Despite all the bad news you’ve been reading lately about Mexico, there are places that just continue to attract large groups of Americans. And no, we’re not talking spring-breakers in Cancún.
According to Veteran’s Today (this blogger’s daily source of fresh news), Lake Chapala has become the number one retirement destination for U.S. veterans, partly because of its near perfect weather and low cost of living, but mostly -I suspect- because as the article states, “You can get by without Spanish.”
Which is, like, great, because if you didn’t need to learn any other language throughout your live, why start now?
Other advantages cited include -but are not limited to- “high quality health care, and pharmacies, with many bilingual professionals trained in the U.S. or Canada.”
[If none of this sounds attractive enough, think about it this way: wouldn’t you just love to hang out with your retired buddies while some local woman dances and prances around in a colorful dress and wearing a gigantic hat?]
MI BLOG ES TU BLOG 
I went to Lake Chapala and everyone there is either a retired American, or retired Canadian. Ugh….
San Miguel de Allende is the same way with American retirees but at least there it seems like they TRIED to learn Spanish.
You don’t need Spanish but you might need body armor.
Whoever decides to take advantage of this irresistible offer will still be within the newly formed North American Union. Where’d my dang tequila go again?
After 15 months of criss-crossing Mexico, my new book looks at Americans and Canadians who’ve chosen to avoid the big expat colonies in San Miguel de Allende and Lake Chapala. What they’ve found is both diverse and surprising. The book is called Into the Heart of Mexico: Expatriates Find Themselves Off the Beaten Path. There’s a sample on my website:
http://www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com/intotheheartofmexico.html