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Prime Times Weekly publication of the Mail Tribune , Medford, Oregon take me down to the Photos from The Associated Press Donna Joseph from Oakland, Calif., watches local fisherman Pedro Ramirez as he pulls fish from his net on Chapala Lake, a haven for American retirees. paradise city Fran Moore, center, plays a hand of bridge with other retired women at the American Legion in Ajijic, Mexico. More than 10,000 retired Americans and Canadians live in the towns along Lake Chapala, a wonderland of sun and lush countryside. Ajijic, the most popular community, dates back to the 16th century. Americans, Canadians find 'heaven' in Mexican city By ADOLFO GARZA The Associated Press AJIJIC, Mexico -- The Casa del Waffle carries USA Today. Dr Pepper is available at a local grocery store. The English-language library has 23,000 books, and a representative of the Chicago-based Beltone hearing aid company flies down once a month to make his rounds. These are the shores of Lake Chapala, a wonderland of sunny skies, mild temperatures, lush mountains -- and thousands of retired Americans and Canadians, possibly the largest community of North American expatriates in the world. "I thought Florida was heaven," said Skip Waggoner, 58, of Sebring, Fla., who retired to Ajijic four years ago. "But when I found this, I fell in love with the place. This is definitely paradise." The official language of this paradise is English. With more than 10,000 full-time residents from the United States and Canada -- and thousands more who come for a few months every winter -- the Chapala area often doesn't seem that different from their home countries. Don Chaloner, Harry Walker, Lawson Phaby and Ray Himmelman rehearse a song from "Guys and Dolls" at the Little Lakeside Theater in Ajijic, Mexico. People can watch American television over satellite dishes. Grocery stores stock Manwich sloppy joe mix, Stove Top stuffing, even Taco Bell taco seasoning. English-language newspapers -- including the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Globe and Mail of Toronto -- are available at most newsstands. Those "at-home" touches draw more and more retirees every year. Although no one keeps statistics, residents say the influx has grown considerably in the last few years, and with millions of baby boomers in the United States approaching retirement age, the trend is expected to continue. Of the handful of towns that line the retiree corridor along the northwestern corner of Lake Chapala, the most popular is Ajijic, pronounced ah-hee-HEEK. With cobblestone streets that date back to the 16th century, Ajijic combines the charms of old Mexico and small-town America. "There comes a point when you want out of the pressure pot, out of the rat race," said Wayne Lamb, a 62-year-old who heads American Legion Post 9 in Ajijic. "This is it. It's the best of both worlds." Expatriates keep busy playing golf and bridge, putting on plays and musicals, painting and making crafts to sell in the dozens of art galleries around town, and participating in activities and charity programs organized by the Lake Chapala Society, a nonprofit group. The society runs an orphanage, offers scholarships to send local children to good schools and has a humane society. Such activities help encourage warm relations between the expatriates and the Mexican residents of the area -- as do the dollars that have protected the local economy from peso devaluations. For the expatriates, the Lake Chapala Society offers an English-language library and a video collection, special group rates on Aetna medical and car insurance, visits by consular representatives, Spanish classes, free blood pressure checks and an outgoing U.S. mail service. "I don't miss going to the States at all," said Vierl Bunnell, the society's 65-year-old president who has been in Chapala for six years. For many residents, the area's location is ideal. Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city, is a 30-minute drive away, and the its airport -- with direct flights to several U.S. and Canadian cities -- is even closer. "It's much easier for our children to come visit," said Don Chaloner, a native of Montreal. Chaloner, 72, and his wife first lived in the area as snowbirds eight years ago. They tried moving to Europe after retiring five years ago, but the beauty of Lake Chapala lured them back. "We could have retired in Ireland, Spain or France," he said. "But we finally decided to come back here." Real estate costs have risen steadily in the last few years and are now similar to those in the United States and Canada. Prices range from $59,000 for a three-bedroom house near the town square to $685,000 for a five-bedroom lakefront mansion with pool, jacuzzi and four-car garage. But the overall cost of living remains low. Many residents have full-time maids and gardeners, who generally are paid $1 an hour -- well above Mexico's minimum wage of $3.40 a day. A good meal at a restaurant runs $5 to $8. The weather is sunny and mild all year long, and there is very little humidity, so there is no need for heating or air-conditioning, which also holds down costs. Kent Edwards, a 59-year-old lawyer from Anchorage, Alaska, said the lower cost of living allowed him and his wife to retire five years earlier than planned. This fall, the couple will be moving to Ajijic permanently to run a bed-and-breakfast. "The only complaint most people have is that they didn't come here sooner," said Waggoner, the Florida retiree. Prime Times front page Mail Tribune front page Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA