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Retire In Mexico - Live Better For Less - While there are some people who come to Mexico for a week’s vacation and end up living here for the next twenty years, most people adopt a more prudent course and do some homework first.  Dru Pearson is a person who did her homework and she is someone who knows about retirement in Mexico. While there may be a few expatriates scattered in a dozen villages throughout Mexico, most Americans and Canadians settle in one of five locations:  San Miguel de Allende, Mazatlan, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, or Lake Chapala. Dru Pearson visited all these areas before settling in Lake Chapala. Dru gives sound and thoughtful advice on retirement in Mexico. Everything from how to pick your location to Mexican paperwork is covered.  If you've ever considered retirement in Mexico please read this report first. It has the information that would otherwise take you months of frustration to acquire.  Click Here for details -

One day I opened my eyes and started thinking about retirement.  It was 1995 and I was 45 and for the first time I had money to invest in something other than my home.  I knew I was getting a late start and that would have to jump in with both feet. My anniversary was coming up and we hadn’t traveled in a long time because we had two kids in college. We booked a trip to the Los Cabos area of Baja, all the way down at the tip of the peninsula.  I had traveled in the northern region 20 years prior, had taken the ferry over from mainland to Santa Rosalia, around halfway down the peninsula on the Sea of Cortez.  From there we drove north and I had never had another opportunity to see Baja Sur. Baja is a gorgeous peninsula; 1000 mile long desert separating two oceans, The Pacific and the Sea of Cortez, creating 3000 miles of coastline. Living in California made it possible to go to Cabo for a long weekend.  Our first visit was spent in Cabo San Lucas, where the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez meet at the Arch, a landmark rock formation. The breeze, sunlight and clean air arouse the senses and create a kind of euphoria that is hard to describe.  The warm breezes move through you and around you as in a gentle touch or caress.    It’s very romantic, and invigorating, makes you want to be healthy.  There are so many fabulous beaches to walk on.

Visit Joan Hafenecker's website to find out more about real estate in Vinorama - Click Here ~

There were many legends on the mainland Mexico of the Baja peninsula. Gold and pearls were controlled by Amazon women , men were used only for procreation. At the time it was thought to be an island. After Hernan Cortez conquered Mexico, he set out to conquer this famed island. In 1533 one of two ships sent out by Cortez, accidentally discovered the Baja peninsula and they returned with tales of handfuls of pearls.

Upon our return 2 months later, my agenda was to familiarize myself with the communities or colonies in San Jose del Cabo, and to find an inexpensive lot to build a house on.  My son was in architecture school and I had been a decorator by trade so it would be easy for us to design a home.   I found an inexpensive lot in a nice neighborhood with all conveniences in walking distance yet outside of the central area of town with lovely views of the Estuary and miles of coastline.  The paperwork was a snap; I had help from the fluent realtor.  We built in 7 months, a house with pool and Jacuzzi and we were in by Christmas.  This small investment of time and money doubled in value over 5 years. While the house was being built I traveled back and forth enough to feel that I was born for this lifestyle.  Travelling with laptop and cell phone I could communicate and annoy my employees from anywhere, the beach or poolside.  I started having my bookkeeper download my check register every few days and I almost never had to go home.  As soon as the house was built I got online and started listing the house as a vacation rental.  Though it wasn’t on the beach, the pool and Jacuzzi were good selling points.  This is one of the easiest businesses to get into; you just need someone to keep the house up while you are gone.  In a world of property management companies this is also easily accomplished.  Houses on the golf courses and beach rent for quite a bit of money and there are people here making hundreds of thousands a year on rentals alone.   Vacation rentals is just one of the things you can do with your house, another is vacation rental exchanges around the world.  A couple of years ago I exchanged for 3 weeks with an Italian family and had a fantastic opportunity to live and explore regions of northern Italy.

While we were building we had driven out to the East Cape a couple of times and found the quiet and remote beaches to be very serene.  I started thinking that it would be nice to develop some beachfront there and have some vacation rentals to manage possibly a small tienda and café.
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Why the East Cape? The East Cape is the furthest eastern section of Baja, up the coast from San Jose del Cabo on the Sea of Cortez.  The section that I grew most interested in is 20 miles out of town, 50 minutes if you go straight across the desert from the airport.   This drive across the desert sets the stage for the new lifestyle, in your big 4x4 with Baja lift and off-road tires, you traverse the desert.  On this road you drive by the Sierra la Laguna Mountains that run from north to south like a spine down the middle of the most southern region of the peninsula. These mountains reach an elevation of 7000’ feet in the area of Miraflores, and then plunge to the sea.  I prefer to drive this road because it is the direct route and the desert road we are going to take is captivating with indigenous plants, varieties of cactus, desert trees and shrubs blooming alternating throughout the year. The wildlife on this journey that you are likely to see are wild horses, burros and cows with their babies, and so many birds: Caracaras, Ravens, Cardinals, Doves, Egret, Heron, and Road Runners.  There’s the backdrop of the mountains, the fauna and flora, and then when you come around the bend and see the ocean for the first time as a backdrop to acres of large old cactus, oh, my, god.  As a grand finale to the drive, “where the desert meets the sea”, Boca de Vinorama. Vinorama, a small self-sufficient community using solar energy, wells and desalinaters, satellite Internet and cell phones, far from the maddening crowd. Considered to be within the Tropic of Cancer, the East Cape climate is an arid and tropical mix.

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The life style of this region is very rich with recreational activities; the most significant is surfing “Punta Perfecta”. The southern swells come starting around April and stay through summer, the biggest waves comes with the hurricanes.  On windy days you’ll see someone windsurfing, on the calm days kayaking, and most days there are fisherman fishing right off the beach. There are oyster divers and tales of underwater caves full of lobster; the leatherback turtles even come here to lay their eggs.

Since the Sea of Cortez is the most food rich ocean of the world and supports the largest number of sea creatures, eight hundred varieties of fish, seven varieties of whale, leatherback turtles, dolphins, manta ray, sea lions.  In the winter, January through March the Gray Whales arrive in these coves on their journey north to the lagoons to calve.   They back by the East Cape on their way back to Alaska.  This journey from the Bering Straight to Baja and back is the longest migration of any mammal known to man.  When the whales are present, they are the main attraction.

I’ve had a couple of extraordinary whale days there: one day I stepped out of the car and looked to the water just on time to see a baby whale swimming through the crystal clear curl of a wave headed out to sea with it’s flippers extended like wings.  The next time I looked that same whale was rolling around 10’ offshore, wallowing in the ocean bottom.  Upon research I found that the gray whale is a bottom feeder, the only whale in that species.  Eventually, this grand creature disappeared into the surf.

On another day at the end of March or this year, it was the end of whale season, and there were whales everywhere.  My friends the Microbrewers were visiting and we were standing on the edge of a cliff watching the whales jump and play, it was so quiet that day that you could hear them breathe and the sound of their slapping tales.  We watched them for hours and when the sun started to set and as the sky turned layers of pink and blue and the water the color of champagne you could see a pod of whales skipping along the horizon.  We stood there in a deep silence, like we’d had a spiritual experience.  We were awe struck and speechless, we got in the car and drove down the coast with the full moon beaming on the ocean, silently and at some level of inner peace that you rarely get to.
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One of the most memorable characters that made his way to Baja was William Walker, the famous American Filibuster. Walker tried to take part of Baja from Mexico and turn it into the Republic of Lower California in 1853. Walker studied medicine in France, England, Germany and was present during the European Revolutions of 1848. He was from Tennesse and would eventually become President of Nicaragua in 1855

So taken with this area, was I, that this is where I decided to start my next project.   I looked for a piece of property with beachfront and road frontage for commercial and residential development. I found an 8-acre piece and began incorporating, and filing for my resale license and my immigration permits (green card/FM3). Over the course of three years we have been developing this property into residential and commercial lots.  The infrastructure, water, septic, & beach access are now in place and it’s time to start building those businesses.  The goal is to make this development into a gathering place, like a community center.  A place to sit and read, have a drink with friends, celebrate happy occasions, etc.

My job here is very difficult, my days on the property are spent in the hammock watching the ocean, or riding the ATV around the property.  My office days are spent on the couch with my laptop, pool and Jacuzzi standing by at all times.

So let’s review why the Los Cabos area and more specifically the East Cape make great destinations for vacation, retirement or for just an investment.

For a vacation the Sea of Cortez has everything to offer, fishing, diving, snorkeling, surfing, whale watching.  The language is no longer a barrier, for the businessperson or the traveler. The service businesses are all geared toward the English-speaking visitors; you can get your American newspapers and also local American papers.  Shopping can be done with the gringo buck or pesos.  Banking has become much easier and less risky because Americans have dollars accounts and the dollars are sitting there in a vault where you left them.

The exchange rate right now is very good for the American, 10+ pesos to the dollar.  There is now a huge selection of American products, imported meats, pasta’s, imported cheeses, locally grown organic vegetables, tofu and soymilk.  There is literally something for everyone.

Of course one of the greatest things about this area is the ease of getting here.  You can drive here from the US, you can ferry over from the mainland, or you can fly from anywhere in the world.  Airfares from the East Coast have gotten very competitive, as low as $329 roundtrip from JFK to Los Cabos Airport.  That’s the same price as San Francisco to Los Cabos.

Los Cabos is not just a great area for the retiree, but is also a wonderful area to raise American children; they learn another language and culture, currency and exchange rates.  The entire area is a course or several courses in marine biology.  The weather is so fabulous that, here’s the kicker, the kids stay outside all day.  The area is also safe for children and for woman, with very few violent crimes reported.  I feel perfectly comfortable in my home, with my family being in the US all the time.  I also feel extremely safe while sleeping in my RV on the beach on the East Cape.  Americans really need to feel safe now a day and this is a great place to have that feeling.

One thing that should not go unmentioned is the charisma of the Mexicans that live in this area, helpful, hard working people.  They don’t seem to mind sharing their paradise with us and enjoy some of the cultural contributions; we’ve made, like foods for instance.  I’ve noticed in the last year that there has been a tremendous push to learn our language here.  I’m sure the push was due to the effects of 9-11, followed by Hurricane Juliet, and then compounded by the complete loss of tourism to the aftermath of 9-11.    It took Baja a long time to come back from that. Or maybe it was the local’s way of preparing for the APEC conference that took place here last month.

In closing I’d like to say that I could go on forever about this area, and have.  The beauty of the ocean, clean fresh air, fantastic food especially the fish, never ending recreation and seemingly endless opportunities.  If you think you need a new life, this one is very easy to wrap your mind around.  Just put your office in your briefcase with a pair of shorts a toothbrush and your binoculars and you are ready for the Los Cabos experience.
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