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Rolly

Feb 20, 2006, 3:03 PM

Post #1 of 92 (12640 views)

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Introduce yourself -- Part 1

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This is an idea blatantly stolen from another Mexico-focus message board.
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=17&threadid=1016750&messid=8684857&STARTPAGE=1&parentid=0&from=1
Regulars were invited to post short bios so we could get to know each other better. The thread has drawn 47 posts and over 700 views.

I’d like to start such a thread here. Introduce yourselves. I’ll go first.
-----------------------------------------

At 74, I must the oldest one around here.

I moved to Mexico 6 years ago looking for a new adventure in my retirement. And I have found it – wonderful way to spend my old age. My previous uncommon adventures include being a Mormon missionary in New England, living with a band gypsies in Chicago, and living with a group of burned out hippies in a ghost town in California. I was a nomad for many years – lived in 11 states. In between these adventures I was a broadcaster – disk jockey in my college days at the U of Denver, then an engineer at TV stations. I taught broadcasting at the U of Memphis for a while. I ended up being a consulting engineer designing large-scale sound and video systems – stadiums, concert halls, TV studios, etc. Co-authored a book on electroacoustics and publish a bunch of boring papers in my professional field. Listed in Who’s Who.

My website documents my Mexican life and my interest in building. My only regrets about living in Mexico are that my Spanish is so bad and that my health problems rule out travel around the country.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

(This post was edited by Rolly on Oct 5, 2010, 12:12 PM)

drmike

Feb 20, 2006, 3:17 PM

Post #2 of 92 (12551 views)

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Good idea Rolly. You were the first to respond to my request for information, thank you. I am a 54 year old Naturopathic Physician in Tempe Arizona, planning on moving to Todos Santos. I also taught for three years at the Naturopathic Medical school here in Tempe. I've two practices with one specializing in alternative treatments of ARMD (macular degeneration) with great results, the other clinic concentrated on cancer, auto-immune diseases and liver diseases. I also visit the Bajanomad site, but they are not as friendly as this site, so I keep coming here to read all your fine posts. I have been ill since last October and see limited patients now. I went in to the office today for the first time since October. Therefore, I am seeking disability and will move to Mexico. Thanks for all the good posts and thanks to all of you who responds to my previous posts.

Dr. Mike
Dr. Mike

http://www.smarthealthchoices.blogspot.com

There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn't matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.

Hindu teaching

jerezano

Feb 20, 2006, 5:42 PM

Post #3 of 92 (12508 views)

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Re: [drmike] Introduce yourself

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Hello Rolly and compatriots,

First of all, Rolly, you are so tied into things that I am surprised you haven't noticed that you are a relative youngster. I, myself am 80, and I've noticed other posters here are well into their way to that age and I expect that we have some well into their 90's. We happy expats here in Mexico tend to live long lives. Do we have anybody over 100, and if so, can he/she attribute it to the happy, healthy, lively, life he/she is living here in Mexico Lindo?

Now as to your idea, I, personally don't like it. As you know we have a chance in our profile to include sufficient personal data to let people know about us. That should be sufficient. If not, then a private message between correspondents should handle the problem.

Secondly, can you see the clutter that all those biographies will create on this forum? David could handle that by creating a special Biographies board, but over time as members leave us (either through the aging process or by choice) that board will be a whole disc of obsolete data. How he or his successor would handle that is even a more difficult problem.

Look back at your post and the number of postings you noted on the Thorn Tree board. Do you really want that to happen here where the concentration is on Mexico, not us Mexico happy larks? I don't, and I can't believe you really do either. Please think again.

Adios. jerezano.

Ed and Fran

Feb 20, 2006, 6:10 PM

Post #4 of 92 (12493 views)

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I'm going to vote with Rolly on this one. If the intros are kept in the same thread I don't see any problem with clutter. Like Rolly I have seen this same idea on other forums that I frequent, and it has worked well there. For those who don't feel comfortable putting too much info on the web, there's no need to do any more than what you currently have (or don't have, as the case may be) in your profile.

So I guess I'm next.....

Born in Canada (actually in Newfoundland before it was part of Canada), raised in the states, and worked in a bunch of different places and countries during my career in the construction end of the refinery & petrochemical business. First came to Mexico in '92, and worked on 3 different projects here between then and 2000. Met and married Fran (who is from here in Tuxpan, Veracruz) during that time, and in '98 we started construction on a small house next to my in-laws here in Tuxpan. Retired in late 2003 and we moved here full time.

My story isn't near as interesting as Rolly's, and I never got listed in Who's Who.

Regards

Ed & Fran

Anonimo

Feb 20, 2006, 6:38 PM

Post #5 of 92 (12485 views)

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Yo, tengo 63 años. Nací en Nueva York. Mis papás nos trayeron, mi hermana y yo, a muchos lugares y ciudades de la América del Norte. Como adulto, trabajaba como panadero y cocinero por muchos años.

Vivo en Pátzcuaro, Mich, desde los fines de septiembre del año pasado. Es una regíon muy bella.
Mis intereses y pasatiempos son: cocinar, compartir la técnica y unas rectas con otras personas; escribir a mi Macintosh PowerBook; tomar fotografías, con un énfasis a la comida, sus ingredientes, su preparacíon, la presentacíon, y más.
Hago un blog, "My Mexican kitchen", y contribuyo fotos y comentarios a diversos foros.

Saludos,
Anonimo

zoeq1000

Feb 20, 2006, 6:54 PM

Post #6 of 92 (12484 views)

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Hi Guys, I am in my 50's and that's all I'm saying about that. 2 years ago, we visited PV, Guad, Morelia and the Queretaro and fell in love with it. We stayed and bought a house within days. We have been working on our house that may be a B&B some day. We got the idea as we were restoring this 300 year old house which is just a fraction of the original estate but it's pretty big. It has the perfect set-up. Since I'm a trained chef, the biz appeals to me. I love people. The Mexican people have been especially kind with their open attitudes and good hearts. Not all of them are good, of course, which we found out recently when our architect walked off the job with our money. But friends came out of the woodwork and offered help in translating, getting a crew, etc. Wow, I can't thank those enough who have helped us. I have a daughter who lives in LA and I miss her every day. But, we always say, "It's better than moving to France." And you can double that for us. Our old lives are otherwise far behind us. We feel very free.

TlxcalaClaudia

Feb 20, 2006, 7:26 PM

Post #7 of 92 (12461 views)

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Our bios:
Claudine's: 35 years old, married to a Mexican, am a computer applications and language college instructor, also in grad school (again) and homeschooling 1 child this year. We started building our house in Mexico about 5 years ago while still living NOB. In a few months we finally get to go try it out.

Felipe's: 39 years old, selling the family business among other things and considering what other biz to start next. Married to an American who keeps things interesting. Looking forward to getting back home again, for how long depends on Claudine.

Actually I (Claudine) like this thread...we read your posts often and never knew Jeranzo is 80, Ed is from Canada and Rolly wrote a book.

Claudine

johanson

Feb 20, 2006, 7:38 PM

Post #8 of 92 (12452 views)

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Re: [TlxcalaClaudia] Introduce yourself

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I'm going to cheat. If anyone is interested enough, they will have to go to

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/...tliveitupmexico.html

Don Moore

Feb 20, 2006, 7:39 PM

Post #9 of 92 (12451 views)

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I, too, like Rolly's idea. Here goes.

I am 61 years old and live in Memphis, TN, where I am partially retired and work about fifteen hours a week as a writer, editor and photograher for a weekly newspaper. Though I was born in Memphis, I have not always lived here. I am a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer English teacher (Leyte, The Philippines). I went to graduate school at Cornell University in Education and Rural Sociology, then headed West. I spent 10 years in Montana and another 10 in Boulder, Colorado. Lived in New Mexico for a couple of years, too. After serving as a Peace Corps, I took the long way home and visited numerous East Asian countries. I stayed out of Viet Nam and Cambodia because of the war. My first trip to Mexico was when I was 21 years of age, and I fell in love with the country. I have been back many times, some visits of two weeks or more, most for just a few days. I remain in Memphis now to help my elderly parents, who still live in their own home with help from myself and my sister. I'd like to be living in the American West again or in Mexico. I particularly like the Lake Chapala area, San Miguel, Tepic, little Jerez de Garcia Salinas and Merida.

I speak and understand Spanish pretty well, but not fluently.

I've been a partipant here (mostly a lurker) for a couple of years and really enjoy it except when the subject turns to U.S. politics. I have my own strong political views on most of the U.S. subjects folks get into here, but I am on this forum to learn about living in Mexico.

Thanks for all you guys have taught me.
Don Moore

Bloviator

Feb 21, 2006, 5:05 AM

Post #10 of 92 (12406 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Introduce yourself

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I'm a 70 year old newcomer to Mexico, 1 year resident of Ajijic, though visits off and on through the years to the various tourist resort areas. Born in Eastern Oregon, raised mostly in the SF Bay area, lived primarily in the Sacramento and San Diego areas, though have visited all 50 states (cheated on Hawaii, having been there only on a troop ship) and lived in Colorado, NM, Idaho, Texas, NC, and Korea.

Taught for twenty-six years and was in the equipment rental business for another twelve. I'm probably one of the few English type teachers who can tell the difference between a skiploader and a backhoe and definitely one the only equipment people who can listen to a child read for a few minutes and come up with a plan to improve her/his reading. Teaching included primarily community college (ran learning skills centers) and high school with a smattering of University and Junior High. Ended up teaching in an independent study program in Watts, Compton, South Central LA, Hollywood Blvd (runaways), and other garden spots of LA County. Since program was for kids out of school, most were gang types or young women with children. Other brief jobs, timber cruiser in Idaho, Intelligence Analyst in Korea, journeyman retail clerk to get through college, and worked five years in produce brokerage business.

Attended UC, Berkeley (BA, Grad work), U of Oregon (M.Ed) NM State, Univ. of Houston (failed Doctoral student), and a bunch of other colleges (Idaho, Appalachian State, Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, and a few community colleges).

Interests include tennis, reading, travel, gardening, working with the elderly at Casa de Ancianos in Chapala, and now MexConnect. I know I ramble on too much and probably irritate some people, but it is fascinating to make the connection with so many interesting people.

My goals in Mexico are more travel, in Mexico and elsewhere, to find a way to play more tennis, to help upgrade The Casa, and to learn to speak much better Spanish.

My one achievement so far is traveling Mexico by car from one end (Cozumel) to the other (Tijuana) and back in the last couple of months, only getting lost about ten times along the way.

(This post was edited by dlyman6500 on Feb 21, 2006, 5:31 AM)

quevedo

Feb 21, 2006, 7:16 AM

Post #11 of 92 (12370 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] La región del Lago de Pátzcuaro

Aquí en MexConnect, en el foro dedicado al idioma español (Learning Spanish), he iniciado la publicación de una serie de fotografías y comentarios sobre la región en donde usted vive. Sus comentarios serían muy apreciados.

Gracias y saludos,

Quevedo

Georgia

Feb 21, 2006, 7:30 AM

Post #12 of 92 (12360 views)

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OK, Rolly. Probably a good idea: we can perhaps be of help to one another with our various skills.

I am a 63 year old retired attorney. Purchased my home lakeside 5 years ago along with my husband, Anthony, a retired land surveyor who enjoys carpentry and fixing things. I think he's created a very dangerous neighborhood here in El Chante: he's sharpened all the neighbors' knives along with repairing furniture, building furniture, etc. etc. Talented guy.

We grew up in New York State as children - Tony lived near my grandparents in upstate New York - and were close friends all our lives. My father's job with an airlines took my family far and wide over the years. I've lived in 34 or 35 different places so far but always returned to my grandparents' farm. When I was a girl my father's work took him to Mexico City, and he took my mom and me with him when school was not in session in the 1950s and early 60s. Wow, has Mexico changed over the years!

We have 8 children living out of 10. Two of them died in 1988. For more on that, you can Google me if you are interested. Terrorism, sad to say.

Five of our children are from South America: four siblings from Colombia and one from Ecuador.

Until the 80s I taught Spanish and French. When I moved to New York getting a job with 18 years of experience was difficult, so I ended up getting my real estate broker's license and opening my own offices. When events of the late 80's changed my life, I went to law school and loved every minute of it. I worked in private practice for awhile, and was counsel to a state senator, then went to work at the NYS Tax Dept. where I was their American Indian Law expert ... also worked in sales tax matters. Great job. Loved it.

My convoluted background has resulted in having some very interesting experiences over time: a few years ago the tax department "loaned me" to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to work as a consultant of sorts on the Air India trial (an Air India flight was blown up in 1986 on a flight originating in Vancouver going to India). The RCMP guys are funny and VERY TALL. I have a photo of myself with two of them in full serge: I look like an aging midget. The Tax Department sent me to all sorts of exotic places - always off season b/c the public paid for it - so I sweltered in the summer in Tempe, Arizona where I learned about fuel oil distribution and froze in Alaska in the winter where I learned to identify counterfeit cigarettes. As I said, great job.

So, now that the kids range in age from about 20 to 45, it's my turn to kick back and let each day unfold as it will. And this is a great job, too.

Esteban

Feb 21, 2006, 8:25 AM

Post #13 of 92 (12328 views)

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I'm 19 although I look close to 60. It's been a struggle and those years of hard knocks took their toll.
Born and raised in California but then raised myself again in Oregon, Washington and again in Arizona.

Inspector for the Tucson Water Dept. before I fled to Mexico to escape the heat of the desert. They say it's dry heat but don't believe it when they say that because it has nothing to do with reality. It's like living in front of a blowtorch.

I studied Theater Arts at Humboldt State but couldn't find a job after school.
Surprising eh? I was always hungry at that school.

Divorced, living alone and looking for a LTR.

My ideal woman?

The perfect woman. She likes to make love but not cuddle.
She drinks beer. She doesn't care what I do. She accepts that I'm a liar.
And of course, she wants to spend the rest of her life in Mexico!

PM me for personal info.

(This post was edited by Esteban on Feb 21, 2006, 8:48 AM)

toddmc

Feb 21, 2006, 9:26 AM

Post #14 of 92 (12298 views)

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Hello

My name is Todd McIntosh and my wife (to be) and I will be moving to Morelia
sometime between now and the fall of this year

I wouldn't risk my life by stating my wifes age in public (no matter how young we are), but our average age is 47.

We have visited Morelia for the last 2 years. My wife is retiring, and
I will still be working.
I will be telecommuting to my job here in Vancouver BC.

Our plan is as follows, study Spanish for 6 months and explore
Morelia, Patzcuaro and see if this is where we want to be.
During this time we will also check out some other areas that
interested us as well. Areas that we have visited and are interested
in are San Lois Potosi, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and San Miguel.

After six month evaluate the following:

Do we still like Morelia (or Mexico for that matter) when its not a
vacation?
Does Morelia like us?
Is it time to look at buying a place or keep renting.
The growth of our Spanish language skills.

While we expect to spend the rest of our lives in Mexico, we feel we have to be realistic
and understand that living here is different from the trips we have taken in the past.
We think that if we don't set the right expectation we will set our selves up to be dissapointed.

While there will be many other factors involved, it does give you a
general idea of our plan.

A little about us.

Shannon has worked in the cosmetic industry for many years. the last
few in the retail sector.
I work in sales and marketing.
We have been together for about 17 years, having met in the casino
industry when we were both roulette dealers. We are actually and finally getting married.
We have a great sense of humor and take very little seriously.
A good example of that is we plan to get married in Las Vegas by Elvis on April first!

We are avid readers,both really big on sci-fi. We enjoy a broad range
of music, and I am especially a fan of Jazz.
Shannon paints watercolours, and I enjoy Photography

Just wanted to give you a quick overview, as we will be eavesdropping
on your conversation and pestering you with questions.

Thanks

Todd

*************************
Our new life in Patzcuaro: http://lifeinthecorazon.blogspot.com

(This post was edited by toddmc on Feb 21, 2006, 9:28 AM)

Gayla

Feb 21, 2006, 10:21 AM

Post #15 of 92 (12277 views)

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Rolly, what a fun thread, I'll play too. I'm a comparative youngster at 52 ;-)

I was born and raised in San Diego, CA, but have migrated up and down the State of California for the last 30+ years including 17 years in the greater Los Angeles basin and 10 years in the Bay Area, Marin County to be exact. I moved back to San Diego shortly after 9/11 to assume some parental care responsibilities that will likely keep me here until my mom and anunt acutally pass, which they presently don't show any signs of considering.

Many years ago I was engaged to a man who owned a house in Cantamar which is about 15 minutes south of Rosarito Beach in Baja. It was just about the perfect weekend getaway. When we split up, I wasn't sorry to loose him, but I was sorry not to have his beach house still available to me. Worse still, one of his parting comments was "you'll never go to Mexico again without me". Fighting words if I ever heard any. Less than a year later I found myself going to language school in Cuernavaca and living with a Mexican family. It was without a doubt a pivotal experience for me in more ways than one. I still have a perfectly vivid recollection of sitting at the table for cena my first night and being somewhat in culture shock. Central Mexico wass decidedly not Baja. At that moment I was being confronted by a strange looking fruit stuck on the end of a fork. One of the other students noticed my look of puzzlement and told me to take a bite that I would find it refreshing. I did and found a mouthful of seeds. I must have looked startled because she laughed and told me to "just swallow the seeds won't hurt you". Thus, was my introduction to tunas and Mexico in general; the metaphore was not lost on me. I may have gone to central Mexico out of anger and spite but I discovered so much more and started down a path I have never regretted. I came back from my experience in Cuernavaca and enrolled in graduate school at UCLA to get a Master's in Latin American Studies. It is a multidisciplinary program in which you choose 3 areas of specialty. Mine were Anthropology, History and Folk Lore focusing primarily on MesoAmerica.

Life intervened and one of my coastal migrations took place and my accessibility to Mexico waned for a number of years. Luckily, life isn't static and Mexico reentered by life in a big way about 4 years ago and I haven't looked back. I've been a serious collector of Mexican folk art for a number of years and have been delighted to watch my collect grow over the last couple of years. There's a store (over priced, but good quality) called Carapan in Monterrey that is exceptionally dangerous for me...............I also collect Mexican cookbooks in English or Spanish and am looking to add the CONACULTA series. And since I really do cook, I've also found the time to cook with some pretty well known Mexican chefs and culinary specialists, including Diana Kennedy, Rick Bayless, Susana Trilling, Ricardo Munoz and Roberto Santibanez. Turn me loose in a Mexican market and there is no telling what I'll come out with. I adore the full on frontal assault on all the senses.

I've spent 30 years in some segment of the food industry including heading up multi-unit operations with up to 500 employees and a $13+ million budget. I am currently the Director of Food Service for the San Diego Community College District and have been charged with turning around a program that has lost significant sums of money over the last 20 years. Last year we managed to abate $400,000 of the annual $500,000, though break even is still at least 2 years away <sigh> A recipe for burn out if there ever was one, and more reason to keep traveling in Mexico. I recently made the mistake of perusing the real estate listings for Morelia and Patzcuaro and found too many enticing options. Someone please stop me before I think opening a B&B/cooking school is too wonderful an idea to pass up <yikes>

And lastly, I am a semi-practicing astrologer, semi-practicing only because I don't make my living at it, but I could if I were motivated enough to do so. Astrology is an ancient and elegant language steeped in archetype and symbolism and capable of providing a tremendous amount of personal insight.

With age comes wisdom, I suspect a move to Mexico will also come as well.

dougakin

Feb 21, 2006, 2:23 PM

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I am 59 years old and have been a member of MC for over a year as a lurker. This is my first post. I am retired from the Indian Health Service (US Public Health Service) and have worked on American Indian Reservations throughout the west. I am originally from Pueblo, Colorado but have lived the last 11 years in Reno, Nevada. I have traveled to many locations in Mexico and love the country and people. I recently sold my house and plan to move to Mazatlan, Sinaloa by May 1st of this year. I am ready for a change in my life. My goal is to enroll in a Spanish language school in Mazatlan. If Mazatlan doesn't work out, then I will try another part of Mexico. I have learned much from MC which should make my move to Mexico much easier.

Jean

Feb 21, 2006, 3:43 PM

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I;m Jean and I'm 57. We first moved to Mexico in 2000 sight unseen and with no home. It was such a feeling of freedom to leave all the old stuff behind and start anew in an exciting new country. After 3 years the better half wanted to move back to Canada so we landed in British Columba. Tried the coast, the mountain and then the Canadian desert. Over the last two years we have missed Mexico, the weather and our friends and now the other half agrees...go back home to Mexico. So we sold the house yesterday, close on March 31 and April 1 we are on our way back.

We both work on the internet so we can live anywhere in the world as long as we have internet access. I am also teaching aquafit and may do that in Mexico.

My mother died last year and two members of Gary's family had cancer in January and it all has a way of putting things in perspective. We are not happy back here and so we will go back to what we miss...Mexico.

I have a daughter in Ontario and another who lives in Bermuda. Our children now are the animals. With easy air travel out of Guad, trips to see them are no problem.

We can't wait to get back to our Mexican home.

Jean
Retirement Communities
http://www.retirecommunities.com

CCarol

Feb 21, 2006, 4:08 PM

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I've really enjoyed this thread....what a fun read!

I'm 65 and have been retired since Jan. 1, 2003 and I've loved every minute of it. I was born in St. Louis and raised in several small Missouri towns. When I was a teen, my folks moved us to Hawthorne in So. California. BIG change from Missouri in 1957. I met Bob and we married 4 months later in 1958. We've lived in Stockton CA, still have lots of relatives in that area of Sacramento, Manteca and Fresno. We have 3 children ages 47,44,& 37. They've blessed us with 9 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren and another on the way! What a brood!!

We moved to Coeur d' Alene Idaho in 1978 and we do love this area (most of the time :>) It would be wonderful to get away during the winter months though. And, somewhere in Mexico (still researching on Ajijic, Guad, SMDA, Cuernavaca and a few others) would be great to settle in for about 3 months.

My hubby can do all phases of building and worked for almost 40 years in the glass industry. I'm a registered nurse and specialized in psychiatric/mental health (see I could help ya all with those depressing days!). After I decided I was too old at 53 to keep wrestling down those 240 pound violent manics, I took a nursing job pushing a pencil. Best move I ever made! Worked for the State of Idaho in the Health & Welfare Department, managing the Medicaid program. That was a really fun job. But at 62 I decided it was time to throw in the towel....another good move!

Now I dream of the day we can come check out Mexico. Our oldest son was a missionary in Leon, Papantla, Poza Rica and Aguas Calientes for several years. We have 2 grandchildren who were born in Mexico during their time there. I was able to visit some of those cities last May and I really love the culture, people, food, and about everything I've seen and experienced. I'd just like to spend a little more time there.......soon!

MexConnect is the closest I can get for now and I receive so much from all of your posts. It's my cup of tea every day!
Carol

"Be kind, for everyone you know is facing a great battle." (Philo of Alexandria)

wendy devlin

Feb 21, 2006, 5:20 PM

Post #19 of 92 (12138 views)

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Esteban, wipe your mouth off!

There's a little BS showing around your lips:)

52, married for twenty-five years, grandmother to Naquito, 4 who lives with us on our ranchito in Canada.

Soft spot for older men like Rolly...
Fascinated by liars, curmudgeons;
... fond of amables, simpaticos y capaz
...on this forum and en realidad.

(This post was edited by wendy devlin on Feb 21, 2006, 5:22 PM)

waltw

Feb 21, 2006, 6:34 PM

Post #20 of 92 (12102 views)

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My name is Walt and I'm 44.
Worked as a journalist until 26.
Saved $4500 from my meager wages
Opted to "retire" to Mexico for 1 1/2 years, back in 89' eventually settling in Oaxaca City.
Met and married wife, who is from Oaxaca.
Moved back to the US.
Got a real job.
Had kids
Will be moving back to Oaxaca this summer and telecommuting from there.

Enjoy lurking around MexConnect and learning from all you smart and entertaining people.

roni_smith

Feb 21, 2006, 6:51 PM

Post #21 of 92 (12093 views)

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Hi, I'm Ron. I am 54 years old and live in Portland, OR - and have for the past 5 years. My wife is 51 years old. I have also lived in Missouri, Illinois, Brasil and California. The Brasil part was when I was a child, moving back to the states when I was 15. In 2003 we went on vacation to the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan peninsula. We enjoyed it, spending a week split between the beach near Tulum and in Playa del Carmen. We returned for a couple of weeks in December of 2004, staying on Isla de Mujeres and Playa.

On the second trip we rented a condo in a 8-unit building in a residential section a few blocks from the beach. It was a mixed ex-pat and Mexican area. We shopped at the supermarket and at a small verdura and fruteria and spent more time away from the typically tourist areas than we did on our first trip. The seed was planted, and we have been talking about and planning further exploration.

In April we are traveling to Guadalajara and spending 5 nights at Lake Chapala and then have another 6 nights to plan. Among the leading candidates are a couple of days in San Miguel and a couple of days at Melaque before heading back to Guadalajara for the flight back to Portland. We are planning to move to Mexico, most likely during the spring of 2010 unless we can figure a way to move that up some. Kathy is starting Spanish classes this spring and I plan to take some conversational Spanish classes to improve my vocabulary. I am comfortable in Spanish, no where near fluent, but not afraid to be in situations where no one speaks English.

Over the next few years we will explore some other locales in Mexico. I have started doing some writing about our plans to document stuff as it happens rather than from memory. This writing can be found on a blog I started recently - there is a link in my sig. The most recent entries feature some on-line resources, including MexConnect and Rolly's wonderful website has its own entry :).

Thanks for starting this thread. I am enjoying it.

Oh, a bit about the type of work we do. I am a researcher at a community college - doing student success research, state and federal reporting, market research, supporting academic program review and answering questions posed by the college's leaders. Kathy is a publication designer and graphic artist at the community college that is just south of the one I work at.

Ron
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Planning for Mexico Move Blog

Bluegirl

Feb 22, 2006, 8:21 AM

Post #22 of 92 (12007 views)

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OK, now is my opportunity to come out of the closet. I have been lurking here for several months.

My husband and I are both 50 and live in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. I grew up in Louisiana and have lived most of my adult life in Florida, with the exception of 3 years in Sandpoint, Idaho. He grew up in Maryland and has lived in New Orleans and Santa Rosa Beach. I have a landscaping business and my husband works in the southern gulf of mexico for a company than contracts with pemex.

We have been traveling to Mexico for years and drove for the first time in January. We plan two more trips within the year and will move to mexico in the spring of 2007. My husband, William is already in Mexico for the major part of the year. At this point we are planning on living in Puerto Escondido.

The information on this forum was very helpful during our trip in January. Thanks for the help.

Bluegirl

Ivester

Feb 22, 2006, 11:02 AM

Post #23 of 92 (11967 views)

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My wife is an artist (www.picturetrail.com/hedgeapplecraft), and I'm managing editor at the University of Tennessee Press (www.utpress.org). Thanks to some good real estate investments, we might be able to manage early retirement within the next few years, and we're trying to decide between Amelia Island, Florida, where we own some property, and a couple of possibilities in Mexico.

We're in our mid-50s and have visited Mexico several times: once on a day trip to Tijuana, once for a week in Cancun, a couple of times for stops on cruises (Cozumel and the coast south of Cancun). Last year we spent ten days in Guanajuato City. (We've also been on an extended vacation in Costa Rica and, while it's a lovely country, we prefer the distinctive mixed culture of Mexico.) My wife grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and speaks Spanish quite well. I'm now slightly above the cerveza-por-favor level, but not much. I know that's something I'll need to take care of if we decide to make any kind of long-term commitment to Mexico.

A friend goes to Guanajuato City every year for a couple of weeks to chill out with an old college roommate, and she encouraged us to take a look at the city. Last summer we did, and we both loved the place, although we could see some problems in considering long-term living there, especially the physical layout, which makes it picturesque but not so easy on aging joints. On the same trip, we spent a day in San Miguel de Allende, and it looked like a better possibility for retirement, although all the publicity it's getting seems to be driving up the real estate prices considerably.

This year--next month, in fact--we're going to be spending nine days exploring the Chapala/Ajijic area while celebrating our 25th anniversary. I hope we can come to some kind of decision on where to retire soon, but the process of doing the research is quite enjoyable!

I hope we can meet some of the folks from the forum during our stay.

Gary Anderson

Feb 22, 2006, 1:31 PM

Post #24 of 92 (11930 views)

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OK, this could be fun.

I'm 64, retired 5 years ago as a production manager at a large pulp & paper complex in Washington state, where I was born and raised, and have lived in Ajijic for coming up on 3 years after visiting here for the 3 years prior to that. Attended the University of Washington (engineering), played a little football while there, joined the Navy upon graduation, dropped lots of bombs on people who never did anything to me, flunked my physical, (eyesight, thank God for small favors), bailed, attended law school at the University of Oregon, hated every second of it, worked in a prosecutor's office for a couple years, hated that, too, went back to engineering, liked that and stuck with it, a career that enabled me to see every state in the US at one time or another over a 30-year span and to teach process control system design at the community college level as well, when I wasn't off somewhere on a troubleshooting assignment at the behest of the company for which I worked. I've lived in Vancouver, Ridgefield, Seattle, Longview and Whidby Island in Washington, Pensacola, FL, San Diego and Honolulu, then Eugene and Portland in Oregon, upstate New York, Memphis, Cincinnatti, briefly in the Bay Area, back to Longview, WA, and now here in Ajijic. If nothing else, it's been an interesting road, at least to me.

Interests include old sports cars - I'm slowly restoring a '63 Porsche which resides with my daughter in WA - golf, music, guitars, reading, photography, fishing on the Costalegre, travel, quaffing the occasional XX Lager with mis amigos at Tom's, and taking cheap shots at conservatives (they're such easy targets), among many other things.

As for the future, bring it on. I'm in the beginning stages of planning an extended trip to South America, and would also like to go back to SE Asia someday just to see what such places as Bangkok and Hong Kong and Manila and Singapore look like now after all these years.

GA
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"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22 . . . ." - Joseph Heller

Elaine

Feb 23, 2006, 9:32 AM

Post #25 of 92 (12528 views)

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Hi, I'm 58 and proud of every day of it. (Cancer survivor.) I'm retired from MaBell because of disabilities. Take my advice, don't fall down metal staircases, not fun. I just ignore my aches and pains and get away with it unless I forget my meds.

I was born and raised in SW Oklahoma. Lived in; the Far East, California, Texas, Georgia, Washington D.C., Arkansas. Liked the Far East the best. I like to write, sew and travel.

I have a wonderful, most of the time, husband, two children, four grandchildren, and two Boston Terrier girls.

I always look for the humor in life, the positives rather than lamenting on what I have no control over. Life is too short to be grouchy!

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When one door closes, another opens. Some people are so busy looking at the door that has closed, they don't see the door that has opened. Keep looking for those open doors.
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