Here’s some of our most FA’d Qs:
Why did you move to Vallarta?
Whoa, that’s a big question. Can you break it down a little?
Ok yes. Why did you leave the US?
Much better. We were both in our same jobs for over a decade each, me working in higher ed admin and him in a high-end custom picture framing boutique. We also both had side hustles: I’m a freelance writer, editor, and publicist, and he’s a whipass graphic designer. We were getting sick of those brutal Chicago winters, and we didn’t own our house and don’t want kids, so we got to thinking… what if we just sort of opted out of the whole American Dream/ratrace thing? Could we make it work financially, between remote work and our side gig superpowers? (spoiler: we could.) Once the decision was reached, we made a 1-year plan of an exit strategy and got out before everything got crazy in the states.
So why Vallarta?
PV had been our go-to vacation spot – visiting 1-2 times a year – for about 9 years. We knew our way around very well, had made some contacts around town, and felt very comfortable even wandering off the main tourist tracks. We liked that it had all the features of a beach town with an affordable cost of living, but also modern amenities like hospitals and sidewalks and diverse restaurants. The weather is unbeatable, the people are friendly, and the scenery makes sweet love to our eyeballs every day. Besides, we thought, if we hate it we can always come back. (spoiler: we don’t hate it.)
How’d you do it?
This was a multi-step process of giving huge flexible notice to our jobs, culling through possessions, researching immigration law, and looking at apartment listings. We took a short visit in May 2016 to look at possible housing and lucked out with our first viewing, a gorgeous place right on the Rio Cuale. Once we put a deposit down, we had a deadline, and everything else clicked into place. In late August 2016, we left Chicago with way too many suitcases and our dog, and drove to Houston to fly from there, as it was a shorter direct flight and we were worried about our very anxious pup in cargo. (she did great.)
You had jobs lined up, I’m guessing?
Haha, no, but that would have been smart! We had a bit of a financial cushion from selling the car and all our furniture, plus a few freelance projects in the works, so we had some breathing space early on. I was later sponsored by an employer and worked a few short-term jobs with my shiny new work visa. But I’m not gonna lie, at one point things dried up a bit and we were pretty strapped for a while. The uncertainty of freelancing is terrifying! I pulled some money out of my 401K (which was not huge to start with) and we moved to a much cheaper apartment upriver in Buenos Aires, living pretty simply for a while. Happily, we’re now back in Old Town and doing much better with regular online work, which I’ll talk about in a future post.
Do you speak Spanish?
Hablo poquito, pero no hablo muy bien. We try though! I spent some time learning on Duolingo, and we took a 6-week Spanish class before we moved, which helped tremendously. While we’re by no means fluent, we speak a lot more than many of our fellow expats, and the locals are so kind about it when we make grammatical mistakes. It’s natural to feel self-conscious about it, but once you realize no one is judging, it gets easier.
So, I’m guessing you like it here?
Yep, we really, really do. This was the best decision of our adult lives. I cannot recommend enough cashing it all in and starting over in a place like this. We work a fraction of what we used to, and spend way more time doing whatever the hell we want without being worried that some nut with a gun is going to ruin our lives while we’re just trying to do some grocery shopping. The community here is amazing and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. There’s a thriving arts scene and diverse wildlife. There’s a reason people come back to Vallarta year after year.
Don’t you miss the winters though?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah – breathe– hahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha-
NO.
