New members of Mexico forum, introduce yourself here – 4th quarter of 2015

HI, I am retired and living in San Diego. Been to various parts of Mexico over the years and loved them all. In November I am traveling to San Miguel de Allende for two weeks. I am hoping it will be my new home. Plane is landing at 8:10 PM at BJX. Does anyone know if there is shuttle service to San Miguel. My hostess does not know for sure but assumes there will be.
Thanks

My husband, John, and I moved to Mexico in 2004, with the intent of staying there. Life doesn't always progress the way you want it to, and we sold the beautiful house we bought and enjoyed in Cuernavaca after about a few years. I had been building a house in a pueblo, 30 minutes from our other one and I chose to stay for another three years. John went back to Atlanta (Decatur), GA to go back to work and after living in my house and the two of us going back and forth to be together, I decided to come back to Decatur to go work also. We still have the second house, though and continue to go back and forth when we can. If I had had my preferences we would have stayed in Mexico, but it just wasn't feasible. My soul still resides there and I get back as often as possible. In January (2016) I'm bringing a little art tour down for a week and John and I are going to show off some beautiful places and lots of art in DF museums. I'm also coming down this December with my two children (45 and 43) to stay in our house and travel around a bit. My daughter has been down two times and my son has never been, so we're all three super excited! I am an artist, and most of my work has a decidedly Mexico flavor, because of my years there. John and I continue to seek out Latinos and speak Spanish. I'm about 80% fluent (I'm told - whatever that means) and John can find his way around and get whatever he needs! I'm looking forward to getting to know people on this blog and sharing experiences.

Hello everyone!
I am from the Toronto area, Canada. I am a mother to a 13 year "know it all" boy I work full time and am a fully licenced esthetician. I am engaged to a remarkable man from the Puerto Morelos area. I am planning to make the move to Mexico within the next year and a half with my son. Any info or advice on schools, steps to making the move etc, would be greatly appreciated!

Gracias! 

Thank you very much. I am a Mexican who wish to move to Riga, Latvia. What do you recommend in your blog? Is there Mexican people in Latvia? Thanks and kind regards.

Hello!

My name is Julia. My husband, Stephen and I live in (Rain City!) Seattle and also have a condo in the ski resort city of Sun Valley, Idaho. We can't take the weather in either city anymore. We've done quite a bit of research on San Miguel de Allende in terms of a wonderful place to live and retire. We have two dogs that are our sweet babies and obviously will come with us. My husband grew up as an expat in Venezuela and is fluent in Spanish. I've never lived abroad. I grew up in Ventura, California. We don't have a timeline of moving, as we are just now putting our condo in Sun Valley, ID on the market this week, but I really need to know MORE about uprooting and moving to SMA. I almost don't even know what questions to ask, other than healthcare details, bringing our dogs (who are up-to-date on shots and are chipped), as well as driving from Seattle to SMA. We have found several single family houses we are very interested in; we know what we like and what we need. It's the details of making the jump--and GETTING there that I need some help with, like the ability to obtain prescriptions that we are already given here in the States, etc. I feel a bit naïve, but excited about this adventure. I'm so pleased I found this site! Thank you in advance for your kind advice--Julia

I'm no doctor or pharmacist but I have a lot of experience buying prescription drugs down here.
Antibiotics need a written prescription from a Mexican Doctor.
Barbiturates, sleeping pills, anxiety meds and the like need a written prescription from a Mexican doctor.
As far as I know, narcotics like oxycodone and hydrocodne are not available at all for use at home.
There are a few drugs that are just not available in Mexico.

There are services at some border towns that will send refills on US prescriptions to your Mexican address.

A couple of possibilities.

When you get to Mexico ask for a reliable doctor and go over your needs.
The fee should be quite low even in SMA.  $100 or less.

Stop at a border town and ask at the hotel for a reliable doc.  They should know exactly what drugs are not available and local names of drugs that are.

I still have a place in McAllen and go there twice a year for check ups. At times, I have a mail service send refills of US prescription to me in Mexico.  It's never failed and the fees is reasonable.

Thank you so much! You have been very helpful. (Now I need to find something else to worry about!) 

-- Julia

Hello all,

I am on here to get some advice from some of you that have been down this road before. I am a 36 year old single male moving from Canada to a beach village outside of Merida this winter. Why am I moving ? well long story. I got involved with a very good friend of mine who has been developing property in Mexico the past few years. After a couple trips down with him to check out what he was doing, I fell in love with it.
I guess what I am looking for help on is any info you can provide me on what to expect, what to bring etc. More importantly I am concerned about health/travel coverage. coming from Saskatchewan my health card insurance has limits of course. What have many of you used? Bluecross? I have quit my previous job so I have zero coverage now. I will need some minor prescriptions like Nexium and Symbicort (asthma inhaler) while in Mexico

is this available over the counter? do I need a prescription from a Mexican Dr?
Also have a question on cellphone plans. I will be bringing my unlocked iPhone 6 with me. Is my best bet to get a local Telcell plan ? I would need some daytime calling, txt, and data.

Thanks for any help you can provide me. The move is coming fast, I am excited and nervous all in one!

Symbicort is available but it may be a different kind of inhaler.  Google "symbicort mexico"

I used Albuterol in the US, here Salbutamol, no meter/counter on the inhaler but almost equivalent.

I have a Telcel plan and it works for me.  It's easy to buy a sim for any phone at a very reasonable price from any carrier.  I guess the first question I'd ask is who has the best local coverage.  There are large areas of the country that are absolutely dead.

I hope I'm in the right spot to introduce myself so here goes ....

Single mostly retired man, 69, living in Mexico City and wanting to move on.  I've been in Mexico for 9 years (Ajijic/Chapala) and followed a partner here but it just didn't work out.  Sooooo here I am looking for new friends and experiences and Cuernavaca is on most of the road signs here so I started reading.  Very excited that there may be a significant ex-pat community there so I thought I'd stop by and say hello.  Any suggestions on where and when I should do that would be greatly appreciated!

You can contact Bajiago in SMA. They run shuttles to and from Leon at all hours. $29 USD I believe.It is about an hour and a half drive.
Welcome, and I hope you enjoy our town.

This used to be Cuernavaca Newcomers but they changed the name and website.  No message board but there is contact info for their meetings

http://communitycccuernavaca.weebly.com/

Hola soy mexicana. Voy por unos días a Italia la siguiente semana y me gustaría estar en contacto con alguien que hable español por allá y hacer una nueva o nuevas amistades. Las ciudades que visitare son Turin, Florencia, Venecia, Pisa. Gracias

Hi 56yr old man looking to make change, probably going to have to go on perm disability at some point in near future . Talked to couple people that go to Rosarito, San Felipe and Ensenada often and they suggested it might be a good fit for me. I've been down to that area a few times but never really looked to move there. So I have a slew of questions starting with can I live down there comfortably on limited budget, round 1500mo? Look fwd to any and all input. Thx in advance

Hello, I am from Pakistan and I am exploring Hermosillo, Sonora for my business venture. I am in call center industry. Thank you

Hi all,
My name is Sergey, I am 23.
I've arrived to Mexico City recently and it looks like I fell in love with the city, haha.
Are there any interesting persons to speak and travel around Mexico?
As for me - I know English, Russian, Ukrainian. In Polish and Spanish I am beginner...

Hi you will like San Miguel de Allende. It wil take you about three months to feel like you have the beginnings of a circle of friends if you volunteer to help out at different events sponsored by expats. As far a RX's, if they are for controlled substances you will need to visit MX MD's to have them rewritten. Not a big deal. Enjoy yourselfs and the move. Craig Cothren, San Luis Potosi, formerly of Louisville, KY now a Berlitz Instructor.

Hi Guanajuato International Airport is two hours from SMA. Yes, you can catch a first class bus to SMA. You will enjoy the town. Please realize it will take you about three months to make enough friends to feel like you have made a good move once there. It is a nice town but a somewhat "resort town". Craig Cothren, San Luis Potosi (4 hours away). I lived in SMA for three months before deciding to teach for Berlitz in SLP.

Hello,

I am a newbie here, and so I am doing my intro to the group. I am living in the US now and am going to be retiring in a couple of years. I lived abroad, in Japan, for 18 years, and I had considered retiring to Serbia, where I know some folks, but now I am looking into Mexico. My grandmother was from there, so I feel some draw to it. I will be doing some exploratory trips in the next couple of years (next year visiting Mexico City, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and SMA) to see what places might suit me. The only thing I know for sure is that I like historic places (the colonial ambience is very nice) but don't deal well with humidity (as my Japan days taught me), so you can imagine the spots I will be targeting and which I'll be avoiding in my explorations.

I'll be reading up here to hear what others have asked and said, and I welcome any input people might have.

Hi,
I'm similar to you, but I'm single with a cat.  My first city of choice is Merida in the Yucatan, but all the other stuff is what I have to learn as well.  I've been to Mexico many times, am not fluent at all, but have done some scuba diving in Cozumel and traveled to some of the ancient Maya ruins, which I LOVE. 
IF you find a good contact or website would you let me know.  I'm looking for an expat that lives in Merida that I can contact when I arrive.
Good luck for all of us who want the wonderful people and weather of Mexico!!
Ali

Hi,
We sound similar.  I have not lived in another country yet, but I want to retire to a warm and safe country in my mature years.  My first visit will be to Merida in January.  I have been to the Yucatan in the past on diving trips but not to Merida.
I have been to Zacatecas.  It's gorgeous and I loved it.  BUT, over the years the locals cut down the forests and it's pretty bare out there.  I Iive in Phoenix now, so I know desert and I want more green around me.  There is an expat community there, but I did not get a feel that it was huge.  It's an old mining town, the reason for the cutting of trees was to furnish the mines.
I have not lived in humidity, and Merida has it,....the Yucatan.  May I ask, what was the worst part of it?  I'm from the deserts of the Southwest.  I thought it would be good for my skin, but certainly not my hair.  My hair tends to frizz, but not so much in Arizona.  If that is the worst of it I might acclimate to it.
I hope we can find a way to exchange good data since are both seeking where to live exactly.
Thank you,
Ally
Phoenix

LOL. Well, I'm single with a cat too (Rulla), so we do have another similar point. I went to Arizona once wayyyyyyy back when I was in junior highs school (wow), but I remember how dry it was, and I was only coming over from Los Angeles, which is fairly dry itself.  Humidity is hard to gauge since people react to different situations differently, and what one person considers muggy, another does not. What I did not like about humid weather was a) feeling wet all the time, b) having shoes and clothes that would turn moldy or develop mildew, and that dreadful look that some buildings often get - sort of moldy streaks. Hair that frizzes? My hair is pretty straight by nature, but in summer in Japan and in even more humid Taiwan, it would get a lazy of frizz above the flat layer. Sounds odd the way I put that. lol.

But as you say, if something else appeals to you, you find a way to deal with it. And again, some people seem less bothered by it than others (same thing with dry weather -  some people love it, some feel as if they're going to die). Merida sounds nice in the descriptions and reviews, and the photos I've seen look great, so you might find that the humidity doesn't bother you at all, or at least not enough to negate the positives you find there. You mentioned scuba diving, so I assume you are attracted to water sports, and that suggests you might be better adjusted to humidity. And then it is hard to judge humidity since the numbers don't give a clear picture in the way that temps do for heat. I mean Osaka was much more humid than here in NC,and NC seems less humid than NJ was for me, buy I loved NJ and was willing to put up with it. So there you go.

Glad to hear of your thoughts on Zacatecas. Glad I'm going to make the side trip there. Did you just go there for a holiday?  I'm also curious how you decided upon Merida.

Nicholas

Yucatan living would probably be the web site you need to answer many of your Merida questions. There are many expats there . It's large, hot and very humid.

Merida is too hot for me, without the advantage of a sea breeze. It's 50 miles from the coast at Progreso. I lived in two places on the east coast for about 14 years. First for 7 years (1993-2000) in Paamul, a campground 10 or so miles south of Playa del Carmen. Look it up--it's a fancy campground now, then it was a campground, bar/restaurant, and dive shop.  We dove every day we could, sometimes twice a day. (We also went to Cozumel to dive sometimes. Paamul is inshore from there.)

We moved down the road a couple miles to Puerto Aventuras, and lived in a condo for another 7 years, diving only occasionally, but enjoying other activities and people there as well. The Mayan ruins are relatively near and worthwhile visiting; Akumal and Tulum are down the road to be explored. I think it's much more exciting than Merida could ever be.

Do check it out!

Babs

Hi my name is Marcia Gage and my husband, Judd Herrmann and I have just moved to Puerto Vallarta.

Judd and I are approaching our 10th anniversary. For me, it is my second marriage; for him, his third. Not quite as tawdry as it sounds, since I was unmarried nearly 20 years between marriages and he was single for at least 12.   Considering how long people live today and how our goals and priorities change, I am not one to automatically put multiple marriages in the negative character column (though I deeply admire those couples who make it work for decades).

We have actually known each other for more than 20 years and met working at the Star Tribune. We were friends for years, but too busy involved in, or pursuing romantic relationships that just weren't working to think of each other as a potential partner. Finally, our common love of baseball and specifically the Minnesota Twins brought us together.

We started out in a nice St. Paul neighborhood, but have spent the last 7 years of our marriage in a very nice Minneapolis high-rise, across from my very stressful job as an Academic Advisor. Minneapolis is a great city, but expensive and pretty damn cold 6 or 7 months out of the year.

We have survived my studying for, and finally achieving my MS in Psychology, various health concerns, family emergencies, and just day to day living. We decided it is time to really start relaxing and enjoying life, so Puerto Vallarta it is! We have vacationed there about 10 times, so we think we know what we are getting into.

There are things we will miss, not to mention the six sons and eight grandchildren we have between us. But, we will be back to visit and, of course, we live in a world where technology such as SKYPE can keep us close. Judd will miss his part-time gig at Sweeney's Saloon, as doorman, gardener and Trivia Host, but will also enjoy just being a customer there on his Twin Cities visits.

We plan to cover the preparation and the move in this blog. Once we get settled, we hope to entertain you with more information on restaurants, activities, people, and culture of Puerto Vallarta, as well as taking side trips to neighboring towns. Please enjoy and comment often, but if you ever want to privately email us, you can do so at: [email protected]

Hi Nicholas,
So good to hear back from you!  And that we both have a cat!  Mine is Coty!

I love Mexico, it has a lot of what I'm used to from having been raised in CA and AZ.  BUT, I do NOT want to be in the path of the drug cartels.  My research says that Merida is the safest town in Mexico simply because it's out on the Yucatan and not on the path coming up from S. America.  Some say that the cartels house their families in Merida because it's so safe.  Now, if the cartels are fighting that's NOT a good thing. But for me it's safety along with the location.  I want to be on or near a beach; I don't want to have the danger of hurricanes.  Both shores can get that kind of damage.  Merida is 40 minutes by bus to Progreso Beach....not the best I hear but it's a beach and some expats live there.  I'll find out.  It's 4 hours by bus to Cancun or Playa del Carmen, etc.  And I love the history of the Maya and the Yucatan is the place for that.  It's close to Belize and Guatamala for weekends maybe.  AND it's a colonial town.  Growing up in CA and AZ everything is new.  I really want to have some history around me.  I would also like to have some consistency.  Every week their is new construction where I live in Phoenix.  Old stuff being demolished and new stuff going up.  I love historic and if I could ever afford it I know I would love restoring an old estate in the Centro of an older town.

What I don't know is the noise in town, whether they allow roosters, and the noise of general partying which Mexicans are known for.  I love it during the day but not all night.  So that is a discovery yet to be made.  I want to have some expat friends but I also want to have some local interaction.  I speak High School Spanish so I'm hoping to pick up the language fairly quickly.  I cannot understand any slurring, but I can read it a little.  So, my learning curve may be steep.

Merida, also, because it's warm all the time.  I was going to go to Guanajuato last year.  I got waylaid but then learned that it is cold in the winter.  Phoenix is cold in the winter.  I want nothing of that.  And it's too far to the beach.  San Miguel is too Americanized for me.  I've an interest in Zihuatenejo on the west coast, but I have to study if the cartel bypasses there or is in there.  It WILL be a city I visit.

Is your interest to vacation in Mexico or to live there full time?  How old are you?  Are you going to seek employment?  I'm retired and honestly looking to leave the USA.  I cannot deal with the Muslim invasion, and there are a lot in Phoenix.  It scares me.  My home has been robbed by the increasing numbers of poor in this town.  I saw the little boy run out of my house......he took ALL of my real jewelry.  A great loss to me.  It's bad here and getting worse.  And the taxes MUST go up to pay for what has happened over the last 8 years.  It's very sad here.  I want a lower cost of living, a more exciting environment with people that are not always talking about a football game or politics and safe food is a must.

I could enjoy a place other than Mexico.....I just have the above issues that I want to steer clear of.  Europe is out of the question; maybe Australia.  NZ is cold in the winter, but my best friend lives there.  The cost of living is immense, but it's safe so far.  Being an island has a lot of good points.

OK, this was a lot.  I was in Z-town in the late 90's.  It was slow and lazy with wonderful buildings and a super art scene.  Gringos are treated well.  VERY clean.  I just don't care for the cold and the lack of greenery.

Keep writing.

Ally

Hi Marcia,

What my personal concerns are with any town on the west coast is safety.  I love the west coast, I lived in San Diego/Pacific Beach for years.  But I'm concerned about the cartels shooting it up.  As of right now I feel that I want to have an historical experience and live in a 500 year old home, not a new condo regardless if it's not on a beach.  Just me.  I have not been to Puerto Vallarta so I cannot say for sure......but I know I don't want any home that is new within the last 100 years.  I have a 1939 home in Phoenix and I love it, but it's not old enough.

I will be moving as an old 65 year old widow.  That is a small concern since I do want to remarry at some point.  Mexican men are beautiful to me, but I'm told they do not gravitate to older women.  Maybe I'll find another expat????  You'll have to tell me is you have any insight into this matter!  Congratulations on your marriage and move with him.

I will stay on this site so I hope I hear back from you....

Ally

Hi Babs,

I have dove at Tulum and Cozumel many times.  I love it.  BUT I want to live in a colonial town with the locals around me.  I'm alone so camping is not an answer any more.

You have a good point about the heat in Merida and no ocean breeze.  I have no idea if that will be the final downer of living there....I have only been on the beaches when visiting and diving.  AND I have always been dressed VERY casually, so being sweaty in town could be an issue.  EVERY home has a small wading pool in the back and I'm beginning to think that it's for taking off the "stink" of the day and cooling the blood.  TeHe

Where do you live now???  Are you retired from the USA?  Do you received Soc. Sec.?  Do you still own property in the US?  Did you apply for citizenship?  Do you have to worry about being deported?  I have no knowledge yet of these subjects.  I thought I would fall in love with my new town first and then work out the details.

You have the closest experience with the Yucatan so far for me, but I thought I wanted to live in a town that is old.  After getting there I thought I would do day trips out to where you are and take a look at other options.  I will NOT buy any real estate in Mexico, just rent.

Please keep in touch,
Ally

Have

Lots of good questions! Lets see if I can catch them all.

I live now in Coatepec, Veracruz. I've been here since 2007, widowed since 2012. I am retired from the US and receive my SS directly to my Mexican bank. I sold my property in the US several years ago, and unlike most expats, I own my home here. I have been a citizen of Mexico (I have dual citizenship) since 2008, and have no worries about deportation. I carry both passports when I travel.

Coatepec, Veracruz, where I live now, is a major coffee producer, also grows orchids and other good things. There is an organic market on Saturdays and there are interesting artisans in town--chocolate craftsmen, among others.

Unfortunately for you, there is no beach closer than Veracruz port, down the hill 50 miles. Coatepec is at 4000 feet, and the climate is why I'm here now. Very pleasant all year, and reminiscent of Seattle, where I lived for 11 years before moving to Mexico.

You won't find many old towns on the "Riviera Maya" in Quintana Roo; some that are more interesting to me, like Akumal, Tulum, and especially Bakalar, with its 27 mile long freshwater lake. Bakalar is pretty old, so is Chetumal. You have a lot of research ahead of you!

Visiting is a wonderful way to find out about an area. perhaps the only sure way to get the feel for a place. I wish you good travels!

Babs

Hello Ally,

Got it: you don't like cold.    What part of CA did you live in, btw? I grew up in L.A., and I guess that is why I don't mind the cold. I appreciated the change of pace. Of course, now, out here we get real winter, and that can be. . .well, more than I bargained for. Haha.

In answer to your questions: I am going to Mexico next spring for travel, but it is travel with an eye to check it out as a place to retire. I am not planning on looking for work there as I, at two months into 60, am nearing my retirement here, and thus I'd rather just build up the numbers a couple more years than move off and stop the point accruing process.

Having grown up in L.A., I certainly understand what you mean about buildings being torn down and replaced with new ones all the time. That is probably why I am attracted to the colonial cities.

Hi
I am Kailash from Nepal, want to migrate and stay there in Maxico. Please help me easy way to migrate there....

Gudgrief,I can't find the original post you are responding to, but I can say there are more serious pain meds that can be prescribed , like diclofenaco - codeina a Lertus drug. They don't have it at every pharmacy, it must be prescribed, but it is in the country. My family member who died was taking it.

Thank you for your warm welcome! I am very happy to find this expat forum about Mexico. Currently my son and I are housesitting in Zihuatanejo, Mexico and love it here. I am really writing for a friend of mine who lives in Pakistan and would like to move to Mexico. I suggested he try to find work in Zihua and wonder if there are any other expats from Pakistan living in Mexico who could share their stories about how they got here. I want to know if it is possible for someone in Pakistan to easily be accepted to move to Mexico. If so, what steps does he need to take to do this.

Any advice or suggestions about this process would be greatly appreciated.

All the best to everyone who reads this!
Octavine

Hi Nik,
I was BORN in LA, lived there in the San Fernanco Valley through most of grade school, then stints in San Bernardino and Fontana and San Diego before my family moved to Phoenix for my high school years.  I hated it.  I moved back to Pacific Beach/San Diego after high school and met my first husband, Navy Ace fighter pilot.  We moved to Iowa when he got out of the Navy, i had two kids, and then just could not take the cold.  He would not leave, so I did.  I ended up in Phoenix where I had my parents to land on, and just ended up staying.  It was never my first choice, but I met my fantastic second husband so it was worth it  He passed several years ago so I'm ready for the final fantastic finale' to my life somewhere else.  Right now that Somewhere Else is somewhere not in the USA.  I have always seen Mexico as exotic.  Growing up in the Southwest Mexicans were always part of my life, and I love their culture.
I chose Merida due to the safety factor.  As a single I cannot be afraid to move around.  I know it can always be an issue, but I'm savvy and don't take chances.  I have never been afraid of any place in Mexico, but living there full time creates an added desire to choose wisely.  I love the shore, but longterm i need to take hurricanes into consideration. 
Once in Merida I'll take a day trip to Progreso to see what it has to offer and how long it takes to get there.  That, I feel, will be my beach.

BABS,
I want to keep in touch with you about dual citizenship.  As a retired widow it's all about keeping taxes at bay.  I MUST find a way to deal with my property here in Phoenix, probably rent out my home while I'm "studying" Mexico.  AND I want to get away from the many of other things that bother me now as well.  As a new Mejor, is it, I find I think differently from the new crop of adults coming through the shoot.  I'm an independant thinker....the new people I find are not so much that way.  So, Mexico will keep me thinking creatively.  I want OLD around me, no new stuff any more.  I want a sense of history and place and am ready for people to work together and also good food.  In Phoenix it's very very hard to shop for organic food.  I love gardening and I want to see if I can find an in-city garden where I can help.j
So, do you have any hints on applying for any citizenship thingy's upon my first trip in January?  I'm not sure yet if I will end up in MX or Belize or Panama, or elsewhere, but I dont' want to overlook an opportunity if it can start early and there's no penalty for not going that route.

THANK YOU ALL,
Ally

HI Octavine,
I envy your housesitting job....I'd like to do that in Merida.  Did you work through an agency?  What one? 
Ally

Hi Ally,

Yes, housesitting is a great way to see various places and live there for a bit before you decide if you want to move there. Check out the blog my son and I write called veganstravel.com. When you go there, look at the top right and there is a link for the housesitting platform we use. They have numerous housesits around the world but you have to pay a fee to become a member. If you have ever taken care of pets for a neighbor or friends and can get references from them then you can be a housesitter and petsitter. There are also facebook groups you could join.

Let me know if you want any more info on this topic.

All the best to you,
Octavine

Hi Ally,
I feel very safe in Puerto Vallarta. You have to use common sense as you would anywhere, but especially during the day you would have nothing to worry about. 

The locals and the other ex-pats are very friendly and I have no doubt you would make lots of friends, maybe even someone special.

I suggest taking a vacation here first to see what you think. 

Take care!

Thank you!!
I do not have Pet-sitting references, I've never done that. BUT I've had my own cats and dogs.  I'm more of a cat person though.  I've even had parrots, snakes, lizards, guinea pigs and rats plus horses.  BUT, no references.  My career was in commercial property management, CPM (Certified Property Manager, it took me 10 years to qualify for this, it's a big deal!). Do you think that helps?

I'll check out your site,

Thank YOU!
Ali