Big Changes for Puerto Vallarta and Us

It has been a wild ride from NY to California to Houston to Puerto Vallarta
00:56 Personal Stuff
01:28 Houston vs California vs Puerto Vallarta
03:56 Our Changes
04:35 Moving & Getting Rid of Stuff
06:03 Getting Sick
06:50 Drive to Houston
07:20 Houston Healthcare
08:15 Back to Puerto Vallarta
08:50 Food and Restaurants
09:42 Dona Chela
11:00 El Bodegon de Pastas
13:0 Onda el Vic on
13:30 Taqueria Las Guerras
14:13 El Sonadar / GenExpats PV
15:25 Ada’s’s Coincidence
16:20 Infrastructure Work
18:30 Mural
18:40 Building
21:27 Where to Live
22:00 Mysterious Critter
24:13 Bonus Material

[@dj33036]

I lived in Bucerías (just up the road a bit from P.V.) a few years back and one evening while watering plants in my front yard a huge bat flew down the street next to my house. I was shocked at how big it was. I moved to Mexico 10 years ago, best decision I've ever made.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Excellent! Bucerias sure had grown up, hasn't it?

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

We're thinking that's the critter.

[@BlancaGutierrez-cr3bb]

Yesterday , friends and I were at the Westin resort at the marina . A bat flew right into the hotel lobby thru the hotel 😮😮😮

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@BlancaGutierrez-cr3bb they do have the moves!

[@richardsmith2304]

So fabulous to see you both at Mi Café. You are both just as nice in person. Thanks for taking the time for a short chat.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

It was our pleasure! Thanks for stopping by! ♥️

[@cindyk3076]

Good to see you! Big changes is an understatement, lol, good luck!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Thanks & agree!

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

haha...we don't seem to do things small.

[@that_introverted_mom]

Thanks for sharing! I miss PV so much and it brings so much joy to see it your video. Also smart move on getting out of CA (money wise and downsizing). I love that your videos are not only about PV but also include small life lessons that some of us really need to hear. Good luck in your journey, stay healthy and strong cause we need move videos from you two.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Thanks for your kind words! We look forward to making more videos because of comments like yours. ❤️

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

Glad you're enjoying our journey and experiences.

[@douglasbussard3459]

I’m retired and had a beautiful company that made me financially secure. Bought a waterfront condo in 2007 in PV. Wasn’t cheap then- but now ridiculously priced. I spend 6 months in PV- the other 6 on Vancouver island, where I own a house. . Canada is expensive- but I think new PV the same price. No cheap anymore.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Congrats on both of your purchases at the right time! ❤️

[@luikmex]

Pv is still cheaper than Canada. I live here throughout the year. If you shop in the touristy areas the prices are higher than the local areas in PV.

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

Still lots to enjoy for those that step deeper into the neighborhoods and country. That's what we're looking forward to discovering.

[@luikmex]

@@bewellstaywellnetwork the zona romántica area and Emiliano Zapato are for the tourists. If you venture towards Versailles and past towards pitillal the prices drop and the food is authentic

[@uliseszarate6561]

I think you're going to regret Houston real quick. The crime, the bad air, the sprawl, the aggressive driving by drivers in huge trucks and SUVs, the lack of zoning codes, ugly polluted coastline, etc.,etc., We live in Austin and can't wait to get out but good luck!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Thanks. We'll see over time. Heading to Mexico full time?

[@martigallagher7250]

We’re in Austin and it is time to go since we’re retiring. We thought of Houston as well-haven’t decided yet. Still thinking about a U.S. anchor in a very small, but cool home. Open to ideas!

[@martigallagher7250]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico, what do you think is the % of gringos who are full time? We’re Bay Area people at heart tho’ life took us to Austin. PV seems to offer more than other beach/jungle locales. Can’t wait to get through your videos.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@martigallagher7250 That is really tough to say, but I'd say the amount of snowbirds has increased dramatically. That is why all the condos are plentiful given the lock-and-leave aspect versus a house. A house is great for us as we are not gone for long periods and go back and forth often (houses are a better value given the demand for condos). What we have found is that local tourists from Mexico pick up the slack in the summer, so Vallarta has gotten busier year round. Where we are at in Gringo Gulch, there are quite a number of people full time. Folks that need a flatter more tranquil environment tend to go to Marina Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta and other flat areas. As mentioned in the video, we find that folks who are full time miss the big city environment and periodically take cheap trips or even have homes in Guadalajara or Mexico City to compensate. We like PV as the town is alive with plenty to do and 100s of eateries and entertainment within walking distance. Hope that helps! (Although I didn't really answer your question!)

[@uliseszarate6561]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico Absolutely!

[@maryromain861]

Many years ago (30!) I lived in PV for a year in an apartment across the street from the original Krystal Hotel. One day, there was a dead bat in our swimming pool so yes, they are in PV!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Yep, and still eating berries in our stairwell! 🤗

[@AlmostRetiredinMexico]

I had y’all pegged as country music fans the first time I met ya’ll!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Too funny! First concert we attended at the Toyota Center was the Cure. Last week we went to the “Totally tubular” festival which featured Men Without Hats - I suspect you are not a fan 😆

[@billycryer]

Welcome to Texas! I bought a place in Nacogdoches (a couple hours north of Houston) a few years ago and can’t imagine retiring anywhere else. Thanks for the PV updates. ¡Órale!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Thanks for the comment! Look forward to driving around your neck of the woods on our little trips when not in Mexico!

[@billycryer]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico Let me know when you guys come through here-would love to take you to lunch or the local coffee place.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@billycryer Sounds good Billy! It may not be for a bit, but I am sure we'll be up in your neck of the woods at some point!

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

I'm already super impressed with Houston's resilience.

[@scottehrsam2127]

Love Dona Chala, that cucumber salsa is great, they just switched to the mugs about 3 months ago

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Nice, interesting info on the mugs!

[@petercesar6963]

happy to hear from you two again because you just lay low for awhile.I think there is too many condos building around and i wonder if it is the reason the pipes are always broken and they can hold all that waste and PV is starting to look just like another big city.Enjoy your new place in Houston and take care.🥰

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

I am sure that is part of it. They did do a lot of infrastructure build out on our street last year, but not sure if it was enough.

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

Lots going on. I'm amazed when we can get these videos uploaded.

[@mwiebe2663]

I agree it’s likely bats. Our Mexican home is in a small town south of Mexico City, on the edge of a large National Forest. We get a lot of wildlife. The cacomixtles love to leave “gifts” on our 3rd Floor terrace, we had a tlacuache (possum) family hanging around for awhile, and ground squirrels which made burrows underneath our house!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

The wild kingdom in our home never disappoints! The best so far was a chachalaca in our bedroom and a friendly iguana in our pool!

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

given how we can't seem to catch the mystery critter on camera, I'm going to think bats also.

[@kirkmadere5414]

Thanks for the video! We are coming in September. Where do you recommend staying for someone that loves action and people? Centro or Romantic by the sail?

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Both areas are close together and walkable. North of the river will have a more local tourist feel especially in September. The RZ is a little better for beach access and more US/Canada centered nightlife spots for folks across interests. Have fun!

[@NAKEDJAGUARTOURSPUERTOVALLARTA]

How have I never been to Taqueria Las Gueras? Looks epic!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Go go go!

[@YesItsMeGuys68]

Yup .. it's Bats !

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

And I thought it was just mosquitos I had to worry about sucking my blood!🩸

[@jetlag737]

Quick flights to PVR from Houston 👍🏼

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Amazingly quick!

[@jetlag737]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico It’s a 5 hour flight from Seattle.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@jetlag737 We used to do directs from Oakland that weren't bad on Southwest, but they then rerouted through Orange County or Phoenix which blew the day. Since we travel so much, we have a companion pass to keep costs down which is why we stick with SW. Super easy now from Houston to PV and to the rest of the country.

[@martigallagher7250]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico, it’s all about air lift, great food and good healthcare for us.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@martigallagher7250 Agreed!

[@derrick8224]

Seems a trend that people from a few KZbin channels are returning to the USA from PV.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

We've always gone back and forth since we bought a home in Puerto Vallarta in 2018. We are in three stages, the first is to get our daughter to college, the second is to complete our last stage of work life in the US, and the third is to eventually retire in Mexico and then bounce back to the US periodically with more time traveling in Mexico. We started early to ensure we could afford a fixer upper home in Puerto Vallarta and then moved on from there. We usually travel in about monthly, but it sure has been crazy busy the last few months up North to reconfigure our lives!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@Derrick I have to say that after watching videos today, you are right! It seems a lot are moving. It makes sense though given the higher cost of living with inflation and the exchange rate, plus the natural churn. Surprised just to see two leaving from Puerto Vallarta today... One back to Canada and the other to a different City in Mexico. We are still here though at least in the same capacity... You may have inspired a next video! All the best.

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

Something to keep in mind is that this channel wasn't created because we left the USA for PV. It was (and still is) about how we were able to follow a vision (adapt to its changes) and not pass up opportunities if they present themselves. We're busy professionals in the US and have been pretty clear that we're still going to be working for awhile, but instead of waiting until we were "done" to enjoy life and a vision of the simple life in Mexico, we made the conscious decision to enjoy the whole process, even if things are not as simple as we'd want them to be at the moment.

[@christinedailey9254]

What KZbinrs have you seen that moved from PV? I watch a young family and they went to visit family for a month but didn’t leave PV.

[@szivec]

There absolutely are bats in Vallarta. When we stayed at Friendly in the north hotel zone a lot of them flew between Friendly and Fiesta Americana right at dusk and then flew south along the beach. Every evening like clockwork. I like bats. The only ones we need to worry about here in the Canadian prairies are the rabid ones. I have no idea if that’s an issue in Mexico.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

We’ll see if we can catch one in the act!

[@davebaker489]

I had been wondering where you "guys" were and what you were up to. We'd love to visit (maybe in the off season) but I don't think these rebuild knees are up to it. When I was younger and 1/2 mountain goat ... maybe. I may have to just visit and or move to La Paz area and keep Brighton entertained. Please keep em coming. P n D Pam n Dave.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Thanks for the comment! Hope to see you in the off season one of these days. If you do make it up to La Paz, send Brighton my best! He is a great guy!

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

Thanks!

[@christinedailey9254]

They are bats! There is a huge tree on Púlpito right in front of Pinnacle Resorts 220 that they love to eat those berries out of. Each night at dusk you can see them coming out to feed. We lived in the Houston area for 13 years. There is no trade winds in Houston, that’s why it feels much hotter there than in PV. We moved from Houston to Alameda in 2017, my spouse grew up in SF. We now live in Nevada spending winters in PV. If you haven’t already, go get brisket from Spring Creek BBQ, that and the HEB are the only things we miss about Houston (TX in general). Best of luck in Houston. My best advice is to keep an open mind and remember why you moved there. The culture difference between there and the SF Bay Area is night and day!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

I bet you are right on the bats! We’ll keep the video cam up. What a coincidence on the location! Definitely keeping an open mind. We currently live in an old bank building in the middle of downtown. It has been fun living in an urban environment. Very night and day of course! We really can’t compare Houston to the SF Bay Area as they are so very different. In Alameda, were you in the island or Bay Farm? All the best!

[@christinedailey9254]

⁠@@LivingSimplyinMexico we were at Marina Village. When we lived in the Houston area (Katy), downtown was dead, nothing going on, hopefully it’s livened up a bit. You’ll get to see a lot of concerts at the smaller venues, another thing we miss about living there. It’s good you’re in a higher rise building so you’re up out of the flooding. I assume you were there for Beryl so you know what to expect now. Hopefully your power is restored. Enjoy! Maybe will run into you in PV this winter.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@christinedailey9254 We know that area of Alameda well! In HTX it took us a while to know that everything is underground. We are walking distance from a lot of bars and concert venues, which is fun. It sounds like the area has been cleaned up recently as they turn main into a full pedestrian walking area. We were lucky as part of the 5% who didn't have an outage. Say "Hi" when you run into us in PV!

[@KelliYVRtoPVR]

A ton of Bats in PV. They sleep in the fig trees during the day.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Thanks for the heads up!

[@moretoexplore6736]

Did everybody miss the lizard in the right hand corner at the 23 minute mark? It looked like he had something in his mouth about the size of a berry. I'm aware that Puerto Vallarta is famous for bats,, but lizards could also be a culprit. The couple of times that I've visited Mexico I saw several lizards.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

When the berries drop from above, the lizards then go after the berries. We thought the lizards were the culprit too, but there are no berries growing anywhere near or in our house. 🤗 more to come on this topic so am sure!

[@moretoexplore6736]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico makes perfect sense 😃

[@trendingwwwandw]

✅ NEW SUBSCRIBER

[@StreetTruckinTitan]

Did you check out the Phx/ Scottsdale area before deciding on Texass? Weird political situation down there. Super fast flights from Phx also.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Yes we did and it was a solid option. Houston just fit us better generally. We now have a loft there built in 1906 and just down the street from top healthcare. We flew Stefan’s mom in when she had cancer and we were super impressed. Traffic is a big issue in Houston, but since we are downtown that does not bother us. Since we want a light footprint in the states, we found Houston was cheaper than Phoenix too. A crazy change for sure.

[@StreetTruckinTitan]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico Yeah Phx has the Mayo clinic and other top hospitals but it sounds like you made the best choice for yourselves. Congrats on downsizing. Weve been empty nesters for awhile now and its a struggle to part with "junk!" Thanks for the inspiration.

[@bewellstaywellnetwork]

Honestly, PHX was just too "desert-y" for me. I need more green in my life.

[@robertkennedy9188]

Pro tip: Don’t try driving down San Salvador St. right now 🥴

[@deanguy66]

Good to see the repairs being done, but sad to see all the monstrously huge skyscrapers going up, particularly in the Romantic Zone. Destroying all the charm of the area.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

We hear ya!

[@loopspadilla7032]

Texas??? Good luck!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

So far so good. We shall see!

[@queserasera1674]

What about Francis?

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

He is doing well. He is considering taking his boat down to Mexico (with help of course). Francis is always a bit of a wild card. That could be a KZbin channel in itself.

[@queserasera1674]

@@LivingSimplyinMexico I'm happy to hear he is doing well! What a trip that would be for sure. Go Francis!!!

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@queserasera1674 It sure would be! Definitely a video would be made!

[@maryfurman698]

Talk about culture shock from California to Texas. At least your taxes will be lower in Texas.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

It feels good to stretch ourselves a bit and be open minded. It has been interesting to see others react! 🤗

[@sfrentals4769]

Regarding taxes…not property taxes! If you’ve owned your home for awhile in CA, prop 13 is the gift that keeps on giving. It can make a big difference. I pay about $450 a month, whereas a new owner would be paying ~ $1500/mo for a similar home. I’m in San Francisco, but it applies to all of CA. The key is owning your place for a long time, so you brought it at a (relatively) low cost basis. Actually selling kinda sucks because of all the capital gains taxes you pay. The $500k owner occupancy exemption doesn’t go very far in San Francisco (I know…rich people’s problem ;)

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

@@sfrentals4769 agree with your assessment we are working through that now. 🤗 for us, our property is quite small and inexpensive in Texas, so property tax is still low. Right now we plan to hold and rent our home in CA, and just have a few years before we need to decide if we are OK losing the occupancy exemption.

[@jaliscoguanajuatotravelsan5679]

Are you buying free range eggs?

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

Hard to say given they are local. Interesting thing of note is that Mexican eggs are at room temperature because they are not cleansed to the level of US eggs and maintain their protective coating to be at room temperature.

[@douglasbussard3459]

Of course most is drug Money. Doesn’t mean the condos are any worse. People want to live in PV. So they buy.

[@LivingSimplyinMexico]

No doubt some of that goes on, but we do see a large influx of folks seeking retirement in the area. This has gone on for decades (since the mid 60s), but growth seems to have been accelerating the last five years- both from up north and from other Mexico urban areas.