Why did you move to Mexico?

Mi amigas at Rosa Sirena's. 

Whenever I first meet a new visitor, their questions are frequently the same, starting with; Why did you move to Mexico?

The answer to that question is simple: Lawrie and I loved the Mexican culture; plus, living on a tropical island, just minutes away from big-city amenities, was a bonus. 

We built our home in 2007 and fell in love with the turquoise water, the pleasant oceanfront temperatures of between 20 °C (70°F) and 33 °C (95°F), the food, and the people.  

Looking toward Cancun from Isla.

The community of Isla Mujeres is close to the City of Cancun, only 20 minutes via passenger ferry, or about 45 minutes via a car ferry to the mainland. The island has an active group of retired, semi-retired, or still-working foreigners from the USA, Canada, and Europe. There is always someone available anytime you need company, a few laughs, or a good meal. 

With the explosion of new high-end eateries, you and your friends can sample their menus and not repeat your choices for months.

Chedraui grocery store. 

Isla Mujeres also has a variety of small stores that specialize in fresh chickens, pork, vegetables, fruit, and general groceries.  In 2011, a Chedraui Super Store opened, offering the islanders a wider range of food, wine, and baked goods. 

Cancun, with a population of approximately 900,000, has the obligatory shopping centers, big chains such as Costco, Mega Commercial, Soriana's, Home Depot, Sam's Club, and Walmart. You can find pretty much anything you want, but not every time. The stock changes with the seasons of the year, as well as during gringo-season when the northern homeowners return to their tropical homes.

More of my wacky, wonderful friends.

Turkey, cranberry sauce, and canned pumpkin typically start appearing again in late October in time for the American Thanksgiving celebrations and Christmas. Not many store owners understand that Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October. It’s today, actually, and our feast features pretty much the same foods. The original immigrants to both Canada and the USA came from the same ethnic backgrounds. 

Back in the 1700s and 1800s, my immigrant ancestors settled in what became Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in Canada, plus the future American states of Maine, Indiana, and Louisiana. I could celebrate both Thanksgivings, but that would be too much of a good thing.

Dr. Greta Shorey, housecall

On Isla, there a several English-speaking doctors and dentists. The doctors in Mexico still make house calls, and their services won’t break the bank. If you have a serious medical issue, Cancun has several excellent and affordable hospitals staffed with American-trained doctors.

There are also well-trained dental surgeons who specialize in dental tourism, such as Dentaris in Cancun. You can get your dental work done, in between tanning and quaffing margaritas. Their driver shuttles the patients from their hotels, the airport, or any of the passenger ferry docks to their clinic on Bonampak Avenue in Cancun.

And when you want to visit family, friends, or another foreign country, Cancun has easy air access to and from major airports worldwide.

Sparky, enjoying an October swim.

However, it’s not always margaritas and sunshine. Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. 

The local water and sewerage company spent the entire summer digging up the road on both sides of the island to install new water connections to the many large homes being built in the Punta Sur area.

Then the second part of the contract was to connect those new homes to the sewer system. The new trench was dug right through the water and the electrical connections, cutting off all services to many homes and blocking their driveways. 
It was a nightmare for the homeowners.

If you plan to retire here, come with an open heart and a sense of humor; otherwise, the administrative silliness will make you crazy. 

Some people can't adapt to life in Mexico. Some couples break up because one of them can embrace the culture, but the other one can't, and returns home.  

It’s Mexico! Stuff happens!

Cheers from paradise, Lynda and Sparky

(Originally published October 13th 2019)

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Questions, questions, questions about retiring in Mexico!

Northwest side of Isla Mujeres

“Wow!  Lucky you.”  That’s the first thing that people say when we tell them that we live on Isla Mujeres, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.  

And then the questions start. 

“Can you own property?” Mexico makes it relatively easy for foreigners to own property. Inland, you can hold a direct title to your Mexican real estate.  

Our lot, January 2007

In the restricted zones, including prized beach areas or the manufacturing zone near the USA/Mexico border, you can own real estate through a bank trust. The choice of bank is up to you.  

The trust will have a renewal term of anywhere from 25 to 45 years. The bank will handle the government forms that need to be filed yearly, for a fee. The trust can be transferred or sold.  

Lawrie learning to fish.

“Do you feel safe?” 

Yes, we do. But, having said that, we do not live on the USA/Mexico border where there are problems on both sides of the line. We aren’t night-owls. We barely stay awake after sunset, so we aren’t involved in the late-night action. 

And like any country in the world, big cities have areas that you would not venture into for any reason. The same applies to Mexican cities. 

“What do you do with your time?”  

What does any retired person do with their time?  

We read, putter at small jobs around the house, enjoy a meal with friends or family, nap, putter some more, go for a walk, learn Spanish, do a little offshore fishing, take photographs, and write.  

Road trip to Valladolid

Another favourite pastime is road trips, exploring other cities and villages.

“What do you do for medical?”  

This is one of the most frequently asked questions. As Canadians living outside our country, our universal healthcare is void after an absence of six months.  

Here in Mexico, we chose to pay as we go.  If we need something done, we pay for it – a lot less than we would pay in either the USA or Canada. Doctors in Mexico still make house calls. Some of our friends have had stellar treatment at any one of the three first-class hospitals in Cancún with their American-trained doctors. 

House calls, British-trained Dra. Shorey

Others have not had a good experience. The same can be said for any doctor in any hospital in any country. Outstanding, good, bad, or indifferent treatment, it depends. Rather than obsess about potential health issues, we just enjoy every day for what it is.

“How much are your property taxes?”  

Low. But like every country, taxes vary from property to property, size of the house, waterfront versus inland, all of the usual conditions that are taken into account for property taxes.

“Do you have to leave the country every six months?”

No, not if you have an FM3, FM2, or the newer permanent resident card.  If you come in with a 180-day visitor's permit, yes, you do have to leave, but you may return.

“Can I work in Mexico?” 

Lots of friends to hang out with.

Sure, once you obtain the necessary permits and permissions.  A number of the island's restaurants, real estate offices, and stores are owned and operated by people from other countries. 

And finally:

“What do you miss the most of all?” 

 

I miss very little except the close proximity of my immediate family. Lawrie's siblings both have winter homes on Isla. 

We wish we had a better understanding of the laws, rules, and regulations. When a person grows up in a certain culture, be it Canadian, American or European, they have an innate understanding of what is expected of them. When you switch to a different culture, life can, at times, get interesting, very interesting. 

We also miss conversing in a language that we are comfortable with. And before you feel the need to email us and advise us to take lessons, I am sixty-two, and Lawrie is seventy-one. Our brains seldom retain the words that we have learned.  It is what it is. We try to find a new word every day that we can remember. That is a huge accomplishment in our books!

And yes, “Wow!  Lucky us!”  

We enjoy living in paradise with good weather, good food, and good friends.  

Try it – you might like it!

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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Why retire on Isla Mujeres, Mexico?

Caribbean Blues!

Wow! Pink sand beaches that stretch for miles on a narrow scimitar of land in the Bahamas, on an island named Eleuthera. It fascinated Lawrie for months, fantasizing about living on a long, empty stretch of beach with no one around. There is a total population of approximately 8,000 people (mainly English-speaking) in this former British colony, with the nearest city, Nassau, located fifty miles by air.

Whoa! Stop! I'm fine with rural or semi-isolated areas, but not Robinson Crusoe remote.

In 2002, we fell in love with the turquoise sea of the Caribbean, and the search began for the perfect property for our dream home. We had a choice of over 7000 islands in and around the Caribbean Sea, including 501 in the Bahamas, 43 in the British Virgin Islands, 12 in the Cayman Islands, 58 in the Turks and Caicos, and 81 in the US Virgin Islands. 

Ah, but then, reality pokes its pesky little head up and says - what about obtaining building supplies for the dream-home?  A construction crew to do the work?  Furniture? Milk? Meat? Veggies? Doctors? Dentists? And what do you do when you finally get bored watching the ocean? As fascinating as it is, eventually you have to do something else with your day.


Our outdoor decision-making office. 

So, when the opportunity arose to purchase a slice of heaven on Isla Mujeres, we decided it was definitely worth considering. 

We opened a bottle of our favourite wine, took two glasses, and a bowl of mixed nuts and retired to our home office - the lakefront patio.  After lighting dozens of candles and lanterns to set the mood for serious consideration of our future, we started to list the reasons why Isla Mujeres would be a good decision:

1.  Close to the City of Cancun, population of approximately 800,000, with shopping centers, grocery stores such as Costco, Mega Commercial, Soriana's, Sam's Club and Wal-Mart

2. Home Depot and other large Mexican chain stores for building supplies

3. Three excellent, and very affordable, hospitals in Cancun with American-trained doctors

4. Only 20 minutes via water taxi (passengers only ferry) to the mainland

New Chedraui Grocery & Super Store.

5. Only 45 minutes via a car ferry to the mainland

6. Easy air access to and from Canada to visit family 

7. Easy air access to South America, as we have not had the opportunity as yet to visit that area of the world

8. An active ex-pat community from the US, Canada, and Europe

9. Pleasant oceanfront temperatures of between 20 degrees C (70F ) and 33 degrees C (95F)

10. Cooling ocean breezes, swimming and snorkelling. (We later discovered the sea turtle nest annually in front of our casa.)

11. Not much rain, even in the rainy season, as the clouds skid rapidly across this low island, heading to the mainland

Four Amigos!

12. Electricity available curbside

13. Internet service available curbside

14. Municipal water system

15. Municipal sewer system for the side of the island where we were proposing to purchase property

16. Two gas stations on the island

17. A variety of small grocery stores on the island, and later in 2011, a Chedraui Super Store 

18. A variety of restaurants

Home Sweet Home!

19. A choice of banking options

20. Doctors and dentists on the island, with many more available in Cancun

21. The best reason of all, we enjoy the Mexican culture very, very much

By the time the wine was gone and the candles had burned down to nubs, we had decided that yes, Isla Mujeres would be the perfect place to build a dream home. 

It is!  And we are never bored!

Hasta luego, Lynda and Lawrie 

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