Greetings from my new home in Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico.
There’s a whole story behind this that started many years ago, even before I got sober. I’d forgotten just how many years until I was cleaning out a book shelf in preparation for relocating and found a book titled “Living Easy In Mexico”. Inside the book, I found the receipt from the book store where I bought it, dated in 1995. Using my superior mathematical mind, I compute that to be 17 years ago. Okay, a kid could have figured it out.
I’ll spare you the details of all that took place during that 17 years, suffice it to say there were a lot of ups and downs. I lost everything and worked my way back to solvency and a touch of prosperity – through hard work, a little serendipity and being responsible. But mostly by staying sober through it all.
I am going to tell the story of what happened in the past few months and how it’s put me in great circumstances. It bears telling here because it has a lot to do with the Fellowship of AA and the fact there are recovering drunks just about anywhere you could think of.
Seek And Ye Shall Find
Several months ago, I was looking for a location in Mexico to retire and I was on a couple of Yahoo Groups with US and Canadian people living down here or who spend a lot of time in the country. I posted to one group asking for advice, based on the various places they live. I explained that I didn’t need a huge ex-pat community, but enough. And here was the key: I wrote, “Any friend of Bill will know what I mean.”
I got exactly one personal response, from a man named Ross, who said he’s a friend of Bill and he proceeded to tell me about AA in the Puerto Vallarta area (which includes Bucerias where he lives). There are meetings in English daily and in fact, there’s an Alano Club in Puerto Vallarta. So I started studying other aspects of the area and found that it’s relatively safe; there is almost no drug cartel crime and violence occurring here. And the cost of living once you get out of PV proper is affordable. Decision made.
When I was just about ready to load up my car and make the five day drive down here, I saw that Ross’ wife had posted on the Yahoo Group that they needed someone to stay in their house and take care of their animals for 10 days or so while they drove up to Tucson helping someone move. I emailed her, telling her of my experience with dogs and cats and my connection to her husband and it fell into place. They got a pet sitter and I got a place to stay free while I looked for a place of my own.
It Gets Better….
I arrived in town late on a Saturday night and met up with Ross and his wife on Sunday at their house. Ross immediately told me we were going to someone else’s house to help load her stuff in his truck for the drive north. (Of course, the lady moving is from his AA group.) While helping, I met six more group members. Then the next day Ross took me to a meeting and I felt right at home, since I knew most of the group already. No excuses for not going to meetings. No “Gee, I don’t know where the meetings are” or “I don’t know anybody”. I fell right in.
I’m not quite done yet. After the first meeting I attended by myself I was talking to a few people about needing to find a place to live. One of the men I’d met that first day told me of a townhouse in the complex where he lives being rented for a lower than normal price and to make a long story a little shorter, I’m moving in in a few days. And there was another offer, too, of a room in a really upscale townhouse for about $500 a month. Again, one of the men in the group.
Avoiding The Fellowship
For years, I’ve stood on the sidelines and not really gotten involved in the fellowship of AA, partly due to scheduling and timing issues, partly because I’m kind of a loner, not a joiner. I mean, I have good acquaintances and people I’ve known reasonably well for a number of years but I haven’t socialized or gone to a lot of functions. Being married to someone not in the program didn’t help, I’m sure.
So it’s a bit ironic that here I am about 3000 miles from my home group, in a different country, and I’m jumping right in and getting involved. It feels right.
Tu amigo,
Owen
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