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| Craving a Home, Routine, and a Full Refrigerator | |
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06/26/05 - Puerto Vallarta, MX Looking for a reprieve from living out of suitcases, hotel rooms... |
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After seven months on the road, we're really looking forward to settling down somewhere and starting a "normal, semi-retired" life. With the exception of a few weeks in Michigan and some week-to-week living in a condo in Puerto Vallarta, it's been hotel living for us since we left San Francisco back on November 22nd. What we crave now is a more predictable routine, where we actually know where we'll be living in two, three, or six months. We'd love a place to put our "stuff" which we've been carrying around with us in suitcases and in the trunk of our car. It would be great if we could go to the grocery store and buy enough food to fill our refrigerator and cupboards, and do some real cooking. Once we get somewhere where we decide we're going to stay for the long-term (at least a year or two), we can sign up for classes, start planning some overseas travel, start a real exercise routine (maybe), and maybe even give some thought to figuring out a way to make some money!
We've known all along that we would rather not stay in Puerto Vallarta, but would prefer to live in a city where tourism is not such a big part of the culture and economy. In the backs of our minds, we've always figured we'd end up in the central highlands of Mexico, probably somewhere in the states of Guanajuato, Queretaro, or Michoacan. Although we have preferred visiting the more "Mexican" towns (i.e. somewhere where hordes of ugly Americans/Canadians haven't brought on Mexican resentment... yet), when it comes to selecting a place to settle down, we think we'd choose to live somewhere with enough culture, convenience and English spoken to keep life easy and fun. We're going to be visiting the towns of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo, Queretaro and maybe others, to decide where we'd feel most comfortable.
There seems to be a good chance that we'll end up in San Miguel. The upsides are that there are excellent language schools there, a lot of culture, a thriving restaurant scene, beautiful homes to live in, plenty of other gringos we can socialize with, and it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico. The downsides are both related to the high gringo-count. First of all, rents and home prices have become quite high. Secondly, when a large gringo population moves in, it changes the feel of a town. The gringo crowd becomes a treasure chest to be tapped by enterprising Mexicans from all over the country, which can make it feel more "us" & "them" than if you were in a town where you're the only blue-eyed person anyone sees. Mexican-style businesses close down in favor of American-style businesses that cater to, well, us... and charge American-style prices. The worst thing is when Mexican culture becomes less authentic, only to be in the form of more staged spectacles put on to take advantage of gringos or Mexican tourists willing to pay to witness (or take home a piece of) "culture". This tends to happen with music, festivals, ceremonial rites, as well as handicrafts and even food.
That being said, even an expensive home in San Miguel is probably a better investment than many other places, since Americans will continue to come down, homes will continue to appreciate, and a place in a decent location will be easy to sell. But more than anything at this point, we're more concerned with the timing of settling down (soon!) than the actual location. A possible scenario goes like this: we go live in San Miguel for the month of July (visiting other nearby towns from this central location), find a long-term home (rental or purchase), maybe do some non-Mexico travel in August, and come back to our new Mexican "home" at the end of summer for a long term stay. Just a few weeks ago, we were talking about spending the Fall in Europe, but after further thought decided that we're just not ready to do that kind of traveling right now. Fall in Europe would mean a solid year of life on the road, which was not the plan when we set off from San Francisco. There's always next Spring or Fall for that... Right now we just want some routine. |
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| Sweating, Mosquito Slapping and Moving...Again | |
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06/23/05 - Puerto Vallarta, MX Room #9, here we come! |
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In the sweltering afternoon heat, we just finished moving all our stuff (and it's a lot) into our third suite at Casa Andrea's since our initial arrival in PV back in March. We had to move out of the 2-bedroom apartment we were in so that they could accommodate a large group of college students that is arriving tomorrow. Oh goody! Andrea did her best to discourage them, since she doesn't like rowdy behavior and noise anymore than we do (what a bunch of old farts, jeez!), but they insisted on staying here. Whatever!
Our new room, #9, is Caroline's favorite room at the Casa yet, although Scott favored the spaciousness of the apartment we just left. This one does have a mosquito net, though, which scores huge points with both of us. We'll sleep easy tonight with no mosquitoes buzzing in our ears! You may wonder why we make such a big deal about all these hotel rooms we visit. Well, you must remember that while we are in any given room, it's our home for as long as we're there. It's the only home we have, our sole retreat in this sea of Mexican-ness, so it is kind of a big deal. Anyway, I'm just enjoying sitting in the comfy chair under the fan...while Scott runs out to get a roasted chicken and a couple of avocados for dinner, before he goes off to Steve's Bar for the big game (Detroit Pistons v. San Antonio Spurs). I am thinking I might watch a little 'The O.C.: Season 1 on DVD on the big king size bed while Scott's at the bar. God bless America! |
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