DUers in Mexico

[Mari333]

Im planning on going down to Mexico with my son to find out where there are communities that are worth moving to. Probably going down to see the communities in September, and moving out of Michigan soon.
Have the property about to go on the market.
You live there, let me know what places in Baja California are worth looking at, looking for a cheap easy cottage to rent , nothing fancy, I intend to live very very cheap.
Please give me any information you have.
Thanks
Mari333

[jukes]

1. Mari

need a cabana boy?



:evilgrin:

[Mari333]

2. heh no just need info

already have the puppy to drag down there. Trying to travel light.
=)

[mike_c]

3. In Baja....

Generally avoid the TJ to Ensenata corridor, e.g. Rosarita. Numerous "communities" there, close to the border, but it sucks.

South of Ensenata to San Quintin is mostly agricultural land and fairly densely populated, not very picturesque, although the Valle Santo Thomas is very nice.

Bahia de Los Angeles (LA bay) is a thriving, once tiny fishing village that has struck gringo fishing gold and now hosts an expat community. It's still a bit remote, however, in the sense that it's a long drive (hours) from LA bay for services not offered there.

Don't even consider Guerrero Negro, IMO.

My dream refuges in Baja are Mulege and San Ignacio. Mulege at least has an expat community-- I don't know whether San Ignacio does. Loreto also has a huge expat community-- it's a beautiful town at on the Sea of Cortez at the foot of the Sierra de la Gigante, but for myself, I'd live in Mulege and visit Loreto occasionally. Too many gringos. :)

I can't comment much about Santa Rosalia-- it's a beautiful town, right on the Gulf, but I've never spent more than an hour or two there while in transit.

Further south:

Ciudad Constitucion is an agricultural city without much charm, IMO. Ciudad Insurgentes is ok, but not much to recommend it. Further along the road is a wonderful little village called El Purisimo (sp) that I would certainly be interested in looking into, but I don't knkow whether there's an expat community there.

La Paz is a wonderful city with a thriving expat community, mostly retirees as far as I can tell. It has done a much better job of retaining its Mexican character than Rosarita, Ensenata, etc. If you don't want to strike out into a small community like Mulege, take a look at La Paz. La Paz has an international airport, as well.

Todos Santos also has an expat community-- it's a thriving village roughly half way between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas. Cabo itself, and the East Cape along the coast just north of Cabo have large expat communities, but again, the gringo resort influence is a bit too much for my taste.

Of course, if you REALLY want to drop off the map there are lots of little places tucked out into the desert or up in the mountains-- two that figure high on my fantasy list are San Juan de Commundo and San Francisquito-- but there are no means of support in places like that.

Hope this helps. If you want to travel in Baja a bit before committing yourself-- and I strongly recommend it-- check out the Vagabundos del Mar web site for books and inexpensive Mexican auto insurance. Baja is one of the last great places in North American IMO.

xoxo
Mike C.

on edit-- re-reading your original post, I'd say Mulege, Loreto, La Paz, and Todos Santos are likely your best bets. Loreto in particular caters to gringos and has rental agencies (as does La Paz, of course).