Hola, and welcome to my blog! A blog. A blog? What is a blog even? The wine-driven rantings of an expat lawyer living the dream in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? I certainly hope not!
I do enjoy my wine and I am also known to rant and rave on subjects near and dear to my heart. What I really would hope to achieve through this blog, space, conversation, questions and answers, whatever you would like to call it, is to provide some insight to readers that might be considering doing what I did nearly 27 years ago: move to beautiful Puerto Vallarta.
I will be talking about living in Mexico, the restaurants, the activities and the people! I will be talking about ways to navigate some of the particularly interesting aspects of life in a foreign country and will encourage input from all of you on ways that you have been able to conquer these issues.
I live and I work in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I am a single woman, I live alone, I am safe, I am happy, I am neither old nor am I young (I HATE the term “middle-aged” – we have no idea when we are in the middle of our lives).
I moved to Puerto Vallarta in January of 1990 and have lived here full-time since then. I am a real estate attorney and a partner in a real estate company. I have, during my tenure in Mexico, worked as an English teacher, a nanny, a hotel manager, a translator and finally, after going to law school in Mexico, I am working as an attorney in Puerto Vallarta.
That sounds like a jumble of odd jobs but the motivating factor was always the ability to stay living in Mexico. I used to tell people that I would sing on the bus for tips before I would spend another winter in Chicago.
In the last 27 years the lifestyle in Puerto Vallarta has certainly changed. I could be an old codger-type and say, “Well, back in my day, we used to have to….” or one of those people that laments change: “There were no high-rise condominiums when I first moved to Mexico, I wish things had stayed the same.”
Things cannot stay the same. Ever. Anywhere. Sure, there are times when I have wistful memories of what Puerto Vallarta was like that many years ago, but I am also grateful for the things Vallarta can currently offer people that were not available when I first moved to this Pacific paradise.
Finally, the title of my blog is “These Three Walls.” When asked what I was going to call my blog, I was sitting, as I am now, in my living room looking out onto the ocean, the jungle and the mountains. My house is an older house, basically an apartment carved out of an older house, but it is my happy place, one of the most charming spots in all of downtown. I am on the same street where Elizabeth Taylor had her house and this is a neighborhood filled with history and happiness. My house has only three walls; the “fourth wall” is Puerto Vallarta itself!
Hasta pronto!
