Retire in Lake Chapala

(updated May 15, 2021) Have you wondered what it would cost to maintain a home in Lake Chapala? We all keep hearing about how inexpensive it is, but, what does it really cost? In this blog I will try to clarify the true costs to owning and maintaining a home in Lake Chapala. Taxes For all of you still living north of the Mexican border, this is big one. In London, Ontario, I was paying $3600 CDN ($2880 USD, in 2009, and my partner who is formerly from Vancouver was paying $22

Are you starting to look for places to retire to? Is your area of the U.S or Canada getting too expensive to live in? Then Lake Chapala should be on your short list of places to check out. It has so many amenities in one of the best climates in the world that you get to have your cake and eat it too!! So get out your list and start checking off the boxes for Lake Chapala as a retirement destination. Great climate Lake Chapala is often said to have the 2nd best climate in t

People come from all over the world to retire in Lake Chapala, Mexico. Why? What motivated them to make the transition to a different county and more specifically to Lake Chapala? In this blog I sit down with three recent expats and ask them a series of questions to help us understand their reasons for leaving their home country and moving here to beautiful Lake Chapala, Mexico. Interview No. 1 Bruce Dugdale Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today. Please tell

Questions, questions! I get lots of great questions from all of you wonderful people exploring the possibility if living in Lake Chapala is right for you. So what are some people asking and are they questions that you were wondering about too? Let's find out. Q. Where are the markets and when do they take place? A. There are markets on Monday through Thursday. The Monday market is a small one with many prepared food vendors located in the Sunrise Restaurant on the carretera

One of the big draws to living in Lake Chapala is the low cost of living. “How low?”, you ask. Well for final figures you can check out one of my previous blogs Cost of Living In Lake Chapala 2017 or for a comparison of common everyday items, read on. Let's talk first about home maintenance. My plumber/electrician charges 100 pesos ($5.40) for a house call, and he can usually come by on the same day, even on a Sunday! If it's an easy repair, he does it on the spot and there's

“Where should I live at Lake Chapala?” This question comes up so many times from first and even third time visitors. The fact is that there are many areas and developments along the lake that appeal to different kinds of people, based on their desired lifestyle and personal preference. This is why it is so important to take a communities tour with an experienced Realtor who will highlight the particulars of each area so you can determine which best fits your needs. There is m

Unless you have a serious aversion to Mexico, Ajijic, on the shores of Mexico's largest lake, Lake Chapala, is one of the finest places on the planet that you could consider retiring to. True, it's not the commercial advertisement of a hot bikini clad body sipping a margarita on the beach, but it has enough development, a large expat community and a perfect year around climate to make settling here easy and stress free. After having traveled to other Central American countrie

(that the other blogs are not telling you about) (updated February 6, 2019) There are so many blogs about retiring in Lake Chapala all saying the same thing. “Second best climate in the world”, Largest and oldest expat community in Mexico”, Close and easy access to a major international airport”, 'Low cost of living”, etc. Well, all of these things are true but after seeing so many new clients come down for the first time and speaking to so many people on a daily basis, I get

(Expanded and updated September 11, 2020) Thinking of retiring to Lake Chapala? Have you only heard of Ajijic? Well, there is lots more to Lake Chapala than just Ajijic. Here is a brief overview of the many communities and areas where you can buy a home, areas that together form what locals call “Lakeside”. Use this blog when watching our new video and take a Virtual Tour Of Lakeside's communities. From the town of Chapala (located straight South of Guadalajara airport) - Nor

Lake Chapala is one of those unique and beautiful places to retire, and nowadays with the aid of the internet, word is spreading that this is THE premier place to live in Mexico. Excellent climate, low cost of living, and an established expat community are just a few of the many reasons to come to Lake Chapala for your retirement years. In this blog I'll try to give you an idea of the large variety of housing options available to you and some of the areas where you can find i

Buy or rent? The age old debate. What are the factors to consider about buying a home in a foreign country? Are they any different than buying in your home country? Let's find out. Pros: Make the changes that you want: Personalize your home perfectly to your tastes. If you find a home you like in an area that you love, it is very inexpensive to have improvements made as labor is cheap. Do you want to take out a wall? Add skylights or fireplace? Re-do the kitchen? No problem,

There was a big announcement recently in the Guadalajara Reporter newspaper about a new 200 bed retirement home being built in Ajijic. This is fantastic news for the area and is filling a huge demand as the baby boomer population grows older and more and more people discover the benefits of living out their best years in Lake Chapala. Ajijic is already supported by a wide variety of retirement homes with various levels of care but all of them are small. While there is a niche

Everyone coming down to Lake Chapala wants to rent. Great idea! You absolutely should rent for a while and preferably in different places to get a feel for the different areas. But renting long term, just like buying, has it's own advantages and disadvantages associated with it. So what are these? What's good and what's bad about renting in Lake Chapala? Advantages You get to try different neighborhoods: Probably the number one benefit to renting especially if you are conside

Looking for something to do in Ajijic, Mexico? It shouldn't be hard. With one of the largest and oldest expat communities in the world, there is virtually every club and organization represented. As of October 2016 there were 82 registered organizations! Add to that the large number of unorganized groups (my guess would be around 40 or so) and you have well over a hundred groups you could be involved in. After moving to Ajijic, you will be constantly asking yourself how you e

Future expats want the simple truth about living in Lake Chapala. So I will be frank and lay it all on the line. Read on to find out more about what's hot and what's not in Lake Chapala. The Good Climate – One one of the best in the world. Enjoy sun almost every day of the year Cost of Living – You can still live very well for $1000 USD/month Very Low Propery Taxes – Only $100-300 USD per year! Beauty – Gorgeous scenery, hummingbirds and butterflies are always around you Thin

One of the major considerations for people moving to Lake Chapala, is should you purchase within a gated community or outside of one? What are some of the considerations that you should take into account in your decision making process? In this blog I have put together some of the advantages and disadvantages to purchasing within a gated community. As you will see, they are not unlike many of the pros and cons of purchasing in a development north of the border. Pros: 24 hrs S

I often see this question while cruising the social web boards. Why is Ajijic special? Well, it's hard to answer that in just few lines so I thought I would dedicate a whole blog article to it. For me, it is the near constant sunshine. Getting up in the morning and seeing the sun start to peak out over the horizon virtually every single day of the year is energizing for me. The birdies start their singing right at the crack of dawn each day and I love to lay there for 10 minu

There was a recent thread on a Lake Chapala discussion board asking people what would make Ajijic better. Is it really the best it can be? Can paradise actually be made better? Lots of people contributed to the discussion and it was interesting to see that there were only a few things that people said could be better. In this blog I will cover the items that people living here didn't like as well as counterpoint the opposite. One of the most requested items was: Reliable Broa

Okay. I have written a lot of glossy blogs expounding the virtues and the wonders of living in Lake Chapala but what is the real truth? Is any place in the world absolutely perfect? How does your town compare? Your state or province? Your country? This blog was inspired by a thread on a local discussion board and I was curious as to what local expats had to say about living Lakeside. So going through all the posts, I have wrapped up for you in a nutshell (this blog) what's so

Did you know... Ajijic is located 5,046 ft (1,538 m) above sea level Ajijic became Jalisco's 9th Pueblo Magico town in 2020 after their third try at this coveted designation. Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest natural lake stretching 50 mi (80 km) east/west and averaging 7.8 mi (12.5 km) north/south. It has and average depth of 15 ft (4.5 m) and a maximum depth of 34 ft (10.5 m) Lake Chapala has 4 primary rivers flowing into the lake (Rio Zula, Rio Lerma, Rio Huaracha, and Rio