Not Beach Bum Material
Kino grew up in Texas but spent most of his adult life south of the Border. “I’ve been all over Latin America and I’ve worked in many places, but I never considered living in Mexico.” He says that he lived very well in the Caribbean but not as well in various parts of Mexico.
“But Huatulco is different. I first came to here on vacation in 1993 and fell in love with the natural raw beauty. It’s like a little oasis. It’s clean and has first world infrastructure. You don’t need to go far to realize you are still in a third world country but living in Huatulco is the best of everything.”
When he got a buy-out from his position in in Puerto Rico. and The Dominican Republic in 2007, he decided to enjoy the life of a ‘beach bum’ in Huatulco.
Kino was divorced when he arrived. He has remarried, has a large family, and is building a new home in Huatulco. Responsibilities change, or it maybe he just needed to be more active. Whatever the reason, this wannabe beach bum dropped out of ‘Do Nothing 101’ and reentered the business world. For the past nine years, Kino has been the owner of ReMax, a successful real estate franchise,
Having spent most of his adult life in Latin America, Kino was fluent in Spanish when he arrived and there wasn’t t much to surprise him. “I was however pleasantly surprised by the constant maintenance that FONATUR does here. I was impressed with it when I first arrived, but I expected that as time went on, service would deteriorate. It didn’t. They fix things and keep the town spotless.”
He also appreciates having access to practically everything and yet Huatulco is still a small friendly town. “We have good roads, an international airport, shopping, food…When I arrived, you couldn’t get Heinz ketchup but, OK you can get past the small stuff - Now we even have that.”
One thing that frustrates Kino about living in Huatulco is dealing with SEMERNAP and PFROFPA, These aretwo national environmental boards that control building on or near the sea and other Federal lands. “They make a snail appear to be moving at jet speed. They aren’t trying to be difficult, it’s just the way they work. Don’t get me wrong, I think what they do is important and we need these people. I just wish they could speed things up a bit.” And this is coming from someone accustomed to slow paced Latin culture, so you can imagine.
Kino divides his time between work and family. “We like to go to the beach or sit in the zocalo in the evening. My wife has a lot of family, so we spend time with them. He also takes his civic responsibility seriously and is Vice President of the Red Cross and a member of the local Rotary club.”
He advises anyone planning to move to Mexico to either sell your house before you move or take out a mortgage on that one. “I’ve had several clients who dealt with American companies that made empty promises regarding getting a mortgage on a property in Mexico. They were asked to put down a large non-refundable deposit, and when the mortgage was declined, they lost those funds.”
He also mentioned that a lack of cultural understanding and language skills can lead to strained interactions. Having trouble communicating is frustrating, but you need to keep your temper in check. Locals do not respond well to anger.