As soon as
John Scherber wrote that his latest book, Into
the Heart of México: Expatriates Find Themselves Off the Beaten Path,
was available, I immediately bought the Kindle edition. I find it fascinating
to read about expats in Mexico and how they reached their decision to move
there. In Scherber’s first book, San Miguel de
Allende: A Place in the Heart, he concentrated on San Miguel. This latest book spends 15
months interviewing expats in Pozos, San Luis de la Paz, Morelia, Patzcuaro,
Puebla, Zacatecas and Oaxaca. Those cities are all in the Mexican highlands
where the weather is mild with few extremes.
The question
always comes up, when I announce I want to spend at least six months a year in
Mexico, where would you live? I say I’d like to spend at least a month in each
place on my list, then decide. Scherber has just encouraged me to add seven more
locations to my list.
The
interviews are intimate close ups of people and what they like about the
country and how the pace is slower. They have learned paciencia, patience, and while it seems many interviewees tend to
be left-leaning, there doesn’t seem to be any great desire to go back to the
U.S. except as a short visit. These people in the highlands are independent,
speak Spanish, have Mexican friends, but don’t seem to need to have other
expats around them to be happy.
Once exposed
to Mexico, it seems easy to start preparing one’s mind for the move. Almost as
easy to buy Scherber’s next book.
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