January 2005 — Continuing my series on the pros and cons of living, traveling and retiring in Mexico: here’s a PRO for Mexico that most people would never think about. Back home, trespassing on private property is frowned upon, to put it mildly. Here in Mexico, it is only rarely an issue. For two weeks, we have been camping in our motorhome at an old hot springs resort / trailer park, El Bañito, several miles outside Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosi.

Across the street there is a huge piece of property that is posted as belonging to the federal government. It includes a hotel gone to ruins and an active golf course. (The story behind that, in a nutshell, is that the government was planning at one point to flood the area for a dam and bought the land but allowed the owners to keep running the golf course.) I noticed that the big signs saying the land was federal property did not say the Spanish version of “Keep Out.”

Kelly started taking morning walks over there, while I have my main turn at the computer. The several groundspeople and the occasional golfer always politely said good morning, and nobody ever questioned him on being there. I’ve gone with him a time or two and it’s been the same. Yesterday, there happpened to be several official-looking men with a truck with a federal Mexican insignia on it, near the entrance gate when Kelly went in. He said good morning to the men, and one of them said, in Spanish, “Ah, you’re here for your walk.”

One anecdote doesn’t make a pattern, but we’ve experienced this many places in Mexico. People will tell us about paths through the fields. Of course, you’re expected to not damage the crops, but otherwise, “trespassers” seem to be expected. We took a long walk on New Year’s Day and got to a pasture of cattle where some of the bulls weren’t so sure about trespassers, so we departed fast.

Many things in Mexico are much looser than in the U.S., and this is an example. Others include the number of people they can fit into a vehicle and the time for appointments. Better or worse? No, all in the mind of the beholder. And how you’d take this difference is definitely something to learn about yourself if you are thinking of living or retiring in Mexico.