CANADIANS LIVING IN MEXICO from Comox BC to Guayabitos
By Vancouver and Beyond | Filed in Beyond Vancouver
Courtesy of www.canada2mexico.com
Featuring Darlene & Bill Jones from Comox,
British Columbia
We live in Mexico 4 to 5 months of the year. We started going south to escape the cold prairie winters. A couple of years ago we decided to invest in the property market in Mexico and we built
Bungalows Casa Ana. We purchased a lot close to the beach, and the adventure building in Mexico
and living through the construction process is something we will always remember. We chose the
resort town of Rincon de Guayabitos in the state of Nayarit for its’ wonderful beaches, small town feel,
lack of crowds and its proximity to Puerto Vallarta.
We feel we chose wisely as property values along the entire Nayarit coast have appreciated significantly during the past few years. In fact, we are delighted because during our first year in
business we were full for the entire tourist season!
Besides the wonderful weather, we love the camaraderie of the friends we have made, the exercise of body boarding, the food, the music, the margaritas… As, we are in Mexico part of the year only, we are able to enjoy the best Mexico has to offer and maintain the best of our home in Canada.
Of course we have faced some challenges, particularly when we were constructing the bungalows. Fortunately, we had a Mexican son-inlaw working for us and our daughter who lives in Mexico full time speaks fluent Spanish.
Now that the construction is complete, our life is much more relaxed and we enjoy spending our
winters in Mexico, visiting our daughter, and relaxing poolside at Casa Ana. We are learning Spanish and find each year that the town’s people speak more English so daily life is simplified. We still find it wise to be cautious in transactions, to check that the prices are correct and that the correct change has been given as some vendors and store staff will try to take advantage of tourists.
We always carry travel insurance and have had to use it for minor illnesses only. If you are visiting
Rincon de Guayabitos we highly recommend Dr. Lydia, in La Penita, but her English is a bit limited.
We recommend bringing enough of your medications with you, for the time you will be in Mexico. Medications are sold over the counter here, but they are not always the same dosage or prepared as we know them. For a major emergency, go to the San Javier Hospital which is located close to Wal-Mart in Puerto Vallarta. There are two new modern dental offices in town. We have not used them but we hear good things about both.
We have driven from Canada to Mexico, twice and we will not do it again only because it is such a long
drive. The toll highways are great–much easier to drive than the highways in the USA. Our advice is
to stick to the toll highways and find a hotel early to avoid driving in the dark. Local two lane roads
require patience and defensive driving skills, and an understanding that if someone tries to pass, can’t
make it, and has to cut in front of you, you let him in–don’t think the driver is cutting you off deliberately–it’s simply typical of Mexican drivers.
Truck drivers will often signal that it is okay to pass but don’t take their judgement as gospel. What
they think is a safe passing distance and what you think can be two different things. Also, if you have
to slow down suddenly or warn others of something on the road (e.g. animal, accident, construction)
put your four-ways on to alert the drivers behind you, a common practice in Mexico.
In four years of driving in Mexico, we have come to know the Guayabitos area well and know how to
drive there. We have only had one negative experience with the Transit Police in Guadalajara. The policeman said my husband had made an illegal left turn. He was going to take his driver’s license away but then said we could pay the fine on the spot and named a price. Don’t expect a receipt!
There are many things to love and enjoy in Mexico but after 18 years of visiting the country annually, we are always cautious in all our dealings as the fact remains, we are foreigners in a third world country. Living in Mexico is definitely less expensive than in Canada but prices are rising.
Depending on the life style you want, you can no longer expect to live on a shoestring. I would strongly advise anyone wanting to live in Mexico year round, to spend four to six months in the area of their choice before buying–go in the worst heat of the summer–June to October and if you can handle that, you’ll be fine.
Submitted by Darlene & Bill Jones from Comox, British Columbia. Darlene & Bill spend their winters in Rincon de Guayabitos, in the state of Nayarit with their daughter Leeme who lives there full time with her husband Gabriel, and manages Bungalows Casa Ana. Leeme and her husband, are expecting their first child, and have made the difficult decision to sell Bungalows Casa Ana so they can move to Canada so their child can be close to their grandparents, and be schooled in Canada. For more
information about Bungalows Casa Ana please contact Leeme directly by email at saanam@hotmail.com or by calling 011 52 327-274-3291.
Tags: canada, comox, guayabitos, living, mexico, retirement