Quiet places to retire in Mexico

[MexicoGolfer62]

Rich,
My wife and I are looking at and doing the finalization on purchasing a home in San Jose Del Cabo. For us the weather is great, it is a coastal area and the amenities are top notch. I myself am an avid golfer, swimmer, cyclist and I found the are ample courses and great beaches to swim at.

[YaVengo]

Thanks,
I'll check out the site. I'm also looking into La Paz.
Rich

[gkloken]

Originally Posted by hando4949

My wife and I are retired Australians. We are looking at retireing to Mexico.
We would like some feedback on some nice, quiet seaside areas. We are not into the big city type places.
Regards Hando

I can honestly say that Peurto Penasco Sonora MX or Rocky Point as we call it, is really the best place for us . Such friendly people , lots of Expats permanent or temporary.
We have a lovely place on Sandy Beach side. It is a great resort town and still in the Free Zone area.
That enables us to pop across to the USA in under an hour, do some shopping there and get back.
There's a lot of activities here, climate is beautiful all year round . It is also sheltered against most of the storms from the Gulf side as well as the Pacific ocean.

Water is lovely and warm for swimming , great fishing, sailing, hang gliding, lots of organised concerts and activities. With easy access to any of the bigger cities and has its own international airport, hospitals etc.

Quite a long stretch of Resorts / housing communities to choose from With open areas in between, yet one can remain private and relaxed if needed to .

Both English and Spanish languages used here.

I agree you should first take a vacation come and visit then decide . But I can almost bet that you would fall in love and decide to settle here once you come to visit.

It is right now the ideal time to come , very reasonable prices especially for longer stay.

[El Toro Furioso]

Originally Posted by gkloken

I can honestly say that Peurto Penasco Sonora MX or Rocky Point as we call it, is really the best place for us . Such friendly people , lots of Expats permanent or temporary.
We have a lovely place on Sandy Beach side. It is a great resort town and still in the Free Zone area.
That enables us to pop across to the USA in under an hour, do some shopping there and get back.
There's a lot of activities here, climate is beautiful all year round . It is also sheltered against most of the storms from the Gulf side as well as the Pacific ocean.

Water is lovely and warm for swimming , great fishing, sailing, hang gliding, lots of organised concerts and activities. With easy access to any of the bigger cities and has its own international airport, hospitals etc.

Quite a long stretch of Resorts / housing communities to choose from With open areas in between, yet one can remain private and relaxed if needed to .

Both English and Spanish languages used here.

I agree you should first take a vacation come and visit then decide . But I can almost bet that you would fall in love and decide to settle here once you come to visit.

It is right now the ideal time to come , very reasonable prices especially for longer stay.

At the almost sure risk of getting beat up on for saying this, I humbly suggest that there is more to Mexico than Baja California. To get to know the peso and the breadth of cultures in this varied and beautiful country, Baja included, one should visit mainland Mexico too. The Mexican government recognizes that Baja is different from the rest of Mexico: it makes Mexicans from Baja go through immigration when they travel to the mainland by ferry or airplane. If you are spending $USD in Baja you are not taking advantage of the favorable exchange rate when buying pesos. Check out the differences in prices for, say, food between mainland Mexico (not Cancun nor Puerto Vallarta, of course) and Baja and I think your eyes will be opened. Try hiring a skilled, knowledgeable, educated gardener in Baja (that's 1 1/2 hours a day, four days a week) for the peso equivalent of $50 USD per month. Try listening to the rich vocabulary and proud enunciation of Jaliscan Spanish in Baja. And many would say that propinquity to the US border is a highly dubious advantage. Visit and consider retiring to the Mexico where "to park" is estacionarse, not aparcar or, as I have seen in Tijuana, parkarse, "to lunch" is almorzar, not lunchear. Compare real estate prices mainland with those in Baja. Most places mainland are much less expensive. Consider a location in central Mexico, including large swaths of the Pacific coast, where you are a short day's drive to the beauty of Lake Patzcuaro, an overnight drive to the spectacular ruins of Monte Alban in Oaxaca, a 7- to 12-hour dirve to the world heritage city of San Miguel de Allende or nearby Guanajuato. Baja has many very beautiful places, though there seems to me to be a "touristy" feel about many of the places I have visited. Obviously, Baja has appealed to many expats, the vast majority of whom seem to be Americans from the Western states. I'm not trying to knock Baja. I'm just trying to point out that there is a whole big vastly more diversified country called the Mexican mainland.

[quinta]

Well said, Toro. I grew up in Tijuana but under much better conditions than most people seem to see, lived in San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, etc. however due to the increasing violence and problems, we moved away a long time ago. I wouldn't recommend anything close to the border for the time being, especially since there are so many options to choose from. I have lived all over the world and can recommend some alternate areas: if money is no object, the world is yours, but if you're like most of us, on a limited budget Mexico has advantages for sure. We lived 10 years in Puerto Vallarta (my kids grew up there) and we miss it still, yet due to all the expats from all over the world moving there it became a busy, traffic laden city where you couldn't afford living anymore; we lived in Merida and while beautiful, very safe, full of charm and Mayan culture, more reasonable prices too, expats are now heading out that way and have already caused prices to spiral, but the weather made us move, HOT!, if you want to live around a lot of expats at the beach, go to Chelem or Chuburna; there are small towns up and down the Yucatan Peninsula where it's quiet if you don't mind driving an hour or so, could be a great option like Sisal, San Bruno, Santa Clara, Telchac Puerto, etc.; Playa del Carmen is out of reach, expats from all over have already turned it into another tourist spot; then onto San Miguel Allende where prices and tourists drove us out; Guadalajara is fantastic and while there are some foreigners, it's a large city so they blend in, this might be our next move; Lake Chapala and Ajijic is full of too many expats for us; Queretaro is being discovered as we speak and Tequesquitiango is quietly becoming an expat haven as well; we live in Puebla now, not touristy, full of history, economical and safe too, good cool weather, very small expat community, 2 hours from either Veracruz or Mexico City (where we go to often), so it depends on what you're looking for and whether you need other expats around you, but if you're independent and want to try living in the "real" Mexico I can tell you that you live better here than in the US (for the same amount).
I would recommend an extended trip so you can get to know the different areas and climates all over... and while expats seem to favor the beach, you should also consider inland... there is so much out here, come experience it! You could also rent in several places and see what it's really like to live in an area, that would give you a better take on a place and make it easy to move on should you decide that area is not for you, as selling a property can take quite a while since all the economic problems began. So brush up on your Spanish and head out there!

[MexicoGolfer62]

I totally understand the diversity between the many areas of Mexico. I do agree with one thing.. stay away from the border!!! lol. I feel like there is such a draw to Baja because of most of the Westerners that come down from the regions of the U.S. like CA and AZ. Is this an incorrect assumption? I do feel like Baja has some things that central Mexico doesn't have to offer.. simply because it is beachfront or at least nearer towards the water. While the prices obviously show the difference, you get what you pay for. What do you guys think?

[Traveler123]

Originally Posted by shari

We are sooooo happy living in our little paradise....a small fishing village but lots of services, stores, hospital, gas station, internet, water and power real cheap...wonderful locals and only a handful of canucks and gringos here...mostly part time in the winter. The climate here is awesome year round...not too hot because of the pacific breezes...outrageous fishing...ya gotta come and check it out for yourself...we've had a few auzzies guests and they totally loved it.

Sounds great. Where are you located?

[RVGRINGO]

Shari is located at Bahia Asuncion, Baja California.
Perhaps she is on vacation today.

[Traveler123]

Thanks, RV.
And thanks, quinta, for your excellent overview of several locations in Mexico.

[BajaGringo]

I personally know Shari and she and her husband Juan have a great little place down in Bahia Asuncion. It is located in the very northern part of Baja California South along the Pacific Coast.

That is where we would probably be if we weren't in San Quintin, a few hundred miles further north along the coast...