Jan 21, 2006 –  We’ve been getting more of a sense of the region around Lake Chapala, as we continue to consider whether we’d like to live near the lake, and a few days ago a real estate agent took us around an older development called Chapala Haciendas. We went into several homes for sale, looked at lots for sale, and got a good sense of the place.

It was not our cup of tea, but because I haven’t found much on the internet about Chapala Haciendas, I thought I’d do a blog entry that might help others who are considering living in the Chapala — Ajijic — Jocotepec region on the north side of Lake Chapala and who are looking for a quiet setting.

Chapala Haciendas has hundreds of of lots and we drove past at least a hundred homes. It’s a hilly region and many of the homes have views of Lake Chapala, from a bit of a distance, while others have views only of the mountains nearby, and some that are tucked down into the valleys have views only of the trees and neighboring houses. Lot sizes appeared fairly large. Home prices ranged from under $100,000 US to approaching half a million, and lots began around $20,000 US.

The outstanding characteristic of this place is its suburban nature. There is nothing within walking distance, though you could take a lot of very nice walks around the cobblestone streets of Chapala Haciendas itself. That is, if you like walking on cobblestones! I’m getting better at it, but it’s still not my favorite surface, as I have to pay more attention to where I put my feet than I am used to.

This community fronts on the four-lane divided highway from the nearby city of Chapala to Guadalajara, not attractive for walking.. Buses do go by on the highway, but many of the houses are distant from it. This is really a place for people who routinely use cars to go places. If that’s how you live, then the access is pretty good. The major grocery-and-miscellany chain Soriana has a nice store right on the same side of Chapala, a very short drive away. There is a road over to Ajijic without having to go through urban areas, so it’s only a few minutes away too. The Guadalajara airport is on this side of the big city, easily less than half an hour away.

Many of the developments (fraccionamientos in Spanish) around Lake Chapala are gated. We went in one of the two or more entrances to Chapala Haciendas, and it appeared that its gate apparatus was not in use, but maybe it is dropped at night, I don’t know. The residents are said to be about half Americans and Canadians, and about half Mexicans, with many of the Mexicans people from nearby Guadalajara who come out on the weekends.

We had our cameras with us, but didn’t think to pull them out! None of the houses or lots we looked at spoke to us.