Nesting

We started our retirement adventure three years ago by downsizing all of our material possessions into four suitcases, and then set out to find a new home where warm winds blow and the sun shines every day. We followed our hearts and took some guidance from the spreadsheet that we created to compare 20+ potential locations and over 100 line items analyzed for each location. After enjoying our travels, meeting new people and exploring fun places, it seems we may have found a place to start nesting.

Definition: the tendency to arrange one's immediate surroundings to create a place where one feels secure, comfortable, and in control. It is also the act of settling oneself into a cozy corner of one's home and surrounding oneself with all the comforts of one's many vices.

This type of nesting activity usually becomes apparent when one of the members in a relationship start to exhibit behaviours making changes to a previous routine (in our minimalist nomad existence where everything we owned had to fit into our four suitcases). So, it seems our spreadsheet works in helping us to find us a place that meets our needs, and lo and behold, nesting activities have begun that include:

Residency – we applied for temporary residency in Mexico to make it easier to remain here for at least a year. Much easier and less expensive than leaving after the maximum 180 visitor period and then trying to return again. We picked up our plastic Temporary Resident cards and we are already talking about extending beyond one year.

Medical coverage – up to now, we have been using a “pay as you go” approach to our health needs for the past three years even though we paid $6,000.00 Canadian dollars for insurance coverage the first two years (and we only claimed back $800 of that). It seems pay as you go is much cheaper as long you don't have any serious ailments. It's a good thing we are both healthy and careful. We have been visiting local doctors and buying our daily meds over the counter in Mexico and in the Caribbean since we left Canada in 2015, and they are much cheaper here in Mexico than anywhere else. Now that we are back in Mexico we decided to look into the Mexico Heath Care system.

We have decided that it's time to stop having a monthly deduction (Can$150.00) taken off our pensions for our British Columbia Medical Services Plan premiums (we get no benefits) and rather put that money into a local health plan. We also found out that Expat Health Insurance is good to purchase before you are 65 years old as some places won't sell it to you if you are over 65. Now that we have our CURP card, we are looking into that as I write this.

CURP - what is it? Mexico’s version of Social Security or Social Insurance number. The CURP is a unique identification number which is assigned to each person living in Mexico. You will have this same CURP number for life. The CURP is required when you apply for a Mexican driver’s license, apply for employment, file taxes, apply for an RFC Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (a tax identification number), register a vehicle in Mexico, start a business, or open a bank account. You will also require a CURP for Civil Registry, and any other government services including free healthcare and a senior discount program called INAPAM.

INAPAM - what is it? It is a discount card offered to all Mexicans and foreign residents (legal status as residencia temporal or permanente) who are 60 years of age or older. The card holder can enjoy discounts on a whole range of goods and services including food, medicines, transport, clothing, as well as recreation and leisure activities. It's a long list and the discounts range from 10% to 50%. The INAPAM card has no expiration date, meaning you only have to go through this process once.

Bicycles – yes, we are the proud owners of used bicycles. A little spit and polish, new tubes, new baskets and some spray paint and we are up and running... Can't fit these into our suitcases. So, we will need to sell them if we leave Mexico, or we will have to get into a larger move package if / when that time comes.

Wall hung paintings – we have started painting pictures on large canvases with frames that are meant to be hung on walls. Previously our art work was done on special paper that could be rolled up or be placed into suitcases when packing time came along.

Music and Pots and Pans – our kitchen in our rental apartment is fully equipped but we went out and bought a large frying pan, a stove top grill, a stir fry pan and all sorts of bowls for use in food prep. We can't take them anywhere if we leave this apartment unless we move down the street to another apartment. We also bought one of those big speakers that are self contained and fully powered to operate am/fm radio, a cd player and run external inputs like a guitar, microphone and walkman music player. We like the sound of our walkman music player now (no more tiny little speakers) but we also know it won't fit into our suitcases. We also found a used electric guitar for $82 Canadian that will help get fingers back in shape for when we get ready to move guitars out of storage...

Plants – We haven't owned plants since we lived in Vancouver and it seems strange to have them on our minds when we walk past a local nursery. Buying plants and having them around is yet another bit of nesting. “Wouldn't that look nice on the front porch?”. Yes it would dear...

Dog – We have had a discussion about getting a dog for many years. It seems there is a new sparkle in our eyes when we have that discussion. This is a photo of two blonde cuties - the puppy (Nina) belongs to one of our favourite local fun refreshment stops: Veintiocho Food and Drink.

Even though there is a law to the contrary, many local beach bars and restaurants let you sneak in your pooch when you stop in for a cerveza... That makes it sound easier to enjoy days with your puppy, but then the daily management side of things of having a pet comes into play (yes, you will have to get up and out of bed before the crack of 10 am), along with “what do we do when we need to go shopping or travel somewhere?”, ... more difficult to make it a reality. Yes, we need to be realistic dear. Perhaps if a decision is made to get Residencia Permanente status?

So this nesting thing is a new phenomenon in our nomad lives – it's kinda nice to be thinking about maybe settling down for a while, storing the suitcases on a very high shelf, and just enjoying living in a nice warm place with no snow. And, maybe it's time to collect a few of the few things we have in our tiny storage locker in the great white north...? That sounds more permanent...