Why Fight Winter?
As this is written at 8:00 am Monday morning, Dec. 14th., the temp. at the town of Sundre (Environment Canada website) which is just to the west of our town of Olds, is -42C. Now that’s cold and if memory serves us right, at this temperature you can carry liquid propane around in an open pail, and it will stay liquid all day. Of course the comparison must be made between this temperature and Manzanillo’s current 9:00 am temperature, which is 25C. The difference is of course 67 Centigrade degrees which translates into 120.6 Fahrenheit degrees.
Having arrived home 2 days ago we are challenged with the question: why are you here? The answer is of course seeing family, the need to put up our tree to prepare for our family Christmas, and of course it’s necessary that we chase down a couple of turkeys. But the bigger picture is that we don’t live in Alberta in the winter anymore. We only visit!
Winter In Manzanillo
What is it that makes some of us pull up roots while others argue that they are quite happy at home and actually enjoy winter. Well neither is probably right or wrong, good or bad, wise or foolish. It seems its just another mystery of the human mind. What else can it be? Differences make us unique and interesting.
There can only be discussions with those who wish to talk about the subject, but here are some of the tangents to which these conversations lead:
1) Comment (C): Mexico is too dangerous! We’ve heard about all the drug problems and violence?
Response (R): Certainly there have been problems in some border towns where rival cartels are vying for control (and usually kill each other). If you ever drive with us however, you’ll discover that Manzanillo is about the same distance from the USA/Mexico border as is Calgary. Manzanillo claims to be the safest city in Mexico and if you visit us, we’ll take you for a walk in the evening through our little community of Las Brisas and you’ll likely agree that it feels safer than where you live now. And you’ll be wearing shorts and sandals!
2) (C): There’s also the swine flu in Mexico.
(R): We’re told that Mexico handled the H1N1 outbreak better than maybe most countries. If you remember, Mexico effectively closed itself down for a week. It appears that this action reduced/interrupted the spread of this virus to the point that the impact in Mexico was minimal. Unlike Canada, we don’t know of a single person in Manzanillo who had or knows of anyone who had the virus.
3) (C): I’d never think of spending that much money to buy a condo or home in Mexico.
(R): Many of us have made what we have from a lifetime of property accumulation and ownership. Property comes standard with a discipline that weighs on us to make the required payments (ie: investing our money) and makes it difficult to sell on a whim, unlike say Royal Bank shares. In addition, property can be lived in or lived on, and touched, also unlike Royal Bank shares. Taking a holiday or a cruise, buying a car or boat, or buying an RV, is spending money with the goal of course being satisfaction. We’d argue that buying property in Mx. or anywhere else is not ’spending money’. On the contrary, buying property is at least somewhat if not totally an investment, and buying lakefront or oceanfront has proven to be one of the best.
4) (C): What you’re doing is for the rich!
(R): These comments quite often come from people who have some valuable property holdings, and certainly from those who have not taken the time to discover and acknowledge what Mexico offers.
All of us appreciate value. For sure, if you choose to spend some time in Mexico, you’ll suffer ‘massive sticker shock’ when you come home.
For example, you can hire a maid for 150 pesos a day (about $12.50 C a day - 12 pesos to the C$ - 12.9 to the US$) or a gardener for 200 pesos per day. These kind people are hard workers and love to please. Why not enjoy fresh seafood in the best restaurants for $12 or less, and if you’re appetite is not what it used to be, split the meal like we do. Have a one hr. massage for 300 pesos or a 1.5 hr. pedicure for 220 pesos. Carefully manage your screened windows and you’ll not have to air-condition your Mexican home all winter. Of course you never have to heat it! Check out this IL link if you’d like an independent opinion that includes Manzanillo and our Las Brisas beach as one of the best places in the world to retire.
http://www.internationalliving.com/Internal-Components/Further-Resources/il-s-2008-retirement-index
It seems then that rather than equating this style of living to being rich, this is more about ones philosophy and what we want to do with our remaining healthy years. It’s not about living on the edge or accepting high levels or risk. It’s also not about spending money. It’s more about moving out of one’s comfort zone and having a willingness to discover. Children have high intense curiosity. Most of us as we age, lose that, and some lose it to the point of becoming skeptics. Maybe a motto for this lifestyle that many of us are selecting could be: choose wisely like an adult, and believe in your decision like a child.
This letter may not be for everyone, and that’s fine. It’s been a latent topic in our minds that we wanted to address for some time now. We certainly do not think that our decision is right for everyone, but we wanted to expose some of the reasoning as we and others see it. And we want to invite you to come to our second home, Manzanillo, and try on a little true Mexican hospitality. If you see this for yourselves, or if you are thinking about it, check out these websites:
A couple of information sites: www.manzanilloblog.com or www.gomanzanillo.com
And Manzamigos, a group of northerners that meet in a different restaurant every Thursday for dinner: www.manzamigos.com
