We are celebrating a year in Cabo as expats in Mexico this summer, so I wanted to take a little time to tell you about our experiences.
As you might expect, our first year just flew by! We began by driving the length of Baja from our home in Scottsdale, Arizona with our dog Cabo and had a blast seeing our new country from the road. It is a great drive and if you plan it well, it is truly worth doing. And, there are plenty of places to stay that accept dogs.
We had purchased our beautiful new condo earlier, so the first year was spent making it our own. My husband, Bill, is never without a project or two, the latest being a fire “wall” that he is building on our first-level courtyard. He is working with local craftspeople to make his vision a reality.
Right after moving in, I started a new career, working as a real estate advisor for Engel & Völkers Snell Real Estate in Los Cabos and also restarted my career coaching and mentoring advertising and marketing professionals in the States, online.
Not long after we moved in, tropical storm Lydia visited Cabo, a not infrequent event for this area. We were lucky and just had some water damage. Others we know were not so lucky.
Once we got into the swing of things down here, we made new friends, expats from the U.S. and Canada as well as locals. One of the great joys about being an expat in Mexico is the friends you make. We are far more social here in Cabo than we ever were in Scottsdale.
Knowing at least some Spanish is a key to happiness in Mexico, as we have learned. The more you know, the more integrated into the local community you become. We are learning Spanish slowly but surely. It is much more difficult as an adult, but something we feel compelled to do as full-time residents.
I could go on and on about our wonderful first year in Cabo, but bottom line, it has been more than the adventure we dreamed of. We love it here. We have learned some things the hard way through trial and error, some by default and some by just asking people. There is a fantastic expat community here always ready to answer questions on any topic at all. We have also found that the locals we have met have welcomed us with open arms.
As we enter our second year in Cabo, we have laid out goals that include continuing to explore the area. There is just so much to see and do within an hour’s drive from where we live. We also want to continue to work on learning Spanish, and on our golf games.
On the business side, I am focused on building my businesses. I especially love working with people to help make their Los Cabos real estate dreams come true. And, of course, we want to enjoy time with friends and family who make it down this way to visit.
Who said Mexico is just for retirees!
