Last night we attended a dinner party in the spectacular penthouse of our friends for their friends visiting from Brighton, England.

There were 29 people in attendance and there was plenty of room for 29 more.

It is a beautifully finished condo with a 180 degree view of Lake Chapala from the master bedroom, den/guest room, open concept living/dining room and kitchen. Our friends amazing artwork adorns the condo and complements the formal style.
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A post I saw on Facebook gave me an idea for this blog. A lot of people are worried at the moment because things don’t seem as good as usual in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

The post said that although things are not so good here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala it is the same worldwide and this too shall pass.
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Now that we have the internet seeing a potential property to buy has never been easier. We have GIL (the equivalent of MLS) and photo galleries and virtual tours online of all the properties available in our area of Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

You can go online and search all the real estate brokers in the area and find the one that best suits your needs. Remember how it is to find someone that you trust and that will answer all of your questions about a new country with knowledge and patience.
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THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC REALITY

First: A reality check on Mexico

Mexico is in a unique position to reap many of the benefits of the decline of the US economy. In order to not violate NAFTA and other agreements the U.S.A. cannot use direct protectionism, so it is content to allow the media to play this protectionist role. The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.

Let’s look at the reality of the massive drug and corruption problem, kidnappings, murders and money. The U.S. Secretary of State Clinton was clear in her honest assessment of the problem. “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent the weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” Clinton said. The other large illegal business that is smuggled into the U.S.A. that no one likes to talk about is Human Traffic for prostitution. This “business” is globally now competing with drugs in terms of profits.
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Officers of the Arizona-based Palacio Development Group were in the Chapala area this week to break ground in the construction of a full service “Las Vegas-style” hotel-casino complex projected for opening in one year.

The complex will be named Lake Chapala Hotel and Casino Resort and is located on eight hectares of land just to the east and slightly above Chula Vista Norte. It will be set in the heart of a fifty hectare spread called Tierra Salada, also now undergoing development as a residential subdivision.

It will be the first of its kind in Mexico and is costing approximately $40,000.00 dollars is designed to appeal to the high-en clientele from Guadalajara.
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The world is a scary place financially at the moment which is affecting Europe, Asia and, of course the United States.

Surprisingly enough as we watched the Dow Jones Index plummet 512 points yesterday we still find the economies in both Canada and Mexico are growing and even flourishing in many parts.

Real Estate is booming in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada and we are lucky enough to be busy here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala even though it not the “busy season”.
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I just thought it might be a good idea to let newcomers and potential buyers know that the day time rain we are having is very unusual for our “rainy season” from June 15th – October 15th and is only temporary.

Evidently, there is a hurricane off the coast of Mexico, Beatriz, which is causing the rain we are having during the day. As I have written the “rainy season” brings us rain usually early evening and in the night and the days are bright and sunny como siempre. (As usual.)

There is a silver lining, however, brought by all this rain that is twofold. One, it is very good for the level of our beautiful Lake Chapala and, two, the warmish temperatures have dropped to a very comfortable degree. Wet but comfortable.
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There are so many wonderful things to say about retirement in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Of course we have the best climate in the world. Our cost of living is substantially better than up north. We enjoy kinder gentler times, a full infrastructure and a schedule as jam packed with an extensive choice of activities or as free as one might like.

Properties are as varied as one could possibly imagine with something for everyone at very affordable prices and if you do ever want to sell your house this is much easier than up north too.

We also enjoy visits from family and friends especially when it is cold up north.
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This letter is worth reading.

Go to www.newamericamedia.org and enter the above title in search. Very interesting and positive information about our country.

First: A reality check on Mexico

Mexico is in a unique position to reap many of the benefits of the decline of the US economy. In order to not violate NAFTA and other agreements the U.S.A. cannot use direct protectionism, so it is content to allow the media to play this protectionist role. The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.

Let’s look at the reality of the massive drug and corruption problem, kidnappings, murders and money. The U.S. Secretary of State Clinton was clear in her honest assessment of the problem. “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent the weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” Clinton said. The other large illegal business that is smuggled into the U.S.A. that no one likes to talk about is Human Traffic for prostitution. This “business” is globally now competing with drugs in terms of profits.

It is critical to understand, however that the horrific violence in Mexico is over 95% confined to the three transshipping cities for these two businesses, Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales. The Mexican government is so serious about fighting this, that they have committed over 30,000 soldiers to these borders towns. There was a thoughtful article written by a professor at the University of Juarez. He was reminded of the Prohibition years in the U.S.A. and compared Juarez to Chicago when Al Capone was conducting his reign of terror capped off with The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. During these years, just like Juarez today, 99% of the citizens went about their daily lives and attended classes, went to the movies, restaurants, and parks.
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