Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008
Read more about living overseas in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Dear International Living Reader,
“The weather here is perfect,” our friend said.
She’s a co-worker from the States, and she’d come down to help out with our Live and Invest in Mexico seminar in Merida, Mexico. It was the night before the event, and we lounged with her and the other folks on our IL Events staff on the back patio of the house that Suzan and I remodeled in the Colonial center of town.
The sun had just set, and the evening breeze gently rattled the branches of the king palm high over our heads. The grill smoked with a full load of yellow peppers, green onions, and marinated arrachera steak. With a cooler full of beer and some local music on the radio, we were working on a perfect Merida moment.
Just a few weeks before, we wouldn’t have been so comfortable. Summers in Merida are sweltering…hot enough to send many residents up to the beaches at Progresso. Temps up there average 15 to 20 degrees cooler thanks to the ocean breeze, and since it’s just a 30-minute drive to the north, it’s a great excuse for working half a day and literally chilling out the rest of the afternoon on the beach.
But the season has turned here, and Merida is moving into its fall and winter. That means the weather is about as good as it gets anywhere on the planet, in my opinion. Clear, warm, and dry during the day, with evenings so cool you can actually wear a long sleeve shirt.
Of course, the locals pull out winter coats for nights that get down to 68 or 70 degrees, which amazes us Nebraska transplants. Comfort really is relative.
By this time of year in the States, we’d be cranking up the furnace and getting ready for the first big winter storm, which always seemed to come just in time to ruin everybody’s Thanksgiving travel plans.
This year, though, we don’t expect any snow or freezing rain when we drive out to spend Thanksgiving with some friends of ours who own a tidy little boutique hotel in Izamal, a historic town just outside Merida. Alfred is a gifted cook and has invited us out for a seven-course seafood Thanksgiving feast at the hotel. I like my traditional turkey, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes as much as anyone, but variety is the spice of life, and we enjoy a lot of variety down here.
We also enjoyed the evening before the seminar on the patio with our co-workers, although I made a little too much arrachera. But leftover arrachera makes the best tacos imaginable with a little fresh tomato salsa, a slice of avocado, and a dab of sour cream, so I wasn’t concerned.
The seminar turned out to be one of the best we’ve had in Mexico, and I think Merida and the weather had a lot to do with it. The quality of life here is exactly what many retirees and second-home shoppers are looking for. I heard a lot of folks who came to our seminar with no knowledge or experience of Mexico say, “Now I get it.”
(A lot of those folks picked up copies of the Mexico: The Owner’s Manual to get started on their in-depth research on Merida and other Mexico destinations. You can find it in the IL Bookstore.)
That’s why we hold the seminars, and that’s why Suzan and I live here ourselves. And we’re reminded of that every evening when we sit on the patio, listening to the palms rustle in the breeze and the guitars playing on the radio.
Stay happy and healthy,
Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living
P.S. Aside from purchasing Mexico: The Owner’s Manual, many of the attendees at our conference also became Mexico Insider subscribers. I’d have to write a whole new letter to tell you about all the things we pack into the monthly issues of Mexico Insider, but it suffices to say that it’s probably the single most useful and information-packed resource you’ll find on Mexico and the retirement and investment opportunities here. Check it out for yourself here.
Read related IL Postcards:
- Revealed: Mexico’s Most Beautiful Beaches
