A little about me...

view of the neighborhood

Well, I'm a 66 year old (yikes!) who moved to Mérida, Yucatán, México in February 2020. I rent a restored/renovated historic colonial house in Centro from a friend while I looked for a house of my own. I did find a house for sale in February 2020, that I like and bought it. Things move slowly in México and it took until July to close the sale, and now (July 2021) I am still working on trying to renovate the house. Stay tuned (best to do that via my blog.)

My hobbies and activities are few. I often turn into a ball of sloth, but I also enjoy getting out for fresh air on long walks.

Because I traveled for a living for so long, I prefer to spend my free time in my own home. The last thing I really want to see is the inside of another airplane and/or hotel room.

my Mérida home

I moved to Thailand in 2001, after having lived in Tokyo for several years. If you subtract the time that I moved back to the USA twice for short periods, I lived in Japan a little over five years. Before that I lived in Hawaii for about 16 years. Ancient history: Born & raised in Midwest USA.

one of the many local parks

I had been planning my retirement for quite some time. I moved to Thailand in 2001 to check things out, retired in 2010, and stayed.

After about 13 years in Thailand I got a bug in my *** (uhm, ear, of course) and decided to visit Mérida for a six-month test period to see if I'd like living here. It was very nice and I had a great time.

At the end of the 2014 Mérida Experiment, I moved back to Thailand. It was a tough choice since I liked both places so much. Inertia won out: Many of my belongings were in Thailand and I owned a condo there. To be honest, I probably could live just about anyplace and be happy, as long as it had stable internet.

my Truth

But then, over the next five or six years, I got antsy again and when the Thai Immigrations folks decreed that to qualify for each one-year extension to my retirement visa I must place US$27,000 in a Thai bank (with essentially 0% interest) and not touch it for five months — and then could only draw it down to US$13,500 for the following seven months — it was the straw that broke this donkey's back. I decided I had other things I preferred to do with the money (like maybe get 7.5% interest in a Mexican bank?)

In December 2019, I was approved for a Resident Permanente visa by the México Embassy in Bangkok. It's like a Green Card for retirees. I can come and go as I please. I can stay as long as I want in México. No reapplying each year (like in Thailand) for a new extension and no need to tie up tens of thousands of dollars (like in Thailand.)

an ever present danger

Not sure if I'm asocial, non-social or anti-social, but let's just say that I like to be and do things alone. I have a long-term buddy who's very similar, and he's on prescription meds for it, but I just don't see the point. So, suffice it to say, I'm happily single these days, not dating nor looking.

In the current Covid-19 pandemic, I have no issues with social distancing. I mastered social distancing decades before it was even a thing. 😁

For the statistically-oriented: I'm 5'9" (175cm), about 220lbs (100kg), with brown hair and brown eyes.

What else would you like to know about me?

Ueno park (Tokyo): cherry blossoms, rain, and great memories...

write to me at: me@wpcoe.com