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I personally believe that our perceptions, experiences & viewpoints frequently differ based on the amount of time we spend in Baja. Curious about the differences in how much time everyone actually gets to spend here.

Edit:

If you do not live in Baja at least 6 months out of the year then it does not matter how many GBs of photos and maps you have on your computer.

A weekender is a weekender no matter how you say it and simply does not have the knowlage and understanding that living in Baja gives you.

Learning from a book is good.
Learning from experence is better.

I'm a full timer and loving it. I visit the US periodically to see my elderly mom, who can't travel, but otherwise there's no reason to go there. It would be fun to visit other parts of Mexico at some point, but for now I'm enjoying the luxury of mostly staying put. Air travel is excruciating these days, and I'm not a big fan of long-distance driving. Ask Longlegs!

My first trip here was in 2005, and I bought my house the same year, so I really can't say much about changes or what it's like to be a visitor, but it's a wonderful place to live. I think having been an expat for most of my adult life made it easier to feel at home and to accept most things as they are.

Been so busy trying to become a full timer I missed this post. We currently spend about 2 1/2 months a year, but soon to be permanent. Ok...gotta go... lots to do, you'd think retiring would be fun but it's a lot of work!!

The fun AND the work will both increase proportionally from here on out!! But it separates the wusses from those who come from sturdy pioneer stock!! You & Ola are doing everything the smart way!! You'll flourish!

Research, on the ground investigation, honest evaluation and planning will go a looooong way to making your Baja retirement happen as well as save you money and avoid a lot of oh $#!%!$ along the way.

I can't stress enough how important I believe it is to spend some time living somewhere you are considering for retirement as a renter BEFORE buying. Dream vacation destinations do not always translate into dream retirement destinations...

YMMV

Originally Posted by expat

If you do not live in Baja at least 6 months out of the year then it does not matter how many GBs of photos and maps you have on your computer.

A weekender is a weekender no matter how you say it and simply does not have the knowlage and understanding that living in Baja gives you.

Learning from a book is good.
Learning from experence is better.

Living there would make you an expert on just that.... living there. Unless you get out and travel the peninsula and see as much as you can, you can't be a good source of information on those other places... as you say, "experience is better".

I live and work in a defined area... and don't travel all over California too much. Someone could come here from Australia, travel the state and be a better 'expert' of California travel than someone who lives here. What is great about the Internet is that we can get fresh reports all year long on conditions and places in Baja.

Half the fun of visiting the exotic places in Baja is writing the trip reports and the photo web pages that come from them... at least for me!

I agree with David on the resident vs the traveler. I've lived in baja 13 years and know the area near my place pretty well, but have only done a little traveling to other baja areas., Someone coming to Baja for a limited time usually sees and enjoys experiences in a wide variety of places.

I've often thought how these "Vacationers" and "Weekenders" have a much broader knowledge of the peninsula than I havd.

Live full time in Baja for 4 years, now. Violated most recommendations, which, in retrospect, are good ones. Moved on impulse and adjusted. My personal opinion is that Baja is so varied it can fulfill a wide range of expectations.

We spend a mere 3 weeks a year in Baja.

This is mainly because we both work full time plus there is the expense of getting there from the UK.

Oh and its a long boring journey!

Eventually we hope to become full timers.


As you were.

We spend every school holiday in Baja, plus the summer. (this summer my daughter had to attend summer school, so we're a bit delayed in our departure).

Dern attends the Score races and makes honey-do runs as well.

We did have the opportunity to live there for a year and loved it. In hindsight we wish we hadn't left. But, we are counting down the days till we can return - for good.

P<*)))>{

Try as we may we only manage 50 to 51 weeks a year over the last 15yrs.
We find people constantly want to buy on the beach and then complain about the boom boom on Saturday night. We say if you can't handle one night a week and Easter Week stay away from the beach.
Mexico is a cool place to be warm.

Keep trying, you will find a way to be able to make it 365 days a year...

I have been on vacation in B.C.S. for 2 weeks a year for the last 3 years. I enjoy it so much that I made the plunge this year and bought a house. I am returning in September for the final signing. Buying the house in Cabo really gave me a buzz; I am anxious to get back. I have 2 months vacation a year and I plan to spend most of them in Cabos. My wife and I have seen most of the world...twice. I am tired of dealing with hotel crowds. We thought our own place in Mexico would be very relaxing.

I have posted several questions on Talk Baja since everything is new to me. Probably all my questions have already been answered in the archives.

Lots of stuff to deal with: water, phone, internet, visas, getting a car, some construction, etc. Got to learn Spanish!

Hope to pick the brains of the seasoned veterans!

Hope we can be of help and look forward to hearing your Baja story unfold here as well...