Bubba
Aug 17, 2004, 10:30 AM
Post #7 of 11
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Re: [Uncle Donnie] Manzanillo vs Lakeside
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Cute, UD:
Actually, the folks who think of Branson as an adventure for the hardiest among us may be right. While I have never been there, I understand that traffic is so bad during peak times that one can spend hours trying to get in to see Andy Williams. That misguided activity certainly takes some stamina. I think you are mistaken, however. People who see Branson as an adventure are more attracted to Punta Gorda trailer parks - or were. (A couple of years ago, Punta Gorda was touted as one of the top retirement destinations in the U.S. by a major magazine. Now is your opportunity to buy property there.)
Those thinking of moving to Lakeside should heed Don's warning about one important thing. The place appears to be on the verge of becoming extremely popular among both expats and Tapitios who are beginning to crowd our village and causing a run on local real estate. The physical limitations of the urban development on the north shore precludes the construction of arterial bypasses to serve what appears to be the future highly developed zone from Chapala to Jocotepec. Thus, it is almost a given that traffic from Chapala west is destined to become a nightmare as time goes by. Anyone who has driven Branson or Carmel or any other popular place with access limitations can foresee what is about to happen here. We live in West Ajijic and already take village back streets to shops in Eastern Ajijic and San Antonio but that is also a slow process over marginal and uneven stone roads.
In addition to coming traffic problems, the communities will be hard pressed to provide other infrastructural improvements to serve a much larger population and everything from increased pollution of the lake to possible water shortages may be anticipated. In parts of the United States, municipal governments in high growth areas tend to tax the developers and local citizenry to pay for needed infrastructural improvements but I don't know what will happen here where there is a more relaxed attitude toward inferior infrastructure. Don't expect any detailed environmental impact studies prior to the buliding of our first major supermarket here or those new hillside developments going up between Joco and Ajijic.
There is now a mix of Gringos here some of whom value village life and some of whom value the comfort of exclusionary gated communities. I'll bet any of you a Cheese Whopper at the new Burger King set to go up soon that, as the community develops rapidly with expats and Tapatios escaping Guadalajara, the area will attract more and more people who value exclusionary enclaves or rare beachfront properties. Wealthy Tapatios already find their campasino cousins at lakeside rustic and useful only as service providers to be disdained socially. Expats will fill up their exclusionary enclaves and become increasingly isolated from the Mexican community. These developments will inevitably lead to more stratification and misuderstanding in the community, especially as lakeside natives are squeezed out by inflated property values. Spanish will become a second language in the area as it has in places such as Cabo and Cancun.
Many expats who have been here for years find these trends distressing and will want to leave the area. Places such as Colima and Manzanillo may be choices for some. Don is right, however, that no place is as it seemed upon discovery after a few years in residence there. Both Colima and Manzanillo suffer greatly in comparison to lakeside when it comes to climate unless one is fond of heat and humidity. I do not see either of those places being overwhelmed with foreign retirees and wealthy urban escapees so maybe they are preferable to those put off by such trends despite the sultry climates. To each his own.
We are entertaining the notion of moving our summer home base to San Cristobal de las Casas and spending the winters in that part of the southern Quintana Roo coast still undeveloped or, perhaps, even Belize. That may be a pipe dream and I will miss my Burger King if we do that but everything is a trade off.
And, Don, as most of us know, heavy afternoon boozing is an option just about anywhere in North America. It's unfortunate that, no matter where one moves one moves with oneself, dragging along that damn sack of rocks.
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