On October 1st 2022, we flew from BWI to Miami and from there to Mexico City. It was the first leg of our senior nomad trek, and in retrospect, we were flying blind. After a month in Mexico City, we moved on to 9 weeks in San Miguel De Allende (SMA).
It's not that we didn't do the research. It's certainly not that we didn't choose Mexico rationally (easy first step, inexpensive, close to the US if we had to travel home unexpectedly or if our son wanted to visit (and yes, both happened.))
It's that travel guides and Yelp! reviews only tell a tiny amount of the story. Once you're immersed in the culture, and subject to the ebb and flow of different routines and different cultural priorities, you start to see the country as it is rather than as the hastily-viewed subject of somebody's travel influencer vlog.
Five of the things that surprised us were:
1. Color is omnipresent. Unlike the US, where grey and beige and other dull hues are the norm, Mexicans cherish color in their buildings-- on our block alone we have houses which are orange, bright red, violet and periwinkle blue. And the plantings are just as vibrant, and every house has at least a few. In SMA there are hummingbirds all over, because they can survive using the courtyards and roof decks alone. I never realized how dreary much of the US was-- we build for cost-efficiency and HOA restrictions and the general rule if you're selling is "neutralize" the palette. Central Mexican towns glow like tropical birds against the tan and sage background of the high desert.
2. The arts are cherished. SMA has a history as an artists' community, but even Mexico City was full of murals and sculptures and decorative tiles and textiles and fanciful metal structures. And they're given space, and people don't deface them-- they're respected. And the architecture everywhere is fantastic.
3. Family life appears to be a lot healthier here. The first thing that became obvious-- both Raine and I remarked upon it-- is that dads here are heavily involved in their kids' lives. They're playing with them, walking them around and carrying them places, and the kids obviously love it. No flinchy children here. And the kids go everywhere, too-- restaurants, attractions, museums-- and perhaps because they've been exposed since an early age, they're really well-behaved.
4. Disposable goods are not a thing. For example, there are a ton of old junkers on the streets here; a disproportionate number of them being Volkswagens. Not coincidentally, there are a huge number of old-fashioned garages to keep those old cars going-- which they do quite cheaply, because you can fix a Beetle with simple tools. Expats are the ones driving shiny new SUVs which require specialized parts and electronic diagnoses for every problem, because that's the US way and it's taken for granted.
5. Mexico is a food culture (the US doesn't have a food culture; it has a food industry.) In Mexico, fresh produce and antibiotic-free meat is taken for granted, and it all tastes fabulous and it's all prepared with pride because being a food worker in Mexico is an actual job. And it's not expensive-- except in places that cater to nomads and expats-- because eating well is assumed to be a basic human right.
Mexico has problems, big problems. There's widespread dissatisfaction with the government that fuels daily protests in Mexico City. On the central plateau there's a water problem (it's in short supply and laden with heavy metals) which means you save tap water for bathing and washing and drink only bottled water. And the shortages are only going to get worse as the population explodes. And finally there's the problem of the expats-- driving up prices everywhere, pushing long-time residents out of their own neighborhoods. Yes, I'm aware of the irony of this complaint, but it's still true and troubling.
That said: We loved Mexico more than we ever thought we would. The people, the culture, the pace of life and the amazing history and biodiversity astound us every day. We may not move here, but we will absolutely be back.
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