68-year-old retiree pays $460 a month to live by a lake in Mexico: ‘I found the peace and tranquility I was looking for'

My mornings in the small village of San Antonio Tlayacapan, Mexico, are filled with birds. There's the soft cooing of doves, the chirping of kiskadees, and the iconic shrieking of roosters, which begins not at sunrise (go figure) but hours before. 

It's a far cry from Mazatlán, the city on Mexico's Pacific coast where I spent 18 years before moving inland. While there's so much I love about Mazatlán, the harsh reality is that the laid-back, mid-size beach town I'd moved to in 2006 is gone. 

Mazatlán has become a bustling resort city filled with tourists all year round. The once-quiet beaches are now lined with 20-story condo towers, and all the problems that tend to accompany rapid growth — like traffic, infrastructure issues, and noise — have become unfortunate facts of everyday life. 

Mazatlán changed so much that I didn't want to live there anymore. It was time for me to leave.

My friends were shocked and, truth be told, so was I. There wasn't anywhere else I'd thought about living — until I went to see a friend in Lake Chapala.

'Everything I need is within reach'

A friend in Lake Chapala, a seven-hour drive away from Mazatlán, invited me to visit. It seemed as good a place as any to begin my search for a new home. 

Part of the allure, for me, of the Lake Chapala area is that it's quite rural. I'd lived in a growing, bustling city for so long that I was yearning for more nature, less traffic and noise, and a simpler lifestyle. 

The main "highway" here — really just a two-lane street — is paved, but as soon as you turn off of it, you're on roads made of cobblestones or packed dirt. People have horses, goats, donkeys, cows, and chickens. It's not unusual to see men riding to work on horseback. The weather is often touted as "perfect," cool and pleasant most of the year. 

I could imagine settling here. But I told myself that if it was meant to be, I needed to find exactly what I wanted: a cute, two-bedroom, yellow house with a yard that I could afford. Though most listings I saw on real estate sites and Facebook groups were out of my budget, I ended up stumbling across the ideal place and rented it on the spot. 

A friend took over my Mazatlán apartment and bought all my furniture and appliances, which made the move a million times easier.  I packed only what I could fit in my car and made the drive inland to my new home in March 2024. 

San Antonio Tlayacapan, where I live now, is located between the bigger towns of Chapala and Ajijic, barely a 15-minute drive in either direction. Guadalajara — which has great medical care, an international airport, and all the conveniences and big-box stores you could want, including Home Depot and Costco — is less than an hour away. 

Everything I need is within reach. And in my new home in this smaller, slower town, I found the peace and tranquility I was looking for. 

Take a look inside my 'casita'

The casita, or cottage, I rented has a pretty, walled front yard with a gated parking space. I've planted a flower garden that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. I like to sit outside in the mornings with coffee.

The front door opens to the living room, separated from the kitchen by an island.

All the rooms are smaller than the ones in my apartment in Mazatlán, but they feel just right for me. 

My bedroom is spacious, with a nice built-in closet and two windows that provide lots of natural light. I'm thinking about painting the walls but haven't decided on a color yet.

I use the second, smaller bedroom as an office. 

Outside the kitchen is an enclosed patio, which I've filled with plants, a table for working and eating, and a washing machine.

I hang my laundry to dry on the patio or roof, which could easily be turned into a more usable space. If I stay another year, I may do that.

My rent is only 9,000 pesos a month, or about $460, and includes water. My electricity bill hovers around $12, 5G internet runs about $29, and my cell phone plan comes in at about $17 with free international calls. 

Life by the lake: 'Quite busy,' with lots of fresh, local food

I may be semi-retired, but my days are quite busy. My freelance work seems to be either feast or famine, and I'm currently working on two new books about expat living as well as offering consultations to help people navigate their journeys abroad.

When I can escape from the computer, I gravitate toward quiet activities: sharing a meal with friends, walking along the lake, exploring the area.

I like to cook and bake, and I can find many of the organic brands and products I prefer here, both imported and made locally. Asparagus, figs, and all sorts of berries — blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries — are inexpensive and plentiful. I can buy fresh milk from a dairy that's five minutes from my house. Huevos del rancho (farm-fresh eggs) cost about 5 pesos, or roughly a quarter each.

I mostly eat a plant-based diet, but sometimes I buy chicken, cut to order, from a local farm.

There's a Walmart and a Soriana grocery store nearby, but I prefer to shop at smaller local stores and at the many weekly outdoor markets. Prices are lower, produce is fresher, and it's always a good time. 

'I'm thankful,' and still looking ahead

At this point in my life, I think I needed the tranquility of my new home in San Antonio Tlayacapan. Every afternoon as the sun goes down, I'm thankful for the quiet of the approaching evening, so different from the 24/7 party atmosphere in Mazatlán. 

I'm still getting used to not having the ocean to jump into and clear my head. That may be what makes me move again, maybe to another Mexican beach town. 

My dream, though, is to live in Sicily or another spot in southern Italy part of the year, then a month or so with each of my kids and their families in the U.S., and the rest of the time in my "home base" in Mexico, wherever that ends up being.

Janet Blaser is a writer who has lived in Mexico since 2006. A former journalist in California, her work now focuses on expat living. Janet's first book, "Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats" is an Amazon bestseller. Follow Janet on Instagram and Facebook.

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