All Good Things Must End...We Say Hasta Luego to San Miguel!

Our last few days in San Miguel were a bittersweet mixture of happiness and melancholy! Our love for this unique oasis in the desert had grown with every day of our visit. Our return to the US was timed with the celebration of my Mother's 90th birthday in Albuquerque, a day of great joy for my family, but we were not looking forward to leaving what may at some point in the not too distant future become our new home!

There are so many things to like about San Miguel it is hard to know where to start in listing them. The near perfect weather, picture postcard beauty, festivals and parades, restaurants and cantinas, cathedrals and museums, all these things are certainly a big part of what makes the city so special. But it is the people, the charming and gracious people of Mexico who really make it special and we will never forget.

I remember one day, as we were walking about the streets of Dolores Hildago and looking for a good place to grab a beer. We had stopped to look in the doors of a small cantina when we were approached by a small Mexican man, obviously a local, who told us with a big grin "there is a much better place right around the corner" and taking his advice we discovered he was right! I can't remember the last time a complete stranger gave us such sage advice on the streets of the US. Hell, most of the time you are lucky if they will even give you good directions!

Everywhere we went, this was the rule and not the exception. Our morning walks into town were always punctuated with a dozen "hola's" and "buenos dias" from everyone. The little old lady headed to market, the kids headed off to school, or the gardener tending to one of the the lush and beautiful gardens that adorn the town. People helped us when we looked lost, chuckled at our broken Spanish, gave us the correct change when we paid them the wrong amount, and generally did everything they could to make us feel welcome.

We did spend a little bit of our last days looking at real estate, as we are definitely contemplating a return here in the fall. There are lots of things up in the air right now in our lives, so we shall see. We have done a great deal of research that led up to this point, and we urge anyone who is even thinking of becoming an expat to do the same. For every expat that stays where they choose to go, there are generally two or three that don't make it. It is not for everyone, and only you can decide if you think it is for you, and you may still be wrong. Eyes wide open is the best approach!

With this post and our return "home", we will pause this blog for the time being. We will however keep you up to date and post from time to time as we consider our future! Thank you for joining us on our adventure. Please stay tuned and hasta luego for now!