MexSeekin

While I am hardly an expert on this topic, I believe what you, Lou, are describing is the "canje" process -- covering the act of exchanging a tourist visa for a Mexican consulate-approved residency visa. What the OP seems to be describing is the "manaje de casa" process, which if I understand it correctly, permits the newly established resident to import most household goods duty free if completed within 6 months of initial entry. I am not aware that "nobody cares" about the household goods that one brings into the country (and I seriously question this statement), but maybe that is true in practicality.

Oh please, there's no "may" about it. The Virgen's visit WILL cause traffic delays ( in Chapala, at least) on Sunday. It will be worth it, though, if she succeeds in bringing more rainfall to the region. 🙂 Welcome to Lake Chapala!

D'Shanti, Los Compadres, Pasta Trenta, and Teocintle Maiz are the restaurants that most immediately come to my mind. I do wish there were more places that stayed open into the later evening hours.

I bought a house located in Chapala during the summer of last year. My closing costs amounted to 2.82% of the home's purchase price.

I say let's take delight in the bountiful rains, even if they uncharacteristically extend into the mid morning hours. The LONG (boring) dry season will be here before you know it.

Dra. Candy's office has on staff a hygienist, Dra. Alexandra, who I've pegged as a perfectionist and feel (based upon several experiences with her) does an exceptional job with teeth cleaning. And at a current cost of only MX$300 for the professional treatment, the fee surely has to be one of the world's most incredible bargains. The dental office is located in Laguna Plaza next to HSBC bank.

I also own a home here locally and reside part time in both Mexico and the U.S. For me, the biggest downside to the residente permanente visa, which I obtained last summer, is the stipulated inability to drive my U.S.-plated vehicle down here. In hindsight, I kind of wish I would have applied for a temporary resident visa instead, which permits bringing a U.S.- plated car down, but I did not want to deal with the annual visa renewal process. (I now understand, perhaps incorrectly, that the temporary visa need not be renewed annually after the first-year renewal, but can be renewed for the remainder of the 5-year(?) term.)

In lieu of YTTV, have you considered USTVNow? No VPN required. Channel line-ups on offer are not near as extensive as YTTV, though I think they can easily suffice for a casual-use, live TV viewer. Subscription plans are significantly more affordable than YTTV. And I see that the Bravo network for the Real Housewives addicts can be accessed through USTVNow.

Perhaps a smart watch with a fall detection feature set up to alert an emergency contact could be useful? https://wearholic.com/best-smartwatches-with-fall-detection/

At this moment, I'm renting a small, furnished house in Chula Vista that comes with wifi access to an Ilox internet connection. I have connected to the rental unit's TV a Roku Express HD device that I acquired in the U.S. for under USD 40.00, through which I've been streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and You-Tube without any buffering. YMMV.

My concern for your friends about the hotels near the airport, while acceptable places to stay, would be the likely very-early-morning sound disturbances from the neighboring rooms and corridors, as probably a lot of hotel guests prepare to check out and catch very-early-morning flights from GDL. If they we my friends, I might rather arrange for a trusted driver from lakeside to pick them up and drop them off at the new hotel almost all the way into Chapala on the hill across from Chapala Haciendas -- the HS HOTSSON Smart Chapala? I imagine it would be more quiet and serene there, allowing for a better night's rest into a later morning hour after getting to bed so late. Traffic from the airport at 1:00 am should be extremely light, ensuring a speedy transport to the hotel in under 30 minutes, I am guessing. You could then easily pick them up late morning after they've had a decent night's rest for a proper welcome and introduction to Lake Chapala. Of course, they could always go all the way to your place, though I doubt my friends would want to impose on me at such an hour. Just an alternative thought.

I recently acquired a home in Chapala with a mature avocado tree in the back yard that is producing a large quantity of fruit. I want to make sure that the crop does not go to waste; however, I know nothing about how to attend to the tree. Can anyone here advise me on how to determine when it's the right time is to harvest the fruit? (By the looks of things, I'm guessing it should be fairly soon.) And should all of the avocados be harvested around the same timeframe before they spoil? Might there be anything else I should be considering doing around now to protect crop? Many thanks.

If the tree cannot be trimmed any further back away from your property, how about simply picking up whatever debris falls onto your property and putting it in the trash? I own a home in a heavily forested neighborhood in the States, and cannot imagine how I would react to a "politely worded" letter from my neighbor asking me to keep my trees' leaves from blowing onto her property. I doubt, though, that the letter would be received favorably. Leaves and other debris from trees scatter. That's nature. In the interest of friendly neighborly relations, I suggest coping with it -- and I don't intend this to come across mean spiritedly.

I was not a witness to the accident, only the tragic aftermath. Given that particular unencumbered stretch of the carretera through La Floresta and the very-early morning hour in which the accident occurred, I'm guessing excessive speed was also a factor in the senseless loss of life -- as well as possible driver impairment. I've almost come to prefer the now-frequent times of traffic congestion on the carretera, where at least the speeds are slow enough that the likelihood of becoming involved in a fatal accident is reduced. Of course, wearing a helmet and obeying traffic laws if you're a motorcyclist helps too. I'm appalled everyday by instances of reckless driving practices I see around here.

H-E-B grocery stores/pharmacies across Texas are offering easy-to-make appointments for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. They even permit walk-ins without appointments between 3:00-5:00 pm, M-F, where vaccines are available. Refer to site below for further details. https://vaccine.heb.com