Another New Guy Looking for Advice

[RVGRINGO]

Here at Chapala, we are in the mid 70s during the summer. It does get warmer in Apr-May at the end of the dry season. Since you have time to visit, please explore your options before making a decision.

Mexfan, welcome to the forum.

[hadnuf]

Originally Posted by El Toro Furioso

Good luck in your search for your own ideal place. Out of curiosity, why do you list yourselves as Expats in Mexico, when you say that you aren't moving here for two years or so? An Expat in Mexico already lives here, I would venture. There are precious few full-time gringos in any high mountain town that I have ever heard of in Mexico, unless you call San Miguel de Allende "high mountain." Patzquaro, too, has a few gringos now, and it can get downright cold in the winter. Especially since most rentals will not have any form of heat. AC for a few weeks a year in Chapala would cost a lot less than firewood in the mountains.
¡Que les vayan bien!

Toro - The reason we show ourselves as "Expats in Mexico" is because that's the way the system sets you up -- there is no option for "non-expat." I just tried to change it to US Flag / US Flag. We'll see if it "takes."

[hadnuf]

Thank you. The climate there seems indeed to be what we're looking for and we'll check it out!

[El Toro Furioso]

Originally Posted by hadnuf

Toro - there is no option for "non-expat." I just tried to change it to US Flag / US Flag. We'll see if it "takes."

My post was from July. Since then, I have learned that the forum "steers" people to choose expat in Mexico, even if they are just thinking about becoming so sometime in the future. ¡Qué le vaya bien!

[Hound Dog]

A few words about some of the places mentioned in this thread.

It seems to me based upon your inquiry that you would be happy living at between 4,000 and 7,500 feet and you have a number of choices in that altitude range but keep in mind that altitude is only one determinant of climate. For example, somone recommended Jalapa (Xalapa) , the state capital of Veracruz State which sits at about 4,700 feet. Jalapa is a big and quite sophisticated city with many fine restaurants and varied cultural activities. It is also close to the Gulf of Mexico and the famous city of Veracruz. However, Jalapa is famous for one other thing and that is known locally as "chipi-chipi", or an often foggy, drizzly condition resulting from the city´s mountain backdrop and moisture blown in from the nearby Gulf. This commonplace overcast condition may get on your nerves after a while and I say that as one who lived for a number of years in San Francisco which is infamous for coastal fog and drizzle. Be warned. Also be aware, however, that this somewhat wet climate results in some often very beautiful, green, mountainous countryside.

Other places you may consider in Veracruz State include the cities of Orizaba at 4,200 feet and the Tuxtlas and Lake Catemaco at about 1,000 feet which are lower than you may wish to dwell but are beautiful places.

Towns you may find of interest at, say, around 5,000 to 7,000 feet more or less include, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas; San Luis Pótosi, SLP; Cuernavaca, Morelos; San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Oaxaca, Oaxaca and those are places that just come to mind as charming with warm to coolish springlike weather to, at times, coldish climates but we are not talking snow or any of that sort of thing here.

As for moving to the Lake Chapala area known locally around here as Lakeside, this is a very nice region with a splendid climate at about 5,000 feet. We do need heat in the winter but not much and we never need air conditioning except for homes that get direct summer sunlight. The mountain towns at higher elevations can be very attractive and charming and I am thinking specifically of Tapalpa which is a very nice town but mighty small and a bit isolated. Keep in mind. however, that no matter how isolated some towns my seem to be around Lake Chapala, they are all within an easy drive of the beautiful city of Guadalajara where you will find all sorts of urban amenities you may desire.

One problem with "Lakeside" which I define as extending along the northern lakeshore from about the Chapala/Poncitlan municipality line on the east to Jocotepec municipality on the west, is that the area has a large foreign population of mostly retrirees - not that there is anything wrong with that but that demographic profile may compromise your quest to become somewhat absorbed in Mexican culture if, in fact, you are on such a quest. In other words, you may find living in a foreign retiree community a bit tiresome after a while but then again you may really like it. I, for example, own homes in both Ajijic at Lakeside and San Cristóbal de Las Casas in the Chiapas mountains and these two communities are very different to say the least. I find living in two very different communities to be highly entertaining and might get bored with just one environment. To each his own.

More later if you have any interest in the areas I have discussed.

[El Toro Furioso]

That's a good summary by Hound Dog. We live most of the year on the Costa Alegre north of Manzanillo, with three to four months Lakeside in San Antonio Tlayacapan. La Manzanilla on the southern end of la Bahia de Tenacatita is a beautiful smallish fishing village with a small year-round expat community. The weather between Nov. 1 and the end of June is warm but mild. The ocean is spectacular and the swimming is good year round. The rainy season weather can get hot and humid. It isn't bad except that sometimes it just stays that way, wearing one down. That's why we have kept a place Lakeside. We hope as the years go by that this arrangement continues to work as well as it has so far. ¡Qué le vaya bien!