solajijic Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 All the people who told us that this was substantially a "different" place were wrong. It is the same as if you had moved to anywhere else, new and strange for a while then eventually it becomes familiar. People who have come here expecting this place to be different and themselves to be different because of that are always disappointed. Even back when there was just one stop light and no Soriana it eventually felt familiar to those who settled in with ease. The old adage "wherever you go there you are" is very true. I have always advocated bring as much of your life with you as possible. We choose on the basis of our somewhat younger age and we had the means. Everyone said the traditional decor wouldn't work. They were wrong. When children and grands come to visit this house looks like what they grew up in and that familiarity means comfort. And those items also contain family history and stories galore. Bring what is important to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slainte39 Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Was not prepared for the "running" gun battle in the Chapala streets, nor the assassination of the ranking police officer in the main street, nor grenades going off near our house, nor the decapitated bodies at Lakeside , nor the need to "duck and cover" when the bullets whizzed down our cochera, nor friends being murdered by robbers. All happened in the last 3-4 years. With all that, and you are still here.....amazing tolerance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slainte39 Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Judy King also offered a one day seminar about living here that included a booklet you could keep. When my partner and I visited initially we took advantage of the inexpensive class and the book and we returned to the U.S. and prepared things like a bank account that would be cheaper for us to use here (this was 4 years ago so things may have changed) and advice on insurance and apartment hunting. It was the best money ($25.00 if I remember correctly) we spent in preparation, though I read every book by expats within two years of moving here (lots of misinformation in those books, too). If we had a good friend here before we came we probably wouldn't need her class but we were on our own even though we had visited for 5 years before moving here. I read the web board for three years before the big move, too. It was a big move and I haven't regretted it one day. Judy also said to bring the tool box and thank God we did. It is used almost every day--even by my neighbors! I remember when Judy King arrived here with hardly more than "the shirt on her back" and practically no knowledge about Mexico at all. You can see how much that has bothered her. The point is, not everyone is the same, so one size doesn't fit all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 hud you are correct, surprised the comment is still here (you wont find that info in a judy king book). MC is right about the shipping, still have my things i brought w/me. i also had a wonderful dresser made here & several mirrors. as for advice- its all different. there are code words. "adventure" means high stress, difficulty or discomfort. "good weather" is relative. if you dont have a heated house, its freezing. the temp can be below zero in the states but w/radiators you dont notice it. most nice old homes (& good hotels in cold climates) in mex have fireplaces. the newer constuctions may not. (depending upon who they were built for). i did bring winter coats, boots quilts so i wasnt caught off guard. i didnt pay attention to "advice" as each person is different. to come w/the clothes on your back is not my style. to answer the first question: wish someone told me that this would become part of guad. dont like the big highway they built connecting. prefer farms to malls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giltner68 Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 The problem in MX is the structures have no insulation, it's stucco, brick/concrete/steel and another layer of stucco on the inside so there is no thermal break and a "warm" body will radiate up to 15' to a cooler surface - like the walls, floors etc. So, you feel it much more. Up here I forgot to turn on the furnace two nights ago, when I got up yesterday I thought the floor felt a bit cooler than normal, outside it was 40, inside 62, can you imagine a prolonged stretch of 40's or less down there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Mexican wife with LARGE family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bowie Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 I wish someone would have told me that there was not "a rule of law" in Mexico, and then explained EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANT. At least I could have come with my eyes wide open. Instead, everyone bragged on weather, quaintness, laid back, cheap prices, cheap real estate, etc. No one touched security( and things like you need to basically baracade your house from invasion) and certainly not in-depth. A new prospect deserves the truth. (in advance). Seems like that is a no-no to discuss here. Something to do with affecting prospective buyers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 when i visited the family house it had a fireplace. when i moved here, they closed it up! i had to buy a heater as i was very sick. (moisture cold). i was restrained to the bedroom for almost 3 months per year. some w/this house. i cook then bring to food to bedroom w/heater. have a second heater in another room. these heaters do not heat large "open space" rooms. today i can sit in the living room. to answer the OPs question again: if you find a product you need buy two! sometimes you need several. it may not be available for a long time. it may be canceled. for several years i bought a face product, they sold it in several pharms. its been over 6 years, couldnt find something similar. (only once & but no reorders). i am allergic to most commerical products. recently i visited 4 natural stores & every pharm in 2 towns (11 places). nothing even close. finally i saw it in walmart! yes i bought 2 tubes. (enough for 2 yrs). this should be engraved in stone. dont depend upon a product to always be there. (this rule includes food & medicine) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerm Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 I agree 100% with you Jim Bowie. And that's a real shame. Something about rose colored glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 thats the human condition. selling happiness is a viable business. wanting to belong is a human trait. an agent told me "mexicans dont use bars on their windows, thats a american thing" (noone from chapala realestate, another guy. i said byebye). i had lived here for years, but he was on audomatic pilot. if its too good to be true maybe its not. that brings us to the telmex thread! lets see if we get a mex perk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 People who are afraid and unhappy can not believe that not everyone else is. If we say we are not we must have on rose-colored glasses or be lying. I have lived Lakeside in four different houses in 7 years. There have been days when I am cold but freezing, forced to live huddled in one room? No. I have never been barricaded in my home nor have I ever been broken into. I drive and walk at night. I have good locks on my doors (and use them) and my windows have bars. That and a dog is my security system. I am not a fool nor do I live life as a frightened potential victim. I was here for the really bad times that horrible May and grieved with my neighbors. I also recovered with them. I accept that life can be tragic--not just here but everywhere. I honestly do not know how people who feel as some posters here feel can stay. I would not live "freezing" all winter, barricaded in my home, fearful, and thinking that Lakeside is now the same as living in Guadalajara. If there is an opposite to wearing rose-colored glasses (turd-covered glasses?) there are people who seem to be wearing those. Lakeside is a wonderful place to live. It is not a perfect place and it may not be YOUR place, but for thousands of people it is wonderful--warts and all. Weigh the pros and cons. If there are more cons than pros, do not move here. If you are already living here and the cons still outweigh the pros, reconsider your decision. Life is far too short to live where you are unhappy or frightened all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryS Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 A lot of people can't move because they can't afford to or they will take a big loss on the house they bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 "A lot of people can't move because they can't afford to or they will take a big loss on the house they bought." Jerry This is a very good reason why many people say do not buy a house until you have lived here at least one year--and some others say two years. It is very sad to be trapped somewhere you do not want to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 the place is not the same as it was many years ago. it appeals to a different kind of person. its very exciting to that kind of person. good for you. that aside, you can get this same thing anywhere USA w/out making an international move. (your box stores as well). there are 100s of barrios in the US, all climates. (mexican, honduran, el salvadorian, cuban, dominicano). you can see the same people, go to the same kind of street fairs. hear the same explosives. even live in a surburban middle class version. rents are comp. if i was wealthy i would buy up properties. these properties would be in hispanic&arabic areas. the new aging kumbaya generation would flock to these places. think of the cultural enrichment. you dont even pay for a visa. (hint, im not rich so someone else can steal the idea- im giving it away). advice: buy up shoepads (here in ajijic) when they have your size. you can never have enough! try to rent/buy where you have a working fireplace. thats my next move & advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Learn to adopt the very-Mexican "ni modo" attitude, since there are so many things we can't do anything about."Ni modo" allows us to shrug and let the nuisances drift on by, and instead look forward to the next meal or party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 snowyo, good attitude in general. i tend to be highly explosive especially when out before dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevator Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 About a year before I moved here someone broke into my log cabin in rural South Carolina loaded up my pickup truck with much of my stuff then set fire to may cabin and bunkhouse. Meth heads. My wife went home to Decatur Ga. around Christmas this year for six days. While she was there a guy shot and killed six homeless men and also shot and killed a young woman walking out of a restaurant. He said he enjoyed the feeling of having power over life and death. I'll take the drug related violence here because I know I can pretty much avoid it. No place is safe in the US. And people will steal from you anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 elevator how sad. i have never experienced crime or much talk about crime untill i came here. its all about location. dont feel you "have" to choose drug violence. we havnt had much of that lately. you can also move to a less vunerable neighborhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Nothing is the same as many years ago. I think that's pretty obvious. I came here from living in the Caribbean for over 27 years. I've never huddled in a room freezing. It's been chilly but it's not a tundra. It's not for everyone or this place would turn into NYC. Who want's that? If I could get everything in the states that I have here I would be THERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Me too, bennie " I have never experienced crime or violence or much talk about crime until I came here ". That's why what jim bowie says would have maybe made a difference in me coming at all. Certainly if I were just now thinking about coming for the first time it would definitely make a difference to me. Some people get here and then find they can not leave, even though they would like to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Ginger has a good point. If I could get my wife's family all to the States, I would be there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Do people really think there is no crime? I'm not being a smart-a## but I find it hard to comprehend that people thought the bars on windows were just decorative & that a few poor people or druggies might not burgle a house. That's inevitable when there's a big gap between poor & rich (us, though not many of us are but to many we are.) I haven't been burgled, robbed or mugged here but I've had all those & more happen to me elsewhere & it didn't make me leave. And if it happens to me here I won't either. But I get that some couldn't & I'll say that there are VERY few places (I don't know any) where you don't have to lock your doors. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 N/a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 I lived in various cities and states in the U.S. and never lived anywhere where there was no crime. I do not now know anyone who lives in a place where there is no crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 me xena me. never ever had crime or crime talk. ever. guess i lived in good hoods. if you want your glasses you can keep your glasses. we have different standards for quality of life. ginger, a backwater town can never be a first class city. dont even think of it. if it was, we wouldnt be having this talk. again i stress shoe pads. especially if you walk alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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