When most people think of Mexico their thoughts usually go in one of two directions. It’s either a party destination like Cancun or Cabo San Lucas—or a scary place with drugs, crime and beheadings. My experience is much different. After traveling to over a dozen locations in this vast country, I am proof positive that Mexico offers a huge variety of pleasing destinations. But until Thom and I visited Ajijic (pronounced Ah-hee-heek) this summer, we never really considered Mexico as a viable alternative to life in the U.S. Now having spent three weeks in this special community, I’ve discovered the top three reasons why so many people call it home. Whether you are looking to move or not, you might want to compare the benefits of Ajijic to where you live now. We sure are.
First off, with our travel experience as well as our real estate background, we would never suggest that you consider moving anywhere without spending a certain amount of time there beforehand. I think three weeks would be a bare minimum. For example, we have spent weeks in Baja (both Rosarito and further south in Loreto), Ixtapa, San Miguel De Allende, Puebla, and Oaxaca. And while each of these towns has benefits, none fit us for long-term visiting or living. But that’s us. One of these towns might fit your needs perfectly, but the only way to find out is to spend time there.
The second thing we’ve discovered is that you have to stay long enough to get past the “honeymoon phase.” I think we all know what that means when it comes to relationships. That first week and/or ten days is nearly always wonderful in a scenic location. But after you’ve been there a while the reality of day-to-day life starts creeping in. If you still love it after you’ve been there several weeks, then you might have found something “right” for you. (Yes, a big part of Rightsizing is knowing what is important to you and then making choices that support that.)
The third thing to do is to talk to people who are doing what you are considering. I can’t even imagine contemplating a move somewhere without talking to those who live there. I’m talking about both native locals and expats (U.S. Citizens now living in another country). While chances are good you will have more in common with the expats (at least to begin with) it is equally important to talk to the locals because they will help you gauge the attitude of those who have lived there for most of their lives and how they really feel about all these “newcomers.” Obviously, you want to feel welcome in any location where you hope to live.
With that in mind, Thom and I spent a great deal of time during our three-week trip talking to people in and around Ajijic about why they moved to this location. And while there are certainly more than three reasons, these are the ones that every single person included in their conversations.
#1 The weather. It’s true. If you Google weather in Ajijic you will discover that it 
considered one of the top two places in the world for the best weather year-round. At 5,100 feet, it not only experiences mild summer temperatures, but it’s proximity to the equator gives it a temperate winter as well.
We first learned of Ajijic when seeking mild summers to offset our extremely hot temperatures in the desert southwest. July and August are considered their “rainy season” so everything is really green and it rained most nights we visited. The hottest month is May when temps reach into the 80s with humidity, but winters are mild with average temps in the low 70s.
#2 The value. True again. We met over a dozen expats who were living in Ajijic because it is far more reasonable financially to live here, in such a beautiful location, than other desirable places in the U.S. For example, we rented an apartment for three weeks (considered a short-term rental, for $400 all-inclusive per week. The space featured a one-bedroom apartment of approximately 1,000 sq. feet, had a full kitchen and bath, a king size bed, weekly maid service, all paper products, bottled water, and a beautiful patio overlooking the mountains and a tiny peek at the lake. We also had use of a solar-heated swimming pool across the street. And best of all, we were about a five-minute walk to the heart of downtown and dozens of restaurants and shops.
Speaking of restaurants. Meals out are very inexpensive. For two delicious continental dinner entrees, with two side salads and two “beverages,” you can eat extremely well for $35. This is at least half what a comparable restaurant in the U.S. would cost. Food at the Farmer’s Market and local Mercado are also quite reasonable.
#3 The People. This is where Ajijic really shines. As I said before, we have traveled to many locations within Mexico (and around the planet) and something about this small-town laid-back community attracts extremely friendly people. About everyone was friendly, chatty and welcoming. And the native locals were also shyly-gracious although slightly reserved as their culture demands.
Before we went we knew one person who lived in Ajijic. A friend named Mark had visited a year before, bought property and moved there in May of this year. After reconnecting, Mark graciously showed us the property where he hopes to build a new home, another property he bought to rehab and resell, and the home he is renting in the meantime. There he is paying $800 a month (yes, a month!) for a two-bedroom, two bath home in a gated community.
A friend on Facebook then introduced us to a couple who moved to Ajijic a year ago. We met Rick and his husband Larry for lunch and picked their brain about why they moved. Not only did they list the weather, the value and the people as important, they also picked Ajijic because they wanted to make a change in their lives. By moving there and renting a gorgeous contemporary 2-bedroom, 2-bath single-family home for $1,000 a month (plus utilities) they can easily afford to travel around the rest of Mexico and the world whenever they choose.
Another couple we met spontaneously at a local TED Talk Discussion Group was Pat and her husband Jeremy. This adventurous couple met in Alaska over 20 years ago and then moved to Massachusetts for a time to be near Pat’s children. When looking to retire they considered their finances and decided to visit Ajijic (where they had friends) to see if it was an option. When a person they met over brunch told them to “Just do it,” they returned home, sold everything they had, and within five months found themselves calling Ajijic home.
Pat and Jeremy rent a small one-bedroom apartment a couple of blocks from the lake that includes utilities and has a shared swimming pool for $700 a month. Their goal is to live frugally on their Social Security and use their savings (if needed) for medical needs. Pat is 77 years old and she is also considering that at some point she may need to live in Assisted Care. In Ajijic, there are a number of assisted homes with caring and loving staff, as well as available doctors, for approximately $1,500 a month. While they no longer own a car, Jeremy is an avid bicycle rider and uses that for transportation. Did I mention that Lake Chapala has a bike lane connecting the towns? It is also extremely inexpensive to take a bus wherever you want to go.
Other friends we met were Jason and his wife Laura who have been living in Ajijic after driving down from North Carolina (their timing was good!) They rent a 2-bed, 2-bath home with utilities in a nearby community for $750, which works because they are very active in local events. New friends Heidi and Raja also found a large four+-bedroom home in nearby San Juan Cosala with a huge patio with an amazing view and have their two large dogs for only $1,050. Did I mention nearly everyone has dogs?
Besides couples, we met a number of single women living in Ajijic. I think the majority are drawn here by the low cost of living and the amazing support that can be found. Susan Weeks (75) told me the reason she lives here after traveling the world and living in eight different countries is because of the kindness and compassion of the locals. She is active and very involved in the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) which hosts the largest English library in Mexico, dozens of events for members to attend, and heavily invested in social and charities within the community.
Susan’s “bus incident” story explains her decision very well. Susan rented an apartment and had been living in Ajijic for a very short time when she needed to run errands on the local bus. She left her apartment, walked across the street, and waited patiently for the bus to arrive. She felt fine. But when the bus came it was very crowded so she had to stand. And standing there she started feeling woozy and knew something was wrong. Although she was the only English-speaking person on the bus, instantly a spot opened up and she found herself seated. She is convinced everyone around her recognized that she was in distress.
A few minutes later a group of people surrounding her on the bus began yelling at the bus driver to pull over and call an ambulance. And he did! Within minutes, the bus pulled over, and around eight people (men and women) helped her off the bus and found her a place to sit while waiting for the ambulance. Yes, these “strangers” who didn’t speak any English got off the bus with her and waited. When the ambulance arrived the driver and helper asked if she wanted to go to the hospital or home. By this time she felt she just needed to go home to her own bed. They took her there where her neighbors from downstairs helped her to her apartment as well as checked on her for two days. Within forty-eight hours Susan was perfectly fine. Oh, and by the way, there was no charge for the ambulance. She will never forget the kindness shown to her on that day.
We met more people, of course. Women outnumber men almost two-to-one but without a doubt, they are fairly adventurous. We met Molly at the local Sunday morning Open Circle at LCS where a variety of speakers share their knowledge every single week. When I asked Molly, a feisty former nursing educator why she called Ajijic home for the last six years, she repeated what they all said: the weather, the value, and the people. But she was also quick to say that she didn’t want any more people coming because it was becoming much more crowded these days with so many Americans and Canadians now relocating. Molly admitted that it helped that she was in good health despite her nearly 80 years. And she strongly recommended that people visit before making the decision to move permanently.
There’s more but I think you get the idea. I realize that Mexico or living in another country isn’t appealing to a lot of people. But make no mistake, there are thousands who believe it is more desirable to live there than the U.S. As for politics, I think it goes without saying that the vast majority of those who live in Mexico are of the liberal persuasion. And as for the downsides, Mexico is Mexico. There is poverty, and chaos, and corruption. If a person expects everything to be perfectly tidy—the people, the culture, the homes, and life in general—Mexico will not be a good choice.
Are we moving? No, we like where we live for many reasons so we aren’t looking to relocate at this time. But, with that said we are “sunbirds.” Like snowbirds, we are eager to spend time in other locations when our weather is less than optimal. Ajijic is now very high on our list. As always, finding a home and a community that best fits the needs (and the budget) of each individual a very SMART thing to do.
Okay, your turn. Have you considered living, retiring or spending time for an extended period in another country? What about Mexico? Do you think your current home has as many benefits as a place like Ajijic? Please share in the comment below.
My wife and will are planning to move to Lake Chapala in two years. We have family in San Francisco and Minneapolis. For us, the good news is that less than an hour away is the Guadalajara airport. It has lots of direct flights to places like San Francisco and Minneapolis.
We are also going to make sure we have 2 or 3 bedrooms. With no cost for lodging and a direct flight, we expect family will visit us and will also be able to afford to fly to the USA 2 to 4 times a year (with $$ from the savings on housing and living costs).
I can easily imagine myself living in another country such as Mexico in retirement. For example, San Miguel de Allende comes to mind. I have not been to Ajijic, but it sounds very nice as well. Or, I can imagine moving there for 6 months of the year and staying at home for the other 6 months. However, I am pretty certain that I will not do either of these things. The reason is that I would not like to be so far away from my family. Moving to be closer to my grownup kids and my grandkids has been one of the great joys of retirement so far. However lovely a place somewhere else in the world is, I cannot imagine choosing to live so far away from my loved ones. So, for now, I will live at home and make occasional excursions to interesting places.
Jude
Hi Jude! Thanks for bringing up a very important issue that should be considered before a person makes a move like this–and that is how it fits with your needs to stay close to family. I sensed from several of the people who we talked to that having the family visit as much as they would like just didn’t happen. Lots of people are afraid to travel–even when they have family members living there and telling them every detail. The family members who did end up coming to visit seemed to be more adventurous with a love to travel. Of course, it isn’t just Mexico. Where ever we rent a place for any length of time we nearly always invite family members to come and join us, and it still doesn’t happen that often. Not everyone likes to travel and if you want/need frequent interaction with family or friends then staying somewhere for any length of time probably won’t make you happy. And after-all, rightsizing is all about knowing what leads to your personal wellbeing. Thanks for that input. ~Kathy
Hola-
Good post. Two of the attributes that drew me to Ajijic are transportation to family NOB (also points around the world) and the proximity of a huge city with all its amenities and resources. I too have spent time in other interior towns/cities around Mexico – the coast is too hot for daily life for me – but decided on Ajijic also for the reasons you listed. Another major benefit for newbies especially is the prevalence of English. Many expats speak barely a word of Spanish, which I find odd at best, and function with little problem.
Hi Grant! Thank you for adding those three elements to the mix. I agree that many people didn’t seem to speak a word of Spanish (and mine is pretty rusty) but that didn’t matter much. And I agree that the coast, much as we love the ocean, can get too hot and muggy for our needs. And as you say, transportation is really quite easy. We loved that it was only 35-45 minutes from the airport. (much better than SMA) and Guadalajara is an international Airport so it offers lots of flights. We live in Southern California and we drove to San Diego and used the new CBX bridge to the Tijuana airport. The airport is going through a remodel but the other times we have been there it is lovely, not crowded and easy to navigate. The direct flight from Tijuana was only 3 hours and the price was incredible. I think we paid less than $300 for both of us roundtrip with luggage and assigned seats. Definitely easy to visit. Thanks for your comment. ~Kathy
I tried to send a comment earlier regarding not a word in your blog about the very active entertainment scene here at Lakeside! I have been writing a weekly newsletter for over 5 years now and it has grown to about 20 pages+ a week (at no charge to anybody).
Some of the hotels and B’n’B’s are making it available to their guests. This is something the short term visitor rarely finds out about but it goes on 7 nights a week and is not late… most are over by 10 PM or before!
Some great musicians locally as well as many from the US and Canada. There is all kinds of music and lots of dancing.
I send 1,800+ e-mails every week advising when the newsletter is posted on 4 web sites (including Gary Jones’ mentioned in an earlier comment.
You also mentioned you are in Real Estate… my wife and I were too back in Canada for over 30 years and she (younger than I) is enjoying her continuing career down here.
The market is not booming here, it just took longer to start the recovery. People that had been renting their properties because of lower prices have found the low priced homes are gone and they can now sell their properties… many long term tenants have found this out. You can still buy a very nice home here for $250,000 to $300,000 USD in very good areas… not much in nice homes up north for those prices.
Another great thing here but unknown to many short term visitors is that there are both the Canadian and American Legions here, the Rotary Club has a group in Ajijic, Chapala and Jocotepec, Freemasons, Shriners along with an array of other volunteer organizations.
We love it here!
It’s a strange thing but wherever we travel we always end up discussing the merits of living there and then in so doing see all the advantages of life in our own little village. I guess we love our home but it’s travel that makes us really appreciate it
Hi Caree! I completely agree. For those of us who like where we live already, one of the best things about traveling is that we can come home and appreciate everything there. I’m always grateful for silly things like two bathrooms, my own bed, water coming out of the faucet that I can drink (although not ALL U.S. Citizens can say the same–remember Flint, MI?) and other everything things that we take for granted. I also think that travel makes everything more vivid–both on the trip and when I return. I seem to “see” things that can far to often become background noise if taken for granted day-in and day-out. We are loving being home AND looking forward to when we travel again. Glad you feel the same way. ~Kathy
I spent several holidays in Mexico during the 1980s and early 1990s, mostly in Bara de Navidad. It was wonderful at that time, and I could see it would catch on as a great place to visit, given the advantages you list, which have remained the same. We considered retiring there someday, but the extreme poverty of the people troubled me a great deal, so we scrapped the idea. I was always amazed at the generosity and friendliness of the people, given that we had comparatively so much more than they did, and the inequities were hard to ignore. Seems that not much has changed, regrettably. Thanks, Kathy, for bringing the possibilities of living in other places to our attention.
Hi Diane! Thom and I have been traveling in Mexico for the last 20-30 years, too. And yes, there is a great deal of poverty. But what remains foremost in my mind whenever I’m there is the commitment that they all have for family and each other. Those qualities lay outside of money. Sure many of them live hard lives but their family and community are deeply fulfilling to them. I am reminded of what Mother Teresa said, ” There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty — it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”
Plus, in many cases, where groups of expats find themselves there is nearly always groups formed to help the local people and children in appropriate ways. Actually, from what I can tell and from the locals we spoke to, most are quite happy with all the expats now living locally. It has helped to raise the economy and provide many more jobs that weren’t there before. And we even spoke to some who had lived in the U.S. (legally and not) and most were happy to be back in their home country surrounded by family and friends and focused on what they consider to be much more important than grinding out a job to buy a lot of stuff. Yes, I guess you could say they have “rightsized” too.
I agree that inequalities in civil rights and possibilities are important….but inequalities in finances are relative to each of us. Remember, if the whole world lived like most U.S. Citizens…we would need five planets to provide the resources. That always keeps things in perspective for me.
But thanks for bringing the idea of poverty and inequality up Diane. There’s a possible blog post in there for me! ~Kathy
Oops, my bad. Of course Mexico is America. I mean, I’ll stick with the U. S.
Hi Tom! Good catch! And yes, Mexico or living in another country isn’t for everyone. What IS important is making sure that you like where you live and can easily afford to live a quality life there. ~Kathy
Thanks for the suggestion, but I’ll stick with America.
The ambulance was not really free. It was a Cruz Roja, or Red Cross ambulance and the community supports Cruz Roja through donations and its very modest fees. Please go to the Chapala Cruz Roja offuce and make a generous donation.
Hi Luisa! Thank you for clarifying that for all of us. I just wrote the story the way it was told to me. But I’m assuming that because the community supports the Cruz Roja, if a person was unable to pay for the ambulance then it would technically be “free” to them? I agree it is a wonderful service and equally wonderful that the community offers it to everyone. ~Kathy
Excellent post, Kathy. You captured the joys of living here very well. If you into sharing your article I would welcome you as a guest columnist on my website. I fell in love with Ajijic the day I arrived. My initial plan was to spend six months here checking it out, primarily because I had two disastrous experiences before with Panama and Ecuador, so I was cautious. No need for that. I returned to Canada to apply for my temporal and got it when I returned to paradise. Very happy here.
Hi Gary! I would love to have you share this one your site if you think it would be helpful. We were blown away by how welcoming most everyone was and the friendliness of all the people we encountered. We are visiting Santa Barbara here in California this weekend and no one says “hello” or “good morning!” It feels….lonely! I can send you the text by email if you like and if you would tag a byline to my blog I would appreciate it. Let me know. Oh, and we talked to several people who had also explored living in Ecuador and Panama (and SMA) and they all agreed that Ajijic was much better too. ~Kathy
That’s great, Kathy. Your article is very positive but it also couldn’t come at a better time.
This week’s Guadalajara Reporter which I compare to the National Enquirer is chocked full of bad news that certainly doesn’t help our area. There’s a story about a shooting in Jocotepec, not far from Ajijic, where three men were killed. They use the horrible storyline “the wave of a criminal violence that has plagued the Guadalajara metro area throughout this year appears to be spreading to the normally placid shores of Lake Chapala”. A very isolated incident and hardly a spread of violence. Certainly not great for our tourism.
I can get everything I need from your article. Maybe you could send me a proper photo to use as a guest columnist. Gracias.
Hi Gary! I’ll email you a photo right away. ~Kathy
I’m looking to explore this as a real possiblity next spring when I will be done subsidizing college educations and finally be an empty nester. I was glad to see there are many single women involved in the group and that the opportunity to rent rather than buy exists. I really hate to fly (especially on anything smaller than a giant plane), but my kids life in Texas so my visiting commute wold not be as bad as for some others. I am curious about the medical situation, did you discuss any of that in depth. I do have a supplemental insurance that covers overseas medical, but would I need it?
Hi Barb. As far as getting there…you can actually drive there…especially from TX. We might do that from So. California because we wouldn’t want us to fly with our dog. It is a fairly straightforward 2-day drive on mostly a toll road from most locations along the border.
As far as the medical goes, I think there are several options depending on your age. There are good doctors and hospitals in nearby Guadalajara–and if you have medical needs they are often very reasonable (much better than in the U.S.) From what I understand there are a couple of insurance options for expats but you’d have to ask people living there now and research it on the internet. The people living there now seem to have satisfied their needs–and believe me we saw people of many ages and all sorts of conditions. It can be hard to walk on the city streets but we still saw people using walkers and even wheel-chairs. Where there is a will there is a way. ~Kathy
Shhhhhhhhh… 🙂
I agree that Mexico has so many advantages and, for us anyway, it is easy to travel to just about anywhere there – by car or by plane. Although we’ve been to both Oaxaca and San Miguel, after reading your Facebook posts, Ajijic is definitely on our list. I’ve looked at a couple of housesits there and certainly Airbnb is also an option. I’m not sure we’d want to live in Mexico full-time, but for the rents you quoted, we could rent year-round and just go down when we wanted… care to partner in a rental with us? 🙂
Hi Janis! I think Molly would definitely agree with you. 🙂 As you know LOTS of people are moving to Mexico and the worst part about it is that they are driving the real estate prices pretty high. In many ways I think it is better to rent–at least in the current market. But I agree that a “joint” rental could be advantageous….the problem is, you KNOW the time we would want to be there and it’s likely the same time as you. We loved being there in the off-season. Not as crowded as it gets in high season (which is mainly October to April). Plus it is really GREEN because of the nightly rain. Hmmm….let’s talk when you come to the desert next month. Who knows??? 🙂 ~Kathy
Sounds really inviting. Following all your posts, (of course), high lighting the food and prices and your pool and accommodations, yes inviting! With climate change I am happy where I am at, Portland is less rainy and less chilly in the winter and hotter in the summer but not too hot.
Hi Haralee! It is fun to check out new places for sure and then equally important to compare to what you have back home. Certainly, if you love your life where you are, can easily afford to live there, then moving would be silly. Take a vacation if you just want to travel but always go back to your nest. BUT, there are also lots of people who really can’t afford to live very well where they are, or are always complaining about the weather (like me during the HOT summers!) or are generally unhappy where they are for all sorts of reasons, then I think they should at least consider other locations. Life is too short to be miserable!!! It sounds like you like where you live for all sorts of reasons and that is definitely rightsized! ~Kathy
Great post, Kathy. I enjoyed reading the personal stories and actual prices of rent and food and such. One of the reasons we hope to spent some of the winter in Mexico is to cut down our spending. We look forward to $1 tacos and other inexpensive street food, meals and drinks. Not quite in the $35 range, but definitely much cheaper than in the US, where we rarely go out for that reason.
I’ve seen multiple house sitting ads for the Aijic region and, after reading your post, I’ll for sure have a better look at those in the future. As for your question “Have you considered living, retiring or spending time for an extended period in another country?” the answer is “Yes. All the time. I’ve actually spent more years outside of Belgium at this point than in my native country.” 🙂
Hi Liesbet! I know that question doesn’t really apply to you because as you say, you’ve lived all sorts of places in your relatively short life. We actually met another woman who was doing a house sit in Ajijic while we were there–but she was charging for it!!!! She didn’t look too happy when we told her our Kloe was at home with a pet sitter who was staying in our house for FREE for 3 weeks while we were galavanting in Mexico. BTW our sitters turned out to be fantastic and we’ve already asked them if they will come back next summer as well.
And yes, getting back to expenses, I think it is very possible to spend time in Ajijic VERY inexpensively. Food is available everywhere with a different farmers market just about every day of the week and lots of little markets to choose from. There is quite a network of gringos to tell you where to shop and which shops are good–but because we were only there for 3 weeks we mostly only ate breakfast in and a few dinners (leftovers!) Most of the servings are so generous that there are leftovers practically every meal. Wine, beer and tequila can be had inexpensively for those of us who enjoy that. And lots of hiking too which I know you both would enjoy. If you are down there next summer it would be awesome to see you!!! ~Kathy
I enjoyed your writeup and photos, Kathy. I’m not brave enough to go but live vicariously through your adventures! Keep ’em coming.
Hi Lynne! I’m happy to take you along on my adventures but I think you’d enjoy it once you got there. I do agree that it helps a LOT to go with a friend for the first time. Then once you have you realize that it isn’t that complicated (or worrisome!) –just different. We also have a lot of fun talking to people AND taking photos so it’s really nice that there are those of you who enjoy my sharing. ~Kathy
We aren’t looking to relocate permanently, but I think in a couple of years we will be looking to spend significant amounts of time during the winters in a more pleasant climate. This sounds like a great place to spend a nice month or two in the winter!
Hi Michele! I think you’ve done enough moving for quite a while now haven’t you? But if Mexico appeals to you, you might want to give it a try. I think the type of person who is interested in visiting falls in a pretty adventurous category so it’s wonderful to chat with people because everyone comes from such interesting backgrounds and travels. Some people think it is a bit too “sleepy” for them and they prefer the city. But for us it was just wonderful. ~Kathy
Kathy – what a great post! Your vacation sounds lovely – despite the ‘struggles’ you shared in your last post. I appreciate the way you laid out the three important aspects to consider. I might add that ‘food’ is important. Having lived in other countries, I know that those who could not adjust to the food choices, could not stay long.
Hi Janet! Yes I guess you can tell how much we enjoyed it! And food certainly figures into the equation as well. I was amazed at the quality and variety of food there. And no, it isn’t mostly mexican. In fact, out of the 3 weeks we were there I think we only had Mexican twice! Most of the time it was lovely continental dishes. Oh, and lots of good vegetarian and even vegan for those who are really strick about it. I think we only had about two sort of average meals out of them all…most of it is not only expertly prepared but beautifully presented. And because the price is so inexpensive it is almost easier to eat out than cook yourself. I have to stop talking/thinking about it because I am making myself hungry!!! Thanks for bringing that up because it really is a treat there. ~Kathy
Hi, Kathy – Thank you for this informative and interesting post. I hadn’t headr of Ajijic before you mentioned that you were going there. I have now added it to our list of potential places to consider visiting. I look forward to hearing more about it when we meet together in person shortly. See you then!
Hi Donna! Lots of other Canadians are calling Ajijic home these days. Of course, most are snowbirds so we didn’t see as many except for those who are now living year-round. When we were there it is considered the “off-season” which suited us just fine. It would take a bit longer from where you live to get there, but we flew out of Tijuana for a VERY LOW price and it is just a 3-hour flight. Then about 35 minutes from Guadalajara. Very easy for us. Of course, many people actually drive from So Cal and we might do that in the future so we can take Kloe. Lots of options. See you soon! ~Kathy
It sounds like you had a fantastic time Kathy and I have a sneaking suspicion you’ll be back regularly in the years to come! It sounds like a relaxing and restorative place to spend some down time – and the fact that it’s so affordable is the perfect excuse to keep going back! I just wish I lived a bit closer 🙂
Hi Leanne! Yes as you can tell we did have a wonderful time–even with the issues I created that I wrote about in last week’s post. But because it is a very relaxing and restorative place it was still wonderful. And yes, it is also a wonderful place for those of us who are “rightsized” and careful about our finances. Who says you have to spend a lot of money getting to or spending time in a beautiful and interesting place. I agree it’s a ways away from you but for those of us in our continent it is really convenient–only a 3 our direct flight. I hope you find places closer to you that are equally wonderful. ~Kathy