I find the tea remedies to be actually useful. I mention the one for diarrhea in my book, but there are two others that I personally love because they work for me.

For insomnia:

Make yourself lettuce tea and drink just as you are heading to bed. I feel this wonderful wave of relaxation wash over my body when I drink it. (Note: I’ve only used leaf lettuce and don’t know if it works with iceberg).

For an uncomfortable tummy:

Basil tea. Ahhhhhh.

See, retiring in Mexico can improve your quality of life. (I know, you are thinking, “now I know why I’ve been sick so much. I’ve had avocados just before getting mad lately.”)

If you are like many Canadians who consider Mexico, you may also ask yourself how safe it is, especially after some unrelated and terrible things happened to Canadians in Mexico in the past year. I personally think that Mexico is a safe and fun place to visit and encourage you not to rule it out just as you wouldn’t avoid Toronto just becuase someone from your province was killed there this year.

John Youden’s article in the Ottowa Citizen on April 29, 2008 titled Don’t Take Risks helps to put the issues into perspective.  Writing from his current home in Puerto Vallarta, he says “I’m an Canadian ex-pat. I feel much safer walking the streets of Puerto Vallarta than I do the downtown streets of my old hometown of Vancouver!  You need to take into consideration the chance you may be taking or situation you are putting yourself in, no matter what country you are in.”  He goes on to explain that risky behavior is risky behavior no matter where you are and adds that it is foolish to take risks in a country other than one’s own. (Source: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/letters/story.html?id=94f3e3a9-a513-42e6-a08b-02acd54bf20d&k=33404)

While I cannot comment on the specific circumstances of any incidents involving Canadian citizens in Mexico, I can say that I agree with Youden. You should not be too afraid to travel in Mexico. The benefits of traveling to a country as different from Canada — and as vibrant as Mexico is, are many and are often hard to specify.

To be safe in Mexico, be smart. Don’t indulge in over consumption of alcohol, don’t participate in any illegal activities, don’t stay out alone late at night, and make wise decisions about where you go, when you go there, and what you eat. (By this last statement I don’t mean to imply that you should stick only to the touristy areas. Some of the best experiences in Mexico are to be had in the places frequented by Mexican tourists and I personally feel even safer in these areas because of the community of good people that surrounds me while I am there.)

Enjoy Mexico!

This peaked my curiousity and I’ve been trying to research the numbers of Canadians who actually retire in Mexico. So far all I could find was the statistic on Canadians who have visited Mexico in 2007 and vice versa. Canadians logged 1,019,000 visits to Mexico, spending 11,146,000 nights there. 230,000 Mexicans visited Canada in 2007 spending 4,212,000 nights.

source: Statistics Canada. http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/arts37a.htm?sdi=visits%20mexico

and

http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/arts38a.htm?sdi=mexico

Hello,

I have visited Cuernavaca with my children this past summer and we hope to return for a month this coming summer. I just discovered your website and am enjoying browsing through it, finding ideas for our adventures. One concern that my boys (10, 8, & 4 years old) have is that they are AVID readers–often reading a book or two in a single day–and they are so worried that they will run out of reading material if we are there for a month! I told them I would try to find out if there is some sort of library that might have books in English for them to borrow while we’re there. Do you know of anything like that? I’d appreciate any tips!

Thanks, Tricia Patton

Hello Patricia,
I’m glad you are enjoying my site and thank you for your note. It’s always good to know that people find it useful. Have you found my articles on places to visit throughout Morelos? Those might be of particular interest to you and your family.

Your boys have a good concern and they are in luck. There is an English book library created and managed by Newcomers Club. You can contact them for more information. http://www.clickoncuernavaca.com/newcomers/Newcomers.htm. There are also some book stores in Cuernavaca.

Enjoy your trip. It sounds like you are all going to enjoy it very much.

Sincerely, Julia

P.S. They might not have many books for young readers. Your littlest may have trouble finding books he likes. They can fill you in, though.

Thanks so much!! I’ll check with them about the books for preschoolers.  Malcolm (my youngest) is actually perfectly happy to re-read the same 8 books over and over and over and over, so it’s not quite as much of an issue as it is for his older brothers!

Thanks again, Tricia

When I visit the U.S. from Mexico I’m always struck by how “rich” everyone is. The poor people in the U.S. have it better than those in Mexico in so many ways — yet people complain all the time. There is way too much complaining going on in the U.S. And I don’t mean the poor people are the only ones complaining. The rich people are royal complainers. (It really gets to me when people who own a home and two cars complain about not having enough money!) [If you own a home and two cars and the payments are eating you up, then demand from your government a good public transportation system and smarter urban development so you can get rid of one of those cars. Victoria, B.C. provides a good example of how this can be done.]

It’s a shame that many of my readers are considering retiring in Mexico because they can’t afford to retire in their own country! People can’t afford health care in the U.S. We have poor people who need better schools and better opportunities. We have kids going into the military because it’s the only deal our government offers them. I hope my country figures out that the more ecologically minded we are, the better our lives will be. Meanwhile, I miss home, but I’m glad I’m missing home — if you can understand that.

It’s a bad idea to complain in blogs, but I couldn’t help myself: I’m American.

If you think you are unhappy, look at them.

[Oops. I don't have the photos anymore. If you want to see them, click here and scroll down a smidge.]

If you think your salary is low, how about her?

If you think you don’t have many friends…

When you feel like giving up, think of this man.

If you think you suffer in life, do you suffer as much as he does?

If you complain about your transport system, how about them?

If your society is unfair to you, how about her?

Enjoy life how it is and as it comes.

Things are worse for others and a lot better for us.

The traditional realm encompasses the setting — a field cultivated without the use of power tools, the Magueyes which have been grown there probably for centuries, the head strap Don José is using to carry his container, the small size of both of these Mexican men, their brown skin, and the way they are conversing (which is distinctly Mexican, but can only be observed in person). The modern realm encompasses the clothing they are wearing, their baseball caps, and the fact that my husband is using a rebozo to carry our son, which traditionally would be used only by women.

I just get such a kick out of this photo. When you retire in Mexico, it is fun to observe the richly-textured combination of modern and traditional elements that coexist side by side in every situation.

I was so pleased to see this topic in an article on a recent edition of expat exchange. It’s something that our family has dealt with from the flip side and I’ve often wanted to write something for my readers about it. It’s one aspect of retiring in Mexico that I wasn’t sure I wanted to endorse. When you retire in Mexico, you move far, far away from your family and friends. This can make it hard to be an active grandparent since children–especially the little ones, change so quickly. It is fun to have people visit you, though, and Mexico makes a great destination for family and friends.

Here’s that article: http://www.expatexchange.com/lib.cfm?networkID=159&articleID=3136&clk=ok

Just Kidding!

*Translation: Dry Palm Leaf About to Fall