La Floresta, Ajijic

At the east entrance to Ajijic is La Floresta, a tree-lined residential area. La Floresta is a very desirable place to own a home. Its a convenient location with a good homeowner’s association providing security patrol, and many fine services, have made many choose this as the ideal place to live.

Map of La Floresta...

Next door to Hotel Real de Chapala is the Ajijic yacht club, Club Nautico La Floresta, a members-only boating and social club. It has tenis courts, sauna, pool, bar and a restaurant and many facilities to do your events just in front of Lake Chapala.

La Floresta, which means “Where the flowers are” in Spanish, is the location of the local 465-seat auditorium where classical musical performances, folkloric dance groups, plays and choral groups may be seen and enjoyed on a regular basis.

Lakeside Community Events Calendar...

In the towns of Ajijic and Chapala approximately 20,000 North Americans (some estimates go up to 30,000) now have residences on this north shore, which also includes the villages of San Nicolas, Vista del Lago, La Floresta, Chula Vista, San Juan Cosala, San Antonio and Jocotepec. Although the lake measures sixty miles long by sixteen miles wide, most of the expats live within twenty miles of one another. Also, with its green and leafy surroundings and slow-paced lifestyle, the Chapala Riviera has become a popular spot for expat retirees with many taking advantage of the relatively cheap cost of living.

Gone are the days when one could "live in Mexico on US$500 a month," but compared with the United States and Canada and, indeed, most developed countries, the cost of living here is quite low. Any expense in a labor intensive field such as restaurants, construction or auto repair is generally a bargain. One must search to find a first rate evening meal exceeding US$15.

An annual physical check up by a well-qualified, bilingual, often U.S. educated physician is about US$50 plus tests. Maids and gardeners work for US$2 per hour or a little more depending upon their length of service with you.

While some items are more expensive than one may be accustomed to (such as gasoline, phone service and goods imported from the United States), other items are much cheaper (such as fresh produce, property taxes, utilities and services), and still others are about the same. One thing to make note of is that used merchandise maintains a value close to that of new merchandise.

Living close to Lake Chapala affords one the opportunity to get out on the water, with activities such as swimming, waterskiing, and boating, as well as a few triathlons each year. The local yacht club even organizes a few regattas for the sailing enthusiasts. There are also two golf courses in the area.