SO I DECIDED TO MOVE TO ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA

Folks ask me why. Why Guatemala? Why Antigua? Why anywhere, really? There are alot of answers.

I have wanted to live abroad for awhile...I probably got the bug when I went to France for the first time. I just saw it as a better way of living. People bought their food in open markets and everything seemed fresher. Fast food was not a thing there, and they walked everywhere.  They seemed to enjoy life more, and maybe that was just my impression or the one I wanted to have. But I mean, just look at it.

But it also costs a billion dollars a day to live there and the Schengen agreement keeps it from being a reality unless you're an EU citizen.

Second, I became REALLY super tired of practicing law. The more I did it, the more I knew that it was not something that I could do for the rest of my life. For those of you who don't know me, I have some substantial issues with clinical depression, and going to a job every day that I hated compounded the problems. I tried a few other things, like maybe getting a job in legal marketing, where I could combine my legal experience with my background in advertising and marketing, but after exhaustive applications and interviews, it became clear that it was just never going to work out. Maybe if I had found something else to do that I liked, I would not be leaving, but I didn't so here we are.

Third, my mom passed away a few years ago, and I was fortunate enough to inherit her pension from the Retirement Systems of Alabama, so that allowed me a little bit of financial freedom. It's not alot of money, but in the right place, it could be substantial. Here, it's just a drop in the bucket.

I can't remember how I discovered it, but I did and I wish that I had discovered it sooner, but several countries in Central and South America offer a pensionado program. That is, for folks with a lifetime pension above a certain amount (Guatemala: $1,000USD), you are eligible for residency. Residency provides quite a few benefits...tax free importation of US goods, chief among them. With that in mind, I started checking out countries. First choice: Buenos Aires: too expensive; Expat haven: Cuenca,Ecuador: cool, but also a little over my budget to live in the middle of town. Panama & Costa Rica: they've been discovered. Folks love to go on and on about Costa Rica but they haven't looked into the cost. (If I hear one more, "Costa Rica, bro" from people who haven't done any research..) Nicaragua: okay, the price is right but damn it's hot. And electricity is the highest in the Americas. I'm not down for Alabama Augusts for 12 months of the year and a $400 power bill. So I stumbled onto Guatemala. "Ok, I said to myself, this place is freaking gorgeous."

 But you never know about a place until you actually go there. It's Guatemala, and I'd heard there's crime. But I figured it was worth a shot. So I packed up and went down for a week and I was sold. The pictures don't do it justice. Then the prices. You can spend as much or as little as you want in Antigua. I've had $30 USD dinners and I've had a menu del dia lunch for $3. And then there's the weather. It's 75 degrees in the day and 55 at night....every damn day. As for the aforementioned crime? I wouldn't move to Guatemala City if I were you, but Antigua is probably the safest city in the Americas. There's random muggings of tourists if you're wandering around at night talking on an iphone, sure. But as for real danger to people who have traveled and are aware that you shouldn't be conspicuous about your possessions in a poor country? No problem.

They have a rainy season for six months out of the year, but I purposefully went down during it to see if that's something I could tolerate. It turns out, "rainy" to Guatemala and to someone from Mobile, Alabama mean entirely different things. Their rainy is a gulf coast September. Showers in the afternoon. Whatever.

The place is surrounded by three volcanoes, and there are roof top decks at every house, restaurant and bar. Occasionally, Volcan Fuego will erupt a litttle. It's not some violent thing where lava comes flying at you and there's no escape, but a little bit of lava at night is a beautiful thing.

Finally, the last reason I chose Antigua is the people, both Guatemalan and the expat community. I don't speak much Spanish (though there are one billion Spanish schools in Antigua, so that will change soon), but the people were incredibly warm and friendly. And because an expat community is by its nature transient, the expats were exceedingly nice and made me feel welcome immediately. Living where the people are nice....who knew that was possible?

So that's the "Why Antigua?" post. Since I decided to move, I have found an apartment, a job, and I am doing all the necessary things to move myself and trusted dog Steve on November 3rd. More about all that later. Hasta luego!