Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico MARCH NEWSLETTER Has Been Published!

My Mexican Permanent Residency Visa and a FREE Book!

Sayulita Beach is Quiet This Week

     Our world has changed so fast this month that I've rewritten this newsletter three times. I hope you are well. While the world hibernates during this Covid-19 pandemic, Jon and I are catching up on our home projects. One good thing about being home so much this week is that I’ve had lots of time to write. More about that below.

     After driving our motorhome to Arizona, we're happy to be back home in México. In January, we made a rather sudden decision to sell our 28-foot Triple E Class C Diesel motorhome through a consignment company, RV Arizona. Why would we do that after RVing in México for twenty years—and loving it? The main reason is that we decided it was time for me to apply for my Mexican Permanent Residency Visa. You can read more about that in my recent blog article, OUR LAST RV TRIP IN MÉXICO AND WHY! New Travel Plans.

Sadly, Our RVing Days in Mexico are Over

     It has been six weeks since I applied for my Mexican Permanent Residency visa. On February 19^th, I had my official photo taken and signed the paperwork for the application at the Book Store in Paradise Plaza Mall in Nuevo Vallarta.        The photographer asked me to remove my glasses and earrings, then pin my hair back from my hair, as required by the immigration office, INM. After she told me I still had too much hair, a wisp of bangs, covering my face, she sent me to the restroom to wet my hair and slick it back from my face. I’m sure my “mug shot” will be worse than any DMV photo I’ve ever had.

     I was told that in about six weeks, I would be notified to return to Nuevo Vallarta for the fingerprinting step. Normally, my Permanent Residency Visa would... continue reading HERE. 

FREE eBook from March 28 through April 1

On Amazon.com

     I recently discovered the useful app called Grammarly, an online grammar checker, and have been using it while writing my second novel, Pickle Jar Test: In Sickness and In Health #2. With all of this time on my hands, I decided to edit my novel, Just Another Manic Moment: In Sickness and In Health #1, using Grammarly, and rework the cover. In celebration of publishing the revised version, I am offering it FREE for five days beginning March 28. I hope you will read it and leave a brief review on Amazon as I am an independent author. Each review helps others find this book which I wrote to increase mental health awareness.

     What does this have to do with Healthy Living and Traveling in México? I believe living and traveling in México, a beautiful, less stressful place, is beneficial for our mental and physical health—and the book is partially set in this wonderful country.

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Terry L Turrell, Author

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10 Reasons We're Happy to be Back Home in México!

View of the Jungle from Our Upstairs Terrace

    There are so many reasons we're happy to be back home in México after our motorhome trip to Tucson last month! When I started writing about each reason I'm glad to be in Sayulita, I had to force myself to stop my list at number 10, since there are so many great things about living here.
    As a side note, we're also happy to take a break from traveling. Google emailed this map to us that confirmed that we were very busy with our travels in 2019.

 1.       Life is mellower, simpler here in Sayulita with its small-town atmosphere. The contrast to the fast-paced life in Tucson reminded us how much we prefer living in México. 

Jon Builds Gutters Mexican-Style in His Outdoor Workshop

2.    We’re getting more exercise. Sayulita is small enough that we can walk everywhere we want to go. We walk to and attend Zumba classes twice a week, yoga classes twice a week, and walk around town or on the beach every day, getting 10,000 steps per day much more often, according to our Fitbits. Another health benefit is that our Zumba and yoga classes are held outdoors under palapa roofs where we breathe fresh seaside air.

I Ease Into a Balancing Pose in Yoga Class

Yoga Helps Flexibility & Balance--Good for Jon's Parkinson's

I Lead Part of Our Zumba Class

3.    Our monthly budget is half of that in the U.S. or less! Our electric bill averages $18 USD per month and our internet expense is about $18 USD monthly. Our water bill did go up from $12 USD per month to about $14 USD this year, but we’re glad Sayulita is finally installing water meters at each home so there will be less waste in town and we will each pay for what we actually use. We own our home in México, so we are debt-free. Our property tax is about $100 USD annually. We pay all of our bills annually, so that simplifies life and gives us a discount in some cases!

4.  We need that Blue Water Effect—the benefits of being near water. The psychological benefits of sitting by the ocean, seeing the blue water, listening to the waves, have been proven. We are so happy to be back in our little oceanside town where we walk on the beach, go to dinner on the beach, and sit and watch the ocean at least once a week.

5.    We love the wonderful weather—blue skies and lots of sunshine. It seldom rains this time of year. The rain won’t come until June or July and lasts for about three months. Winter, spring, and autumn temperatures are comfortable.  This week it's averaging around 75°F during the day and 60 to 65°F at night—perfect for us. Tucson was too cold in February; I guess it's not far enough south for us.

6.   We enjoy dining out every other night at very good restaurants for less than half of what we would spend in the U.S. We eat healthier meals—lots of fresh produce, fresh meat and fish, and freshly prepared dishes, both in restaurants and at home. One of our favorite new dining experiences is discovering inexpensive restaurants that don’t have a liquor license so they allow us to bring our own wine without paying a corkage fee. This week we ate at PizzaVenezia in Sayulita and brought our own wine—the total bill for a large pizza with two extra ingredients, plus tip, was 380 pesos, about $19 USD, and there was enough left for lunch the next day. We saved money, I didn’t have to cook or wash dishes, and we listened to live jazz music while we ate! Okay, that was another 40 pesos for a tip ($2 USD) and well worth it.

7.       Our tropical garden is blooming, as it does year-round. Gardening is my hobby and therapy. Our small, colorful yard is our descansadero (resting place), our oasis, our calming escape place. We enjoy showing it off when friends and family come to visit. 
       We love these two new potted plants—does anyone know what they are called?

8.       Our small town has grown enough that we have most everything we need within walking distance. Intercam bank, Saint Luke’s Medical Center, fitness centers, multiple options for yoga and Zumba classes, many tienditas (little stores), farmacias, hardware stores, and over 100 restaurants, so we seldom need to leave town. If we can’t find it in Sayulita, we can usually have it delivered to our casita from Amazon.com.mx or MercadoLibre.com.mx.

9.  It will be easy and exciting to travel around México now that we are free of our car and motorhome. When we want to leave town for big-city shopping or an adventure, there are buses to Puerto Vallarta, a Vallarta Plus bus from Sayulita to Guadalajara, an international airport nearby, Uber, and taxis. We’re planning our first long-distance bus trip to Guadalajara to take a walking tour of the historical center. This summer we'll probably fly to the Guanajuato International Airport and then take a taxi to the cooler mountain city of San Miguel de Allende where we'll stay for two to three months. Maybe we’ll take a cruise sometime soon, too.

10.    We walk almost everywhere in Sayulita—it’s so healthy! We only need our golf cart to get around town when we need to haul heavy loads—no other vehicle. The golf cart is our transportation when we take laundry to the lavandería, shop for larger loads of groceries, or to explore the jungle and beaches. The golf cart simplifies our life and decreases our expenses—and Bella loves to go for a ride with us! 

Exploring Sayulita Beaches & Jungles

Retirement Before the Age of 59

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Healthy Living in Mexico Book #2

     Terry and Jon found a way to escape the rat race, retire early, and make their money go further. Their decision to move to México may seem radical to some, but others may soon consider doing the same thing! Discover how they prepared and left behind the chaos in the United States to find their piece of paradise in the sun.

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Terry L Turrell, Author

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