Christmas Greetings from a New Full Timer in Mazatlan
Russ Ranger said
05:47 PM Dec 24, 2013
Merry Christmas from sunny Mazatlan. My wife and I are now 6 months into our new adventure. I have been a daily lurker on this site for two years while preparing for our July 1, 2013 starting date. My wife retired at the end of June and I turned 62 and was ready to begin receiving Social Security.
We had listed and sold our home in 14 days, sold my Grand Banks trawler, purchased our 34' Monaco LaPalma motorhome, got rid of 20 years worth of stuff and I had open heart surgery all in the six months before our starting date. Life was very busy, but what a relief it is to have moved through all that and finally be living our plan.
Thank you Howard and others for the help, advice and good council given in this site. From budgeting to positive encouragement, from good humor to frank warnings, from dreaming to actions, from hopes to realizations this group on RV Dreams has been our guide through it all. I feel a little guilty about staying silent for so long. I can not tell you how grateful I am to this group for it's positive encouragement and help.
Full timing for us looks a little different than most. We no longer have our sticks and bricks in the states but are going to combine our love of Mexico with our RVing. We will spend 7 months of the year seeing the USA in our RV and the other 5 months of the Winter at our condo in sunny Mazatlan. After budgeting and now being in Mexico we have confirmed that for us the costs are about $1000.00 less per month for our Mexico time than our active RV time. Most of that is the relief from fuel and campsite costs as well as cost of living expenses in Mexico.
For us it is a great combo that will keep us in the sun year round.
My report to all that are waiting is that we are having a blast. Follow Howards advice and budgeting plan to be debt free. Be flexible and always follow Lucky Mikes advice. The optimist always wins, or at least he thinks he has.
Once again my thanks to all on this site. You all deserve a Merry Christmas.
Russ and Terri Ranger
el Rojo and Pam said
07:01 PM Dec 24, 2013
Welcome Russ and Terri. Glad to have you in the family. You'll have to fill us in on traveling in Mexico.
Red
PIEERE said
07:58 PM Dec 24, 2013
Sounds interesting on the real Mexico living. I would like to see some info posted from you! Welcome to what i believe is the bestest; friendliest RV Forum! Merry Christmas and happy new Year too! PIEERE
Another heart attack survivor!
Camper Chronicles said
06:08 AM Dec 25, 2013
Hi Russ,
What do you love about Mexico if you don't mind me asking. I worry about crime, drugs, the language barrier etc yet so many people love it there must be something really great about it. Can you talk a little more about your experiences there?
Penny and Paul said
09:34 AM Dec 25, 2013
Russ - Welcome to the family! A winter condo in Mexico for $1K less traveling sounds good. I just love all the different ways we can live this lifestyle. Merry Christmas!
Russ Ranger said
09:49 AM Dec 25, 2013
The question of crime and drugs in Mexico is usually the first question in any conversation about Mexico. I read and hear all the same reports that you have, but it doesn't seem to match our experience. We have been vacationing in Mexico for 10 years and purchased our condo in Mazatlan 5 years ago. This is our first winter as retired folks spending 5 months here.
I have been reading the Mazatlan newspapers on a daily basis for the past five years and it seems like they have the normal crimes any city of 400,000 people will have. The good news is that in the last five years there has not been a single death of an American or Canadian in that time. None. Now considering that there are 20,000 to 30,000 of us expats living here at any one time that is an amazing statistic. Where in the states would you find zero deaths in 5 years in a population that size.
I can answer with my opinion....old grey haired people that are not interested in using drugs or being in a gang are very safe here.
As to why people like going to Mexico? All I can say is we love it here. In the first 8 months of this year 17,660,000 tourists visited Mexico. The majority of them from the USA and Canada. We must all think there is something special to keep coming back.
It's Christmas Day. It's sunny and 80 degrees. Everyone here is friendly. We love it here.
WestWardHo said
02:18 PM Dec 28, 2013
Welcome Russ and Terri. What a great post and love your humor included. So glad this forum and this family has helped you as well as us and so many others.
Mexico intrigues many of us so do keep us posted about your adventures. If you have a blog to share let us in on it, please.
Sherry
Russ Ranger said
05:32 PM Dec 28, 2013
My reply to Trace the other day was not complete because I ran out of time to give a more thoughtful and complete answer. I have asked myself what is it that has brought us to living in Mexico for the Winters.
I believe there are strong correlations between being an RVer and a person that will enjoy Mexico. The RV lifestyle is not for everyone. You must be willing to live outside of a normal comfort zone to give up your home and become a nomad. Seeing what is around the next corner must be more important to you than the comfort that comes from the more certain lifestyle of living in a sticks and bricks. The reason the vast majority of the population will never adapt a nomadic existence is the challenge to give up the old life for a chance at something new.
Only a few really want life to be an adventure.
Now in answering the "Mexico" question the same principle applies. Do you desire something different? Are you open for a change? Do you desire to see around that next corner in life?
For my wife and I Mexico is that adventure in life. It could probably be any number of locations but Mexico has delivered what we hoped for. Great weather, a lower cost of living, an interesting culture, fun Winter league baseball, the warm Pacific Ocean and a environment that is the opposite our Pacific Northwest life.
I do not want to ignore the strongest point for us. The Mexican people are habitually happy and kind. They are far more family oriented than we Northerners. And it must be noted that my wife feels safer here than at home in the states.
I have recorded our first six months of retirement in our "Lone Rangers Blog". If you are interested it will give you a more complete picture of our new lives. There are 113 posts so it won't be a quick read but I hope it will at least be an informative glance into our new adventure.
I'm hoping someone can link my blog because my attempts have failed.
Terry and Jo said
08:33 PM Dec 28, 2013
Russ,
Your blog's link is working, so you must have done something right. That is, unless Gene or Howard created the link for you. Don't forget that you can also put your blog link in your signature area so folks can find it in any post that you make. The post that is in the body of your last link will be lost once this thread goes into "limbo."
If you continue to have problems and want some help, check out "Forum Tips" at the top of the "home" forum page. There is a thread there with instructions for creating a link that will work in the body of messages or in your signature area. If you still have problems, send me a private message and as a moderator, I can create the link in your signature for you.
Terry
SnowGypsy said
07:56 AM Dec 29, 2013
Welcome! Looks like you have chosen a great plan. For a couple of years, I followed along with a couple on another forum that were doing that (1/2 Mexico 1/2 RV) and it just seemed like a perfect plan.
WestWardHo said
09:28 AM Dec 29, 2013
Love those pictures and your downright contentment on your blog. All those food stories are making menhingry! Thanks for sharing the blog.
Sherry
Russ Ranger said
04:58 PM Dec 30, 2013
Thanks to all you Blog readers. Our usual daily readership is 20-40 people. When I did my first post to "RV-Dreamers" a few days ago we had 117 Blog readers that day. I never intended or thought to post our Blog address, so thank you Sherry and Terry for the suggestion and help.
I began writing my Blog as a way for our kids, grandkids and friends to keep track of us. I soon discovered that recording our RV adventures motivated me to take more pictures, document our daily lives and to share our feelings with family and friends. I hope that it has eased some of the families concern for our being gone.
I am not sure I would have done that without the daily prompting of a Blog. As I look back I realize that knowing I have a Blog to write has changed how and what we do during our daily adventures. It might be "the cart pushing the horse" but I am grateful that the Blog is a positive motivator for us.
Merry Christmas from sunny Mazatlan. My wife and I are now 6 months into our new adventure. I have been a daily lurker on this site for two years while preparing for our July 1, 2013 starting date. My wife retired at the end of June and I turned 62 and was ready to begin receiving Social Security.
We had listed and sold our home in 14 days, sold my Grand Banks trawler, purchased our 34' Monaco LaPalma motorhome, got rid of 20 years worth of stuff and I had open heart surgery all in the six months before our starting date. Life was very busy, but what a relief it is to have moved through all that and finally be living our plan.
Thank you Howard and others for the help, advice and good council given in this site. From budgeting to positive encouragement, from good humor to frank warnings, from dreaming to actions, from hopes to realizations this group on RV Dreams has been our guide through it all. I feel a little guilty about staying silent for so long. I can not tell you how grateful I am to this group for it's positive encouragement and help.
Full timing for us looks a little different than most. We no longer have our sticks and bricks in the states but are going to combine our love of Mexico with our RVing. We will spend 7 months of the year seeing the USA in our RV and the other 5 months of the Winter at our condo in sunny Mazatlan. After budgeting and now being in Mexico we have confirmed that for us the costs are about $1000.00 less per month for our Mexico time than our active RV time. Most of that is the relief from fuel and campsite costs as well as cost of living expenses in Mexico.
For us it is a great combo that will keep us in the sun year round.
My report to all that are waiting is that we are having a blast. Follow Howards advice and budgeting plan to be debt free. Be flexible and always follow Lucky Mikes advice. The optimist always wins, or at least he thinks he has.
Once again my thanks to all on this site. You all deserve a Merry Christmas.
Russ and Terri Ranger
Red
Another heart attack survivor!
What do you love about Mexico if you don't mind me asking. I worry about crime, drugs, the language barrier etc yet so many people love it there must be something really great about it. Can you talk a little more about your experiences there?
The question of crime and drugs in Mexico is usually the first question in any conversation about Mexico. I read and hear all the same reports that you have, but it doesn't seem to match our experience. We have been vacationing in Mexico for 10 years and purchased our condo in Mazatlan 5 years ago. This is our first winter as retired folks spending 5 months here.
I have been reading the Mazatlan newspapers on a daily basis for the past five years and it seems like they have the normal crimes any city of 400,000 people will have. The good news is that in the last five years there has not been a single death of an American or Canadian in that time. None. Now considering that there are 20,000 to 30,000 of us expats living here at any one time that is an amazing statistic. Where in the states would you find zero deaths in 5 years in a population that size.
I can answer with my opinion....old grey haired people that are not interested in using drugs or being in a gang are very safe here.
As to why people like going to Mexico? All I can say is we love it here. In the first 8 months of this year 17,660,000 tourists visited Mexico. The majority of them from the USA and Canada. We must all think there is something special to keep coming back.
It's Christmas Day. It's sunny and 80 degrees. Everyone here is friendly. We love it here.
Mexico intrigues many of us so do keep us posted about your adventures. If you have a blog to share let us in on it, please.
Sherry
I believe there are strong correlations between being an RVer and a person that will enjoy Mexico. The RV lifestyle is not for everyone. You must be willing to live outside of a normal comfort zone to give up your home and become a nomad. Seeing what is around the next corner must be more important to you than the comfort that comes from the more certain lifestyle of living in a sticks and bricks. The reason the vast majority of the population will never adapt a nomadic existence is the challenge to give up the old life for a chance at something new.
Only a few really want life to be an adventure.
Now in answering the "Mexico" question the same principle applies. Do you desire something different? Are you open for a change? Do you desire to see around that next corner in life?
For my wife and I Mexico is that adventure in life. It could probably be any number of locations but Mexico has delivered what we hoped for. Great weather, a lower cost of living, an interesting culture, fun Winter league baseball, the warm Pacific Ocean and a environment that is the opposite our Pacific Northwest life.
I do not want to ignore the strongest point for us. The Mexican people are habitually happy and kind. They are far more family oriented than we Northerners. And it must be noted that my wife feels safer here than at home in the states.
I have recorded our first six months of retirement in our "Lone Rangers Blog". If you are interested it will give you a more complete picture of our new lives. There are 113 posts so it won't be a quick read but I hope it will at least be an informative glance into our new adventure.
Link to my Blog:
grandbanksruss.blogspot.com
I'm hoping someone can link my blog because my attempts have failed.
Russ,
Your blog's link is working, so you must have done something right. That is, unless Gene or Howard created the link for you. Don't forget that you can also put your blog link in your signature area so folks can find it in any post that you make. The post that is in the body of your last link will be lost once this thread goes into "limbo."
If you continue to have problems and want some help, check out "Forum Tips" at the top of the "home" forum page. There is a thread there with instructions for creating a link that will work in the body of messages or in your signature area. If you still have problems, send me a private message and as a moderator, I can create the link in your signature for you.
Terry
Sherry
I began writing my Blog as a way for our kids, grandkids and friends to keep track of us. I soon discovered that recording our RV adventures motivated me to take more pictures, document our daily lives and to share our feelings with family and friends. I hope that it has eased some of the families concern for our being gone.
I am not sure I would have done that without the daily prompting of a Blog. As I look back I realize that knowing I have a Blog to write has changed how and what we do during our daily adventures. It might be "the cart pushing the horse" but I am grateful that the Blog is a positive motivator for us.