I've watched lots of video presentations of Guadalajara because I'm moving there from Mazatlán. Your photographic and content coverage has the best structural design I've ever seen. It covers everything anyone would be interested in knowing about and was put together in as inclusive a manner as possible. Great Job!! Thank you for all the hard work you put into creating it.
you are so kind Mike! we loved Guadalajara and we hope we did justice to the city. We miss it. You will have plenty to do. If you have any questions or recommendations let us know 🤗 Best of luck with the move
Wow!!! Not even pros (some times) put together a video like this one! Great variety and quality of imagery... the pace..the narration.. the completeness of information! Awesome work guys, I became an instant fan. Here my like and my subscripción. Cheers!
Bravo! As a former resident of Chapalita, you guys did a solid job of describing the ins and outs of Guadalajara, and the video production is superb! As a former lawyer, I feel compelled to point out that you experienced a "burglary" in your first house, not a robbery. Robbery is defined as the action of taking property unlawfully from a person by force or threat of force, often in a face to face confrontation. It still sucks that your things were stolen, but your personal safety wasn't threatened (thank goodness!)
Thanks Deborah! Someone else pointed out our error also. It does make a difference if taken literally so we'll definitely be more careful in the future. We're moving to Europe this summer and are going to miss Guadalajara a lot! Are you back in the USA?
@@SeekingParadiseBugs No, we're Canadian (well, I'm a dual citizen). We're in beautiful Nova Scotia surrounded by oceans, lakes and forests, and almost no COVID-19. It's our home now. We hope to travel next winter, maybe Cuba and southern Spain. Maybe we'll see you there. Safe journeys!
This was the most comprehensive and thorough presentation I have seen since I began researching my move to Mexico (and I have seen a lot). You guys did a fantastic job. Thank you so much. You really helped put a great deal of information into perspective. This helps a great deal!!
We think so. We actually have a friend that's lived in Guadalajara for 16 years and doesnt speak Spanish. It would be easier to learn at least basic conversation. Locals usually reply in English when they notice a struggle to communicate. 👍🏼
This is an excellent video that methodically walks through the aspects one wants to hear about, unlike most videos that just take shots of historic centro of whatever city. Thanks
I have fond memories of my days in Guadalajara during my time there. My favorite hang out was Glorieta Chapalita near where I was staying. I loved hanging out there on Sundays just enjoying a leisurely coffee and local artists. I'm now living in Comitan de Dominguez. I've been here a year and a half and I love it! Thanks for the wonderful video!
We love Glorieta Chapalita on Sundays also! We had to look up where Comitan de Dominguez is and Chiapas has been on our list of places to visit in Mexico. Glad to hear you are loving it there.
A place we haven't visited yet! We've heard lots about it. Guillermo spent his childhood in Bolivia and we look forward to visiting portions of South America since there are many cities with low cost of living options. Dianne can't wait to visit the Galapagos Islands. Have you been there?
@@SeekingParadiseBugs I pay 300 a month for a 4 BR house on 20 acres .. all included even Internet.. I live here on 1000 a month.. cant do no huge splurges but am living a Middle class lifestyle .. I love it here.. the people are so friendly.. I have a Blues band here and rockin Cuenca.. lol.. Much Love and Blessings to you guys
@@worldobserver3515 I knew Basic Spanish.. been here a year and now speak medium .. I took Latin for 4 years so Spanish is not that hard for me.. I am from germany
Awesome and informative! I appreciate you sharing your experience and all the invaluable details that have been provided. It is helping me tremendously with some of my choices of where I want to land in Mexico (in 2022/23)as a retired expat. Bless you!
We have been to GDL several times pre-covid and are definitely looking to resettle there - you hit almost everything on the head just right. You did not, however, talk about the friendliness of people. So much more welcoming and gracious than Fairfax and DC - and I'm speaking as a decadeslong resident of the area. Great video!
Hi Joe from our hometown. ☺️ We only briefly mentioned the people are friendly. You are correct the locals here in GDL are friendly, family oriented and laid back!! One of the many things that we love about this city and something we consider every place we visit even if it's not part of our checklist. Good luck with your move back.
Bravo on this great video about Guadalajara! You touched on so many points missed by others (and there are still many more). I lived there for 5 years working remotely, returned to the US for work, and now headed back to Guadalajara working remotely again. (Because I'm from the west side of the US, daily direct flights to my cities are plentiful, so hopping back for work-related trips is extremely convenient.) So sorry the burglary happened to you. I never had anything like that happen to me during my years there. I was not at all involved in any expat scene there and honestly wasn't looking for it either. But, as you both point out...it's about finding out what works for you, what your expectations are, and then pursuing that goal. (Speaking Spanish is a tremendous benefit for living in the city. But ultimately that gets down to where you'll be living, where you'll be going, and who you'll be spending your time with.) ¡Saludos y mucha suerte en su próxima aventura!
thank you so much! we had a wonderful time in GDL, the burglary was a fluke that could have happened in any city. We are planning on getting our permanent residency since we only have 1 year left to complete the requirement. You never know where we will end up, it may just be Guadalajara after all. For now, we just made it to Lisbon, Portugal. We are enjoying it so far. Thank you for watching!
You two are doing exactly what we want to do. Your retirement criteria match ours almost exactly. My husband is on the look for golf courses. My priority includes clean air. Will continue following your channel. Your videos are very well done and informative. Thanks!!
We're glad, we noticed we couldn't find the information we needed so we decided to start the channel and share our criteria. Seems to be very well received so far. Best of luck in your future decisions 👍🏼
Always love your videos!! Excellent video as always. We were just in Guadalajara last week and are in Puerto Vallarta now. We are counting down 3 more years til early retirement and continue to visit various places to test the waters and your videos just add to our adventures. Thank you!! Can’t wait to see where you land next!!
Few remarks: you inclueded the Burning Man mural amongst those that you mentioned were in Palacio de Gobrierno, but the Burining Man is actually in the Hospicio Cabañas building. Also, Expiatorio Temple is NOT in Zapopan. It is located in Guadalajara. Basilica de Zapopan is located in Zapopan and it is also worth visiting.
Hi! thank you. We noticed the Zapopan mistake 😞 and we actually haven't had a chance to visit the inside of the Palacio or the Museum yet due to Covid...that's why it's just a mention in the video 🙈 we will go soon tho.. Thanks for the correction! 👍🏼
@@SeekingParadiseBugs In any case, it is a great video. I am from Guadalajara, but currently living in Bogotá, Colombia. It was nice to see my hometown through your eyes. Thanks. Also, there are nice beaches in Michoacán (Maruata for example). Sadly, I do not recommend to visit those because of the narcos. Finally, there are nice Pueblos Mágicos like Tapalpa and Mazamitla that are worth exploring.
thank you for the info. We will definetly make it to those beaches before we leave. Guadalajara is a beautiful city and hands down the best weather in the world to us 👍🏼
We are now 2 years away from retirement and have been on a similar journey...this spring was meant to be our Portugal and Spain trip and after much research...but I think Spain seem more vibrant and the three cities that have our interest peaked aou Alicante, Malaga and Valencia ww toured SE Asia and absolutely loved it andvits people but as Canadians the heat and humidity could be an issue ...could luck I hope we can all travel again very soon
Hi Rob, It's an exciting journey! We want to visit Malaga also and someone else mentioned Alicante to us, so we'll have to check it out. We haven't visited Asia yet but are excited to once it's safe to travel again! Best of luck to y'all!!
Amazing video! This is exactly the type of thing I’m looking for, your ideal list is almost perfectly aligned with mine but I would rather have the rent a bit cheaper, but it might be worth it just to live a bit further out. But my second point is why have I not seen this before? So much of my search history and viewing history for the last several years has been for videos like this. I’m subscribe to so many gringos in Mexico bloggers I can’t believe that this has not popped up before
thanks a lot! we feel the same about specific content, we couldn't find what we're looking for so we figured we'd make videos with our search criteria to help others 👍🏼 there will be more
for sure Rick. We have footage of the town and will be doing the Train soon. This video was gonna be way longer. We will add it to the next Things to Do video 👍🏼
AWESOME!!! Your video is very well put together, informative and comprehensive. I will be retiring at the end of 2024 and am considering moving to Mexico afterward. Videos like this one are super helpful! Thank you also for all the links and information provided below the video! Keep up the great work, guys! 🤩🤩🤩
It's really hard to do Guad. justice in a video. You have to experience it yourself, there is nothing like it in the States or Canada. I look forward to moving there someday, as soon as I figure out what I will do for a living.
I see you are back in Guadalajara after your visit to Portugal. How would you compare the cities? One obvious comparison of course would be an economic one--according to Expatistan, Guadalajara is 39% less expensive than Lisbon. The big problem with Lisbon is rent and it has skyrocketed in recent years. Electricity is also very expensive in Portugal. I liked the criteria you put on the screen for selecting a spot for retirement. Guadalajara seems to meet most of them except for the distance to the nearest beach. I did a search and I found that San Blas, Nayarit, is about three hours away, while Manzanillo, Colima, is a little bit farther. I guess you could do it for a weekend, as I am sure many Tapatios do.
We were actually in Lisbon last year right before Covid hit. We believe Guadalajara is less expensive than Portugal based on our short time there and info in numbeo.com. If we move to Portugal we probably wouldn't live in the city center and we're hoping rent will be a little less on the outskirts. We noticed real estate seems to be less expensive in Spain, however we like the NHR tax regime available in Portugal. We noted in one of our pop-ups on the video that they are completing a new highway from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta which will cut the time to get there in half. It will probably take about 2.5 hours when done. That's a big deal for a lot of our expat friends and the locals here. The water isn't as beautiful as the Caribbean on the Eastern side of Mexico but it's definitely warmer than the Atlantic in Portugal. We've been very happy here but have so many more places to visit before making a final decision. We love Europe and although we know Western Europe will be more expensive than Mexico, we can't wait to live there and see how we feel about it.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs One great thing about Western Europe and I am talking more about Spain and France here is that you are surrounded by history, meaning the history that we are familiar with--the Romans, Medieval, the Renaissance etc. When I drive through Castilla-León, for example, I can visit castles, fortresses, and walled towns and villages. For anyone who is vaguely familiar with European history and loves the Spanish language it is a dream come true.
I enjoyed your video so much. Magnificently done. I just returned from GDL and I’m looking to go back soon. I’m looking at renting near Punto Sur. I visited the aquarium and it was amazing. Just an idea for your next video
I’m learning more about living in Mexico. Your video is very helpful. It is well organized, solid contents, and good recording! Looking for more videos from you.
Wow Great video - so much wonderful information and beautiful footage - I want to go back! We enjoyed Guadalajara so much when we visited a few years ago and found that most Americans we spoke to were so surprised about what a wonderful vibrant city we found - I think most Americans think Mexico is all beaches and margaritas (not that you can't find some margaritas in GDL too lol). We really enjoyed the symphony (and I think it was about $5 us pp in that AMAZING theatre!) A couple of other things we enjoyed while there were riding horses in Bosque Colomos and also the Guadalajara zoo!
Continuining my comment after a one hour interruption for a walk in my neighboring park, I really like the way you present your videos. You have your numbers well displayed on the screen. The segment showing your monthly expenses is excellent. I think the only expense in which Portugal might be better is private health insurance. I did a simulation and considering your age, you would pay about half here. Remember though that most companies will cut you off at 65 or 70 and almost everything you suffer from will be denied because of being a pre-existing condition. Public transportation is also more expensive in Portugal, but I am sure it is more reliable and safer. I loved the list of big stores you put on the screen. It looks like the American super stores have really taken over. I wonder what the small, independent shops think about that. Here Walmart and Costco don't exist. We have French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese hypermarkets. I don't see any advantage to having a Walmart. For furniture we have several gigantic Ikeas. Our building supply superstores are French. I liked the way you showed the "hazards" of walking, just showing them but not openly giving your opinion. From what I see with the crime issue, although Guadalajara seems safer than any Brazilian city for example (I lived in Brasilia for 15 years), it is definitely less safe than a comparable city in Portugal. Portugal ranks third on the Global Peace Index and has a murder rate of 0.6 for 100,000. Mexico ranks 137 on the index while the very violent Brazil ranks 126.
Thanks Ray! Hope you had a nice walk. ☺️ We really appreciate your comments and are making note of them. We're working with all the info we can get to make a good decision for us.
@Ray Vogensen I do not agree with you! I live in Guadalajara and I have never been mugged in my entire life! Mexico like all the countries in the world have violence ... but Mexico 🇲🇽 is not how they paint it in the movies or how they say in the news! ... if there are drug traffickers like all over the world but if you don't mess with They will never touch you ... come to know Mexico 🇲🇽 it is a beautiful country and just as you saw this video it is real 👍🏻 I thank this beautiful couple who spoke about our natural beauties, our traditions, our food which is the heritage of The humanity! when you know Mexico you will fall in love with the country and its people !!! you will be welcome ❤️
@@silviacastillo4733 Silvia, I think you misinterpreted my comments. I never said that you could be mugged in Guadalajara and didn't even talk about any violence in Guadalajara. I didn't even mention drug traffickers. I lived for many years in Brazil and there you difinitely run a high risk of being mugged. I know that Mexico is much safer than Brazil. Of course it is a beautiful country and I have lived there on three different occasions, including Guadalajara.
A great video, thank you. We are nomads too, and spent a month in Guadalajara a couple of months ago - like you, we found it to be very safe and walkable with all the amenities of a big city but much less crazy than Mexico City. We loved the public transportation, zoo, Bosque Los Colomos and the local breweries and brew pubs!! Now in Mazatlan and loving it!!
Mexico is one of the best places to retire in the world and the best in Latin America. I know a lot of people that retire some where else’s in Latin A. and end up living in Mexico.
Thanks Evelyn! We actually moved to Lisbon, Portugal last year and have videos about it also. We loved our years in Guadalajara and hope you will too. Best of luck on your move!
Thank you very much for the beautiful presentation of my home town I was born 81 years a go and y really enjoyed your video. From Ventura ca thanks again
I like your paradise checklist...looks good to me. If you find other places please post those, as well. Thanks for a comprehensive look at Guadalajara!
@@SeekingParadiseBugs it’s usually always cold there. I’ve been there twice and it’s a must visit. Especially the cabanas!! They are all beautiful! I recommend you go during the winter times. There’s also this bridge called aventura, something like that hahah. You would get a lot of content just from visiting that place alone, the locals are also very friendly and welcoming
Just a fact . Minimum wage here is 250 dlls a month . But if you speak English most likely you would never have that salary. Since there are plethora of companies looking for people who knows English . Another advantage is that many people here can speak and understand English at a high level , so communication has never been a problem.
that's cool, our son lives in VA and just moved from Centreville to Gainesville where we used to live 😊 You will have a good time visiting. It will be a bit rainy but much fresher than the summer...it's starting to heat up now. Good luck!
Very informative enjoy your video. I'm going to Guadalajara on the 27th3 days then lake Chapala surrounding areas looking for a place to call home. Thank you
Loved the video. You really captured the best of Guadalajara. Look forward to seeing what adventure you find next. We are going to base out of our home in La Manzanilla, Jalisco, in about a year and travel around to see other countries. We were certain Portugal was for us but the long-term impact of EU exchange rates doesn’t look so good for our financial planning. Looks like short term visits instead. Enjoy your journey and take care!
Great place for a home base! The EU exchange rate, even now, will be very different than the exchange rate we've had with the peso. It was perfect for us to start in Mexico and we have so much we want to see in Europe, Africa and Asia that it will be a lot easier for us living there. ☺️
Very informative video. I just found your channel and have subscribed. A couple suggestions: the tidbits of informative content were extremely useful but I found they disappeared before I had a chance to read them with all the interesting visuals going on...maybe add an audible notification? I also found the white font against the light blue background a bit hard on the eyes, i.e. not enough contrast. Looking forward to your future videos. Valencia sounds exciting!
Hi, I am from Germany /Bavaria. This August 2022 I move to Guadalajara /zapopan to work in an international German school,... Thanks for your great and helpful informational videos ❤️🙏
Yeah 😎 moved from California to chapala lake 5 months ago the best choice I ever make I tired all 🇺🇸 politics... California government a lot BS .. this life here lake view good food ..!!!
Very nice video. Small detail. The bridge that you were showing in the barranca was not build in 1893. The old bridge was destroyed in 2005 I think and the new bridge was build in 2013. As I remember the old bridge was not at this location and a little bit more up stream. The old bridge was destroyed because of plans of making a dam which would have flooded the old bridge. Although they destroyed the old bridge the dam was never build. I know this because love to go here and have been doing so since 2004. Thanks for the beautiful video.
They are here for the cost of living. Spain and Portugal are cheap compared to europe, but mexico still remains as one of the cheapest countries in the entire world, way below the latin american average, probably at the level of India or Bangladesh, while still retaining way higher living standards than those two emerging countries. I've heard a lot of tourists call mexico "the most cost-effective country I've visited" The murder rate in Guadalajara is definitely high, at the level of Indianapolis or Washington DC. However in Mexico and this is stats from the government, around 80-90% of murders are targeted, that is the victim was member of a cartel or gang. Many expats always say that Mexico feels more safe than the US. Still, we do have terrible areas where no one should be, especially specific municipalities in the states of tamaulipas, michoacan and guanajuato.
I lived in Providencia from 1980-83 while studying medicine at the UAG. I’m saddened to see that it is not quite the quiet neighborhood that I remember.
I grew up in the state of Michoacan. My partner and I we currently live in California. And we've been looking for a place to live in Mexico. Just realize Guadalajara has a lot of things to offer. We are going there in April And we're going to be looking for property to buy. Thanks a bunch!😊
way to go Juan! it is a good choice not only because the city itself is progressing but also access to smaller towns nearby and soon even shorter access to beaches. Best of luck! let us know if you have any questions or realtor referrals 👍🏼
thanks a lot for this amazing overview, I'm going to go on a long business trip to this city and your video is what I wanted to know about Gudalajara. cheers from Russia
Great video. I live in Medellin CO and seems very similar in many ways. The food there is much better by far. One of the things that attracts us there over here is I'm from the Western part of US and to fly to Phoenix is a whole day deal.I think only an hour flight from there. I do have a question I hope you see. How bad is the rainy season? Thanks kindly
Thanks so much! A lot of the latin American countries are definitely similar. We haven't visited Colombia yet but Guillermo grew up in Bolivia and we are familiar with that side of the world. We can only speak about the rainy season in Guadalajara, MX. We really didn't mind because there weren't downpours all day long. In fact, most of the time it rained at night and was so refreshing in the morning. There were torrential rains though and streets would flood in certain areas. There were more power outages during the rainy season also. It would definitely be a lot easier for you going back to the USA from Mexico. Let us know if you have other questions.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs Hi, I am a Vegetarian. Can you tell about the vegetarianism in guadalajara? Are there enough good veg restaurants? Is it difficult to survive as a vegetarian in Guadalajara?
I currently live in the San Francisco BayArea and the cheapest shittiest home on $980,000 I have the 20 percent down payment but with that I can buy cash and retire in Guadalajara especially since I was born there and I go there every year and my dad and all my family live there now that I’m 41 and I have dual citizenship I’m thinking of moving there in may of 2022
whoa! it's definetly extra expensive in the bay area. You will definetly love comfortably here in GDL. You are young and plenty to do here. Good luck and hope you make the move 👍🏼
We hope to retire in Mexico in 3 years but Guadalajara has 3-4 months every year that are way too hot for us...besides that it looks nice. We are thinking about Puebla or maybe San Cris...or Guanajuato....
Congrats, 3 years will pass quickly! We haven't visited Puebla yet but hear great things about it. Guanajuato gets a little too cold for us in the winter but it's a beautiful town that has a real European feel to it. Although it gets hot in Guadalajara, at 5k elevation there is no humidity in the summer so it feels good in the shade. It is definitely scorching in direct sunlight though. It also took 2 years for our bodies to adjust to the temperature here and we don't use ac any longer in the summer.
That was a TON of information and beautifully presented organized content. I will be moving to Guadalajara for a long term project working for an IT company. Please suggest some good neighborhood near to the IT office area which has clean air and all amenities at walkable distance
Guadalajara is not such a large city that you would be too far in any neighborhood. That said, Chapalita is a great neighborhood to start as it is easily accessible to everywhere, has expats and locals, as well as a variety of shops and restaurants. Colonia Americana has a younger vibe with more entertainment around Chapultepec Ave. Glad you found the video helpful and we're sure you'll enjoy Guadalajara as much as we did.