Introduction: Hi All

rmajijic wrote:

Hola to all those wanting to become expats. You are a few of the brave that have embarked upon an exciting path. To leave your home country is not for wimps. In many cases it will involve getting rid of all you own and starting a fresh new life. I have done it and now I am willing to share my experiences and knowledge to those who follow behind.
I made the transition from Vancouver, B.C. to Ajijic 3 years ago where I met my current partner who came to Ajijic from London, Ontario 7 years ago. I am a personal trainer and she is a Realtor and together we love to share our knowledge of the Ajijic area with those thinking of moving here. Ajijic is not for everyone but there are up to 40,000 expats including ourselves who absolutely love it! I
I invite anyone with questions regarding the area, lifestyle, etc to contact me to see if Ajijic and the Lake Chapala area is right for you.
Best wishes to all on your expat journeys

Hello Majijic,

So you are saying there are 40,000 expats in the Lake Chapala/ Ajijic area ? How do the native people feel about  that ?  Are there any problems related to that ? Most expats do not speak Spanish, is that a problem ?

Hola
The exact numbers are hard to pin down but the numbers that keep getting spread around is that there are approximately 15000 permanent expats here and this number swells to 30-40000 in the November thru April period. Lake Chapala has been a long established expat community and the native population seemingly welcomes the gringos with open arms. We bring a huge amount of money into the economy and many, many jobs are created. My guess would be that 50% of the Mexican population speaks some English and most permanent expats speak enough Spanish. Somehow it all works out. The Mexican people are very friendly to the gringos here.

I will second that. Sometimes the Mexicans here are actually friendlier to the gringos here, than the gringos are to the gringos here lol. I hope that came out right.