I'm riding around the other day and thinking about why I want to live here in México. I know that I have friends who don't understand and no doubt think I've made a bad decision. That's ok, what interested me though was why it seemed like a good choice to me.

Honestly, I will admit that money figures into this. If I had unlimited wealth, I might keep my main residence somewhere in LA. Up a canyon close in but with killer views and a garden, then no doubt a beach house on the coast for an ocean fix. Of course, when it got cold in the winter I could travel somewhere warm and lush. That would work. Since I never remember to buy lottery tickets, that's not likely to happen.

So my first reason is that living here allows me to have my main house in an even more liveable city than LA (less crime, no smog) but cosmopolitan enough to keep me entertained. I can afford my dream house with everything but a view and a lot more archtectural interest. Because I was lucky enough to buy a condo on the Caribbean a dozen or more years ago, I can have a beach house a few hours away.

The second reason is that I'm never bored. If I think about what I like to do, it comes down to: puttering around with plants, hanging out with animals, cruising the internets, going to casual events that expand my brain with new ideas or new ways of seeing things, finding places to go and people to meet that I haven't encountered before, learning new stuff. I could do that in LA or San Anselmo or Cathedral City, any of the places I have or could live in California but it would take more effort to find the new and stretch the brain. Here, I just have to walk out the door and new stuff is everywhere. My brain perks up, my eyes get brighter and I'm suddenly very, very interested in everything around me. That's a huge plus about moving somewhere new and particularly a new culture and a new language.

The third thing is that I'm really over cold weather. It's not a huge thing but it matters quite a bit to me. I don't like being cold and I like to be not just around an ocean but able to actually get IN it. It's too cold anywhere in California. I could move to Miami and probably enjoy the weather. I've never been very interested in much else about Florida so it wouldn't help with reason #2 and for sure, I would not have the dream house or a place on the beach.

I could find all these things in another country besides México, I can think of a dozen right away that I would love to live in. The downside there is proximity to my son and my friends from home. Money again, it would be too expensive to fly back to see them or for them to fly to see me.

México is perfect for me.