Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security [Paperback]

Carol Schmidt (Author), Norma Hair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2006

Thinking about retiring to Mexico? San Miguel de Allende, for 50 years an art colony drawing many U.S., Canadian and British citizens seeking an exciting and affordable change of pace for their retirement, is located 165 miles northwest of Mexico City on the central plateau.

This book is the story of two women who made the leap to a whole new way of life, retiring on Social Security even to a town considered one of the most expensive, and desirable, in Mexico.

They share their joys, their mistakes, their problems, their new outlook on life in this very personal love story to San Miguel. They describe in vivid detail the almost-daily fiestas, their humorous errors in learning Spanish, and their new outlook on world history from learning Mexicans' point of view. They even tell what they pay for almost everything, from hospital visits to ice cream cones.

And they're living a far better life than anywhere in the U.S. on Social Security, even in a town where people keep saying it can't be done. They're doing it, and they tell you how.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"....Falling in Love with San Miguel is a winner in the field of ex-pat books about Mexico...." -- David L. Van Sickle, Chicago, IL

"....the honest truth....A thousand New Yorker short story writers try to get at what these two tell us directly...." -- The Herald Mexico/El Universal October 30, 2006

"...a lovely book, well designed and attractive. The writing is beautiful and evocative. It is clearly a work of love...." -- The Prince (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

"...absolute must-read for armchair travelers, fly-away-for-a-visit folk, or those searching for retirement [heaven]..." -- Chris Cobb, Washington, DC

"Who would have thought a "how to retire abroad" book would be a real page-turner...two gringas in paradise...." -- Judith McKnight, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico

>....We aren't always given the privilege of finding our own piece of heaven, but these two women have done it...> -- Alma Alexander, Bellingham, WA (author of The Secrets of Jin-Shei)

From the Publisher

Carol Schmidt and Norma Hair have lived in San Miguel de Allende for four and a half years, and they've incorporated all that they have learned about retiring to Mexico in this travel memoir. Not strictly a memoir, journal or how-to book, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security is written in the form of the authors' first calendar year, experiencing a new perspective on life.

They arrive in the middle of International Brotherhood Week, stumble onto Day of the Locos, learn a whole new history during Independencia and the Feast of St. Michael, see the Running of the Bulls from only a few feet away from the bulls, learn to view Oct. 12 as Day of the Race isntead of Columbus Day, revere departed relatives in a more personal and immediate way in Day of the Dead altars, experience the Christmas story in terms of posadas (reenactments of the flight of Joseph and Mary as they try to find an inn for Jesus's birth), bring gifts to poor village school children for Three Kings Day, gape at the entire Parque Juarez turning into a giant flower nursery for Calendaria, view in awe the Holy Week celebrations and processions that mark the high point of the Mexican calendar, and laugh at the life-sized paper mache Judas statues exploded in front of the police station on the Jardin Easter morning.

Along the way Carol accidentally tells a cab driver she loves him, and warns the housekeeper that the roosters are in the towel (instead of the cats are in their cage). They tour neighboring towns plus Mexico City, Guadalajara, Ajijic and Lake Chapala.

This book is how it feels to actually make the move to Mexico for those who are considering retiring to another country, and for those who dream of escape.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Salsa Verde Press (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978728629
• ISBN-13: 978-0978728625
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real deal -- live abroad? Read this book., November 26, 2006

By 

Stephen Ege - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security (Paperback)

By chance, we were in San Miguel when this book first was published and visited a private home where the authors were discussing this book. We bought the book on the spot (sorry, Amazon). Based on that experience, I can say that the authors are giving you their honest story about two brave women who decided to forgo life on a limited budget in the United States for a more colorful and richer life in Mexico. If you are thinking about living abroad, this book gets down in the trenches and gives you some idea of the actual experience. It is not a how-to book, with details on getting visas, and so on. Instead, it it similar to a daily journal, based on actual letters written to friends, that deals honestly with their experience. Read this book first. If you are still interested, then go find yourself a how-to book. Dip your toes in the living abroad experience with this book. You may decide to move too!

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and thought provoking, October 20, 2006

By 

Robert A. Bowers "Bowers" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security (Paperback)

I picked up this book with interest and some preveious experience with San Migue de Allende, having spent time there over the past few years. However, I am not able to be there for the heavy festival times since I continue to be a full time wage earner, so it was very interesting to learn what the city is like in September and for the Day of the Dead celebrations etc. Norma and Carol have provided colorful pictures of life in a new location, with the good, and the not so good clearly stated. Yes, learning a new language is not easy in the second half of a person's life, some of the other customs of a foreign land are also hard to adjust to. What I think Norma and Carol capture perfectly is the feel of the people there, their generosity of spirit and the warmth with which they make the outsiders feel welcome. As Norma and Carol said, it isn't Disneyland; there is poverty, there are problems; there are frequent small scenes on the streets that remind me how lucky I have been due to accident of birth in a comfortable place and opportunities provided by family members who had been given greater opportunites themselves, but there is much beauty and much joy as well. I am sure that there are many who do not share all of Norma and Carol's opinions about lifestyle or politics (I certainly do not share their love of hot and spicy foods!) but no matter what a person's personal codes may find acceptable, they will find good insight and advice on an area and a way of life that we certainly don't see here in the northern United States.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone who would like the feel of living in a totally new enviornment as well as anyone considering the lovely city of San Miguel de Allende.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Starts out kind of boring, gets better..., September 17, 2007

By 

Artist (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security (Paperback)

Reading this book is very much like listening to a charming, somewhat eccentric neighbor give you her detailed impressions and opinions after an extended vacation. Sometimes it gets pretty boring, at other times it's what you actually might want to know, depending greatly on who you are and what you are looking for. There are many descriptions of festivals from the point of view of a confused gringa for example. For me, that got tiring. At times the author's personal concerns have very little to do with San Miguel de Allende.

My biggest problem with the book was that other reviews made it seem as though this book would give me a great insider view of SMA and help me to decide whether to travel there to consider retirement. What it actually does is give a very personal look at living there rather than a general slice of life. There is nothing wrong with that, except it wasn't what I was hoping for.

There were items of general interest that had value to me, especially at the end.