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Why did Ajijic become so pupular?


Crazydog

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Question:  Do the expats who prefer living in Chapala speak good Spanish?  Otherwise, how could you relate to the majority of the people?

As for the rich appearing Mexicans living in the farming/ranching communities, is it possible they earned their riches in the, ahem, "alternative" economy?

I've considered Chapala vs. Ajijic.  Chapala has its charms but I noticed years ago how totally congested it was all through the central area on weekends with traffic jams on side streets, air pollution from idling cars, noise, etc.  It had a much more urban feel to it as opposed to the more rural charm of Ajijic where charros ride up and down the streets you live on which I find immensely charming! :)  And I find the murals and art scene of Ajijic also immensely charming.  We are blessed to have Jesus and Antonio Lopez Vega right in our midst plus other notable artists.

Each town/city has its own unique culture and traditions and even gene pools  You can see that if you go to the fiesta processions in the various towns.  Which reminds me, Guadalupe Day in San Juan is a richly abundant and beautiful fiesta and procession with many residents putting large, elaborate Altars IFO their houses, more so than the other villages. Coming up this Dec. 12, which is Guadalupe Day all over Mexico, it is almost a legal holiday.  Enjoy!

 

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The more I ride my moto on the highways and byways of Mexico the more I appreciate the uniqueness of the towns of all sizes.  The variety and creativeness seems endless.  That seems to have largely disappeared NOB, there is a depressing sameness about it all.  Sure hope that never happens here.

 

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51 minutes ago, CHILLIN said:

You don't get the point MC. Tapatios generally are not buying flash rides, flash clothes right now - there is just too much rising crime, kidnapping and car jacking in Guadalajara. Why make yourself "bait". Many of the local farming and ranching compounds are very wealthy - a lot easier when the land was paid off generations ago. They want to live the "lifestyle of the rich and famous" and the scenarios suggested by the Telanovellas and music videos. That means packing the family into the 2016 Lincoln Navigator, and finding a place on the water to have a family meal. Older city kids have far too much going on to want to go to a family dinner on the Lake - bor-r-ring. You will see more Lincoln Navigators and high end pickup trucks in those small towns I mentioned, than in Guadalajara. These are the country barons, these are the ones you see visiting on the weekends. Older country kids are already bored out of their minds anyways.

I get the point fine.  You don't realize how many of them have very nice homes in Ajijic.  Las Salvias is mostly Tapatio.  A third of the homes on my block are owned by Tapatios.  I think you are fantasizing a bit here.  Have fun with it.

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Chillin most of the estates on the Lake in Ajijic and west are owned by Tapatios, there are plenty of Tapatios. All properties adjoining mine are owned by Mexicans and the the big places on the lake near our house  are owned by Tapatios.

I know many foreigners in Chapala whose Spanish is dismal and I know many foreigners in Ajijic who speak good Spanish, you just cannot generalize but to think you are more part of a communauty or another because you live there, is silly if you do not speak the language of your neighbors..

Chapala and Ajijic are very differnt but they are both Mexican towns like it or not and  I rarely speak English except with my husband and I live in Ajijic, it is all up to each person to live where they feel the most comfortable. 

Many people in Ajijic and Chapala are a very distorted view of their importance. and their integration in the society. where they live and that you will hear about from many Mexicans if you do speak the language. 

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55 minutes ago, bmh said:

Chillin most of the estates on the Lake in Ajijic and west are owned by Tapatios, there are plenty of Tapatios. All properties adjoining mine are owned by Mexicans and the the big places on the lake near our house  are owned by Tapatios.

BMH knows more about the culture and interworkings of this magnificent country than I will ever accomplish. How about these observations though:

1) The on the water estates are mostly 'old money', yes Tapatio.

2) The other Tapatios, the "new money", like building large, suburban homes, heated swimming pools, ATVs for the kids. They buy in food and booze for the weekend. They often have younger children. They feel protected and safe here.

3) The other Tapatios, with "new money" and older kids/teenagers prefer Puerto Vallarta. These kids want to meet other kids, their parents hope wealthy marriage prospects.

4) The country barons, with old or new money, are more family orientated (if that is even possible in this country) and mostly conservative. Their kids marriage prospects have probably been well established for many years, but not carved in stone. These barons want to protect their kids from falling in love with someone unsuitable, in godless Guadalajara and sinful Puerto Vallarta. They are mostly day trippers. El Patron rules these families and is the final word on everything. Think Vincente Fox.

The family dynamic is all important. Culturally, I know a great many Mexicans have a sort of sadness, or discomfort, for Gringos who have left behind their extended families, and have to rely on hired help for their every need, in a language they will never understand. Luckily - they are not too vocal about it.

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It is interesting to me that no one has brought up what could be considered a very big drawback to locating in Ajijic:  The large number of absentee/part time/expat non voter owners here.  Taking note of Harry's figure that we in Ajijic pay 60 percent of the taxes but the great majority of voters are in Chapala goes a long way to explain why Ajijic gets the short end of the stick on services.  The money goes where the votes are and that is Chapala.

So at the same time many report curtailed or erratic trash services in Ajijic, Chapala residents hasten to let us know their trash is getting picked up 6 times per week.  That's a graphic example, but hardly the only one.  Street cleaning and repair services have almost disappeared here but not in Chapala.  Most of the municipal investment goes into Chapala.  That is a simple fact.

Aside from the issue of being shortchanged on services, it is difficult to address issues at a block or neighborhood level in Ajijic because of the same issue of absentee, part time and non voting residents.  This town has very little electoral or political clout.

In deciding where to locate, if the above is important to you, that argues for Chapala or any of the communities where most of the residents are full time and voting citizens.  

Something to think about when deciding where to live.

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4 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

If you want to be invited to an "A List" party better to live in Ajijic. If you want to host one you BETTER live there.

Where are they going to park? Had to go out and pay a Telmex bill, delivered on Friday, but payable by Sunday. One of our near Hill Billy Country vecinos, definitely wealthy Tapatios (large, beautiful home), was having a big family celebration, all ages, could see a buffet table groaning with food. The ATVs are already roaring around the neighbourhood. We smiled and waved, and they smiled and waved back. They had at least ten vehicles there, and there was room on the street for way more than ten more. Pull that off in Chapala or Ajijic. The only "A" list partier I can think of, with lots of parking, was Billy Moon, in West Ajijic.

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In case this thread is read by people considering which town in which to locate I would like to clarify two things.

5 hours ago, ezpz said:

Chapala has its charms but I noticed years ago how totally congested it was all through the central area on weekends with traffic jams on side streets, air pollution from idling cars, noise, etc.  It had a much more urban feel to it as opposed to the more rural charm of Ajijic where charros ride up and down the streets you live on which I find immensely charming!

Ezpz is here talking about Chapala Centro where I first lived. She is correct about weekends there except for the part about the charros. There are plenty of horses even in El Centro. Outside of El Centro the weekends in Chapala are no different than weekdays. In fact, I would say that Ajijic around the plaza area on weekends is as congested and noisy as Chapala Centro.

52 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

So at the same time many report curtailed or erratic trash services in Ajijic, Chapala residents hasten to let us know their trash is getting picked up 6 times per week.  That's a graphic example, but hardly the only one.  Street cleaning and repair services have almost disappeared here but not in Chapala.  Most of the municipal investment goes into Chapala.  That is a simple fact.

Mainecoons has an idealized image of conditions in Chapala. Some areas have six day a week pick up. Other areas have five or four day a week pickup. We all are subjected to skipped pickups for unknown reasons. My most regular driving routes through the city take me over pothole strewn streets, some huge ones that grow larger by the week. So, Chapala is not a service utopia by any means.

We all, hopefully, are happy where we have chosen to live because the character and environment suit our personality and meets our needs. I am guessing that is what we all want.

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Four or five days per week would be heaven.  Try an erratic two these days.

I get a chuckle out of about how half the Chapala residents here like to gloat about getting the lions share of services and repairs that others pay for while the rest try and deny the obvious.

:)

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No worries about parking if you are invited to one of those A List parties. They send a car for you. We were able to walk to the one and only we were ever invited to. Rick threw a big bash for Cathy's 60th. The only time in my life when security checked to see if we were on the list, LOL. The main gift was a Bustamante sculpture valued somewhere in the six figures. I'm sure we were only invited because of how close we lived to them. I won't speak for my wife but I was definitely out of my league!

Great party though.

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  When I moved to Ajijic 21 years ago, it was still a fishing village.  There were a couple of good restaurants like Bruno's and Manix.  There were fishing nets along the waterfront, few cars and no traffic lights.  La Floresta was the only "fracc."  I came from a big city and loved (and still do) that everybody kind of knew each other here in the village.  There were no chain stores, the pizza store was the first.

 Sigh, but life here is still the best place I can be!

 

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Chapala took over Riberas at least seven or eight years ago. I was a volunteer on the local committee for a while: one that had an office for taxes and water fees, one that raised money through awareness and advertising in a nieghbourhood that had gone to crap because tapatios weren't paying their share on their "weekend homes". One that started installing street lamps that had been neglected and broken for years; one that raised so much money that Chapala decided to take it all for themselves, before it got spent on the lights, the potholes, and the wells. The meeting with the Presidente was about terrible road conditions on the north side of the highway in Riberas, towards the east end. It remains to be seen if that little trip was anything more than a publicity jaunt from a government that has turned lakeside into a concrete wonderland, ignoring infrastructure in favour of attracting tourists.

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Hope the efforts for Riberas are successful but what I heard is that the mayor listened but did not promise anything. Maybe that is his usual response to everything? I do think that going to the mayor's office and voicing one's agenda is worthwhile, but I suspect that, with this mayor, it has to be done more than once. Perhaps a demonstration with placards? My impression is that this mayor is not very proactive, to put it nicely. Well, poco a poco, as they say here.

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MC, I love this belly up failed frac!! It's good for an old hippy like me not to be living in a "gated community". The Coto La Mora- Riberas is very dollhouse, clean and friendly with Mexicans, Brits, Americans and Canadians. It feels so international. I feel like i died and went to heaven finding this.I can't get a phone or internet here, (different thread). Oh well. I adjusted. Internet from neighbor, cell phone.

I find I can enjoy Ajijic better if I only visit, and I visit often. There is something cool about each and every community up and down the carretera. 

MC, you know New Mexico as I do. It's like discussing Taos, Santa Fe and ABQ. Different strokes for different folks. Verdad? I don't care about the politics. it's quiet with no garbage or dogshit.

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Oh, and one more thing MC. Yes, Before I moved to the belly up failed frac, (very poetic), I lived up above where the Chapala Monday market ends. Ah, such a luxury to have 6 day a week garbage pick up. The only luxury over the rats, dog packs, neglected and abused animals, and a garbage throwing mentality. Music played by one set of neighbors enough to make anyone lose their minds. I'm a music lover. But not at window rattling, wall shaking levels with no end, day and night. So God bless the garbage services. The need is great for the very few residents who care and clean up tons of garbage and trash that other mindlessly throw.Havfe I mentioned the exteme amount of dog doo. You wouldn't last a  day there, MC. Again, God bless the garbage men in places like that. Think of it as your charity.

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Not to offend anyone, but Chapala is the Jewel of the Lake. At least to the Mexicans. They couldn't care less about the expat life in Ajijic, except for those who maintain their living from the work provided by the foreigners, and even most of those are basically only interested in their pay.

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Chapala is a great place to hang and putter around in the shops. I love the malecon there and sitting around reading or studying Spanish in cafes. I like the culture there. I never feel price gouged there like i would if i shopped in Ajijic. I find myself embracing the cultivation of my Spanish skills by spending my late afternoons and evenings there. 

  

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11 hours ago, LaChula2 said:

  When I moved to Ajijic 21 years ago, it was still a fishing village.  There were a couple of good restaurants like Bruno's and Manix.  There were fishing nets along the waterfront, few cars and no traffic lights.  La Floresta was the only "fracc."  I came from a big city and loved (and still do) that everybody kind of knew each other here in the village.  There were no chain stores, the pizza store was the first.

 Sigh, but life here is still the best place I can be!

 

And grocery shopping was where Guadalajara Farmacia is across from Lloyd's - not the cleanest of places.   The old guy delivering the firewood on the burro.  A night out at the Old Posada.  And then came more and more foreigners and more and more complaining; seems linked somehow.  I love now having the convenience of Walmart and Perry's Pizza just not all the traffic but, sigh, you're right, "life here is still the best place I can be."

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It's not the expats causing the explosion in traffic.  Car sales are booming in Jalisco despite the bad roads and Tapatios are flocking to lakeside in their cars.  By far most of the people in WalMart and the upgraded Soriana are Mexican.  Most of the people flocking to Centro Laguna are Mexican as well.

None of us live in small quiet towns along the lake now.  That's just the way it is and we either get used to it or go someplace else.  

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Jocotepec is the real jewel of the lake. Nicest setting and layout of any of the towns. Much nicer malecon and plaza and streets that aren't near as congested.

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