Search Results for: State of the Lake 2018

Do I Have To Learn Spanish to live Lakeside?

The short answer is no and yes! You can certainly reconnoiter the area, find a place to rent, eat out and enjoy myriad activities without speaking Spanish. Many Lakeside natives either speak or are learning English and are happy to practice with you. However, your adaptation to Lakeside living will be greatly facilitated by at least a working knowledge of basic Spanish. There are many popular programs such as Duolingo, Babbel, and others that can help you get started. Depending on their home/career circumstances, most of our Focus alumni take at least six months to a year or more to … [Read more...]

Lakeside Joins the 21st Century…Maybe?

Imagine living in a 'newly industrialized' country where you have better internet speed than in most of the U.S. It could happen here because of fiber optics - the wave of the internet future. So, you say, why do I care? Well, current Lakeside residents report download speeds of between 5Mbps and 10Mbps at the best. Fiber optics download speeds start at 15Mbps and go up to 300Mbps - more than most of us will ever need. From the chart below you can see that anything beyond standard definition video streaming is getting close to the limits of what is currently available. For example, the … [Read more...]

Noisy, Dirty and Dangerous Lakeside

This is a must read post if you're concerned about the potential downsides of Lakeside living. Recently some Lakeside expats who decided to return to their home country shared their grievances about the Lake Chapala area with us. After living here a few months their analysis was that Mexico is lawless, chaotic, messy, noisy, dirty and dangerous. To their credit, they realized that this is not the life for them and made the decision to go home. One of them, showing a good sense of self-awareness commented, “I guess I’m not as flexible as I thought I was.” It’s certainly true that Mexico is … [Read more...]

Piñatas and Posadas – Christmas in Mexico

Christmas in Mexico is similar yet different from the U.S. depending on what part of the country you live in. Large cities such as Guadalajara tend to have a similar U.S. like frenzied shopping atmosphere, but Christmas in smaller towns and villages is quite distinct. There is much less emphasis on gifts and more emphasis on the family celebrations and traditions surrounding Christmas. I took an informal poll of my ESL students to see what family gifts they were giving for Christmas and was charmed with the simple answers - a bottle of cologne, a shirt, a pair of shoes, a necklace, etc. - … [Read more...]

How to Bring Your Vehicle into Mexico

Applying for a Vehicle Permit Online You can apply for your temporary vehicle import permit on-line through the Banjercito Bank after reviewing the requirements outlined in this post. Foreigners are only allowed to temporarily import one vehicle into Mexico. Why Only Temporary Importation? All foreign vehicles can only be imported into Mexico on a temporary basis. Foreign cars cannot be nationalized and must be taken out of the country after four years. For this reason if you are moving to Mexico on a long-term basis it is not a good idea to bring a new vehicle of any kind into the … [Read more...]