Before moving to Mexico, decide what to take and what to leave
The time between our visit Lakeside and our move to Ajijic was just over six months. During those six months we:
- sold our house and car
- bought a house in Ajijic
- established a retirement date
- set-up a change of address
- created an account with a virtual mail service
- ported our Calgary phone line with Vonage
- started the immigration process in Calgary
- ...and set the date for our 3-day Estate Sale
However, before the Estate Sale could take place, we had to determine what was moving with us to Mexico...
Thinking that moving less furniture would be more economical than moving more, we decided that we would only bring our bedroom furniture, linens, kitchen dishes, flatware, pots and pans, a few sentimental items. That was an assumption that we later learned was incorrect. It is most cost effective to move MORE than it is to move a small amount.
We do wish that we had moved our living room furniture and our office furniture and bookshelves. The furniture that we owned in Canada was high quality and comfortable and it would have suited our home in Ajijic.
There were also several physical therapy items (heating pads, support slings, ice packs, etc.) that we had purchased over the years in Calgary that now we are having to purchase online through Amazon. We cannot find all these items, not everything ships to Mexico, and it is more expensive to get many of them.
In hindsight, we should have shipped more. It would have been nice to keep the furniture we loved, photo albums, some books,
and a few more personal items. If we had more time to think it through during our six-month preparation, those are the items
we would have brought to Mexico.
— Quinton, Sharon, and Jessie in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
