Interview With John O'Halloran -- Lake Chapala
Q: What made you decide to
move to Mexico??
A: I was working overseas and looking for an early
retirement locale. My wife and I performed a systematic
search worldwide and within the USA for the ideal place.
We decided not just on Mexico, but specifically Lake
Chapala, for the following reasons: friendly and
interesting culture; English speaking expatriate
community; good year round weather; charming village life
near a big city (Guadalajara); wide variety of goods and
services; affordability; English language media such as
books, newspapers, and television; full Internet access;
manageable local language; easy air travel to the USA;
interesting geography; quality housing with affordable
utilities, taxes, upkeep, and domestic services.
Q: Did your immigration go smoothly?
A: Yes, our immigration went smoothly. We obtained FM-3
residency visas with work permits within the first month.
Duty free import of a large furniture shipment from
overseas was very quickly cleared and delivered intact.
All this was possible only because we had professional
Mexican assistance to expedite the formalities; these
services were well worth the modest expense.
Q: You mentioned that you got your work permit. Have you
worked at all since moving to mexico?
A: Yes, I worked in a real estate office for 5 months. I
mainly used office computers and did general support
tasks. In Mexican small towns, there is a shortage of
personnel skilled in the use of Personal Computers who
also are fluent in English. Thus it was not difficult to
get a work permit with the assistance of the well
established sponsor/employer and an expediter. I would
not generalize this to all of Mexico though; this might
be a situation somewhat unique to the Chapala area which
is "small town" but has a very active real
estate market with many English speaking clients.
Q: Describe your place of residence?
A: We own our village home. The house is of
Spanish/Mexican design and custom built to high
standards. Interior courtyard has 69 foot long covered
porch, many plants, and a fountain in the center. Design
is around interior spaces and affords full privacy. Rooms
are large with high bovida (brick arch) ceilings. There
are three bedrooms in the main house, a separate small
guest house, and also maid's quarters.
Q: How do you fill your time in Mexico?
A: Our time is spent on hobbies, reading, the Internet,
exploring local communities, and informal socializing.
There also are many local English speaking service,
mutual interest, and social organizations.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: For reasons of weather, affordability, goods and
services, the Guadalajara area is the best in Mexico for
year round expatriate living.
