April 7, 2024 • 38 mins
Imagine swapping the intensity of military and IT consulting for the serene beaches of the Riviera Maya. That's exactly what our guest, Jose Galarza, did, and in this heartfelt chat, he unveils the tapestry of his life's new chapter. From embracing the local culture to discovering the joys of scuba diving, Jose's transition to expat life is a trove of insight for anyone dreaming of retirement abroad. He candidly shares both the hurdles and triumphs of adapting to a new community, offering a realistic glimpse into the adjustments and fresh passions that come with such a significant life change.
Retirees eyeing Mexico as their personal paradise will find Jose's journey enlightening. His thoughtful reflection on selecting the perfect spot to settle—balancing the draw of nearby US comforts with the desire for coastal living—paints a vivid picture of the strategic planning involved. When it comes to preparing for a life outside your native borders, financial foresight and healthcare considerations take center stage. Jose's story is an invaluable guide for aligning your retirement destination with your lifestyle aspirations, ensuring your golden years are as golden as the Mexican sunsets.
For those mesmerized by the silent dance of sea life, Jose's deep dive into the world of scuba diving will have you yearning for the weightlessness of underwater exploration. Beyond sharing the mental and physical benefits of this aquatic activity, he navigates listeners through the practicalities of certification and gear, ensuring even novices feel prepared to take the plunge. Wrapping up our conversation, we play a lighthearted round of 'Que Padre and Que Malo,' contrasting the highs and lows of expat life in Mexico, with community spirit shining as a beacon of the expatriate experience.
We are incredibly thankful for engagement and stories from our listeners, who have found their own sense of 'home' across the globe. Stay tuned as we continue to share the wisdom and wanderlust of those who've charted their unique international courses. We'd love to hear your comments and questions. Email them to expatslikeus@gmail.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
remember, life will not be the same as it is back
home.
Don't expect to find a placethat is the same as where you
came from.
That's not what you should belooking for, especially if
you're moving to another country.
Where you're going?
The idea or the advantage ofmoving to other countries is to
experience different cultures,lifestyles, foods, et cetera.
(00:23):
My point is, my thing is enjoythe ride, don't fight it, don't
try to change everything becauseyou're not going to change.
You really need to adapt andunderstand how things work in
the country that you move to.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome to Expats Like Us exploring the world of
US expat life in Mexico.
In each episode we'll meet newpeople and hear their personal
stories.
We'll also learn more about theexpat life and get a few tips
on everything from making yourmove to settling in and living
your dream.
Let's dive in.
Welcome to Expats Like Us.
(01:07):
We're your hosts Bob Busse andChris Kowalski.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Today we're thrilled to be talking to one of our
friends and fellow expats, JoseGalarza.
Jose and his wife Nancy movedto the Riviera Maya around 10
years ago.
Jose is here to share hisexperience in moving from his
home in the States to livingfull-time in Mexico and adapting
a new life in a new country.
As an avid diver, Jose is alsogoing to share some insight into
(01:30):
the most popular sports in thearea.
Hi, Jose, and welcome to ExpatsLike Us.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Hi guys.
Well, of course, thank you forhaving me on your podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah, thanks so much for joining us.
So tell us a little bit about,for background, your life in the
United States and what careeryou had before you retired.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, so I've had sort of an interesting
background, if you will.
My my prior life.
I went to university to PuertoRico and I went to ROTC.
There.
I graduated and uh, and so myfirst real job, if you will, was
in the army.
I was in the military and uh,interestingly enough, my, as I
said, my plans for a shortcareer I figured I'd go back to
(02:07):
Puerto Rico after four yearsturned into a 20 year career
which had us traveling all overthe world.
So I finally retired in 1973 atthe ripe old age of 41.
So of course at that point yougot to keep doing something, and
so I moved on to a career intechnology in the private sector
, while in the military I'd goneto graduate school.
(02:30):
I'd done graduate work at theUniversity of Southern
California and then later on Iwent to Vanderbilt and got a
master's degree there as well.
So I'd done some and my area offocus was really in
quantitative methods.
So it was sort of a fairly easy.
It was involved in technologyand whatnot.
So it was a fairly easytransition into private life.
(02:51):
Of course, the projects we didwere different from the military
.
So in the last stage of mycivilian life I spent 18 years
with the largest IT consultingfirm in the world and we were
helping clients all over theworld in implementing technology
.
And where was that at?
I was based in Dallas, theDallas area, but you know I
worked all over the world Europe, asia, latin America.
(03:12):
At one point I ran the ITregion for Latin America for
several years, from Mexico allthe way on down.
So yeah, so kind of, like Isaid, a varied career all over
the place, but yeah, that waskind of it in terms of career.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Okay, so what inspired you to retire when you
did Well, I know the militarythat's retiring at a pretty
young age.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Right?
Yes, of course, at 41, nobody'swell, I don't know too many
people who are really ready toretire at that point.
But in my most recent career inIT consulting, you know it was
really the work was long hours,constant deadlines, high stress.
It was sort of the nature ofthe business.
Spent a lot of time traveling,like I said, I traveled all over
the world but it kept me fromhome a lot.
(03:56):
And in fact when I was offeredthat position I told my wife,
nancy, are you ready for this?
You know, because I'm going tobe spending a lot of time away
from home and at that point inour lives our children were
growing.
I'd left the house, which leftNancy at home by herself.
As a military spouse she hadlearned to adapt.
I mean, that's kind of thenature of the military, because
I was always a lot of times awayfrom home.
(04:17):
But I felt like we needed abreak.
Things were really gettingreally stressful at work and it
was just like at that point wehad purchased our place here in
Mexico, thinking we would bemoving down here, and my
original plan was to workremotely while in Mexico Now,
(04:38):
back then, if you will,technology like having internet
at your home was not availableand we'd have to go to the
wellness center and whatnot, andso I mean that whole limited
availability of internetservices at the time.
I had to make a choice.
You know, I either delayed ormoved to Mexico because I simply
could not work for Mexico itwas just not an option or retire
and complete our move here.
(04:59):
And so you know, we looked atour finances Basically we were
doing okay at that point, thekids were gone and we were okay.
So you know, we looked at ourfinances basically we were doing
okay at that point, the kidswere gone and we were okay.
And so you know, the choicebecame obvious, like we either
continue to live in the US orcome down here and just kind of
enjoy life here and just pursuesome other.
So that was kind of how weended up down here.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Okay, and what attracted you to Mexico
specifically and this area andthis area?
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yeah, you know it's interesting.
There are a number of factorsand you know, when we started
talking about where to live andretire, we looked at a number of
different options, including,you know, the obvious choices
that people look at.
You know, Panama, Costa Rica,Mexico and other parts of Latin
America, but this was at the topof our list.
You know I had traveled a lotfor business in Mexico so I had
(05:45):
some familiarity as divers.
We had previously traveled toCozumel here I had never really
come down to Tulum.
This was kind of new to mebecause my air focus was sort of
different, but we had somefamiliarity with the area.
But when we started narrowingour options, Mexico's close
proximity to the US reallybecame a factor.
(06:06):
And the ease of travel again,we were living in Dallas at the
time and the fact that you couldcatch a flight.
You know, two hours, 15 minutes.
You know we'd always likedEurope, you know.
So that was one of the placeswe had considered, but that was
so much more difficult forfriends and family to visit
there.
There, uh, versus versus mexico, and you know ultimately also
(06:26):
the the language was wascertainly a factor.
You know the fact that you knowwe're uh native speaking, you
know, uh, spanish, and so it waseasy, that whole adaptation for
us to move to mexico.
So here we are so.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
So why uh king town aro?
Why not some of the other areas?
Had you explored that, or isthis your Right.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So we had, we thought so.
Again, one of the things isbeing close to the beach.
That was a factor and we'dactually thought we would move
to Medioc because we reallyliked that whole place, whole
place.
And even though we hadknowledge of the area and again,
(07:08):
I'd been diving in this areabefore we hadn't it wasn't
really like.
This area wasn't really at thetop of our list, interestingly
enough.
But we came down here for aninvestment property, we
purchased some property here andwe came down to close on that
and we sat in on a presentationfrom the developer of Tao and we
didn't buy at the time, but wepurchased our investment
(07:28):
property but didn't buy here.
And at that time this was purejungle.
There was nothing here, it wasall on paper, there was nothing,
it was just trees.
But we went back home and Nancyand I sat down and said look,
let's look at the options thatare before us and see what do we
want to do.
And so, like several weekslater, after we got back home,
we said you know, this reallyfeels right.
(07:49):
You know, we'd walked the sortof Nancy got the vibe, so to
speak, and we really liked thearea and so we called the
contact person we had for thedeveloper and said, yeah, okay,
we're in, sent our deposit andso forth, and you know, the rest
is history, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Jose Galarza, in your opinion, what are some of the
most important things peopleshould think about before making
such a move, moving to Mexico?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Boy, that's a.
You know, there are lots ofthings yeah that could go all
day.
Yeah, right, exactly, you know.
The point is the list isdifferent for everyone.
Everybody has their ownpriorities and so, really, you
know a lot of things, somethings to think about, but you
really need to think about foryourself.
You know, I would say to peopledon't think about what somebody
(08:48):
else likes, because you reallyhave to focus on the things that
are going to keep youinterested, and so you really
need to lay out, and, like me,what me and my wife did, we just
really laid it all out andwrote it down.
Hey, pros and cons, for you know, of course I'm more methodical
and a lot of that stuff with theengineering background, but the
but you choose fits in withyour retirement plans.
As an example, if you're not abeach person, then maybe a
(09:09):
location where the majority ofthe activities are centered
around that, or not.
For you, some questions youneed to ask are you interested
in volunteering or are theresome opportunities in the
community?
Staying at home all day soundsgood play golf, fishing, but at
some point, you know, or there'ssome opportunities in the
community Staying at home allday, you know sounds good play
golf fishing, but at some point.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know, yeah, you kind of you can't do it forever,
right?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
You kind of get tired of that so you have to look at
other options.
The other thing is, I wouldsuggest people is, you know,
look at your finances right,especially in these times and
for those of us who live inMexico now who've seen our US
dollar deteriorate.
You know, don't stretch.
You know, I know it's good tohave stretch goals, but you need
to be reasonable when you andfinances is a very important
(09:52):
part and you know the area thatwe live in here, which is really
tourism focused, is going to bemore expensive than other parts
of Mexico.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
And so you know, I've heard people, just it's.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Mexico.
It doesn't mean that the costof living is going to be low and
I think we're.
We're living that and thenwe're getting hit with, you know
, inflation and the and thedollar devaluation.
It's not an officialdevaluation, but but,
effectively, where our, ourday-to-day living costs, uh,
cost of living, have gone up.
Uh, you know, moving up, movingto another country is a big
deal and things are not going tobe what we're used to back home
(10:31):
, wherever that may be.
So before you make a decision tomove someplace, make sure you
spend some time living therefirst, rent a place for a few
months or a year ideally rightand figure out if that's really
where you want to live.
Remember, life will not be thesame as it is back home.
Don't expect to find a placethat is the same as where you
(10:52):
came from.
That's not what you should belooking for, especially if
you're moving to another country.
The idea or the advantage ofmoving to other countries is to
experience different cultures,lifestyles, foods, et cetera.
My point is, my thing is enjoythe ride, don't fight it, don't
try to change everything,because you're not going to
(11:15):
change.
You really need to adapt andunderstand how things work in
the country that you move to andnot attempt to make it.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
We see examples of that a lot.
We've known a few people thatmove down here are going to
retire here forever andsomething's not right.
They can't change it andthey're on a plane back to the
state that's right exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
It's unrealistic expectations that people don't
really again like, even thoughwe were familiar my wife and I
were familiar with Mexico westill had never lived here and
so we'd vacation there.
It's very different when youvacation in a place versus
living there, and until you dothat, there are a lot of things
you know, sometimes something asbasic as going to the grocery
store or opening a bank accountand so forth, which is certainly
(11:57):
frustrating here.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
A lot of people think it's American, cheap, you know.
It's going to be the exact same, just cheap.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Precisely, precisely, yeah, anything like that, it's
not.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, we've had that experience.
We've both had that experiencealong here, moving with our
wives and everything, and yeah,it's a different thing.
But those that adapt can find avery worthwhile life down here,
a very rewarding life down here.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Absolutely Patience.
Yeah, we all learn patience.
My wife has a saying that saysin Spanish paciencia y fe
patience and faith.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
That's really the mantra that she's like when
things start getting a littlerough being in the military.
I'm sure you knew patience.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yes, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
One of the things that I tell people when they
talk about moving to Mexico.
What would I do differently?
I would start learning Spanishway earlier than I actually did.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yeah, you know, people just need to make an
effort, because when you go toplaces and even if you don't,
you're not fluent just the factthat you make the effort you're
going to be accepted much moreeasily than if you just go walk
in and do you speak English.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
That's really not the optimal way, not the way to
introduce yourself to the persongiving you your car license.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yeah right, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
So what sort of unexpected things that perhaps
surprised you during your andafter your move.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
You know, for the most part I haven't been
familiar with Mexico and haven'tspent a lot of time here on
business and traveling.
There were not too manysurprises and, and you know, for
us coming from from Puerto Rico, we found that there were a lot
of similarities in terms of thebureaucracy in Mexico I think
that's something we inheritedfrom the Spaniards or whatever
(13:38):
but there really were not a lot,though I mean there were
certainly some things.
I know that one of the shockfactors, if you will, is when we
purchase the home and all of asudden we go do our closing.
You get this sticker shock withclosing costs.
In the US You're used to muchmore reasonable, uh, and here
it's this big unknown and youknow, or like you know, you take
(13:59):
possession of a property andyou don't have title.
I mean, it's just things aredone differently here and that's
something that you really haveto, uh, have to understand.
But you know, I I think we were, for the most part, we were
well prepared and again, uh, youknow, having come from Puerto
Rico, I think the way things aredone is fairly similar to
Mexico.
(14:19):
There are certainly a lot ofdifferences, but for us it
wasn't the big shock that it isfor other people.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Any advice that you would have for people just
starting to think aboutretirement and moving to a
foreign country?
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, no, absolutely Don't jump into your decision
lightly.
You know, do a complete likefinancial inventory, especially
like younger folks that don'thave Social Security Medicare.
You know, health care in Mexicois inexpensive compared to the
US.
Absolutely, I mean, we do payout of pocket to see our primary
care physician, but you reallyneed to be prepared for those
(14:55):
unexpected expenses if you endup in the hospital for some
reason.
I mean, you know, for those ofus as we get older, you know,
the availability of health careis certainly a big concern.
And, again, one of theadvantages that we had is, with
me being former military, I hadaccess to the benefits, benefits
of military healthcare that youknow, even if I had to pay some
(15:17):
amount out of pocket, you know,I could get through the,
through the military healthcaresystem what they call TRICARE
would, uh, would help with thoseexpenses.
But you know that that, to me,that's one of the one of the big
, the big things.
Uh, you know, start looking atlocations, different locations,
early, and if you're like westarted thinking about
retirement years before weactually, you know, took the
(15:37):
leap, and so think about whatare the things.
Back to what I mentionedearlier.
You know what interests you,what do you like you know
culturally, the food, the music,I mean all of those things,
because you're going to be, youknow, living sort of surrounded
completely by that.
If that's something that youknow, if you don't like certain
(15:59):
things, don't expect that you'regoing to find exactly what you
had back home, because you'regoing to have to deal with
what's available.
So really do your researchbefore you make a decision to
move.
And you know again, as wementioned earlier, right, you
know, take extended vacations tothe areas on your list, you
know, sort of try them outbefore you make that decision.
Don't just jump into something.
You go to a sales pitch and itlooks amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
And all of a sudden you decide You're going to make
a ton of money off this placeuntil you move here, and then
you can live here.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
I've heard that so many times.
And some people who are nolonger here, that thought they
were going to pay for the housewith all the money they were
going to make.
Pay for the house with with allthe money that we're going to
make by renting it and it's just, you need to be realistic and I
think one of the challengesthat people have is simply they,
they have unrealisticexpectations when they, when
they make they, they have to sitdown and really think through
all of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I think a lot of people don't think beyond
retirement.
You know, for that I kind of amguilty of that myself.
I thought, okay, this is goingto be my retirement day, I can't
wait.
I'm entirely focused on that,without thinking beyond that a
whole lot, you know other thanmoving to Mexico yeah no
absolutely Then everything'sgoing to fall in place.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Well, you know there are going to be some bumps along
the way, but if you've actuallythought through a lot of stuff,
it's not going to be as painful.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
So one of the things Chris and I have both learned
when we retired, it's theimportance of physical and
mental activity.
What sort of things do you doto stay physically and mentally
active?
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Well, you know, again , as a diver, I swim as much as
I can.
That's really the big thing.
Take walks.
My knees and ankles andeverything are kind of shot
after so many years, especiallyin the military.
They've certainly changed howthey do exercise back then.
So really long walks, youreally want to keep active.
I like to read, but sitting onthe couch and watching TV is
(17:42):
just really not very healthy,not what you need to do.
But I dive as often as I canand so diving is kind of
interesting because it can bestrenuous exercise.
When you're swimming, like inthis area, you see a lot of
currents and whatnot, but youdon't have the stress on your
body and on the joints.
Water is great for people withbad joints because you don't
(18:05):
really have to deal with all ofthat stress.
In terms of staying mentallyactive, we've been engaged from
the beginning in terms of ourhomeowner association and
getting all of that started up,that painful process for several
years, and other communityactivities, like originally we
were involved with organizationsin Tulum we had a community in
(18:27):
an area called Koba.
Out there it's called Yakshay.
We're a small school we'responsoring.
So really the point is getinvolved.
Now you know, of course, withus it was a little bit easier
because of the language and wehad that advantage, but you
don't really need to speak thelanguage to volunteer.
You know there are really a lotof opportunities, but you need
(18:49):
to do something you know inorder to stay active and just
keep your mind engaged.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Yeah, Yep, I think we've all found that out and I,
you know that's.
That's probably my one piece ofadvice to people thinking about
moving down here is think abouthow you're going to stay active
.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
You know how are you going to spend every day.
Yeah Right, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Catching up on all the Netflix series is really not
.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah, after a couple months, that gets old.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Okay, we're going to take another break here on
(19:40):
Expats Like Us talkingretirement in Mexico and all of
the things that go along withthat.
Jose, we know you lead a veryactive life in retirement and
we're talking about being anavid scuba diver.
How did you first becomeinterested in scuba diving?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Well, you know, growing up in Puerto Rico, the
beach was part of our life.
It's sort of what you did on aregular basis and in fact at one
time I thought I would studymarine biology.
So it's always been an interestof mine.
But you know, that interest wasalways with me.
So about 30 years ago, while Iwas still in the military and we
were living in Texas, me and mywife decided to, you know, sort
(20:18):
of let's do this and becomecertified.
Now, certainly, gettingcertified in Texas in a lake is
quite different, where you canbarely see out in front of you.
But you know, that was theopportunity we had and we
traveled to Puerto Rico and hereto Mexico and stuff to dive, to
Puerto Rico and here to Mexicoand stuff to dive.
But you know, in fact, when,when I was looking at a place to
retire, uh, the options fordiving were absolutely a major
(20:38):
consideration, because that'ssomething that that we love to
do.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Well, in this area of Riviera Maya, this is some of
the best diving on the planet.
Yeah, no absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
You know you've got the great Barrier Reef in
Australia and the second largestBarrier Reef the world is is
right here.
So, uh, I mean it's the divinghere is is amazing and it's just
really yeah so what are thephysical requirements?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
and I mean, I assume there's some mental requirements
too I mean as far as not beingclaustrophobic and right yeah,
yeah.
So tell us what's required tobecome a scuba diver?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, I mean the thing is, there are really not
many requirements but, as yousaid, sort of being of sound
mind is very important.
When you're diving you'rereally in another world and,
while exciting, it can also bevery stressful If you're
claustrophobic.
I mean, that's really thecommon problem that people have
when they go underwater.
They just kind of aresurrounded and they they look up
(21:34):
and they've gotten, you know,30, 40 feet of water above them
or more Right, and so it justkind of freaks you out, so to
speak.
So you really you got to makesure that you're able to relax.
You know that's kind of the tobe a successful diver you need
to to really have that right themindset.
But in terms of the physicalrequirements they're really not
terribly demanding.
There are some things like youneed to demonstrate some basic
(21:56):
water skills.
They talk about swim 200 meterswith no time limit, just go in
a pool and just take as long asyou want and swim back and forth
, float and tread water forabout 10 minutes, and really
those are some of the basic.
The whole idea is that youreally need to be comfortable in
the water.
These are, if you will, basicsurvival skills, so to speak.
(22:16):
If you're out there and all ofa sudden you get some current
that takes you off.
You really need to be able tostay, so what we would call an
unplanned situation, that you'reable to be safe.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
So, jose, what do you find rewarding about scuba
diving?
For someone who's not a diver,maybe describe what it looks and
feels like underwater yeah,well, you know, to sum it up,
it's just an entirely differentworld.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Uh, underwater it's, it's, it's beautiful, it's, it's
exciting, it's relaxing.
You know, you're just kind offloating in there.
There's so much to see and andit's so beautiful you're, you're
just surrounded by by the reef,by fish, all kinds of species.
You know the types of fish.
You know I've always enjoyedaquariums and I've owned them,
and so you I I always tellpeople think of having, think of
(23:05):
it as having your own hugeaquarium.
Uh, and you're just, you know,every day you get to see
something different, because youknow things change uh in there,
so change in there.
So that's kind of the experiencethat you have While diving.
The other thing is youexperience weightlessness, right
, you're underwater and justreally kind of floating on air,
so to speak, and your aches andpains disappear, basically
(23:28):
because you're really not.
In a sense it can be a littlebit strenuous, but you're really
not putting a lot of stress onyour joints and whatnot, so
really you're just enjoyingeverything around you.
I've always said that it's theleast expensive and most
effective therapy that you canbuy, oh, I bet, when I was
(23:51):
working, when things would getreally stressed, I'd tell them
look, we've got to go someplacewhere I can just go diving.
I was like, I don't need toseek counseling or anything like
that.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I just need to go on a dive, I just need some time
underwater.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
She may not agree right.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Fortunately my wife did agree with that, so she was
always very good about it.
So does Nancy dive too?
Well, you know, nancy wascertified but she's had uh
problems with hers and one ofthe things because, just like,
when you go on a plane, thepressure will uh will cause uh
issues with yours and whenyou're diving it's the same
thing.
And so she hasn't been divingfor years because of because of
(24:28):
that problem.
But she was, we were bothcertified at the same time, but
then I continued diving becauseof the issues that she had.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
So how often do you go diving around here, you know?
Speaker 1 (24:39):
the advantage is like you're so close to everything.
But I say I dive as often as Ican, but not as often as I like.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
So you know, like we have an arrangement with the
local dive center, Alcamel DiveCenter, for the folks in Tower
we get a special price and yougo out there kind of spur of the
moment and you're like hereit's really good.
But you know, we actually liketo go to Cozumel because it's a
whole different world out there,and I try to go about once a
month to Cozumel and then inbetween just kind of go some
(25:09):
local dives here.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Okay, so what's the difference between right off the
shore here and Cozumel?
What's the main?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
differences.
You know, Cozumel is a muchhealthier reef and there's so
much more to see over there thanwhat you're going to see here.
And unfortunately, this area onthis side, because of the some
would call the excessive tourism, has really done a lot of
damage to the reef, and so,while it's still amazing diving,
(25:36):
this is one of those thingswhere you see people that come
from other places and they'rediving in Acomamal and you're
like, yeah, this is okay.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
And they're like this is freaking amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
So it's a matter of perspective and I've talked to
people who dove in Thailand andIndonesia and it's like so much
different.
So it's really it's a relativething.
It's certainly much better herein Akamal than many other
places that you could go, butyou know, when you go over to
the island of Cozumel it justkind of takes it up a notch,
just a different world than here?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So what's the cost to learn howto dive?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
So I mean it varies, but roughly speaking it's around
$400 to $500 US for that and,depending on whether you do the
course, there's some optionsthese days to do part of the
course online and then youalways have to do your actual
dives, have to do them in person.
They include, I think it's, twoor four dives that are part of
that certification process andyou know.
(26:34):
Beyond that.
It's just really a lot ofinstruction because you really
have to just become familiarwith all of the equipment that
you're going to use for diving,and so even when you do the
online courses, it teaches allthat, but until you actually
practice it, put it intopractice.
You're really not.
You know, full course if youreally want to go full bore on
it.
A lot of people come down hereand do vacation.
They do it in about three orfour days and in terms of like
getting started, you reallydon't need much Just a mask and
(26:56):
fins, really, and you couldalways rent those.
But you know that's somethingthat you really want, want it to
fit properly for you and Idon't like the idea of using
somebody else's mask on that.
But you know, beyond that,everything else that, that, uh,
that you use, you can, you canrent it.
And so you know, once youbecome, you know, complete your
(27:18):
certification and start divingon a regular basis and you can
decide what are the things thatyou want to invest in.
I mean, ultimately, if you'rediving regularly, you really
want to get your own equipmentbecause you get familiar with
there are always some nuancesbetween different you know
brands or like your called BCD,your, your vest that you use,
and so it's always best to haveyour own.
(27:38):
But but you know the cost cancertainly add up, but you don't.
Really, if you're not divingregularly, it really doesn't
make sense to make that, to makethat investment.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I always think of it when I see the groups in Akamal
going snorkeling with theturtles and stuff.
How many mouths have beenwrapped around that?
Oh right, exactly.
I won't, I won't use a snorkelthat somebody else is.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
It's just like oh my God, I don't care how much
they've disinfected that darnthing I'm not putting that in
there.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
There's been a lot of people use that snorkel.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yes, absolutely.
So what advice would you havefor someone who's thinking about
maybe trying out diving, butreally hasn't tried it?
Where do they start?
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah, the nice thing is that a lot of these dive
centers have a familiarizationclass right.
They'll do sort of an intro andwhat they do.
There is just some basicinstruction on the equipment and
how to use it.
You're going to have aregulator that you're breathing
through.
You've got your vest that youneed to inflate and whatnot as
you're going through that wholeprocess.
But the idea is to get youcomfortable with breathing
(28:38):
underwater.
That's really the big thing thatpeople just kind of freak out,
and so that regulator that youput in your mouth that's gonna
help you breathe.
You've got a tank on your back,and so these familiarization
courses are designed for peopleas I've never done this before,
not ready to commit to a fullcourse, but I really want to see
what it's about and so what,what the dive shops will
generally do again, I said it'sit's roughly around $100, $, $90
(29:02):
, $100.
And you do the intro course,which in many cases it's two
tanks.
You go two immersions, you goin twice and then if you decide,
wow, this is something I reallywant to do and become certified
, most of the shops will thenapply that $100 to your
certification course.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
So do you do this like in a swimming pool, or do
you go right out into the ocean?
Speaker 1 (29:21):
No, you really need to here.
They do it in the ocean, rightBack in the States.
They'll do some of that, butyou know you'll have swimming
pools that are maybe 15 footdeep.
It's like what we did, ours,but you know that whole
formalization and they don't govery deep, but probably about 30
to 40 deep.
It's a sort of what we'd call ashallow immersion.
But that's really kind of theget the experience, and so you
(29:41):
really, I think in a pool youlearn how to use your equipment,
but that whole experience ofgetting in the water, in the
water Right.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah right.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
And just you look up and you're surrounded by this
whole thing and you really needto do that, right.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
So that's a lot about scuba diving and it sounds like
fun and I would like to try itsomeday, but I feel a little
claustrophobic.
When I put on a mask and allintro course once we were in
Hawaii and he decided he wentdown once and he said that's it,
I'm done, I'm done.
I'll be in the parking lot.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Yeah, wait up in the boat.
But you know you really need todo that to really understand
sort of and if you'reclaustrophobic, that's you know.
The whole idea is just relaxwhen you're all there.
That's always how I tell people, just like, don't stress out.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah, I'd love to try it too.
I just have too many otherhobbies right now that.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
I don't think I have the time to do it.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
What advice would you have for people considering
retirement in Mexico and whatare some important things they
should think about before theymake the move?
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, you know, chris , it's some of the things we've
we've already discussed.
You know, try it out beforemaking the leap.
Do your best.
You know, like what youmentioned earlier, bob, learn
some spanish or whatever.
The language is right.
You know, whether it's mexicoor portugal or whatever that may
be, make an attempt to to learnsome of the language.
A life is going to be mucheasier if you make an effort to
learn the language and theculture.
You know a lot of people willgo and move into these places,
(31:21):
like what we live in here.
Most are expats from the US orCanada and they don't go beyond
that.
You're really missing a hugeopportunity.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Kind of the point of moving yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Why don't you stay wherever you are?
The other thing I think isimportant don't stress over this
small stuff.
And guess what?
It's all small stuff, exactly,exactly.
That people just make like wementioned earlier.
It's like they'll come here andall of a sudden they deal with
some obstacles or whatever, andthey pack it all up and they're
(31:52):
gone.
They really need to relax andenjoy the ride.
As I mentioned earlier, you knowdealing with government
agencies can be very frustratingin a foreign country.
You know dealing with governmentagencies can be very
frustrating in a foreign country, you know, and it's stressful
and I get it right.
But you know you have to adapt,you know roll with the punches,
so to speak, because otherwiseyou're not, you're not going to
survive, and you know, do not Irepeat, do not expect things to
(32:13):
work as they do back home.
It's just not the whether it'slosing power without warning
that we deal with here or havingto spend hours at the bank to
just you know, whatever it isyou want to get done, it's not
the same.
You know one of thefrustrations for me and I've
kind of gotten it like I was soused to paying all my bills
online back in the US and Ifinally got to the point where I
(32:34):
pay most of my bills online now, but it's not a simple process
like what we do in the US andit's just something you need to
recognize and just don't stressover it, just don't you know, it
does seem to me that that sortof thing like paying bills
online has become much moreprevalent around here than even
when we moved here three yearsago.
(32:54):
No, absolutely.
You know to give credit to the.
You know whether it's the powercompany or the water company.
They've made that whole process.
Or even, like you know, forthose of when we paid our taxes
this past year did it online.
Never had to like previously.
You had to spend hours.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Who knew you could do that?
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Yeah, spend hours in the sun while you waited to go
in there and pay your propertytaxes.
And now you just do it onlineand boom, you can even print
your receipt.
So you know, in defense of thegovernment, they are trying to
make things easier but, it'sjust, you know, governments
really really don't move as fastas we'd always like them to.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I do remember seeing online somebody had gone and
gotten their residency and theysaid it took three hours and I
sat in line for three hours andit was brutal.
My God, you should be sothankful I remember thinking
that is the quickest I've everheard of anybody getting
residency.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
You should be thankful it was only three hours
and not three months.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
But the first thing I thought is that guy's not going
to be here in six months.
Yeah, precisely.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
If he thinks three hours is a very long time, he's
got a long.
Yeah, that's actually.
Yeah, that's a great experience, yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
So one of the things that we've been doing on some of
our later episodes here is weplay a little game called Que
Padre and Que Malo, and that'sone thing that you love about
life in Mexico and one thingthat's Que Malo, which is a
little, maybe, harder to adaptto.
So what's one thing you woulddescribe as Que Padre and one
thing for you that's Que Malo?
Speaker 1 (34:19):
You know for me Que Padre would definitely be the
great community we have here.
I think this place isabsolutely amazing and we've
made a lot of friends here and Imean that's really what makes
your life, you know great.
Yeah, fulfilled.
Right, that's the right word,thank you, you know, you, just
if you lock yourself in yourhome and don't socialize with
(34:40):
folks, that's just really notvery healthy.
And I mean the community herewe have some amazing neighbors
and people help each other, Imean, and that's that's really a
lot of what makes this a greatcommunity and in terms of the
Kambalo is sort of what we'vebeen talking about.
It's the whole bureaucracy.
You know I'm I'm just not avery patient person by nature.
(35:00):
So you know, having to dealwith ineffective agencies, the
banks or whatever it is, youknow can be extremely
frustrating.
And you know, having worked inIT, consulting and helping
companies improve operationsjust leaves me shaking my head.
It's like this doesn't need tobe that hard, but you know,
they're really very slow.
Bureaucracies are slow tochange, and so it's one of those
(35:24):
things you learn or doubt.
My wife is much more patient.
She's willing to stay in linefor three hours.
I'm like, no, if it's not donenow, I'm out of here.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
I'm like so I'll pick you up honey in a couple hours,
and even after as many yearswe've been here, I'm still
working on it.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
That's certainly one thing that I'm still working on.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
It's a constant struggle.
How many years have you been inMexico full-time?
Speaker 1 (35:45):
So we moved here in 2013, so about 11 years ago, but
in terms of full-time, prettymuch about 10 years.
10 years We've been here, yeah,so it's been a while.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Yeah, okay, well, thank you, jose Galarza.
Thanks for sharing your storyof moving to Mexico and pursuing
your passion, and for the greattips and insights that you
provided.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Thank you, folks, and have a great day everybody.
All right, thanks, take care.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
In each episode of Expats Like Us, we're going to
teach you a new Mexican slangword.
This is a term used primarilyby Mexican-Spanish speakers.
Today's word is Chido Chido.
By Mexican Spanish speakers,today's word is Chido Chido.
Thank you, erica Kowalski fromMi Vida Margarita, tell us what
(36:30):
chido means.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Awesome.
So in what way?
How would you use that in asentence Tu carro está bien,
chido you have an awesome car.
Okay, chido, I think I've heardthat you know moving around in
Mexico a little bit, but I guessI never knew what it meant.
So it must be good news ifsomebody's saying cool.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Yes, that is awesome.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
All right, chido Gracias, chido gracias.
We'd love to hear your thoughtson today's topic.
Just look up Expats Like Us onFacebook or send us an email at
expatslikeus at gmailcom.
You can also see the videoversion of today's discussion
and all of our discussions onour YouTube page.
(37:16):
Follow, like, subscribe andleave us a review.
Thank you to today's guest,jose Galarza.
Thanks also to my co-host,chris Kowalski, and co-producers
Erica Kowalski and Sherry Busse.
Most of all, thank you fortuning in to Expats Like Us and
(37:38):
thank you for interacting withus on social media.
Next time we'll bring you morefirsthand information about your
international move.
Until then, remember our homesare not defined by geography or
one location, but by memories,events, people and places that
span the globe.
Thank you.
remember, life will not be the same as it is back
home.
Don't expect to find a placethat is the same as where you
came from.
That's not what you should belooking for, especially if
you're moving to another country.
Where you're going?
The idea or the advantage ofmoving to other countries is to
experience different cultures,lifestyles, foods, et cetera.
(00:23):
My point is, my thing is enjoythe ride, don't fight it, don't
try to change everything becauseyou're not going to change.
You really need to adapt andunderstand how things work in
the country that you move to.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome to Expats Like Us exploring the world of
US expat life in Mexico.
In each episode we'll meet newpeople and hear their personal
stories.
We'll also learn more about theexpat life and get a few tips
on everything from making yourmove to settling in and living
your dream.
Let's dive in.
Welcome to Expats Like Us.
(01:07):
We're your hosts Bob Busse andChris Kowalski.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Today we're thrilled to be talking to one of our
friends and fellow expats, JoseGalarza.
Jose and his wife Nancy movedto the Riviera Maya around 10
years ago.
Jose is here to share hisexperience in moving from his
home in the States to livingfull-time in Mexico and adapting
a new life in a new country.
As an avid diver, Jose is alsogoing to share some insight into
(01:30):
the most popular sports in thearea.
Hi, Jose, and welcome to ExpatsLike Us.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Hi guys.
Well, of course, thank you forhaving me on your podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah, thanks so much for joining us.
So tell us a little bit about,for background, your life in the
United States and what careeryou had before you retired.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, so I've had sort of an interesting
background, if you will.
My my prior life.
I went to university to PuertoRico and I went to ROTC.
There.
I graduated and uh, and so myfirst real job, if you will, was
in the army.
I was in the military and uh,interestingly enough, my, as I
said, my plans for a shortcareer I figured I'd go back to
(02:07):
Puerto Rico after four yearsturned into a 20 year career
which had us traveling all overthe world.
So I finally retired in 1973 atthe ripe old age of 41.
So of course at that point yougot to keep doing something, and
so I moved on to a career intechnology in the private sector
, while in the military I'd goneto graduate school.
(02:30):
I'd done graduate work at theUniversity of Southern
California and then later on Iwent to Vanderbilt and got a
master's degree there as well.
So I'd done some and my area offocus was really in
quantitative methods.
So it was sort of a fairly easy.
It was involved in technologyand whatnot.
So it was a fairly easytransition into private life.
(02:51):
Of course, the projects we didwere different from the military
.
So in the last stage of mycivilian life I spent 18 years
with the largest IT consultingfirm in the world and we were
helping clients all over theworld in implementing technology
.
And where was that at?
I was based in Dallas, theDallas area, but you know I
worked all over the world Europe, asia, latin America.
(03:12):
At one point I ran the ITregion for Latin America for
several years, from Mexico allthe way on down.
So yeah, so kind of, like Isaid, a varied career all over
the place, but yeah, that waskind of it in terms of career.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Okay, so what inspired you to retire when you
did Well, I know the militarythat's retiring at a pretty
young age.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Right?
Yes, of course, at 41, nobody'swell, I don't know too many
people who are really ready toretire at that point.
But in my most recent career inIT consulting, you know it was
really the work was long hours,constant deadlines, high stress.
It was sort of the nature ofthe business.
Spent a lot of time traveling,like I said, I traveled all over
the world but it kept me fromhome a lot.
(03:56):
And in fact when I was offeredthat position I told my wife,
nancy, are you ready for this?
You know, because I'm going tobe spending a lot of time away
from home and at that point inour lives our children were
growing.
I'd left the house, which leftNancy at home by herself.
As a military spouse she hadlearned to adapt.
I mean, that's kind of thenature of the military, because
I was always a lot of times awayfrom home.
(04:17):
But I felt like we needed abreak.
Things were really gettingreally stressful at work and it
was just like at that point wehad purchased our place here in
Mexico, thinking we would bemoving down here, and my
original plan was to workremotely while in Mexico Now,
(04:38):
back then, if you will,technology like having internet
at your home was not availableand we'd have to go to the
wellness center and whatnot, andso I mean that whole limited
availability of internetservices at the time.
I had to make a choice.
You know, I either delayed ormoved to Mexico because I simply
could not work for Mexico itwas just not an option or retire
and complete our move here.
(04:59):
And so you know, we looked atour finances Basically we were
doing okay at that point, thekids were gone and we were okay.
So you know, we looked at ourfinances basically we were doing
okay at that point, the kidswere gone and we were okay.
And so you know, the choicebecame obvious, like we either
continue to live in the US orcome down here and just kind of
enjoy life here and just pursuesome other.
So that was kind of how weended up down here.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Okay, and what attracted you to Mexico
specifically and this area andthis area?
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yeah, you know it's interesting.
There are a number of factorsand you know, when we started
talking about where to live andretire, we looked at a number of
different options, including,you know, the obvious choices
that people look at.
You know, Panama, Costa Rica,Mexico and other parts of Latin
America, but this was at the topof our list.
You know I had traveled a lotfor business in Mexico so I had
(05:45):
some familiarity as divers.
We had previously traveled toCozumel here I had never really
come down to Tulum.
This was kind of new to mebecause my air focus was sort of
different, but we had somefamiliarity with the area.
But when we started narrowingour options, Mexico's close
proximity to the US reallybecame a factor.
(06:06):
And the ease of travel again,we were living in Dallas at the
time and the fact that you couldcatch a flight.
You know, two hours, 15 minutes.
You know we'd always likedEurope, you know.
So that was one of the placeswe had considered, but that was
so much more difficult forfriends and family to visit
there.
There, uh, versus versus mexico, and you know ultimately also
(06:26):
the the language was wascertainly a factor.
You know the fact that you knowwe're uh native speaking, you
know, uh, spanish, and so it waseasy, that whole adaptation for
us to move to mexico.
So here we are so.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
So why uh king town aro?
Why not some of the other areas?
Had you explored that, or isthis your Right.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So we had, we thought so.
Again, one of the things isbeing close to the beach.
That was a factor and we'dactually thought we would move
to Medioc because we reallyliked that whole place, whole
place.
And even though we hadknowledge of the area and again,
(07:08):
I'd been diving in this areabefore we hadn't it wasn't
really like.
This area wasn't really at thetop of our list, interestingly
enough.
But we came down here for aninvestment property, we
purchased some property here andwe came down to close on that
and we sat in on a presentationfrom the developer of Tao and we
didn't buy at the time, but wepurchased our investment
(07:28):
property but didn't buy here.
And at that time this was purejungle.
There was nothing here, it wasall on paper, there was nothing,
it was just trees.
But we went back home and Nancyand I sat down and said look,
let's look at the options thatare before us and see what do we
want to do.
And so, like several weekslater, after we got back home,
we said you know, this reallyfeels right.
(07:49):
You know, we'd walked the sortof Nancy got the vibe, so to
speak, and we really liked thearea and so we called the
contact person we had for thedeveloper and said, yeah, okay,
we're in, sent our deposit andso forth, and you know, the rest
is history, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Jose Galarza, in your opinion, what are some of the
most important things peopleshould think about before making
such a move, moving to Mexico?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Boy, that's a.
You know, there are lots ofthings yeah that could go all
day.
Yeah, right, exactly, you know.
The point is the list isdifferent for everyone.
Everybody has their ownpriorities and so, really, you
know a lot of things, somethings to think about, but you
really need to think about foryourself.
You know, I would say to peopledon't think about what somebody
(08:48):
else likes, because you reallyhave to focus on the things that
are going to keep youinterested, and so you really
need to lay out, and, like me,what me and my wife did, we just
really laid it all out andwrote it down.
Hey, pros and cons, for you know, of course I'm more methodical
and a lot of that stuff with theengineering background, but the
but you choose fits in withyour retirement plans.
As an example, if you're not abeach person, then maybe a
(09:09):
location where the majority ofthe activities are centered
around that, or not.
For you, some questions youneed to ask are you interested
in volunteering or are theresome opportunities in the
community?
Staying at home all day soundsgood play golf, fishing, but at
some point, you know, or there'ssome opportunities in the
community Staying at home allday, you know sounds good play
golf fishing, but at some point.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know, yeah, you kind of you can't do it forever,
right?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
You kind of get tired of that so you have to look at
other options.
The other thing is, I wouldsuggest people is, you know,
look at your finances right,especially in these times and
for those of us who live inMexico now who've seen our US
dollar deteriorate.
You know, don't stretch.
You know, I know it's good tohave stretch goals, but you need
to be reasonable when you andfinances is a very important
(09:52):
part and you know the area thatwe live in here, which is really
tourism focused, is going to bemore expensive than other parts
of Mexico.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
And so you know, I've heard people, just it's.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Mexico.
It doesn't mean that the costof living is going to be low and
I think we're.
We're living that and thenwe're getting hit with, you know
, inflation and the and thedollar devaluation.
It's not an officialdevaluation, but but,
effectively, where our, ourday-to-day living costs, uh,
cost of living, have gone up.
Uh, you know, moving up, movingto another country is a big
deal and things are not going tobe what we're used to back home
(10:31):
, wherever that may be.
So before you make a decision tomove someplace, make sure you
spend some time living therefirst, rent a place for a few
months or a year ideally rightand figure out if that's really
where you want to live.
Remember, life will not be thesame as it is back home.
Don't expect to find a placethat is the same as where you
(10:52):
came from.
That's not what you should belooking for, especially if
you're moving to another country.
The idea or the advantage ofmoving to other countries is to
experience different cultures,lifestyles, foods, et cetera.
My point is, my thing is enjoythe ride, don't fight it, don't
try to change everything,because you're not going to
(11:15):
change.
You really need to adapt andunderstand how things work in
the country that you move to andnot attempt to make it.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
We see examples of that a lot.
We've known a few people thatmove down here are going to
retire here forever andsomething's not right.
They can't change it andthey're on a plane back to the
state that's right exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
It's unrealistic expectations that people don't
really again like, even thoughwe were familiar my wife and I
were familiar with Mexico westill had never lived here and
so we'd vacation there.
It's very different when youvacation in a place versus
living there, and until you dothat, there are a lot of things
you know, sometimes something asbasic as going to the grocery
store or opening a bank accountand so forth, which is certainly
(11:57):
frustrating here.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
A lot of people think it's American, cheap, you know.
It's going to be the exact same, just cheap.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Precisely, precisely, yeah, anything like that, it's
not.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, we've had that experience.
We've both had that experiencealong here, moving with our
wives and everything, and yeah,it's a different thing.
But those that adapt can find avery worthwhile life down here,
a very rewarding life down here.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Absolutely Patience.
Yeah, we all learn patience.
My wife has a saying that saysin Spanish paciencia y fe
patience and faith.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
That's really the mantra that she's like when
things start getting a littlerough being in the military.
I'm sure you knew patience.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yes, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
One of the things that I tell people when they
talk about moving to Mexico.
What would I do differently?
I would start learning Spanishway earlier than I actually did.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yeah, you know, people just need to make an
effort, because when you go toplaces and even if you don't,
you're not fluent just the factthat you make the effort you're
going to be accepted much moreeasily than if you just go walk
in and do you speak English.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
That's really not the optimal way, not the way to
introduce yourself to the persongiving you your car license.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yeah right, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
So what sort of unexpected things that perhaps
surprised you during your andafter your move.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
You know, for the most part I haven't been
familiar with Mexico and haven'tspent a lot of time here on
business and traveling.
There were not too manysurprises and, and you know, for
us coming from from Puerto Rico, we found that there were a lot
of similarities in terms of thebureaucracy in Mexico I think
that's something we inheritedfrom the Spaniards or whatever
(13:38):
but there really were not a lot,though I mean there were
certainly some things.
I know that one of the shockfactors, if you will, is when we
purchase the home and all of asudden we go do our closing.
You get this sticker shock withclosing costs.
In the US You're used to muchmore reasonable, uh, and here
it's this big unknown and youknow, or like you know, you take
(13:59):
possession of a property andyou don't have title.
I mean, it's just things aredone differently here and that's
something that you really haveto, uh, have to understand.
But you know, I I think we were, for the most part, we were
well prepared and again, uh, youknow, having come from Puerto
Rico, I think the way things aredone is fairly similar to
Mexico.
(14:19):
There are certainly a lot ofdifferences, but for us it
wasn't the big shock that it isfor other people.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Any advice that you would have for people just
starting to think aboutretirement and moving to a
foreign country?
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, no, absolutely Don't jump into your decision
lightly.
You know, do a complete likefinancial inventory, especially
like younger folks that don'thave Social Security Medicare.
You know, health care in Mexicois inexpensive compared to the
US.
Absolutely, I mean, we do payout of pocket to see our primary
care physician, but you reallyneed to be prepared for those
(14:55):
unexpected expenses if you endup in the hospital for some
reason.
I mean, you know, for those ofus as we get older, you know,
the availability of health careis certainly a big concern.
And, again, one of theadvantages that we had is, with
me being former military, I hadaccess to the benefits, benefits
of military healthcare that youknow, even if I had to pay some
(15:17):
amount out of pocket, you know,I could get through the,
through the military healthcaresystem what they call TRICARE
would, uh, would help with thoseexpenses.
But you know that that, to me,that's one of the one of the big
, the big things.
Uh, you know, start looking atlocations, different locations,
early, and if you're like westarted thinking about
retirement years before weactually, you know, took the
(15:37):
leap, and so think about whatare the things.
Back to what I mentionedearlier.
You know what interests you,what do you like you know
culturally, the food, the music,I mean all of those things,
because you're going to be, youknow, living sort of surrounded
completely by that.
If that's something that youknow, if you don't like certain
(15:59):
things, don't expect that you'regoing to find exactly what you
had back home, because you'regoing to have to deal with
what's available.
So really do your researchbefore you make a decision to
move.
And you know again, as wementioned earlier, right, you
know, take extended vacations tothe areas on your list, you
know, sort of try them outbefore you make that decision.
Don't just jump into something.
You go to a sales pitch and itlooks amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
And all of a sudden you decide You're going to make
a ton of money off this placeuntil you move here, and then
you can live here.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
I've heard that so many times.
And some people who are nolonger here, that thought they
were going to pay for the housewith all the money they were
going to make.
Pay for the house with with allthe money that we're going to
make by renting it and it's just, you need to be realistic and I
think one of the challengesthat people have is simply they,
they have unrealisticexpectations when they, when
they make they, they have to sitdown and really think through
all of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I think a lot of people don't think beyond
retirement.
You know, for that I kind of amguilty of that myself.
I thought, okay, this is goingto be my retirement day, I can't
wait.
I'm entirely focused on that,without thinking beyond that a
whole lot, you know other thanmoving to Mexico yeah no
absolutely Then everything'sgoing to fall in place.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Well, you know there are going to be some bumps along
the way, but if you've actuallythought through a lot of stuff,
it's not going to be as painful.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
So one of the things Chris and I have both learned
when we retired, it's theimportance of physical and
mental activity.
What sort of things do you doto stay physically and mentally
active?
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Well, you know, again , as a diver, I swim as much as
I can.
That's really the big thing.
Take walks.
My knees and ankles andeverything are kind of shot
after so many years, especiallyin the military.
They've certainly changed howthey do exercise back then.
So really long walks, youreally want to keep active.
I like to read, but sitting onthe couch and watching TV is
(17:42):
just really not very healthy,not what you need to do.
But I dive as often as I canand so diving is kind of
interesting because it can bestrenuous exercise.
When you're swimming, like inthis area, you see a lot of
currents and whatnot, but youdon't have the stress on your
body and on the joints.
Water is great for people withbad joints because you don't
(18:05):
really have to deal with all ofthat stress.
In terms of staying mentallyactive, we've been engaged from
the beginning in terms of ourhomeowner association and
getting all of that started up,that painful process for several
years, and other communityactivities, like originally we
were involved with organizationsin Tulum we had a community in
(18:27):
an area called Koba.
Out there it's called Yakshay.
We're a small school we'responsoring.
So really the point is getinvolved.
Now you know, of course, withus it was a little bit easier
because of the language and wehad that advantage, but you
don't really need to speak thelanguage to volunteer.
You know there are really a lotof opportunities, but you need
(18:49):
to do something you know inorder to stay active and just
keep your mind engaged.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Yeah, Yep, I think we've all found that out and I,
you know that's.
That's probably my one piece ofadvice to people thinking about
moving down here is think abouthow you're going to stay active
.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
You know how are you going to spend every day.
Yeah Right, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Catching up on all the Netflix series is really not
.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah, after a couple months, that gets old.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Okay, we're going to take another break here on
(19:40):
Expats Like Us talkingretirement in Mexico and all of
the things that go along withthat.
Jose, we know you lead a veryactive life in retirement and
we're talking about being anavid scuba diver.
How did you first becomeinterested in scuba diving?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Well, you know, growing up in Puerto Rico, the
beach was part of our life.
It's sort of what you did on aregular basis and in fact at one
time I thought I would studymarine biology.
So it's always been an interestof mine.
But you know, that interest wasalways with me.
So about 30 years ago, while Iwas still in the military and we
were living in Texas, me and mywife decided to, you know, sort
(20:18):
of let's do this and becomecertified.
Now, certainly, gettingcertified in Texas in a lake is
quite different, where you canbarely see out in front of you.
But you know, that was theopportunity we had and we
traveled to Puerto Rico and hereto Mexico and stuff to dive, to
Puerto Rico and here to Mexicoand stuff to dive.
But you know, in fact, when,when I was looking at a place to
retire, uh, the options fordiving were absolutely a major
(20:38):
consideration, because that'ssomething that that we love to
do.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Well, in this area of Riviera Maya, this is some of
the best diving on the planet.
Yeah, no absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
You know you've got the great Barrier Reef in
Australia and the second largestBarrier Reef the world is is
right here.
So, uh, I mean it's the divinghere is is amazing and it's just
really yeah so what are thephysical requirements?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
and I mean, I assume there's some mental requirements
too I mean as far as not beingclaustrophobic and right yeah,
yeah.
So tell us what's required tobecome a scuba diver?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, I mean the thing is, there are really not
many requirements but, as yousaid, sort of being of sound
mind is very important.
When you're diving you'rereally in another world and,
while exciting, it can also bevery stressful If you're
claustrophobic.
I mean, that's really thecommon problem that people have
when they go underwater.
They just kind of aresurrounded and they they look up
(21:34):
and they've gotten, you know,30, 40 feet of water above them
or more Right, and so it justkind of freaks you out, so to
speak.
So you really you got to makesure that you're able to relax.
You know that's kind of the tobe a successful diver you need
to to really have that right themindset.
But in terms of the physicalrequirements they're really not
terribly demanding.
There are some things like youneed to demonstrate some basic
(21:56):
water skills.
They talk about swim 200 meterswith no time limit, just go in
a pool and just take as long asyou want and swim back and forth
, float and tread water forabout 10 minutes, and really
those are some of the basic.
The whole idea is that youreally need to be comfortable in
the water.
These are, if you will, basicsurvival skills, so to speak.
(22:16):
If you're out there and all ofa sudden you get some current
that takes you off.
You really need to be able tostay, so what we would call an
unplanned situation, that you'reable to be safe.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
So, jose, what do you find rewarding about scuba
diving?
For someone who's not a diver,maybe describe what it looks and
feels like underwater yeah,well, you know, to sum it up,
it's just an entirely differentworld.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Uh, underwater it's, it's, it's beautiful, it's, it's
exciting, it's relaxing.
You know, you're just kind offloating in there.
There's so much to see and andit's so beautiful you're, you're
just surrounded by by the reef,by fish, all kinds of species.
You know the types of fish.
You know I've always enjoyedaquariums and I've owned them,
and so you I I always tellpeople think of having, think of
(23:05):
it as having your own hugeaquarium.
Uh, and you're just, you know,every day you get to see
something different, because youknow things change uh in there,
so change in there.
So that's kind of the experiencethat you have While diving.
The other thing is youexperience weightlessness, right
, you're underwater and justreally kind of floating on air,
so to speak, and your aches andpains disappear, basically
(23:28):
because you're really not.
In a sense it can be a littlebit strenuous, but you're really
not putting a lot of stress onyour joints and whatnot, so
really you're just enjoyingeverything around you.
I've always said that it's theleast expensive and most
effective therapy that you canbuy, oh, I bet, when I was
(23:51):
working, when things would getreally stressed, I'd tell them
look, we've got to go someplacewhere I can just go diving.
I was like, I don't need toseek counseling or anything like
that.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I just need to go on a dive, I just need some time
underwater.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
She may not agree right.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Fortunately my wife did agree with that, so she was
always very good about it.
So does Nancy dive too?
Well, you know, nancy wascertified but she's had uh
problems with hers and one ofthe things because, just like,
when you go on a plane, thepressure will uh will cause uh
issues with yours and whenyou're diving it's the same
thing.
And so she hasn't been divingfor years because of because of
(24:28):
that problem.
But she was, we were bothcertified at the same time, but
then I continued diving becauseof the issues that she had.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
So how often do you go diving around here, you know?
Speaker 1 (24:39):
the advantage is like you're so close to everything.
But I say I dive as often as Ican, but not as often as I like.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
So you know, like we have an arrangement with the
local dive center, Alcamel DiveCenter, for the folks in Tower
we get a special price and yougo out there kind of spur of the
moment and you're like hereit's really good.
But you know, we actually liketo go to Cozumel because it's a
whole different world out there,and I try to go about once a
month to Cozumel and then inbetween just kind of go some
(25:09):
local dives here.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Okay, so what's the difference between right off the
shore here and Cozumel?
What's the main?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
differences.
You know, Cozumel is a muchhealthier reef and there's so
much more to see over there thanwhat you're going to see here.
And unfortunately, this area onthis side, because of the some
would call the excessive tourism, has really done a lot of
damage to the reef, and so,while it's still amazing diving,
(25:36):
this is one of those thingswhere you see people that come
from other places and they'rediving in Acomamal and you're
like, yeah, this is okay.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
And they're like this is freaking amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
So it's a matter of perspective and I've talked to
people who dove in Thailand andIndonesia and it's like so much
different.
So it's really it's a relativething.
It's certainly much better herein Akamal than many other
places that you could go, butyou know, when you go over to
the island of Cozumel it justkind of takes it up a notch,
just a different world than here?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So what's the cost to learn howto dive?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
So I mean it varies, but roughly speaking it's around
$400 to $500 US for that and,depending on whether you do the
course, there's some optionsthese days to do part of the
course online and then youalways have to do your actual
dives, have to do them in person.
They include, I think it's, twoor four dives that are part of
that certification process andyou know.
(26:34):
Beyond that.
It's just really a lot ofinstruction because you really
have to just become familiarwith all of the equipment that
you're going to use for diving,and so even when you do the
online courses, it teaches allthat, but until you actually
practice it, put it intopractice.
You're really not.
You know, full course if youreally want to go full bore on
it.
A lot of people come down hereand do vacation.
They do it in about three orfour days and in terms of like
getting started, you reallydon't need much Just a mask and
(26:56):
fins, really, and you couldalways rent those.
But you know that's somethingthat you really want, want it to
fit properly for you and Idon't like the idea of using
somebody else's mask on that.
But you know, beyond that,everything else that, that, uh,
that you use, you can, you canrent it.
And so you know, once youbecome, you know, complete your
(27:18):
certification and start divingon a regular basis and you can
decide what are the things thatyou want to invest in.
I mean, ultimately, if you'rediving regularly, you really
want to get your own equipmentbecause you get familiar with
there are always some nuancesbetween different you know
brands or like your called BCD,your, your vest that you use,
and so it's always best to haveyour own.
(27:38):
But but you know the cost cancertainly add up, but you don't.
Really, if you're not divingregularly, it really doesn't
make sense to make that, to makethat investment.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I always think of it when I see the groups in Akamal
going snorkeling with theturtles and stuff.
How many mouths have beenwrapped around that?
Oh right, exactly.
I won't, I won't use a snorkelthat somebody else is.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
It's just like oh my God, I don't care how much
they've disinfected that darnthing I'm not putting that in
there.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
There's been a lot of people use that snorkel.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yes, absolutely.
So what advice would you havefor someone who's thinking about
maybe trying out diving, butreally hasn't tried it?
Where do they start?
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah, the nice thing is that a lot of these dive
centers have a familiarizationclass right.
They'll do sort of an intro andwhat they do.
There is just some basicinstruction on the equipment and
how to use it.
You're going to have aregulator that you're breathing
through.
You've got your vest that youneed to inflate and whatnot as
you're going through that wholeprocess.
But the idea is to get youcomfortable with breathing
(28:38):
underwater.
That's really the big thing thatpeople just kind of freak out,
and so that regulator that youput in your mouth that's gonna
help you breathe.
You've got a tank on your back,and so these familiarization
courses are designed for peopleas I've never done this before,
not ready to commit to a fullcourse, but I really want to see
what it's about and so what,what the dive shops will
generally do again, I said it'sit's roughly around $100, $, $90
(29:02):
, $100.
And you do the intro course,which in many cases it's two
tanks.
You go two immersions, you goin twice and then if you decide,
wow, this is something I reallywant to do and become certified
, most of the shops will thenapply that $100 to your
certification course.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
So do you do this like in a swimming pool, or do
you go right out into the ocean?
Speaker 1 (29:21):
No, you really need to here.
They do it in the ocean, rightBack in the States.
They'll do some of that, butyou know you'll have swimming
pools that are maybe 15 footdeep.
It's like what we did, ours,but you know that whole
formalization and they don't govery deep, but probably about 30
to 40 deep.
It's a sort of what we'd call ashallow immersion.
But that's really kind of theget the experience, and so you
(29:41):
really, I think in a pool youlearn how to use your equipment,
but that whole experience ofgetting in the water, in the
water Right.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah right.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
And just you look up and you're surrounded by this
whole thing and you really needto do that, right.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
So that's a lot about scuba diving and it sounds like
fun and I would like to try itsomeday, but I feel a little
claustrophobic.
When I put on a mask and allintro course once we were in
Hawaii and he decided he wentdown once and he said that's it,
I'm done, I'm done.
I'll be in the parking lot.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Yeah, wait up in the boat.
But you know you really need todo that to really understand
sort of and if you'reclaustrophobic, that's you know.
The whole idea is just relaxwhen you're all there.
That's always how I tell people, just like, don't stress out.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah, I'd love to try it too.
I just have too many otherhobbies right now that.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
I don't think I have the time to do it.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
What advice would you have for people considering
retirement in Mexico and whatare some important things they
should think about before theymake the move?
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, you know, chris , it's some of the things we've
we've already discussed.
You know, try it out beforemaking the leap.
Do your best.
You know, like what youmentioned earlier, bob, learn
some spanish or whatever.
The language is right.
You know, whether it's mexicoor portugal or whatever that may
be, make an attempt to to learnsome of the language.
A life is going to be mucheasier if you make an effort to
learn the language and theculture.
You know a lot of people willgo and move into these places,
(31:21):
like what we live in here.
Most are expats from the US orCanada and they don't go beyond
that.
You're really missing a hugeopportunity.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Kind of the point of moving yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Why don't you stay wherever you are?
The other thing I think isimportant don't stress over this
small stuff.
And guess what?
It's all small stuff, exactly,exactly.
That people just make like wementioned earlier.
It's like they'll come here andall of a sudden they deal with
some obstacles or whatever, andthey pack it all up and they're
(31:52):
gone.
They really need to relax andenjoy the ride.
As I mentioned earlier, you knowdealing with government
agencies can be very frustratingin a foreign country.
You know dealing with governmentagencies can be very
frustrating in a foreign country, you know, and it's stressful
and I get it right.
But you know you have to adapt,you know roll with the punches,
so to speak, because otherwiseyou're not, you're not going to
survive, and you know, do not Irepeat, do not expect things to
(32:13):
work as they do back home.
It's just not the whether it'slosing power without warning
that we deal with here or havingto spend hours at the bank to
just you know, whatever it isyou want to get done, it's not
the same.
You know one of thefrustrations for me and I've
kind of gotten it like I was soused to paying all my bills
online back in the US and Ifinally got to the point where I
(32:34):
pay most of my bills online now, but it's not a simple process
like what we do in the US andit's just something you need to
recognize and just don't stressover it, just don't you know, it
does seem to me that that sortof thing like paying bills
online has become much moreprevalent around here than even
when we moved here three yearsago.
(32:54):
No, absolutely.
You know to give credit to the.
You know whether it's the powercompany or the water company.
They've made that whole process.
Or even, like you know, forthose of when we paid our taxes
this past year did it online.
Never had to like previously.
You had to spend hours.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Who knew you could do that?
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Yeah, spend hours in the sun while you waited to go
in there and pay your propertytaxes.
And now you just do it onlineand boom, you can even print
your receipt.
So you know, in defense of thegovernment, they are trying to
make things easier but, it'sjust, you know, governments
really really don't move as fastas we'd always like them to.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I do remember seeing online somebody had gone and
gotten their residency and theysaid it took three hours and I
sat in line for three hours andit was brutal.
My God, you should be sothankful I remember thinking
that is the quickest I've everheard of anybody getting
residency.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
You should be thankful it was only three hours
and not three months.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
But the first thing I thought is that guy's not going
to be here in six months.
Yeah, precisely.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
If he thinks three hours is a very long time, he's
got a long.
Yeah, that's actually.
Yeah, that's a great experience, yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
So one of the things that we've been doing on some of
our later episodes here is weplay a little game called Que
Padre and Que Malo, and that'sone thing that you love about
life in Mexico and one thingthat's Que Malo, which is a
little, maybe, harder to adaptto.
So what's one thing you woulddescribe as Que Padre and one
thing for you that's Que Malo?
Speaker 1 (34:19):
You know for me Que Padre would definitely be the
great community we have here.
I think this place isabsolutely amazing and we've
made a lot of friends here and Imean that's really what makes
your life, you know great.
Yeah, fulfilled.
Right, that's the right word,thank you, you know, you, just
if you lock yourself in yourhome and don't socialize with
(34:40):
folks, that's just really notvery healthy.
And I mean the community herewe have some amazing neighbors
and people help each other, Imean, and that's that's really a
lot of what makes this a greatcommunity and in terms of the
Kambalo is sort of what we'vebeen talking about.
It's the whole bureaucracy.
You know I'm I'm just not avery patient person by nature.
(35:00):
So you know, having to dealwith ineffective agencies, the
banks or whatever it is, youknow can be extremely
frustrating.
And you know, having worked inIT, consulting and helping
companies improve operationsjust leaves me shaking my head.
It's like this doesn't need tobe that hard, but you know,
they're really very slow.
Bureaucracies are slow tochange, and so it's one of those
(35:24):
things you learn or doubt.
My wife is much more patient.
She's willing to stay in linefor three hours.
I'm like, no, if it's not donenow, I'm out of here.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
I'm like so I'll pick you up honey in a couple hours,
and even after as many yearswe've been here, I'm still
working on it.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
That's certainly one thing that I'm still working on.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
It's a constant struggle.
How many years have you been inMexico full-time?
Speaker 1 (35:45):
So we moved here in 2013, so about 11 years ago, but
in terms of full-time, prettymuch about 10 years.
10 years We've been here, yeah,so it's been a while.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Yeah, okay, well, thank you, jose Galarza.
Thanks for sharing your storyof moving to Mexico and pursuing
your passion, and for the greattips and insights that you
provided.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Thank you, folks, and have a great day everybody.
All right, thanks, take care.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
In each episode of Expats Like Us, we're going to
teach you a new Mexican slangword.
This is a term used primarilyby Mexican-Spanish speakers.
Today's word is Chido Chido.
By Mexican Spanish speakers,today's word is Chido Chido.
Thank you, erica Kowalski fromMi Vida Margarita, tell us what
(36:30):
chido means.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Awesome.
So in what way?
How would you use that in asentence Tu carro está bien,
chido you have an awesome car.
Okay, chido, I think I've heardthat you know moving around in
Mexico a little bit, but I guessI never knew what it meant.
So it must be good news ifsomebody's saying cool.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Yes, that is awesome.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
All right, chido Gracias, chido gracias.
We'd love to hear your thoughtson today's topic.
Just look up Expats Like Us onFacebook or send us an email at
expatslikeus at gmailcom.
You can also see the videoversion of today's discussion
and all of our discussions onour YouTube page.
(37:16):
Follow, like, subscribe andleave us a review.
Thank you to today's guest,jose Galarza.
Thanks also to my co-host,chris Kowalski, and co-producers
Erica Kowalski and Sherry Busse.
Most of all, thank you fortuning in to Expats Like Us and
(37:38):
thank you for interacting withus on social media.
Next time we'll bring you morefirsthand information about your
international move.
Until then, remember our homesare not defined by geography or
one location, but by memories,events, people and places that
span the globe.
Thank you.
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