To Buy or Not, that is the Question

Ask anyone who owns a timeshare – it is VERY difficult to resist the urge to buy when you are surrounded by beautiful views, sea breezes, romantic sunsets, and happy people. Who doesn’t want to own a piece of paradise? I myself have purchased over 90 time share weeks, a house on a Caribbean island, and an ocean front lot with 80 feet of white sandy beach – also in the Caribbean. Each of these purchases is s a long story and worthy of its own post, so I will spare you the details for now. I will leave time share purchases out of the discussion (though I know you are dying to know how I got 90 weeks), as well as new construction.

There are obvious pros and cons to buying and renting, so I will stick to the not so obvious considerations…the things you might not think of until you have spent a significant amount of time living in the tropics.

Renting is always much cheaper long term. So even if you only want a place for 6 months – it is often way more economical to rent a place for the whole year. I will give you a real example from here in Puerto Vallarta. We have been looking at 2 bedroom condos with a nice view of the water, close to downtown and walking distance to the beach. If we rented for one week through VRBO or some such rental agency, we would pay $2500 US a week. If we rented the same place for 6 months it would cost about $2500/month. Rent for an entire year and it will cost you about $1000/month. The advantage to taking a place for the whole year is you can leave your stuff here all year and do not have to try to fit a beach umbrella in your suitcase! (Not to mention those unwieldy pots and pans!)

Having your own stuff is nice. Quality cooking utensils, nice towels and sheets, and sharp knives are all things that you never get in a rental down here and they are very expensive to buy here. I always bring my own saran wrap, ziplock bags and dried herbs, which for some reason, are of particularly poor quality down here. Oh, and don’t forget your pillow!

If you rent – beware that there is no such thing as soft or even medium mattresses in Mexico. ALL mattresses should be compared to concrete slabs. So, having your own quality things here is the one big advantage of buying over renting. However, when you buy a house here – even if it is a resale – it almost always comes fully furnished. So, either way, you are stuck with bad pots and pans, and a stiff bed. Negotiating to have the furniture removed is possible – but often times the furniture is built out of concrete and is quite permanent – so that is easier said than done.

Whether renting or buying, it is important to know if the electricity is included. Short term rentals usually include it, long term rentals do not. This is an important cost factor as electricity can be very expensive here – especially if you run your air conditioner a lot. I had a bill last year that was over $700 US dollars for two months!

Maid service is another expense you will have whether you rent or own. Now you may say, “I don’t need a maid” but consider this…will you be prepared to wipe down every surface with bleach every day? Pick up the never ending falling leaves and blossoms? Hunt down the scorpions and tarantulas? Because if you are not, you will need a maid to do it – otherwise the bugs will overtake your condo. Besides, the average maid makes $6/day here – so helping the local economy by providing a job for someone – and paying them more than $6/day - is just a nice thing to do. Everybody wins! If you buy a house, you will need a gardener. "But I LOVE gardening," you say. Yeah, try pruning a coconut tree!

If you decide you want to buy, it is a pretty good idea to rent in the area first – because only at night will you be able to determine just how noisy it is. In many modern condos here – there are also nightclubs and bars all around – that means noise until 2 am! And God help you if you end up next door to the karaoke bar. Many people I have met start off near the beach or downtown, and quickly end up further away where they can avoid the endlessly intoxicated tourists.

We have decided for ourselves that is it far more economical to rent, and renting has the added advantage of giving us the flexibility to “try on” different locations. This year we have spent 5 weeks in Conchas Chinas, and are now heading to Bucerias, where we have rented a house in the country – 2 kilometers out of town, in a small housing development called Los Arroyos Verdes.

It is pet friendly, has a gorgeous heated pool, beautiful gardens,

including an herb garden, a yoga studio and spa, electricity and daily maid service, and a shuttle service into town, the beach and the local “Mega” grocery store. After that we will go to Playa del Carmen on the east coast and try on a small loft near the beach, right downtown.

Then, we may be off to Utila – a small Caribbean Island - to manage a lovely beach front vacation rental…more on that later...so stay tuned!

Living the Dream, or Dreaming?

For many people who retire, going somewhere “south” where the cost of living is cheaper than in Canada or the U.S is a big consideration, as is the question "Where should we go?", and “Is it better to rent, or buy?” I have been looking at international real estate for 10 years and I am still undecided. There are so many factors:

• Local economy – will your investment in real estate grow, or will you ever be able to sell when you need to?
• How risky is the investment versus the real estate market back home?
• What is the true cost of maintaining a property in the tropics?
• Do these "income producing" properties really cover your costs like all the realtors say?
• Is it better to rent or buy?
• Can you really live here for $1500 month like the International Living magazine says?

Here are some of the things I have discovered …

• It’s HOT here! Hot is good – don’t get me wrong – but hot is different when you are here for a week laying by the beach, versus here for 6-12 months standing in line at the cell phone place. Hot and humid takes on new meaning when instead of laying by the pool you are grocery shopping in a crowded market with sweat pouring down your face into your eyes and dripping off the end of your nose. Heat loses its romance when sweat soaks through your clothes when sitting on the bus making it look like you peed your pants when you stand up.

• Mold, mildew, creeping vines, and creepy bugs will literally take over your home if you are not constantly washing surfaces with bleach, fumigating and weeding. You will find teeny tiny ants in your food, in your shower, in you shoes. Iguanas will stalk you, hiss at you when you walk by, and lurk around every corner, waiting to pounce on dropped food…or if you are unlucky, your painted toe nails!

• It IS cheaper to live down south - BUT - it depends where you live, and how you live. Big centres like Puerto Vallarta are more expensive than smaller communities further from international airports. Electricity is very expensive, so if you run your air conditioner all day and night you can spend $400 month just on electricity! If you eat like a local, food is cheaper here, but if you insist on olive oil, steak, brand names of prepared foods, etc, it is more expensive than back home. Eat like a local, and you can save a lot ...fresh fish, fresh fruit and veggies, rice and beans.

• The Mexican economy is growing, as is the middle class here – putting upward pressure on real estate – however - it is the homes that middle income Mexicans are buying – not the over-priced condos with views the xpats are buying – that are increasing in value.

• Middle income Mexican homes that are increasing in value are in Mexican neighbourhoods, and Mexican neighbourhoods are NOISY! This is just a reality. Mexican culture is about family and music and fun…large families, lots of kids…who by the way play in the streets until late at night. Lots of dogs – unfixed – marking their territory by barking. Loud sappy Mexican music playing until 6 am…yes 6 am! Parties here start around 10pm and end in the morning. Then there are the roosters….just about the time the music ends, the roosters start. Add to the cacophony the old rickety busses clamouring down the cobblestone streets, and the water truck announcing his arrival through a megaphone, and you get the picture…

• Crime – which, in general, in the past 10 years has not been too bad in tourist areas like Puerto Vallarta, Cabo san Lucas, Cancun, and Playa del Carmen – is up between 50%-600%. Cabo and Cancun in particular. This turn is recent – and thanks to the new Narco competition in the void created by the capture of El Chapo. A new gang – called the Jalisco New Generation - is spreading terror – Escabar style – and if things do not improve rapidly, Mexico may see a rapid departure of xpats – leaving behind their properties – and a ruined economy in their wake.

Having said all that, you might wonder why anyone would come here at all! Well, because like anything, you must keep things in perspective. Good balances bad. What I love about the developing south is:

• It’s HOT! And when the grocery shopping is over, you can jump in the pool or walk on the beach

• Labour is cheap, so it is affordable to hire a maid to keep the mold and bugs at bay

• Mexican architecture is charming: large open windows let in cool ocean breezes, exposed brick and colourful tile excite the senses. Cool marble floors and lush gardens feel good on your feet

• People here are very family oriented and very hospitable. No one has attached garages that they drive into keeping themselves from ever meeting their neighbours. They greet you in the streets and when you get on the bus. People smile and sing while they work. Life happens on the street. People shop, talk, rest, sleep, play, and work on the streets (as opposed to in buildings), so you really feel a part of a community

• Crime is of course a concern, and not to be taken lightly, but here is what I can say, I feel safer here at night walking down the street than I would in downtown Toronto. The murder rate here in Puerto Vallarta is still lower than the top ten crime cities in the U.S. If you do not flaunt your wealth, hang out at clubs late at night, and/or buy drugs, it is relatively safe.
So if you choose to come, the question then becomes whether you should buy or rent….and THAT my friends, is the subject of my next blog post. Right now, I have to go for my morning stroll up the cobblestone street to watch the sun pop over the mountain and shine its golden rays on the stunning turquoise sea below.

Shepherd's Pie

Enjoying ethnic food as I do, I have often wondered what Canada’s national food is? The best I can come up with is Shepherd’s Pie - or in Quebec - Pâté chinois. I guess every culture has its own version of this…some sort of ground meat with gravy of sorts, a vegetable (corn, or carrots), topped with smashed potatoes and baked.

Well today I decided to make a Mexican version. It went something like this:

Take yesterday’s road runner chicken (minus the feet) and shred
Add yesterday’s roadrunner chicken juice (minus the fat which I took off after I froze the juice)

Fry some red onion, jalapeno pepper, and garlic in hot oil until caramelized
Add 1/3 cup of quality white wine (brought from the sunny Okanagan of course) and reduce by half
Add in diced carrot and a tsp of herbs de provence (grown in my Oliver garden and dried….you see, THIS is why I needed 2 large suitcases!) season and cook until softened

Pour into a baking dish

Smash yesterday’s baked squash with some thick Mexican cream and some salt and pepper
Smooth over the chicken mixture and top with a mild shredded mystery Mexican cheese
Bake until you run out of wine to drink.



While wondering around for hours looking for the Mercado del mar(fish market), I was surprised that the several people I asked had no idea where it was…even though it was within several blocks of where they were working. It is possible it had little to do with them, a lots to do with how terrible my Spanish is. Duolingo tells me I am 37% fluent – I think the program lies.

Duolingo is however a pretty good free program for learning languages. I have been doing lessons since last November, and am pretty surprised how easily I read. Speaking is quite another thing…my accent is terrible, and I often forget that adjectives change from masculine to feminine depending on the sex of the word they are describing.

I guess the word “sex” is not the best word to use when discussing grammar – I wonder what sex sex is?? Anyway, I suppose “gender” is more appropriate. At any rate, remembering gender when speaking is difficult, as is understanding people who speak a hundred miles an hour. Mexicans speak much quicker than the bots on my ipad. (I love having conversations with bots…I can practice ordering food, or asking for directions, and the language bot will respond accordingly – and I get points when my sentences are particularly advanced!).

I have read that the best place to go learn Spanish is in Columbia because they speak slower and have a neutral accent. Stephane and I have thought about going there after our 6 months are over here. There are several Spanish schools in Cartagena – a beautiful colonial city on the Caribbean coast. Another alternative where learning Spanish is reasonably inexpensive is Ecuador – another country I have wanted to visit for some time. Perhaps we will go to both countries and I can cross a few things off my bucket list, including the Galapagos Islands. If we don't make it that far, I can at least say I HAVE already seen the blue footed boobie! A bird only to be found there – and in Islas Marietas National Park - a group of islands in Mexico - not far from here.

Anyway, we finally found the market and I bought some nice tuna filets and a whole mackerel - known here as a Sierra.

Fresh fish and fruit are a big part of what we love about being here - and of course the views are to die for. Last night Stephane awoke in the night and this was the view out our bedroom window.

Sabado! - Stephane

It is not Saturday, it's actually Tuesday, I think... who cares...

We have been here in Puerto Vallarta since Sunday, at one of my favorite little resorts. It's not really a resort, more like a small condo complex. We have been here several times before - it's got a homey feel and is not pretentious or fancy, but it's pretty, clean, well run, and is in a nice part of PV with great views and it's a quick bus ride to downtown. Though it's a bitch of a walk home from the bus stop back up the hill in the heat of the day ( I won't digress into writing about my sweating issue).

Yesterday, while walking around town looking for a kitchen articles store (I miss my coffee machine) we walked by a bar called “The Salty Caesar.” We figured it was owned by Canadians, so we stopped for a chat.

There we met the John and Karen from Alberta. They weren't open yet for the season but they took time to chat with us and offered us each a drink on the house. Nice folks. They will have karaoke nights and they may do open mic nights too so we will definitely go back and check it out. John said they have been coming to PV for 30 years so they are good people to get to know.

I thought it interesting that they have been coming here for so long, they own a business here, yet they have never bought a home here. They still rent. John said, " you can buy anything you want here in PV if you have the money, you just can't sell it! "

Corrie and I have often talked about buying here, (or anywhere we spend time in the warm sunny South), so we will probably get out one day soon with a realtor and check out some real estate - you never know when a great opportunity might arise. I am open to anything. Since we have experience running a bed and breakfast back home in Oliver, we could do that here too if the right property came up. It would be kind of nice to pack up a car and have a place to drive to every year – and especially nice to have our own stuff here….like a milk frother and a decent vegetable peeler - and not have to travel by plane with 200 lbs of luggage like we did this time. Normally we travel very light, with just a carry-on bag. In fact, I have often scoffed at people with 6 suitcases on a buggy at the airline check in counter….but since we are here 6 months, Corrie insisted on bringing along 1 small carry-on of clothes and 2 HUGE suitcases of cooking gear! And since we plan on making music while we are here – I insisted on bring my guitar.

I guess I will be more understanding from now on. And NO, United did NOT break my guitar!

Smelly Fruit and Sweat - I am in Paradise!

If you know me, you know I enjoy food, and by association – markets. I have visited markets in Nepal, India, Thailand, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, France, Hondurous, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Italy, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana, and of course Mexico. I love the colour, the aromas and the mayhem. I especially love to try things I have never eaten before. YOU CAN FIND SOME PRETTY COOL THINGS IN MARKETS.

Yesterday we bought our groceries at the market in the Zapata area of Puerta Vallarta. There, in one open air stall you can find every sort of fruit and vegetable imaginable. Some pretty funky looking ones too: take the custard apple – or sugar apple – officially known as the Annona squamosal. It looks like a cross between a brain and a pear…no, maybe a cauliflower and a pear…better yet, they look like a cross between an artichoke and an apple!

This amazing little fruit is not only deliciously sweet and, well, custardy; it is both poisonous and incredibly good for you (depending on which website you choose to visit). It’s texture (like custard of course) may not appeal to all people, but no one can resist the lure of spitting out it’s huge, soft, oblong seeds. It should be an official sport! I don’t recommend eating the seeds, but the oil from them is effective at killing head lice…just don’t get it in your eyes as it can blind you.


Another weird one is Durian – famous for its raw sewage smell. This fruit smells so bad that some hotels in Southeast Asia ban the fruit as its odour can linger for days. I cannot imagine WHY people decided to eat this particular fruit. Did someone really wander through the jungle one day and see this spiky ball laying on the ground, take a whiff and say, “WOW, this smells horrible! I wonder what this tastes like?" Well whoever was brave enough to get past the odour (I cannot) they were rewarded with a flesh that tastes like a rich almond custard.

Anyway, markets are an encyclopedia of food. I could go every day and not get bored. Stephane, on the other hand, thinks the whole market experience is like, well, work. Not the kind of work he used to get paid to do, the kind of work where he has to carry bags and bags of heavy fruits and vegetables in 32 degree Celsius heat with 100% humidity. Sweat running down his face, dripping off his nose while I am giddily running from stall to stall practicing my Spanish by asking for un pollo entero sin los patas (a whole chicken without the feet).

I have often read that people who retire to Mexico (or other tropical places) often lose weight and get healthy. The reasons are obvious. Yesterday it took us an hour to walk to the market, and another hour walking in search of a milk frother (not to be found), all the while sweating buckets. For breakfast we eat fresh papaya and desert is pineapple so sweet you'd think you were eating candy. For lunch we shared a gigantic aguacate (avocado) that was so ripe it was nutty and buttery...squeeze on a little lime....

Fresh sea air, lots of exercise, fresh fruits and vegetables, and of course lots of fish. Who wouldn't lose weight and become healthier?

Tomorrow we are off to the fish market in search of atun. I am thinking rare, seared on the BBQ, served with rice and a fresh papaya and roasted pepper salsa.

Come to think of it, fish smells icky yet I eat it and love the taste...maybe I will try Durian.

Am I Sweating Too Much to Call This Retirement? - Stephane

12 days into retirement and I have spent most of my time cleaning out the house we sold, moving our stuff to storage, and getting the basement suite in the house ready for this winter’s tenant.

Certainly I have been working harder physically than when I was working at my job. When we were loading the moving truck my friend shouted “Hey! I have never seen Steph sweat before!”

I will miss some parts of my job, mostly the interactions with the people, work colleagues, and customers that I have gotten to appreciate through the years, but I definitely won’t miss the business travel, conventions, and events with crowds, and I especially won’t miss EXCEL spread sheets!

I have gone from 22 years working a job that I was pretty good at, and where I was well appreciated and successful, to doing very minor renos and household jobs that, frankly, I suck at… so I feel a little inadequate and incompetent. This has been tough.
One of the perks of my job that I will miss is the travel to Montreal on the company dime so I could see my kids and family while I was there for business. I might not see them in person as much from now on. That will be tough too.

We still have a couple of things to do before we leave for Mexico on Saturday… and that’s when real retirement starts; the long vacation in the sun part...the part where I lay by the pool. I am REAL GOOD at that so I am looking forward to that part of retirement for the next 6 months. When we come back from Mexico we will continue renovating the rest of the house and the one thing I am really looking forward to is the DEMOLITON !! woo hoo! I am good at that too!

Over the next 6 months there are several things I want to do, like scouting around visiting Mexico with Corrie, outdoor activities, play a lot more music, and learning songs, reading, and improving my swimming. I also want to be serious about learning Spanish because I have always wanted to learn another language. Maybe I will even discover other interests that I have never thought of.
I worked hard this week, yet I know I am “retired” because on Tuesday I got up and picked up the newspaper to read…

Conchas Chinas Here We Come

The definition of retirement is "the action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work."

I guess if that is true, then Steph's retirement was very short lived as I have kept him very busy "working". 3 days after his last day at work we took possession of a house we bought. Originally we were going to sell our house and invest the money, and go travel with no specific return date, but we decided that since the real estate market here is doing very well, we would be better off buying a house in original condition that we could rent up and down while we go travel, then when we return, renovate it and sell it for profit. I have successfully done this 10 times in the past, and while it is a heck of a lot of work for a few months, it is generally lucrative - providing enough money to live on, a nice place to live for a year or two, and lots of time after the work is done to travel and have fun.

The house we bought is a diamond in the rough. By that I mean it is the ugliest house on the block, in a great location. It has a beautiful lake view - but that is about all it has going for it. The challenges will be many - to turn this house into something great - but I will have fun doing it.

Since taking possession of the house 8 days ago we have turned a really ugly basement into a nice little suite that we have rented out furnished to someone coming to Oliver for the winter. We have worked hard painting, replacing sinks, toilets, and taps, and scrubbing years of grime off baseboards, but the work is now done, the place looks great, and we are eagerly anticipating our flight on Saturday morning.

In 36 hours we will be be heading to Conchas Chinas - one of our favorite places to hang out in Mexico. It is a district of Mexican villas built on the hillside overlooking Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas. It is called the "Beverly Hills" of Puerto Vallarta due to its many multi million dollar villas owned by celebrities and politicians. We have 4 weeks booked there in a lovely Mexican style vacation club. We love the big wooden shudders you can throw open in the morning and we love watching the sunsets from the balcony.

Just down the hill there is a special beach where very few tourists go, where the water is a lovely dark turquoise and the sand is soft. We often have the beach to ourselves.

Conchas Chinas is romantic. There is just something about the dramatic hillside, the stunning views, the cackle of birds in the surrounding jungle, the sunsets that take your breath away. These four weeks are for us. To do nothing but relax. To sleep, eat, and make love. To lay by the small pool, and read books. To sit in the hot tub and watch the stars come out and to walk to the beach hand in hand. Every body needs 4 weeks in Conchas Chinas.

Conchas Chinas is a quiet, tranquil respite from the hustle, bustle go go life style we all tend to lead in Canada. Conchas Chinas is where we will learn to slow down, let go of the stuff that bogs us down. Conchas Chinas is where we will remember how to wake up slowly, walk slowly, eat slowly. Conchas Chinas is where we will remember how to take time to smell the flowers and see the stars.

Conchas Chinas is the perfect place to stop working, and start retirement.