Evaluating Two More of Our Eight Favorite Places in Mexico
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| La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel in the Background |
San
Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
For years we traveled around Mexico and never imagined we
would consider retiring in San Miguel de Allende. We had the mistaken belief
that it had been overrun by foreigners, that the charm of the once small town
had been ruined. Some even liken it to Disneyland, just another tourist
attraction, painted and enhanced until it is picture-perfect. We wanted to live
in real
Mexico.
Then, we visited San Miguel de Allende and fell in love with
it like so many North Americans have. Though the town has grown since Tony
Cohan described it in his book, “On Mexican Time”, published in 2000, the Spanish
colonial architecture of the central town has been well-preserved. The majestic
cathedrals, the attractive, colorful centuries-old homes and hotels along narrow
cobblestone roads, the beautifully landscaped parks, and the lively festivals
are just a few of the things that make this city special.
We began to envision ourselves living in San Miguel de
Allende. No one was more surprised than we were that we would even think about
living in this tourist town. We started listing our “Pros and Cons” of moving
to this amazingly gorgeous city.
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| Part of a Wedding Procession through San Miguel de Allende |
Here
are some of the things we like about San Miguel de Allende:
1.
We are drawn to Spanish colonial architecture. We could spend hours each day
walking down cobblestone roads exploring the town, fascinated with the old
world beauty. This city is even more beautiful than Old Town Mazatlán, another
of our favorite historic areas in Mexico.
2. Plenty
of great restaurants to satisfy our desire to dine out four evenings each
week. TripAdvisor lists 317 restaurants and we only sampled a small fraction of
those in the two weeks we stayed in San Miguel de Allende.
3. A
good bus system. This is a city where it is recommended that you do not drive into centro (downtown) because the streets are very narrow and there is almost
no place to park. Centro is a walking
area and that works for us. We stayed in the outskirts of town at the Hotel
& RV Park San Ramon, caught the bus to
centro, and then walked around the historic district. The buses stopped running
fairly early so we caught a taxi back to the RV Park after dinner, not an
inexpensive ride.
4.
Walking
around town was always interesting and good exercise. There is so much to
see in San Miguel de Allende that it would take years to explore it all. We
walked a different route every day to see as many of the cathedrals and parks as
we could during our two-week stay and felt like we had barely scratched the
surface. The walk around centro, viewing
the famous La Parroquia de San Miguel
Arcangel and El Jardin Principal (central
plaza and garden) is level and easy walking. When we walked to the Parque Benito Juarez, we found ourselves
going up some fairly steep hills, admiring beautifully restored old homes,
hotels, and churches along the way. Carrying our Garmin GPS with Mexico
software helped us find our way through the winding streets and walkways, parks
and plazas, and back to the bus stop. My Fitbit pedometer registered that we easily met
our goal of walking 10,000 steps per day while in San Miguel de Allende. To see
more photos of our walking tour in San Miguel de Allende, view my blog post at: http://healthylivingandtravelinginmexico.blogspot.mx/2014/04/san-miguel-de-allende-mexico-walking.html
5. The city was clean. The streets were well-swept and free of trash; the air was
clear and pollution-free when we were there.
6.
The
climate is moderately warm with a low amount of rainfall, only 22 inches
per year on average.
7. San
Miguel de Allende has at least one great fitness center and Zumba class! To
read more and see photos of the excellent fitness center we discovered, see my
blog article, “ZUMBA WITH CESAR ESPINOSA IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MX” at: http://zumbamexico.blogspot.mx/2014/04/zumba-with-cesar-espinosa-in-san-miguel.html
8. Grocery
and supply shopping is convenient. We shopped at the Mega supermarket and
found everything we needed. This store is outside of the congested centro area so we avoided tourist
traffic when going to shop there. The central market downtown had beautiful,
fresh produce, so perfectly displayed that we thought it wasn’t real when we
first walked past it.
9. Health
care is available in San Miguel de Allende with two general hospitals and
various medical clinics.
10. There are several banks in San Miguel de Allende, making withdrawal of pesos
easy and secure.
11. With a population of about 140,000, San
Miguel de Allende is a large enough city that most services we would need are available such as Veterinarians,
beauty salons, hardware stores, public library, pharmacies, etc.
12. There is a large enough number of foreign
expats, about 5 percent of the population, that we would be able to meet people from our own country while participating in
community activities.
13. San Miguel de Allende has a reputation for
being a safe city. We felt safe walking around the centro during the daytime and after dark, where the streets were
well-lit and there were plenty of other people strolling around.
14. Many interesting
places to visit in the area surrounding San Miguel de Allende. We spent a
couple of days exploring the amazingly beautiful city of Guanajuato about 35
miles away. I wanted to visit the El Charco de Ingenio Botanical Garden
and Parque
Landeta, but we ran short of time.
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| Overlooking San Miguel de Allende and Ignacio Allende Lake |
Here
are the reasons we ruled out San Miguel de Allende as our retirement home:
1.
Relatively high cost of housing, especially near centro. If we decided to purchase a home in San Miguel de Allende,
we could probably only afford a small apartment on our limited budget. A casita (small house) with a garden within walking distance from downtown would
be out of our price range.
2. Relatively high cost of dining out. The elegant, gourmet restaurants were out
of our price range on our minimal retirement budget. Even the taco restaurants
were more expensive than similar places along the Pacific coast.
3. We missed being on the Pacific Ocean with the sandy beaches, the salty sea breeze, gently
breaking waves, and the water sports we enjoy. We originally thought that the nearby Ignacio Allende Lake
would satisfy our need for living near a body of water, but it was too far
away from the city. This was probably the biggest reason that we decided against moving to
San Miguel de Allende. Maybe a town on Lake Chapala would satisfy our desire to
live near water.
4.
The
higher altitude was difficult for me to adjust to, averaging at 6200 feet.
I found that I experienced lower energy, headaches, and occasional dizziness.
This was especially noticeable when I was taking Zumba class and found I had to
slow my pace to keep my heartrate from getting too high.
5. Winter
temperatures are too cool for us, especially in the morning and evening
with lows in the 40’s and 50’s Fahrenheit and daytime highs in the low 70’s.
The cooler mountain temperatures are perfect for some North Americans, but we
find we enjoy the warmer coastal climate.
6. San
Miguel de Allende felt too large and spread out for us. Since we have made
the decision to give up owning a car, we want to be able to walk or ride the
bus to get around. The Old Town of San Miguel de Allende is walkable, but in
order for us to live in this area, the cost of housing would exceed our budget.
It was becoming more and more clear to us that we were looking for a smaller Mexican
village, not a big city such as San Miguel de Allende.
7. San
Miguel de Allende is not convenient for us to travel to from Medford, Oregon. The
closest airport to San Miguel de Allende is in León, Guanajuato, México
(BJX-Del Bajío), which would require a long, expensive taxi ride,
about two hours from the airport to a home in San Miguel de Allende. Our flight
from Medford would be 10 to 11 hours of travel with two layovers. It was longer than we wanted to
travel each year when we went to Oregon to visit our family and it was too much
to expect of our little wiener dog, Bella.
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| 11 to 12 Hours Travel To San Miguel de Allende |
So, as much as we
enjoyed our time in San Miguel de Allende, and even though we could envision
living in this colonial city, we ruled it out for our retirement home. We have met expats
who have retired in San Miguel de Allende and love living there. It is just not
for everyone. San Miguel de Allende will still
be on our Bucket List of places to visit again in the future.
Jocotepec, Jalisco
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| Zócalo in Jocotepec |
Jocotepec is one of three cities along the shores of Lake
Chapala that are popular retirement homes for expats from the United States and
Canada. The towns of Chapala and Ajijic have a larger percentage of gringos
living there than Jocotepec. We chose to stay in Jocotepec when we were living
and traveling in our motorhome, simply because it was the only town on the lake
with an RV Park. Roca Azul is more than just an RV Park—it is also a sports
park with a wonderful swimming pool, a mineral pool, a tennis court, volleyball
courts, an event center, 24-hour security, cabins for rent, and more. With the nearly perfect
weather, the view of the lake and surrounding mountains, walking trails, bird
watching, close proximity to downtown, and the friendly people, we could see why
there were quite a few expats from the U.S. and Canada who live at Roca Azul
year around. For more information on Roca Azul, see www.clubrocaazul.com
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| The Largest Pool at Roca Azul in Jocotepec |
Jocotepec is a very Mexican town with a pretty Zócalo, a
traditional central plaza with an ornate gazebo, benches for social gatherings,
and well-maintained landscaping. When we dined at one of the restaurants on the
perimeter of the Zócalo, we could watch the activity at the two churches, the
couples strolling through, and the children playing. We noticed a few gringos in
the plaza, people watching like we were, but most of the people in this town
are Mexican. This would be a place to immerse ourselves in Mexican life,
learning Spanish more quickly since few residents here speak English.
Jocotepec is an old city, founded in the year
1529. Most of the buildings in centro (the
downtown area) were constructed of adobe and many have been resurfaced with
stucco and paint to freshen the appearance. Some buildings have old, peeling
plaster and paint, revealing the original adobe brick and mortar underneath,
giving the town a somewhat worn look. Jocotepec is not a tourist town so it is
less polished than San Miguel de Allende, but just as clean. It was obvious to
us that the residents here take pride in their town.
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| Intricate Mural in Centro Depicting Jocotepec's History |
Here
are some of the things we like about Jocotepec:
1.
Jocotepec is a very Mexican town, where
the people are friendly and relaxed. It is a small city with a population of
about 38,000, so it felt more peaceful with less hustle and bustle of a large
city such as Mazatlán. We considered living at Roca Azul in our motorhome or maybe a fifth wheel with a bit more
space. The property is large, overlooking Lake Chapala and the mountains, with
plenty of sports activities to keep us from getting too lazy.
2.
The
mixture of people who lived at and visited Roca Azul was unique and pleasant,
unlike any other place we had lived during our travels in Mexico. Our neighbors
were friendly and enjoyable. The park is large and spread out with plenty
of elbow room for everyone. Two sections of Roca Azul were devoted to expats
who live there in motorhomes or fifth wheels most of the year. We stayed in the
area with a view of the lake and the lighthouse, where there were more transient campers, both
Internationals and Mexicans. Mexican families come from Guadalajara for their
vacations and spend weeks living out of their trailers, the kids running,
riding bikes, and playing throughout this giant, safe playground. The annual “Combi
Reunion” (Mexican name for VW Microbuses) gathered there one week and we had as
much fun watching them as they had showing off their specially decorated
microbuses, playing musical instruments, and playing soccer. Intermixed in this
side of the RV Park were Americans and Canadians, some retired couples, an
older woman with her adopted daughter, a single gringo and his dog who looked permanently
settled in a medium-sized trailer, and other travelers just stopping by for a
night or two on their way to other adventures. All were friendly to us and we
received several invitations to come by for a drink and a chat. We practiced
our Spanish and the Mexicans practiced their English with us in a conversation that mixed both languages. We found that
the smiles, the laughter, and the fun of watching the children play overcame
the language barrier. We were very comfortable and content during the two weeks
that we stayed at Roca Azul. For more information about Roca Azul, see www.clubrocaazul.com
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| One Expat's Home and Yard at Roca Azul in Jocotepec |
3.
We felt safe
in this town, walking from Roca Azul as well as strolling around centro during the daytime and the
evening.
4. Jocotepec is a clean place where the residents seem to take pride in their city. They sweep the street and pick up trash in front of their homes and businesses daily.
5.
The climate
is nearly perfect year round, with temperatures ranging from an average maximum
of 75°F in January to 88°F in May, and with relatively low humidity most of the
year. Rainfall is fairly low, about 29 inches per year with most of it falling during
the summer months of June through September.
6.
Low
cost of housing if we lived at Roca Azul in a fifth wheel or other RV, as
many expats do. The annual lease for
a site in 2014 was about $4000 U.S. per year (only a little over $330 per month
if a year lease was signed) and included all utilities and internet. This was
the least expensive home we had found in an area we liked in Mexico! There was
plenty of space in each site for gardening and privacy sight screens. Most of
the expats had developed their leased site into colorful yards with pink and
red flowering bougainvillea, palm trees, and other interesting plants that were
new to me. An inexpensive home with a space to garden and enjoy the birds was
what we were looking for.
7.
Health
Care is available nearby. The new Jocotepec General Hospital opened in 2015.
Several major medical centers are about an hour’s drive away in Guadalajara.
English-speaking doctors and dentists are available in Ajijic and Chapala, 12 to 18 miles away.
8.
There is a bus system that runs from the Jocotepec bus depot, along Lake
Chapala through Ajijic and to the city of Chapala. We could walk about 1 ½ miles
from Roca Azul to the bus station in town, not too far for us, when we wanted
to ride the bus to other towns to shop, go to dinner, or see a doctor or dentist.
9. I was excited to find lively, fun Zumba classes in Jocotepec that I could
walk to, adding to my exercise for the day. This was also a good place to meet
other expats who live in town. For more information on these classes, see my
blog posts, “Zumba with Daniela in Jocotepec” at: http://zumbamexico.blogspot.mx/2014/04/zumba-with-daniela-ibarra-garavito-in.html and “Zumba with Maria in Jocotepec” at: http://zumbamexico.blogspot.mx/2014/04/zumba-with-maria-in-jocotepec-jalisco.html
10. The Jocotepec
city park was a relaxing place to people watch on a Sunday afternoon while
enjoying an ice cream cone. The children played in the fountain to cool off or
road the kiddy train around the park while the adults relaxed on benches in the
shade. Throughout the park were whimsical statues of fish made of colorful tile
mosaic, favorite backdrops for photos.
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| Fountain at Jocotepec City Park |
11.
Fresh
Raspberries! The Driscoll Farms raspberry fields surround Roca Azul RV
Park, so we were able to buy just-picked, juicy berries at roadside stands for
25 to 50 cents per quart. Delicious and inexpensive! This is the same farm that
supplies some of our Oregon grocery stores, but after being shipped that far
they cost about ten times as much and sure don’t taste as yummy. Strawberries
and blackberries are also grown in Jocotepec. The fresh berry supply alone was
almost enough to make us decide to move to Jocotepec!
12.
Bird
watching was excellent at Roca Azul. Sitting in our RV site we watched
countless numbers of goldfinches, hummingbirds, orioles, house finches, doves, robins, herons
near the lake, and another exotic, bright orange and red beauty that we were
unfamiliar with. We were entertained daily by the birds, many of the same
species that we watched at our home in Ashland, Oregon plus new ones indigenous
to the mountains of Mexico.
13.
We found a good lavandería and other services we needed in the downtown area, though it was two miles from Roca Azul RV
Park to centro. We were able to drive
to town with our tow car at the time we were there whenever we needed to haul
laundry, groceries and other supplies. Now that we don’t have a car, we would
need to ride our bikes or use a taxi service to take our laundry to the lavandería
once a week. We didn’t see any golf carts being used in this town so we doubt
that they are considered street-legal the way they are in some smaller towns in
Mexico. There are several pharmacies
in town with good inventory and reasonable prices. Our favorite was Farmacia Guadalajara, but sometimes we
had to visit more than one pharmacy to find the medication we needed.
14. Shopping for
groceries and supplies was somewhat limited in Jocotepec. The Bodega
Aurrera was the only supermarket in town when we were there. We liked to shop
for produce at the Fruteria de Cuarto
downtown, near the main plaza, where the fruit and vegetables are very fresh
and inexpensive. We also shopped at meat markets around the plaza where the
meat is fresh and less expensive than at the supermarket. We could walk the
two miles from Roca Azul to the plaza to shop, and then take a taxi home with
our supplies. Ajijic has a popular Wednesday market that we could ride the bus
to for weekly produce shopping. If needed, there is a Wal-Mart in Chapala and
we could ride the bus there. It is only about 13 miles from the Jocotepec bus
station, but probably about an hour bus ride each way down Highway 23, the busy
road along Lake Chapala.
15. We would
walk to town to go out for dinner, and then take a taxi home. Or we could
walk to the bus station and take a bus to Ajijic or Chapala for dinner at more upscale
restaurants. We would get plenty of exercise if we lived at Roca Azul since we
don’t have a car. We would have a nice two mile walk down a country road, past
the raspberry fields, and into town. Life would be simple and slow.
16. The Historic
District of Guadalajara is only 40 miles away. One of our “Bucket List”
items is to take a walking tour of this area with its numerous parks, plazas,
sculptures, Spanish Colonial cathedrals and other famous buildings. We
could easily take the bus from Jocotepec to Guadalajara for a weekend of sightseeing
and dining out in the big city.
Getting
to Jocotepec
The nearest airport to Jocotepec is the Miguel Hidalgo y
Costilla International Airport in Guadalajara, 45 miles from the Roca Azul RV
and Sports Park. The taxi ride from the airport would be about an hour and
fifteen minutes to Roca Azul if we lived there. (One advantage of living in
Chapala is that the airport is only 20 miles away, about a 35 minute drive)
To fly from
Guadalajara to Medford, Oregon to see our family would require about 12 hours
one-way, including the time for two layovers. Add on the taxi ride, and this
would be too long of a day of travel for us, especially as we get older.
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| 12 Hour Flight to Guadalajara Including 2 Layovers |
Here
are the reasons we ruled out Jocotepec as our retirement home:
1.
We
missed the Pacific Ocean. After months of living in towns in the Yucatan, along
the Gulf Coast, and in the mountains of central Mexico, we were homesick for
the waves of the Pacific. We realized that we are happiest where we can boogie-board,
Stand Up Paddleboard, and watch the surfers, the pelicans, and the sunsets each
evening.
2.
There are an unusually small number of restaurants in Jocotepec for the size of the city,
too few for us. TripAdvisor lists nine and I think we dined at most of them,
including the taco stands. We could hop on the bus and go to some very good
restaurants in Ajijic and Chapala, and then take a taxi home. But, we really
wanted more dinner places within walking distance of our home.
3.
While Roca Azul was a fun and inexpensive
place to live in our motorhome, we were
ready to buy a brick and mortar house with a garden. We didn’t research
real estate much in Jocotepec because by this time, we knew we wanted to get back to
the Pacific Coast of Mexico.
4.
The high altitude, a little over 5000 feet, was difficult for me to adjust to. I
noticed the extra physical exertion needed when I exercised, especially when I
attended Zumba class. I found that my heart rate became high pretty quickly so
I had to dance with my arms below the level of my heart and do less jumping
than the rest of the people in class to keep my heart rate from getting too
high. I know my body would eventually adjust to exercise at a higher altitude,
but it can take months to adapt. Some expats who live in a mountainous area of
Mexico find that as they age, taking walks at this altitude becomes more
difficult and they begin to consider moving somewhere at sea level.
5.
Would
we get bored? There were plenty of things to do within Roca Azul with the
pools, tennis court, volleyball court, and walking trails. Most of the expats at
Roca Azul seemed friendly and eager to get together for social times. I had
discovered my favorite fitness class in town, Zumba! We could travel to Ajijic
and Chapala for other activities. But we were concerned that we would not have enough
to do in Jocotepec outside of the Roca Azul Sports Park.
6.
The nearest
Golf Courses are in Chapala, an hour taxi ride away, private country clubs
that were too expensive for beginners like us.
7. There were not enough international residents in
the town of Jocotepec. We thought that we might begin to feel isolated. Living
in the cities of Ajijic or Chapala would be better options for meeting more
people from the United States and Canada, but housing there tends to be in
gated communities. We aren’t interested in living in a gated community or
condominium.
8.
The travel
time from Jocotepec to Oregon to see our family was too long for us and our
miniature dachshund, Bella. Bella goes everywhere we do, so this was a high
priority!
In the last two blog posts, I listed our “Pros and Cons” for
living in San Carlos, Sonora, Mazatlán, Sinoloa, La Peñita de Jaltemba, Nayarit, and San Pancho (San Francisco), Nayarit. After looking at San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Jocotepec, Jalisco, too, Mazatlán was still our first
choice for a place to retire. But, so far, we had only reviewed six of our
eight favorite cities in Mexico. We had two more to look at.
Was it possible that
we would be happier in a smaller city on the Pacific Coast, a town where we
could walk most everywhere we wanted to go on a typical day? We decided to
evaluate two more of our favorite beach towns, Sayulita, Nayarit and La
Manzanilla, Jalisco. Look for our final decision for our retirement home in my next blog article.
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| Bella Digs for Sand Crabs at Sunset in Mazatlan |
To read more about how we chose our home in Mexico and how we retired early and made the move, check out my book, Retirement Before the Age of 59 (Healthy Living in Mexico #2). Take a look at my Amazon Author page to see all of my books about Mexico and my novels.
Please sign up for my "Healthy Living in Mexico Monthly Newsletter" by clicking HERE.
Now, all 3 books in the "Healthy Living in Mexico" series are available on Amazon.com for $11.97 or FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
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