My family and I live in Mexico, in the small village of Ajijic on the shores of Lake Chapala. We rent a house that comes with a maid, which is the norm in Mexico. Last year, Amelia was our maid and she quickly became an integral part of our household. On her birthday, we try […]
Continue ReadingMexico Notes We get out of town, skipping the tianguis of Ajijic. It was just … time to leave. Journal, June 4, 2003 We pile into the packed car once again. Destination: Pátzcuaro, via Morelia. The drive is cool upon the skin, amidst mountains and water. It is good to move on, I reflect, […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico Every once in a while, I get an email from a reader who asks, “What are the down sides of living at Lakeside?” Normally, I have to scratch my head and think a bit, but once in a while, I get a week like this one and it […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico Two of my life-long friends from California have been visiting with me the past two weeks. This is Marcy’s third visit. It’s Nancy’s first. I’m always nervous about first-time visitors. Will they see Mexico the way I do? Can they get past the poverty to see the beauty […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico Let’s start at the beginning. The five most commonly asked questions before I came to Mexico were: Why not stay in California and retire? Won’t you miss your friends and family? Will you be safe? What if there’s a medical emergency? What are you going to do with […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico Most expats here keep the majority of their money in Canada or the States; however, because of the recent peso devaluation, interest rates are high in the bank–33% last week. The money I do have here, I keep at Lloyds in a thirty-day account. Every month, like clockwork, […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico These next two columns will share some dubious gems of wisdom, organized alphabetically. My editor (are you listening, David?), limits the number of words for each column, so you’ll have to wait until next month for the M-Z section. It’s avocado season and my neighbor’s huge tree extends […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico I fussed unnecessarily, before moving to Mexico, worrying about how I would continue with my education, with no grasp of the Spanish language. Why unnecessarily? Because I came just before we were able to get local Internet access. In California, I actually didn’t complete my undergraduate until I […]
Continue ReadingA Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico After Lyn and I left Oaxaca, we drove northeast to Puebla, skirted around Mexico City and spent two and a half days in Querétaro. It’s been less than two months since we made the trip, but at my age, memory fades rapidly. Although we liked Puebla, it isn’t […]
Continue ReadingBack in the previous century, at about the time Albert Gore was inventing the internet, clean air, space stations and probably diet Coke, we got hooked on Lake Chapala. This was an era when Gordon Weaver had his literary license in the name of Michael Scott Long and used the word “paradise” to describe the […]
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