If you’re a long-time visitor of  my blog, you’re probably familiar with Charlie…

Charlie lives in the Ajijic/Lake Chapala area, an area well-known for its warm, provincial feeling, along with a large North American expat community and low cost of living.  Seems pretty perfect doesn’t it?

A reader had asked me to put her in contact with Charlie because she had some questions she needed answered about Charlie’s area.  When Charlie kindly answered her email, after I put them in contact with each other, he sent me a copy of the questions with his answers.  I, of course, want to share the info with all of you:

Question 1:  Are there any homes that are furnished, for rent?   If not, are there any available that are unfurnished?   

Answer:  Most everything is furnished.   A nice two or three bedroom, near me, runs from 300 to 350 USD a month.   

Question 2:  How did you find your place – through a realtor or just looking around?  

Answer: There are no realtors over here and if you found one, they would probably raise the local prices. Word of mouth or just looking around is the best way to find bargains.  I found mine through referral – word of mouth.   

Question 3:  What is the average monthly cost for the following services:  Electricitiy, water, phone, satellite, trash disposal.  

 Answer:  These numbers are approximate:  

 $50 for electricity,  

$1.20 per liter bottled water.  

$50 for phone and high speed internet service,  

$52 for satellite, this will vary with what you subscribe to, 

Trash disposal is usually included in the rent – depending on the area -
I pay $400 a year for my trash, water and security.   

Question 4:  Is there Bus service both around the local area and to Jocotepec and how is it?  Do you need a car? 

Answer:  Bus service here is great but a car is preferable.  

Question 5:  How are the Medical facilities? 

Answer:  Medical is great but there are many different ways to approach it (Read my articles on site and also the newsletters, on my site, for lots of info on health care – Barbie)  

Question 6:  What about Banking? 

Answer:  My money is in a brokerage house in Ajijic, 45 minutes away.  I never go there, I just use a money machine in my town.  I get %8 minimum on investments for the past three years.  

Question 7:  Do you have local shopping – stores or mercados? 

Answer:  I get my staples just about 1/4 mile away.  I get other things in my little town 3 miles away.   It is 15 minutes to 80% of my desires and 45 or 50 minutes to Walmart, Sam’s and Costco!  

 Finally, here is an interesting email I received:

Hi Barbie,
My husband and I (and our dogs and cats) have now been just outside of Ajijic since Sept. AND WE ARE LOVING IT!! The Mexican people are so friendly, and the support from the expatiates and the local clubs, like LCS, are great.

I think our children and other relatives first thought their parents were crazy, but more and more we hear from everybody how much happier we sound since we no longer deal with all the issues in the States!
The big question has always been “yea, but what about crime?” well, we feel much safer here than in Little Rock, AR! Your information certainly has been helpful! — Sincerely, Maria W.  

 Now, my plea to any of you now living in Mexico, email me some info on your area – I’ll pass it on to the questioning folks considering Mexico as a possible place to retire. 

What do you think? Do you have a question about retiring in Mexico? I’d love to hear from you. If you don’t see the comment box below, read the full article and scroll down. Let me know what you think!