TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Moving to Baja Full/Part Time

I'm hoping to get the story(ies) of why people like the Woo and Ola Dulce, who had NIcaragua in their back pocket, or others who have considered Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, the list goes on and on, as to why they ended up where they did.
I know the Trotters would probably have some interesting stories to tell being the traveling sort.
So many varied lives out there and I find it fascinating to hear what drives people to reject the "box" of spending an entire life living in the familiar and comfortable.
Or, as I perceive it, a very long death.

A lot of it has to do with the spirit that lives inside of you. For some they tend to be the types that settle in where they are - a place they feel most comfortable in the familiar.

"Safe"

Others of us probably tend to be the types that are always questioning what is yet to be discovered and are willing to risk their "safe" zone to find out. I have been blessed to have lived abroad since I was in my teens and working on different continents over the last several decades has taught me one thing is for sure - true paradise does not exist anywhere on this planet.

There are however places that may very well make a better match for your interests, needs, personality and lifestyle. It all comes down to where you set the bar for your personal comfort zone and willing to take a risk to truly find that best match.

I loved Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Singapore, Mainland Mexico and Sumatra but at the same time I always found my eyes pulled to see what was just over on the other side of the fence. That is, until we found this quiet little beach outside San Quintin. Here we will stay and with zero regrets for the road traveled getting here...

I feel almost the same way you do about the roads traveled and being here I will always dream of greener pastures, but as a stopping off place I couldn't done any better. And if I never Leave here that will be Just Fine

How I came to be in La Paz....

I took a 2-week vacation to La Paz in March 1998. First time ever in La Paz & I loved it here! I was purely on vacation & if anyone had suggested that I’d ever consider living outside the good old USA, I’d have told them they were crazy!

The first day back from vacation, I was informed that my job of 18-years with [a major US Fortune 500 company....hereafter known as Company 1] going to be outsourced to [another major US Fortune 500 company....hereafter known as Company 2]. I interviewed with Company 2 & received a job offer to stay in the same job, same desk, supporting the same customer base. I accepted that offer on a straight across basis.…my time, salary, benefits, etc. went with me. Company 2 left me on Company 1 account for approximately 6 months before relocating me on contract to....you got it....[yet another Fortune 500 company]....Company 3, in downtown Portland. Four different freeways & a 1-hour commute each way on a good day! I hated the commute, I hated the job; there was no challenge to it, no personal job satisfaction whatsoever.

In October 1998 I brought my then 81-year-old mother to La Paz with the idea of looking for property to buy when I was financially able to retire; the time-line in my mind at that point in time was when I was 62-65. Mom went from trying to discourage me by telling me there was no way I could live in a 3rd world country because I’d miss all the conveniences I’d always had in my life in the states.…to telling me if I didn’t buy the piece of waterfront property (which we just happened to be standing on at that moment) that I’d be stupid! I believe there must have been a parental alien abduction I wasn’t privy to! I did buy it....but still with the idea that I wouldn’t be able to afford to retire, move & build for 10+ years.

The first day back at Company 3 after vacation, I found out that Company 2 was offering a resignation incentive package of 3-month severance pay & 6-month medical/dental coverage to certain job classifications, mine included....I jumped on it! I resigned as of December 31, 1998.

I began getting rid of cold/rainy/snow possessions in both our homes, put both on the market, sold Mom’s 3 vehicles. I spent the next year researching the hell out of retiring & living in Mexico, I got FM3’s for each of us. When my home sold, I had United Van Lines pack all my household goods & put them into storage & moved in with Mom. When her place sold, United packed all her possessions & added them to mine in storage. I bought a 22’ Minnie Winnebago for us to live in during construction & travel Mexico later. We left Portland in November 1999.

I felt I’d lost control of my own life through a series of crap that happened; beginning with the death of my father in 1996 when I applied for relocation to Company 1 in Portland for Mom’s sake. The company relocated me & I sold my home of 19 years in the Seattle area the first week I listed it. I bought a new home in the Portland area, 5 miles from Mom. Then things started going downhill....my dog & I were attacked by a pit bull on the Oregon coast (bite to left knee, got infected, 1 month on crutches; ME on crutches, not my dog....she was taken to a vet with deep throat & chest wounds on an emergency basis before I’d go to ER); I crushed my left foot with my own car (didn’t quite get it all the way into park before leaping out to save my dog from a snarling lab with hackles raised, I realized it was still rolling & tried to get back in & was pulled face-down, the rear tire rolled over my left foot crushing it into gravel, pine needles & bunny poop! No broken bones, just extensive soft tissue damage & 6 weeks on crutches); had a very bad reaction to a spider bite on the back of my left thigh....my forward-thinking doc offered to just amputate my left leg to get it out of the way of any further abuse I might could come up with! Next, I was rear-ended on the way to work the day I was turning in my resignation paperwork to Company 2. I decided it was time to take back control of my own life, take all the lemons life was throwing at me & set up my own lemonade stand (euphemistically speaking!) in La Paz....sooner rather than later!! I was down here permanently a year to the month after buying my property & haven’t looked back since! Absolutely no regrets!

Mom was down here for 2 years before she missed her friends, the heat got to her & she opted to go back NOB.

IMO, it takes someone who comes from hardy pioneer gene-pool stock & I believe that's a prerequisite to flourish in Baja. It isn't for the faint-of-heart....but a certain type of risk-taker, someone who is able to see a brick wall coming & find ways to successfully navigate around it. One of the highest (to me) compliments I've ever received was from a former co-worker who told me that I'm a risk-taker. Fergit jumping out of a perfectly fine plane or off a bridge with a rubber band around my ankle, but I'll follow my own drummer if it feels right for me.

No one was more surprised than me at my life-changing choice. Unlike BG, my previous travels were limited to 8 states, Canada & one previous Mexico vacation in Cancun....so for me personally, moving to a foreign country was totally off my radar screen!! But like BG, I've found the place that speaks to my heart. For a gal formerly from the cold & wet Pacific Northwest, it took me all of about 60 seconds to acclimate & adopt cardon green as my new favorite color!

Not too shabby a ride for someone who never even made it to Disneyland!

Great story, Legz. And, IMHO, the fact that you had not been a traveler, makes it (you) all the more unique.

Originally Posted by soulpatch

I'm hoping to get the story(ies) of why people like the Woo and Ola Dulce, who had NIcaragua in their back pocket, or others who have considered Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, the list goes on and on, as to why they ended up where they did.
I know the Trotters would probably have some interesting stories to tell being the traveling sort.
So many varied lives out there and I find it fascinating to hear what drives people to reject the "box" of spending an entire life living in the familiar and comfortable.
Or, as I perceive it, a very long death.

More can be explained in person, but here's the readers digest version:

In our hearts, I think we still like Nicaragua better than Mexico. We had property on the beach directly in front of a surf break called Colorado's, which is now one of the most popular spots there. For several years Ola and I had the pleasure of surfing it alone, very rarely with anyone else in the water. The place is beautiful. White sand, green jungle, monkeys, etc. etc.

In about 2004 a group started advertising heavily on the internet in order to boost their surf business. More surf camps followed causing the break to become a bit more crowded, but not unbearable. Then, unfortunately on both sides of our property, and along the beachfront, many owners built 7+ bedroom homes with the sole purpose of renting to surfers. On both sides of our lot there was constant loud partying and incessant yelping at their buddies in the water. Can't blame the people renting, as that's what they went there for, but living it every day would have been pretty irritating. Eventually it became common to have 40 to 50 surfers packed into a very small surf zone.

The crowd, along with the realization that we wouldn't be able to surf such a powerful wave for too many more years, made us re-evaluate our priorities.

San Juanico is by no means uncrowded, but fortunately the commercial surf business haven't been able to survive and flourish like they did in Nicaragua. There just aren't enough surf-able days during a year for someone to be able to support themselves catering to surfers. Also, over the years camping here, we've made some life long friends, many of whom are now our neighbors. I guess it just feels more like home.

Why here?

We didn't start here on the central Pacific coast of Baja Sur. Our first love was San Jose/east cape. White sand, aqua blue and bathtub temp water and wave-filled summer days with no one but us camping on the beaches (probably because it was tropical storm season and hotter than crap).

In 1991 we weathered a scary night at Brisa del mar RV park in San Jose del Cabo during a tropical storm which caused a flash flood that passed through the campground. Flooded arroyos, road washouts, chocolate milk-colored water with floating cows put a damper on our vacation so we decided to head north.

We stopped here at Punta Pequeña and although it was really crowded, we had some fun,long waves and thought hmmm... nice place.

In September of '92 another tropical storm blew through Brisa del Mar while we were camping and put an end to our vacation so we packed up and came up here again. This time we were treated to some of the best waves I've had in 40 yrs of surfing. Warm tropical weather, bathtub water and more waves than we could ride. Wooo and I were smiling til our cheeks hurt and we decided to sell our property along the Cabo corridor and never looked back.

Little did we know that 91-92 were El Niño years and those waves and weather were not the norm. Didn't know that the lovely warm water we had for several weeks was highly irregular for here. 20 years later and I've never again seen so many waves, that were so perfect, for so long as there were in the summer of '92.

But over the years the place has grown on us and now feels homey and familiar. We never got that feeling the times we tried Costa Rica, San Blas, PV, Zihuatenejo. We did get a good vibe from the people and the countryside on our first visit to Nicaragua, but you heard that story.

The "pros" of where we live:
- Freedom- to drive for miles down a deserted beach, walk out the front door and go fishing, make yard art out of cow pattys or paint the house purple on a whim.
- Wide open spaces and views for miles.
- Right on the water.
- Lots of very nice people in the pueblo.
- Whale viewing (in season.)
- Every once in a while there are waves, although the past year we've lived here full time has been once of the worst on record for surfing.
-Crappy roads help to control influx of visitors, development, and exploitation.

Cons:
-Crappy roads do a number on your vehicles and getting to the "big town" is a chore.
-It can be a pain to live in a place without a phone signal when you need it.
-Far from banks, groceries, Home depot.
-Serious lack of fruits available!
-April, May, June and scattered throughout the year- WIND!!! Cold, miserable, upwelling causing red tide, dirt in your eyes, grit in your teeth, constantly cleaning your house wind. May especially- most days so windy you can't do anything outside and you welcome staying indoors.

It wasn't till we moved here that we realized that it's actually cold more often than it is warm and it's not an endless summer where no wetsuit is needed. Our location is a dream spot and I feel lucky to be here and am excited about our casa construction, but we still keep our eyes open for that really special place(warm weather, warm water, nice people,uncrowded) . I think the negatives of this harsh remote location, wind, distance from medical care, and the work and maintenance of solar, ranch-style living will make this a limited-time engagement as we age. We're pretty happy here and for now, it will make a good home base so we'll see what happens.

Thanks for the input. It is nice to see the different journeys and mindsets at play in our "homeland".
I think part of our journey is the feeling of "belonging" when we are in Mexico. That may be a bit pollyanna-ish and we acknowledge that. There is no nirvana on this globe.
We do feel, for many reasons mentioned here, that La Paz will fit many of our short and mid-term needs. Access to stores, food, education, roads, airport, jumping off point....etc. We are up for and looking forward to this commitment. When the twins decide they want to move on? Who knows, we may stay put and use La Paz as a jumping off point or we may get more remote. I will be 60 when they are 18! I am going to keep exercising, that's for damn sure.
Nothing is set in stone and if my wife gets a wild hair and wants to head somewhere more tropical, well, I will do as I'm told. Hell, she's stuck by me and spent a lot of time as a virtually single mom while I have been holding society's hand so the way I see it I am going to be there for her on a permanent basis when I exit this part of my life.
Gonna be good to have that commodity called time to decompress and live with.

As long as you keep that NEVER SET IN STONE attitude you will be just fine. It took ne a long time to learn that if something wasnt workins it was ok to let it go.

Originally Posted by oladulce

..... but we still keep our eyes open for that really special place(warm weather, warm water, nice people,uncrowded).

II had to . We are in the midst of my husband's "perfect" time down here. He comments he wishes it was like this every day and I say if it were there would be 2 million people here cheek to jowl. I been a lotta places, my experience is if you find the first three, chances are you won't find the fourth unless you can buy your own island!

You guys are great, maybe my move to you is for a reason. Lets see if I can add to this story.
Born in Miami, Fla, orphaned at 8 months old, stayed there till I was 14, broke into the office stole my records and ran as far as I could go. I ended up in a Migrant camp with a Cuban family, earned my way picking tomatoes, peppers, what ever. I went to school worked, and graduated. I went into the US Army at the age of 18, Hawaii was my first assignment, then Vietnam got out 1968, went into the world of computers in New York City, got married, help build the first NASDAQ computer system, moved on with out the other person, 10 year gone down went back into the US Army, this is the fun part, married to a girl 17 years younger and on my way , Granada, Panama, Iraq, New york state, 1 son, and some good money. This is where the train ran off the tracks. I was medical retired, no longer fit, took my wife and son and moved to Lake Chapala Mexico, life is good, right? Well wrong, I had a $500,000.00 US house on the side of a mountain, when a storm came and a water spout came out of Lake Chapala destroyed the village and my house. Mexican homeowner insurance sucks. I got to sell the land for $100,000.00, 2 months later my 17 year old son driving his scooter down the highway was run down by a Chapala Bus, left to die in the middle of the highway., He lived, 11 Docotors 9 operations, he is alive and this year finishing his degree in the US. My son left, my wife of 24 years left, my wife didn't come back. I moved to San Jose de Gracia, the only gringo met my Mexican wife. We have lived there, Villa Hermosa, now Ajijic, and we are coming to Baja. I guess this story is we are alive and ok, again maybe there is a reason, maybe Ensenada will be the end of the road. Hope to meet a bunch of people like me, fishing, diving, grilling, drinking beer, and just maybe enjoying the rest of my journey. As always on BB there will be some that want to bash me and my story, if that is you not interested. We will see you soon, Tim

The most prevalent attitude which I like very much is most people down here are more interested in who you are than who you were.

I am who I am, that is who ever that is, make no mistake, my life has always been a crap shoot, that makes me different. I am different and special, come enjoy the road that I have traveled

Wow.... that sounds like a tough road.
I am certain there were some wonderful times in the mix, too.
Hopefully?

Damn! Things have evolved for us.
La Paz last year..... flying down in a few weeks to Lo de Marcos and San Pancho.... this year my wife seems to be WAY on board.... she is really advocating for this move before Christmas.
Sheesh, to have to retire and move to Nayarit?! Man, what's a feller to do?!
Well, hopefully in a few months I will be telling my story of how we landed where we hope to.

A tough road? I am 65, probably should have died a few times over, but God hasn't given up on me yet. I guess he has some things for me to do, which is cool. I am looking at houses with my agent next week, moving there as soon as I can get a little legal battle resolved in Ajijic, then life on the beach? Hope to take my wife deep sea fishing, and me to get certified to try an dive again, after 50 years. After 3 years in emersion with my wife, and then back into the english world, I look forward to an area that is muiltcultural, God 2 college degrees and I have such a hard time with Spanish, sucks

Sounds like a plan.
Hope you find a place that fits you and your wife.

Originally Posted by soulpatch

Sounds like a plan.
Hope you find a place that fits you and your wife.

I wish that for both of you guys. I figure if patch and family end up making the move to Nayarit we'll just create a Baja-Nayarit sub-forum. We'd really hate to lose touch...

My plan is to drive from Guadalajara to Ensanada, in my classic 1994 Dodge Ram Charger Magnum, wife, dog, 4 birds, my transmission has been fixed 3 times, but it is a big boy truck and my baby, the Eagle and Die Hard on the hood is great. I do hope there is a good Mechanic on the way

We where there, rented a beach house on the beach Punta Banda, will be there 1 Aug, don't know the address but come by and have a beer and sit on the beach. Another day in life, special in it's way, come and enjoy my life your are welcome. Tim