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Some people get sick and others do not. We are not all in the same physical health depending on habits, etc. Those harmful elements were still not meant to be consumed. I prefer to not wait until there is a problem.

I drank tap water in Chapala, simply filtered and sometimes treated with UV, but often not, from age 65 to 78 and still do not glow in the dark, or exhibit other symptoms. Now, at 81, I suspect that something may eventually kill me, but I am too busy to worry about it.

I've lived in six locations on the north side; lake front in Ajijic (2), mountain side Ajijic, Ajijic village, San Antonio, and upper Chula Vista, as well as Jocotepec over eight plus years, and now living (happily) lake front near San Luis. Telmex does have phone and internet here, IF, you can get an available line. I've been on the waiting list for something like six months. I don't know the local speed for Telmex, but they commonly offer only a fractional upload speed, compared to the download speed (10Mb dn/perhaps 0.5Mb up). Spyderweb offers internet in many locations here (needs line of sight from their towers and uses wifi frequencies to a local modem) but their prices are quite high comparatively. However, you can choose your up and download speeds, to a point... I used them in Joco and here in San Luis, but they aren't exactly a customer oriented company, more like a buyer beware, and I haven't experienced a steady, reliable signal from them. Ilox has been here (south shore) for years. Currently, they say they will only install to "businesses", but the definition is not clear, might be that telling them you have a business is enough. Yet, I have a neighbor who's had their residential service for a couple of years. He reported there were some outages from time to time, and, you pay a year in advance. Speeds can be much higher than Telmex. When it's working, it's a good service. Ilox's system was installed at Roca Azul (rv park in Joco) around a year ago, and the residents there report continued, frequent outages of the internet (as well as with the electricity and water) and, it's only provides a 20Mb service for the ALL the RVs, which can number as high as 35 to 40 units when a caravan come in. One full-timer there uses Spyderweb and generally reports a reasonably steady service, but not without occasional calls to fix problems. The new options from both AT&T cellular and Telcel, are cell system based internet modems (essentially Hot Spots) are providing much better speed and reliability (so far). (AT&T less so while they are solving a problem, which might be from overselling their system. I have a modem from both companies. Each offers a choice between 5 and 10Mb speeds, same prices, and both throttle speeds down after passing certain monthly bandwidth usage. These will only work well ( i think), if you are close enough to a cell tower to pick up the 4g service and don't have many buildings between you and the cell tower. The AT&T office in Joco is buried in the downtown buildings and there he seldom gets much speed from his modem. For non-imported groceries, you can find a lot in Jocotepec, as well as a number of restaurants, but, they aren't the gringo oriented ones as in Ajijic. You can also get basic groceries (vegies, breads and meats) in any of the villages. The need for speaking Spanish is most relevant to how you live. If you are spending lots of time interacting with the locals (south shore), you'll need more Spanish but, MANY speak at least a little and others speak a lot of English. At the government offices, less so. Can't offer much about boat docking. I plan a boat in the future, but it won't be until I can build a secure boat house, or long (perhaps) rail based access down to the water. Leaving a nice boat unprotected on the shore is probably a precursor to giving your boat to someone else... However, if you bought something like one of the old fishing boats here, might be less threat of loss. (Like having a rusty old bicycle or rust-bucket car that nobody would want to steal.) One could easily have a trailer sized boat, stored at your home and just get it wet when needed, but if you aren't going to have a car at all, that's more complicated. NOT having a car over also offers complications. Walmart (as a point of reference) is 25 miles by road (8 to 10 miles by water) and can sometimes be driven in 40 minutes, if you drive fast where possible, but will normally take an hour, unless you are east of San Luis. The closet hospital I know of is east of Joco, about 25 minutes by car. Travel time to Costco (in Guad) is no longer, maybe a little faster than from Ajijic, about 50 minutes (+/_). You might want to have a plan in place if you need sudden transportation, such as an unplanned trip to the doctor. And, if you choose east of San Luis, you will learn to hate the road "through" San luis. It's about 1 1/2 miles of narrow two lane, with cars randomly parked on the side causing a one lane event with countless car and trucks (and backhoes/farm equipment) trying to get through. The highway is busy much of the day and night, thus, of you live close to it, means traffic noise, mostly from the countless truck (jake breaks and lost mufflers) and weekend motorcycles (in mass). Otherwise, this side seems quieter to me. And, finally, the view looking north (as compared to looking south from the north shore) is really, quite a lot nicer. One things is seeing the night lights of the far more developed north shore. Another might be just the difference between the mountain ranges on the north and south sides. And in the dark, you see the 'light' of Guadalajara over the mountain top, but you also see lots of stars overhead. Fire trucks will come from Joco, which means you should get your hose turned on while you wait... Real Estate scams and problems can occur anywhere around the lakeside (around Mexico?), caution is obviously needed if you are buying. Still, lots of gringos have purchased properties along the south shore, many have never had any "title" issues at all. A long-term lease would remove those specific concerns. Regarding water and electricity, San Luis appears to pump (pressurize) water (on the west side) three late afternoons each week, Tues., Thur. and Saturday. This water fills your own tanks, and you draw water from them. Of course, some scheduled days they might not pump (it happens), and sometimes the pressure could be lower than other times. If you design a new water storage system here, it might make sense to have a week or more capacity to avoid a possible day or two without water. If renting, buying a second storage tank is easily affordable. Electricity seems normal for Mexico. Voltage (mean voltage target in Mexico is 127v) during the day is commonly lower, and in the evenings/overnight commonly higher. There are occasional brief (a minute or two) outages, and when there's a break in the power line (storms or auto accidents) power can go out for some hours, which isn't significantly different from the other lakeside locations I've lived. However, I have a general inclination for installing a proper voltage regulator (boost/reduce functions). There are many choices and sizes available. You might find voltage Controllers, as well as true Regulators. Iso Solabasic offers both such systems. Both can function with input from about 90 volts to about 147 volts. The output is essentially flat with their regulators, but their Correctors output from 102 to 132v. A 50amp corrector has a retail price around 4,500p and the Regulator is around 8,000p. I've seen them for less in the big Commercial electrical shops in Guad. Lots of Gringos have solar panels and many pay next to nothing each month as a result. Not all include a battery storage system, but having one and a suitably sized inverter can eliminate brown/black outs. In west Ajijic a few years ago I saw voltage as low as 65 and as high as 160. That high isn't normal, but lows aren't uncommon. Also, some will probably have to debate, during the rainy season, I have observed lots more clouds and rain on the north side, then here on the south side. Perhaps I am delusional, as well as decrepit... I prefer being on the south, but, if you think about going out to eat more than, perhaps once a week, or participating in any of the countless groups and activities on the north shore, you'll spend a lot of time on the road and probably tire of it fast. I suggest you consider keeping (or getting) a car, possibly an small economy type, and use it as sparingly as you like, but, have it for when you need it. (trips to Costco?) This side is certainly more peaceful and relaxed and probably represents what the north shore was 30-50 years ago. I expect property values will climb here, but, who is going to live long enough to enjoy that? Last, take all dire warnings about anything posted on this webboard, with a load of sale (or maybe BBQ sauce). There are so many old people here passing on old stories and fears and rumors and guesses, about nearly everything, things can sound a lot worse than they are. If you crossed north by your little boat, getting a ride to shops would be easy by obtaining the local Taxi stand phone numbers (to call ahead), or by learning some of the private driver's numbers or even using Uber. In your 40's, walking might be desirable. If you were ready to motor back south across the lake, and see a big storm, there are plenty of places you could wait it out, possibly with a nice beer or music or just enjoying an art gallery. And if the wind happened to come up when you are half way back across, it's only four or five miles more which might be 10 minutes travel time, even a modest motor boat will likely get you to shore before any real trouble. I expect you're an adult and can make reasonable decisions on the fly... Renting first is one of the best bits of advice for anyone coming here to buy. It's easy be enamored with this or that location/community or house, but taking the time to learn how close that house is to an Eventos or how many dogs live next door or on the roof, or which house has parties till tomorrow all weekend long, will greatly improve your happiness. Unless you're deaf, in which case, who cares? In hunting for a house, be it to purchase or rent, get out of the car and walk and talk to everybody. You speak Spanish. Ask. Most small communities are going to have at least shop that the proprietor will know everybody and (nearly) every opportunity. Start at the corner grocery and work your way down the street. You've already spent time lakeside, you already know it can be a great place to live!

I have it like it.I have the HD package.I also like it because I can order the NFL Sunday Ticket so I can at least get regular season games,Go Hawks.I can also find games not covered with it on the many other sports channels available on SKY