Chapala and Ajijic Mexico Low Cost of Living

Chapala Ajijic Mexico Low Cost of Living
Chapala Ajijic Mexico Retire Cheap in Paradise
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Chapala and Ajijic Mexico Low Cost of Living

[kkstarratings]  This is Dan from Vagabond Buddha. Today, I am in the Chapala-Ajijic area of Mexico. This post has the Chapala Ajijic Mexico low cost of living data. I collect data about the cost of living as I travel the world. You see, I left the USA in 2007. I visit family every year in the USA, but I live internationally. I have been to 65 countries so far. Moving forward appeals to me, but I will pick a place to live eventually. But I will keep traveling at least 6 months of the year.

So far I favor Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is too cold 6 months of the year, but I would just travel during the cold months.

Livability Factors: Livability is a soup of factors that I evaluate when I am trying to determine whether or not a place is livable. Not just livable, but highly desirable to me personally. Here are some of the ingredients in my livability soup.

Walkability: Chapala and Ajijic Mexico have a high walkability factor. Technically, you could live here without having a car. Of the two, I would prefer to live in Ajijic and have only a bicycle on days I wanted to visit Chapala. The roads are very bumpy so I would get one of those beach cruisers with big fat tires. Skinny road tires are not workable. I would just walk around Ajijic for all of my daily needs.

Internet: I read online that some people are still struggling for reliable Internet here. This is a red flag for me. Before I would move here, I would need to make sure the place I was moving into had reliable speeds.

Food: For towns this size (Chapala, Ajijic) you would expect to struggle with food choices. But the food choices are better than you would expect due to the large expat community supporting fringe foreign tastes. The international food choices for a city of this size are perfectly respectable. There are even multiple vegetarian choices for many international foods.

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Weather: The weather is lovey in Chapala Mexico. Chapala rarely gets too hot or too cold. The warmest month is May. The average high for the day in May is 86F or 30C. The average low at night in May is 63F or 17C. It generally cools down at night in the summer due to the elevation of 1524 meters (5000 feet) above sea level. The coolest month of the year is January. The average low at night in January is 52F or 12C. The average high for the day in January is 73F or 23C. The rainy season is June through September when it rains at least once per day for about 15 to 20 days per month. During the rainy season, it rains 6 to 10 inches per month. They don’t see much rain from October to May.

Things to Do: There are all sorts of things to do in town and lots of open land around if you like to hike. There is also all of the activities you would expect on a lake this large. Plus, click the above “Chapala and Ajijic Retire Cheap in Paradise” for information about golf, horseback riding, hiking, motorcycle, art walks, spas, thermal pools and local clubs where expats and Mexicans meet to find people with similar interest and language.

Social Considerations: Because of the high concentration of expats and Mexicans catering to expats, the social opportunities are richer hear than some large towns in Mexico.

Desire to Move Here: Medium. After visiting here, and comparing it to places like Guanajuato, I think I may want to live in a more urban setting. This just seems a little too rural to me.

If you book my recommended flights, tours (Viator Tours, GetYourGuide Tours), or accommodations, you will pay nothing extra, but we will earn a small commission.

Real Estate Prices in Chapala and Ajijic: Don’t Buy Real Estate Right Away: I recommend that you live here for at least one year before you buy a place. Talk to people who have bought and sold to get the local story. This is not like moving to another part of your home country. If you are positive you will want to buy in a year or two, you can do research now. It is okay to do research now so you know you will be able to find something suitable in a year or two when you are ready to buy. For that reason, I have posted a few photos of things for sale at the bottom of this post.

Start by renting. Below are my estimated costs of living one month in Chapala Mexico, as a temporary visitor. If you rented a furnished apartment by the month, it could be cheaper. You can rent a furnished 1 bedroom apartment ranging from about 300 to 800 USD per month depending on how modern and how close you want to be to the colonial center of town.

Monthly Cost of Living, Chapala Mexico, Mexico ($USD)

Expense

Cost

Low

Medium

High**

Apartment

$30.00

0

14

30

Moderate Hotel

$45.00

0

12

0

Backpacker Hostel (none)

$30.00

30

3

0

High-End Restaurant

$12.00

1

4

8

Neighborhood Restaurant

$5.00

30

44

48

Food Cart

$2.00

30

12

4

Subway/Train/Metro

$0.60

20

26

8

Bus

$0.60

20

10

0

Taxi/Uber

$4.00

6

10

20

Total

Per Month

$1,170.00

$1,403.60

$1,328.80

Total

Per Day

$39.00

$46.79

$44.29

For more information about how the above “Cost of Living Monthly Multiplier” works, please visit the bottom of this page at Vagabond Buddha. The above table does not include alcohol, excursions, or extras, and it is for one person.

**The above high cost of living is lower than the medium cost of living because I am using a furnished apartment rental price of $600 per month. There are no hostels we could find for backpackers. So I am using the Airbnb price which is cheaper than a modest hotel.

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If you would like to learn how to make money online, or how to live internationally possibly with less money than you spend at home, please subscribe to Vagabond Buddha or get a free copy of my Ebook.

Contact the realtors on the following pictures if you want to get more prices or do more research. These homes are more of a local experience. They can provide you with really expensive amazing places if you are trying to find America in Mexico.

This is Dan of Vagabond Buddha. Thank you for stopping by.

Warning: I am not offering you these prices.  These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post.  Your costs will likely be drastically different if significant inflation or deflation occurs or the market changes after this post.  I will not update these numbers until I am on the ground again here, if ever.   

4 thoughts on “Chapala and Ajijic Mexico Low Cost of Living”

  1. Hi Marilyn, There are some great Youtube videos on this topic. (Google: Lake Chapala Pollution) I recommend watching those. But look for ones mentioning their sources and read their sources to gain comfort. Once you have comfort, feel free to contact me again and update this comment. Best, Dan

  2. Hi Patrick,

    It looks like you are interested in Chapala-Ajijic, is that right? I would start by visiting the Facebook expat web pages for that location and ask if there is anyone there that is undergoing stroke rehab and what does it cost?

    But I may not limit myself just to that location. I might “date” around a little before you “go steady” with a new country. Watch this to get an idea of what I mean:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpEkv5kIWf8

    You have many choices in terms of your budget if you are super-frugal like me. 🙂

    Best,
    Dan

  3. Im in Alberta and at the moment making 1566 every month. Ive gone thru a major stroke 4 years back. What im looking for is a small house, a small way of life and looking to cost me a 1000 a month. $ money. is this possible,

  4. You mention that Lake Chapala is no longer polluted, yet there doesn’t seem to be much activity on the lake. Could you say a bit more about this. Is it clean, can one swim, sail, fish etc. I would hate to move to a place where the focal point was a polluted lake.

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