0:36

But are you going to build the house ? Yeah

0:41

, just go to the store and buy the two biggest

0:44

jar of headache medication

0:46

that you can pick and it says

0:48

white tube . I said , and

0:51

it says if you're going to go through the first one

0:53

, but if you open the second one you are in trouble

0:55

. So

0:58

that's we have . Luckily enough

1:00

we still have the second intact

1:02

and we haven't gone through

1:04

much of the first one yet .

1:11

Welcome to ExPATs Like Us . A

1:13

co-production with me , vita Margarita

1:15

, exploring the world of US ExPat

1:17

Life in Mexico . In each episode

1:20

, we'll meet new people and hear their stories

1:22

. You'll also learn more about ExPat

1:24

Life and get a few tips on everything

1:26

from making your move to settling in

1:29

, to living your dreams and , most

1:31

of all , having fun . Let's dive

1:33

in . Welcome

1:47

to ExPATs Like Us . I'm your host , bob

1:49

Bussey .

1:50

And I'm Chris Kowalski .

1:51

We're happy to welcome our friends and neighbors Walter

1:54

Vetterell and Shawnee Lansiedel to

1:56

this week's edition of ExPATs Like Us

1:58

. Like many of us , walter and

2:00

Shawnee sold their home a couple of years ago

2:02

and said adios to snow and

2:04

cold . For them , it was western Canada

2:07

to make their home in Mexico . However

2:09

, instead of buying a condo or an existing

2:12

house , they bought an unfinished lot

2:14

and embarked on an adventure of building

2:16

in Mexico . Hi , walter and Shawnee

2:18

, and welcome to ExPATs Like Us .

2:20

Hello , thank you , it's good to have you

2:22

Thanks for coming today .

2:25

So tell us a little bit about your life in

2:27

Canada before you move here .

2:30

So , career wise , I worked mostly

2:33

in banking and then

2:36

I moved into working

2:38

for the Ministry of Agriculture . That was , for

2:40

the provincial government . Walter

2:43

it was a self-employed electrician

2:46

and he worked also

2:48

for SkyTrain , which is a rapid

2:51

transit system in

2:53

Vancouver , in the lower mainland , in

2:55

British Columbia , canada . And

2:58

so we had met about

3:00

11 years ago and discovered

3:03

that we had some common interests . We

3:06

ended up deciding to buy an acreage

3:08

, and the reason

3:11

that that came about is one

3:14

of our earlier dates that we had . I

3:17

invited Walter over for dinner

3:19

. I had a

3:21

meatloaf that was wrapped in bacon

3:23

that was ready for the oven .

3:26

That's the way to a man's heart , actually , right

3:29

.

3:30

Walter says that was a good start . And

3:33

then I asked him what would you like a salad with

3:35

dinner ? And he said sure

3:38

, I head out to grab my

3:40

hat , grab my basket , head

3:42

out to the backyard , pick

3:44

some lettuce and all sorts of things for

3:46

a salad out of my garden , came

3:48

back in and he was

3:51

shocked . He thought , well , thought

3:53

I was going to go to the fridge , not to the garden . And

3:57

so that's when we kind of started to realize

4:00

that , yeah , this is becoming a common

4:02

interest . We

4:04

want to do more creating

4:06

, more planning , maybe

4:09

even do a larger garden at

4:12

some point , and , as we

4:14

ought to know each other better , we found this

4:16

acreage and

4:18

that acreage

4:22

was transformed into

4:24

really a small farm . We

4:26

had 27 fruit trees , 18

4:29

berry bushes , 20 raised garden

4:31

beds , a greenhouse . We

4:34

were really looking at ways

4:37

to sustain ourselves with produce , between

4:39

storing that produce and I'm

4:41

a canner , so preserving as well

4:43

and

4:46

so , as we were getting to know each other

4:48

, transforming the land and sitting

4:51

every Saturday morning with our

4:53

coffee and our paper and pencil

4:56

and designing different things in the yard

5:01

, we were able to enjoy those 10 years

5:03

together . And

5:05

then , after 2019 , our

5:07

interests went south , literally

5:10

.

5:11

So was there something that precipitated that

5:13

or what made you decide to move ?

5:15

Yeah , so in 2019

5:17

, we actually went to

5:19

Mexico , to

5:21

this Riviera side of Mexico . And

5:24

this kind of leads us into the next question

5:26

really , why

5:28

did we choose the Riviera Maya ? Why

5:30

did we choose to come south ? So

5:34

for many

5:36

years I've come to , I've traveled to Mexico

5:38

, mostly the West Coast side , because that's

5:41

where it is , most

5:43

of my life , easiest , closest

5:45

place between two boys Exactly

5:48

it's super easy A four , four and a

5:50

half hour plane ride , very

5:52

, very simple . And then , after Walter and I

5:54

met , we continued to

5:56

travel down to Mexico and one

5:58

of the usual

6:01

normal conversations we would have on the

6:03

plane ride coming home was

6:06

would you want to live in Mexico ? Would you want to

6:08

do the six months , six months thing after we

6:10

retire ? And the answer was always yeah

6:12

, but nothing really spoke

6:14

to us on that side of Mexico . So

6:18

we decided

6:21

, okay , let's meet up with Walter's

6:23

brother on

6:25

the other side of Mexico , because in proximity

6:28

to where his brother and

6:30

wife live , it

6:33

made more sense to come to this side of Mexico

6:35

. I fell fast in love

6:37

with this side of Mexico . I could

6:39

not believe how beautiful it

6:41

was . So before

6:43

long we were talking to a realtor

6:46

in the clubhouse and

6:49

the realtor went around and showed us

6:51

condos , townhomes

6:54

, already built homes . And

6:58

then he just happened to be talking with Walter

7:00

and said , yeah

7:02

, and I just bought a lot here . Well

7:04

then Walter's ears just perked

7:07

up and he thought , wow

7:10

, this is interesting

7:12

, can you take me to where you bought your lot

7:14

? So

7:17

we had a look at his

7:19

lot and we got a plan of

7:21

the residential area that

7:23

was most attractive to us . And

7:27

then we found ourselves at our

7:29

favorite beach one day and Walter says

7:31

to me so you

7:34

know , between a scale of one to 10

7:36

, where

7:38

are you in terms of living here full time

7:40

After we retire ? Just

7:43

live here full time . And I said

7:45

without hesitation , I'm

7:47

at about a nine , and

7:50

Walter says holy oh .

7:52

All right , that's pretty high on the scale .

7:53

Pretty high and he says , wow , I was only

7:56

at a five .

7:58

So did that raise you up to about a seven or

8:00

eight ?

8:01

That was just sold right there

8:03

and the

8:06

lot . At the time we were not retired

8:08

yet and

8:11

so with the purchase of the lot

8:13

it kind of gave

8:15

us the time frame

8:18

in order to go back , think about retirement

8:20

, you know , rearranging

8:23

everything in Canada and then

8:25

so because just the

8:27

lot was empty , Stay there

8:30

, Stay longer . But

8:33

then something that

8:35

COVID hit and

8:37

that's kind of a

8:40

decision was made . Okay .

8:42

Yeah , that's a common theme amongst

8:44

literally everybody that we've talked to is , well

8:47

, we're doing this and that we're thinking of moving

8:49

, and then COVID hit . That is a common

8:51

thing for everybody , yeah , so

8:54

that really affected a lot of yeah .

8:57

it made you rethink a lot . We

9:00

were working from home out of one point

9:03

and then

9:05

decided , well

9:22

, this is just , we need to change

9:24

. So yeah , in 2022

9:26

, February 2022

9:31

, we were here . We

9:38

had started the design of the house

9:40

and that

9:42

was a project on itself . Every Saturday and

9:44

Sunday morning , with briefs , lots of fun . Yeah

9:47

, back to the paper

9:50

and we already had all

9:53

the paperwork done when we got

9:55

here for designing and

9:57

approvals from the

10:01

country club not from the city or the state

10:03

or so

10:11

and then the whole other

10:13

episode started . Something

10:16

like we . Then

10:20

we find out all the requirements

10:22

that we're going to be talking about in a minute

10:24

.

10:26

So what made you guys decide ? You

10:28

know , most of us come down here , chris and

10:30

I , you know we came down here Bada

10:32

Kondo , that's it . Here we are . What I

10:34

mean was it because you guys had a big

10:37

lot and you were used to the space ?

10:39

That has quite a bit to do with

10:41

it . We wanted to have some space

10:44

. I'm a

10:46

hands-on type of person and

10:48

I needed

10:50

a project . I mean , I wasn't

10:52

coming here to be

10:54

, you know , just to drink margaritas

10:57

on the beach , so I needed

10:59

I don't know . We liked

11:02

that part . It was going

11:04

to be our home . We want

11:06

to have a lot of input . We

11:08

had family . We were planning

11:10

for , you know , for guests and family

11:13

to stay with us , and so

11:16

, yeah , that

11:18

was the idea .

11:20

You have a little

11:22

bit more control , you

11:24

know , over the

11:26

building of the house . Have

11:28

more control in having as many

11:30

solar panels as we want , have a water

11:33

source like a cistern you

11:35

know those things were important and that have

11:37

a large garden . You know , as you heard

11:39

earlier , a manavid gardener .

11:41

So yeah , so we haven't

11:44

put that in practice yet , we're

11:46

still at the last stages

11:49

. So the house and the built and the garden

11:51

, so we still have that

11:53

to be said . What

11:56

type of fruits and vegetables

11:58

have we been having ?

12:00

How long have you been in the project

12:02

as far as once I started construction

12:05

until this point .

12:05

Yeah , that's , it

12:08

is a year of construction . Okay

12:11

, a lot of builders

12:14

will tell you that it's between

12:16

eight months to a year

12:18

. It can be built in eight

12:21

months a year now and

12:23

it's going to take us a

12:25

little bit longer to

12:27

finish because we are in the finishing

12:29

stages and you

12:33

know , if you rush then your quality

12:35

could be yeah , it goes out

12:38

. So you have to

12:40

. I mean , we are having more control

12:42

on the finishing

12:44

and the details . And

12:47

, yeah , when

12:49

is it going to be finished completely with

12:51

the last picture on the wall ? That's

12:54

going to be a process . It's going to be two days

12:56

before we sell .

13:03

That's pretty far there you go .

13:04

That's how that looks , so anyhow .

13:07

Okay go ahead . And

13:09

then what we didn't anticipate was the amount

13:11

of administration work

13:13

, not only that pertain to the

13:15

house , but also for us

13:17

. You know , we had to take time to open

13:19

a bank account , buy a car , so we

13:22

get out of a rental car to

13:25

the driver's license

13:28

and then also making

13:31

sure that the deed got transferred into our names

13:33

. Yeah , so yeah

13:36

, a lot of administration work .

13:37

That was the one video , something

13:40

that one

13:43

of the big differences Usually

13:45

that processing Canada or

13:47

the US takes two to three days the

13:50

most , and here it took us

13:52

seven months . Wow , I wasn't

13:55

going to start building without with

13:57

the law and

13:59

they're our name , so that's

14:02

but it . It allowed us to

14:04

really enjoy the

14:07

lifestyle that we were planning , meeting

14:10

extremely good people and friends

14:12

and by

14:15

the poolside here in this neighborhood

14:17

, and we , you know , we

14:20

had to learn the process

14:22

of opening a bank account and

14:24

going back and forth three or four times to

14:27

do certain things , like

14:29

you know , like paperwork , I

14:31

was at one point I was shown

14:34

each that called me one

14:36

piece of paper , short Walter .

14:40

Somebody went to license your car .

14:45

Yeah , so it was

14:47

always a one piece of paper short .

14:51

So yeah , but there was definitely a

14:53

large learning curve to ride

14:56

and that year allowed

14:58

us to do that .

15:00

And that's kind of universal for everybody

15:03

that moves down here . You know those things you

15:05

, we all have to do and that's kind

15:07

of been a theme on here about what we

15:09

love and what we hate about that sort

15:11

of things . You know , you guys just have

15:14

the whole concept of building

15:16

the house as well . So

15:18

tell me a little bit about how

15:22

. Do's construction here differ

15:24

than what you're you were used to Canada

15:26

?

15:27

Yeah , you know , first

15:30

of all , we got to . You know we can

15:32

take the whole country . Mexico is a big country

15:35

. We are in a very

15:37

fast growing

15:39

area . It's

15:42

one of the most expensive part of Mexico

15:44

to build and

15:46

, with all the mega projects that

15:48

happen , it's happening or

15:50

happen around us in the 2023

15:54

, have put it a

15:56

lot of strain

15:58

in the labor market and the materials

16:01

. So

16:03

, yeah , that's , you know

16:05

, like that would be the little bit more difficult

16:08

and but

16:10

the difference was the . I

16:12

mean , the first one to me is

16:15

the bureaucratic , like the seven

16:17

months to get the deed , the

16:20

permits process , the

16:24

three levels of government that you had to

16:26

deal . Then how , for

16:29

example , here in Tulum , there

16:31

is no inspections . The

16:35

city , neither the state , does inspections

16:38

, for example , like we've had in

16:40

Canada . You know , plumbing , electrical , building

16:42

, structural and so on . There's

16:45

not basically

16:48

a government or

16:51

agency to control the

16:53

type of built . So the owner

16:55

and has to be aware

16:59

and he has to get

17:02

involved to make it

17:05

the to get what

17:07

you really want in

17:09

order to there are reputable construction

17:12

companies and engineers

17:14

and architects , but

17:16

the ultimate , if you want a well built

17:18

home , I think it's a

17:20

, it's a good idea to get in to

17:22

follow what the process of the

17:24

other built and even

17:27

though that may be discourage

17:29

for somebody that would like to build and

17:32

it says , no , I don't want to get involved

17:34

in the build of my house , you

17:36

have to be aware that every

17:40

house that is already built

17:42

has gone through the same system

17:44

. So

17:46

there is that . What

17:49

type of product are you going to get at the end ?

17:52

So do you think that a lot of people come

17:54

down here and don't realize that and just kind of

17:56

find a kind of because a contractor is going

17:59

to say , don't worry

18:01

about it , Don't worry about it Come back a year

18:03

and you can move in your beautiful home . That's correct

18:06

. I imagine that that

18:08

can be a issue .

18:08

They have a term for that and it's

18:10

key in hand . They have

18:12

that key in hand , so they

18:14

have it . You just

18:17

sign the contract and that

18:19

will build your house . For me

18:21

, particularly , that

18:23

has a lot of variables

18:26

, to say the least . I

18:28

mean , what type of faucet

18:30

are you going to provide , what

18:33

type of finishing , what type of electrical

18:35

and or plumbing

18:38

and so on ? So

18:42

they are good contractors here , very

18:45

responsible , good work . But

18:50

at the same time , you have some of them

18:52

that they

18:55

will try to cut corners and sometimes

18:57

it is not really

19:00

something that is in

19:02

their control . For example

19:05

, one of the issues that we had in 2023

19:07

, and you follow

19:09

that closely it was the

19:11

peso gaining

19:13

strength over the dollar

19:15

. So that was 10%

19:18

, 15% of what the Canadian

19:20

dollar . So

19:23

suddenly you sign a contract

19:25

in US and

19:28

now you

19:31

get 15% or 20% or

19:33

15% less pesos

19:35

. So the

19:38

contractor is going to say , well , something

19:41

had to move in that . So

19:45

sometimes there are things that

19:47

are away from the control

19:50

of the both parties . I mean , they build there on

19:52

the owner . So

19:56

, yeah , that happened . So

19:59

we'll you know .

20:03

I can see that's something that people wouldn't think about

20:05

. The fluctuation in the exchange

20:07

rate and just the money issues that

20:09

we have fluctuates all the time

20:11

, I mean even more than just

20:14

the interest rate , but also Walter

20:17

mentioned earlier about how the price

20:19

of materials can change

20:21

.

20:22

The minimum wage rate can go up . So

20:25

these things can increase while the builder

20:27

is trying to build your home Back

20:30

in Canada when you sign

20:32

for a contractor to build

20:34

your home , because they can build

20:36

homes quicker in Canada based

20:39

on our experience so far in comparison

20:42

here that

20:45

fluctuation doesn't play in as much

20:47

, but here that

20:49

has been a tough experience .

20:50

It swings all over the place here

20:52

. I mean , I think all of us have

20:54

experienced that , but we're not committed

20:57

to a really big home or a nice home

20:59

like you guys are , but we've all

21:01

experienced that in the last year

21:03

or so .

21:05

Corruption as far as government officials

21:08

wanting to bribe to get things done quicker

21:10

. Did you come across anything

21:12

like that ?

21:13

He come across that . But

21:16

everything can be avoided . You

21:20

can . One thing in

21:22

my favor I had to say the

21:24

language I'm fluent in , spanish , and

21:29

that I can go and talk

21:31

to the people in the city if I need

21:33

to . So

21:36

it happens

21:38

. But

21:43

for me , what

21:45

is it ? Not so much the cost

21:47

of the permit , Because I mean , in Vancouver

21:49

, 60% of the cost of

21:51

the building a house is permits and paperwork

21:53

, so it's

21:56

pretty high . And so we

21:59

don't call it corruption , we just call it that

22:02

that's how it works .

22:03

How ?

22:04

it works .

22:07

So here is that's what . I don't really lean

22:10

on that word because it

22:12

is the cost For me . I would

22:14

like to see more improvements

22:16

in the city roads , the lighting

22:19

, that type

22:21

of thing where the money goes more

22:23

than anything else , but

22:26

no .

22:30

It is true . I mean , we've had

22:32

to pay several times

22:34

to get

22:36

something done , and it's not just to get it done

22:39

quicker . You

22:42

pay this incentive and

22:45

it's , but , like Walter

22:47

says , when you compare it to

22:49

the cost of permits to building

22:51

Canada , it's

22:54

relative . Because

22:58

, it's relative Sure .

23:00

So , walter , with your background in construction

23:02

and your fluency in Spanish Spanish

23:04

your first language , I would say yes and

23:08

understanding of Latin American culture probably

23:10

more than a lot of us , I'm

23:13

guessing that makes the process a little easier

23:15

than it would be for just some gringo

23:17

that just stepped off the plane and decided

23:20

to build a building .

23:21

No , actually , my

23:23

learning curve was after

23:26

38 years in Canada . It's

23:30

, I had a little bit of a

23:32

learning curve , but

23:35

for people who then would

23:38

like to come and build , I

23:40

have an analogy . I mean

23:43

, I've seen the people that

23:45

come here very successful professionals

23:48

, business people , and

23:50

with a they

23:52

have a life experience , huge

23:54

life experience . So you're

23:57

a good tennis players , a

24:00

good tennis player , and

24:03

you're used to playing a rectangular

24:05

court . Well , here

24:07

the court is a big circle , so

24:10

you're going to have to adapt your game Right

24:12

and

24:14

that's , it's simple . I mean , you're

24:16

going to . What

24:19

I might advise to whoever

24:21

decides to to take that

24:23

is to do your homework

24:26

. Ask a lot of questions , listen

24:28

to podcasts , find

24:31

out who is the good

24:34

, reputable contractors . Go

24:37

see their work , find

24:40

out that they need to . You

24:43

know , like , how the payment system

24:45

works . Don't find

24:47

out that a contract is

24:49

doesn't have the weight that you used

24:52

to have in Canada or the US

24:54

. So you know

24:56

those little things and they

24:58

are people that they're

25:00

honest , hardworking , people

25:02

that will follow , that will help

25:05

you out that way . We were lucky to

25:08

find them and so I

25:10

. You know , I cannot say that our

25:12

experience had been terrible

25:14

. We had the

25:16

normal hiccups that

25:18

anybody building a house would have

25:21

. A good old friend of

25:23

mine , a contractor , used to say

25:25

but are you going to build the house ? Yeah

25:27

, just go to the , you know

25:29

, to the , to the big , to

25:32

the store and buy the two biggest jar

25:34

of headache medication that you can

25:36

pick . And he says why two

25:39

? And I said and says , because

25:41

you're going to go through the first one , but if you open

25:43

the second one you are in trouble , you

25:45

know . So that's

25:48

, we're lucky enough . We still

25:50

have the second , the second second

25:52

, intact , and we

25:54

haven't gone through much of the first one yet . So

25:56

, but they are hiccups

25:58

, I mean . So it's

26:01

expected .

26:02

And here yeah

26:04

, and I'm being adaptable , I think is

26:06

something that has helped us a lot

26:08

, because , yeah , you're , you're

26:10

gonna , you're gonna run into problems

26:13

, it's inevitable , but it's really

26:15

how you deal with them and if you can just kind

26:17

of keep a cool head and and

26:19

and be flexible

26:22

and adaptable , that

26:24

, yeah , that has helped us all

26:26

along .

26:27

There's one saying that is

26:30

being used here the ones that get angry

26:32

loses . So you have to

26:34

have a lot of patience . Be

26:38

, you know there are ways to resolve

26:40

every problem and

26:42

you know some people decided different

26:46

ways , but most of the people

26:48

that we have encountered it's professional

26:51

and to realize . I mean , everybody

26:53

tries to make a buck

26:55

, which is normal .

26:57

Yeah , just like everywhere in the world . Exactly

26:59

.

27:00

So , looking back on the process so far , is there

27:02

anything you wish that you'd known that

27:05

you could have maybe headed off some some

27:07

issues going into this , or is there any kind of advice

27:09

that you would give ?

27:13

expats that are considering . Yeah

27:16

, I knew very well

27:18

that the three rules of constructions

27:20

apply here quality , cost and

27:22

time . There

27:25

are three variables that you know

27:27

you can't get them all Because in

27:30

the time factor it was the

27:32

one that really is

27:34

taken a little longer than expected . I

27:37

thought the process was going to be a little bit quicker

27:39

, so there

27:41

was a cost of renting at the

27:43

time , and so that's what

27:46

you know the push and

27:48

we try to speed

27:52

up the process , and

27:54

then , of course , you start losing quality

27:56

. So that's what if

28:01

I had an advice ? It's just like

28:04

when you go traveling they tell

28:06

you take double the

28:08

money and have the close here , calculate

28:11

it double the time . You know time

28:14

is going to be , especially if you're going to be here

28:16

watching the build

28:18

and you had to rent as well . So

28:21

that was one of the variables that it would be nice

28:24

to shorten it up , but , as

28:26

I said , you lose control on the quality

28:29

and the cost . So be patient , be

28:33

patient , yeah .

28:34

So , shawnee , tell us in

28:37

your opinion , you know what's something that you would

28:40

have been more , you want people to be aware of

28:42

. Or would you have done differently ? Not necessarily in

28:45

just building the house , but in becoming an

28:47

expat in Mexico ?

28:48

Right , Wow , there's probably so many

28:51

learnings there to share , right

28:53

? But to you know , to maybe keep

28:55

it in line with the house , I

28:58

would say that one

29:01

thing that was the biggest surprise to me

29:03

was the amount of administration that

29:06

was needed to build the house

29:08

, and we actually

29:11

interviewed seven builders before we picked

29:14

one and none

29:18

of them had mentioned anything about

29:20

the permit . You know how much the permit was

29:23

going to cost at the city to loom and

29:25

, for that matter , how much any of the other

29:27

permits and there's

29:29

many , many permits that you are responsible

29:32

for , the builders responsible for . And

29:37

so that you know , once , we

29:39

kind of we kept track of our budget the whole

29:42

way through , and when

29:45

I see that figure

29:48

that went to just administration , it was shocking and , to be

29:50

honest with

29:52

you , we did not factor that in to the build of our home

29:54

, right , and now would you ?

29:55

You didn't know about it , didn't know about it , so I would definitely

29:57

want to know that in advance , that you

30:00

know .

30:00

Maybe sometimes the builder will

30:02

include that in , but it's a good question to ask

30:04

. You know

30:08

, is it built in or are you going to be coming

30:10

to me for this large permit price ? You know , to get

30:14

that ? The plans even approved by

30:16

the city . So there you have it .

30:17

That's words to live by for people thinking about building

30:19

a house , because I can see getting caught in that and

30:21

your budget's tight

30:25

and oh my .

30:26

God , yeah , definitely the build . There's so many things

30:28

that you can do . The builders .

30:30

The builders will talk about square meters

30:33

. You know the cost per square meter

30:35

taking in the US and kind

30:37

of , but the

30:39

all that administration cost is

30:41

aside and that's kind of

30:44

a gray area to the . So

30:46

you're completely right , I mean it's

30:48

. That was a little bit of a

30:50

oh wake up call .

30:52

Yeah , what kind of percentage are you talking

30:54

like 10% of the overall cost , 5%

30:56

, 25% of the overall cost

30:58

.

30:58

Yeah , we're talking about one . Fifth

31:00

Would you say yeah ? One , yeah , but

31:03

20% for a market in Australia

31:05

to go up 10% .

31:07

Yeah , okay . So tell

31:09

us where you're at with your project now I know

31:11

where it is , but tell our viewers you guys are . You

31:13

guys are living , yes , in your house , and

31:15

it's not fully done .

31:16

It's not completely that we . We have

31:18

a the minimum requirements

31:20

a working swimming pool , the

31:22

air conditioner where we are , that's

31:25

, but

31:28

yeah , no we have odd priorities

31:31

.

31:31

We have the pool finished before we have the downstairs

31:33

.

31:36

Well , you know , there's restaurants around here

31:38

.

31:40

So and yeah

31:42

, we are 85% or

31:45

close and we now we are

31:47

working on the on the outside

31:49

of the house and finishing

31:51

the some requirements that we have

31:53

to comply with some

31:55

rock and some Okay

31:58

, color scheme that we've got approved

32:00

, doing the driveway that I think

32:02

okay .

32:23

So Shawnee , we play a game

32:25

. I don't know if you guys have listened to previous podcast

32:28

, but we call it Cape Audrey K-Malo

32:30

. Cape Audrey is things that you think are cool

32:33

, k-malo things that you

32:35

don't like so much are still adapting to

32:37

give me one of each for you

32:39

personally .

32:40

Okay , well , I have listened to previous okay

32:42

and I probably agree

32:44

with pretty much all the Cape Audrey's

32:46

that you've built with so far right , like

32:48

the oh , the

32:51

, the weather , the people , the

32:53

, the health care , the accessibility

32:55

to good health care and affordability

32:57

, so

33:00

many of them lifestyle , and

33:02

so for me it

33:04

it narrowed down to lifestyle . I

33:07

had a certain type of lifestyle

33:09

that I wanted to . I was

33:12

hoping to be able to live in

33:14

my retirement and I

33:16

knew that that wasn't going to . I was

33:18

not going to be able to have that lifestyle in Canada

33:20

. I , and

33:23

you know , what I was looking for was

33:25

a slower pace . I was looking to

33:27

meeting people from all over the

33:29

world who had like-minded ideas

33:32

as myself and and

33:34

weren't living in fear . You know

33:36

, I Was looking at

33:39

, hoping to find a place that was more affordable

33:41

. Let let my your

33:43

retirement dollars go a little bit further

33:46

. And they

33:48

and the other thing , the

33:50

other two things that were really important to me is

33:52

, you know , I've lived in Canada

33:55

my whole life and

33:57

I have seen the

34:00

laws getting tighter , the

34:02

the rules Getting

34:04

more prevalent , the more all-encompassing

34:07

yeah losing freedom

34:09

, personal right like I feel

34:11

like I have been come

34:13

more regulated by the

34:15

governments and I

34:18

Been to Mexico several times I knew

34:20

that it was a freer sort of like

34:22

yes , there's laws , there's rules , there's regulations

34:25

here I'd say

34:27

there's a bit more common sense here and

34:30

and that was that was a huge attraction

34:32

for me . So

34:35

I appreciate that and I really

34:37

appreciate the health care system here

34:39

. I one thing that I

34:41

was suffering from when living

34:44

in Canada during COVID is All

34:47

of a sudden I didn't get to control my old health

34:49

care anymore . That wasn't my

34:51

choice anymore and

34:53

I Fortunately , knock on wood

34:55

have been a healthy individual

34:58

most of my life and because I have controlled

35:00

that and so

35:02

you

35:04

know . But my my k-padre is I

35:07

get to have control of

35:09

my health again and if and

35:11

I can have affordable . Yeah

35:14

accessible health care here and

35:16

yeah .

35:17

So what are you still adapting to or what have

35:19

you not like so much ?

35:22

Yeah , I , you know , I don't

35:24

know how many times I told Walter I

35:27

do not want to live in Mexico

35:29

, you know , for the rest of my life and not

35:31

know Spanish . I must learn

35:33

to speak Spanish and it

35:35

embarrasses me that I

35:38

have a fluent speaking . It's not a

35:40

speaking husband . I

35:42

have no excuse , you

35:44

know , but I do have a 62 year

35:46

old mind .

35:48

Yeah right , it's not like being three years

35:50

old and you naturally pick up language

35:52

yeah .

35:54

Hard . It's like I find it

35:56

extremely hard . So

35:58

that's something I you know . I just wish

36:00

I could be I dream a genie and blink

36:02

and I know the language and a heartbeat , but

36:04

I know that's not gonna happen and I

36:07

have to grow patience . We talk about patience earlier

36:09

. I really need to grow patience

36:11

and realize that it just is

36:13

persistence . And I do

36:15

persist and I am getting better

36:17

and I will continue

36:19

to to try , but it comes

36:22

with .

36:22

It's very tough . If someone

36:24

would have told me that I would know as little

36:26

Spanish as I do after living in Mexico

36:29

for almost three years , I'd have thought you're

36:31

nuts , I we all think

36:33

it's gonna absorb some to our brains

36:36

, you know , and Some

36:38

does , but not enough , you know

36:40

.

36:40

Sometimes having a Spanish speaking spouse

36:42

makes it easy to get away with non-speak .

36:46

Right , it gives you an excuse . You don't have

36:48

to struggle for dear life . You

36:50

know when you're out doing something . So

36:53

, walter , same question to you Give me a k Padre

36:56

and a k Malo .

36:57

For me is the same coin with

37:00

it . Both sides of the coin , they

37:02

, you know , being more relaxed

37:05

into regulations

37:08

and being relaxed into ethnicity

37:11

, life , doubt being

37:14

that you know like , no , not so

37:16

many controls in

37:18

government or or just

37:21

a

37:24

society in general being with

37:26

so many rules and regulations , and

37:29

, and on the other side

37:31

of that particular coin , we

37:33

have the , the lack of

37:35

. Let's

37:38

see , you know like , you see more potholes

37:41

on the , on the street , you see , you

37:43

know , holes that they have . No , nobody

37:47

put a piece of wood and

37:49

it's the middle of the night and you know somebody

37:51

by fall , and that's always the

37:53

same thing . The other way that

37:56

you have , you know , the lack of a Signage

38:00

or the lack of , you know

38:02

, more bylaws

38:05

or in

38:07

order to make it more orderly , but

38:09

at the same time , I really enjoy the

38:11

freedom to have that . You

38:15

know like , yeah , the

38:17

other day somebody was stopped with no seat

38:19

belt and the police asked

38:21

him to put on the seat belt and suddenly

38:23

you have this pickup truck with

38:25

20 or 30 years . A workaholic

38:28

stand on the highway in the back of

38:30

the

38:33

truck .

38:36

Yeah , how do they get by with that

38:38

?

38:41

Yeah , I think the answer to the police

38:43

officer was their special .

38:47

And I have to add for Walter , the

38:49

weather . And the reason I have

38:51

to add this is because I can't tell you how many

38:53

times a week I

38:55

am showed the weather app and

38:58

what it's doing in Canada and how cold

39:00

it is and how much snow is

39:02

falling , and I have

39:04

to add one more to you that

39:07

you miss completely is

39:14

the food the food is

39:16

amazing and

39:18

so many options around here .

39:20

It's just it .

39:21

Yes it's pretty good and

39:23

well . Thank you very much for

39:25

having us . If anybody else

39:27

need more help with building

39:29

or any suggestions

39:31

that we can help , please

39:33

, you know they can contact you and send us

39:35

an email at expatslikeus at

39:37

gmailcom and we will

39:39

pass it on to you or share it with you .

39:41

Absolutely , thank you . It's on Facebook , yeah

39:44

, or Facebook , or we're on

39:46

TikTok . Now I don't quite understand

39:48

it , but we are .

39:49

We don't know how long that'll last .

39:50

Right , I

39:53

don't even know what it is .

39:56

Find us there , right , you need to add a 14

39:58

year old to your

40:00

crew , right , exactly

40:03

?

40:03

Exactly Well . Walter and Shawnee , thank

40:05

you so much for sharing your story of building

40:08

a home in Mexico and for the great tips

40:10

and insights you provided . We'll look forward

40:12

to your housewarming party in the near

40:14

future .

40:15

Thank you you know

40:17

.

40:17

thank you , guys . In

40:20

each episode of expats like us , we're

40:22

going to teach you a new Mexican slang

40:24

word . This is something you may not find

40:27

in your phrase book or your online Spanish

40:29

class or your Spanish app or wherever

40:31

you're learning your Spanish . Instead , this

40:33

is a term used primarily by

40:35

Mexican Spanish speakers . Today's

40:39

word is Tokayo

40:46

Tokayo . How do you spell

40:48

that ?

40:49

T-O-C-A-Y-O

40:51

.

40:51

Okay , tokayo . What does Tokayo

40:53

mean ?

40:54

It's a nickname given to anyone who shares

40:56

your first name .

40:57

Okay , so that would be like um geez

41:00

. I can't think of an English word

41:03

that would be that equivalent .

41:04

Yeah , I don't think there is one .

41:06

That is a slang word . It sure is All

41:08

right . Thank you very much , erica

41:10

Kowalski . From Me , vita Margarita , we'd

41:16

love to hear your thoughts on today's topic

41:18

. Just look up expats like us

41:20

on Facebook or send us an email

41:23

at expatslikeus at gmailcom

41:26

. You can also see the video version

41:28

of today's discussion and all of our discussions

41:30

on our YouTube page Follow , like

41:32

, subscribe and leave us a review

41:34

. Thank

41:43

you to our guests , walter Vittorell

41:45

and Shawnee Lancidal for joining

41:47

us for this episode , and thanks to our

41:49

team , chris and Erica Kowalski and

41:51

Sherry Bussett , and thanks especially

41:53

to all our viewers and listeners , and

41:56

thanks to everyone who interacts with us on

41:58

social media . I'm Bob Bussey

42:00

. Until next time , remember , our

42:02

lives are not defined by geography

42:04

or our physical location , but by memories

42:06

, events , people and places

42:08

that span the globe .

42:41

Thank you .