Discover Lake Chapala Mexico

Our group of friends from Lake Chapala decided to explore the dancing and Music scene in Guadalajara, Mexico last Sunday night.

And since there are no shortage of great things to do In Guadalajara, we decided to rendezvous with some other fans of Latin dancing at Casino Veracruz a very popular dance club.

We met in Ajijic at about 5 PM and car pooled to the Historic district of Guadalajara. It took approximately one hour to drive from Lake Chapala to ‘el centro’ in GDL.

We parked right in front of Casino Veracruz on Calle Manzano but they didn’t open until 7 PM, so we had an hour to kill.

Across the street was a modest covered open air Mexican restaurant. So the five of us wandered across the street. It looked OK, so we sat down for a light, early dinner.

The food was good and very inexpensive and by the time we finished it was 7PM and time to check out the dance venue in side the Casino Veracruz Club.

So we sauntered back over, took a few pictures of us the ‘Ajijic Dancers’ and went inside and paid the incredibly cheap cover charge of only $40 pesos per person. At the current exchange rate of 14 Mexican Pesos to 1 US Dollar that was roughly $2.86 U.S. Such a deal!

Dancing with the Stars – A Guadalajara Night Out to Remember

Five of us joined our Championship dance instructor, Fernando Serna Villa and other dance students at the Casino Veracruz Guadalajara.

As we were lead to our table we were treated as if we were celebrities. At the table Fernando proudly introduced us to some of his Mexican dance students that go to his studio in Guadalajara.

As the 16 piece Latin band began playing the most incredible rhythms, the magic took over.  We were transformed into stars.  Swaying our bodies and moving our feet to the Latin beat while dancing Salsa, Cumbia, Cha Cha and more.

All the dancers at this club were incredible.  The way they moved to the music in their own unique ways gave a sense of freedom “to be who you are.”  That was all that was required to join this exclusive group of gifted artists.

During the evening Fernando asked the band to dedicate a song to his guests who came from Ajijic.  The Master of Ceremonies came to our table with microphone in hand to welcome us and introduce us to everyone.

Through out the evening we were personally welcomed by other dancers in such a gracious style as only the Mexican people can do.

And all the time Fernando stood glowing with pride as he looked upon all of us.  His Baby Boomer dance students, Gringo’s and Gringa’s dancing the night away with big grins and happy feet.

And why should we be surprised.  Since Fernando (who we call our Guru of living life to its fullest) has instilled a passion in us for dancing that has changed our lives.

Feeling the emotion from the dancers at Casino Veracruz could cause many of us to rethink our core values.  To honestly ask ourselves:  Are we dancing with life, or dragging our feet through life?

Click on the link for more pictures of dancers at Casino Veracruz.

Joel and I often ask ourselves:  What did we do and how did we live before Fernando entered our lives. To say Fernando has become a cherished friend, teacher of life and our dance mentor is just the tip of the iceberg.

For us, every Friday when Fernando comes to our home to teach us our dance lesson everything shifts.  As we head up to our roof top where we have our lesson our view of Lake Chapala looks even more incredible, the plants look greener, the flowers are bigger and the excitement begins to build.

By the time we finish our class and talk our talk (using English and Spanish dictionaries) and laugh our laughs we are on such a high that we know we will never stop dancing.

Is this the only reason we moved to Mexico….to dance?  It’s a good question.

Maybe yes.

So if you are visiting Lake Chapala and looking for something fun to do in Guadalajara on a Sunday night, or any night for that matter, check out Casino Veracruz. It’s a great time even if you don’t dance and want to people watch.

Casino Veracruz is located in the Historic district or ‘el centro’ in Guadalajara.

Calle Manzano # 486

Around the corner from Hotel Mison Carlton.

Between Calle Constituyentes and Calle Estandia 27

Phone: 333-613-4422 or 333-601-7863

Bailamos ! … Let’s Dance !

Also follow our adventures of living in Lake Chapalaon our Twitter page called ‘MejicoJoe’

Century 21 a familiar name and a huge national presence in television advertising has announced that they are pulling the plug on expensive advertising.

C-21 was an early pioneer in advertising on the tube in the 1970’s for real estate companies.

According to the company, leads generated from marketing online increased 237% and the cost per lead dropped 62%, as reported below.

As of January 2009, Century 21 a leader in Real Estate TV advertising will stop running television ads. Is this an end to Real Estate advertising for them? No, only as we have known it in the past. The marketing plan that ran campaigns nationwide on TV will move over to the online world.

With listing home inventories at an all time highs, it makes sense to use marketing dollars more wisely and get a better bang for the marketing buck.

Bottom line is the bottom line.

Century 21 like all leaders in their respective markets need to continually look for was to innovate and be more cost effective while continuing to deliver value to the marketplace.

If you are looking for more value for your retirement dollar, now might be the time to consider retirement in Mexico, Lake Chapala style.

Inman News provides the complete story here:
http://www.inman.com/news/2009/01/14/century-21-bids-adieu-tv-ads
.

Guadalajara Places to Eat – Died And Gone to Fish Taco Heaven

Ever wonder about the best places to dine while visiting Guadalajara, Mexico?

Well I stumbled across a blog post yesterday that made me start to salivate.

The Blog post title was, “Mexico Cooks! and “El Mural” at Taco Fish La Paz in Guadalajara” by
Cristina Potters.

From the photos and reviews it’s going to be my next meal when I’m in Guadalajara Avenida La Paz west of Las Nueve Esquinas.

Stay tuned for my own fish taco stand restaurant review.

Joe Chapala   
Casa Preciosa Ajijic Vacation Rental Home, Mexico

P.S. Looking for other Ajijic Travel and Vacation Ideas? Check back often for regular updates.

Jan. 27, 2009 ABC World News Tonight – Reports that several American retirees moving to Mexico assisted living care.

Jeffrey Kofman, reports on nursing home care in Mexico with this piece titled “Retirees Flock South of the Border for Savings; Mexico Offers Full-Time Assisted Living Developments at Half the Price”, read the full story.

Part of this ABC news story shows a San Miguel de Allende assisted living development being under construction. Since medical health care in Mexico is so much more affordable American retirees are moving south of the border.

Rents in nursing homes in Mexico are often 30% of what is the cost in comparable US facilities.

Here is a directory with lots of Mexico related links and resources…

Small business web directory by catagory and pages
Get listed under mexico vacation rental category. Also try at Beauty | Business | Construction | Education | Finance | Health | Insurance | Jobs | Medical | Real Estate | Travel

Casa Preciosa has a listing for Mexico Vacation Rentals in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico.

If you don’t know where Lake Chapala is in Mexico take a look at the Mexico Map Page and the Lake Chapala Map Page.

I saw a recent blog post by ‘Agent’ that I had to laugh at.

www.buymexicohomes.com/lake-chapala-mexico.html

 

I’m sorry ‘Agent’ but I’ve got to take you to task with your statement:

 

“watch the water level of the lake as the prices of real estate vary with the level of water in the lake. There is however, a lag of a year or two with the real estate prices following the level of water in the lake.”

 

This what I like to call real estate voodoo, statements that make no sense and can’t be supported by any rational argument.

 

By way of background, I have lived in Ajijic on the shores Lake
Chapala for 8 years and have been involved in over 200 real estate transactions.

 

Many misinformed realtors have made this statement and when challenged to explain in detail the logic of the statement they fail to do so.

 

It may have started with a Wall Street Journal article in September 2003 by Jim Carlton where a frustrated seller says, “The homeowners attribute the falloff in values mainly to the lake’s decline”.

 

When this article “Shrinking Lake in Mexico Threatens Future of Region” went to press, Lake Chapala’s water level was at 20 year high and the Real Estate market was strong, but the two are totally unrelated. Take a look: http://www.mindfully.org/Water/2003/Lake-Chapala-Mexico3sep03.htm

 

Today, the lake water level was at 30 year high and the Real Estate market soft.

 

There are a couple other erroneous references to lake level and Lake Chapala property values.

 

Wikipedia, where anyone can post their ‘opinion’  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chapala

“Real estate values fluctuate with the level of the Lake although there is some year or two lag time before lake levels are reflected in real estate prices.”

 

And answers.com where again it’s ‘opinion’. They state, “Real estate values fluctuate with the level of the Lake although there is some year or two lag time before lake levels are reflected in real estate prices.”

http://www.answers.com/topic/lake-chapala

 

Here Nationmaster Encyclopedia, http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Lake-Chapala makes this reference: “Real estate values fluctuate with the level of the Lake although there is some year or two lag time before lake levels are reflected in real estate prices.”

 

Notice, in many cases the same exact wording or almost the same exact wording. It appears that whatever the original source was, that others picked up this false information and reported it as fact.

 

Web surfer beware… everything reported on the net as fact is not and this is a great example.

 

So what drives real estate values in, Lake Chapala, Mexico?

 

Same as Rincon de Guayabitos or Los Angeles or Boston or Miami.

 

Supply and demand.

 

Right now, most real estate worldwide has more supply than demand for homes at the current prices.

 

Recently, there were reports in the US news that there was a small rise in home sales. The explanation given, first time buyers could now enter the market because real estate values had dropped to a point where it became affordable. Makes total sense no real estate voodoo in that reasoning.

 

What affects demand for Ajijic real estate?

 

The simple answer is economics for people wanting to retire or retired already.

 

If you are one of the many that have see you stock and retirement portfolios deduced by 27 – 51% in the last year. If you are one of the many who have a house that has lost value in the last year in the 21 – 36% range. Maybe you can’t sell because there is a glut of foreclosed homes for sale in your area that you’ll have to complete against to sell your home in the US.

 

For a fortunate few retirees, the stock market and housing values won’t impact their ability to buy a home in Lake Chapala, Mexico or purchase in Rincon de Guayabitos.

 

The current prices need to adjust to the market demand. I don’t believe that this has happened yet in Mexico or in the US.

Joe Chapala

Casa Preciosa Ajijic, Mexico
Retire in Ajijic Mexico

Hi ya all,

Today is the day I lost my Blogging virginity - My First Blog Post.

Stay tuned for future episodes.

Joe Chapala

Casa
Preciosa Ajijic, Mexico

Ajijic Vacation Rentals