I didn't send you the weekly newsletter last week because I've been so busy finalizing buying a home here in Mexico.
My wife and I having been traveling in Mexico since 2016. First Playa del Carmen, then Akumal, and quickly back to Playa del Carmen. We moved in 2019 to Yucatan state because a friend told us you could rent condos and homes right on the beach, something that is almost impossible to do in Quintana Roo for under USD$3 Million.
And they were right, we first rented a condo right on the beach for less than we were spending in Playa del Carmen. We loved it. Since 2019 we have stayed in over 10 different places both on the beach in several areas and Merida, the nearby big city inland.
About 9 months ago, we decided we just loved this area so much that we started looking for a house.
After staying in over 20 different places in Mexico and having stayed in condos and houses in many cities and towns we really knew what we wanted.
We wanted a house. Some condos we stayed in were really nice. But, we liked the privacy of a house.
We also knew that living right on the beach was way more fun than even being one or two rows back from the beach.
My wife found a place that she liked. She arranged to see it again so I could have a tour and I saw a lot of potential in it.
It needed some work and we would need to buy furniture since we had been just renting furnished places.
The buying process was slow. After the owner accepted our offer it took 8 months to close.
We had to move three times during that time in the area because we couldn't find a rental for more than 3 months at a time.
There was a unique small technical delay that took 6 months to fix. Plus some government offices were closed and then restricted hours during the process due to the Pandemic. But, once that was fixed the process was pretty smooth.
Our lawyer and realtor told us about each step and the seller really wanted to sell so it all worked out.
We learned a lot about buying a house in Mexico. It was slow. We got to hang out in two condos on the beach so it wasn't so bad. You just need some patience so that everything that needs to be done has its time to be completed.
I wouldn't have bought a house in Mexico if I just first came here.
It was a process. I needed to get used to Mexico, the culture, and how things work. I highly recommend you make it a process instead of buying a place over the Internet and hoping it’ll all work out.
Living on the beach isn't easy. There is a lot of maintenance. But, in almost five years of living in Mexico, we have learned how to get help.
Besides the lovely maids, we have had at each of our places we have stayed at which usually came with the place. We have gotten help with grocery stores either via mobile app delivery or hiring an assistant when the pandemic lockdown didn't allow us to go to the grocery store (due to our age) and we were in a location without grocery delivery service, so we hired someone younger than us that was allowed to go to the grocery store.
I can't drive so we have learned to hire drivers for when we want to go out. During this time of waiting for the house to close, we went out almost every weekend to see the local sights. We have visited Vallolodid, Campeche, Merida several times, and Celestun. And we look forward to going back and visiting those places plus a lot of new places in the future after we have a few initial house projects done.
The first three days of being in our house have been tidying up and getting our new furniture and space set up.
Just got the beach gate workable this morning so we can get to the beach now. Our local helper came over with wirecutters and fixed the fence so it will open again. I got to dip my feet in the Gulf of Mexico. My wife just left for Merida to get a lot of things we are missing.
We have a long list of projects we want to do including installing a pool, steam room, and a garden plus solar panels. Solar panels are a really great deal here. It's the perfect weather and location that makes solar panels really powerful. Plus, the electricity cost here in Mexico is like California, very expensive. So the return on investment is pretty fast. It's worth the expense.
Will show more of the house in the future.
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Learning Spanish
I highly recommend the Mexican Moms Review YouTube Channel as it teaches about Mexican culture but there is a lot of Spanish as well to learn from. I learn Spanish while learning about Rock n’ Roll in Latin America. Highly recommended show as well. It rocked. 😆
If you want to learn Spanish and enjoy all of Latin America and Spain then start right now. Get our recommended Spanish Audio and PDF Class and get working on your Spanish, it takes time so why not start now.
Virtual Mailbox
The day after I decided to leave the US and see the world slowly I got a mail forwarding service, aka a Virtual Mailbox. I need a place that could receive my US mail and scan it so I could read it from anywhere in the world. Now nearly four and a half years later I just love how easy it makes my life.
I get an email when I get mail. I click on the link and read my mail. I save the PDF files for banking and tax stuff for my account in DropBox and then I’m done.
My favorite Mail Forwarding Service
Watching TV via VPN in a foreign country
When you are physically outside the US or Canada (or your home country) Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services have different catalogs depending on the country.
For instance, Frasier one of my favorite shows, I’ve seen all the episodes three times, yes all 11 years three times. So Frasier is only available on Netflix US and not Netflix Mexico. So I have to use a VPN to look like I’m in the US for me to watch the show on Netflix.
When I turn on my VPN and hit refresh I now get Netflix US and can watch that plus many other things.
Get our recommended VPN and watch what you want no matter where you are located.
My Business Books
I retired after my 2019 gran mal seizure which doesn’t allow me to mentor entrepreneurs anymore, but I do leave some books that share my experience.
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