" alt="Baja Life Realty" />Welcome to This Baja Life, our blog where we are sharing our experiences as U.S. expats living in La Paz in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Moving to Mexico may seem like a big leap to take, but once you’ve experienced all that Baja has to offer, there’s a good chance you will fall head over heels in love with this amazing place. We did!
To find out how, subscribe to our blog (enter your email in the sidebar of this page) and we’ll send you new posts about our adventures and experiences, as well as practical guides and how-to’s that will answer many of the questions we had when we made the move to La Paz. You can also follow us on our Facebook page here.
We are Jim and Rebecca MacDonald, two expats from northern California who decided to sell our house in San Jose, California, exit our (too) busy Silicon Valley lifestyle, and move ourselves and our two dogs to live full time in La Paz.
Since we made the move, we’ve fielded tons of questions from friends, family and visitors about our experience. To help answer those questions and more, we thought we would share our experiences and adventures buying a house, moving to and living in La Paz.
Following are just a few of the most common questions we often get about our move:
Where the heck is La Paz? La Paz is situated in the southern half of the Baja peninsula, which is directly south of the California U.S. border. It is the capital of Baja California Sur (the southern half of Baja) on the eastern side of the peninsula about two hours northeast of Cabo San Lucas. That means we get to enjoy the stunningly beautiful Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California), made famous by John Steinbeck in his book The Log from the Sea of Cortez.
Here’s a handy map you can use to locate La Paz:
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d7038747.881482653!2d-113.58763905937501!3d30.524188589247352!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e0!3m2!1sen!2smx!4v1528320879458&w=600&h=450]
What made you decide to move La Paz? The short answer: this view from our rooftop patio in El Centenario, a small community not far from downtown La Paz:
We often tell people the real reason: We watched one too many episodes of Househunters International on HGTV! It’s true. We had been visiting and exploring Baja for years from our time share in Cabo San Lucas. Each time we came to visit, we wished we could stay longer. (I also wanted a place we could drive to so we could bring our dogs with us on vacation. I missed them!)
Back home in California, watching yet another couple on TV find their dream home in a far-flung tropical locale, we realized we could finally follow that dream and live here full time, too. We started our search in Cabo, the town we knew best at the time…then someone suggested we check out La Paz for its gorgeous beaches, beautiful downtown malecon and laid back, peaceful lifestyle. (La Paz literally translates to “The Peace” in Spanish.)
In fact, La Paz beaches, like this one, often make the lists of the top 10 beaches in Mexico, with good reason!
We rented a car and drove the 2 hours north to La Paz, where we were welcomed by the real estate team of Robin Hodgson and Miriam Welldon at Vista Properties. They graciously showed us around town and shared their experience of moving here from Canada. Utterly charmed by La Paz and its residents, we soon returned on a second trip, and found our perfect home!
Is it safe there? We get this question a lot, and we understand why. The answer, in our experience, is absolutely yes, if you exercise the same common sense and precautions you would anywhere in the world. That includes being aware of your surroundings, respecting local laws, and not venturing into unknown areas late at night. In fact, we have been delighted by the very friendly and hospitable nature of the many people, both expats and locals, that we have met here. It’s a topic that deserves more discussion, and we’ll address it in more detail in a future post, but rest assured, the people who live here, love it here!
Can you own a house in Mexico? The answer is yes! We bought a house here, and you can, too. Whether you are thinking of buying a second home to escape the northern winters, finding a place to retire or just to come and get away from it all on vacation, La Paz has so much to offer. In fact, our experience with our realtors here was so smooth, we decided to join their team. You can check out our listings at www.bajalifeproperties.com.
Have questions? Leave a comment below, or get in touch with us at any time at info@bajalifeproperties.com.
Hi guys,
I’m considering moving there and would like to know how your dogs do with the warm weather. I have a large almost all black dog and want to make sure he would be happy. I’m also interested in availability of small 1 Br casita and if there is a lot of long term rental options. I’m just starting my exploration of the idea so any help is appreciated. Thank you so much!
We are considering moving to La Paz specifically Parisio Del Mar in the next six months do you have any suggestions? Specifically on the location for paraiso Delmar have you heard anything about them? We spent six days there that were incredible. We would really like to move to a condo because were elderly and we need help with things. But it’s a seven minute boat ride to La Paz to get medicine and doctors and stuff like that. I’d love to hear your take on paraiso Del Mar and if you ever heard of it thank you
Hi Abbie, Paraiso del Mar is a beautiful place, and El Mogote is one of our favorite places to go just relax and enjoy the beach and wildlife. The only drawback is the taxi into town to get to stores, doctors, etc. but the water taxi makes that pretty doable. If you’re planning on having a car it’s a little bit further drive around to El Centenario and then another 10 minutes to Fidepaz hospital. We’ll send you an email with more info.
Good Morning,
My name is Merrilyn Gauld and I live in the Ejido La Mision 18 de December, close by the OXXO. The city connection is La Mision.
My question is about attacking dogs who try to kill my dog. He has been attacked 4 times and the last time they almost killed him. Is there someone out there who can assist me is getting rid of these vicious beasts. I am very concerned that those aggressive dogs will start attacking the residences here.
I have owned my home here for 30 years and have been a long time resident for 15 years.
I appreciate your help.
646-155-0385 0r 619-988.1937
Hi!
My husband and I visit Cabo yearly and we are looking to retire in La Paz. However, we would like to rent for a year or so to determine if this place/life style is for us. Can you please recommend a realtor who would be willing to show us around La Paz?
We’re considering coming to La Paz from the first week in January through March, 2022. We would like to rent a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with parking near downtown. We like the area near Marina de La Paz. We would like to spend under $750/month.
Jim, Rebecca, or others who may have information,
I am about to retire, and my husband and I planned to move to El Comitan and live in an RV for a year, or so, before buying a smaller, modest home in either El Comitan or El Centenario. We have been planning to relocate to one of these communities full time. I had believed there were openings for long-term term RV parking (with our 50 pound dog), but just found out there are no openings in the foreseeable future. We were planning to move to Baja around mid to late November 2023. My question is: How difficult is it to rent a place that would accept our dog and considering our Spanish is extremely limited? What might the rental cost per month? Then, if all goes well, can Baja Life Realty assist us in finding a small home, or building on a small lot? Thank you for any information. Dawn
Hi, I am considering living part time in Centenario from Canada. What is your advise
Hello, I am considering purchasing a small hotel property north of Cabo and was wodnering if there are any “Ex-Pat” websites etc where I can advertise to potentailly find some retirees in the hospitality industry that might want to work part time? And/or in the construction industry. Thank you
Hi Pete,
I hope you have been successful on your endeavor. I am planning an extended visit to the area late 2026. I would love to have your hotel contact info.
Thanks and best of luck to you!
I am looking for a relocation expert who can help me set up utilities in my name after purchasing a home in early November in La Paz. I speak very little Spanish. Thank you!