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Can an over 70 couple find happiness lakeside?


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On 6/8/2017 at 6:49 AM, elisabeth said:

Wili, though George and I are younger (65 now) we very much want to meet people who are considerably older when we go down on an exploratory visit next year.  I sent you a private message also.

Juan, I have been wondering about Lake Cajititlan. I am sure that if we decide to move we will start in the Lake Chapala area, then perhaps look at other places too (dont worry Pappysmarket, not PV!). 

We arrive on July 4 and leave on the 15th, to see if we think a longer visit is in order next year (that would really be a transition to moving permanently).  We are in a retirement seminar with Earl and John in Ajijic (http://retiringlakesideinmexico.com/) for the first few days, then staying at El Pequeno Suites to get a feel for Chapala. We decided on the seminar  so that other people provide some structure for the visit. Otherwise, I am afraid I would go off to the hot springs in San Juan Cosala and George woujd settle down with a book in a coffee shop. 

I want to thank the many people here who have already been generous with time and information. Elisabeth

Elisabeth, not sure how I feel about being referred to as "considerably older", but we really want to get to know and talk to others considering a move to "Lakeside". We plan to travel there the first of November for a week, then if all goes well, actually move there around March of next year 2018. Just now in the process of fixing up the house to sell it and disposing of a lifetime of accumulated stuff. Lots to do, lot to learn. Would be great to meet you and your husband at some point. Wili

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On 6/3/2017 at 2:48 AM, nothernewbie said:

We visited here for the first time about 41/2 years ago and stayed a week. Went home and put the house on the market and returned for another week to "make sure." When we first moved four years ago we rented but now own. Haven't been sorry for a minute. The kids don't like that we live here and I hear that a lot. Otherwise no complaints.

Our kids are grumbling too, but understand. We told them they can visit anytime.

Thanks for your opinion.

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On 6/3/2017 at 5:48 AM, seoulguy said:

You've asked the one question I haven't so far posted in these forums. I'm nearly 74, and I've spent a lot of time in a lot of places in Mexico, always on extended visitor status.  Now am considering temp visa. I'm very familiar with Chapala/Ajijic. I've been all over the Mexican west coast and Baja, worked in DF and Hermosillo, studied Spanish in Cuernavaca in order to do business in that language. I have never tried the Maya Riviera. I like being on water, and Cozumel sounds nice.  But....but...happiness, I wonder. My suggestion is get the practicalities out of the way first, like increasing COL for expats in high-density areas, such as Pto Vallarta, safety ( a big one; I'd never consider returning to Oaxaca state, or going south of Acapulco now; DF, well, you can't breathe properly), what about your Medicare, can't use it, banking, getting monthly cash, skimming is there and here, what about politics and with politics legislation, it can all change on a dime, to wit, USA, November 2016. Not lecturing, just saying happiness may be relative to settling the practical questions. One last thing, sell out before you try out?? Try it out for six months, a year, or as suggested above, snowbird. Travel around, get a taste to coastal living in Mex, visit GDL and DF, there's a wonderful school in Cuernavaca, MOR, Mex. Rent out your home, enjoy the extra cash, then decide.

Good advice, thank you. We need to sell the house regardless of where we will live, not a good property for renting. We have never been outside the US so we want an adventure. We can't afford an adventure unless we find a place to live with a lower COL. We're going to rent, so if we're not happy, we can leave and have a good story to share. Medical expenses could force us to return to Medicareland, but we don't want to live in fear of that. We hope when we get down to Mexico we can live cheaply enough to travel as you have suggested. Politics? Who knows? I do know, we've been warned, you can say "I told em so".

 

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On 6/3/2017 at 2:47 AM, Mainecoons said:

To answer the question in your title:  Certainly but there are a lot of cool places in Mexico and other places where you can find happiness too.  This one is getting really busy and you might prefer something quieter.  If you are snowbirding that opens up a lot of options that you wouldn't consider during the hotter months.

I'm getting a little nervous about too many expats in the Lakeside area, but we're hoping we can find something quiet to rent, until we get adjusted to living outside the US. Once we get a little more confidence, we'll look for other areas where we can find “Happiness”. You've raised some good points for us to consider, Thank you.

 

 

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7 hours ago, wili1943 said:

I'm getting a little nervous about too many expats in the Lakeside area, but we're hoping we can find something quiet to rent, until we get adjusted to living outside the US. Once we get a little more confidence, we'll look for other areas where we can find “Happiness”. You've raised some good points for us to consider, Thank you.

 

 

You are starting to see things with a new level of perception in a short amount of time. Keep asking questions and keep an open mind and you sound like folks who are adventurous and wise enough to switch gears if need be. Congratulations and would love to meet you if you find your way to PV in the cool season.

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8 hours ago, wili1943 said:

I'm getting a little nervous about too many expats in the Lakeside area, but we're hoping we can find something quiet to rent, until we get adjusted to living outside the US. Once we get a little more confidence, we'll look for other areas where we can find “Happiness”. You've raised some good points for us to consider, Thank you.

 

 

Firstly, the expats on these local forums are a minority among expats and participation by Mexicans is hardly more than nil.Most of the expats I know don't even know these boards exist. The population around the whole lake is 250,000 +/-. The pop. on the north shore is 80,000 +/- between Mezcala and Jocotepec and of that 10,000+/-  are expats so if you don't want to hobnob with expats you don't have to but you had better learn a lot of Espanol. Even here where a few Mexicans can speak and understand English it's wise to learn the language as much as possible. The Mexicans really appreciate the effort My Espanol after 9 years is pretty minuscule but I get by and of course get laughed at by my Mexican friends who also want to learn a bit of English from me. If you're looking for someplace quiet to rent you're looking at the wrong country.There are many quiet retirement communities in Florida like that. Might I suggest that you search youtube for vids about this country. There are plenty of them even on Chapala. You can here for yourself then.

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On 6/18/2017 at 7:37 AM, ned small said:

Firstly, the expats on these local forums are a minority among expats and participation by Mexicans is hardly more than nil.Most of the expats I know don't even know these boards exist. The population around the whole lake is 250,000 +/-. The pop. on the north shore is 80,000 +/- between Mezcala and Jocotepec and of that 10,000+/-  are expats so if you don't want to hobnob with expats you don't have to but you had better learn a lot of Espanol. Even here where a few Mexicans can speak and understand English it's wise to learn the language as much as possible. The Mexicans really appreciate the effort My Espanol after 9 years is pretty minuscule but I get by and of course get laughed at by my Mexican friends who also want to learn a bit of English from me. If you're looking for someplace quiet to rent you're looking at the wrong country.There are many quiet retirement communities in Florida like that. Might I suggest that you search youtube for vids about this country. There are plenty of them even on Chapala. You can here for yourself then.

OK I hear you, first order of business, take Espanol lessons. Everything I've heard about Lago Chapala has conviced us its where we're coming to visit in November and where we want to move to in 2018. Once there, who knows. Thanks.

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You can make a tilda "n" by holding down the "alt" key and typing 164 immediately.  After typing 164 let up on the alt key immediately.

Español

Learning the language is a fun challenge but I'm finding advanced age and poor hearing a real handicap in understanding Spanish speakers.

 

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On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 10:40 PM, wili1943 said:

Good advice, thank you. We need to sell the house regardless of where we will live, not a good property for renting. We have never been outside the US so we want an adventure. We can't afford an adventure unless we find a place to live with a lower COL. We're going to rent, so if we're not happy, we can leave and have a good story to share. Medical expenses could force us to return to Medicareland, but we don't want to live in fear of that. We hope when we get down to Mexico we can live cheaply enough to travel as you have suggested. Politics? Who knows? I do know, we've been warned, you can say "I told em so".

 

First, I wonder if willi1943 has anything to do with DOB. I was born on 19 June 1943 -- war baby. I have been seriously investigating COL, and it's apparent that retirees expecting to find cheaper COL in other countries "ain't gonna happen." Cabo, Cancun, PV, even DF all expensive. But this is what I did years ago to cut costs. Stay Mexican in Mexican barrios. Once you get settled in one place, you'll ask around, and locals will know where to find rentals of all types, but don't expect them to be luxury.  Here's an example, I always stayed at Villa del Mar in PV, now called Tradicional Villa del Mar, Fco I Madera 440 (http://hvilladelmar.com). It's in Centro, but amazingly quiet, and they have suites for cooking, maybe even cable now. In Hillo, I met an ER doctor, and we looked for rooms together and found what we wanted -- cheap. This strategy is good for traveling, but not for living.  In any case, I would strongly recommend a language school. Doesn't have to be Cuernavaca. School called Cemanahuac has the right look, but wrong address, while another school on Nueva Polonia 189 has the right address, but wrong look.  Anyway, you'll do homestays and get automatic networking. Schools all over the place.

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On 6/21/2017 at 11:30 AM, seoulguy said:

First, I wonder if willi1943 has anything to do with DOB. I was born on 19 June 1943 -- war baby. I have been seriously investigating COL, and it's apparent that retirees expecting to find cheaper COL in other countries "ain't gonna happen." Cabo, Cancun, PV, even DF all expensive. But this is what I did years ago to cut costs. Stay Mexican in Mexican barrios. Once you get settled in one place, you'll ask around, and locals will know where to find rentals of all types, but don't expect them to be luxury.  Here's an example, I always stayed at Villa del Mar in PV, now called Tradicional Villa del Mar, Fco I Madera 440 (http://hvilladelmar.com). It's in Centro, but amazingly quiet, and they have suites for cooking, maybe even cable now. In Hillo, I met an ER doctor, and we looked for rooms together and found what we wanted -- cheap. This strategy is good for traveling, but not for living.  In any case, I would strongly recommend a language school. Doesn't have to be Cuernavaca. School called Cemanahuac has the right look, but wrong address, while another school on Nueva Polonia 189 has the right address, but wrong look.  Anyway, you'll do homestays and get automatic networking. Schools all over the place.

Thanks seoulguy. good information.

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A great resource to check out is the "Jerry Brown Travels" channel on YouTube.  He and his wife live in Ajijic and have made a series of videos about living in Lakeside on a fixed income such as Social Security or a small pension - they cover rent, travel, insurance, medical, cost of living, etc.

 

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On 6/3/2017 at 7:59 AM, Mainecoons said:

Medical is a biggie for us over 70's.  In the last 3 years, for example, we've spent over $25,000 U.S. on two medical emergencies that we couldn't return to the U.S. to handle.  Medivac wouldn't have helped with either as both required immediate surgical and hospital care.  The quality was good in one instance, not so good in the other.

Looking into catastrophic insurance as a back up but thus far it seems the options for insurance for people our age are limited.  This may account for the fact that, at least from this area in my direct knowledge, medical is a major reason people leave here and return to the U.S.  The other reason is to be closer to family.

 

Maine, thank you for an honest post about medical costs. The OP should have enough spare money to pay for at least one emergency like a bypass or pacemaker.  

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5 hours ago, Prudent said:

Maine, thank you for an honest post about medical costs. The OP should have enough spare money to pay for at least one emergency like a bypass or pacemaker.  

I can't imagine that anyone could carry over more than Parts A and B. What supplement or what Advantage plan would cover 65+ living in another country? That means that anyone keeping A/B and returning to the States for medical care would have to bear all the copays, and not just copays. Docs have a penchant for charging what is termed excess. Good supplements pay for this; bad ones don't, and if you have no supp, you'll pay excess charges over what MC approves.  If I ever make it back to Mexico on a regular visa, it will be Seguro Popular for me. Over 70? Forget IMSS. If you an hour away from GDL, seems like those on SP could take advantage of the vast services there (Autonoma has a medical school) for all needs.

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31 minutes ago, seoulguy said:

I can't imagine that anyone could carry over more than Parts A and B. What supplement or what Advantage plan would cover 65+ living in another country? That means that anyone keeping A/B and returning to the States for medical care would have to bear all the copays, and not just copays. Docs have a penchant for charging what is termed excess. Good supplements pay for this; bad ones don't, and if you have no supp, you'll pay excess charges over what MC approves.  If I ever make it back to Mexico on a regular visa, it will be Seguro Popular for me. Over 70? Forget IMSS. If you an hour away from GDL, seems like those on SP could take advantage of the vast services there (Autonoma has a medical school) for all needs.

Our Medicare supplement costs 39 bucks a month per person and it includes our prescription drug plan and  generously low co-pays.  It covers us for emergencies outside the US during the first 60 days of travel.  For non-emergencies we can fly to US for treatment.  For emergencies in MX, I agree with Prudent's statement that everyone should have enough in savings to cover at least one major medical emergency in MX.   

For many of us boomers who led (and still lead) active lives, the most common surgeries are knee and hip replacement, both of which are usually non-emergency.  Those of us who get annual physicals may have warning before a true emergency for bypass or stents.  Cancers normally are non-emergency surgeries/treatments.

It's all a crap-shoot.  Everyone has to figure out their own personal risk tolerance.

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On 6/3/2017 at 7:53 AM, mhopkins2 said:

I am 74 (my wife is younger) and we narrowed our retirement locations to Cuenca, Ecuador and here at Lakeside.  We visited Ajijic first and never made it to Cuenca.  That was 4 years ago.  We had started to simplify (5 vehicles, 2 boats, etc.) and just continued until all was gone.  The difference in taxes and insurance will amaze you.  We had planned to rent the entire time but found a home we couldn't pass up.  We have catastrophic insurance but don't mind paying the $15 per office visit to the doctor.  Property tax is $150 per year as opposed to nearly $2000 per month in the NW.  I'm sure you've listed and prioritized what is important to you in retirement.  Safety and friendliness are probably at the top of the list and for that, Lakeside is terrific.  Our social calendar is far busier than it ever was when we were living in Oregon.  There's a streak of adventure that runs through most expats here which is a good common denominator and fodder for many interesting stories.  You'll find many NW brethren here.

We're now in SW Washington, but I was previously in McMinnville, OR. We plan to keep paying for Medicare and return to the states for major care if needed. We got excited when we read your comment about the expats having a streak of adventure. I know we have it and are looking forward to sharing time with other adventurers.

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Willi1943: We cut our Spokane, WA  living expenses by 2/3rds by moving to Mexico... We carry Medicare A&B and have Tricare as our supplement.  

Having lived 25+ years in foreign countries I find that being non judgemental and having a sense of humor will pay large dividends in living abroad... 

Lake Chapala and  is a great place to start your adventure...You can get your feet on the ground and then decide if it meets your requirements.

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