Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Goodbye Mexico!

I'm leaving Mexico after 15 years. We ended up retired here in 2007 after a couple years as full-time RVers. Bought our little casa, expanded it, added a guesthouse next door over the garage. We did spend large parts of the (very hot) summers back in Minnesota visiting the kids and grandkids, but they rarely came here.

It's atypical for an expat retirement: isolated neighborhood of gringos 10 miles north of a very poor, sleepy fishing village on the west coast of Sonora. Not much to do if you're not into fishing and beach/desert exploring. Which we were.

In 2007, we were among the youngest here. It started as a busy RV centric community. Frequent potlucks, fishing trips, happy hours, beachcombing, clamming. Ladies lunch out, thrift store shopping. 

The RV park closed. Our friends started dying. Some, like us, bought lots or homes here, more just quit coming. Nothing you couldn't foresee but it happened faster than I thought it would.

Ron and I have our own issues with health and aging. Upkeep on homes like these are a bit too physical for us. Having to hire help a lot more. Having to drive to Tucson for healthcare. 

Both Trump and Covid lost me most of my dwindling number of friends. 

I couldn't handle much more.

We bought a new manufactured home in Minnesota near the kids/grandkids/healthcare/services. Ron's taking me and the pets there to get us settled in, but he's not quite ready to call it quits here and plans to come back. Not me. 

There's not much I'll miss. Fresh shrimp, yes. No ice/snow, that desert and ocean smell, a couple of neighbors. But most everything else I loved has been gone for a while now.

I'll be sitting on my tiny porch during rainstorms muttering "Ah! We needed this."


New Manufactured Home. It will be light blue gray with black trim.