Zander’s Weblog

A collection of letters home to friends written by Carol Schmidt after her move, with Norma Hair, to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The letters are from the early 2000′s although the copyright is 2006. Unfortunately, as a book, using the letters-home style quickly becomes repetitive and tedious–’we did this, we did that, we saw a parade, we heard lots of fireworks, we can’t speak Spanish, we don’t know what this means, we’re trying to sell our RV.’ What could have been a valuable resource never gets beyond being a very long postcard–the research is often paper thin, and many of the facts are wrong. For example, stating that Phoenix is in Mariposa county (it’s Maricopa, although I’m sure the people of Phoenix would love to have Yosemite).
If you are looking for a book with focused, accurate, well-researched information on retirement, social security, or moving to Mexico, this is not it. There isn’t even an index. On the other hand, if what you are looking for is a chatty travelogue that provides an impressionistic montage of what such a venture might feel like, this book may work for you if you are tolerant of the style.