Gringos in Paradise: An American Couple Builds Their Retirement Dream House in a Seaside Village in Mexico

Having just completed out first year living in a different small seaside town in Mexico, I can attest to the authenticity of Barry and Thia's experiences and appreciate their outlook on living in Mexico. I found myself following my husband around, reading passages out loud to him, i.e., "You've got to hear this!" Golson does an especially good job of describing the naivete with which they (and we) began the experience and the incremental ways they learned to love a side of Mexico you can only experience as a resident. The hopes and the frustrations involved in building a home here are accurately and humorously described. But for me, the real value of this book is the unpretentious way he describes the development of their deep affection for Mexico and Mexicans. My husband and I have reached the same conclusions, through a series of experiences that are very similar to theirs. If you are considering a move to Mexico, this is an instructive read - not so much for the information about homebuilding (although it IS helpful and accurate) but more for the story of acclimation to a culture that is SO much more different than you could ever imagine. Many authors have taken advantage of the growing trend to move south and we have read most of them. Along with Don Adam's book (Head for Mexico), this is the one I would recommend.

...and has something for everyone. I can't say enough good things about this book: the writing style is unfailingly crisp, droll, and punchy; it is a love paean to Mexico, its people, culture, and history; it is a wonderful story of a 'boomer' couple's marriage and resolution of the quandary aging couples face over what to do when the nest is empty, but the nest egg is modest and forced retirement looms. It is filled with lots of wisdom about home building and expat living. It builds up hilarious suspense over whether or not the author's 90-year-old father and a bevy of other relatives, all invited to celebrate Thanksgiving at the not-quite-finished house, will be forced to improvise out back for lack of operable plumbing. Even if you're not interested in Mexico, retirement, or homebuilding, you will be utterly charmed by this stranger-in-a-strange-land saga that every human faces sooner or later.

An excellant book on living with Mexico, not in an American 'compound'. Inforamative on the need to adjust expectation to a different style of living. Mexico isn't ... (anywhere in the US), and you shouldn't expect things to work the same way. A must read.

If you know anything about our generation, you will appreciate Barry Golson's honesty in dealing with facts many of us will face: changed career prospects after 50, inadequate retirement savings, change in spousal relationship after the kids move out, desire for a different way of life. The book moves along at an engrossing pace. I wish he had been a little more explicit about the finances, but I'm a numbers gal, basically I had no complaints. A must-read.

This is a smart, funny and ultimately even touching book. In recounting his and his wife's adventures -- and misadventures -- as they set about building their dream house in Mexico, Golson is a surrogate for an entire generation; those of us who, having come of age in the Sixties and accustomed to living life on our own terms, now find ourselves wondering what the next chapter will bring. In addition to being a compelling personal story, this book tells any reader considering retiring south of the border anything he needs to know.