Reflections

As is our custom, we have spent quite a few days imagining what it would be like to have a house here – we spent a day riding around on the ATVs looking at the different neighborhoods and houses with for sale signs outside, checked the internet, and spent a day with a realtor visiting houses of interest. We have pretty well decided against property and building. The contractors are booking two years out, then once they start it takes about a year if you’re lucky, usually longer, to build, plus there are all kinds of headaches with building in Mexico, not to mention not being fluent in the language and the customs. So – an already built home seems much more attractive, and there are lots of them on the market. Lorne is certain that with the recession in the US er – I mean slow down - there will be more houses available next year and at an even cheaper price. The ones we were most interested in were between 475k and 825k, of course one could spend several million and add on a pool.

We liked:
An old one story on the beach for 825k, four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms 2,480 square feet, on a double lot and on a cliff overlooking the water, includes very old furniture that was once quite nice but old fashioned; would be ok but would need some remodelling. The hollow core exterior doors on the bedrooms leading out to the courtyard would have to be changed….. along with a few other things….

One that’s 5 years old, two stories and one lot off the beach with spectacular views for 475, on a double lot, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms with an outdoor cooking area including an outdoor oven and covered *palo d’arco eating/sitting area, plus a garden, it has a garage and a small *palo d’arco storage area, includes fairly cheap and ugly furniture. It also would need some remodelling. *straight branches from a desert shrub – sort of like willow

The third one is a designer house built in 2002 – very very comfortable, beautifully decorated with high end quality furniture, lighting, and building, felt immediately like home to me. Its two stories with two garages, guest suite with its own garage, kitchen, bathroom and living room/bedroom all beautifully furnished as well. The house is one block off a great beach and has spectacular views, it has a very large master bedroom and a loft bedroom. The main house has one and a half bathrooms and a huge propane fireplace in the living room. It is on a corner lot that is large for this area – 1,456 square meters. The only thing needing to be changed is a more comfy chair for Lorne at the dining room table. Now, if it was only right on the beach…..

Looking at these homes makes us realize that purchasing one of them, or another of similar nature would really mean living here for a substantial part of the year just to ensure maintenance; particularly during hurricaine season when if struck, we would need to be there immediately for clean up to ensure minimum damage following a blast of salt water and high velocity winds. So, we would have to sell our Victoria home to be able to afford any one of them.

So – what happened to the idea of having a lot where we could just put a palapa and maybe a bodega to hold some toys that we could just leave down there? I don’t know.

Do we really want to spend at least 6 months or longer here? I don’t know.

We like:
- the warm weather - its not that warm in January/February, doesn’t really get warm till the end of February – cold is we have to wear a sweater and long pants and in the evenings we would like to sit by a warm fire, really not that bad.
- Kayaking – this area is a destination place for wind surfers and kite boarders in the winter, its usually less windy in the mornings and there are occasional flat water days in the winter. Its usually a week or so of wind followed by 2-3 days of flat water. A predictable breeze in the heat of the day is definitely a plus when it does get hot.
- Fishing – haven’t mastered the art of kayak fishing… yet….
- Cycling – not that great here – but manageable, hard to cycle in the sand, no place to ride on pavement unless we lived in town, then there is a great series of hills – the cut road to Rancho Pescadero to take but it requires determination, strength, and stamina. I wouldn’t say there is a great deal of joy in riding here
- Exploring arroyos and canyons – need an ATV – need to buy one and to have storage for it. The rental was quite expensive – 350 for a week. They are about 5,000 to buy.
- Exploring side roads, small pueblos, and out of the way remote areas – need to have a 4 wheel drive – need to buy one and to have storage for it.
- The people – Mexican and gringos that we have met
-The lifestyle
-The idea of being able to have our family and friends visit us and to be able to offer them a comfortable place to stay

We also like:
- Being involved in the lives of our children and grandchildren and my sister and her husband in Victoria
- Cycling with my sister and Linda
- Having the grandkids for sleepovers
- Being involved in the lives of our friends
- Playing music with Natasha and friends in Victoria
- Spring, summer and fall in Victoria
- September camping at Long Beach
- Travelling and camping in different areas
- Exploring the US and Canada with the motor home

The truth for me is I am happy wherever I am. It is not that I am unhappy in Victoria and want to move away. I do get very lonely for my family and friends when we travel, especially when we are gone for any extended period of time. I do find that three months is a long time to be away. While we both enjoy the sun and sand and are reluctant to leave, as soon as we start to head north we both are eager to get home and start planning what we will do when we get there.