Focus On Mexico - Your Guide to Moving and Retiring to Mexico's Lake Chapala

Crossing the Border

Here are some things you need to know when you decide to drive across the Mexican border. It's easy when you know how. Whether you are driving or flying into Mexico, you will need: Proof of citizenship As of 2007 you need to have a valid passport to enter Mexico (exception - there is a 25-mile area close to the border where this isn't necessary). As of January 23, 2007, ALL PERSONS traveling by air outside of the United States are required to present a passport to re-enter the United States so you will also need the passport to get back into the United States. With proof of … [Read more...]

How to Ripen Avocados

Our test results! We have a Hass avocado tree in our yard. It produces a ton of avocados and, because of that, we recently ran our own experiment on how best to ripen them. We haven’t always been happy with the brown-bag results that seem to be the most popular, but you need a lot of avocados to test and we weren't willing to give up our store-bought ones on experiments! :-D So here’s what we did. We picked all the fruit at the same time and used each one of these suggestions to see which did the best job. I think you’ll be surprised at the results. We certainly were: Wrap in … [Read more...]

Magic of Chapala

Lake Chapala, Mexico could be your new Retirement Home Ever dream of getting a “New Lease on Life?” … An affordable, stress-free lifestyle in a different country… Well, you’re not alone. Thousands of Americans and Canadians have discovered Ajjiic and Lake Chapala in southwestern Mexico as the perfect place to live year ‘round… or simply as a seasonal escape from sweltering summers or frigid winters. LAKE CHAPALA IS THE # 1 CHOICE IN MEXICO, with an English-speaking infrastructure already in place to make you feel right at home. Whether you want to retire, work or invest, Lake … [Read more...]

Five Ways People at Lake Chapala Live Well and Live Longer

By Kristina Morgan A study by the University of Pittsburgh confirmed what many of us here at Lake Chapala already knew: “Optimists are less likely to suffer heart attacks or die.” In the largest study to date of the effect of positive thinking on health, the researchers looked at the results of more than 97,000 women monitored as part of a long-term study. They found that, compared to pessimists, optimists had a nine per cent lower risk of developing heart disease and a 14 per cent lower risk of dying from any cause, after eight years of follow-up. For example, the team … [Read more...]

Cost of Living in Mexico and Lake Chapala

The affordable cost of living in Mexico and specifically the Lake Chapala, Ajijic area is one of the major attractions (along with our near-perfect climate) for moving here. It has been estimated that the cost of living in Mexico to less than in the United States and Canada. However, Focus On Mexico has added a section for cost of living comparisons for the entire USA and Canada... There are people who live here (and own a home) on their U.S. government pensions. However, having said that, the stories that you read that say you can live here on $500 or $600 a month are simply no longer … [Read more...]