$4.34/gal? Could be worse...

power was off in SW quadrant of San Antonio (down behind WalMart) for TWELVE HOURS. 😠

The rainbirds have arrived in lower San Antonio! Can rainy season be far off?

Hope abounds!

I think the key is to discover all the things you want to do, to participate in, favorite restaurants, etc. Then determine the *frequency* and time of day and day of the week for those things. This will determine how often and how far you will need to travel depending on where you live. You can then determine how often you will need transportation. Ideally you will live where you can walk to most things and bus or drive to the rest. We have lived in Chapala Haciendas, west Ajijic and Ajijic centro over the years. We now live in San Antonio Tlay. Each location has had pros and cons.

We recently test-drove a friend's car to run some errands. Parked a few places in centro, drove Ocampo, drove the Carratera. Yesterday we rented a couple of bicycles and rode from Centro to San Antonio and back. The ciclopista seemed much more pleasant than sitting in traffic, assuming that you have a bicycle that is well-maintained. And electric. Or maybe we just needed more gears, but GEEZE these hills are tough.

Any way, we highly value daily walks. We were averaging less than three miles/day back in the states but jumped to an average just under five miles/day as soon as we returned to lakeside. We don't want to lose that level of activity, but walking to Chapala or halfway to San Juan takes SO. LONG. At this point I think we're just going to give in to the trend and grab some electric bikes like all of our fellow gringos. 

7 hours ago, mudgirl said:

But it's much harder to learn those things if one doesn't actually know grammar terms in their native language, which a lot of people don't. I was one of those kids who thought diagramming a sentence in school was dead easy and fun. 

The first, last and *only* time I diagrammed a sentence in school was 7th grade. Let's just say that Texas public schools weren't the best. This lack of knowledge has *definitely* played a part in my struggle w/ Spanish.

2 hours ago, mudgirl said:

There's plenty of irregular verbs in English, too, we just don't think about it because we're native English speakers. 

"To be", for instance. "I am, you are, he is." Any of those verb forms sound anything alike? 🙂

This is true. I think part of my problem is that I'm always looking for a system or a pattern. And Spanish verb conjugations *promise* a pattern, and the majority of words adhere to it, but there are just enough irregulars that it destroys my sense of pattern, my hope that I can just learn a system to apply to large groups of words. It breaks its promise *sigh*

it's the tenses and irregular verbs for me. And even though we have lived a total of just over six years in Mexico and Central America I still struggle to understand locals speaking Spanish at their normal speed. THAT has been the hardest part, the comprehension. I can ask questions all day long, no problem, but understanding the answers makes me feel like a beginner.

On 3/10/2022 at 3:50 PM, Northtek said:

Ok lets try this again as the last one went off the rails.

So how's that working out for you? LOL

Look, most people here already like it and don't need or care about yet another person who thinks they are the first (or best) to make a video of life here. Most of us would be just fine if the population leveled out and prices and traffic could stabilize. We most definitely don't want more hype that sends another wave this way. It doesn't matter if you are the best documentary filmmaker on the planet, that's not the point.

If you put aside the petty disagreements raised in this thread, that's the real rub. But if you are just going to film any way, then just do it already. Log off the forum and grab your cameras and film. Or don't. Either way, most of us don't care.

2 hours ago, HoosierMex said:

I want to transport my vehicle from Ajijic to AZ in August.  I received a quote from A1 Transport company- they want an exorbitant amt. of money to do it.  Is there another reputable company or service I can contact to have my vehicle transported to the States-even if it is taken just across the border (Nogales)?  Thank You in advance.

No idea what the price range is, but I think Antonio Regalado (R&R Car Solutions) provides this service, at least for those buying/selling vehicles through him. Unsure if he does it separately.

On 1/7/2022 at 12:43 PM, RickS said:

I've flown Volaris a bunch of times but never thought about/had a reason to check their fare refund policy.  For those of you who might have been remiss like me it's....

Only within 24 hours of purchase!!!  Domestic or International.

That's pretty lame IMO.....

also pretty standard in the industry

On 3/15/2022 at 2:27 PM, bmh said:

You can buy French wines here and frankly considering the price , better buy chilean wines. Most of them are made in the French style and some by French and Spanish firms.

I am glad to hear you say this. I learned to love Chilean Carmenere and Argentinian Malbec while in Mexico. I'm no connosieur, but I love the complexities of these wines at rather affordable prices! 

On 3/13/2022 at 10:01 AM, mexijims1 said:

Maybe he can film the infrastructure disaster done at the Walmart intersection with the Libramiento.   That would be really constructive !!   

Only if he can drive through using all possible entrances and exits, and explain all of the options. That video would be gold!

Been walking through there recently and *almost* have it all figured out. Glad I don't have a car. Kinda miss the previous configuration, to be honest...

20 hours ago, GDouglas said:

The Internet was different 30 years ago.  Everybody replied long messages to each other in those more than a decade before Facebook/Twitter.  I also ran a FidoNet BBS in my late teens, so I am familiar with long screeds posted on BBS boards in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Not going to shorten my posts to today's kid-size-texters, sorry.

It's sadder to me and has hurt world peace because we don't bother to understand each other anymore like we tried in the tail end of the cold war. 

<snip>

No reply needed or it just continues my screed (big replies) -- otherwise it just becomes a continuation of screed or novels or oratory or lectures etc (or whatever terminology you prefer).  Let's just let this thread die in piece now, if moderator-2 doesn't want to close this thread.

too late! jaja

A related note you may find interesting: https://world.hey.com/dhh/dangerous-conversations-going-private-db84b6b3

I think my land line could be out of service for months and I might not notice. Who uses land lines any more? Haven't had one in two decades... 🤔

This is good info. Coming in Wednesday, glad to see the rate hasn't gone up much.

6 hours ago, Ferret said:

I agree with Mainecoons. It would have to be a small Chedraui but I would be delighted. Ooooh. Competition for Walmart! On the other hand, you think getting in and out of Walmart is bad? That location would make the already dreadful traffic worse.

If it's smaller, it would be one of their new 'Supercitos' I guess.

23 hours ago, MichaelB said:

It is for the new Chedraui !!!

Don't tease like that. Are you serious?

FYI we changed plans and will now be flying back down.

ouch!

Is there a way for me to determine the total amount of tolls we will encounter coming in from Tucson/Nogales? Planning on 15D all the way...

On 1/26/2022 at 6:28 AM, moonhill said:

TEXMEX? My mouth was watering. Gotta love autocorrect. 

I mean, who knew TexMex was good for fiber? 🤷‍♂️

On 5/19/2020 at 8:06 PM, dixonge said:

I returned in six months (January 2020) and an assistant inserted the 'healing' screws. We went whale watching in Cabo for a week, then returned and she took the 3D scans and printed the crowns. I returned later for the installs, some of which didn't work. A reprint was done, a final installation, and I was done. Finally.

The assistant (not sure of her actual title) was, it seemed, somewhat learning on the job, occasionally consulting with Dr. Macias. For any serious drilling I will always try to book directly with him, but his schedule is pretty full. In the end, my total bill was calculated, then they subtracted what I had originally paid for the bridge work. I paid the difference, because they didn't want to charge me for each procedure, but per tooth. Extremely fair! I've had no problems with the crowns and it's nice to be able to use both sides of my mouth after about a year with missing teeth.

Follow-up!

In Sept. of 2021, whilst chewing on some Triscuits, one of the crowns broke in half. In examining it it appears to have been created with a very shallow hole, not sitting all the way down on the 'shoulder' of the post. It was also, mostly due to the position and angle of the post, off-center, leaving the majority of the crown floating off of the front of the post. I suspect this left it structurally unsound for the pressures created by the human jaw when biting down on food.

I'm quite certain I could get it redone for either a discount or possibly free, but I'm beginning to suspect that there is a correlation between dentists who have CNC-milling tech and dentists who focus on cost-cutting and/or expansion. This is my unscientific opinion. But it's my fault for not insisting on a better fit. 

I stopped going to chain dentistry outfits back in the States a long time ago, mainly because they are little more than training school for recent graduates. It's probably time for me to invest in higher quality and integrity in Mexico as well...

I'm truly worried that Medicare as we know it won't survive.

The Corporate Plan to Murder Medicare Runs Through Medicare Advantage

On 5/18/2020 at 9:27 PM, RickS said:

Neither Haro nor Macias are dental surgeons so they 'have specialists' who come in from Guad.... not just any old specialist but specific ones that they have relationships with.

I had a bridge replaced by Dr. Macias. First we tried a 4-unit bridge, larger than the previous one due to an extraction. It broke twice, after which I gave in and let them do implants and crowns. I should have just gone straight to implants. Dr. Macias drilled and inserted the implants in a fairly quick session. It was as pain-free as possible, which is saying a lot for me. I typically require 2-3 times the normal amount of lidocaine. Back in the states, I get the laughing gas as well. At Dental Express I get 'happy juice.' 

I returned in six months (January 2020) and an assistant inserted the 'healing' screws. We went whale watching in Cabo for a week, then returned and she took the 3D scans and printed the crowns. I returned later for the installs, some of which didn't work. A reprint was done, a final installation, and I was done. Finally.

The assistant (not sure of her actual title) was, it seemed, somewhat learning on the job, occasionally consulting with Dr. Macias. For any serious drilling I will always try to book directly with him, but his schedule is pretty full. In the end, my total bill was calculated, then they subtracted what I had originally paid for the bridge work. I paid the difference, because they didn't want to charge me for each procedure, but per tooth. Extremely fair! I've had no problems with the crowns and it's nice to be able to use both sides of my mouth after about a year with missing teeth.

We are renters. Cleaning service originally came with the apartment (and was on the lease) but the owner changed their mind and we have been paying the maid directly since August. So seven months, one hour per week.

We are moving to another city. The building owner will spend a few months renovating our apartment before reletting it. But as best I can tell we will, in fact, owe the maid a finiquito.

I tried running these numbers through an online Finiquito calculator and it looks like we will owe her a bit over $2000 pesos. Does this sound about right? Just want a general idea, no legally binding opinions expected or required.

Gracias