What do you like the most in Mexico?

What I like about Mexico is the simplicity and reduction of stress. I'm not saying Mexico is stress free, things happen and , things break so those have to be dealt with. The difference is that here there is abundant use of ingenuity to fix things and understand things. People adjust and adapt. No one is raging over standing in line, yes there are horns honked, but the intensity is not there . I also don't worry about getting shot while at the mall which is a big concern in the U.S.

Any problems  have  been met with a helping hand. Yes there is no dishwasher ( too many minerals ) or other luxuries  like that, and getting someone to fix something may take all day or a few days, but no one is stressed about that including me. You learn how the system works, depend on yourself to do things that were done with just a phone call in the states, and it works.

Of course the sunny skies and historic buildings are a bonus.

Yes, once you know your way around, there are dependable people to fix things quickly.

It's reasonable enough to hire someone once a week to clean, do dishes and do laundry.  To me that's luxury.

I like the slow pace of everyday life in Alamos Sonora, nothing much to do but then again, isn't that what retirement its all about?. We've visited Huatabampito Beach, about 100 miles from Alamos, a beautiful place with lagoon like warm waters, and gone bird watching to the Sierra Madre. In Alamos, you don't need a car, we walk to the Market almost every day to buy fresh corn and flour tortillas, meat and vegetables. It's raining season and we love to sit in our covered portal drinking a fresh cup of coffee with pan dulce, just watching the rain.  Did I mention that the dollar goes a long  way in Mexico for retirees? We love it here.

The wide variety of pizzas. Just kidding. It's the people.

There are many things I love about Mexico, but the top five (in no particular order) for me are:

1) The absolutely delicious food
2) The reasonable prices (for most items; imported items cost more, of course)
3) The friendly, warm people
4) Being able to live car-free with much greater ease than in the US
5) The colors.  Everything is so bright and cheery here, and it's not against the HOA rules to paint your house a vivid hue!  Love all the street art too.

CaribeGal wrote:

There are many things I love about Mexico, but the top five (in no particular order) for me are:

1) The absolutely delicious food
2) The reasonable prices (for most items; imported items cost more, of course)
3) The friendly, warm people
4) Being able to live car-free with much greater ease than in the US
5) The colors.  Everything is so bright and cheery here, and it's not against the HOA rules to paint your house a vivid hue!  Love all the street art too.

My list includes all of these items.

I would add that the ease of finding locally grown, produced food and restaurants/street vendors that use traditional recipies and are not a part of worldwide chains.  Unfortunately, this is changing.

Love the food. It cannot be hot enough for me and also beaches with white sand that never gets hot  and water of a lovely clear blue shade.   You can see the fish swim by.

Everything!

Dibbons wrote:

Everything!

Not quite everything.

Let me take this opportunity to vent a little.

I have never gotten or needed a cash advance on my credit card from an ATM.

12 years ago in Spain, I went up to the counter at a Banco Santander and got a small advanced over the counter.
7 years ago in Thailand, I did the same.

Why?  Because I was sure I had forgotten my PIN.

Last year I got a new PIN from Chase Bank.  I must have recorded it wrong because it didn't work.
I walked into the bank and asked about getting 2500 pesos in cash.  No, no, no, in Mexico you have to use the ATM!
That was confirmed by two other banks.
I had called Chase beforehand and they told me any bank that has a Visa card, gives cash advances over the counter on proving you ID and have the card physically in your possession.  Not true in Mexico.

IT took 4 calls to Chase to finally get to a person who had the willingness and authority to let me pick a new PIN.

Why do I keep my accounts in the US?  Fees and interest are much lower.  This way I don't have any income IN Mexico.

At any rate, now I can buy a bus ticket from Puebla to Xalapa if ADO's website starts showing OXXO as a payment option. 

That is another thing I don't like about Mexico.  Many companies won't accept foreign credit cards online.

Well, nothing's perfect but nothing to detract enough from my stay to even think of going back.

I live in the Republic of yucatan. They are a seditious bunch. The food, the  distinct culture, Maya land. I have been taking herbs from a Mayan shaman. Actually they look like twigs for my kidneys. When discussing these medical herbs with stateside doctors I get a bad response. You would think they would get on the next plane and just out of professional curiosity check it out.

Very polite people with a New England's sense of humor. Oranges all year long. Fresh fish, lobsters

Cranberry juice is also benificial for the kidneys and it has no satanic element atached either.Yucatan sounds like an interesting place.

All of the reasons above. Plus the parades and festivals. Every week there is something to see. The fireworks and the music make our community a blessing to live in.

I agree with most of the above but I will add: the wonderful cultural life, officially encouraged and often free of entry (dance, music, film, art festivals, shows, etc...) - Classy! To be appreciated! Mexico has always welcomed and inspired artists with its visual variety and great sense of color, its pre Columbian ruins, its colonial cities, its beautiful and diverse landscapes, etc. A feast for the eyes! Of course as mentioned the incessant vibrant fiestas are a real treat, a celebration of life. Music fills the air! (as do the bombas, which I could do without but can live with!) The children are some of the cutest in the world - I think that is because they are so well loved. So there is a lot of heart here. And last but not least - let us honor tamales!

It is so wonderful to read all of this information!   Here is my story and I hope some of you will respond...
I am a single semi-retired woman, age 61.   My daughter has left for college so I am "suffering" empty-nest syndrome.   Hopefully this won't last too long!   I'm from the East Coast but live in Seattle and would really like to spend 3-4 months in Mexico each year - perhaps more if I fall in love with the country.   I have been to Puerto Vallerta twice and do love it but my next stay will be on the Caribbean.    My biggest wish is to live among retirees - both single and coupled and wondering if Playa del Carmen would be a better bet than P.V.   I do not wish to be in any larger city.   But community life would be important to me.   I think it would be hard to be retired and single unless I can find a place to share similar interests.   Any advice?   Thank you so much....Arlene

Do you have to be near a beach? As you can read on this blog and elsewhere, there are a number of expat communities that are active and welcoming, with a number of full time residences. Most are in beautiful places but not on the beach. On the beach you have the tourist places everyone knows, but also gringo residents. You would have to visit them. Less expensive and crowded than the Riviera Maya - where people do, however, create lives for themselves - are the beach areas in the north Yucatan, around Progreso etc. Or one can continue south to places like San Blas. We need to know more about what you want, if there are income limits, etc. Inland there are a number of very lively and lovely expat destinations - Chapala region and San Miguel de Allende are enormous, then there are Oaxaca and San Cristobal de las Casas (fewer probably because of the climate), Morelia-Patzcuaro,the list goes on and on. Mexico is full of variety, as I said.  Why dont you take a trip around the country, it is certainly pleasurable and instructive!

Yes, I am a beach-lover and must swim!   I know about Chapala and other places but I have made up my mind to be on the ocean waters.  Thank you so much for this information.  I will keep it under my hat.

OK, that narrows it down some! I imagine you would go down during the winter. I understand that you want to establish some community links - but are you thinking about buying? or renting? For the first few years, in any case, you could rent here and there, east and west, and check it out. (For the Riviera Maya start early!) Then you could get to know people. Most communities have some kind of yahoo group or website or blog or FB page and/or whatever. Just google. Good luck!

What I like most in Mexico is the availability of the finest tequilas.  There is one marca that I enjoy more than any of the others, and of course the only way to drink really good tequila is straight and very slow, and that is Don Julio.

I had a nice experience today that underlines one of the likable differences between the US and Mexico.

For reasons that are irrelevant, I had blood drawn in Texas on Tuesday and here in Coatepec today, Saturday.

My internist in McAllen has a tech and lab and they do their own blood and urine testing.  Even though there's a personal touch, they still use vacutainers and a fairly thick needle.  That blood draw left me with a fairly large hematoma, not unusal at my age and with the meds I take.

Here in Coatepec, the phlebotomist used a normal syringe with a fine needle and gently drew the blood at the rate it wanted to flow.  I commented that in the US they used vacuum vials.  The lab owner rsponded that they have vacutainers too but noticing the hematoma they decided to use a gentler method.  Maybe it could avoid the possibility of cmplications.  I find that this type of treatment is part of the culture when you deal with small businesses and individual practitioners.

By the way, there's barely a sign of a puncture.