Handicapped

My husband and I are considering coming down to Ajijic for, after reading several posts, 6 months. If we decide to stay we will be bringing my parents down for awhile with the idea of relocating.
I've been reading through your blog looking at accessibility. I am a quadriplegic and am required to be in an electric wheelchair. My family has lived out of country but I have not. My husband lived in Ecuador during his middle school years and is looking forward to the idea of livingin Ajijic and my son lived in S. Korea 8 years non military. I am an adventurous person, with the scuba divers license, Whitewater rafting experience, travel etc. but, I have never lived anywhere for a long period of time that is not at least semi accessible. I have my own handicap vehicle but prefer to ride a bus or roll. I am used to not being able to get into certain buildings and certain areas.There are other concerns i.e. my husbands health but it seems to me the area has good health care.
My question is this; would you live there if 3/4 of your body was paralyzed confined to a wheelchair?
Seems like a wierd question but I have a Mexican business partner here in the states who is from the area and says I'll be fine. Most people are not geared toward cut curbs but I have no problem rolling down the middle of the road.

Things to consider
busses with wheelchair lifts
sidewalk and road conditions
store accessibiity
medical
safety

Any opinion or information would be much appreciated,
Angie

adavis wrote:My husband and I are considering coming down to Ajijic for, after reading several posts, 6 months. If we decide to stay we will be bringing my parents down for awhile with the idea of relocating.
I've been reading through your blog looking at accessibility. I am a quadriplegic and am required to be in an electric wheelchair. My family has lived out of country but I have not. My husband lived in Ecuador during his middle school years and is looking forward to the idea of livingin Ajijic and my son lived in S. Korea 8 years non military. I am an adventurous person, with the scuba divers license, Whitewater rafting experience, travel etc. but, I have never lived anywhere for a long period of time that is not at least semi accessible. I have my own handicap vehicle but prefer to ride a bus or roll. I am used to not being able to get into certain buildings and certain areas.There are other concerns i.e. my husbands health but it seems to me the area has good health care.
My question is this; would you live there if 3/4 of your body was paralyzed confined to a wheelchair?
Seems like a wierd question but I have a Mexican business partner here in the states who is from the area and says I'll be fine. Most people are not geared toward cut curbs but I have no problem rolling down the middle of the road.

Things to consider
busses with wheelchair lifts
sidewalk and road conditions
store accessibiity
medical
safety

Any opinion or information would be much appreciated,
Angie

My brother-in-law is a quad. and has visited several times. There is no way he can achieve the independence of movement that he has in Canada, where he operates his wheelchair and bikes to and from work, but Lakeside has several mobility issues including many very high curbs, very few curb cuts, extremely rough and narrow cobblestone roads, uneven sidewalks (where there are sidewalks), at least one or two steps into almost every building. Chapala or Jocotepec may be more wheelchair friendly (roadwise) as they are flatter and several of the roads are paved and wider than Ajijic, where a car could not pass a wheelchair on most of the streets.

Another issue is accessible housing. We looked for months, then finally built so we would have an accessible home to allow him to visit. Things like steps inside the house, narrow doorways, very small bathrooms and high counters, all made it difficult to find a suitable home.

I suggest that you visit and make a full assessment yourself based on your capabilities and desires. I wouldn't suggest a six month visit initially, a week will likely give you a good idea of how you would manage.

Kudos for even thinking about it Angie!
1) I have never seen a bus here with a wheelchair lift
2) Sidewalks are narrow...often cracked or heaved...curbs are sometimes very high with no ramp. Most roads, other than the main highway, are cobblestone.
3) Stores in Guadalajara Malls and Costco, Mega etc. would work for you. Even Walmart here would work but all the smaller stores accessed from the narrow sidewalk wouldn't.
4) Medical facilities are very good Lakeside and excellent in Guadalajara
5) Safety...in what aspect? The roads would be a hazard for you.

Now, that was all negative. The positive side is that you will probably find a place that is all on one level that is easy for you to negotiate with your chair. You have a vehicle that is equipped for you so you are not stuck at home. You can have a driver take you shopping in Guad and feel independent. Any restaurant (and I do mean ANY) will lift you and your chair into their establishment to dine in comfort. There are Malecons (like boardwalks) to easily negotiate in Chapala,
Ajijic and Jocotepec.
You'll have to dial back your independence a bit and there are some frustrations but it is possible.
Beautiful caring and helpful people and beautiful weather.
Try it out for a visit and see if it works for you.

Just thought of something else and I did google but it was all Greek to me.
Your chair has to have the battery recharged at night, correct? I don't know (nor could I understand) how much electricity that requires, but, you should know that electricity can get very expensive here once a certain level of use is achieved.
I believe that you'd also have to go to Guadalajara to have the chair repaired...don't know but I'm putting it out there to see if anyone can answer for sure.

I really hate to put a damper on your spirits but Lakeside is not for you, IMHO. Other than a couple of the newer establishments have handicap access. The construction here (other than many newer homes) is very old with high steps, which gives its’ appeal but not accessible for the immobile unless you have “mucho dinero” than anything is possible.

We bought property here about 7 years ago, perfectly healthy and about 2 ½ years ago I became a quadriplegic so I feel my comments may be worthy. I’m now able to stand, walk a small distance and climb down a couple of stairs. (Hand-rail in establishments would really be helpful in my case, if anyone is listen.)

“ Things to consider”

Busses with wheelchair lifts; I know of none, you’re lucky they stop long enough for the able body to get on.

Sidewalk and road conditions; Majority Cobblestone, quaint but very difficult for those in wheelchairs, actually impossible. However, the new construction is very pleasant, just not all that much, its’ old Villages, cost of living, weather and the people are what draw others to come here. Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely love it here and if we didn’t believe that I was making progress we would choose another location, in Mexico, that was more suitable.

Store accessibility; Just about none other than Wal-Mart and a very small (compared to US standards) mall.

Medical; Excellent and very reasonably priced.

Safety; I feel very little fear from the drug cartels because I have no affiliation with them. Although there has been a rash of innocents being affected but I believe that had more to do with Mexico’s’ election and politics. This seems to have quieted down and things are returning to normal.

However, I wouldn’t walk around alone at night, we do have “druggies” in certain areas which should be avoided at night, we have pick-pockets, Hand-bag grabbers, and all sorts of different types of thief but one easily learns how not to become a victim. Many people here are very poor but still have incredible dignity however, there is always that element of resentful youth that then turn into resentful adults that are difficult to deal with because of the lack of Law Enforcement. Law enforcement is pretty much non-existence, you’re pretty much on your own here. Best to keep a low profile and when confronted be polite. Unless you’re an activist this is probably how you live your life already.

Roads here would not be suitable for you to freelance in your wheelchair.

Take Care and Good Luck with your search.

adavis, I sent you a PM (private message).

Angie, congratulations on being such a brave and adventurous person! Good for you.

The others have pretty well spelled it all out, and I have nothing really to add except for this: When I first moved here in 2004, there was a young man (looked to be in his 20's and probably a quad too) who was in a large motorized chair and lived in Chapala. I used to see him around Chapala a lot with a young Mexican woman who appeared to be his aide. Somehow he managed, he always looked healthy and like he was enjoying his life here. It's been a few years since I've seen him though, and I have no idea what happened to him.

My guess is that Chapala would be the best of the villages here at the lake for you to get around in. Definitely not Joco!

I wish you all the best in your investigating the area and hope you can find a way to make it work for you as it really is a nice place to live and the people will bend over backwards to help you enjoy your life here. If I see you around town, I'll stop and say hi.

You're right Trailrunner, his name is Roy and he's a quadriplegic - only having enough mobility in his left hand to drive his wheelchair. He was our next door neighbor for about 4 years and he has since moved closer to Guadalajara. He still stops by from time to time to chat. Really nice young man, hard charging and interestingly enough was a professional bull rider until a traffic accident (of all things) disabled him. After his accident Roy was not going to have anything to do with assisted living in the states and he moved (solo) to Chapala. Then he hired a couple of caregivers, learned to speak Spanish and it's been party city ever since. His life story is book worthy incredible and he's a hoot.

Wow, RB! What a story. I'm so happy to hear he's still around and doing well. I did notice that he seemed sort of 'hard charging' too. Whenever I saw him he had a very sort of busy and determined look to his face and always seemed to be off and 'running' with the aide trying to catch up with him. lol Great to hear his story, indeed it would be a good book.

Thanks so much for all your input. The people, lifestyle, and the weather are the main reasons for coming to your community.
Hope to see you soon!
angie

Hi Angie,
Chapala is your best bet because it has the most accessible sidewalks and streets. Look for a place in the center where you can get to the malecon and the market. When you are stuck at a curb you will probably find many kind and generous Mexican locals who will help you up and down.

Best of luck,
Luisa

Parker wrote:
However, I wouldn’t walk around alone at night, we do have “druggies” in certain areas which should be avoided at night, we have pick-pockets, Hand-bag grabbers, and all sorts of different types of thief but one easily learns how not to become a victim. Many people here are very poor but still have incredible dignity however, there is always that element of resentful youth that then turn into resentful adults that are difficult to deal with because of the lack of Law Enforcement. Law enforcement is pretty much non-existence, you’re pretty much on your own here. Best to keep a low profile and when confronted be polite. Unless you’re an activist this is probably how you live your life already.

It is very safe to walk around at night in the village of Ajijic. Been doing it almost nightly for over 6 years. Never a problem.

While surfing the net yesterday Candace found a really nice travel web site for handicapped persons and it had an article in it featuring Chapala and our apartments! http://www.wheelchairtraveling.com/index.php?page=travel-journals&desc=lake-chapala-mexico-2011 Gotta love the internet.