I READ YOUR BLOG AND FOUND IT QUITE INTERESTING. WE ARE LOOKING AT PROPERTIES IN MEXICO AS WELL AND WAS TRYING TO GET ANYONES FEEDBACK ON HOW DIFFICULT OR EASY IT IS TO BUY A HOME THERE AND IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND SAFE THERE, HOW IS IT LIKE AND THE WAY OF LIFE, SCHOOLS, TRAFFIC, JUST EVERYTHING IN GENERAL, WILL BE QUITE HELPFUL, ALSO IF YOU GOT A GOOD DEAL ON YOUR PROPERTY, AND DO THEY REALLY HIKE UP THEIR PRICES TO PEOPLE IN AMERICA? THANK YOU, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

The above is a comment left on an older Blog entry. My first response is most or all of my opinions on these questions can be found herein; but then at over 300,000 words to read it might be a lot to expect someone to muddle through. So I am going to give some brief answers here suggesting Jackie to keep on reading.

HOW DIFFICULT OR EASY IT IS TO BUY A HOME THERE – This is a complex question. Here I would first ask if by “there” you are referring to Mexico in general or the Xico area specifically. Generally, I don’t think the act of buying a home is any more difficult than in the U.S. or Canada, but it is different. There are the language barrier, the different rules/laws pertaining to owning property (add foreign ownership issues) and construction and building code or lack thereof issues. It will be more difficult in that there are a whole new set of issues to learn and be concerned about.

IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND SAFE THERE – The short answer is yes and yes. We enjoy the people, the life style(s) and believe generally it is safer there than in the states.

HOW IS IT LIKE AND THE WAY OF LIFE – This would be the most difficult to give a summation answer. The culture is different and how or if one adapts is extremely variable. You really would have to read through some of our experiences with our friends, neighbors and people we have interacted with in Mexico. Again, generally it is great fun; interesting and occasionally exciting and adventurous.

SCHOOLS[?] – We home schooled our only child both in the US and Mexico. We have observed some of the process and results of the educational system. I believe it is progressing and working on bringing up the standard of living for the proletariat. It seems like peer pressure is less (they wear uniforms which helps this issue). The Mexicans are very family oriented and those values extend to the way the children are schooled – while the systems may be lacking somewhat in academics I think they make up for it in family values. This is our view from a distance at this point.

TRAFFIC[?] – I have said it many times and in a number of ways – driving is not for the faint of heart especially in the larger cities, but not limited to. There are a lot less rules and even more that are not adhered to or enforced – driving in Mexico is part of the adventure, but it is manageable.

ALSO IF YOU GOT A GOOD DEAL ON YOUR PROPERTY…? – We own two properties in the Xico area. The first was purchased from a Mexican family that now live next door to us. I would not characterize it as a good deal relatively; but compared to the States it was a good purchase (and getting better, property values are still going up there, unlike most of the U.S. currently). Our second purchase was from a close American friend and was an outstanding transaction. People were waiting in line for that one and we were very lucky.

There are opportunities for better deals generally than in the US. Like the U.S. location, location, location will affect the property values. Mexico has plenty of ghetto property, but also has its Santa Fe, Beverly Hills, and Malibu Beach properties.

DO THEY REALLY HIKE UP THEIR PRICES TO PEOPLE IN AMERICA? - In a word – yes. It is unfair to generalize this complex question, but I have to say we experienced this and see a lot of it going on. This isn’t a one way street – I think the foreigners are preyed upon in real estate in the U.S. as well – but there is the ‘advantage’ of all the legalese (in this case only – MORE PROTECTION). Let the buyer beware – be patient and by all means DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but don’t tell anyone…keep reading and Stay Tuned!

It is the inhabitants and their personal touches and possessions that make a house a home.

Today a sofa, two large chairs, our bed, a bookshelf and a television with cabinet left the building. From any corner now you can see we are moving. There are boxes empty and full strewn about; some furniture on end and disassembled racks and shelves. The upper room is starting to echo as sound waves bounce from vacant wall to floor and ceiling – sans any furniture or stuff to impede their travel.

In one corner is a makeshift computer work station near a long table that now belongs to the new owners of Rancho Calypso. For the next three weeks we will be living in unsettled conditions with no wedding bed to retreat to after each adventurous moving day.

I think a house looks better with furniture rather than when empty. Here I am thinking this is a BIG room. In Mexico we will live in smaller places. I have pretty much lived by ‘if there is a space it should be filled’; and there will likely be overflow when one thinks like that. We are working towards being minimalists like most of our Mexican neighbors – trust me when I tell you we have a ways to go on that front.

Our favorite neighbor is the benefactor of many things we need to not own any longer. The big comfortable easy chair with the massage motor that crawls up and down your spine has found a new home. His college attending son will rest his head on our queen sized bed and they have a host of Rancho Calypso building materials, electronics, and other furniture.

I wanted to leave a lot of things I liked for buyers – thinking they liked this house with this stuff in it; they are coming from a small apartment and other such reasoning. But, Anita said no she thought it would be better not to leave things – I guess? Thankful recipients who want the stuff seems to be the ticket.

The truth is we have pigeon holed enough stuff down in New Mexico to maintain our packrat status. I am often reminded of that 1941 classic film “Citizen Kane.” At the end where they are going to tie up the Rosebud mystery the camera scans a huge storage facility with vast amounts of furniture, collectibles and building materials – most of which  never got beyond the point of being stored while under Charle Foster Kanes ownership.

Our parallel life moving to Mexico Blogging friends Paul and Nancy have reduced their earthly  footprint by a lot – Nancy actually moved all her music from CD to hard drive Ebaying off the originals and she scanned her photos parsing out the originals to her family – yikes the organization of it all. I really enjoy their Blog but damn if their efficient methods don’t regularly leave me riddle with guilt.

In merely three or four months Brenda and Roy went from springing out of the starting blocks to selling off everything including their home in Canada save what they could get in their car to start a new life South of the Border.

These shining examples of efficiency really make me look bad. We have been working on moving since 2005 – the plan to head to Mexico was born in 2001!

We will come back in the spring to clear out things Colleen and John have kindly allowed us to store in the upper loafing sheds of their property – the kindness of strangers…

A couple of years from now when people ask, “How did you do it?” I have my reply ready, “Don’t ask!” Stay Tuned!

The Spanish title of this entry literally means goods of the house – more to the point this is a list of items you want to bring into Mexico that can be submitted at the border.

From what I have read and been told about this process it is time consuming, a hassle and often expensive. Folks that have moved their entire household down to Mexico report that this menaje de casa process can cause extensive delays and expense at the border. Once you have your list it needs to be translated into Spanish. Rolly’s web site has a lot of good information on how to do this should you be so inclined.

While we haven’t moved a household’s worth of furniture and accoutrements to Mexico, we have managed to get quite a number of household items there including ladders, air compressor, lots of tools, bicycles, solar panels, side tables, shelving and even a big red Italian espresso maker. This next trip down we will bring a hefty load of stuff as we are leaving our home here in the US.

Our rationale has been as long as we look like tourists rather than part or full time Mexican residents what we bring into the country is less suspect. In other words they figure they are bringing it in for a visit and will subsequently take it back out.

On one occasion as we were heading down some 135 miles before Xico at Coasta Esmeralda we were stopped by the military ostensibly to check for drugs. On that occasion a gun toting Army boy asked me why I had a large ladder and a big floor jack strapped on to the top and back end of our camper. I explained that the ladder was needed to clean the tall camper and the jack – well this is a BIG one-ton Ford truck that requires a hefty jack for tire changes; to my credit there was a large spare wheel and tire just inside the door of the camper to support my claim.

Apparently accepting my quick on my feet explanation through Anita’s interpretation we were told to drive on with little to do. This was the only time we were questioned about what types of things we were bringing in.

On another occasion during a 20 kilometer beyond the border inspection a short, stocky little official found the idea of mounting up into the back of our TOTALLY STUFFED camper too daunting of task and with a somewhat bewildered look he sent us off.

To date I have not paid any official for looking the other way regarding our things of entry. I have paid a few traffic fine mordidas – but I am getting better at ignoring the policia when they motion me to pull over and have yet to be chased down after driving past their flailing arms motioning me to the side of the road. Of course this takes experience and some nerve to blatantly appear to ignore their gestures and command. I am now for hire as a wagon master into Mexico now by the way

We have thus far purposely avoided getting our FM3’s in order to be passing the border as tourists. One trip Anita did have her FM3 as we needed it to buy property in Veracruz, but I went in on an FMT (Tourist Visa) and we only showed my documentation on that entry.

If you haven’t experienced it, you may have heard of the red light/ green light process. At both airline entrance and automobile entry the Mexican government has a clever light system you must pass through. Should you get a red light you will be searched in some detail possibly in great detail? This is the luck of the draw kind of thing. Our luck has been good through numerous visits to Mexico we have never had the red light shine upon us.

Here I am not suggesting you pack the bong and rolling papers and any agricultural product to go with because this is an easy process. I suggest we have been lucky. It has been easier when traveling with Anita and Julian or even just Anita than when traveling alone – I guess the old hippy look I sport seems less threatening when I have the family along.

We have pulled trailers, hefted campers in the bed of our trucks and stacked and crammed things to a point of distraction without incident. This next trip we will be pulling a trailer with our big truck with a shell over the bed. We won’t be filled with trepidation as earlier trips, but we are going to be hauling items that will require some tall explaining should we get the dreaded red light.

This is going to happen in about a month so stay tuned for that report. I will be writing it on one of the three computer systems that will be going down and sending it over the satellite system with the dish that is going down as well as a BUNCH of other stuff. Stay Tuned!

Early Sunday morning we returned from a two day trip to New Mexico since you last heard from me. It was productive in the sense that we are lessening the load here at Rancho Calypso – this an absolute imperative in that our Ranch sale closes Thursday and then we have until September 15th to vacate.

We like the new buyers which is a good thing. When one gives up their place of residence it is tumultuous and fraught with emotion. Separation from base camp is nothing less than an adventure in life. Anita and I are adventurous types – always have been really. This is accentuated when one leaves their country of birth as well.

The new base camp for our US possessions from which we are having separation anxieties is Capitan, New Mexico. It has been mentioned here. Some years ago we had a failed attempt at contentment in Nogal, New Mexico. Nogal, a blip on any radar, lies between Ruidoso and Capitan (blips themselves really). In the late 90′s we bought 3 acres and began building. During that time period we also bought a small real adobe house lightly resting upon 4 lots right square in the middle of town (Capitan).

Essentially it was purchased for storage in that there are two garages on the property. The old adobe casa is not livable, but at the time I considered it might make a challenging restoration project at some point in the future – and it still may – but probably not for the adventurous Calypso couple.

What it remains as is a storage depot. It has been this through our living in Prescott, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Nogal, New Mexico; Pueblo, Colorado; and Xico, Veracruz, Mexico. The one constant throughout all that moving about has been the little place in Capitan.

We visited with George and Pearl. They are our friend’s and next door neighbors there in Capitan.

George is a black and white kind of a guy – retired Coast Guard. Pearl is a gem of an English woman; most appropriately named a gem of the sea – she fittingly being the wife of a Coast Guardsman . She is working on getting her US citizenship as we speak.

They are very sensible people, community minded and spirited – as most of our friends they are bit eclectic.

I have always imagined George as one day being mayor of Capitan. In the recent past he was a village councilman. Capitan is a charming small community of about 1500 people. It is at about 6400’ altitude and 12 miles north of Ruidoso. It is a mix of 60’s hippies, retired middle classers and West Texas cowboys and cowgirls – a real melting pot of conflicting life styles.

George, charming, mild mannered, retired Coast Guard infantryman, is really a stabilizing force in such a mishmash George goes by the book – which ever one is the rule of the time. It is comforting for us to know he is the northerly guard of our garages of possessions.

Friday we left Rancho Calypso with packed truck and loaded trailer to Capitan arriving there in the early evening. We opted for sleeping in the truck – not comfortable – in the future we will get the tent set up or dare we spend it – get a motel room. I could do an entire Blog entry asking WHY Ford in their infinite design wisdom affix seat belt receptacles in such a manner that they offend all that is holy when one reclines across the front seats of their forty thousand dollar plus BIG trucks.

We ran into Ruidoso in the little red Suzuki. There are no signs of a recession in Ruidoso – all the eateries were packed with patrons over flowing to those with libations waiting for more than an hour for tables. We had a drink at two restaurants and some hor doeuvres in the bars – a run into WalMart and back “home” to Capitan for the fitful nights sleep in the Ford.

Saturday we somewhat methodically unloaded the last vestiges of that which we can’t seem to let go of, placing the less immediately needed items towards the back and things we might want to see in the next couple years closer to the front where they might be more available.

I really get guilty when I read about how organized our friends from Washington are as they prepare for their move to Mexico. Someone wrote if you haven’t used or seen something in a year – get rid of it – would that we could adhere to that sage advice. I am going to try and get a handle on all this before I die. Stay Tuned!

I have always liked that Warren Zevon tune (he’s dead now ;-(

In the news the other day and continuing today it has been reported there is a huge number of AK47’s sent to Iraq by the U.S. that have gone missing. A total of 190,000 guns are missing.

What am I missing here? The L.A.W.Y.E.R.S now politicians, running this country have sent 190,000 G.U.N.S to Iraq paid for with our taxpayer M.O.N.E.Y only to have them lost – unaccounted for…?

Really yesterday I saw a news interview with a government official explaining that keeping track of all those guns is boring and therefore the infrastructure for accountability is not in place in Iraq.

Here I am thinking I know guys that own gun stores that are being run out of business by the “boring” red tape it takes to sell and own guns in the United States. I mean it is pretty obvious the government doesn’t want us to own guns here in the U.S. And yet they have managed to spend billions of dollars on AK47’s for the Iraqi military that have now disappeared presumably mostly ending up in the hands of Al Qaeda forces.

From a USA Today story posted this morning:

The U.S. government can’t account for thousands of weapons that were supposed to go to Iraqi security forces, raising the possibility that they ended up in the hands of insurgents and other militants, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Then on television news I hear about 190,000 guns missing – some 40% of the total sent to Iraq since the beginning of the US invasion.

How do you lose 190,000 of anything? One political pundit writes: “In a war fraught with problems, it probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise that 190,000 guns are unaccounted for in Iraq.

If this is accurate, it’s terribly disappointing to think that our troops may be defending themselves against our equipment.”

“It probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise…” I have to write that I am surprised, dismayed and mad as hell that this could happen. U.S. men and women are in Iraq supposedly to free these people, now they are being shot at by weapons paid for by American citizens and sent by the U.S. Government to Iraq – WTF!

The real irony here is that there is much more news about Lindsay Lohan today, “Lindsay Lohan has reportedly checked into the Cirque Lodge drug and alcohol treatment center in Sundance, Utah, according to a CBS News.” than news and subsequent outrage from the 190,000 missing weapons.

I am feeling like Mexico is a whole lot safer and saner place to live than the United States these days.

Now I’m hiding in Honduras
I’m a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The shit has hit the fan

Send lawyers, guns and money…
Warren Zevon

Stay Tuned!

Gordy is here in Colorado for a short visit on his way to Sturgis, South Dakota for the 67th Annual Sturgis Rally for Harley motorcycle riders. Gordy comes from Vancouver, Canada.

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My Harley riding roots go way back. Gordy pulled into town on his 1999 silver Harley Dyna. He has hair now – when we first met back in the 70’s he had hair to his waist; then meeting again in Puerto Escondido last February Gordo was pretty much sans hair – now he has let his silver hair grown some – perhaps to match his motorcycle? It has been a fun visit. He will be cruising towards Sturgis later on this afternoon.

Gordo’s rather surprise visit has put a slow down on the trip we planned this week to New Mexico. But he will help get a couple things in the truck that Anita and I can’t hike in ourselves. Having a Teamster go getter here helped move a couple of HEAVY items

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Gordy hit the road – we will miss him and keep tabs on the rest of his trip across America

We are less than two weeks to closing and 47 days to be out of the house. At the moment it all seems overwhelming but in the end we always seem to be able to pull it off. Stay Tuned!