Focus On Mexico

Your Guide to Moving and Retiring to Mexico's Lake Chapala

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Lake Chapala’s Town of Eternal Spring

Lake Chapala’s Town of Eternal Spring

Michael Nuschke, the owner of Focus on Mexico, is a long time resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he and his Nova Scotian wife Rhonda still spend over five months a year.  This week the Chronicle Herald's online Halifax Citizen published an article entitled, The Town of The Eternal Spring by Halifax travel writer and travel consultant Bruce Bishop. "It seems like an unassuming, fairly typical, small Mexican town (with a population of 10,000+).  A 45-minutes drive south of Guadalajara, its unique climate at 1,538 meters above sea level and nestled on the shores of the largest freshwater … [Read more...]

State of the Lake/Mexico 2018 Quick Facts

State of the Lake/Mexico 2018 Quick Facts

Dr. Todd Stong is a licensed professional civil engineer who has served for the past 14 years in Jalisco state as a volunteer engineer adviser to local area governments.  Dr. Stong focuses on water quality and management and job creation in the 42 villages around Lake Chapala.  The following is a brief summary of his annual update to an overflow audience in Ajijic on March 4, 2018: Three "good" things to report about the state of the Lake: Lake volume and quality is very good despite the fact that the lake will never be full in our lifetimes due to Guadalajara water usage High … [Read more...]

Admiring the Wisdom of Age

Admiring the Wisdom of Age

The following article offers a fascinating look at life in the Lake Chapala area as viewed from the perspective of Lily Barker, age 24, who grew up in the area and now lives in Canada. The Netflix original ‘Grace and Frankie’ is a slice of life, comedy-drama hit show about two aging women whose husbands announce they are leaving them to be gay together. Despite the tragedy and challenges, they become better people, find their joie de vivre, and discover within themselves not just strength and courage, but youth and an energy they may have forgotten about. A Typical Day in Lake … [Read more...]

Lent and Holy Week in Mexico

Lent and Holy Week in Mexico

LENT Lent is the period of forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. The word for Lent in Spanish is Cuaresma, which comes from the word cuarenta, meaning forty, because Lent lasts for forty days (plus six Sundays which are not counted). For Christians, this is traditionally a time of sobriety and abstinence meant to correspond to the time Jesus spent in the wilderness. The dates of Lent for the coming years are:   2020 - February 26 to April 9 2021 - February 17 to April 2 The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday. On this day, the faithful go to church for mass … [Read more...]

Guide to Paying Christmas Bonuses in Mexico

Guide to Paying Christmas Bonuses in Mexico

The Aguinaldo – How to calculate By Karen McConnaughey Under Mexican law, all employees (including maids, gardeners, cooks) deserve a Christmas bonus. It also creates and keeps a good, healthy relationship with your employees. Employees are entitled by law to receive 15 days pay for their Christmas bonus. Therefore, if an employee normally makes 1500 pesos in a 15-day period, then this amount would also be their Christmas bonus. Some calculations may be required, but this is what they are entitled to. If the employee has been in your employ for less than a year, these amounts are … [Read more...]