flights – Ex-pats in Mexico

visas-2618 — *These visas are the first stage in a two-step process to gain permanent resident status in Mexico.*

Earlier today (Wednesday, Aug. 29), Leslie and I picked up our visas from the Mexican consulate here in Chicago. The folks there were very helpful and easy to work with. Thanks, Jorge, for all your assistance! Oh, sorry — I mean, gracias por todos, Jorge! Now we can purchase plane tickets for our flight to Guadalajara, probably on Oct. 31.

Once we arrive, we’ll have 30 days to appear at the immigration office in Chapala and complete the two-step process for our permanent resident cards. Those cards identify us as legal permanent residents of Mexico. We can come and go as we choose, and there’s no need to renew.

Last week, we sent in a deposit and signed a six-month lease on a casita in Ajijic. It’s new construction on Privada Independencia with three casitas. We got #1, which is closest to the street. We’re excited about moving into this place. There are two bedrooms, two baths, a nicely equipped kitchen, water filtration system, washer and dryer, and a mirador shared with the other casitas (remember, that’s an outdoor space on the roof, usually covered and with a view).

We’re looking forward to reconnecting with St. Andrew’s Anglican Church and the people we met there a year ago. Hope they still have our name tags! This is a vital church that does a lot of good work in the community, and we hope to find ways in which we can contribute.

Finally, Leslie had cataract surgery yesterday (Tuesday, Aug. 28) on her left eye and is really excited at how well she can see just a day after surgery. Her doctor is very pleased with her progress. Final step is a visit with an optometrist in about a month to see if she will need glasses for reading or driving. Hopefully not!

We’ll keep you posted as the time approaches for us to leave for our new home. The vagabond days are almost over!

I took this about an hour post-surgery. Looks weird to have only one eye dilated.

Leslie and I have arrived in San Miguel de Allende, about three hours north of Mexico City. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is about 6,200 feet above sea level and has a population of about 140,000 — perhaps 10,000 of whom are expats from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ireland and the U.K.

We plan to be here through the end of February. And it’s warm! Today (Sunday) the high will be about 75º F. Cool at night, but really pleasant during the day. Low humidity, and no rain for the next week at least.

*The neo-gothic La Parroquia San Miguel de Allende Arcangel is the parish church and the city’s emblem. It is one of the most photographed churches in Mexico.*

Getting here certainly wasn’t easy, and we made it more complicated by trying to save a few bucks on the airfare. First, we flew from Malta to Barcelona and stayed overnight to avoid getting up early and rushing around trying to make close connections. Good move.

From Barcelona, we endured an 11-hour flight to Bogota, Colombia, then another four hours to Mexico City. On the trans-Atlantic leg, we were on an Avianca Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner. First time on one of those. Neat plane, and an uneventful trip, but in hindsight it would have been better to spend a little more and go through Miami to Mexico City. You get what you pay for.

We arrived in Mexico City at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday and stayed over Wednesday night to become acclimated to this hemisphere. Got to SMA Thursday afternoon and settled into our apartment in the Centro area, which has cobblestone streets and narrow sidewalks with neat little shops and restaurants all along the street. We are just above Cafe Monet, owned and run by our landlady’s brother. Click on the link to see their site, then click on “Casa Monet Apartments” to see where we’re living for the next six weeks.

We’ve already visited the Central Mercado for some fruits and vegetables, and on Saturday we went to the Organic Fair just down the street. Judging from the quality of the produce, we’ll be going back there every Saturday. Especially since there are also food vendors selling all manner of tacos, enchiladas, empanadas and other Mexican food for lunch.

*One of the food vendors at the Organic Market. Looking forward to* proxima semana (next week)!

San Miguel has a vibrant arts scene, with tons of art galleries and almost-daily opportunities to see plays and attend concerts of all types. In fact, there’s a jazz festival Feb. 7-11.

Today we attended St. Paul’s Anglican Church, just a 10-minute walk down the main street. Neat old building and a good message from a retired Episcopal bishop — also a U.S. expat.

More next time on costs, but the big thing in that area is the peso-dollar exchange rate. The dollar is getting stronger by the day, and that helps in many ways. For example, in the Mexico City Airport Hilton I tipped a bellman 100 pesos — that’s about five bucks USD. And yesterday, we went to a chain supermarket here in SMA known locally as “Mega” for all the stuff we couldn’t get at the mercado. Put over 1,200 pesos on my debit card! Checked the bank account online today, and with the exchange rate USAA Bank gives us, we paid $57.18 for a basket full of food. Leslie is sure that at Jewell or Whole Paycheck it might have been double or even triple that amount.

As they say around here, hasta luego!

Tag: flights

It’s official!

Sunny San Miguel