Our Visa Process to Live in Mexico
**This post has been updated with 2020 requirements from the Mexican government, but still retains our experience getting a visa the first and second year.** Getting a visa to live full-time in Mexico takes time and some exhausting work. Many people live in Mexico part time especially from the Northern states to escape winter. This is because the regular tourist visa you receive when entering Mexico is good for 6 months compared to the 90 day visa you receive in most other countries. Part-time living is fine if you want a winter home in warm weather and spend your summers with family after the snow has melted. But we went…
Showing Off Queretaro on House Hunters International
If you are a fan of House Hunters International, you might have seen us! Our episode titled “Wine Not Move to Queretaro, Mexico” first aired in the USA on February 19, 2019. Our reason for getting on the show was not to have our 15 minutes (or 22 minutes of airtime) of fame, but to show the world that there’s more to Mexico than beach towns, poverty and media slandering. House Hunters International is one of our favorite TV shows, and to be a part of it was an interesting experience. It’s not as simple as raising your hand and saying, “I want to be on the show”. There…
Our Every Day Mexican Life in Queretaro- 10 Months Later
November’s big holiday in the USA is Thanksgiving, and in Mexico it’s Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos. Regardless of which holiday you and I are celebrating, It’s the month to remember and honor our loved ones present and past and give thanks for what we have. We are so grateful about so many things in our life right now. Making this move to Mexico might have seemed like a big decision to our family and friends, but we know we made the right choice for our quality of life. We would like to give you a glimpse inside our “every day” Mexican life. Favorite Restaurants Finding…
2nd Most Frustrating Thing About Living in Mexico: The Internet
If you are wondering why it takes me so long to write about daily life in Mexico, it’s because nothing can ever be completed in one day. It seems to take weeks and sometimes months to get a resolution on what we think would be a simple matter. The internet service is a perfect example of this. It’s been the second most frustrating thing about living to Mexico. We love the food, the people, the landscape and the opportunity to have an adventure anytime we want. But when things don’t work like they should, it gets on our nerves. Friday Night We were watching TV last Friday night, and the…
Getting Lucky with Carnitas and Barbacoa
We did quite a bit of research before selecting the greater Queretaro area to relocate to. One thing we did not look into was what are the local food specialties? Call it dumb luck but we were fortunate enough to stumble onto some fairly remarkable local delicacies, most notably carnitas and barbacoa. Carnitas Santa Rosa Jauregui, which is at the foot of the mountain we live on, is home to some of the best Carnitas in Mexico. The restaurants along Independencia, the main thoroughfare through town spills out onto the sidewalk and sometimes right into the street. The enormous steel pots (cauldrons really) first gently confit the huge cuts of…
Picture Tour of Mercado La Cruz
Did you know that Mexico produces and supplies 45% of the world’s avocados? And did you know that Mexico grows 14 varieties of mangoes? One of the highlights of traveling around the world is visiting local markets. Now that we live in Queretaro, the Mercado La Cruz isn’t a tourist attraction for us. It truly is local! Mercado La Cruz was established over 35 years ago and has grown past its cement block walls spilling out of its doorways into the parking lot. Almost anything can be bought here; shoes, clothing, cell phone protectors and toys, but we love the produce and meats. Aisles are narrow and cramped, and vendors…
Wine, Cheese and Magic Towns
On our first visit to Queretaro we took the Wine & Cheese Tour which ultimately led us to falling in love with not just the city of Queretaro, but the surrounding area as well. This particular tour is not offered online. We signed up for it at the tourist kiosk by the Templo de San Francisco. The tour was completely in Spanish which made some things hard to understand, but you have to reserve a few days in advance if you hope to get a tour guide that speaks some English. While we did enjoy the tour, there were aspects of it that could have been better. Read on to…
The Best Mexican Chocolate in Querétaro, Mexico
Chocolate was introduced to Europe in the 16th century, but the indigenous people of Mexico have been consuming chocolate for thousands of years. The Europeans went crazy for this natural caffeine source, and began experimenting with adding sugar, milk and cocoa butter to transform the drink into a solid form that could be eaten. While some may argue that the best chocolate derives from Belgium or other European countries, I prefer the chili spice kick in Mexican chocolate. The best place to indulge in Mexican chocolate is at La Fabrica de Chocolate. Located in the historic center of Querétaro, this adorable and kitschy little chocolate shop serves a variety of pastries and lunch…
Boutique Hotel La Casa de la Marquesa
The boutique hotel La Casa de la Marquesa is a landmark in Queretaro. It is one of the premium boutique hotels in the Colonial Highlands of Mexico, and it all began with a love story. You can ask any local and they will give you a slightly different version every time, but the foundation of the story is the same. A duke, the Marques, fell in love with a beautiful nun, and because of her cunning, Queretaro flourished in the face of despair. The Story It begins with a powerful Basque nobleman named Don Juan Antonio de Urrutia y Arana Perez de Inoriza y Chávarri, Marques de la Villa…
Research Tips For Pet Travel to a New Country
If you think it’s hard planning your own flight to your overseas location, planning your pet travel is even more difficult. As humans, we can deal with wonky flight times; leaving at 5am in the morning, or arriving at an unknown location at 11pm at night, hoping someone will be available at the hotel or Airbnb to let us in. But putting our pets through it is worse. I’m not talking about the handbag- pets. I’m talking about the “large” dogs over 20 pounds that need to go in a crate in the dark belly of a plane. They don’t know what is going on, where they are going,…
