I want to move to a warmer climate to escape the New England winter. Hopefully a place with an active community. Have you arrived at or do you have a favorite retirement destination.

I guess that I have arrived at my destination. I left New York years ago and am in New Mexico now. Every place you go has a problem. In the East, its winters with ice and snow (we still have a little here).
In New Mexico, it is driving winds, gusts to 60 MPH yesterday, have to go out and retrieve my possessions from the neighborhood today.
In Florida and Texas, humidity, humidity, humidity.
Where is perfect??? Where your heart is, I guess. I still miss New York for some reason, don't ask me why.

I can see that THis is going to be a busy place.

Life has given me lemons and I had to make lemonade. I can see that New Mexico has given you wind and I suppose you will to put up a windmill.

Your summers appear to be nice. I would have to give up walking on the beach. Winters look to be only a slight improvement in temperature over New England and it still gets below freezing. I suppose that you could say there is no humidity and its a dry cold.

We have some humidity on occasion, but it has been so dry here lately that we are practically in a drought. I really like the heat here in the summer. The warm season is around for a long time and there is not an awfully lot of winter cold and snow. When it does snow, it isn't like back east where you just make the best of it and get where you have to in any way that you can...here, they have 2 hour delays, or send you home from school or work early. They don't know how to deal with it as they do in the east.

I'd give almost anything to be able to walk on a beach again, see all the greenery in the summer, but I don't think that I'd give up NM.

Do you think that anyone else will join us or is everyone else here too young? I feel ancient.

Nice to meet you Smoky

I have been to Switzerland once in the summer. Beautiful country.

Playing shuffle board there in January would be interesting.

Welcome to the group. I retired, but went back to work part-time for awhile because I was just plain bored. However, at the moment, I'm not working as I have a few things going that prevent me from working.

Hi Conrad. Welcome. Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it. It would be a beautiful day here today if it weren't for the wind. It is 70. I'm going to brave it though. Have a nice day. Switzerland is beautiful I'm heard..rather be in the Bahamas tho.

Excuse me. I just looked at your profile for the first time today. I think you need to stay in Switzerland with all that facial hair. You must have suffered in the Bahamas.
Me, I don't have a beard and mustache, (yet), therefore I can go to the Bahamas. heh heh.

Please don't be offended...I'm just joking with you.

I often wondered what my winter face warmer would be good for in a hot climate.

I never thought of that.

Are you asking or looking to be asked? I'll do either.

Oldies?

Ahhhhh......... now I get it; once the most interesting thing in your life is talking about the pigging weather - then you're obviously an oldie!

Hiya, smoky - what's the weather like today?

You know that you are always welcome to come to Gozo and sit on the balconey with a quilt over your old bones, a bottle of wine to slurp from, and a very large ashtray which you can try and occasionaly not miss with your ash!

Indeed!

Just joined the site today and found this great group. Love the topic too ... most appropriate for me, at this time. I just moved, for the second time actually, from the Vancouver, Canada area to a small town near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

I was lucky enough to find a job here when I visited in '99, and stayed for five years. In '05, I was called back home due to a family illness, but made it my mission to retire here ... and I made it on New Year's Day '09!

My family seems to think I'm so very brave, just selling up and hopping a flight south with my doggie, but it seemed so natural for me. After all, I have, at best, 20 good years left and I intend to spend it the way *I* want to live. After working for 40-odd years, it's time to enjoy what I've worked for, yes?

You seem like a delightful group of people ... so happy to meet friends from all over the world! Gosh, wouldn't it be great for all of us to get together in Majorca and show "them young'uns" what having fun is all about???

Welcome mindlink

Talk about getting out of the box. Different country, different language, and different culture. You certainly have gotten away from winter weather. Your location is a place that never was on my radar screen. How are you going to survive without Walmart?

Well, Charley ... There's a WalMart, Sam's Club, Costco, and Mega, all within ten minutes of my little casita! I don't go to any of them if I can help it, preferring to spend my pesos in the smaller, local businesses. The personal service and warm smiles certainly make up for the lack of selection.

However, it's amazing what they DO have stuck behind the freshly baked bread on their shelves. Once, I found a dusty old statuette carved out of pareta wood and was told, when I brought it to the counter, that the storekeeper's grandfather had carved it. She sold it to me for 15 pesos (about $2 USD), and I found out later that the carver's work was now worth thousands! Not that I'd ever sell it, as it holds memories of a very pleasant experience and a friendship with the storekeeper which has lasted for years.

Sorry, got a bit off track there.

Charley ... I should have added a response to your initial question: Now that you know we have a WalMart, would you consider moving to Mexico? They're all over this country! LOL

I deserved the lol on the Walmart. From what I can find out about your location, its nice in the winter months. I will now ask, how are the summers?

Never considered Mexico as a place to move. I have relatives in San Diego and they stay out of the country. I met a guy there who was living in Mexico and working in San Diego during the day and he had his son kidnapped. Had to pay ransom to get him back. I have no way of verifying if other horror stories are true or not. Newspapers around here are not known for reporting on the positives of the country.

I have had friends from Boston take vacations in Cancun. No problem. Hot in summer so stay away during that season. No one talks of retiring there.

I am sure you have a different viewpoint considering your move.

Well, Charley, THE topic of conversation among the locals here is how the media in the U.S. and Canada has sensationalized and vastly over-exaggerated the problems with drug cartels. But the press tars the entire country with the same brush and certainly has frightened many of our friends and tourists unnecessarily. Personally, in the six years I've lived here, I've never, ever heard of anything like those stories happening here, or any of our bordering states.

That is not to say that it shouldn't be a concern for anyone living in a border town the U.S. or Mexico. The threat is very real there, as you describe your relatives' reaction. They are wise to stay away from Tijuana, just as anyone should spend as little time as possible around the border cities of El Paso / Ciudad Juarez (Texas). Of the 5300 murders committed in Mexico last year, only 1200 of those were committed outside those cities and were not drug related. Members of drug cartels, just like in the U.S. and Canada, tend to kill each other off, although, sadly, innocents are often caught in the crossfire. But consider Guadalajara, a city of six million, where their murder rate is about half of Vancouver, Canada's where less than one million reside.

A local writer said it best, so I'll refer you to her article, found about halfway down the page:

As to your question about the summers: Yes, here on the coast, summers can be brutal for newcomers, but the torrential rain (for only an hour each day at about supper time) cools us off for the night. Remember, though, that Mexico is a country with sub-tropical coastline and high mountains and plateaus, just like the U.S., which are much cooler. In fact, you can find any climate you want in this country except, perhaps, for consistently good skiing weather ... And you'll even find your beloved WalMart! (Just teasing!)