We went back to Colorado for the summer in 2009, and ended up buying a cute little house from a long-time friend. We came back to Mexico and took lots of time to consider whether to keep our Mexican house as well. But ultimately, we both felt that a bi-locational lifestyle of half Mexico and half the US was not for us. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats, and we are very much into simple, sustainable living (link to my website on the topic).

So, with some considerable sadness but also with a sense that we’d made the best decision, we sold the Mexican house. We listed it with local realtors, showed it, took an offer, and closed on it, all in about three months! The new owner wasn’t coming to Lake Chapala right away, and by arrangement with her, we lived in the house for several months, till spring 2010. Then we made the long trek back to Colorado with our pets. I’m writing this now from Colorado.

Mexico in our Future

We both still love Mexico and the Mexican people, and we expect to continue our ties. We are thinking that we could have petsitters for a couple of months in the chilly deep winter in Colorado, fly down to Lake Chapala, and rent a place in Ajijic. We could explore other parts of Mexico too. We’ll see!

There’s a poem by Robert Frost we’ve thought of a lot. It begins,

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim…

Why Did We Sell Our Mexican House? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

We hadn’t been in the US for almost a year when we flew to Denver about six weeks ago. We changed planes in Phoenix and once we figured our connection out (not too hard), we had some spare time to watch people. It was like a speeded-up movie, people darting everywhere.

There was less eye contact than I’m used to with strangers in Mexico, partly because an astonishing percentage of people were talking on their cellphones. Seems like that’s how many of the younger ones cope with life, by staying in touch with people they know on their phones. I hope Dr. Mercola is wrong about the connection between cellphones and brain tumors. (It may not be on his homepage, but use the search box and you will find a lot.)

Kelly used the phrase “lonely isolation” to describe how American towns seem to him after living in the more densely populated Mexican towns, where there are more people walking down the street. I didn’t actually feel that, but I saw what he meant.

We are both having sticker shock in the grocery stores. Produce is 3 to 5 times what we’d pay in Mexico, by and large. We haven’t been buying avacados, just can’t bring ourselves to get inferior ones for a stiff price! But I have eaten tons of blueberries! And the fresh corn, ah, so sweet… yes, I know it’s genetically modified.

People are running into hard times, no doubt about it. Most of our friends are just fine, happily. Life is going on, kids are growing up to the point that I haven’t recognized some of the suave teenagers as the little kids I knew just a few years ago!

We are enjoying easy access to Netflicks and Amazon. And it’s fun to get mail again, haven’t done that in years.

Best of all, for me, has been the warm welcome of so many people in the town where we lived for a decade before moving to Mexico in 2005. I always feel like a guest in Mexico, though certainly a welcome one. Here I am enjoying being one of the locals.

How the US Looks, After Living in Mexico is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

But  I’m setting up a whole bunch of articles that will automatically appear, every Friday. A friend of mine has written two about being a gay foreigner in Mexico, and she’s also written one about how surprisingly safe she and her partner felt as tourists in Mexico City. Intrepid travelers,  they were in Southeast Asia last year, and she’s written another about Mexico vs. Thailand as places to live. I have written several articles myself, and expect to write about my impressions of the US while I am there.

Leaving a Home in Mexico

It’s not a simple thing to leave your home here — specially if you have a yard, a garden, a pool, pets, or security concerns. We  have all five!

Yard, garden, and pool: the fact that we will be gone during the rainy season will make it easier on our pool guy and gardener, Roberto. Luckily he lives not far away, as he may need to check in here more frequently than he does normally. He has a large family so they can enjoy all the veggies in season!

Pets: A Canadian friend of ours will be living in the house, sleeping here every night. She knows the dogs already. Our cats are quite timid with strangers but I’m sure they will warm up to her. I will show her the cat toys! When she does go out for a while, the dogs will be in their usual spots, though at first they will probably hang out by the front gate for a few days. That’s what we’ve been told they do when we leave… oooh, this is the hardest part!

Security: I’ve written in the past that we have had a few incidents in our yard, though happily never in our house. We raised our one low wall and put sharp glass on it some time ago, we’ve beefed up the front gate, and we now have two good guard dogs — one makes up for being medium sized by being a darn good barker (sometimes too much!) and the other is a Rottweiler. Our neighborhood is generally pretty quiet, and we have quite a few friends nearby, both Mexican and foreign. So that’s handled as well as can be.

Spending Time in the U.S.

This should be interesting. It’s one thing to read the news about life up north and it will be quite another to see if our friends have been affected, and if so, how. We look forward to getting our own sense of things in a way that we can’t do from here. Most of the time, we will be based in a little place we have already rented, in the small town in Colorado where we lived for ten years before coming here.

We are not biological grandparents, but our little ahijada – goddaughter — lives there. Now three and a half, she and her younger sister were adopted here. They’ve been gone for over a year and we have sorely missed them. We expect to spend a lot of time with them. I doubt the 20-month-old will really recognize us immediately, but I lugged her around a lot in her first months, so my feel and voice may somehow ring a bell…

I will be glad to be in the US for a while, and to get a break from living in this really very different society. It does take attention!

Off to the US is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

4 Comments from the old blog:

• At February 28, 2009 6:07 PM,  Anonymous said…

  I, too am hoping to relocate to Lake Chapala soon, but as a single woman my family has voiced their concerns for safety, pointing out news reports of recent crime waves with kidnappings & murders. Common sense needs to prevail, however: it is akin to saying, “Don’t go to the United States!” because there is alot of crime & murder in L.A. and New York. The statistics refer to border towns primarily & this due to drug cartels. Most areas of the country are at least as safe as elsewhere in N. America that aren’t swarming with gangs and druglords. Common sense should also tell you to keep certain aspects of your situation between yourself & those you know & trust; don’t make public that you are a single woman living alone, have lots of money, wealthy relatives, whatever could put you at risk or make you a target. Sadly, these days that applies anywhere in the world, not just Mexico.

• At March 01, 2009 8:22 PM,  Rosana Hart said…

  Thanks for your comments and I have a bit more to add.

  To the questioner: Yesterday, after I posted this, I happened to be chatting with a Mexican man I know here. I respect his opinion a lot. He commented that it would have a lot to do with your husband and his role in the community. Was he seen as rich? Also, that it would relate to things like if you wore expensive jewelry or drove a more expensive car than the people around you.

  HTH,
  Rosana

• At March 24, 2009 1:38 PM,  Moroco Topo said…

  i grew up in ciudad victoria and would second that the area is safe. Not a lot of violence out there since it isnt considered a border area -like you pointed out- My main concern for her would be boredom in mante.

• At April 01, 2009 12:17 AM,  Kristin said…

  I recently as of August 2008, moved to Chihuahua, Chihuahua with my husband. I am white and he was born here. Although there is a lot of bad things going on (especially here in Chihuahua and being blonde hair and green eyes) you really just needto be in a ok area. As long as you are not involved in the cartel, Mexico could not be a more wonderful place to live! Check out my blog while I go through living as a gringa in Mexico! www.familiavaldiviezo.blogspot.com

Where Should This Couple Live, Mexico or the US? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

They had thought of selling their American home but hadn’t done it yet, and now they could only clear about $30,000 if they could even sell it. So they are hanging on, hoping the real estate market will recover in the next couple of years so they can make a larger profit on that house and come on back down. I’ve heard several stories of this sort around the Lake Chapala expat community.

4 Comments from the old blog:

• At February 03, 2009 11:12 AM,  John said…

  We all wonder about where we are heading. Clearly, the excesses of the last couple of decades have caught up with us. But your final comments point the way. We can find contentment and happiness even in times of recession. Sometimes scaling down leads to a better life in general.

• At February 06, 2009 12:55 PM,  Anonymous said…

  I am grateful that we never fell into the “keeping up with the Jones’”. We never lived one day over our means and without an exit plan.

  My Sister always considered us TIGHT. She spent money left and right and thought the gravy train would never end. She is the Vice President of a large National Real Estate Company. They first lowered her salary 10% and then another 25% and she has not told me how much, but I know there was another large reduction in January. Her world is spinning and does not KNOW how to live without that kind of income. She did get out of her house and into a rental, while it could be sold.

  I have another Family Member that was the Manager of a Major Title Company and could outspend my Sister everyday of the week. She had a nice 6 figure income with gorgeous home, decorations and clothes. Her Company lowered her salary 40% in December and then her major client went bankrupt and her commissions are almost nonexistent now. She is in a deep depression, cries and throws up regularly.

  I have another Family Member that was a big Residential Builder. He saw this coming and got out RIGHT before the collapse in our area. All of his friends that did not get out, are going broke, losing their homes and cars and filing bankruptcy. He is surviving by playing Poker and trying to sell his personal house.

  I know that all of you probably have stories similar to this. Maybe a lot worse because we are in Texas and have not been hit near as hard as other states.

  Personally I do not expect this to be a short term blip. I can’t see any possible turn around for at least 2 years.

  Unfortunately I think the Lakeside area will suffer. Portfolios have been ruined and people can not sell their houses unless they give them away up here.

  Who is going to come SOB and buy houses, where there is no Medicare, no safety nets and so many stories about the Drug Cartels crime wave? They have enough fear here and it will only get worse with all of these job losses.

  Older people that own houses at Lakeside that die or need to move NOB for health and family reasons, will not be able to get all their monies out of the Mexican Houses. They will have to eventually sell for what the market will bring.

  IF your Mother/Father died, had a house in Mexico that was paid for and not being used and you were in financial trouble, what would you do? I’d sell it for what I could and get my cash out.

  I also think that you should be in possession of some CASH and or Gold or Silver coins. I do not trust the FDIC to be there when and if it all blows up in our faces. The Big Boys will have their money out before we ever know it is coming.

  Have you tried to go to the Bank and ask for a large amount of YOUR cash? I have and it took days with much complaining from the Banker! They actually ask me, ” what is this for?” I made up a story and they tried several times to talk me out of taking the money out. Even trying to make me fearful of having this money in hand. I just stuck to my guns.

  Just my dos centavos…….

• At February 06, 2009 3:17 PM,  Rosana Hart said…

  Thanks for your two centavos. We will all see how it unfolds over time.

  I have a lot of friends who are doing fine, both north AND south of the border. Plenty of people are frugal or living carefully. Yes, there are lots of people in trouble but let’s keep the perspective that lots of people are employed.

  Lack of Medicare and safety nets, and fear of drug cartels, WILL keep many Americans from considering Mexico. But I still think the climate, inexpensive cost of living, and kindness of the Mexican people are huge pluses.

  Both countries have pluses and minuses. Mexicans use credit way less than Americans, and it’s relatively rare for a Mexican family to have a mortgage. They are willing to tighten their belts and live in much closer quarters with family members than most of us would be willing to. So average Mexicans are less likely to become desperate. OTOH, they don’t have much savings.

  We live in interesting times, as the saying goes.

  Rosana

• At February 08, 2009 1:03 PM,  Calypso said…

  The financial predicament the world is currently NOT enjoying is about GREED & SELFISHNESS.

  In my mind anyone that could not see it coming was blinded by -greed -.

  Perhaps a cleansing from irresponsible behavior will be a good thing in the end.

  The way I hear it everybody’s property is worth less except the property owned by the person telling me that story ;-)

  Maybe housing will once again be about a place to live and family rather than an investment?

  There is no telling where this will all end – I hocked my crystal ball a couple months ago.

Real Estate and Real Life, Here and There is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Comment from the old blo:

At July 24, 2008 5:36 PM,  islagringo said…

The dollar is dropping faster here than an elevator with a broken cable. Today it was 9.86 at the bank! Ouch.

UPDATE JUNE 2009: Well, now the dollar has gone the other way relative to the peso and many Mexicans are back from the US for these reasons. What a difference a year makes!

Moving SOUTH for Better Economic Conditions? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Comment from the old blog:

At July 28, 2008 9:03 AM,  Deb Hall ~ Zocalo Folk Art said…

I loved this. Here’s to barking.

Chatting with a Long-Time Expat is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

While there is great poverty in some of the rural areas and in the slums around the big cities, Mexico does have a middle class (much smaller than up north) and of course a wealthy class.

Here by Lake Chapala, many Mexicans are better off than in other parts of the country because of all the work provided by the thousands of foreigners who live in the area: construction workers, maids, gardeners, pool caretakers, restaurant owners, shopkeepers catering to foreign tastes, Spanish teachers, and others benefit financially from our being here. Recently a taxi driver I talked with here said that this area is in a bubble economically, sheltered from the travails of the rest of the country by the presence of expats. He figured that this would also be true of Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende, and a few other parts of Mexico.

And while I’m aware that Mexico is far from being one of the poorest nations in the world, I don’t think much about it…

When Marie McC posted a thoughtful comment to my blog post about learning Spanish, I got curious and found my way to a blog she had written about being in the Peace Corps in Togo ten years ago.

It’s called A Handful of Memories: A Returned Peace Corp Volunteer’s tales of Togo, West Africa (1996-98). She writes of the extreme poverty there, families too poor to afford the cement to build a latrine, tires so bald that she vowed to stop looking at tires on vehicles she was riding in, and more.  It brought back the summer I spent on a work camp in West Africa when I was 20, and how amazed I was at the joyousness of the people there, considering the tremendous challenges they face in their lives.

We Americans are so rich, and I am so grateful for the freedom and flexiblity this has given me. At the same time, we are far from the richest country if you measure by joy.

We are SO Rich! is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

She and I chatted about life. Her son is in 5th grade. I asked if there were a lot of women here whose husbands were away. She said yes, and that it’s very hard. They miss their husbands a lot.

This is the story all over Mexico. In some small towns we’ve been in, Mexicans have told us that the towns survive on the money sent home. I don’t pretend to know what the answers are to the complexities of emigration/immigration, but I do find this heartrending. The men are there in search of income for a better life, and yet their absence creates such a gap.

2 Comments from the old blog:

• At October 17, 2007 8:28 PM,  Anonymous said…

  The issue is really not about either emigration or immigration, or even illegal immigration. The people that come here, like this man you describe, are illegal aliens pure and simple. They expect the USA to allow THEM to do what is not, has never been, and will never be, tolerated in Mexico. Mexico is really a wealthy nation. Unfortunately very little of that wealth can be accessed by ordinary Mexican citizens. What the illegal aliens need to do is stay home, and devote their energy to changing their society. When this starts happening, they will have the full support of their compadres north of the border.

• At October 17, 2007 10:14 PM,  Rosana Hart said…

  I don’t agree with most of your comments but will leave them here for people to consider. However, I’m not interested in carrying this discussion further.

He’s in the US, She’s Here: Such a Mexican Story is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

For retirees on very tight budgets who want to stay in close touch with relatives and friends in the US — that is, lots of visits — I think it might actually work out to be cheaper here. Luckily we aren’t in exactly that category, but it’s interesting to ponder, specially since Medicare doesn’t work in Mexico.

It’s been in the 90s every day and way more humid than we are used to. I’ve laughed several times when chatting with people. I often mention that we live in Mexico and the response is often : “Oh, isn’t it terribly hot there?” Nothing like this!

I’m enjoying my very curly hair from the humidity, though.

For Inexpensive Retirement, Arkansas or Mexico? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico