We were out looking for furniture yesterday. Everyone was right, the stores near Ajijic are way too expensive. We went into one store that had an ordinary, indistinct, american-looking couch-loveseat combo for $1000. Hardly worth the money.

So we went into Chapala looking for a furniture store. We found one with a beautiful 3 piece sofa, love seat, and chair combo in startingly beautiful dark wood and fabric. Something utterly distinctive and Spanish/Mexican! We both fell instantly in love with it. It was less than $600!!! San Francisco Muebles, at Moreles #198, at the corner of Madero is the place to go. Coming in from Ajijic, make a right at the light onto Madero, find a place to park (it’s easy to just drive to the end of Madero, make a turn to the left, then go into the large public parking) and walk back up Madero to San Francisco. It’s on the east (away from Ajijic) side of the street. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did.

I hope you aren’t offended by my talking about money, but money is one of the reasons Les and I are heading South.

I’m a photographer and an overall creative kind of guy, so I’ve been looking for some ways to make a little extra money while Les and I are in Mexico. Every so often I invent some utilitraian device that makes my life a little easier. Les and I are trying to learn how to produce the last two items I came up with, a sock-like case to protect a pocket camera from scratches and dust, and a device to keep iPod ear buds from getting so tangled. It’s easy to make something for myself – it doesn’t have to be a finished product, something else to make it to sell. Hopefully, we’ll be able to sell some of these items on eBay and make a little extra cash. They really are quite handy. I’ll post some pictures when the finished products are ready.

We just got a comment on the post ‘Rental Prices in San Miguel’.  Cheryl, who lives right here in Dallas, wrote to say that she and her husband bought a lot in San Miguel and plan to build on it and move there in 5 years. She writes ‘Go to “Falling in Love with San Miguel” which is a forum for people interested in San Miguel. Quite frequently, there are a lot of casas and casitas posted for rent and they are cheap!’

Sounds like a great resource, and Les and I are grateful for it. We don’t have the time or money to make an extra trip to Mexico just now – it’s going to take 2 more trips just to move – 1 to rent a place, the second to actually move. But we’ll be checking out San Miguel when we get to Mexico. It’s great to know there are some affordable places.

Check out Cheryl’s complete comment under ‘Where to move’.

I just mentioned Ken Luboff’s excellent ‘Living Abroad in Mexico’ – where he names some of his favorite restaurants, hotels, B&B’s, and ex-pats he knows around the country. And of course there is Mexperience.com. A website chockful of information. Now Nancy, at CountdowntoMexico (see the blogroll on the left) has mentioned another one to us: The Expat Community Blog (see the blogroll again). It’s not just for ex-pats living in Mexico, or from the US, but for ex-pats from anywhere living most anywhere. There’s a great Mexico section where you can post questions for other ex-pats to answer. And a list of the blogs of other ex-pats in Mexico. A great resource, and a fun way to meet people as well.

In case you missed it, be sure to click the link on the left and read about ‘We’re Boomers Moving to Mexico.’

Mountainside homes, Lake Chapala

There are three Ajijics on Lake Chapala. The beautiful hillside homes with their magnificent gardens and views of the lake, the gated subdivisions just off the main road, with their attractive, modern American homes, and the old village of Aijic itself.

Ajijic was written about in the popular 1945 book, ‘Village in the Sun’, by Dan Chandos, and Americans started to retire there. Because of its long history as a Norte Americano retreat, it has the largest American population of any town or village in Mexico – perhaps 25,000-30,000. Ajijic proper is an old Mexican village, with narrow cobblestone streets and adobe homes hidden behind high walls and wooden doors. It is also home to the Lake Chapala Society, an English speaking organization started in the 1950’s, with over 3700 members, and a large library, all set upon a beautiful walled estate deep in the heart of the old village.

We came to Mexico without any guidebooks.

The Cathedral, Guadalajara, Mexico

The architecture in the Historical area is just wonderful. Everywhere we looked, there was the dome, tower, or spire of a church. There are small squares on virtually every other corner, filled with people young and old sitting on the benches chatting and relaxing. But the Grand Square, opposite the Cathedral, is something else altogether. Filled with children playing in the fountain, vendors selling all sorts of toys, people simply milling around, and hundreds sitting on the benches, enjoying the late afternoon light and cool air, the square is clearly the place to be. In the evening a band plays in the bandshell in the middle of the square, and people flock to listen. Last night there was an 8 or 9 man Mariachi band, complete with gray suits. But unlike Mariachi bands you might see in the states, in San Antonio for instance, who are playing for the tourists, this band was playing for the locals, and they loved it.

I’ve already mentioned the excellent books, ‘Choose Mexico for Retirement’ by John Howells and Don Merwin, and ‘Living Abroad in Mexico’ by Ken Luboff. These are great resources for information about living in Mexico.

Les found another resource online, ‘Mexperience.com’ which is up to date and chock full of information. To quote from their ‘about’ page:
‘Established in 2002, Mexperience publishes contemporary, informative and impartial knowledge about Mexico to help you make informed choices.’

Les and I go there frequently for information. They even have a blog section that we hope will someday list us.

Jeez — there’s so much to do. I don’t even know where to start. We’ve bought some books on the subject, “Choose Mexico for Retirement” by John Howells and Don Merwin, and “Living Abroad in Mexico” by Ken Luboff. Both seem pretty authoritative and have great information – but we bought these books in early January, and here it is, early April and we’ve barely started reading them! What’s wrong with us???

–David