It’s Friday, Sept. 23. I got here on Wednesday. I sit alone but content in my new second life. This is quite an adventure. I still feel the guilt and pull of work and yes I take care of it electronically at two hours ahead of San Diego time. My daughter Marisa, one of the finest Reiki Healers (and more) that you’ll ever meet, is my boots on the ground if needed.
As in most adventures the constant pull is the discovery. I went over to Nuevo Vallarta yesterday. The last time I was there was in 2005. Nuevo Vallarta is just north around the airport from Puerto Vallarta proper. There has been some serious construction in there. They have all these great all inclusive resort places you can buy into. You own it. You use it 3 months out of the year and put it in a rental pool.
A one-bedroom condo returns about $12,000 per year. Based upon a $250,000 cash purchase that is a return of 4.5 percent plus an all inclusive three months for free. All-inclusive means that. Everything is paid for including but not limited to dinner and drinks at classy restaurants, maid service and transportation to and from many stops in Puerto Vallarta or up the coast to Punta de Mita, Sayulita or San Pancho. You can also buy with 30 percent down and 5 year owner financing at 5 percent if you prefer. No credit checks.
This upcoming week I’ll meet a couple local real estate agents who know the “point” very well. My partner in business, Ana Girdner, knows the point and everyone there like the back of her hand. Ana is from the Dominican and has lived at the point for the last 10 years or so.
She watched as the Four Seasons and St. Regis were built along with their golf courses. 80 percent of the owners are either American or Canadian (especially from Calgary). I’m told that the part time American and Canadian population from Punta de Mita to Puerto Vallarta (45 kilometers) has now surpassed one million. That is amazing considering the population of Puerto Vallarta is under 250,000. Mexicans love us.
I continue to work. I know, I’m retiring. I’ve unloaded so much “stuff” from my life. I’m finding new friends and associates. But I’m living on the $1,360 budget that I’ve earned paying into Social Security. Except for the $40 in food stamps my wife and I got between my junior and senior year at UC Santa Barbara in the ‘70s, I’ve never taken a dime from the government and believe me, I’ve paid.
One year I paid $190,000 just to good ol’ Uncle Sam and now I’m budgeting $1,360 per month to live on. Go figure. I’m doing it though and having a blast. Being a young Boomer and retiring (changing my life) is cool and totally doable.
Those of you whose ears have been perked need to remain positive. Retiring can be done with what little you have.
I really have to debunk the myths of violence in Mexico. It isn’t fair. I’ll get into statistics a little in my next column. I’ll be back home in Encinitas for the month of October and part of November.
The kids need to get ready because “I’m coming back.” Also, I’m going to speak a little about the phenomenal medical system down here. What they are doing here could easily work in the USA because they have followed the pure capitalistic method. Something we as Americans had a real monopoly on at one time. Next article.
previous post
