Settling In: One Step Closer to Permanent Residency
I know I have been slacking in keeping up with our articles on both of our Websites. Transitions are harder than you expect, because you don’t really grasp the levels of which they affect your day to day life. That is until you find yourself right smack in the middle of the biggest change at an age when many are choosing to be set in their ways (and apparently for a good reason LOL.) Changes in my twenties were full of energy, and who needed sleep? Changes in my thirties were emotionally driven and a quest for an even better life. Changes in my forties were focused on others. Changes in my fifties were minimal and more internal. Change in my sixties is exhilarating and exhausting! That said we are definitely starting to settle in and get a handle on our new life. No looking back, no regrets.
We have already had visitors and loved showing them where we live and introducing them to our new life. We have started to make some wonderful new friends and to get know our neighbors. I started a water fitness class, which meets twice a week in the bay. It has been remarkably well attended and is a great way to meet some of the incredible ladies who call this place home, even if just for a few months out of the year.
We have a golf cart now, so we are a little more mobile. We have learned how to shop for a longer period of time, to avoid the daily runs to a store. And we enjoy the many options for food and entertainment here in our town. Now when we travel out of Puerto Aventuras it is considered a real get away and treat. That may change when we actually get our own car.
We have made some modifications to our condo, had some gorgeous furniture built and new blown glass lamps ordered. We have our grill set up and our place is really starting to feel like our own. I have no regrets about what we chose to let go of and what we brought with us.
After many conversations, and weighing our options, we have decided to extend our lease on our condo and call this home for another 2 years. We found an incredible place with lots of windows and views and breezes that we love. We sip our morning coffee at sunrise while listening to the birds and enjoying the rhythm of the boat traffic - first the fishermen and later the happy tourists off to spend some hours on the Caribbean Sea. Afternoon cocktails at sunset are similar but in the reverse, sun setting to the west, boats returning home with flags flying telling of the catch on board or tourist singing and swaying their way back to the docks.
Manito (Mah Knee Toe) has also settled in. We laugh that he is no longer a skittish infant and now is more like a brazen teenager - but more affectionate. He loves his walks, he is a natural born hunter of iguanas and agouti (locally called sereque). He enjoys his playtime with his neighbor, Chico. He knows now that we will always return and he loves spending time with his extended family and friends. We have no idea what mix he is but he definitely has terrier in him. He is aware of everything around him. We are working on his two last fears - children and brooms. We have loved watching this once broken abandoned 8 pound pup learn to trust and be loved again. And it has been a village who has helped him get here.
Next step in our adventures will happen in just a few weeks. We have our appointment scheduled for March 18th at the Mexican Consulate in Miami. Following that we will start the process here to become Permanent Residents. Once that is completed we will purchase a car and start doing more exploring.
For those of you considering becoming Expats after retirement, I wish you all the best and hope that you find a place that is as warm and welcoming as we have found here. The key to us has been the great friends and resources we have found here - old time friends from 23 years of coming here and a host of new local friends. All so willing to help with advice and recommendations. The downside is that we are having so much fun, we are falling behind in our writing LOL - but viva retirement!