Gringos in Paradise: An American Couple Builds Their Retirement Dream House in a Seaside Village in Mexico [Paperback]

Barry Golson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2008

A Year in Provence meets Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House in this lively and entertaining account of a couple's year building their dream house in Mexico.

In 2004, Barry Golson wrote an award-winning article for AARP magazine about Mexican hot spots for retirees longing for a lifestyle they couldn't afford in the United States. A year later, he and his wife Thia were taking part in the growing trend of retiring abroad. They sold their Manhattan apartment, packed up their SUV, and moved to one of those idyllic hot spots, the surfing and fishing village of Sayulita on Mexico's Pacific coast.

With humor and charm, Golson details the year he and his wife spent settling into their new life and planning and building their dream home. Sayulita -- population 1,500, not including stray dogs or pelicans -- is a never-dull mixture of traditional Mexican customs and new, gringo-influenced change. Before long, the Golsons had been absorbed into the rhythms and routines of village life: they adopted a pair of iguanas named Iggy Pop and Iggy Mom, got sick and got cured by a doctor who charged them sixteen dollars a visit, made lasting friends with Mexicans and fellow expatriates, and discovered the skill and artistry of local craftsmen.

But their daily lives were mostly dedicated to the difficult yet satisfying process of building their house. It took them almost six months to begin building -- nothing is simple (or speedy) in Mexico -- and incredibly, they completed construction in another six. They engaged a Mexican architect, builder, and landscape designer who not only built their home but also changed their lives; encountered uproariously odd bureaucracy; and ultimately experienced a lifetime's worth of education about the challenges and advantages of living in Mexico.

The Golsons lived (and are still living) the dream of many -- not only of going off to a tropical paradise but also of building something beautiful, becoming a part of a new world, making lasting friends, and transforming their lives. As much about family and friendship as about house-building, Gringos in Paradise is an immensely readable and illuminating book about finding a personal paradise and making it a home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After a career in publishing (as executive editor of Playboy and TV Guide), Golson decided it was time to plan for retirement. With a modest nest egg and an urge for sunshine and adventure, he and his wife traveled Mexico researching American retirees for an AARP article that eventually won a Lowell Thomas award and became the seed for this funny and practical book. On impulse, Golson and his wife also bought land in their favorite spot, the Mexican seaside village of Sayulita. Returning to build their home, they realized their cliffside property was impractical; with the remainder of their savings, they bought more land and started their dream house. As with most home-building sagas, they faced obstacles (permit hassles, contractors who backed out) and made errors (the staircase didn't reach the roof) but, magically, the house was ready when the extended family arrived for Thanksgiving. In the end, the house-building process became their vehicle for cultural transplantation; by the time their home was finished, the Golsons knew a lot more about Mexican village life and felt totally comfortable with their new neighbors. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Golson combines wry humor with personal experience in this highly entertaining and informative account of life on Mexico's Pacific coast. His descriptions of the sights, sounds, smells and rhythms of daily village life and insights into Mexican culture and customs are among the best I've ever read. Though not specifically a how-to retirement guide, the book is packed with invaluable, neighbor to neighbor tips. Unlike the usual dry, factual, sleep-inducing retirement guides, I enjoyed this one cover to cover. If Gringos In Paradise doesn't give you the Mexico itch, check your vital signs!" -- Carl Franz, author of The People's Guide to Mexico

"I love risk-takers and Barry Golson is one of them. Consider this: Most Americans don't travel outside the U.S. and fewer than 23 per cent even have passports! But where does it say in the manual you can't broaden your horizons? Golson is a perfect and literal example of someone who's done just that. For all the rest of you, he's also proof that if you define a goal as a dream with a deadline, there's no end to what you can accomplish -- and experience." -- Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, NBC Today Show

"Not just a useful tale of house-building in the Mexican tropics, but a funny, touching story of how both men and women can be re-invigorated by the challenge of change in their lives." -- Karen Blue, author of Midlife Mavericks: Women Reinventing Their Lives in Mexico

"This is a great personal story about the choices the boomer generation now faces and about opting for a vigorous life change in the power years."

-- Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., author of The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life

"As all wise expats know, paradise isn't a place -- it's a state of mind. Golson's book tells about building a retirement house in Mexico, but between the lines it's really about the harder job of building a new life. I won't be surprised if Gringos in Paradise becomes the newest bona fide Boomer Bible." -- James Morgan, author of Chasing Matisse: A Year in France Living My Dream

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; Reprint edition (December 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743276361
• ISBN-13: 978-0743276368
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #571,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barry Golson tried to retire, but put it on hold to launch a travel website for Forbes.com. He and his wife Thia are also researching a new book on living abroad to be called Retirement Without Borders. Golson is a former editor of the Playboy interviews, TV Guide, and Yahoo! Internet Life. He has written for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Ski, and Salon. His article for AARP on Mexico won a Lowell Thomas award. He and Thia divide their time between New York and Sayulita, and look forward someday to re-retiring.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a boomer anthem, December 20, 2006

By 

Robin Wolaner (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gringos in Paradise: An American Couple Builds Their Retirement Dream House in a Seaside Village in Mexico (Hardcover)

If you know anything about our generation, you will appreciate Barry Golson's honesty in dealing with facts many of us will face: changed career prospects after 50, inadequate retirement savings, change in spousal relationship after the kids move out, desire for a different way of life. The book moves along at an engrossing pace. I wish he had been a little more explicit about the finances, but I'm a numbers gal, basically I had no complaints. A must-read.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read if Living With Mexico, March 20, 2007

By 

J. Griffin (Sonoma County, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gringos in Paradise: An American Couple Builds Their Retirement Dream House in a Seaside Village in Mexico (Hardcover)

An excellant book on living with Mexico, not in an American 'compound'. Inforamative on the need to adjust expectation to a different style of living. Mexico isn't ... (anywhere in the US), and you shouldn't expect things to work the same way.

A must read.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Retiring in another country, February 19, 2007

By 

ndenim (OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gringos in Paradise: An American Couple Builds Their Retirement Dream House in a Seaside Village in Mexico (Hardcover)

Following in the footprints of other authors that have bought homes in other countries, the author, Barry Golson, shares his adventures in relocating to Mexico. Mr. Golson wrote an article for AARP Magazine about American retirees in Mexico. While there, he and his wife, Thia, were so taken with the Pacific Coast area that they bought a lot for building a future home.

When he and his wife semi retired, they headed south to Mexico to build their dream home. This book is the story of their first year adjusting to their new life and neighbors while building their house. Even though I'm not a numbers person, I, too, would have liked to see more figures just to have a ballpark idea of the costs involved in making a similar move at this point in time.

The book is great for anyone considering relocating to Mexico. We're not, but it is still an enjoyable read of the adventures and challenges of adjusting to a new home and culture.