What I wish I'd known BEFORE moving to MEXICO
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 มิ.ย. 2024
- Tour Ajijic & Chapala with me while I share what I WISH I'd known before moving to Mexico...Thinking about moving to Mexico in 2024? The must-know info in this video will go a long way toward a smooth & successful transition to life in Mexico.
#movingtomexico #sprint202312 #alexwittman
✏️ Ready to FINALLY learn Spanish in 2024? Sign up for the Lingoda Sprint Challenge: try.lingoda.com/AlexWittman (voucher code: ALEX2023)
✨ Moving to Mexico? Snag the 11-point Move to Mexico Checklist PLUS my top tips for finding an apartment in Mexico & a handy renting in Spanish cheat sheet ⬇️
**Download the FREE 32-page Move to Mexico Quickstart Guide (PDF) // backpackingbrunette.com/mexic...
Here's the adorable Airbnb in Ajijic: www.airbnb.com/rooms/50349837...
• What I wish I'd known ... - บันเทิง
Come along for a weekend in my life in Guadalajara, Mexico: th-cam.com/video/C5fLZA44l1s/w-d-xo.html
Living happily in Ajijic for 24 years now and cannot imagine living anywhere else.
You said in an earlier video how expensive it is to furnish an apartment in Mexico, which I didn’t agree.
We pay approx 20% more rent per month for a furnished house that doesn’t even match our taste and individual comforts. That means paying $1000 as opposed to $800.
We constantly see deals to be had on Amazon Mexico, local estate sales, facebook marketplace, and consignment shops in our area.
Our next home we will either buy and furnish or rent an unfinished house and have fun looking for our furnishings.
It’s much cheaper to furnish yourself in the long run.
Actually one of the points in this video is how affordable it can be to rent an apartment in Mexico! I’ve always been a proponent of furnishing your own place in Mexico 👍🏼
Hola Alex and Taylor! Mexicoliving, you must be thinking of someone else. From the first videos Alex posted after moving to Queretaro from my home state of Michigan, she had mentioned how affordable it was to furnish a place. She had said how she was initially concerned but found out differently. Mucha suerte desde Ensenada!
Oh, you made it to our town. We love Lakeside. We moved here in May of 2023. We are now permanent card carrying residents after 20 years of traveling all over Mexico.
We thought Chapala was going to be our jumping off spot, we prefer Chapala over Ajijic, but we love it so much here we think we will start looking to buy when our one year lease ends.
I am so happy to hear you are so happy in Chapala!
Lakeside wtf? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 bro please respect Mexico. Don’t start naming it stuff. It’s the locals town not yours lol. My family is from chápala I don’t even act like yall when I’ve been going every year as a kid and lived there for sometime myself.
Love your work. Thank you so much for this. Happy new year!
Thank you for your kind words! Happy new year!
When you first get your rental make a list of immediate needs for each room. A bed, bathroom toiletries, kitchen essentials to cook, etc. Think about what you do daily from the moment you wake up. No need to buy everything all at once if you’re on a budget.
Yes, no need to buy everything at once!
Always love your videos! This one is very informative and interesting. Glad i found you guys again!!! Cheers!
Love❤you guys, I am very happy to see you enjoying yourself in Guadalajara. Good vibes heading your way🥂Happy New Year🎊🎊🎊‼️
Happy new year!! Thanks for watching, Wilfredo!
Anther informative vid. Gracias. I'm here now in PV Centro area for another week and all of your past vids are spot on especially you informing on having to watch where you walk. The infrastructure is hilarious in this area. Although I am considering of returning again next year but probably to the Marina area to kick it up a notch. Happy New Year
Thanks for watching, Jim! Yes, watching where you walk is crucial 😅 random holes, mega cracks & loose bricks!
Thanks Alex. Great video.
Happy New Year! 2024
Happy new year!
Good points, as usual!😊
Thanks for watching, Dave! Please let me know if there’s anything else you would add 😀 feliz Año Nuevo!
Great video! Happy New Year! 🎉
Thanks for watching, Chris! We had a lovely weekend checking out Lake Chapala-I highly recommend it!
I have been there! A few years ago we spent a couple of days in Chapala. It is beautiful.
Mexico is indeed huge, to give one an idea the landmass here the flight time from Mexico City to Merida is the same length as the flights I used to take from Madison, WI to Dallas
Great video thanks for sharing. ✌️
Thanks for watching!
Very good video. Thanks. Great info for the viewers.
Thanks for watching!
Happy new year!!
Happy new year!!
Hi Alex... Good to see your video. Thank yo for all you did and do. I am ejoying Cuenca Ecuador but Queretaro was great.
Wishing you all the best in 2024, JP! Glad to hear you enjoyed Queretaro & are doing well in Cuenca.
Nice to see you👋
Thanks for watching, Jane!
Feliz año.
Love your videos
Oh and Ivonne and her team are the best ever
Yes, I have an awesome interview with Ivonne coming soon to my channel!
love your videos
Thanks for watching!
Share your Mexico plans for 2024! Do you have any goals/resolutions related to learning Spanish??
Yes. 5 years ago I took 4 sessions at a Biblioteca in San Miguel de Allende. I’ve got better over the past few years but not where I think I need to be But I’m doing fine. However I’ll be practicing more. Nice to hear you talk about the importance of being a ‘ language learner ‘. It certainly helps thanks
Off to Guadalajara this March !
Very exciting! Let me know if you need any specific recommendations!
Wish I was saying that.
Alex, I followed you since you lived in Queretaro, you have beautiful eyes.
Thanks for watching & supporting the channel, Pablo!
New subscriber sending greetings from Tucson, Arizona.
I'm in the process of selling my house with the intent of moving to Ajijic..
Thanks for your videos.
Welcome, Jerry! Happy to have you here :)
Are you a TRUMP supporter? If your answer is yes ,your not welcome to my belove México.
You should visit Puerto Vallarta,..Puerto vallarta is 100% fantastic
Hola Alex saludos
Happy New Year!
Happy new year!
Some great points. We plan to airBnb for 3 to 4 months. One month each in different parts of Guadalajara. I'm not sure if I should include Lake Chapala. It seems a bit sleepy My dad will be there. Im going in January to look for a care home for him.
When we DO find our place we've already decided to go unfurnished.
Love that you’re going to be traveling around first to see where feels most at home to you, Rhys! I would recommend staying around Tlaquepaque since that’s on the side of GDL closest to Chapala 🏠
It is sleepy if you’re a late night partier. Otherwise, there’s plenty of restaurants and bars with live entertainment. Always something going on. But, the average age is older, if that matters to you.
Good description. Sidewalks in Ajijic roll up after dinner 😂
@@Mexicobeanpole I was thinking more about theater, symphony, jazz festival, museums, large parks, the international book fair, headliner concerts, sporting events, international restaurants, international food markets, modern art, creator spaces, public transportation, large parks, the zoo, all the things a city of 5 million people has to offer that a small town can never offer. Small towns have their advantages too. But where do I see myself living fully vs visiting recreationally. I think I know but I'm trying to keep an open mind.
I don't know what it's like in other areas of Mexico, but in Baja no one has furnaces or insulation in their houses. The houses are cinder block constuction, which has an R-factor of about 1-2. That means that if it is 47 ° outside on a cold winter night it is 47° inside the house or maybe 50° if you are lucky and the wind is blowing the right way.
Those gorgeous casas with big open floor plans and tall ceilings don't heat well with a space heater.
Also, space heaters are usually propane, often with a little tank that actually sits inside your room and no exhaust for dangerous carbon monoxide to exit. A window needs to stay open for safety. Keeping warm is managed with activity, blankets, and layers of clothing plus lots of hot tea.
I and my dogs shivered through 3 cold winters in an otherwise beautiful place by the ocean. It's probably not so bad if you are a bit younger, but as we age our tolerance for cold decreases. At 70 preventing hypothermia is a challenge. WHO recommendations for those over 65 is a minimum temperature of 68 degrees. I was not prepared.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Diana! Stay warm!
@@alex-wittman Glad to give another perspective. By the way, I still live here! I've moved into town with a house with a wall to block some wind. I really enjoy it here, but it's best to be prepared, clothing-wise, and to change your lifestyle a bit to be more comfortable. I am probably more temperature sensitive than some; there are over 1000 expats living in the seaside area I was in--mostly retired, but also including some digital nomads--who love it and have adapted happily.
It shows how we are all different. I'm older but spent a couple decades living in Australia and never ran the heat in the winter. I came back to the US and stayed with my sister for a month during the winter and her place was suffocatingly hot with her heat set to 74.
In Ajijic I don't know of anyone that has central AC or heat. The weather is mild ALL year long, in addition the sun heats the cement walls during the day and releases it at night when it cools down. Perfect place for passive solar temperature control and all you really need is a house with good ventilation and ceiling fans. Also with 330 days of sunshine per year solar energy generation works fantastic. Payback is less than 5 years especially with rates going up every year. Sure homes cost more in central Ajijic but the beauty, tons of thing to do, proximity to Guadalajara and big airport and amazing year-round weather, those things are worth a lot!
@@mhfnet There is no releasing of heat in the evening here. That heat releases from the cinder/concrete block straight to the outdoors. You can feel the temperature indoors plummet as soon as the sun gets low in the winter. If the homes are adobe there, I think that's a better passive system. Sounds like a good location.
Having to do that bus ride from Mexico City to Queretaro isn't terrible... but not having to do it is amazing.
"Not terrible" is the perfect way to describe it lol I was just doing it way too frequently. I thought the Queretaro airport would be more convenient, but that wasn't so for my particular destinations.
I'm considering that area. That airbnb is gorgeous but found it very expensive.
You don't get amazing weather, location to a big city and airport, so much to see and do, nice mixed community of expats and locals, and beautiful lake and mountains for free. Also yes Ajijic Centro is expensive but there are other places along the lake much less expensive.
México has become a popular place for the Gringo and European
immigrants .
I’m packing to drive to Riberas now from Idaho. I avoid Ajijic because there’s too many people, it’s loud, dogs barking and the traffic is bad. It’s hard to find a place in Mexico that doesn’t have dogs barking. I found a cabin between Riberas and Chapala with no neighbors. Just 4 days of driving! See you soon, maybe.
Safe travels, Charlie!
With all due respect: Mexico might not be for you. We love music and parties, the dogs and cats have the right to wonder around (in most areas in Mexico), I know they don't have that freedom in your country, but who are we to dictate where the dogs and cats live and wonder around?.
My suggestion, really pay attention to where you plan to move, because in Mexico we are vibrant (some might say, laud🤪), and if that's a deal breaker for you, then, places like Costa Rica or Panama or Spain, could be a better fit for you.
Please, do your research first, so you don't have to bash Mexico because is not what you wanted to be ✌️
3 more sleeps til I am in PV for 3 or 4 months. And yeah... I didn't do enough SPEAKing spanish.
Keep putting in the work, Maggie! You've got this! Safe travels!
Hi Alex. I love your new video! I don’t mean to embarrass you, but I need to tell you that I love your haircut! Wow!!!
Thanks for watching, Evelyn! Not embarrassing at all-I appreciate the positive feedback 🤗
beautiful. But the requirements are too high.
And they increase every year...That's why I encourage people to apply for residency as soon as they think they might want to live in Mexico someday. Other than being in Mexico to complete the process, there is no amount of time that a person actually has to live in Mexico in order to maintain their residency.
Como estas?
. I went to Ajjic thinking I might like to live there because it’s got such a huge Expat community. So I figured it must be a wonderful place. However, I found it small and crowded with no good place to walk or swim. No jungles to hike in. A very short boardwalk. I need a beach I need an ocean., I respect that this place works for some people, but if you need a beach and an open place to walk, Ajijic is not for you❤
Go to Puerto Vallarta!!
A lot of ocean, a lot of jungle, a huge boardwalk and an international airport... all in one place. What are you waiting for??
Darling, there is an important tool technology nowdays it is called: " I n t e r n e t " have you ever heard about it? Ok, if you can get help for someone to help you to use this tool, you could have investigate all about Ajijic before comming just to realize don't like it.
Thank you for sharing your experience! Yes, Ajijic is definitely landlocked. The lake is great, but it's not the ocean. I hope you find a place that fits what you're looking for!
When I want the ocean it is less than 4 hours away or I will rent a place in the winter for a month to get my ocean fix. It might not be the ocean but Lake Chapala is a massive body of water with beautiful mountains and all the cities have nice Malecons and best of all you can enjoy it all year around with the amazing mild weather. The coast is my vacation, Ajijic is my home. But heck to each their own, Mexico is a fantastic place to live your dream!
Your points are a huge consideration for me. I live in Santa Cruz ca, there are no shortage of places to go hiking!
I thought Queretaro has an international airport - why not fly out of there?
It does, but it's small & for my "home" destination, I ended up connect through CDMX anyway. Between the layover & more expensive ticket, it made more sense to take the bus to CDMX.
I just can’t get over the lack of sanitation in Mexico; toilet tissue is put in the trash can versus flushing it down the toilet!
I don’t mind the toilet paper thing anymore as long as the trash is emptied often lol! Over six years of living Mexico, there’s a lot I’ve just gotten used to 😅
@@alex-wittmanYep, "getting used to" is the name of the game when moving from one culture to another.
Took us by surprise too. But use a bidet (they have portable ones) helps keep the smell in the trash under control.
I’m always surprised how this is one of the first things people mention about Mexico, when it’s one of the things we got used to quickly.
I grew up camping. Digging a hole. No flushing is such a small thing. Trust me.
This was a beautiful video with some very good reminders. Wishing you and Taylor all the best in 2024🎉💫
Se perdieron mucho!!
I wonder! What does Trump thinks of the Gringo immigrants moving and invading México?
If you can't afford Mexico, you have a big problem
I'm not sure what this is in reference to?
Maybe in reference to Mexico financial requirements😊
Great video! But why r u always taking about the bad things about Mexico?! The rest-of latin America r even worse in general!😢
When am I always talking about the bad things in Mexico?
Mexico? No thanks
It's not for everyone--I hope you find a place that makes you happy!
Why? What areas of Mexico have you traveled?