moved to La Mira, Michoacan for a year. I learned Spanish while I was there and I also learned how to make queso ranchero, tortillas, and skin iguanas. We went back up to WA in 2001 right before the attacks on NY and the Pentagon on Sept. 11. I got a job at a call center making outbound "service" calls for Qwest Communications.
We had submitted the petion for Miguel to be considered for a Visa as a spouse of a US Citizen and they called us up to Spokane to review our case. They stamped the petion with the approval seal and handcuffed Miguel and took him away. He was deported 2 months later, right before our daughter's 1st birthday. So I moved to Michoacan again, and ended up moving back to WA 7 months later so the new baby would be born in the US. Fortunatly I got my job back with Qwest and when we couldn't stand being apart anymore, I was able to transfer to Tucson, AZ which is the closest I could get to Mex.
So now we live in Nogales, Sonora. I am not sure how long we will be here. We don't really like it, we are only here so that we can save up some money to build our house in Mich, and help his dad out with the farm. We are hoping that before my daughter is in 1st grade (3 more years) that we will be outta here.
I enjoy this site and the forums, I hope that someday I can meet some of you. But not too many live in Nogales, or even in the part of Mich where we will be living.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

talosian

Feb 26, 2006, 3:14 PM

Post #29 of 92 (10325 views)

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I'm David (66 years old) and moved to a house just outside Chapala in July 2004 and live here permanently. I came down from a lifetime in California and due to the AARP article, having only visited Tijuana and Cabo many years ago. I fell in love with Lakeside and bought a house on my 4th. day of visiting. I burned my California/U.S. bridges and am more than very happy here.

Divorced, no children and in a LTR with a super lady.

In my other (NOB) life I was an attorney for a while but believed too much in justice. My undergraduate is in Psychology and I did Crisis Intervention counseling for a couple of years. Too depressing.

I opened two medical clinics (10 years apart) and was the Medical-Legal Administrator.

I enjoy traveling and many years ago went to Europe with a girlfriend and Frommer's book "Europr on $5 per day." We actually did it and traveled around for four months. Myy last, and probably most interesting trip, was December 2003 when I went to Cuba. I lived a part of history on that trip and hope to go back again this year, probably for the last time before it changes.

My most fun though was building a Star Trek themed B&B named The Enterprise on Grand Cayman Island in 1991-1992 and I lived there for 3 years then returned to California leaving the Hostess to run it locally. Sold it in January 2001. Then worked for two years in a medical clinic owned by an Orthopedic Surgeon friend. I have written and had published two non-fiction self-help type books in the field of law.

That was about it for my work history except for the fact that what I enjoy the most doing, and have done it for 30+ years, is handyman work. I can build a house from the ground up and in true Mexican tradition, can fix most anything with coat hangers and duct tape. When I get the chance, I'll do handyman work locally and I work for food.

Other interests include scuba diving and flying (I have a Private Pilot license and flew a Cessna 172 for several years). From watching the movie, "Voices", I became interested in ASL (American Sign Language) so I took classes in it for 2 1/2 years at my local community college. I then taught it as a Teacher Assistant for 1 1/2 years at my local primary school.

I'm only sorry I didn't discover Mexico 15 or so years ago but I'm glad I did now and I love it.

So that's me.

"Spock"
"When all logical explanations have failed, we must look to the illogical for the answer.

(This post was edited by talosian on Feb 26, 2006, 3:21 PM)

Jerry@Ajijic

Feb 27, 2006, 6:21 AM

Post #30 of 92 (10267 views)

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Hi, I am 67 years old and my darling wife is younger. She is a retired biology teacher and is from N.C. I lived almost all of my life in Florida, graduated from U of F and retired from working in a bank. We also after retiring owned a video store, a travel agency, did substitute teaching and worked at Disney World. We have traveled some to other countries. The latest was to Thailand from which we just got back Satirday. About 9 years ago we decided to sell our home in Florida and move here. We have never regreted the decision.

Bloviator

Feb 27, 2006, 10:39 AM

Post #31 of 92 (10219 views)

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Thanks to Rollie.

This is a fascinating thread. I like to think that I have had a varied and interesting life. All of a sudden, I feel like the most boring person who ever lived compared to some of the introductions that I have been reading.

No wonder any topic that comes up is covered so well - or not, depending on who responds and how Bubba feels on any given day. He's evidently in his glory with the current discussion of banking here and food on Chapala Web. Again thanks to all of you for the very helpful information since I have started with Mexconnect.

not_ally

Mar 1, 2006, 10:40 AM

Post #32 of 92 (10078 views)

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Hi all,

Like Jerry's wife I'm a Tar Heel, at least mostly raised and schooled in North Carolina (UNC undergrad, Duke Law). Practiced law until a couple of years ago. Am now 43 and am basically a San Miguel resident, although I've been shuttling back and forth between LA (my Stateside base) and SMA for the past couple of years. Hope to settle down shortly and give myself over to Mexico and the manana (sorry, can't figure out how to do the tilde) mentality for long enough to forget LA traffic forever.
----------------------------
"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly I discover there is no reason." John Cage

brianbrian

Mar 2, 2006, 5:53 PM

Post #33 of 92 (10004 views)

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I am Brian. I live in Michoacan kinda near Patzcuaro out in the woods. I am mostly a hermit though I plan to change that somehow.
I moved down here about a year and a half ago from Seattle.

I am a painter:
http://feyabbey.com/portfolio/artgallery001
http://feyabbey.com/...io/brianpainting001/

I am off the grid... no city water or electric. I run a generator to use satelite internet. I need to install solar panels but I don't know how.
I am making a permaculture farm artspace kinda thing here.

skye22

Mar 3, 2006, 7:05 AM

Post #34 of 92 (9933 views)

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Hi Rolly, I think that this thread was a wonderful idea. It has been very interesting to see what has brought people to Mexico or the idea of moving to Mexico.

My name is Jonathan I am 49 and was born in West Hartford, Connecticut. Went to school at Boston University and New England Conservatory as a French Horn player. Dropped out of school to freelance, played in the Boston Opera Company, full time extra with the Boston Symphony, etc. Went to Tanglewood and the Berkshire Music Center, played principle horn with the Atlantic Symphony in Halifax, Nova Scotia, fell in love with Canada but left to play with a touring symphony in Germany, Philharmonia Hungaric. Spent the next 10 years traveling around the world with this orchestra. I developed serious and chronic asthma while in Germany, had to stop playing. Learned to be a florist while in Germany and aprenticed for 5 years. Returned to Halifax and opened a floral and gourmet food shop there, did flowers for the Queen, the G-8 Summit in `95, and quite a few movies that have been filmed here. I finally received my Canadian citizenship a year ago. My partner and I started to travel to Latin America 6 years ago, mainly on eco-tourist type trips, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Equador, Peru, and spent an amazing month last year traveling around in some of the colonial cities of Mexico, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Real de Catorce, etc.

After 16 grueling years in retail my partner and I decided to sell our business and think about a new life in Mexico. We are trying to sell our house here in Halifax and hope to make a move within the year, taking our time to find the right situation and environment.

We are fluent in German and are having a hell of a time with Spanish, the Deutsch just keeps popping into our heads.

Again, thanks for creating such a great thread.

JohnnyBoy

Mar 4, 2006, 10:30 AM

Post #35 of 92 (9807 views)

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I have been reading along on this thread for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed it immensely. I am reluctant to reply because I am not in Mexico yet. But I joined MexConnect hoping to get answers to a myriad of picky little questions I have, and I have met with some success. So I figured maybe if I contribute to this thread that something about me, my background, my plans will inspire some of you to reply to me. I am anxious to make friends and connections.

I am 61. In was born a raised through high school in Ogden, Utah. Served a Mormon mission in Switzerland Italy, learning two foreign languages (German and Italian) in the process. Did 2 years in the US Army at the height of the Vietnam War but managed to remain stateside the whole despite having an infantry MOS. I did my undergraduate study at Weber State College in German. One year of graduate school at the University of Rome in Italy on a Rotary Club International scholarship where I studied Latin. Then more graduate work at the University of Kansas.

I lived most of my life in Kansas and consider myself a Jayhawk.

I went through a difficult and costly divorce in 1998, which left me penniless and with a lot of debt. About that same time I realized I would never be able to retire in the USA and I immediately began thinking about alternatives. I had pretty much decided on Mexico when I saw the movie "The Shawshank Redemption." At the end of that movie the guy runs off to Zihautaneo (sp?). Wow, that looked like the place for me, and no need to spend 20 year in Shawshank Prison first.

I began a very concerted savings program and am almost where I need to be, right on schedule, according to my plan. I will retire next year, about this time, possibly in April, and will join my Mexican partner in Sonora.

I own a timeshare in Cabo San Lucas and have been there several times. I know Cabo is not very typical of Mexico. I enjoyed my side trips to Todos Santos and La Paz. I have also been in and around Mazatlan, as well as much of Sonora: Guaymas, Bahia Kino, San Carlos. I know Sonora is hot and dry. I am a little worried about that. I will be free to go back to family in Idaho or Kansas during the worst of it, although I cannot imagine any place hotter and more miserable than Kansas in August.

I love to travel and will undoubtedly do a lot of it in Mexico. My partner and I both want to see and experience as much as possible of other parts of Mexico, as well as Cuba (before it changes), Central and South America. There are good flights to Europe from Mexico City. I see almost no need to come back to the USA in order to go to Europe. And the US Immigration people treat my partner, and other young Mexican males, so badly. It is a huge drain on his self-esteem and self-respect to present himself along with his visa to request temporary permission to enter the USA. He has been doing now for five years, spending summers and Christmas with me in the Bay Area. Despite owning his own house, having a full time job in Mexico, and now a long history (which I assume is recorded in the INS computers) of crossing into the US and leaving again, on time, as promised, they still treat him so badly and he is never sure if he will get in or not. What a shame.

Finding a place to live and making friends, all that stuff, my partner will have arranged for me. I am dealing with stateside issues, fussing and fretting over where and how to invest my money so as to ensure a steady monthly cash flow, trying to figure out whether or not I need a formal and legal state of domicile, what to do about health insurance (if anything), which of my belongings to try to take there with me (if any), all that stuff. And I find a lot of good answers here on MexConnect and it has been a wonderful resource for me, well, I should say the members and contributors here are a wonderful resource, and I hope to able to continue to bug many of you with my questions and concerns.

I am learning Spanish, a little here and there, as best I can from here in the Bay Area, but have no doubts I will pick it up easily once I am immersed in it. Strange thing, what little Spanish I already speak comes out with a decided Italian intonation. I call it "mi espanol macaronico."

Any of you with any words of wisdoms concerning what I ought to do about Medicare, Medigap, Mexican major medical, IMMS (Mexican Social Security), my worry over a state of domicile (to exclude any state that wants to tax my paltry tax-deferred savings as I draw them down), receiving mail in the USA (I have relatives who could empty a PO Box for me from time to time, but can I qualify for a US PO Box with a US address)?

Thanks to all of you who contribute and post.

John

JohnnyBoy

Mar 4, 2006, 10:36 AM

Post #36 of 92 (9807 views)

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I meant to write: can I get a PO Box when I do NOT have a US address?

Sorry. I made a lot of typos in my post.

jb

Mark Landes

Mar 5, 2006, 9:23 PM

Post #37 of 92 (9690 views)

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I live in California--Mexico del Norte. Near Sacramento. Where I ate dinner last night--Hermanos Lopez -- noone spoke English. Fine with me. Good food. Me, third of seven kids. College in Maui (Maunaolu), Stanford (I was a gymnast). Drafted in 66 --signed on for Army Intellligence. Vietnam/Germany. Back to school. UC Berkeley BA/MA in Oriental Languages. Three years in Taiwan. Stanford Language Center one year and later after getting married, translator at National Palace Museum for two years. Ph'D studies Univ. WA. Exported fresh produce two years. Back to school for chiropractic in 1983. Practiced 19 years. Sold practice. Currently chiropractic case manager for a disability management company (work comp stuff). Love tennis, watercolor painting, reading, lurking in MC. Spouse is from HK. We met in the East Asiatic Library at Berkeley --student workers. She practices law -- estate planning and real estate. Maybe we should come on down. Need tutoring in pre-Han texts - living trust anyone?
Kidding. The young one-Melina is getting married in May (www.labellamelina.com). I see Mexico in my future; my wife wants to open a tango school in China. 31st anniversary this month. Dad will be 92 soon, mom 89. So I figure maybe I got another 30 years. Did I mention kareoki?
Mark

tony

Mar 8, 2006, 7:47 AM

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Im Tony,
Born in Downey Ca in 1958. One of 7 kids. The Mexican side of my family goes way back in the
east LA area. My great grand father was a type of "sherriff" in the Mexican brick making town of Simon's.
(now is Pico Rivera) My Mom is white. I still have family in LA. Basically raised in Pittsburg Ca, a tough working
class city 45 miles east of San Fran. I have lived in Calif, bay area for most of my life. I have live in West
Oakland and in Pacific Heights and places in between (culturally speaking). I have been on the forum for
many years - 7-8 more? back in the wooly free for all days. I have been married to a Mexican woman for 15 great years,
have 2 boys. Both bilingual and dual nationality. We have been going to Mexico virtually every year for 4-8 weeks. We stay with my inlaws the
whole time. They live in the Tula, Hidalgo area. Another working class area. We insist on doing things as "Mexican"
as possible. We have traveled to many places in Mexico. My wife has a degree in tourism from the Toluca University.
We are currently having a house built near Tula. My father in law is supervising the project. We hope to have the roof on the house
by this summer - in time for us to go thru the detailing of the place when we get there. I am average bilingual.
Sincerely, Tony

"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are."

belgique

Mar 25, 2006, 8:16 AM

Post #39 of 92 (9393 views)

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Been reading and enjoying. Since you folks have helped us with ideas, we should sign in on this. Daniele is the Belgian. We met in a Chinese restaurant in Brussels while I was there for a NATO meeting several decades ago. I'm Steve...almost 65. Retired from the Army and retired a 2nd time as a contractor in the Pentagon. We owned (or it did it own us?) a Belgian Bistrot for 11 years on the outskirts of DC (Occoquan VA). Daniele made the Bistrot a huge success and worked too hard...the only chef...for a place thet could serve 40 guests and we were usually full by reservations. We had 40+ Belgian beers...I was the quality control checker for these. We sold it and retired to the NC coast. We have a self catering B&B/vacation rental there. We're now into RV'ing and hope to make our first trek SOB in the fall as a reconnaissance for moving south permanently. Why? It seems that Mexico has the charms of Europe without the prices. Thanks to all of your for your advice and counsel this past year. Steve & Daniele

Don

Mar 26, 2006, 9:15 AM

Post #40 of 92 (9241 views)

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I am 69 years old. Born in St.Louis. I lived as a child in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. Family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area during World War II. Grew up and went to schools in the bay area. Worked 15 years for the now defunct Redwood City (California) Tribune. Moved in 1968 to the Seattle area. Worked for the Seattle Times for 31 years.
Retired to Sayula, Jalisco in January 1999. Have been married 22 years. My wife was born in San Gabriel, Jalisco

Kennette

Mar 28, 2006, 11:06 AM

Post #41 of 92 (9114 views)

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Hi Everyone,
I'm Annette. My husband, Ken, and I are brand new subscribers - after a whole week of lurking. Our idiotic username is for practical reasons, rather than a need for symbiotic identity.
We're in our 50's; Ken is a New Yorker and I am a Sydney (Australia) girl. We met 5 years ago, married two years ago and my 14 year old daughter and I have been living in New York for the past almost three years. Ken is an occupational health and safety manager/specialist and I am a Special Education teacher.
So, why our interest in Mexico? I've had a love affair with all things Mexican since I first landed in Mexico City in the late 70's to visit a penpal of many years. That meeting was meant to be for a week or so but became an almost 12 month stay in San Angel, DF with extensive travelling throughout the country.
I was smitten and returned for extended periods twice after that - not an easy undertaking with no direct flights from Australia. In between times, I used to have dreams about Mexican markets, los colores, la gente, la vida! I took courses in Spanish at university level, read Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, etc etc and dreamed away . . .
Ken (who had never been to Mexico) and I spent two weeks in DF and San Miguel two years ago. I had told him of the graciousness, warmth, hospitality and common decency of the Mexican people and, true to form that they were, so he too was smitten .
So, we have decided to 'retire' early and give Mexico a go. Queretaro is now on our agenda because of the Kennedy School for our daughter and also because of its proximity to Mexico DF and San Miguel. Of course, we could go to Australia. 'Not quite' the USA; better weather, National Health Care (which means almost free doctor's visits, hospitalisation, prescription medicine etc), but have you seen what Australian real estate is worth now?
Even so, we're not economic refugees. We choose Mexico because of all it has to offer. For me, it has a vibrancy so lacking in other cultures. A rawness next to a refinement which keeps life 'on the edge' and therefore worth living. "Safety" is for prison inmates, as far as I'm concerned. And by "safety" I mean the mundane.
What we are seeking is a life in Mexico that allows us to celebrate its differences rather than yearn for what we might think we miss.
"Poor Mexico. So far from God, so near to the USA" - Octavio Paz.

prorader

Mar 29, 2006, 6:00 AM

Post #42 of 92 (9043 views)

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Hi :My name is Tim I think or it may be Jimmy, well I was born in Miami, Fl and am 59 yrs old, and spent my young tender years in an Orphanage. I escaped that and have been on my own ever since. I am Retired Army 1965-1972, 1980-1995. In my other life after Vietnam, I have been a Federal Narc, managed a men’s clothing store, repaired bottom unloader silos, and on and on. I have lived in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York City, New York State, Massachusetts, Texas, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Vietnam, and Thailand and on and on. My wife is 42 yrs old and we have been together 22 years, we have a gifted, ADDHD, 16 yr old son who has played the violin for 5 years.

We are visiting the Lake Chapala area on Jun 21 for 6 days, and if things work out will move there soon after. In 1995 when I retired, I woke up, I discovered that I don’t have to be like MIKE, I don’t have to have a new car, I don’t have to have everything that is advertised, all I have to do is be happy, have fun, and enjoy the rest of my life.

What my family brings to Mexico: My wife Janaye is an Army trained Optician, Optical Lab Tech, and is graduating from SUNY Delhi as a Veterinary Tech, she loves animals, kids, pottery, junk and general will help anyone at anytime for any reason. She plans on doing all of this in Mexico. My son Richard has always been a world’s child, being more comfortable with people from other places. He is an actor, sings, and plays, reads and writes music, listens to German and Japanese music and is a Computer freak. My job is to take care of, and to protect these 2 folks from harm as they make the world a better and happier place.

Rolly

Apr 12, 2006, 8:59 AM

Post #43 of 92 (8927 views)

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I'm bumping this back up in hopes that more folks will join in with their bios.

Rolly Pirate

norma2002

Apr 12, 2006, 6:16 PM

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I'm glad you bumped this thread back up because I didn't notice it until it had been up for a while and I thought it was over.

Anyway, I think we must be twins Rolly, because I'm also 74 (lol). I'm a divorced old (but young thinking) lady who loves Mexico. I was born in Houston, Texas, moved to California, then to Hawaii, then to Arizona, and then down here in 1993. I was fired from my first job (packing plums in northern California) because I ruined too many plums by sticking my fingernails in them accidentally on purpose; then I just had to eat them, of course! For most of my working life I was a legal secretary, working in all the states where I lived. I spent about 7 years working in Hawaii and loved it. Cried all the way back to the mainland on the plane, both because my boss had died and because I couldn't find another job to pay what I had worked up to with him (HI is so expensive I couldn't afford to take less). It's a beautiful state and I miss it; but Mexico is the next best place. I really enjoy the perfect climate and being able to grow almost any flowers I want.

One thing most people don't know about me is that I love snakes!!! When I was a teenager in the Los Angeles area, I worked every weekend at the Pike in Long Beach (an amusement park that is no longer there) exhibiting the snakes in an exhibit. I played with all of them but mostly with the constrictors. I know women are supposed to be afraid of them but I'm not.

I'm a single mother with a grown son who lives in northern California. Since raising a child by myself was difficult money-wise, I've learned to live frugally. For that reason, I don't have any trouble living here in Guad on just Social Security. I live very well, not luxuriously but comfortably. I have both American/Canadian and Mexican friends who I see frequently. I enjoy practicing my Spanish with my neighbors, playing cards with Spanish speakers and seeing English speaking movies. I still have a ways to go with my Spanish but I manage just fine. Heavens, my 2 years of Spanish in highschool was back in the dark ages and I lost it all in the interim; I'm getting it back slowly by osmosis.

Thanks again for the resurgence of this thread. It's so interesting to read about expatriates and their experiences in Mexico. I'm enjoying my retirement here and can't foresee a return to the US. I've been here long enough to think that I'm here for life!

Norma

busylizzycat

Apr 12, 2006, 8:35 PM

Post #45 of 92 (8836 views)

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I guess this is a pretty good way to coax some of us lurkers into actually posting. I've been lurking & learning for more than a year now because I've been wanting to go to Mexico for a long, long time and with retirement on the horizon, decided it would be good to hear about others' first hand experiences. My husband & I operated a business together for 10 - 12 years and ours has been a gradual retirement process as our son learned and took over the business from us. We live in a small village near the north shore of Lake Ontario in a 175 year old home which we love but is way too big for us. We have 3 grown offspring with various mates, and 5 grandchildren. We are a very close family & even tho' we are now retired we both still have interests and committments in our community, so living full-time in Mexico is not an option for us. We want to escape those depressing short, gray days in the northern winter & find that most of the places that the snowbirds(that we know) congregate are boring. When we responded to an old posting on the MexConnect forum about a house swap, we were surprised and excited when it developed into email correspondence and resulted in plans to exchange our Ontario home with a couple who live in Ajijic,(not sure whether they prefer to remain anonymous or not) for 6 weeks last autumn. Those plans had to be cancelled. Then the plan was to house-sit for 3 weeks in Jan. in Ajijic and spend another week travelling. That was cancelled when we had a medical emergency. Finally, we saw a small window of opportunity, made our reservations, booked our flights and arrived for a 2 week Mexican "taste test". We have to return to Ontario day after tomorrow but we have had a wonderful time, thanks to the unbelievable generosity of our email friends from Ajijic. We have seen places, met people, gained insights, sampled great food and had opportunities to whet our interest in the arts, crafts & culture that we could never have done on our own, especially in such a short time and with no practical knowledge of the language and customs. Our interest in Mexico & doing more travelling has been reinforced & increased, so we will keep lurking and learning. Meanwhile, it's back to Ontario to sell our house & get our new (much smaller) one built. We are hoping to find a long term rental here in Mexico that we or our family members could use when we get a chance to get away. Probably the Lake Chapala area or maybe Patzcuaro would be a good choice because of the year round climate. One way or another we will return.

DonaldEug44

Apr 13, 2006, 12:17 PM

Post #46 of 92 (8767 views)

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Decided to add my two cents worth even though I have been mainly a lurker for the past two years. I particularly enjoy Rolly's web site and his knowledge of all things Mexican. Everyone on Mexico Connect is very informative and I have learned much from just lurking and reading. Then there is Bubba. What else can you say? He is who he is and everyone loves him for it even if he does not give a s--t.

My name is Donald Smith. As I said, I have been a member of Mexico Connect for the past two years. I have never been to Mexico, unless going to Tijuana when I was in the service counts, and plan to visit in the near future. I am married to a German citizen, Katharina, and she wants no part of Mexico no matter how enthusiastic I am about the country. I think I am beginning to soften her up a bit and might get her to at least make a trip down to Lake Chapala for a look. I am 62 years old and work as a manager for The Boeing Company. I have been with them for 30 years and plan to retire in about three years, or as soon as the work is no fun anymore. My degree is in business management and I have thought about starting my own business when I leave Boeing. The closer I get to retirement the better leaving the work to the young folks and being lazy sounds.

Before I came to Boeing I lived in Los Alamos, New Mexico for several years where I was a policeman. I spent a lot of time in the Espanola, Truchas and Taos area even though I was a member of the Los Alamos police department. In that part of New Mexico law enforcement was pretty thin and we often did double and triple duty. It often got wild and wooly, especially late at night. Last I heard I still have a price on my head in Truchas, along with most of the other policemen who worked that area.

I have always wanted to go to Mexico and travel, meet the people and see the sights. I am hoping I can at least convince Kathy to do some extensive traveling in the country once I retire. My Spanish sucks so I am working my way through some computer programs trying to learn at least how to ask and say basic sentences when I get down there. I have been told, by some migrants I have met here in Washington, to forget the "Spanish" I learned in New Mexico. They tell me it is a mixture of Spanish, local Indian dialects, and a lot of words you do not repeat in respectable company. I thought I was well on my way to learning the language until they told me that. Oh well, I still have three years to learn some good words.

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. - Albert Einstein

dreamaines

Apr 20, 2006, 2:14 PM

Post #47 of 92 (8648 views)

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Thanks for this great thread, Rolly.
I've been lurking for 4 or 5 months while toying with the idea of visiting the Lake Chapala area with an eye toward living there part-time. I traveled in many parts of Mexico in the 70s & early 80s, but somehow missed the area around Guadalajara.
I am an active 71 year old (feel about 40 once I roll out of bed and have my first cup of coffee), mother of 4 daughters, grandmother to 9, great-grandmother to 4. Born in Chicago, but have lived in Oklahoma most of my life except for one fun year living in Rough and Ready, California in the mid 80s. I have been retired since 1999 as bookkeeper, sec'y, ofc manager, flunky for a real estate developer, and up-scale shopping center owner in Okla. City. I am currently living in the 6th or 7th house I've owned, renovated, then sold. This has been more of a hobby than a money maker and I have enjoyed every minute of it, but with the dramatic rise in prices on materials, I will not be re-doing any more houses.
I've traveled a bit - I've explored Hong Kong, Sydney, London & Paris by myself and I am looking forward to Guadalajara, although I think I will enlist the aid of a tour guide I saw mentioned in another thread for my first visit. I've been single since 1975 and have not had a problem traveling alone, but I often think it might be easier with a travel companion or group.
I love working with my hands. Just recently took up old-fashioned rug hooking (with wool strips, not the short pieces of yarn) and working with gourds. I had a stained glass shop in the mid 70s with another glass artist, she worked on the religious/church projects, I worked on the residential. But, I found the life of a starving artist a bit too restrictive (translation - not enough $$$ to sustain life) and had to quit to get a "real" job. I'm an avid reader, love to cook, and garden. I had several antique booths around town about 10 years ago and found eBay in 1998, where I have the same screen name. I closed my booths and have sold most of the "treasures" either on eBay or thru garage sales &/or flea markets to get rid of the burden of "stuff". There is still too much stuff in here to suit me and I'm trying to get my daughters to take most of it off my hands now instead of waiting til I'm gone. I still love to go to garage sales and flea markets, but now I'm just looking for wool clothes to tear apart or odd items to use with the gourds.
I hope I get to meet some of the regular posters on the forums when I finally get to the area. My Mothers 92 birthday is next month, so I will going to visit her before firming up my travel plans.

Rolly

May 16, 2006, 3:36 PM

Post #48 of 92 (8528 views)

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I'm bumping this back up in hopes some more people will introduce themselves.

Rolly Pirate

ignacio

May 18, 2006, 11:07 AM

Post #49 of 92 (8457 views)

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Hello, I'm Ignacio, originally born in Puebla Mexico, studied at Colegio Americano and the Jesuits' Secundaria and Preparatoria, then emigrated to the USA in 1959, when it was easy for the whole family to go with legal papers;
Finished high school in El Paso, Tx. at Christian Brothers' Cathedral H.S. (The Fighting Irish!)

Joined US Air Force in 1962-1966 (during Vietnam 'conflict') studied electronics at Keesler AFB Mississippi, Lowry AFB Colorado, and Vandenberg AFB California, worked in missile telemetry and data processing.

I got my discharge on a Friday and started working for IBM the following Monday..... worked for IBM for 34 years, until my retirement in 2000. Worked on hardware, software, and firmware, holding positions as tester, field engineer, architect, designer, ISO 9000 Auditor, micro-programmer and programmer, my last position was Advisory Programmer.

Have been retired and living here in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, for the last 6 years, and LOVE IT !

My wife's name is Alicia, she is from Veracruz, but we met in the USA and Married there 12 years ago; we have 6 children (from previous marriages) and 4 grandchildren, all living in the USA. We both hold dual citizenship and try to take advantage of this dual status both here and in the USA.

MazDee

May 18, 2006, 12:17 PM

Post #50 of 92 (8435 views)

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OK, Rolly, since you insist. I was born in Eugene OR and lived there until graduation from U of Oregon. Moved to Portland where I spent many years as a tudent financial aid officer at Portland State. Moved from there to San Francisco, then later to Novato and Vallejo (the commute kept getting worse), where I was financial aid director at California Maritime Academy. I had the opportunity to take several 12 week cruises on the school ship Golden Bear and the opportunity to see some places I would probably not have visited on my own, especially in Asia. After leaving the Academy, I owned and operate a deli for 5 year. I even tried to go to sea, but with limited success! (ferries, ocean-going tugs and dredges). I made my first visit to Mexico in the 60s (by VW beetle from Portland to Mexico City) and that is when I had my first look at Mazatlan. I returned as a tourist many times, and finally was able to retire here about 4 years ago. I will never look back! Dee

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