La Paz Mexico (BCS)

[MandyinJax]

Are there any expats on this forum currently living in La Paz? I am retiring and relocating to Mexico next year. Originally I had decided on San Miguel de Allende, than I considered San Luis Potosi, Tequisquiapan, Cuernavaca, etc. The list goes on. I finally made a list of the things I love and need in my new environment:

1. low humidity (I have asthma, Dr says I have to leave FL!)
2. palm trees (I am nuts about palm trees)
3. water! (I need a body of water to feel at home and to swim and play in. I would get itchy in a landlocked community)

From what I've read about LaPaz, it sounds perfect. Not many expats, low to moderate humidity, WATER, and a beautiful community, with palm trees!

I will be vacationing in La Paz in September and would like to get an honest perspective of life there from expats.

Thanks,
MandyinJax

[RVGRINGO]

I don't know about La Paz, but Mazatlan is just across the gulf and suffers very high heat and humidity in late summer and fall. Most expats try to go elsewhere for that part of the year. Be sure to check your information carefully. I love Mazatlan but have had to eliminate it as a place to live; so we visit in the wintertime instead. At the moment, La Paz is at 59% humidity in the mid 30s C. and it is only April. That's a very hot 95F and it will get worse.
I have respiratory problems, but live rather comfortably at Lake Chapala; inland at 5000 ft. altitude with a very mild climate all year.

[makaloco]

Hello Mandy, I moved to La Paz two years ago. It's a wonderful retirement location, at least for me. To address your concerns briefly:

1. Low humidity. Generally it's hard to find a very dry climate near the coast. La Paz is drier than many seaside locations owing to the surrounding desert, but it depends on the wind and fluctuates during the day. In late summer, during tropical storm season, it can get pretty humid. Probably less so than in Jacksonville, but I was there too long ago to remember clearly. The hottest I recall here (last summer) was about 107 F with heat index 120. Coldest 39 F in winter. September is a perfect time for you to come to get an idea for yourself. With asthma, you should also be aware that La Paz can be dusty during high winds.

Yesterday 4/26 according to Weather Underground: High 95, low 62. Humidity high 88, low 19, average 53.

2. You'll see plenty of palms, but not as many as in more tropical locations because many species need a lot of water.

3. Lovely swimming beaches are a 10-30 minute drive from downtown. The malecon (walkway) along La Paz bay is about 5 km long, palm-lined, and wonderful for morning and evening walks. Sunsets can be spectacular!

This is a friendly, enjoyable, laid-back place to live. Just about everything you'd want is available, and medical facilities are very good. Housing can be in town or a few miles out, if you prefer quieter surroundings. Most tourism is eco-tourism, and the tourist zone essentially consists of a few blocks of hotels and restaurants along the bay and a few resort type hotels a bit farther out. We get Mexican vacationers from the mainland as well as foreigners. Night life is minimal, but there is some. There are probably a few thousand expats, most of whom are part-time but some (like me) full time. We're mostly scattered, and in a city of close to 200,000 not at all overwhelming. Most whom I've met are very nice, low-key folks, and you can be as involved or uninvolved as you wish in various activities. La Paz is the state capital and very much a working Mexican town. English isn't widely spoken outside the tourism and real estate scenes, so most expats know or are learning Spanish. Mexican people are family-oriented, friendly, helpful, and fun. I feel safe here as a single woman.

Please feel free to let me know if you have other questions, and good luck!

Originally Posted by MandyinJax

Are there any expats on this forum currently living in La Paz? I am retiring and relocating to Mexico next year. Originally I had decided on San Miguel de Allende, than I considered San Luis Potosi, Tequisquiapan, Cuernavaca, etc. The list goes on. I finally made a list of the things I love and need in my new environment:

1. low humidity (I have asthma, Dr says I have to leave FL!)
2. palm trees (I am nuts about palm trees)
3. water! (I need a body of water to feel at home and to swim and play in. I would get itchy in a landlocked community)

From what I've read about LaPaz, it sounds perfect. Not many expats, low to moderate humidity, WATER, and a beautiful community, with palm trees!

I will be vacationing in La Paz in September and would like to get an honest perspective of life there from expats.

Thanks,
MandyinJax

[MandyinJax]

Makaloco and RVGringo, thank you for your responses to my request for info about LaPaz. I appreciate the information.

[HolyMole]

Originally Posted by MandyinJax

Makaloco and RVGringo, thank you for your responses to my request for info about LaPaz. I appreciate the information.

A decade ago we took the bus up to La Paz from San Jose del Cabo during the February Carnival and enjoyed La Paz very much. Stayed at Hotel La Perla along the malecon. Enjoyed the beaches out at Pichilingue, but waves not very big at that location along the coast.... protected by Isla Espiritu, I think.
Anything I've read about La Paz sounds inviting, except the "frying-pan hot" description of weather during the summer. If there is also the kind of excessive humidity that Mazatlan experiences across the Sea of Cortez, I think I'd try and find someplace cooler.
Have you thought about San Carlos (or nearby Guaymas if you prefer less of a gringo influence) on the mainland? Just as hot in summer....probably hotter...but the humidiity is likely less.

[MandyinJax]

HolyMole,
Thank you for your input about La Paz. I'm getting many comments about the HEAT in the summer but per the Weather Underground it isn't any hotter there than here (FL) with less humidity. My only solution is to vacation there in August, which is usually the hotest month of the year. I can take heat better than cold, but the humidity factor could be a deal breaker! Again thanks a bunch for sharing your experience!
MandyinJax

[RVGRINGO]

Remember that when you 'vacation', someone else is doing all the work, the hotel is probably air conditioned and you will be closer to the beach than when you rent or buy your abode.

[makaloco]

I'm not trying to say that it doesn't steam up here, but It's going to feel very different to someone from Florida than it would to someone from Vancouver or Maine.
Today according to Weather Underground:
High 96, low 62. Humidity high 77, low 17, average 39.
Temp was about the same as yesterday, and humidity was lower. Yet it felt warmer because there was less wind. For a few moments I was actually tempted to turn on a fan. ;-)

[RVGRINGO]

"High 96, low 62. Humidity high 77......"
Those conditions could be life threatening to someone with respiratory problems. As we age, those problems get progressively worse, from personal experience.

[MandyinJax]

Originally Posted by makaloco

I'm not trying to say that it doesn't steam up here, but It's going to feel very different to someone from Florida than it would to someone from Vancouver or Maine.
Today according to Weather Underground:
High 96, low 62. Humidity high 77, low 17, average 39.
Temp was about the same as yesterday, and humidity was lower. Yet it felt warmer because there was less wind. For a few moments I was actually tempted to turn on a fan. ;-)

Makaloco, you are too funny! Actually I am sitting in my house in Jacksonville with all the windows open, really nice breeze today and ceiling fans on and I am loving it.

I am recuperating from pneumonia so I cannot use the air-conditioner as it makes me worse. I lived in Hawaii for awhile, Wailuku, Maui, and we didn't have a/c and never needed it as long as the wind was blowing, which it normally did.

Thanks again for making me laugh!
Mandy