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

Hello all,

I am currently living in San Diego, CA and am planning to retire and move to La Paz in March of next year. My social security will be approximately $1300 per month. I own my car and have read there are no restrictions to bringing the car as long as I stay on the Baja Peninsula. From reading the information in other posts, unless I'm truly attached to my furniture I should sell or donate it before going across the border.

I have Google searched for apartments for rent in La Paz but not many are listed, or they are new developments costing much more than I anticipated. Can anyone on this list give me an idea of what area(s) in La Paz I may possibly investigate to find a relatively inexpensive furnished apartment, or house to rent? I would like to be near grocery shopping if possible. I would like to keep the monthly rental to between $300 and $400 per month. I saw an online map of La Paz and the city appears to have been well planned with major thorough fares, so if you can give me an idea of what areas of town, or street names, to look for, I can look it up on the street map.

I have previously lived in Maharastra and Karnartika in India for three years, so any breakdown of services (electricity), problems with drinking water, monsoon rains, etc. won't be a problem for me.

I would also like to know who to contact for cell phone service in La Paz, and internet service. I would like to have as many ducks in a row as possible before I arrive.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Patty

Hi Patty and welcome to the forum.

There are several local, La Paz resident here on the forum who can probably give you a lot more information than I but here is what I can share...

Cell service in Baja is available via Telcel, Movistar and Nextel I believe. I believe they have a direct connect flat rate package for service to the US which may be a good deal - not sure on that one though.

As far as rental rates, did you check the local Craigslist?

Here is one listing I saw that may work:

Casita for Senior's


Hopefully the local pro's will chime in with more help...

Hi Patty, welcome aboard. I live just outside of La Paz. Glad to help out in anyway we can, there a few others who will pop in I am sure. At least one lives in town.
If you rent in town you shouldl be able to get a telephone line and internet service (DSL), prodigy. Out here in the sticks we are still waitin' and hopin'.
The cell phone is easy. There are a myriad of plans. We use telcel, walked in and half an hour later walked out up and running. Nothing to it.

I don't know much about the rental market, have you been to La Paz? What made you decide on this area? Are you approaching this a permanent retirement location?

BG, the "Casita for Seniors" is in Ensenada.

Welcome, Patty! Most of La Paz is pretty near grocery shopping if you have a car, and just about every neighborhood has little tiendas and mini-supers for the basics. There are good residential areas on both the north and south ends of downtown. In general, the farther you get from the water, the less you'll probably pay. Just a few blocks makes a difference. Try to avoid places advertised as "vacation rental", which usually translates to pricey. Unfortunately, that's what you'll mostly find advertised online.

There's a Yahoo Group called "La Paz Gringos" where you could announce that you're looking for a rental. Several RE agents and property managers are on there, but sometimes individuals have places as well.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lapazgringos/

Like Dusty, I use Telcel for cell phone service. Internet is part of a package that comes with my Telmex land line. It includes 100 free minutes per month of calling to the US (excluding 800 numbers). I didn't set any of that up until I was already here so don't know if it's possible to do it in advance. But wait to see what you rent, because it may be included.

Originally Posted by kate

BG, the "Casita for Seniors" is in Ensenada.

Should have looked closer. So why would they be advertising in the BCS craigslist???



I knew I should have just kept my mouth shut...

Welcome Patty!

Please just smile sweetly & nod to BajaGringo....he's the site creator & our fearless leader so just humor him, but please listen to the La Paz folks on this one! Not sure when, if ever, BG's been this fur sur! Granted, he's usually pretty smart, but don't bother checking into that rental he referred you to in Ensenada....it'd be a helluva commute to La Paz!

Since it sounds like you haven't ever been to La Paz, it might be best to wait until you get down here & get a feel for different areas before you lock into a rental for the long haul. Kate's right in that most of the rentals listings you'll find advertised are geared toward the short-term tourist market & therefore very spendy. But it's a starting point & because the market has been slow, virtually all listed rental rates are negotiable. Another suggestion is to check out real estate listings, there are many, many places which have been on the market, sitting empty, for extended lengths of time, where the owner might prefer having someone in there for security. Besides, from an owner's perspective, a lower amount of rent SHOULD be better than having to deal with the monthly outlay of maintenance or upkeep costs. If you've Googled, you may or may not have come across these sites:

http://www.lapazrentals.net/index.html

http://www.apsbaja.com/Long_Term_Rentals.html

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lapazg.../message/10191

You need to read the listings carefully, because there are several listings for outlying areas up to an hour or more outside of La Paz, so differentiating between something in a named area in town vs an outlying area can be confusing. I realize that Robert Renfro's listings are higher end & geared toward tourist rentals, but he's a really nice guy & might be able to advise you on other things available in town.

TelCel is also my cell provider. Internet service is going to vary greatly depending on location. Like Dusty, I'm outside of the core La Paz area where landlines & internet service are still in the works for this particular outlying area. I communicate through a satellite dish at present. So once you determine where you'll live, you can determine the best service provider available in any given area.

You can bring your car into Baja, it's legal as long as you're legal....either on an FMM /180-day tourist visa or longer term resident visa. You can keep it here with current US plates & tags up until/if you decide to become a citizen, at which time you can either import it or take it back to the states & sell.

What volume of household items & personal possessions you decide to haul down is a totally personal decision. Dusty & I moved the bulk of our stuff down, but Kate went on a shopping spree at local segundos (second-hand stores), so that's a totally subjective decision based on what's important to you.

You can live very comfortably on your retirement income, even if you go up to $500 a month for rent.

Keep the questions coming!

Originally Posted by longlegsinlapaz

TelCel is also my cell provider.

Is in fact Nextel available in La Paz?

Yes. Nextel's available here, but it seems geared more towards business use & I don't know of anyone using it for personal communication....just contractors.

Nextel offers some great flat rate, international direct connect plans. I would think that would be very attractive to the ex-pat community with ties back to the US...

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Nextel offers some great flat rate, international direct connect plans. I would think that would be very attractive to the ex-pat community with ties back to the US...

TelNor [or whatever it's called down there] with MagicJack is a really good deal. You'll probably want a land-line for DSL anyway. Add 20 bucks per year and call anywhere.

Originally Posted by DENNIS

TelNor [or whatever it's called down there] with MagicJack is a really good deal. You'll probably want a land-line for DSL anyway. Add 20 bucks per year and call anywhere.

I'm guessing that a service such as MagicJack is only as good as the internet connection.

From what I'm reading here, it woulod appear that for those who live close in to the central city, phone service is better.

And yet, places such as El Centenario and Comitan have great pleasures to offer, especially if one has a car and can commute to the major shopping areas.

I tried MagicJack when it first came out and was not impressed with the call quality. Maybe they have improved and it's worth a second look...

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

I tried MagicJack when it first came out and was not impressed with the call quality. Maybe they have improved and it's worth a second look...

I have Majic Jack in the rv. and Vonnage in the house. Majic Jack does not even come close to the ouality of Vonnage but the downside to some may be the price of Vonnage it cost about 29dls.a month plus around 50dls for telnor dsl. it all adds up.

Originally Posted by J.P.

I have Majic Jack in the rv. and Vonnage in the house. Majic Jack does not even come close to the ouality of Vonnage but the downside to some may be the price of Vonnage it cost about 29dls.a month plus around 50dls for telnor dsl. it all adds up.

That was my experience with MagicJack - it sounded like I was talking in a tunnel...

Hi Kate,

I went to the La Paz Gringos group and have received a lot of information about La Paz. Thank you for your post. I appreciate all the information I can get!

Patty

Thank you so much for the information and the Links! It appears Mr. Renfro may have something in his listings that will be suitable for my price range. The other links had some very nice places but I'm quite limited as to what I want to spend.

I've been talking about the move with another friend of mine and she's gotten very excited. She's a bit older than myself but always up for something new. She may just decide to move as well.

I'm taking notes about the internet, phone service etc. So I'll know who to contact once I get there.

Thank you again,
Patty

That's great! I'm glad folks have been forthcoming with information. After India, you shouldn't have much trouble adjusting to La Paz. I lived in Egypt for 25 years before moving here, and everything seems all organized and efficient by comparison. I want to burst out laughing when people complain about the traffic and parking here. Piece of cake!

Originally Posted by Patty

I'm taking notes about the internet, phone service etc. So I'll know who to contact once I get there.

Thank you again,
Patty

Don't drive yourself too crazy with a lot of detail work. I'd focus my effort on selecting where/what you want for living. It is a very supportive community here with lots of people who will help you find your way around and set up the necessities in no time.

Originally Posted by dusty

Don't drive yourself too crazy with a lot of detail work. I'd focus my effort on selecting where/what you want for living. It is a very supportive community here with lots of people who will help you find your way around and set up the necessities in no time.

And some of the best of them are members here on the forum...

Whew!! BG's back on track with accurate information! After that (simply a momentary lapse, I'm sure!) Ensenada housing referral, ya had us really worried!

Patty, since you're 6-7 months out, it's kinda early to be trying to firmly lock in housing, but at least you now have some good leads. IMO, the best thing you can do is research, research,research!! Everyone here was in your position at one time, so we each have about a bazillion tales....of both successes & failures!

What works just fine for one may be the stuff of nightmares for others....so you'll need the patience of a saint sometimes. But, like Kate, I think the fact that you lived in India will make moving to La Paz seem closer to the equivalent of moving to a smaller "bedroom" community in the states.

Got more questions? We got more answers!!