Have you ever thought about moving to Mexico or some other country to have a different type of Lifestyle? Many of us have but just never got any further than the thinking and wondering what it would be like.
I have a friend that did more than think about it, she actually took the leap about 2 years ago and so far I have heard nothing but good things about her new life in Mexico. It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision for her; as a matter of fact she had been planning her move to Mexico for a number of years prior to her retirement. She is a single retired woman that had come to realize that where she was living she would not be able to afford to have the standard of living that she had been used to once she retired plus living in the sun was a big attraction for her.
We can find lots of promotional material on these countries many of them have some form of advertising attached to them so you wonder if what you are hearing is in fact true. It’s nice to hear unbiased information from real people with no agenda. I often wonder how other real people make out when they make such a big decision as moving to another country especially when they retire and where English is not the first language.
Sometimes information comes from unexpected sources. At one time or another most of us have had occasion to say “it really is a small world” I’ve said this more than a few times. One of those times was a few days ago. It started with a promotional email that I received. I hadn’t read it nor did I recognize the sender. The same afternoon I received a phone call from the sender of the email. It was a man with a British accent. This caught my attention as I am originally from Britain. Normally I am not happy to have sales calls to my home. However this man introduced himself and told me he had sent me the email and asked if I had read it. He wanted to make it clear what the offer it contained was all about, (it was related to hotel accommodation). I wasn’t interested in the offer but our conversation got on to other things, it turned out that he was calling me from Mexico and that I was originally from a city not too far away from London where he had lived and worked before he moved to Mexico.
We ended up having a really long interesting conversation about various things including how he came to live in Puerto Vallarta and what his thoughts are now that he’s been living there for some time. I had mentioned that some people I know at one time or another have given some consideration to moving to Mexico, either full or part time, myself included; also family members and friends.
I found it refreshing to speak with someone else that has actually taken the leap and lives there full time. Besides discovering that there are 2 people that we are both acquainted with (what are the chances of that) he gave me some insight of living in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
He had been in the banking industry in London and he has a young son. He told me even though there were some tough decisions because of family as well as wondering if he would be able to make a living once he made the move. He said “I don’t have one regret about the decision to move here! I wake up with a smile on my face every day”. He had recently been back to the UK for a while due to personal matters but he said he couldn’t wait to get back to Mexico.
He asked if I could recall what it was like as a kid back in Britain years ago when as a kid you were able to play out in the street with the other kids until late, especially during the summer. How you would spend all day outside, no phone, not worried about time, your parents expected to see you when you were hungry”. Then he added “well that’s what my son can do here; he often stays out with the other kids playing out in the street sometimes until close to 11pm”. I could totally recall how different it was when I was a kid it was just healthy outdoors fun where you could enjoying yourself exploring and doing things that most kids today will never experience.
He explained that when they were back in the UK after school his son spent all his time on his play station 3, with little or no conversation, no real play, and he didn’t want a story when he went to bed. His son was so hyped up from the electronic games etc that he often had a problem sleeping. Now back in Mexico after school they build with Lego and do other playful things, sometimes his son will just lay in the hammock on the deck watching the sky or the ocean then he plays with the kids out in the street. By the end of the day his son has had fun, activity, fresh air and sleeps well without any electronic gadgets. As this dad said I have seen such a difference in this boy he is happy, and healthy.
A lot of these other countries are way smarter than us; they still know how to live while many here have forgotten how and never will have some of the best experiences.
As appealing as it may be anyone that is serious about making such a move needs to do their homework first. It is a big and somewhat gutsy thing to do, even a bit scary, so check everything out before making any final decisions.