Kim and I are considering retiring to the Lake Chapala area in Mexico in a few years.  I finally decided to quit daydreaming about the place and actually visit Lake Chapala for a week during October, 2004.  This area has many thousands of American and Canadian expatriates living here.  Housing, taxes, medical care and labor are cheaper here, and the retirement dollar can go much further.  Or, you can live much better here than in the States on the same money.  Chapala and Ajijic are a quick 25 minutes by car from the Guadalajara airport. 

   Check out the AARP article on retiring in this area.  Also, check out the Lake Chapala Society and the Chapala.com websites for an incredible amount of interesting info concerning living, moving and networking here.

   My deep thanks to sales associate Sid Grosvenor of Caldwell Banker (elsidmx@yahoo.com) for answering a million questions about the area and driving me around for hours on end looking at many, many houses in various communities around the Lakeside area.  When we're ready to buy Sid will be our man.

   And my thanks to Joseph at Hotel Casa Blanca (Bed and Breakfast) in Ajijic for a wonderful week's stay.  Joseph could not have been kinder or more informative about the area.  When I return this is where I'll stay.  Also, it's right across the street from the Lake Chapala Society!

And again.....

   With Kim in tow, I revisited Ajijic just after Christmas 2004.  This trip was to introduce Kim to the area and to experience Lake Chapala during "winter".  We stayed at the CasaBlanca B&B again.  This trip we rented at car.  With no central heat it felt much cooler than we were expecting.  A new requirement for any potential Ajijic home for us is a couple of gas fireplaces!

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