A little about me...


Hmmm, where should I start?
my soi
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.

inside my home
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
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.

only need 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.)

I'm not social...
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?

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

write to me at: me@wpcoe.com

thin dividing line

Last updated 10-July-2021