Welcome to Ajijic and Lake Chapala Retirement Area
We want to congratulate you for looking into Mexico's largest
North American retirement community.
As pioneers in real estate (1st one lakeside) and the publishing business, we have introduced many to our local idyllic scene. We feel this is what we do best, showing you what graceful and carefree retirement is all about.
Let us share with you our excitement and knowledge on the Lake Chapala area. Be among the many that have already begun a new and enjoyable life.
Lake Chapala, the Area Known as “Lakeside”
Lake Chapala is the largest freshwater lake in Mexico, with 1112 km².
This area is known as “Lakeside” to residents from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Europe, among other places, and “la ribera” to Mexicans. Due partly to the eclectic mixture, it has developed a continental Old World charm which blends smoothly with a distinctly Mexican ambiance.
Cobblestone streets, tile-roofed homes, riotously colorful gardens blooming year around, and incredible open-air markets and restaurants are common sights, backdropped by lush green mountains surrounding the lake. The hills are laced with flowering trees and plants, and accented by waterfalls, caves, petroglyphs, indigenous sacred sites, and a variety of hiking trails and places to explore.
Over 10,000 retirees call lakeside their home, call us, we can show you around!
Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city, and its international airport are less than an hour away, so Lake Chapala area residents can have anything at their disposal. If for some reason it can’t be found in Chapala or Ajijic, it can be found in Guadalajara. With the airport so close, it is easy to travel to the United States or anywhere in the world.
Climate And Weather in the Lake Chapala Area
Other prime retirement locations cannot come close to matching the climate in the Lake Chapala area. High humidity, searing summer heat, hurricane and tornado threats and miserable winters are all foreign to the Lake Chapala area. Temperatures are consistent year round. The sun shines all day almost every day. Consistently low humidity adds to the comfort level. The wind is very gentle or non-existent. Sunrises and sunsets vary only about an hour from winter to summer.
A combination of tropical location, high altitude and a large body of water produce a climate in the Chapala area that is second to none in the world. Although National Geographic magazine has done the full analysis and declared Lake Chapala to have the second best climate, those who live here are quite content to be that close to the ideal.
Continue Reading more about climate and weather…
Cost Of Living
Other than excellent climate, the reason many North Americans have for moving to Mexico is the cost of living. Most prices are lower compared to those “back home”. It is hard to understand why so many people on small pensions or Social Security will struggle with miserable climates, high utility and medical bills, and other services, when they could live better in Mexico.
Where is Chapala?
Chapala is located in the central area of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, at the north shore of Lake Chapala, 26 km. (16 mi.) east of the Lake’s western end, and 42 km. (25 mi.) south of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Chapala is the largest city on the shores of Lake Chapala, it is a traditional Mexican city, where you can take walks along the shore of the lake and contemplate the beautiful boardwalk. The climate in the Chapala area is temperate, with rains in summer. The rains occur between the months of June and October. The coldest periods are from December to February. Its average temperature is 72°F / 22°C. The temperature ranges from a low of about 50°F / 10°C in the winter months, to a high of about 90°F / 32°C in summer.
Read more about Chapala…
Living in Lake Chapala
March 24th, 25th & 26th – Friday, Saturday, & Sunday 4:00 pm.
Steel Magnolias, by Robert Harling – Directed by Rosann Balbo
One of the most popular and most performed plays since its premiere in 1987. It opened Off Broadway at NYC’s WPA Theatre & has since been performed all around the US & on international stages with great success. In 1989, the popular & the “oh so familiar” film version was released.
The play is set over 3 years of Saturday mornings at Truvy’s beauty salon where a group of friends meet to exchange recipes & gossip while having their hair done. We first meet them on Shelby’s wedding day & almost every significant gathering ‘day’ or ‘event’ that follows. We’ve all laughed & shed tears following their journey but as the title suggests, the “female characters are as delicate as magnolias but as tough as steel”. And boy, ain’t that the truth!
MORE ARTICLES
Take A Glimpse Beyond The Gates
By Judith Labadie
The Rebozo
By Ilsa Picazo
“The Fourth Estate”
By Fred Mittag
Read more articles – El Ojo del Lago – March 2023
Home of the Week
”Mexican Style Antique House”
Located in a traditional mexican neighborhood, few blocks from the Chapala Monday’s tianguis, as well the public transportation stop.
Many business are nearby. This house is a low maintenance, already furnished. Back garden that you can decorate in your own style.
Home For Sale In Chapala
Let us help you find the house of your dreams!
MORE ABOUT LAKE CHAPALA
15 Activities to Enjoy in Lake Chapala
Retirees find that keeping occupied is not a problem; the only dilemma is finding the time to do all the available activities. With over 200 existing organizations in the area, there is a variable of “things to do” year round. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of activities in the towns of La Ribera de Chapala to keep you entertained and participating in this beautiful community.
This is a brief list of some of the activities, places and organizations, which are not numbered in any particular order. Hope this is of great help for you.
Let’s start and have some fun!
Enjoy this video of Lake Chapala area
More About Lake Chapala
More About Lake Chapala Lake Chapala is the largest freshwater lake in Mexico. For more than 10,000 expats, mostly Canadians...
Read MoreMoving to Mexico
There are a lot of people thinking about moving to Mexico.There seem to be several factors contributing to this exodus...
Read MoreNurseries (Viveros) in Lake Chapala
Here is a list of Nurseries in Lake Chapala. I hope this list guides you to your flora destinations.
Read More20 Reasons Not to Retire to Lake Chapala
For a variety of reasons more and more Americans and Canadians are contemplating moving abroad for retirement. For many, Mexico...
Read MoreA Woman in Ajijic
An extraordinary story that tells the daily life of a woman in the old Ajijic of the 40s
Read MoreChapala Railway Station to Become Museum
By Ilse Hoffmann(Published in El Ojo del Lago, November 2000) “I want to put a stop to the rumor that has...
Read MoreThe Battle Of Mezcala Island
By Robert M. Burnet Mezcala Island, a rocky and chayote-covered outcrop near the north shore of Lake Chapala, today bears...
Read MoreFlora and Fauna in Lake Chapala
The term ecosystem was coined in 1930 to denote the physical and biological components of an environment considered in relation...
Read MoreClimate and Weather in Lake Chapala
Mexico as a whole has been graced with an unusually temperate climate year-round given its tropical setting. The rainy season...
Read MoreThe History of Lake Chapala
By Lawrence H. Freeman At nearly 50-70 miles long and 15-20 miles wide, covering some 417 square miles, Lake Chapala is the...
Read MoreLake Chapala, México
About an hour south of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city, Lake Chapala is the largest freshwater lake in Mexico. This...
Read MoreNon Profit Organizations at Lake Chapala
Non Profit Organizations at Lake Chapala AJIJIC SOCIETY OF THE ARTS (ASA): AjijicSocietyOfTheArts.com Provides local artists an opportunity to meet,...
Read MoreLake Chapala Towns
For more than 10,000 expatriates, mostly Canadian and American, attracted by a climate described as “eternal spring,” the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake, have become a permanent home.
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
Ajijic is situated on a narrow strip of land between the mountains to the north and the Lake to the South. It is flanked by San Antonio Tlayacapan to the east and San Juan Cosala to the west. It is seven kilometers west of Chapala. Its average annual temperature is 19.9 degrees Centigrade “68F”.
“In pre-conquest times, Ajijic (Ah-ee-heec) was spelled Axixique or Axixic (pronounced “Ah-she-sheek.”) The final “c” was pronounced by Spanish rules, but whenever anyone pronounces it, people in these parts know he is a stranger. Ajijic means “The Place Where the Water Springs Forth” in Nahuatl.”
Since Tuesday, December 1, 2020, the town of Ajijic, located on Lake Chapala, has been declared the ninth Magic Town of Jalisco (Pueblo Magico), delivered by the federal tourism government.
Read more about Ajijic: Location, Meaning, History, Flora, Fauna, Art, Festivities….
AJIJIC REAL ESTATE: Homes for sale and rent in Ajijic
Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico
Chapala is located on the north shore of Lake Chapala, 26 km. (16 mi.) east of the Lake’s western end, and 42 km. (25 mi.) south of Guadalajara. It is the oldest, most populated, and the most easterly of a string of villages – Chapala, San Antonio Tlayacapan, Ajijic, San Juan Cosala and Jocopetec – known locally as Lakeside.
Founded in 1538, the town probably took its name from Chapalac, one of its earliest Indian chiefs. Or perhaps it came from the Mexican “Chapatla,” the “place where pots abound,” referring to the primitive Indian practice of appeasing the gods by throwing pots, spotted with blood from earlobes, into Lake Chapala. “Grasshoppers Over the Water” – Nahuatl “Very Wet Place” – Coca “Place Where the Pots Abound”- Nahuatl
Read more about Chapala: Location, Meaning, History, Flora, Fauna, Art, Festivities….
CHAPALA REAL ESTATE: Homes for sale and rent in Chapala
Lake Chapala Videos
González Gallo Cultural Center Presents Mariachi Real Axixic
Take a look to this virtual tour of San Antonio Tlayacapan, a beautiful town at Lakeside….
On June 24, San Juan Cosalá celebrates its Fiesta Patronal, honoring Saint John the Baptist….
Take a tour of the beautiful boardwalk of Ajijic…
Enjoy the beauty of the lake with the first rays of the sun on the boardwalk of Chapala….
Lets uncover the best places to eat, drink, and shop in Lake Chapala.
Magnificent Mexico
The Wonderful Wooden Animals of Oaxaca
The craftsmen of Ocotlan, Oaxaca use the natural contours of ordinary scraps of wood to create animals, reptiles and birds in a fantastic array of...
Read MoreRegional Costumes
A typical costume of Mexico, is a mixture and pure representation of a cultural identity of a region.
Read MorePre-Columbian Deities
Ancient pre-Hispanic civilizations, like most primitive societies, worshiped and feared a huge number of powerful beings who controlled all aspects of their lives, these were...
Read More