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Ajijic vs Chapala - so why not San Antonio?


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I'll be visiting either Chapala or Ajijic for 2 weeks - then hoping to relocate. I read an old discussion from 2016 debating the pros and cons of Chapala vs Ajijic.  So now I'm thinking of visiting San Antonio, exploring both towns and maybe living between both - living in San Antonio would offer best of both worlds?  What do you think?

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Or Riberas, which is next to San Antonio. It has some issues, but also some pluses. A lot quieter than many other areas. Rent for a while and don't settle on one area until you've seen what the different areas are like. Each area has good and bad points and some things are more important to some people than to others.

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San Antonio or La Florista is what I decided after staying in both Chapala and Ajijic. You can walk to Walmart Superlake and many nice restaurants and its a 10 minute drive to Ajijic or maybe 20 to Chapala.  You can even walk to the Ajijic plaza and the Wednesday market. 

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6 hours ago, Hudson2Beach said:

So now I'm thinking of visiting San Antonio, exploring both towns and maybe living between both - living in San Antonio would offer best of both worlds?  What do you think?

San Antonio is geat (but I've never lived there). All areas here have their pros and cons and they are all a bit different from each other. And what you think is the only thing that matters.

So I would encourage you to try not pre-determine "where is best for you" based on the opinions you read on the internet. Visit all areas for yourself. Only you will know which is right for you and your opinion is the only one that counts. Good luck!

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Thanks, Travis.  Yes, that's good advice and what I plan to do.  I like to do a lot of reading and research ahead of time so that I can check out certain features.  But I certainly realize that what one person likes and recommends doesn't necessarily match another's.  That's why I never ask what a waiter recommends.  Thanks!

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As I read the OP they haven't actually been here "physically" as of yet but are gathering information and  bouncing ideas off of us.  They have already indicated they will be here soon. 

That's what we do on this board, help newcomers with their questions and offer the benefit of our collective experience.

As always, the best advice is to come here and explore and live here for a while before settling down and buying something.  Not all of us have followed that advice religiously however.  :D

Welcome to our group Hudson.

 

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Yes, I'm planning a 2 or 3 week visit, but I've never physically been to the Lake Chapala area. 

I've been studying it for years - the more I read, the more I"m looking forward to it. 

Tonight, I just printed lots of maps to see where the various places are that I want to visit and to see the proximity of one to another... planning to visit the Lake Chapala Society, the American Legion, Walmart, Lakeside Presbyterian Church, the Malecon along the lake in Chapala, several restaurants, several massage therapists, and much more...

So as of now, I'm planning to stay in the Chapala - San Antonio area - close to all of the above-mentioned places.  I just hatched an idea today - instead of staying in just one place, I'll stay at a B & B first 5 nites, then at two different hotels for 5 nites each.  That way I get to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the area from different perspectives and locations... I know that there are such big differences as you go from one town to another - or even from one neighborhood to another... as in any town.

I'll also spend a few days in Ajijic - sounds great, but we need to really conserve money - we have a dependent adult son that will be staying in the states, but he still needs a lot of support... long story...

We plan to eventually relocate and want to rent a unit in this Chapala-San Antonio area for the first year or two.  When I visit, I'll be looking at 2 BR furnished units - maybe in a gated area (for my wife).  We want a balcony or a deck.  She wants a small flower garden to work on her own - she loves gardening!  I'm a little concerned about the scorpions, spiders, ants, etc. that I've been reading about...

Last night I just read the 2018 report on the health of Lake Chapala by that engineer who's been doing all the work - very encouraging!

I'm learning so much from the various webboards - thanks so much for your help.

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Just remember that scorpions are more common in the rural areas like many fraccs and in the newer built up areas that were recently in a wild state. They are less common in the towns.  In downtown Chapala with my decent sized lot full of vegetation I might see one every two years.  And almost never in the house.  We put up rubber strips under each door which keeps most of them out.  Definitely spend time in each area to experience their good and bad.  Each area is unique!

 

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8 hours ago, dichosalocura said:

Just remember that scorpions are more common in the rural areas like many fraccs and in the newer built up areas that were recently in a wild state. They are less common in the towns.  In downtown Chapala with my decent sized lot full of vegetation I might see one every two years.  And almost never in the house.  We put up rubber strips under each door which keeps most of them out.  Definitely spend time in each area to experience their good and bad.  Each area is unique!

 

I lived in an attached house in Ajijic. While we saw the occasional scorpion, our neighbor had them all the time. One does not have to be in a rural area to have them, just on a centuries old "trail".

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I will say this for Mexican scorpions, the small ones really deliver a punch. I get stung from time to time up here NOB and no big deal, there I got hit on the end of my middle finger (no I wasn't?) and within a few hours I could feel it all the way to my elbow. It took a full month to completely regain feeling in that finger. And the worst part was that it happened outside and I reactively tossed him away and before I could find and kill him he vanished to live and sting again?

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I remember the first time I was stung by a scorpion, maybe in 1999 or so. I only knew that in some James Bond 007 movies, that scorpions were used to kill people. So I had a terrible panic attack and was rushed to a bed in a clinic where I was treated, not for the scorpion sting but for a panic attack.

I sure felt dumb, once I learned the truth about the scorpions found lakeside. I do remember learning that the  breed of little scorpions lakeside have a worse sting than the larger ones.

Being stung by one is no fun but nowhere has serious as I thought.

I was also taught that they most often come inside ones home when it gets super dry outside and they go searching for moisture, usually a month or so before the rainy season starts when it is the driest outside.

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I recently read that if you have scorpions inside, you can moisten and then crumple up some burlap. This will attract them, and then you can just take the burlap outside and shake them out. This sounds a little scary to me, but if it works, it sure beats having scorpions in your bed, shoes, etc. 

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8 minutes ago, Kim G said:

I recently read that if you have scorpions inside, you can moisten and then crumple up some burlap. This will attract them, and then you can just take the burlap outside and shake them out. This sounds a little scary to me, but if it works, it sure beats having scorpions in your bed, shoes, etc. 

I've never heard of that, but sounds like it would work. Way back when, I lived in El Paso near an irrigation canal. We would find a big green tumbleweed, tie a rope to it, and toss it in the canal. Come back a few hours later and it would be full of crawdads. Not exactly the same thing, but I would imagine that the scorpions would be attracted to the wet burlap and then just kind of attach themselves. 

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On 5/31/2018 at 6:47 PM, Hudson2Beach said:

Thanks for all your insights on scorpions... a variety of opinions... I saw a movie once - took place in a foreign country.  They put something - a common substance - in the windows to repel scorpions, but I don't remember what.

I believe you are thinking of A Good Year with Russell Crowe... It was set in France and they used lavender on the window sills to repel scorpions. Good movie.

My wife calls me an idi0t savant when it comes to remembering things like this... stressing the word idi0t .

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