EXPATS HAVEN'T FOUND THIS PLACE, YET! (Colonia Americana Guadalajara Mexico)
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This is the start of a new era for our channel! And we're very excited about it!
Ecuador will continue to be our home base and we still plan to apply for citizenship next year when we're eligible, but we're taking our brand of expat edutainment on the road for future videos.
We already have several trips planned to other countries! This will allow us to gather more boots-on-the-ground information and do better comparisons between the various popular expat destinations.
In this video, we visited the neighborhood of Colonia Americana in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was recently named the "Coolest Neighborhood in the World" by TimeOut: www.timeout.co...
We're not sure it's the "coolest" neighborhood, but it was really cool. It has lots of restaurants and nice housing options. There are several universities in the area so it has a young, energetic vibe.
We really enjoyed our time in Col Americana and plan to visit again!
AirBnB Condo: abnb.me/EV82jw...
Here are the Grocery Prices for the Soriana::
Almond Milk: 51.60 / $2.57 Each
Rice: 30.90 / $1.54
Black Beans: 18.18 / $.90
Oats: 27.50 / $1.37
Limes: 13.68 / $.68
Frozen Mixed Veggies: 27.20 / $1.36
Poblanas: 80.90 / $4.03
Blueberries: 108 / $5.38
Popcorn: 35.80 / $1.78
Pasta: 20.50 / $1.02
Bananas: 13.08 / $.65
Prego Sauce: 75.50 / $3.76
Cholula Sauce: 26.50 / $1.32
Paper Towels: 21.90 / $1.09
We offset our carbon footprint from life and travel by donating to Wren, which funds carbon removal, carbon offsets, climate policy, and nature conservation. Calculate your footprint & join us here: wren.co/join/a...
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DISCLAIMER: This video is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute consulting or advice including, but not limited to, visas, tax, medical, or financial advice. Please consult immigration attorneys, tax professionals, medical professionals and financial advisors for current information.
We are not responsible or liable for your use of the information contained in our videos, articles or linked from our web pages. We do our best to provide timely and accurate information. However, news, laws, guidelines, rules, regulations, etc. are often open to interpretation, change frequently, and sometimes we make mistakes. You must do your own research and consult professionals who familiar with your unique situation before making any travel or moving plans.
#ameliaandjp #expats #expatlife
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I’ve tried surfshark when traveling full time around the states RVing. It slowed down my streaming speed to the point of being useless. Maybe there are different levels of service and I picked a bad one idk. Won’t use again though.
Amelia's smile steals the show. The angel wings were perfect.
My Wife was born and grew up in Col Americana in Guadalajara. It's our favorite place in all the Guadalajara Metro area though we live full time in Bucerias just north of Puerto Vallarta.
I'm originally from Texas but met my Mexican wife 21 years ago and decided to move to Mexico.
Great! Congrats on your escape! 🥳
I´ve lived in Guadalajara more that 40 years and still have my kids there. I lived in that neigbohood during my student years and had my arqchitect study. My doughter got married in that church. The main street has been known indistintibly as Lafallette and Chapultepec. You´re right, you´ve seen a VERY SMALL part of Guadalajara... tiny, if you consider the surroundings. I´m retired now, and living in a much smaller place but Guadalajara is a terrific place to live, one of the best, according to people that have been all arround the world. 8:20 Those dresses are used by teenagers for their "Quinceañera" celebrations, kind of your "Sweet 16s", not as popular these days as they used to be.
I visited Guadalajara 2 months ago and I was so impressed. People from Guadalajara are the friendliest people in the world. We stayed in Providence neighborhood which is next to Colonia Americana. We also visited pueblos magicos near the city. Tlaquepaque, Ajijic and Atotonilco del Alto. You will love it there!
The people are very friendly!
The arias you visited in Jalisco State has a more educated populace - even the dogs are smarter there as I can prove through the street dog from PV that adopted me.
Without a doubt when I drove for usa 🇺🇸 though Mexico 🇲🇽 Noth to south it changed my life and the food was the most amazing I've had anywhere though my travels, I must also say I fell in love with the culture and the people!
Brian, how long ago did you drive thru MX ? I'm debating driving down with my two dogs, this winter ???(single female)
And we fall in love with tourist like you. 👍
Wow! We are flying to Guadalajara and staying in Americana this Thursday. We booked these reservations a few days before reading about the "coolest neighborhood" award. Made us feel like trendsetters. We stayed in Americano before and loved it. So much to see and do. Have fun you guys. Maybe we will run into you.
This is really eye opening and makes me want to learn more about Guadalajara. I hope there is more forthcoming. Have a great trip!
I just saw that article the other day! Very cool that you just so happened to book in that hood.
I think retiring in a college town is a great idea for the reasons you pointed out.
I think those were quinceanera
Dresses.
Have a blast! 🇲🇽
It was a very lucky coincidence! We didn't see many expats on our long walks. Mostly students and professionals. Seems like it would be popular with expats, though.
Welcome to Mexico. Those look like quincenera dresses. That looks like a very clean area of Guadalajara. Other areas not so much. We live about an hour from where you are and yes the weather has been fabulous. Enjoy.
Gracias!
Yes, they look like quinceanera dresses. They are beautiful.
Excellent video! The vast majority of the things you both pointed out were positive attributes. But one thing that's a must-have for me is a park. Gardens, flowers, benches, a place too feel free to sit, enjoy the tranquility, read the paper, etc. etc. Wondering if you saw any parks but either didn't film, or maybe I missed it. Thanks again for what you do!
The malecón leads to a nice park on the west end and Parque La Cristianía is on the east side of the malecón.
There are many benches to sit and read and a lot of vegetation that makes you feel calm and fresh. There are also many bookstores in the area. There is no large park as such, as it is in the very center of the city, but there are small gardens with benches and very welcoming trees.
Nice video guys and good to see you traveling outside of Ecuador! I only knew which neighborhood you were going to mention because the Maddiegold channel did a video on that neighborhood last Saturday, for the same reason. Glad you enjoyed yourselves.
We saw her video too. She had a much different experience than we did.
As a resident of Mexico and fellow Surfshark subscriber, WELCOME TO MEXICO!!!!
This video was very informative as I've been researching different cities in Mexico to relocate to from the U.S. So far, I like Queretaro but now I will visit Guadalajara thanks to your video. Keep up the good work guys.
Great!
OMG... The houses... So much character😍💝
Very informative and helpful video. Glad you're doing Mexico as it's my #1 choice to relocate, so far.
Welcome to Mexico, guys! I also just arrived in CDMX about 2 weeks ago. Been great so far! :-) Hope you enjoy your stay.
Welcome to Mexico! I'm live in Vallarta and visiting GDL is always amazing! 🇨🇦🇲🇽
I am ready to move to Mexico from the states. Such an inviting impression from this video
Another great video. I ve seen about a dozen. Including your reason( s) for leaving USA Informative and entable videos. Nice Airbnb. I love Guadalajara. Tlaquepaque & Tonala too. Next stop for me will be Zapopan
Exciting stuff! Looking forward to more on your adventures in Mexico!
the new microphone is great! i almost jumped out of my chair first 10 seconds. lol. very clear sound!
I love Colonia Americano. Stop by the area in front of Templo Expiatorio Saturday night for some delicious vegan food - pozole vegano, elote, tamales, tacos, et al. I wish I was there. Great video!
Lots of great vegan restaurants here! And lots of Mexican men eating at them too. Not just women 👍
Guadalajara's weather is as close to perfect as you can find anywhere.
Loved this video Amelia and JP. Traveling to other Latin American countries is a good look on you guys. I was in GDL about a year ago and had a great time. ¡Que lo paséis muy bien!
Gracias! 😊🇲🇽👍
México...está en norteamérica..no solo USA y Canadá.. latín por el español
@@mariamar2114Pero si somos Latinoamericanos, aunque estemos en Norteamérica.
Yes, they could fix the holes. Peru has them, too. Very peligroso. Otherwise, it's beautiful. A cousin of mine is lucky to live there. Thanks for the great video.
Mexico is so cool were so happy to have you
Gracias!
Love you guys so much. Thanks for sharing so much of yourselves with us. Your such good people.
Mexico is by far my favorite country in the world! I love the friendly people, great food, great music, good manners, and the variety of topography! I noticed there seems to be a lot of graffiti in your area though. That is unfortunate. I don’t mind the more official, artistic painting but I despise the gang type of symbols. I’ve always thought they are idiots who don’t know how to write with real letters, not that they need to be spray painting anything at all on someone else’s property. It’s a problem everywhere (not usually in good neighborhoods though).
I agree with you. I noticed that and I think that it is a sad commentary on life nowadays. Sadly, it's a huge worldwide problem. You see it all over European cities as well.
Jajajaja en todo el mundo hay ese tipo de gratifisnde pandilleros...Hahahaha all over the world, there are gang graffiti, don't tell me there isn't any in the USA
@@jd3422 exacto ‼️ esto es mundial y no solo es de México por favor hello!!!🤨
@@mariamar2114 ay, amiga, no manches! 😂 No dije eso. Tienes razón. Desafortunadamente es una problema en todos partes.
I love Mexico, but Brazil was an even better experience for me. There's lots of GREAT places all around the world.
Amelia and JP...you belong in Ecuador... I'm glad you are VISITING Mexico. Go to all Latin America. We all go with you!
We live in Bucerias Nayarit and often stay at Villa Ganz in this same area. Pet friendly and charming little boutique hotel with great places to walk.
Food prices there seem to be cheaper than in Ecuador (comparing to Supermaxi prices, especially)! The variety of good restaurants and their prices would certainly convince me to choose that area for living!
Que linda Amelia !!!! We can’t wait to go to Ecuador for our exploratory trip to find out what town will give us the best vibe for us
Great!
I have been in Salinas for two months now and really like it. Put this one on your list for sure.
@@jjmichell Thanks for the recommendation but Salina , Manta or Guayaquil are not that appealing to us … We love the tranquility of the little towns and villages on the coast like Ayangue , Olon , San Clemente , Canoa , Puerto Cayo ….. looking for our retirement home
To me me Salinas is a small tranquil town 😁
@@jjmichell 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Now that you are in Guadalajara, you should visit Ajijic, it is only an hour away. Welcome to Mexico Amelia and JP !!
I'm currently in the middle of 6 months in GDL. most of the time I have been in Centro - I really love the old historic buildings and Cathedral. we go to to Americana a couple times a month and I will be living there for my final month in the city before heading to Acapulco.
Acapulco is not a good option at this time. Consider another location
Your videos have REALLY IMPORVED Congrats to you both ♥♥♥♥ I loved the humor and you guys being a little silly cute joking each other :D
Gracias! 😊
Hello !! Those huge princesses dresses are for the Quinceañera (sweet 16kind of thing) , welcome to Mexico and especially to Guadalajara!! Enjoy your visit ! 😊
We love Colonia Americana, particularly the Porfirio era architecture.
What's really weird is we booked the same Airbnb about 3 weeks ago before this video came out. We'll be staying there later this week!
That's right, curiously the Colonia American is more French style than American or Spanish.
Guadalajara is an excellent place to live or visit. The quality of life there is higher than some other cities in Mexico. I visited there, but I wouldn't mind living there for a while. I stayed in an economical 400+ yrs. old hotel across from the Governor's Offices - the HUGE central market goes on forever and you can spend all day there and in an adjacent area it's a place where the mariachis sing.
Guadalajara is such a cool city one of my favorite cities. I hope you guys had a chance to make it to Tequila and Tlaquepaque. Saludos 👋🏽
Great to see you two spreading your wings and exploring other countries!
Gracias! 🥳
Amelia and JP you guys are awesome!! Been following you for a couple years now and love your candidness, no BS, good and bad info and assessments of retirement in Ecuador! Hope to meet you both in the future as my gf and I are planning on visiting Ecuador in the next couple years. Keep up the great work! We are seriously considering spending our post career years in Ecuador or possibly other S. American country. She's native spanish speaker and Im learning. Will be fluent by the time we retire:)
Gracias! 👍
Pleasant informative video guys...i really enjoy your casual presentation style and of course Amelia with angel wings! 🤗😎
We honeymooned at Villa Ganz 11 years ago. I was telling my wife Frederika: "Hey, some of those buildings look familiar...!", and then up pops Villa Ganz. If you want a treat sometime, stay there. It is beautiful, elegant, and very high class but comfortable...
Very cool! Thanks!
Great video as usual. This might just convince my wife to spend some time this winter in Mexico!
Great! 🥳🇲🇽
I've been to that Colonia. It's pretty cool but muey fresa. Why didn't you both go try some of the amazing local food? That place is known for great Local Mexican Comida.
muy freson
Appreciate you showing restaurants and food
Even after this video (and by quite a stretch), my heart belongs to Oaxaca--for its colonial architecture, indigenous culture, and local cuisine.
Enjoy your work. My wife and I are looking hard toward Mexico but Ecuador presents well also.
Main issue for us is the cost of travel, into Cancun
airport is app $300 vs app $900 into Ecuador and with fuel shortages I shudder to think. Thank you
and buses may run counter to one-way traffic, so check in both directions when crossing busy streets.
La Comer/Fresko is another market option. I miss truly authentic Indian food ( Northern is my fave). Thanks for sharing 🍂
Thanks,I hadn't heard of this neighborhood
The governor's office in Centro gives tours of that historic buldg. and that area is a picture postcard, too, so bring your camera. It's lit up at night. Mex. was the center of the New World 400 to 500 years ago!!!
Both my son's are 18, daughter 4. 5 more months of high school. We are 40 n 36 and really want to move out of the country simple life. Praying we can make it happen
Thanks guys for your recommendation about Surfshark. We are getting ready for our trip to Ecuador and this was an excellent reminder for us to get a VPN. The reasons you mentioned were right on point. FYI: I already purchased it, installed it and up and running. Super easy! Highly recommend it! Excellent value and even better with your discount! Thanks again.
Great! Glad it helped! 👍
@@AmeliaAndJP So looking forward to the trip. We leave next Monday! 👍
Great video guys! My wife and I will be in Chapala next week to check on our home build. Keep it up!👍
I like the new version. Keep up the good work!
Also I subscribed to Wren as a monthly subscriber. I liked the calculator which helped me identify my carbon footprint. I appreciate that you are supporting environmental programs. We all need to participate.
Great! We got a notice from Wren 😊👍🥳🌳
The dresses are for quinceañera celebrations, or a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday. The birthday girl gets to wear the beautiful dress during her coming of age party.
Enjoy your trip guys I always wacth you content
Gracias!
You two make it so fun and funny. Gotta watch out for shoot outs! Your enthusiasm is contagious. I really enjoyed the murals, on top of everything else, in the Colonia Americana neighborhood of Guadalajara.
Gracias! 😊
Very cool! Last week, we had to cancel our month long trip to Ecuador and ended up in México for a week. We visited retired friends in Huatulco. We spent two amazing days in Zipolite letting go of all inhibitions!
Those "princess" dresses are typically worn for "Quincianeras", the very big , important party for a young lady's 15th birthday!
Mexico is a wonderful place! We are looking to retire in Mexico! I know a few people and families that live in Guadalajara and they love it. We plan on a visit soon. We visited La Paz Mexico. It was wonderful. You should go and visit there next!
Check out the Guadalajara suburb of Tlaquepaque. I was there in June and it is definitely a cool place!
I agree. I was there about a month ago and very impressed.
Shown dresses would be good for proms, weddings, festivals of various kinds.
Very neat place. I ate tacos with nopales which is the way tacos ought to be.
Hey guys, You just arrived in Mexico and your sampling Japanese food and thinking Indian food while in Mexico.....When I am in Mexico I think authentic incredibly tasty Mexican food.....Its almost like your in New York City where Pizza is so incredible but you go to Dominos Pizza 😃 😀 But Im sure you will start sampling the Mexican cuisine soon or I hope 😌
We found a couple of places that serve delicious Mexican food that’s plant-based. It wasn’t easy.
Locate a LaComer and City Market. City Market is a very special experience grocery shopping experience.
Thanks for the fun.
JP you totally have the Jeff Bridges look. At 6:37 the hat and shades set it off!!!
I get that a lot 😊
I heard that in Mexico City the ‘hoods to visit are Roma, Polanco, and Coyoacan but they’re likely more $$$ than Colonia Americana in Guad.
Much more expensive!
So excited to see you in Mexico. We just visited Tlaquepaque, and think you would enjoy it. Have a wonderful stay 💗
It does look really cool!
I went there and loved it. There in a restaurant there that has lots of pine needles in the walkway into the restaurant. When you walk on them you get the fragrance of walking into a pine forest.
Must be nice to see the sun again HAR HAR as its always overcast in EC. Shout out for surfshark as its one of the cheapest VPN's and it does not slow your speed down like other VPN's
Thanks for the feedback about surfshark 👍
Hello my friends!! Amelia, I have that same pashmina. Bought it in Otavalo in our trip in August.
I think you guys should visit Ajijic and the Lake Chapala area since you are so close .Have fun at the Day of the Dead celebrations and hope you enjoy Mexico overall.
Those dresses! Maybe for Quinceañeras? Muchas gracias for the great vid!
The joy is radiating from your faces. Looks like y'all are enjoying Guadalajara, MX.
We happiest when we're out filming someplace new! 😊🇲🇽
Love Guadalajara. Avid surfer fishermen. Need to be near the surf.
YES they have found it. Just got back from there
This video is from 2022
Guadalajara is a cool 😎 city 🌃.
In Mexico, always look down when walking!
Same in Ecuador! 😂
My guess is Peru as you have both talked many times about wanting to go there and it’s close. Wherever you are, we look forward to traveling along through your videos. Be safe and enjoy!
I’m headed to Ecuador in March for 3 weeks. Quito, Manta and Cuenca. I’m so very excited to visit to plan out where I can spend 3 months of my Canadian winters soon.
That would be amazing to spend the cold winter months in EC!
@@AmeliaAndJP I just watched your video on Loja. I’m thinking I definitely want to go there also. Thank you for all your information.
You said you weren't drinking at the end of the video when you had a Guinness but at the first Japanese restaurant you had a Corona extra on the table. Busted JP lol.
😁
Hola Amigos, glad to see you guys adventuring into my neck of the woods Mexico👍. Just curious are you guys in San Miguel De Allende? I was out walking yesterday and I thought I saw a women who look like Amelia sitting next to a gentleman selling flowers. If that was you guys I’m so sorry I didn’t stop to speak. Who ever the woman was she appear to be very friendly. If you guys are in SMA hope to see you around town.
That wasn’t us 😊👍
@@AmeliaAndJP okay it was wishful thinking. Have an awesome weekend guys👍
Will you check out lake chapala and Ajicic?
Check out lake chapala and Queretaro and if you have time San Miguel de Allende.
Years ago in Costa Rica I was told el leñazo is slang for la cuenta (in some parts at least) and I just recently learned that la leña is firewood. So I guess it's kind of like chop the firewood. Anyways, funny to see that word again on the restaurant!
PS it's more like hit me with the firewood
The leña was used before the oil, the Gas AND the electricity to cook.
Leñazo really means a hit/ coup/ blow with a log. So it's a metaphorical way of saying hit me with the log. Cause it's a bad thing you don't want. It must be part of their humor.
Hello from Ouray, again! Ok….thank you for wrecking my day! Just as I thought I had shrunk my list of places to consider in Mexico, you two just come along and make my list longer! Heheheh
Thank you for sharing your visit to Guadalajara! I am guessing that since it is one of the biggest cities in Mexico that there is no lack of stuff to do? With its proximity to Ajijic, my wife’s family would visit here during their annual stays in Ajijic. So, I look forward to seeing it also.
I didn’t see as much colonial architecture in your video. Did you get the feeling there was less than some of your other visits to Mexico?
Safe travels!
There are lots of things to do in Guadalajara. We didn’t see as much colonial architecture in Col Americana, but it’s a newer neighborhood that started around 1890. Most of the development occurred in the 1920s so it has a heavy art deco influence. There is also a lot of new construction, mostly high rise condos.
@@AmeliaAndJP Good morning! Ok...thank you for that. Yes...I hadn't really ever heard Guadalajara referred to as "colonial".
Yes...when we visited Mazatlan, it had the most new construction going on that I have ever seen before anywhere in the world.
Safe travels!
The old Americana, curiously, is more French in style due to the affinity that Porfirio Díaz had with France more than a century ago, therefore the architecture of the area is more French in style than Spanish colonial. The city center is completely Colonial (Spanish) style, a completely different style than the American Colony.
It is called the American Colony because the American Consulate is located there.
Hey Amelia! I can see you're ready to go. You've got WINGS
That's how we got here! On Amelia's wings! 😁
Love your outfits, Amelia 😊
Beautiful city ❤
I think I ate at that Indian restaurant and it wasn’t very good. That’s one of the good things about the USA, the International food.
We weren’t very impressed with it either. ☹️
I got the impression that your Ecuadorian Spanish worked well in Mexico.
Lots of words and phrases are different but we’re doing ok 👍
That's a FANTASTIC 'hood!!!
How long are you in Mexico? If Mérida is on your itinerary let me know. I have a fabulous Airbnb there right in the middle of centro but on a quiet street. Let me know if you want the link. Another great video you two!❤
Is it just me or 1 appetizer and 2 entrees for 38$ is crazy expansive?
It was a very trendy place and the most expensive place we ate at, but it was delicious.
Expats have totally found this place. Its part of what we call the Expat triangle in GDL that includes Americana, Providencia, and Chapalita. The prices in the triangle are FAR higher than in nearby neighborhoods and the crime is worse. Just do some googling about the crime if you're thinking about visiting. Its not terrible but it is common.
We saw very few expats in Col Americana compared to Ajijic and the popular expat areas in Ecuador. Most days, we didn’t see a single gringo. We did experience crime firsthand though. We’ll talk about that in another video.
@@AmeliaAndJP I'm not aware of any spot in the city outside of Costco where you will always run into a Gringo. There just aren't a ton of expats in the city. At least thats my impression after living here for a year.
Was your phone stolen? That seems to happen a lot in Americana.
Mucho mejor que no haya expats (aunque si los hay) porque solo hacen más caras las zonas.
When people get a VPN they often times don’t change the time of the location where they are.
Enjoy Mexico¡ 😊 Día de los Muertos is around the corner 💀Fun event 🎉
Gracias!
Welcome to the city. The dresses are used for a quincinera ( a girl's 15th b'day and coming into womanhood).
A couple of TH-camrs mentioned that they were victims of crime while visiting Colonia Americana. One had a camera stolen and the other had a cell phone stolen both while filming their channels.
That’s a risk everywhere.
I have to agree Americana's nightlife is unique and is the main reason it was voted coolest. It's very relaxed, tolerant, diverse, friendly to everyone, beautiful people of every age, top notch international dj's, live music, cultural centers for art, theater, circus, comedy, events, bazaars, experimental and traditional art exhibitions, late night street food, etc. I don't think you can get all the hype by visiting for a week and not going out at night. But glad you did and glad you took off the "safety" and "not coolest" titles from your thumbnail. Totally unnecessary IMO. And it's nightlife is not ageist at all. So you should try it sometime and maybe you would agree with the Time Out survey. You guys are great. Wish you the best.
Thanks! We try lots of thumbnails to get people to click, even though we don’t always agree with them. 👍