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elcomputo

Oct 3, 2003, 11:08 PM

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Best Places for Coop Living

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A fellow expat and I are thinking about the possibility of setting up a cooperative living arrangement for people like us -- retirees getting by on very limited income. This would require either a rather large house or an estate with several living units on it. We would rent the place as a group on a long-term arrangement and thereby keep our individual outlays to a minimum. Whether we would want to extend the cooperation to communal meals and such would be decided by the group.

What we need to know is where to locate this coop. Both of us are familiar with San Miguel de Allende, but not with Lake Chapala. Though expensive, SMA is not outside the realm of possibility as a location. We know that it possesses several qualities we like: temperate weather all year round, a good transportation system, beautiful location, and a reasonable amount of culture and entertainment. It also has a strong English-speaking support network, which is nice, but not absolutely necessary to our arrangement.

So, how about telling us about the area where you live? Are there large houses or ranches that could be rented at reasonable rates? Is the climate nice? (Not hot and humid, thanks.) Is it within 15 hours, by bus, of the border? Is there a university campus there? Theaters? Movies? A symphony orchestra? What does the place have that appeals to you?

Thanks for your help.

Martin

ziret

Oct 4, 2003, 11:40 AM

Post #2 of 20 (1508 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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I have been thinking of coop living myself. Would you mind telling us more, and keeping me posted on your progress? I vote for Patzcuaro.

Marlene

Oct 4, 2003, 10:24 PM

Post #3 of 20 (1479 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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Mazatlan sounds perfect to me! The border is your required distance away - straight North. Easy to set up a business, flexible rental situations, easy going people. Living by the ocean - who could want anything more? Great idea. Go for it.

pathall

Oct 5, 2003, 8:18 AM

Post #4 of 20 (1458 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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I'd be very interested in coop living in San Miguel.

elcomputo

Oct 5, 2003, 12:52 PM

Post #5 of 20 (1435 views)

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Re: [ziret] Best Places for Coop Living

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Actually, my cohort in this venture has had more experience in coop organization and living, and I'm going to try to convince her to come up with a complete "white paper" to explain what we have in mind. Once she does, she will send it privately to everyone who has responded to our post. She is also a member of Mexico Connect.

I can tell you that we are giving ourselves more than 6 months to come up with a geographic location and a potential place to rent. (The area has to have in existance some large, livable facilities.)

Meanwhile, I can tell you that Patzcuaro is on our list of places to scope out. Please tell us why you would choose this town.

Martin

elcomputo

Oct 5, 2003, 1:07 PM

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Re: [Mazatleca] Best Places for Coop Living

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But doesn't Mazatlan get pretty steamy in the summer? And the trip straight north has to be made by plane or boat to Florida, right? How does the cost of that compare to the low cost of taking an overnight bus to Texas?

How flexible are the rents there? What would a place that could house 6 - 12 people rent for?

This is the kind of information we need to make an informed decision. I'm glad you added the part about ease of setting up a business. Though there are probably not many retirees living on small pensions who would have the capital to do so, some might be interested in setting up a low-investment venture.

We could also add opportunities for community involvement, but I think those exist everywhere in Mexico.

Martin

Rolly

Oct 5, 2003, 2:25 PM

Post #7 of 20 (1421 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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25 or 30 years ago, I tried group living in two different places. Once in an abandoned health spa (Byron Hot Springs) in the California desert where each family, couple or single had a separate house. In the other case several groups shared a single house. For me, the separate facility scheme worked a lot better. I would never go back into a single house situation again. The tensions grow too great too quickly.

I wish you well -- it could be a great adventure. My sojourn at Byron was one of my truly memorable adventures.

Rolly Pirate

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

esperanza

Oct 5, 2003, 3:09 PM

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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Straight north of Mazatlán is Arizona...

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

karla659

Oct 13, 2003, 12:16 PM

Post #9 of 20 (1329 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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Hi Elcomputo:

I would be interested in hearing more about this, could you please keep me posted?

Thanks.

jlk_911@lycos.com

yogajody

Nov 20, 2003, 5:49 PM

Post #10 of 20 (1238 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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I would also be interested in a coop living situation. After doing a fair amount of research on the internet, Lake Chapala area seems like a good location. Please keep me posted. I am planning on visiting Lake Chapala and SMA after1/1/04. yogajody

elcomputo

Nov 20, 2003, 8:14 PM

Post #11 of 20 (1221 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Best Places for Coop Living

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Ooops! Sorry about that. I'm geographically impaired. We will put Mazatlan on our list.

Don

Nov 28, 2003, 6:31 PM

Post #12 of 20 (1135 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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Don't know about co-op living, but I know a woman in Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco that is thinking about renting out 4 upstairs bedrooms (boarding house style). She has a very modern house about 5 blocks from the town plaza.Very nice neighborhood. Each room is excellently furnished and has nice closets and T.V.'s. Two rooms have private baths and two rooms share a bath. One room has a small outside balcony. The home is very secure. She has a hot tub and a sauna. She was born in Mexico, but is fluent in English. She lives in the downstairs bedroom. She lived in the U.S. for many years and owned restaurants. All her children live in the U.S. and she visits them every year. They own Mexican restaurants in the S.F. bay area and Washington State. Ciudad Guzman in a town of about 100,000 and has new car dealerships, shopping malls, hospitals, colleges and has all the necessary stores for shopping within the town. It is about a 1 hr 15 minute drive to Guadalajara and about 1 hr to Colima, Colima. She has a girl that cleans the house and a washer, dryer and all the other kitchen appliance. She will rent for about $450.00 U.S. per month. (Not sure of the price), and that includes meals, utilities (not sure about how she will handle long distance phone calls.), etc. If interested, let me know and I can put you in touch with her for all the correct details and to see if she is still interested in doing this. I am not sure how she will handle couples, price wise.

(This post was edited by Don on Nov 28, 2003, 6:33 PM)

elcomputo

Nov 29, 2003, 1:06 PM

Post #13 of 20 (1089 views)

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Re: [Don] Best Places for Coop Living

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Thanks for the tip. We are at least six months from even deciding the best place in Mexico to settle, so we're not going to be renting any time soon. Also, I think we may want to take Rolly's advice and go for a place with separate living units rather than separate bedrooms.

jrice

Nov 29, 2003, 10:39 PM

Post #14 of 20 (1065 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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If you get toward the purchase stage, you should check with an attorney. The term cooperative has a very definite meaning in Mexican states, as it does in the United States, and that can affect the ability to sell or purchase property on grounds considered cooperative.

I once dropped out of an attempt to purchase a cooperative apartment because of the complexities.

Beyond that, I suspect that the cooperative legalities are not the operative factor in where you settle -- it's the area and the ability to find what you are looking for.

A 15 hour bus ride can start to cost almost as much as a 2 hour plane ride. Prices for property are often a bit lower in southern Mexico. You might at least toy with the idea of a place such as Jalapa (Coatepec? Xico?), Queretaro (Tequisquiapan? Bernal?) , the Cuernavaca region (the city itself would probably be too costly).

There are probably scores of interesting places. But it would be good to wander yourself and get an idea of what appeals to you.

Carol Schmidt

Nov 30, 2003, 9:14 PM

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Co-op or communal living cam be very difficult

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As an old hippie, I tried living in two communes in the early '70s and both experiences were disasters. You have to be really carefully matched in terms of income (both the richer and the poorer members of a group living situation will become resentful of different expectations and purchasing), lifestyles (early risers vs. night owls, loud rock radio players vs. quiet folks, slobs vs. neatniks, pets and pet haters, vegetarians who get nauseous at the smell of meat, etc.) It's worse than picking a suitable spouse--you don't have love to carry you through the rough spots of living together. The older you are the more set in your ways you become so it's not like being thrown together in a college dorm where everyone is fairly flexible and focused elsewhere anyway.

A co-op apt. does have definite legal meanings in the U.S. and I read above that it does here, too. In my experience with one in 1966 in Detroit, my cheap apt went co-op and I had to come up with $500 then, when I was making $100 a week, and then there was suddenly this homeowner board for the co-op--I hate homeowner associations of any kind after terrible experiences with two of them When I decided to move to LA I thought I was getting my $500 back from the co-op association but I never did. Again, the people living in the co-op had different expectations for the housing situation than I did.

Living with anyone else can be tricky! Think carefully before you commit any money or get into anything you can't easily get out of. Even living next door to another couple and having expectations on sharing expenses or whatever can still be difficult. I know someone in SMA who came down with a good friend and they first had a shared apt., then got two apts next to each other, and now are moving completely away from each other.

Sounds like you are taking your time and getting lots of info before making any moves, which is good.

Carol Schmidt

elcomputo

Nov 30, 2003, 10:15 PM

Post #16 of 20 (1012 views)

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Re: [jrice] Best Places for Coop Living

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If we actually end up getting into this adventure, I don't foresee buying any property. I would hope we could find something on a long-term rental that would be big enough to house several individuals or couples but cheap enough that two expats could live there reasonably cheaply. Except for the two expats signing the lease, everyone else would be free to come, stay, or go. It would be something like a cross between a youth hostel without the youth and a residence hotel. But even this is subject to debate and change.

mjr234

Dec 4, 2003, 5:41 PM

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Re: [elcomputo] Best Places for Coop Living

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Progreso-Puerto Progreso outside of Merida merits a look. If the ferry from Florida stays in operation, it is the closest spot to the east coast. I liked it when I was there and it had a number of casas and haciendas available for winter rental, as the local owners found the beach too cold at 70 degrees or so. Merida has universities, hospitals, a zoo, archeological sites, chicken lime soup [the name of which escapes me], museums, art galleries and sadly enough, the tourist train excursion is probably now no more. Castro Pacheco's art is prominently displayed, one of my favourites. The black bean soup is incredible and the history of henequin enlightening. If I write anymore I will go buy a ticket and return tomorrow, so adios, Michael in Ottawa.

elcomputo

Dec 4, 2003, 7:58 PM

Post #18 of 20 (942 views)

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