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.
Enjoy this video of the Lake Chapala area
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.
Living in Lake Chapala
Lake Chapala Community Orchestra
Michael Reason, the conductor of the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra is certainly not one to sit around and wait for the pandemic to end. Although the orchestra has not rehearsed for a year, Reason was able to mount 2 chamber ensemble concerts last October and December using members of the orchestra. Presented in the virtually open-air venue of the Unitarian Church in Riberas, both socially distanced performances were completely sold out.
Reason believes that even during these Covid times the performing arts must find a way of adapting to the “new” normal of presenting live cultural events. To this end he has now created a Broadway revue show that will give Lakeside residents the opportunity to see and hear performances of songs from shows such as Wicked, A Chorus Line, Follies and Kiss Me Kate.
“The revue has a basic theme running through it and the choice of songs have been carefully chosen to reflect this,” says Reason.
With no space to place an orchestra for the show he is heavily involved in creating symphonic backing tracks for each number.
MORE ARTICLES
THE DAILY LIFE OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
Lorin Swinehart offers his view on the Daily life of Jesus.
THE PRESIDENT’S CABINET HOLLYWOOD-STYLE
Tom Nussbaum offers a humorous view of a Hollywood Style Cabinet for the President.
GUADALUPE VICTORIA
After years of self-exile, an unsuspecting hero becomes Mexico’s first president. A forward-looking leader, he served the country well following the long war for independence.
JUST ONE MORE TEMPLE, PAPA
A firsthand description of one of the Wonders of the World. Sure to wet your appetite for a trip to Cambodia Part One: by Carol Bowman.
PSEUDO SEX
Eyebrows are raised at the end of a pilgrimage in Spain when comfort is offered to a friend in pain.
THE ANNA MATILDA WHISTLER FAN CLUB, LAKESIDE CHAPTER
Good advice about aging from . . . Whistler’s Mother? Absolutely by Don Beaudreau.
HOW TO SPEAK MEXICAN
Michael McLaughlin shares tips on how to have pleasant communications in Mexico.
More articles – April 2021
Home of the Week
“Family & Entertainment Estate”
Charming property with amazing outdoor entertainment areas. One bedroom or studio downstairs, casita with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, main house with 2 bedrooms with complete bathroom each plus half bath. Separate laundry, bodega storage, living-dining room. One more room on rooftop.
Big yard with fruit mature trees, 2 stories, a lot of space for parking, garage for two cars. Totally renovated kitchen, elevator and 28 solar panels for electricity.
Home For Sale In Lake Chapala
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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!
More articles:
Lake 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….
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….
More Lake Chapala Towns
