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Bajagypsy
Super Nomad
Posts: 1416
Registered: 8-31-2006
Location: Bahía Asuncion BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Living the dream
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How many of you...
How many of you Baja Nomads have said "enough is enough" packed up sold your house and moved to Baja? 
For those of you who have, what do you do? Do you own a business, do you just live off money you saved? Do your spouses go back to the US/Canada to
work for a few months.
Just wondering if this goes on!!!
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sylens
Senior Nomad
Posts: 584
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Ensenada
Member Is Offline
Mood: ando bajando
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we cashed out of our condo in fresno in may 2004 and moved to ensenada. 
we had bought our home here in 2000 and vacationed here several times a year. 
i'm retired and my better half telecommutes to his job in minneapolis. so we are in the best of all possible worlds, earning dollars and spending
pesos. in a few years when he retires, we'll live off what we've saved.
not a bad life.
lili
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Bajagypsy
Super Nomad
Posts: 1416
Registered: 8-31-2006
Location: Bahía Asuncion BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Living the dream
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I was hoping to get a reply, It is something that we are considering, so I wanted to see how off base we were.
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Cameron
Nomad
Posts: 117
Registered: 10-12-2004
Location: Todos Santos / Seattle WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Thirsty!
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How Many of You...
I'd had enough of living in the US for a while, and was ready for a change, so I packed up and moved to BCS in late 2004. I'd been planning to move
down at some point, but the opportunity presented itself a little earlier than I'd planned, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
I had some $$$ saved up, but not enough to last me indefinitely, and I really didn't want to work if I could avoid it. Luckily, I'd bought a small
parcel of land in Todos Santos in 2002, and I was able to subdivide it and sell of the smaller of the two resulting lots. It took me all of a week to
find a buyer, and since I offered "owner financing", I found myself with a small "nest egg" and a modest monthly income.
Due to family obligations, I moved back to the US in early 2006, but I'm planning on moving back down for good in 5 years or so. In the meantime, I've
decided to rent here in the US rather than buying a new home, and I'm using the savings (renting vs. buying) to buy more land down south while it's
still relatively affordable.
If you're thinking of making the move, but not quite sure if it's where you want to be for the rest of your life, my advice would be to give it a
shot. What's the worst that can happen? You decide it's not for you, or that the economics don't work out for you, and you move back. What you have to
gain from the experience so far outweighs the potential negatives that it was a no-brainer for me. Maybe it's not for everyone, but I can't wait to be
back in Baja forever!
Suerte!... Cameron
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
Member Is Offline
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My wife and I both quit our jobs, cashed out our meager pension funds, bought a house on the beach here 12 years ago. We paid $25K for the house,
lived on our pension til our SS kicked in (hours before we would have been busted) - (perfect timing?). No regrets - double happy cause our fellow
employees (like millions of others in the U.S.) lost most of their savings in the stock market bust. We've not been back to the states except to
visit family. The tropics are not for everybody but it is tailor made for us.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
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Sounds like you really want to try this---go for it. Do think about what are the worst possibilties, then go for it. For decision making, there is a
little tool that in the past we taught called a PMI
First list the Positive reasons---then the Minus reasons---and then a list where every sentence begins with, It would be interesting if .........
When we moved to Central America, our friends were sure we had gone crazy---left two well paying jobs, and off we went. Securing the job in Honduras,
moving there, etc., cost us more than we made that year, but I would not trade that experience for any thing---major highlight. Guatemala was a
different story, but still a wonderful experience.
I sincerely wish I had done some of this before my children were grown. What an education for them!
We are now looking to maybe buy a place in Baja, but not yet ready for full time---that may come, however.
What if you move and it doesn't work out? New experiences are never a failure, just a learning opportunity. This is not a dress rehearsal for
life---well maybe we will all be back.
From all of your writings, IMHO, you have a VERY positive attitude, and that is so helpful.
Never an easy decision----but try the PMI
Good Luck, and see you in Baja
Diane
[Edited on 4-3-2007 by jdtrotter]
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bajajudy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6886
Registered: 10-4-2004
Location: San Jose del Cabo,BCS
Member Is Offline
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My husband and I built our place 10 years ago. As we found ourselves down here more and more every year, we finally said...why are we paying taxes,
mortgages, insurance that add to a substantial sum when we have a place paid for in Mexico. So we sold, made a very nice profit and traveled for 4
years. My husband was under a contract to write a travel guide to Los Cabos so we traveled extensively around BCS and my husband noticed that there
was no one distributing books in English here so we started our book business. Being in business in Mexico is a challenge as things are done
differently in almost every way but being in business has also allowed us to meet more local people and truly feel like a part of the community. I am
so happy to be living here that I have not even thought about living in the states again.
Now if we can just get back to that traveling part I will truly be content.
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jimgrms
Senior Nomad
Posts: 664
Registered: 9-30-2005
Location: oceanside ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: its always good
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I don't live in baja and i have kicked myself in the butt over and over because if it if you guy have a income that will let you go for
it,, if it don't work you are young enought to start over jim
[Edited on 4-4-2007 by jimgrms]
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BirdDog
Nomad
Posts: 182
Registered: 3-9-2007
Location: Iowa
Member Is Offline
Mood: Desperate to move to Baja
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I just bought a place in Asuncion and am going to move there full time in about 6 years. I plan to live off of savings because I don't need a lot of
fancy things. From what I have found out if don't you require a lot you don't need alot. I agree with Cameron. What the hell you only live once and
might as well enjoy it. Good Luck
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jerry
Super Nomad
Posts: 1354
Registered: 10-10-2003
Location: loreto
Member Is Offline
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we wont be full time in baja but plan on spending 8 months or so a year there the rest in the us traveling around for a while im 55 and my family asks
me what happens in another 10 or 15 years if i did that??i just told them id just be 65 or 70 weather i did it or not
but id be a lot happer
seldon do people regret what they do but often regret what they didnt do
jerry and judi
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Bajafun777
Super Nomad
Posts: 1103
Registered: 9-13-2006
Location: Rosarito & California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Enjoying Life with Wife In Mexico, Easy on The Easy
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I hope to have my 5th wheel trailer in Baja by Ensenada by next August of 2008. I have a 37 foot 3 slides and a desire to live in a controlled entry
and exit park. I have found just the one I have been looking for and I spent the last 3 years looking hard. My wife and I are so into living the
stress of two jobs that just crush the life out of us at times by the constant demands these jobs place on us. We tease each other every morning
lately about how many more days and then "No Hurry No Worry" gets to be our theme. We have missed a lot of great oppurtunies over the past 30 years
since we have looked and talked about buying or renting and never did. We were always in too big a hurry to get back to the grid at work and boy were
we fools as this same work will just eat up two more people when we leave it behind. Now, I noticed that Bajagypsy if from Canada where it snows and
gets so so cold and if I lived there I surely would have left 3 years ago for Baja. Snow is best in pictures not living!!! We are sort of like you
on holding back except that we now know where and the time it will start. Good luck in your decision and just writing this makes me think when is
enough really enough and do I really need to work until next August. Bajafun777
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Bajagypsy
Super Nomad
Posts: 1416
Registered: 8-31-2006
Location: Bahía Asuncion BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Living the dream
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Thank you for all of your replies, it certain has helped. I was wondering about schooling for children? Can our kids go to school in Baja, or would
they need to be home schooled?
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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We have friends in La Ventana and Loreto with kids.
Some go to local schools - at least part time.
At first, they go to lower grades to learn spanish easier.
The ones from Washington State are also on an on-line state-sponsored school.
In some ways it is better than being there a it lets them progress at their own speed.
Lot's of good options.
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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The on-line school is called the "Washington Virtual Academy".
From their website, it looks like they may offer their program to Canada residents as well.
http://www.washva.org/dg/index.html?se=Google&campaign=W...
.
[Edited on 4-4-2007 by Diver]
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Paula
Super Nomad
Posts: 2219
Registered: 1-5-2006
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
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Many people here in Loreto say the schools here aren't very good. This comes from both northerners and local people. I know one Mexican woman whose
family has moved here from Mexico City who sends her 6 and 8 year old sons to public school, and supplements their learning by teaching them herself
in the afternoon. There are private schools that are better than the public system.
On selling and moving down here, is it possible for you to keep your home up there for a while? Maybe rent it out and have some income while you live
down here until you know this is where you want to be. It will be a big adjustment, and it may go better if you know you can go back to your former
life. But then if you just make the leap, you'll have to make it work for you
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
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Another thought
Anyone who set out to drive almost non-stop from Saskatoon to Cabo San Lucas without a clue as to what they were doing, and make it a great
experience, probably has what it takes to pick up and move to Baja.
IMHO, I think the dual approach to education is wise---something like the one Diver suggested or home schooling along with Mexican public schooling.
It is amazing how quickly children learn a new language and to give them an education in two cultures is a real gift.
Good Luck
Diane
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
Member Is Offline
Mood: undecided
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Boxing stuff up right now. Taking it one step at a time.Retired and ready for some fishing and sunshine.
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajagypsy
Thank you for all of your replies, it certain has helped. I was wondering about schooling for children? Can our kids go to school in Baja, or would
they need to be home schooled? |
Speaking only from my experience, here it is...
When we moved to the Punta Banda area I asked about schooling and was told to look into a Collegio, or private school. Instead I thought that I would
try the local rural school, as I hoped that our daughter would establish some friendships with the local kids. She was enrolled, but it only lasted a
short time. The children have to take their own toilet paper and soap, and hers would turn up missing more often than not. She was picked on
relentlessly by a few of the boys, we didn't see any homework, and there were issues that we could not work out with a few of the teachers and the
principal as well.
So, taking our Mexican friend's advice we looked into the private sector. We met a couple at a Christmas party who just happened to run a private
school in Chapultepec. We enrolled our daughter with them and she had a wonderful year. The teachers were very accepting of an "Americano" in their
classrooms, the children and their parents were welcoming as well. All of her studies were in Spanish, and during the class period when English was
studied, she worked on her Spanish. They even offered Saturday morning classes for children who needed the extra work, where Cody had one on one time
with a teacher. We hired a young lady from camp to come to the house twice a week to work with her as well.
At the same time we also homeschooled through Oak Meadow School. I wanted to keep her up on her American studies. Homeschooling worked for us in that
we could work at our own pace, get ahead if we wanted, or take it on the road when we traveled. It was also much more fun to write out the times
tables in the sand then to sit at a desk in a classroom.
There were moments when I had issues with homeschooling her at times in regards to seperating mom from teacher, but having the real teacher back in
the States waiting for her work to be sent in usually nipped the procrastinator in Cody in the bud.
When we returned to the States Cody tested mid grade level upon entry.
We would be back living there now if we could, but have a few issues that still need to be resolved. You both have children from other partners, so
you'll have to be sure to get the proper paperwork/permission before you make the move. Right now we love the elementary school that she is enrolled
in here. We'll see how middle school life goes...If we have to wait till Cody's 18, then the count down is on.... Only 2126 more days to go!
All in all, it was worth every moment. Cody had a great experience living in Baja and we wouldn't trade it for the world.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Capt. George
Super Nomad
Posts: 2129
Registered: 8-21-2003
Member Is Offline
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Five + years ago Deborah and I first visited Baja. Bought a lot in Loreto at that time....
moved up to Punta Abreojos and Deborah built a casa in town and I a garage/trailer etc out on La Beliza (since sold)
Building a house just outside La Paz will we will live for the foreseeable future...Deborah has kept her casita in Ojos so visits to Abreojos in the
summer months and get away trips throughout the year...
I'm a retired NYC Firefighter and have a pension from that, in November I turn 62, add S.S. we are also selling the florida digs which will build our
home in La Paz and leave a bit over for investment...I will be home in mid-May and feel fortunate and blessed to be doing so.
The states, for us, is just no longer what it was, nor is it home. cap'd g y d
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
Member Is Offline
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The quality of schools differ from community to community. Some better than others and some not worth the powder to blow them up.
As others have said, there are both private and public schools. The public schools are in a lock step program where each day all children in Mexico
are on the same page. SEP Secetary of Public Education is what this is called. Remember that Mexico is a Catholic country that has a tradition of
pedantic education, lecture, memorize, regurgitate. Notice the level of education of local Mexicans, notice the level of their vocabulary, notice the
level of their knowledge base, notice the religious, cultural biases of the local people, many of the teachers will be from the same context.
There are some excellent private schools in Mexico that rival any found in the states.
As you explore this I would encourage you to think about where you would want to move and then start contacting local Nomads about schooling. Locals
may say that the most expensive school is the best, or the one where their child is matriculating is best because their children are happy there.
Happiness, though important, is not the best criteria to use in assessing a school. Educators are better at assessing schools than lay people are.
It is likely that they will not receive as varied and diverse of an education in the Mexican system. They will not have much of an exposure to English
in either public or private schools.
Studies are showing that home schooled children do very well if they are using a good home school program.
The thing to watch out for in home schooling is that many have a religious and social bias built in and that people with a religious and social bias
are often not very well educated so consequently the curriculum materials for the parents to work with their children have been dumbed down so the
parents can understand the materials.
My brother is a Superintendant of a bilingual bicultural school on the mainland and he says that many homeschooled children who want to enter his
school are not prepared to enter because they have been exposed to one of these dumbed down programs.
There are only nine American Schools in all of Mexico, none on the Baja.
See if you can find a homeschool program that is accredited by an Association of Colleges and Schools i.e. Southern Association of Colleges of
Schools, Northwester Association of Colleges and Schools, Western Association of Colleges and Schools. These are Associations of Private and Public
Schools that have standards that must be met by members.
Iflyfish
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