Synthia I am in Ajijic, which is about 20 minutes south of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city. We are on the north shore of Lake Chapala.
A lot of Americans and Canadians have retired here, so it is not a cheap place anymore. There are still deals to be had, but you need to think of places that are not so near to Ajijic, such as the south side of the lake.
There is much to tell and you would need to check out all the forms on Mexico to get an idea of what it is like here.