Are gays, lesbians and others in the LGBT community accepted in Mexico?
Juan Eufracio Marquez Flores - LM&A Immigration and Legal Services
I want to start from local and then we’ll go from there.
Ajijic is recognized as a lesbian and gay community. There are a lot of gays and lesbians in Ajijic. There is a lot of acceptance in Ajijic because gays, transvestites, and transsexuals walk in Ajijic in their local areas. So there’s not a lot of discrimination unless they pursue a straight person, in which case maybe the local people sometimes can be aggressive. But as long as any lesbian or any...
I want to start from local and then we’ll go from there.
Ajijic is recognized as a lesbian and gay community. There are a lot of gays and lesbians in Ajijic. There is a lot of acceptance in Ajijic because gays, transvestites, and transsexuals walk in Ajijic in their local areas. So there’s not a lot of discrimination unless they pursue a straight person, in which case maybe the local people sometimes can be aggressive. But as long as any lesbian or any gay do not try to have a date with a person that they don’t know there is not aggressiveness. Other than that, in Ajijic it’s very, very respectful.
Around the lake they say that Ajijic is the capital of the gay and the lesbian community. This is true not only of the foreigners but a lot of natives from other towns around the lake. Sometimes there are jokes among the local people around the lake that we say that we import a lot of gays in Ajijic.
Chapala is more conservative and not as open as in Ajijic. In Ajijic you see transvestites. There is even a contest for the Gay Queen for Ajijic and when it’s the Carnival, you can see in the parade a lot of gays who dress like a woman or lesbians. So it’s very, very open. If you go to Jocotepec or the other towns, they are more conservative; it’s not as open as in Ajijic.
Talking about Mexico, there was a lot of criticism because the federal government had approved a law that gays and lesbians can get married.
One of the biggest gay and lesbian parades is in Guadalajara. It’s really huge in Mexico. There is another in Mexico City that is big but the most representative is in Guadalajara. Guadalajara is known in all Mexico to be the capital of the gay and lesbians, too. There are a lot of gay bars and lesbian bars. A lot of restaurants are specific for that market. There is a lot of nightlife for that market too.
Little by little Mexico is getting more respectful but, of course, there are different opinions. My suggestion is for any gay or lesbian, if they don’t know what is the preference of the person, do not pursue. Make sure that the other person is also gay or lesbian because some Mexicans can be very aggressive. There is kind of like a cultural thing that we have in Mexico: you don’t mess with me, I don’t mess with you. That is a good tip to avoid conflict or a fight.
The rest of Mexico more conservative. The state of Jalisco is known within Mexico as having the most gays and lesbians of any of the others states within Mexico, not that most of the people are gay.
Besides Mexico City, Guadalajara, Vallarta, and Ajijic are the three places where there is more acceptance. The majority of the concentration of gays and lesbians comes to Guadalajara because there is more acceptance and they come from other states where it’s more difficult for them to be free. In Guadalajara sometimes you can see gays or lesbians kissing.
(Pictured: 1949 painting by German-Mexican gay artist Linares-- Ernesto Butterlin-- Ajijic, Mexico.)
Are there any programs for retirees regarding real estate purchases or real estate taxes in Nicaragua?
Gloria Pérez
Though there are no special programs for retirees regarding the acquisition of real estate, the Nicaraguan government provides other significant tax incentives through Law 694, "Law on Incentives for Retirees and Rentiers (people with private incomes)”, by which retirees may obtain the status of permanent residents and take advantage of some tax benefits, such as:
the exemption for sales tax (IVA) on construction materials when building a house for...
Though there are no special programs for retirees regarding the acquisition of real estate, the Nicaraguan government provides other significant tax incentives through Law 694, "Law on Incentives for Retirees and Rentiers (people with private incomes)”, by which retirees may obtain the status of permanent residents and take advantage of some tax benefits, such as:
the exemption for sales tax (IVA) on construction materials when building a house for personal use for up to US$ 50,000;
the tax exemption of up to US$ 20,000 on importation of household goods; and
the purchase of a vehicle for personal use with no import or sales taxes due for up to $ 25,000.00, among others.
This special tax treatment is definitely a great opportunity for retirees looking forward to live in Nicaragua and to save some money while obtaining the status of permanent residents.
How are the stores and shops in Algarve? How's the shopping in Algarve?
Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living
Shopping in the Algarve is good but not excellent. It’s not like 5th Avenue and it’s not Oxford Street, nor is it the Champs-Elysees, although the Champs-Elysees is quite complicated. You wouldn’t come to the Algarve to do your super-duper Christmas shopping. You wouldn’t come here to find a huge variety of high end luxury items. I can think of only one or two locations where there is a little bit of a cluster of high end stores and people might go there if...
Shopping in the Algarve is good but not excellent. It’s not like 5th Avenue and it’s not Oxford Street, nor is it the Champs-Elysees, although the Champs-Elysees is quite complicated. You wouldn’t come to the Algarve to do your super-duper Christmas shopping. You wouldn’t come here to find a huge variety of high end luxury items. I can think of only one or two locations where there is a little bit of a cluster of high end stores and people might go there if they are visiting and they need a special present.
The main focus on the shopping here in Algarve is pragmatic. There are half a dozen or more shopping centers across the Algarve. The largest ones are in Faro and just outside Albufeira in a place called Guia and also in Portimão. Those are the more obvious locations in which to find malls. Then there are smaller shopping centers in next level of towns going down like in Tavira, Loulé, Lagos, etc. And then there is still the existence of smaller shops like the bakery, the green grocer, and the like.
For clothes shopping, electronics, and furniture, we have medium-sized stores scattered in a retail park, which tend to be in bigger cities or alternatively, in the center of town. You might find a special clothes store in the center of Lagos or a special jewelry store in the center of Tavira, or a cork store that sells products made of cork in Silves. You will find these kinds of specialty stores in the towns and villages around the Algarve.
Generally speaking, the prices depend on the basis of comparison, but anyone coming from North America and Northern Europe find that shopping in the Algarve to be generally cheap. However, there are some exceptions. They would never find it more expensive than where they came from but they would quickly get accustomed to the lower cost of living and what they would see is that certain items are more expensive than others. Electricity, cars, fuel, and electronic items are not as cheap in the Algarve as one would expect, given the low cost of living in Portugal, particularly if you are coming from the US, where electronic good are so cheap. Electronics products might be even more expensive in the Algarve than they would be in the US. But generally speaking, if you are coming from the UK, you could easily cut 30% to 40% off your cost of living to live as a good as, if not a better quality of life.
(Moorish castle and hillside town of Silves, Portugal, pictured.)
Statue of Balboa on Ave. Balboa on Ave. Balboa, Panama, City
History of Panama: Panama was discovered by the Spanish in the early 16th century. Panama was first inhabited by the Spanish in the early 1500s and when Vasquez Nuñex de Balboa discovered the short route from the Caribbean to the Pacific, Spain quickly started using this route to transport gold from South
America to Spain via the Los Cruces trail overland from...
Statue of Balboa on Ave. Balboa on Ave. Balboa, Panama, City
History of Panama: Panama was discovered by the Spanish in the early 16th century. Panama was first inhabited by the Spanish in the early 1500s and when Vasquez Nuñex de Balboa discovered the short route from the Caribbean to the Pacific, Spain quickly started using this route to transport gold from South
America to Spain via the Los Cruces trail overland from the Pacific Ocean to the Carib to Spain in approximately 1513.
The famous pirate Capt Morgan (best known for his rum *Ü*) destroyed several Spanish Forts and finally the original site of Panamá City, which is a tourist attraction today. The city was moved to a point of land now known as “Casco Viejo” which in the recent past was the ghettos of El Chorrillo, Santa Ana and San Felipe and is now property that is being sold off at highly inflated prices. Part of this area has been developed into a “French Quarter” or “Vue Carre” style venue. In this area can be found “The Church of the Golden Altar” aka Church of San Jose, which is the home of the golden altar which was located in the city destroyed by Capt Morgan when the Spanish painted the altar black to save it from Morgan before his attack on the city.
In the mid 1850s a railroad was built across the isthmus to transport Gold Rush ‘49 from one coast to the other on their journey to California and Alaska to hunt for gold. Many lives were lost during the construction of the railroad as were later lost during the construction of the canal.
In the 1880s Ferdinland de Lesseps & the French attempted to build a Panama Canal, but failed after about 8 years.
In the early 1900s President Roosevelt became interested in building a Panama Canal, but when Colombia, which owned Panama at the time (as a province of Colombia) would not negotiate with Roosevelt, Roosevelt “parked” a U.S. Navy gun boat off the coast of Panama while the Panamanians declared indepen
dence. After a short civil war backed by the U.S. Panama became independent and the U.S. construction of the Panama Canal began in 1904 & was completed in 1914.
The U.S. operated the Panama Canal and Canal Zone until the end of December 1999 when it was turned over to Panama.
Presently a 3rd set of locks are under construction with locks dimensions of 1400 x 230 x 18 feet which will allow the new larger post PanaMax ships to transit the canal.
Panama City and the country of Panama have been experiencing a boom for about the last 20 years and some of the old Canal Zone & the city are seeing building developments of many high rise buildings and hotels.
In Belize, do I have to worry about malaria, yellow fever and other diseases we don’t generally have in North America?
Macarena Rose - Rainforerst Realty
In Belize, we have dengue, which has similar symptoms to malaria. Malaria is extremely rare, not a common thing at all in Belize. To illustrate this, I got malaria once, and when the doctor took the blood work, he came back later in the day to take blood again because he didn't believe the results the first time. It was a house call. How wonderful is that?
The doctor came to the house a second time, and said, “Macarena,...
In Belize, we have dengue, which has similar symptoms to malaria. Malaria is extremely rare, not a common thing at all in Belize. To illustrate this, I got malaria once, and when the doctor took the blood work, he came back later in the day to take blood again because he didn't believe the results the first time. It was a house call. How wonderful is that?
The doctor came to the house a second time, and said, “Macarena, the test came out wrong. It says you have malaria and we know that cannot be possible.”
So I let Dr. Sanchez take my blood and he came back again and confirmed that yes, it is malaria, but it is extremely rare. So when I tell people that I had malaria, it is such an anomaly because I do not know anyone else who has had malaria.
I had a property way out in the deep jungle near the Manatee area of the coastal road of Belize. There are in-cave systems and in-through areas that were not inhabited for a long time, and the only thing we can figure out is that I picked up something that was dormant there. (Cave in Barton Creek, Belize, pictured.)
When you move to Belize, you have to know that all water systems are not all equal, so most people drink bottled water. As far as bathing and cooking and everything else, we use the regular water that we call "pipe water," better known as "tap water."
The interesting thing for me is that a lot of people come here and they take all these inoculations and get on these anti-malarial medicines and others things that aren’t really needed. If you are coming to Belize, save yourself the time and effort, because you don't need these things.
Coming from St. Petersburg, Florida, you might be worried about catching a flu or catching something from someone who has the sniffles, just like you would in Belize.
The first country that comes to mind when thinking about the worst places in the world to retire is North Korea. :)
The worst places in the world to retire would be places with lots of social and political upheaval, crime and corruption.
If your physical safety is in question or in jeopardy, why would you go to retire there? Places in this hemisphere with high crime rates include Honduras, Guatemala, and El...
The first country that comes to mind when thinking about the worst places in the world to retire is North Korea. :)
The worst places in the world to retire would be places with lots of social and political upheaval, crime and corruption.
If your physical safety is in question or in jeopardy, why would you go to retire there? Places in this hemisphere with high crime rates include Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which has manifested itself in the recent influx of minors coming into the United States. In my opinion, these would be among the worst places in the world to retire.
Also, in Latin America, when one thinks of crime, political and social unrest, one would think of Venezuela, which would also not be a good place to live or retire. If there’s an unstable government, that tends to trickle down to all aspects of life. It causes a lot of corruption, and that’s something else that one needs to think about when retiring, although in many cases, it’s just something you have to live with in certain respects.
For the most part, if you think about Panama and Nicaragua and some of the other countries, corruption doesn’t seem to affect daily life in a negative way.
In addition, the extent to which how much corruption there is in a country or area affects you depends on your activities. For example, if you’re talking just about retiring in a country and you don’t have to work or deal with a lot of commerce or deal with the government, you would be isolated from corruption, so it wouldn’t affect you.
To take a line from his own newsletter, Nica Nuggets, for and about the expats of Granada, Nicaragua, Darrell Bushnell is as busy as a one-legged rooster in a three-story hen house. Jet Metier talks to the man who mesmerizes her with his tales of his life in the land of fresh water sharks and steaming volcanoes.
Jet Metier: How are you Darrell? How are Amy and the dogs? I like to think of you starting the morning doing something wonderful and unique...
Sometimes when people hear about Colon, Panama they quickly think "not Colon, that's not where I want to be". That is what I thought years ago when I arrived in Panama at the Port of Colon on a cruise ship. The cruise ship posted cautions about going into the City of Colon. The ship did offer many side-tours from the Port of Colon, however.
Back then on the cruise ship - 1985 if I remember correctly, all I needed to hear was one thing ... don't...
Surfing has been here in the Pedasi area for a long time. The waves in Venao (about 30 minutes away by car) were discovered a long time ago. The first time I came here to Pedasi, which was about 10 years ago, Venao was a very quiet place where the only things you will see are cantinas. During that time, beer only costs US $.40 per bottle and one meal was only about $2 per surfer. The surfers were happy because they came here in the summer, set up their tents at the beach, the...
I want to start from local and then we’ll go from there. 
Shopping in the Algarve is good but not excellent. It’s not like 5th Avenue and it’s not Oxford Street, nor is it the Champs-Elysees, although the Champs-Elysees is quite complicated. You wouldn’t come to the Algarve to do your super-duper Christmas shopping. You wouldn’t come here to find a huge variety of high end luxury items. I can think of only one or two locations where there is a little bit of a cluster of high end stores and people might go there if...
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