Retire Outside USA

This is a post I recently posted on my private group, Retire, Relocate, and Serve Christ in Latin America.

Hello everyone. Sorry for the long time away from this group. But I have news and it's time to return to this group. In my last post, we were celebrating the 1st Anniversary of Greater Grace Medellin, the first English-speaking church in Medellin, Colombia. Paulette and I came to Medellin in May 2018 to help start this church, and are awestruck at how the Holy Spirit brought us through so many challenges, including the worldwide pandemic.
But shortly after that 1st anniversary, we sensed that the Holy Spirit had a new work for us, and it was time for a new chapter. Some old friends from Boquete called us and invited us to visit Ajijic, Mexico. We arrived in May 2023 for a 2-month visit, and God worked out all of the details. We met Pastor Alan Pohl at Grace Church Chapala and felt very comfortable with him and the church, and we saw several service opportunities. This confirmed God's call, and in December after selling everything we owned, we boarded the plane and landed in Mexico on December 2, 2024. We became legal residents of Mexico 3 weeks later and moved into our new rental home in January.
During our visit in May 2023, I took over the Zoom broadcast of the Sunday service. It is something I learned in Medellin. When we returned to Medellin, I found a free remote control software that allowed me to continue to manage the Zoom broadcast from Medellin until we arrived in person in December. Technology is amazing.
So here is the news. Grace Church Chapala is relocating! During the busy season of October through April, we fill every one of our 115 seats. And we are growing every year. After over a year of searching, God brought us the perfect solution. The Holy Spirit Church, a Spanish Christian church in Chapala, has invited us to share their very large facility. Sounds familiar, right? That is what the Palabra de Vida church did for us in Medellin for a year.
This past Sunday, we took a vote. We were praying for unity, and we sure got it. The vote was 60 yes with only 1 no! God's will be done! We plan to move on September 1, and there are tons of things to do. Please pray for wisdom, discernment about repairs and improvements, and good bids for all the work that needs to be done.
And stay tuned. I'll keep you advised. And just maybe this represents a great opportunity for you to Retire, Relocate, and Serve Christ in Latin America! Please pray about that also.

We officially passed the 8-year anniversary of our "Retirement Adventure". We are now living near Ajijic, Mexico which is one of the most famous retirement destinations for North American expats. And we believe we are right where God wants us to be.

Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico. We have been here for a little over 2 months (since December 2, 2023), and we have fallen in love with the area and the people here. These are some of our reasons:
1. We received our resident visas in only 20 days;
2. Cost of living is well within our Social Security benefits;
3. We found a terrific English-speaking church;
4. The local people are very friendly and helpful;
5. Finding a used E-Bike has solved our transportation concerns;
6. There are many excellent restaurants;
7. English is spoken everywhere.

Right now, I am waiting on UPS to find our house for delivery of our packages from Amazon. Addresses all over Latin America are often challenging, and Ajijic is no exception. There are many neighborhoods and gated communities. House numbers aren't always sequential. The best way to find the correct address is to look at your electric bill. There is so much additional info required. Street, number, neighborhood (Colonia), nearest intersection, city, state, and zip code. To help, I put up this sign on my gate. Hopefully, they will find us soon.

Advantages to retiring outside the USA (and Canada):
1. Climate
2. Cost of living
3. High quality, low cost Health care
4. Public transportation in large cities
5. Safety/Low crime
6. New friends with lots in common
7. The local people are generally friendly and glad you're here.
8. Freedom to relax and enjoy life
9. You can (but don't have to) learn a new language.

Best food in America