Re: New to Board

[Lady Otter Latté]

I came down for a one-week vacation in February 2008. Was back here second week of April lock, stock, dog and cat. The plan was for a one-year R&R and to return to the States for a few more years of working. I am still here!

[Zedinmexico]

First year three months. Second year five months. Third year move here full time. We originally came for a one week visit to see if it made our short list.

[gringal]

There are two theaters fairly close by. The one at Laguna mall is newer and quite nice.

The one in the Laguna Mall is very nice: raked seating, so no bad seats:  For most blockbusters, they have a Spanish language version and an English one.
Spectacular large screens.  Saw Star Trek latest last Sunday.  WOW!  Took hours for my ears to quit ringing and my eyes to re-focus.

[Aer-]

There are two theaters fairly close by. The one at Laguna mall is newer and quite nice.

The one in the Laguna Mall is very nice: raked seating, so no bad seats:  For most blockbusters, they have a Spanish language version and an English one.
Spectacular large screens.  Saw Star Trek latest last Sunday.  WOW!  Took hours for my ears to quit ringing and my eyes to re-focus.

Good to know, as I am a movie guy. Yes this past Star Trek is imo much better than the last one. I liked it myself. I start working on Spanish brush up next month, but a long long time since I spoke any/

[ferret]

There are two theaters fairly close by. The one at Laguna mall is newer and quite nice.

The one in the Laguna Mall is very nice: raked seating, so no bad seats:  For most blockbusters, they have a Spanish language version and an English one.
Spectacular large screens.  Saw Star Trek latest last Sunday.  WOW!  Took hours for my ears to quit ringing and my eyes to re-focus.

Either movie theatre is fine...the Laguna Mall theatre is newer. For the record, I wear foam ear plugs to action movies in Mexico...and I can STILL hear everything perfectly well. They sure like 'em loud.

[Guest]

On a place to stay oncesubtle recommended a good place! When I moved here 4+ years ago I rented from Hotel Perico while I looked for another place (a house). The owners are great people and will give good advice on lake side living. Keep the idea for an ace in the hole if nothing else comes up, they are always there!  :-)

[Guest]

[quote="Aer-"]I have looked at the LCS, know about the theater, and some of the other groups. My question would be how easy is it to make friends both inside the "native English speakers" and the native Mexicans?  I happen to be on the younger side, in my 40s lol.  [/quote]

When I moved down here I was 52 years old and spoke no Spanish at all. Matter of fact I didn't know a single person in Mexico and never been here before. I did have specific things in mind I wanted when I moved to Mexico. I have a good retirement now and it will only get better when I turn 62. One was to find a wife and raise a family. The only problem I found with not speaking Spanish was getting over the fear of "just talking" to the locals. Once I got over that I was fine. I met my fiance after 2 years living here. (18 more days and I will have my first child! :-) ) Back then she spoke no English but now is fluent, me not so much in Spanish but getting better.

My family is all Mexican and most of my friends are Mexican also, about 90% of them.
I started out at Hotel Perico then found a house 2 1/2 blocks from Ajijic Plaza and lived there for about 4 years. One thing I wanted was to live more in the country so I moved North of Chapala. Now I have cows, horses and chickens for neighbors. In a month I'll be looking at 200 acres of land 2 1/2 hours North drive from here.

You can find the kind of life you want in Mexico if you look for it.

The Mexican people are beautiful people inside and out. I've never met such kind of people that are so willing to help. They will give even if it's all they have all the while knowing you have 100 times more than they do.

Being a younger man my advice might be what ever your looking for in life be out going the worse that will happen (if you try to talk) and they don't understand, you both will have a good laugh! I've had many good conversations with my father-in-law to be and he speaks no English. It's funny how much a cerveza will cut through the language gap.  

I've been very fortunate to be invited every year to a Mayan Ceremony (of the corn). I've only known two other North Americans that have been invited so far.

When I moved here I wanted to be immersed in the Mexican culture and that only took me about 3 years to do so.
I say good luck and good life! If you ever get interested in renting a house in Chapala I may be able to help find one for you. I have a lot of family here and know a lot of people.

I can give an example of the differences in cost of living in Ajijic as to Chapala.  When I lived in Ajijic I paid $14,000 Pesos for a large house with a pool and a big yard. (hard to find in Ajijic) but when I moved to Chapala I found a house that was bigger with the same size yard (no pool) for $4,000 pesos.

One thing you should know (it was hinted about from Zed).
If you rent from a North American owner you can bet (95% of the time) the house has been redone and is up to North American standards. For the most part the owner will fix most everything at their expense. This comes with a higher cost.
On the contrary if you rent from a local the house (95% of the time) is not up to North American standards. You will find that most day to day (and some more) fixes will be at your expense.

When I lived in Ajijic I fixed everything! But it was not a problem for me as I know electrical, pluming and construction very well. What I also learned is often the money you pay a local (for rent) is the money they use to feed their family. I learned very fast that the family I rented from could not afford to pay to fix much of anything without taking from the family. Even though it was $14,000 Pesos this fed two families and payed the medical bills for their special needs family member.

I wish you the best when you get here. If I can help please let me know.

[Aer-]

I have looked at the LCS, know about the theater, and some of the other groups. My question would be how easy is it to make friends both inside the "native English speakers" and the native Mexicans?  I happen to be on the younger side, in my 40s lol.  

When I moved down here I was 52 years old and spoke no Spanish at all. Matter of fact I didn't know a single person in Mexico and never been here before. I did have specific things in mind I wanted when I moved to Mexico. I have a good retirement now and it will only get better when I turn 62. One was to find a wife and raise a family. The only problem I found with not speaking Spanish was getting over the fear of "just talking" to the locals. Once I got over that I was fine. I met my fiance after 2 years living here. (18 more days and I will have my first child! :-) ) Back then she spoke no English but now is fluent, me not so much in Spanish but getting better.

My family is all Mexican and most of my friends are Mexican also, about 90% of them.
I started out at Hotel Perico then found a house 2 1/2 blocks from Ajijic Plaza and lived there for about 4 years. One thing I wanted was to live more in the country so I moved North of Chapala. Now I have cows, horses and chickens for neighbors. In a month I'll be looking at 200 acres of land 2 1/2 hours North drive from here.

You can find the kind of life you want in Mexico if you look for it.

The Mexican people are beautiful people inside and out. I've never met such kind of people that are so willing to help. They will give even if it's all they have all the while knowing you have 100 times more than they do.

Being a younger man my advice might be what ever your looking for in life be out going the worse that will happen (if you try to talk) and they don't understand, you both will have a good laugh! I've had many good conversations with my father-in-law to be and he speaks no English. It's funny how much a cerveza will cut through the language gap.  

I've been very fortunate to be invited every year to a Mayan Ceremony (of the corn). I've only known two other North Americans that have been invited so far.

When I moved here I wanted to be immersed in the Mexican culture and that only took me about 3 years to do so.
I say good luck and good life! If you ever get interested in renting a house in Chapala I may be able to help find one for you. I have a lot of family here and know a lot of people.

I can give an example of the differences in cost of living in Ajijic as to Chapala.  When I lived in Ajijic I paid $14,000 Pesos for a large house with a pool and a big yard. (hard to find in Ajijic) but when I moved to Chapala I found a house that was bigger with the same size yard (no pool) for $4,000 pesos.

One thing you should know (it was hinted about from Zed).
If you rent from a North American owner you can bet (95% of the time) the house has been redone and is up to North American standards. For the most part the owner will fix most everything at their expense. This comes with a higher cost.
On the contrary if you rent from a local the house (95% of the time) is not up to North American standards. You will find that most day to day (and some more) fixes will be at your expense.

When I lived in Ajijic I fixed everything! But it was not a problem for me as I know electrical, pluming and construction very well. What I also learned is often the money you pay a local (for rent) is the money they use to feed their family. I learned very fast that the family I rented from could not afford to pay to fix much of anything without taking from the family. Even though it was $14,000 Pesos this fed two families and payed the medical bills for their special needs family member.

I wish you the best when you get here. If I can help please let me know.

Great story mate, congrats also. Thank you for sharing it and the tips. I do in fact intend on staying in the hotel you stated. Get a place site unseen does not sit well with me. So makes sense to do it that way and look around at what part of the lake I want to start with. As for me I am looking for something new and different and lucky to be able to do it at this point in life. I am involved in the gaming industry (not the gambling type, sorry lol, but the bam, pew pew, bang, run type lol). I am looking forward to it and I will hold you to your offer for advise, I am sure I will need it.

Anyway any special concerns with online banking there?

[CanuckBob]

No concerns with banking whether online or through the ATM's. Just let your bank know you will be in Mexico so they don't shut you down. If you are Canadian open up a Scotia Account so you can use the Scotia ATM'S here at no charge.

[Guest]

I have no concerns with online banking at all. I us USAA bank in the states and get the money from an ATM machine then all ATM charges are refunded by the bank.

Are you a gamer? as in PC gaming? If so I think I may be one of the biggest at the lake.  Then I know of only a few others. We can talk computers I can show you the one I built a year ago (maybe  little more)
Windows 10
Monitor ASUS PG278Q ROG Swift 27-Inch,
Samsung SyncMaster TA950 (FOR 3d gaming), and a crummy Asus 27" SonicMaster for cc SECURITY.
Motherboard Asrock Z97 Extreme6
Processor I7-4790K (BX80646I74790K)
Memory Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (CMY16GX3M2A2400C11A)
Graphics Cards Sli 2-Way GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0
Storage Kingston Digital 240GB SSD OS (SV300S37A/240G)
Storage 4 x Seagate 2TB SSHD RAID 0+1 Storage (ST2000DX001)
Mediasonic HFR2-SU3S2 PRORAID
Storage backup 4 x 2TB SSHD RAID 5 (ST2000DX001)
Storage 2nd backup 2TB HDD
CPU Cooler Zalman Computer Noise Prevention System (CNPS9500AT)
Case Rosewill Gaming ATX Full Tower THRONE-W
Two NZXT SENTRY 2 fan controllers (for the twelve fans)
Power Supply Enermax MODU87+ 900 W
Keyboard Cyborg V.7
Mouse Cyborg RAT 7
Headset Sennheiser
Logitech Surround Sound Speaker System Z906

I have a couple hundred games!   Also have done some programming for monitoring a 68,000 node network for the U of Iowa hospital.

[Trailrunner]

Ahhh. Computer dude.
And now for the perfect segue . . . What do you have against the "quote" button?

[Guest]

[quote="Trailrunner"]Ahhh. Computer dude.
And now for the perfect segue . . . What do you have against the "quote" button?[/quote]

What about the quote button? I have nothing against the quote button, it's a very nice button and the quote button comes in handy at quote buttony times.

[Aer-]

I have no concerns with online banking at all. I us USAA bank in the states and get the money from an ATM machine then all ATM charges are refunded by the bank.

Are you a gamer? as in PC gaming? If so I think I may be one of the biggest at the lake.  Then I know of only a few others. We can talk computers I can show you the one I built a year ago (maybe  little more)
Windows 10
Monitor ASUS PG278Q ROG Swift 27-Inch,
Samsung SyncMaster TA950 (FOR 3d gaming), and a crummy Asus 27" SonicMaster for cc SECURITY.
Motherboard Asrock Z97 Extreme6
Processor I7-4790K (BX80646I74790K)
Memory Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (CMY16GX3M2A2400C11A)
Graphics Cards Sli 2-Way GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0
Storage Kingston Digital 240GB SSD OS (SV300S37A/240G)
Storage 4 x Seagate 2TB SSHD RAID 0+1 Storage (ST2000DX001)
Mediasonic HFR2-SU3S2 PRORAID
Storage backup 4 x 2TB SSHD RAID 5 (ST2000DX001)
Storage 2nd backup 2TB HDD
CPU Cooler Zalman Computer Noise Prevention System (CNPS9500AT)
Case Rosewill Gaming ATX Full Tower THRONE-W
Two NZXT SENTRY 2 fan controllers (for the twelve fans)
Power Supply Enermax MODU87+ 900 W
Keyboard Cyborg V.7
Mouse Cyborg RAT 7
Headset Sennheiser
Logitech Surround Sound Speaker System Z906

I have a couple hundred games!   Also have done some programming for monitoring a 68,000 node network for the U of Iowa hospital.

Well nice rig (maybe a bit on the loud side lol), SSHD is the way to go and is so nice for speed and many other things. I am partial to the Nividia Gpx cards. With all that what kind of games are you playing?

As for me yes I play ofc. Mostly MMORPGS, but I play FPS and other types also. I like the Ryos keyboard myself, but the mouse is more important I think. Nice to know there be players there lol.

[Guest]

[quote="Aer-"][quote="Me&BearDog"]I have no concerns with online banking at all. I us USAA bank in the states and get the money from an ATM machine then all ATM charges are refunded by the bank.

Are you a gamer? as in PC gaming? If so I think I may be one of the biggest at the lake.  Then I know of only a few others. We can talk computers I can show you the one I built a year ago (maybe  little more)
Windows 10
Monitor ASUS PG278Q ROG Swift 27-Inch,
Samsung SyncMaster TA950 (FOR 3d gaming), and a crummy Asus 27" SonicMaster for cc SECURITY.
Motherboard Asrock Z97 Extreme6
Processor I7-4790K (BX80646I74790K)
Memory Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (CMY16GX3M2A2400C11A)
Graphics Cards Sli 2-Way GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0
Storage Kingston Digital 240GB SSD OS (SV300S37A/240G)
Storage 4 x Seagate 2TB SSHD RAID 0+1 Storage (ST2000DX001)
Mediasonic HFR2-SU3S2 PRORAID
Storage backup 4 x 2TB SSHD RAID 5 (ST2000DX001)
Storage 2nd backup 2TB HDD
CPU Cooler Zalman Computer Noise Prevention System (CNPS9500AT)
Case Rosewill Gaming ATX Full Tower THRONE-W
Two NZXT SENTRY 2 fan controllers (for the twelve fans)
Power Supply Enermax MODU87+ 900 W
Keyboard Cyborg V.7
Mouse Cyborg RAT 7
Headset Sennheiser
Logitech Surround Sound Speaker System Z906

I have a couple hundred games!   Also have done some programming for monitoring a 68,000 node network for the U of Iowa hospital.[/quote]

Well nice rig (maybe a bit on the loud side lol), SSHD is the way to go and is so nice for speed and many other things. I am partial to the Nividia Gpx cards. With all that what kind of games are you playing?

As for me yes I play ofc.  Mostly MMORPGS, but I play FPS and other types also.  I like the Ryos keyboard myself, but the mouse is more important I think.  Nice to know there be players there lol.[/quote]

It is "very loud" and I'm almost def in my right ear (90% loss) and (35%) loss in my left. That's why I need to use headphones.
The only MMORPGS I've played is ESOL. But if it holds true Cyberpunk 2077 (by CD Projekt Red) might be a seamless multiplayer RPG) That's one game I can't wait for.

The sort of games I play all the time are RPG's and FPS's :
COD (all), The Witcher series, Dragon Age Inquisition (now that one was good), Dishonored (waiting on Dishonord 2), Sniper Elite I, II, III (waiting on 4 to come out), Mafia I, II (waiting till Friday for Mafia III), Tom Clancy's Series, Tomb Raider series. Bio Shock (all), Metal Gear.

Currently I'm playing Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor, I started it a loooong time ago but then Witcher III come out and that was 393 hours of game play. Then a few more games after, so now I'm filling my time until Friday.

Even though I play on a computer I still use a Xbox controller. Many years ago I had used a mouse and keyboard but my hand eye coordination has got so poor I needed to start using a controller. That's another reason why I shy away from Multi player games  I'm just not as good or fast as I use to be.  :-(

Oh and I also use my computer to heat the house in the winter time! (no joke)

[Aer-]

@Me&BearDog

Well yes you would be able to, it was be a toaster lol. Its close to server specs in some ways.

Anyway twitch is important in many games, so true. As is ping and your FPS. The bioshock games are very well done, nice one. Also the DeadSpace series is great if you have not tried it. If you like bio-s you will like it. Lucky for you I had nothing to do with any of the games you played or are playing lolz.

Its for PS but the God of War games are good also.

[Guest]

Aer-
Sadly I don't own a PS but I have been thinking very hard about getting a PS4 just to play Uncharted 4.
The ping rates can be terrible here at lake side. TelMex (in my experience) is worse, Telecable is more often better and more reliable but this all depends on the area you live in. About 6 months ago Telecable lost one of their core routers in Guadalajara during a rain storm and since has moved all those users to the other core squeezing the bandwidth down a lot. When I lived in Ajijic I had a 8 Meg line for almost four years but then after the core went down I was down to 1.5 Meg and Telecable just don't care about C.S.
The place I live now I started with TelMex but for some reason they shut down the connection every night and brought it back up around 6 am so I went back to Telecable with a 8 Meg connection. During the day I get 2.5 and at night I get the full 8+ some.
When I had TelMex engineers out trouble shooting the lines none of them even knew ping, tracert, ipconfig/all  They used the "check to see if the blinky light is on" method.

[Aer-]

Aer-
Sadly I don't own a PS but I have been thinking very hard about getting a PS4 just to play Uncharted 4.
The ping rates can be terrible here at lake side. TelMex (in my experience) is worse, Telecable is more often better and more reliable but this all depends on the area you live in. About 6 months ago Telecable lost one of their core routers in Guadalajara during a rain storm and since has moved all those users to the other core squeezing the bandwidth down a lot. When I lived in Ajijic I had a 8 Meg line for almost four years but then after the core went down I was down to 1.5 Meg and Telecable just don't care about C.S.
The place I live now I started with TelMex but for some reason they shut down the connection every night and brought it back up around 6 am so I went back to Telecable with a 8 Meg connection. During the day I get 2.5 and at night I get the full 8+ some.
When I had TelMex engineers out trouble shooting the lines none of them even knew ping, tracert, ipconfig/all  They used the "check to see if the blinky light is on" method.

Sounds like they work for Comcast lol. Anyway, the best way to solve that is with a T1 line, guess what, there is one not all that far away

[Guest]

[quote="Aer-"][quote="Me&BearDog"]Aer-
Sadly I don't own a PS but I have been thinking very hard about getting a PS4 just to play Uncharted 4.
The ping rates can be terrible here at lake side. TelMex (in my experience) is worse, Telecable is more often better and more reliable but this all depends on the area you live in. About 6 months ago Telecable lost one of their core routers in Guadalajara during a rain storm and since has moved all those users to the other core squeezing the bandwidth down a lot. When I lived in Ajijic I had a 8 Meg line for almost four years but then after the core went down I was down to 1.5 Meg and Telecable just don't care about C.S.
The place I live now I started with TelMex but for some reason they shut down the connection every night and brought it back up around 6 am so I went back to Telecable with a 8 Meg connection. During the day I get 2.5 and at night I get the full 8+ some.
When I had TelMex engineers out trouble shooting the lines none of them even knew ping, tracert, ipconfig/all  They used the "check to see if the blinky light is on" method.[/quote]

Sounds like they work for Comcast lol. Anyway, the best way to solve that is with a T1 line, guess what, there is one not all that far away [/quote]

Err I wish I had a T1! When i worked for the U of I we had an OC3 line, That was nice!

[Aer-]

@Me&Bear

Well yes this is a very good connection lol.  Well there are options, just not cheap ones for faster connections, and well I am gonna have faster speed 5mb/s don't cut it lol.

Lucky I have a work around, as I really want to give the area a shot.

[Sponsored content]