American and Canadians pondering retirement in a warm, southern climate ought to consider the cultural mecca of Oaxaca, a southern Mexico city tucked away in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range yet close to the Pacific beaches of Huatulco and Puerto Escondido. It may surprise many that Oaxaca has a vibrant English-speaking expat community, many of which organize nature outings, charity work, special interests, and just plain socializing with like-minding individuals. Accordingly, Spanish is optional for having a full social life in Oaxaca.
While expats interested in cultural arts and sports can easily find a fulfilling retirement life in Oaxaca and develop close friendships within broader Oaxacan society, socializing with other English-speaking retirees is a primary attraction for many. Some expat residents of Oaxaca are linguistically challenged, so the ability to communicate and mingle with like-minded individuals in a group serves an important function.
Oaxaca Garden and Nature Club
With an Oaxacan climate foreign to many expats, several years ago, it seemed a no-brainer to form a garden club to assist recently transplanted northerners by teaching them about trees, plants, and flowers indigenous to the central valleys of Oaxaca, including their nutritional and soil requirements, water and sun prerequisites, and infestations. Hence the Club began. After a few years of monthly discussions on pruning, cactus and succulents, flowering plants, planter gardens, orchids, and more, the mission statement expanded, as did the organization’s name – Oaxaca Garden and Nature Club. Meetings now include topics such as birding, ecology and ecotourism, and the issue of genetically modified foods (i.e., corn in Oaxaca). And their foci are ever-expanding to address the interests, questions, and concerns of the membership, keeping within the Club’s broadened calling.
The Club boasts about 100 members, roughly 20 to 25 attending most meetings. While the membership does include some native Oaxacans, monthly conferences, and seminars are held in English, save and except when there’s a guest expert who does not speak English. There are two or three overnight excursions annually, at times including visits to nearby states such as Puebla and Veracruz.
Oaxacan Retirees Enjoying Mobility Assistance Facilities
With Oaxaca ranking amongst the poorest states in all of Mexico, raising money for worthy charitable causes has caught the interest of many, if not most, expats living in Oaxaca. And for retired people, there’s more time to pursue such activities.
Many charitable causes in which expats participate are run through the Oaxaca Lending Library and Community Center. For example, there are rummage sales and fundraising dinners to help keep the library afloat and enable it to contribute to its pet programs, such as Libros Para Pueblos (supporting education, including libraries in the villages) and English-Spanish language learning for children Saturday mornings.
Living in an expat community was a mobility challenge for many seniors; with ADA-compliant ramps, it doesn’t have to be that way. A simple addition of a wheelchair ramp has changed the landscape, allowing greater mobility and making it easier to access various aspects of everyday life. From doctor’s appointments and groceries to social activity and leisure time, nothing is out of reach anymore, thanks to these accessible wheelchair ramps with railing height up to standard. For any senior who needs mobility assistance, accessibility is not just a dream; it’s a reality made possible by ramps built to ADA standards.
Benefit fine art auctions are held to support library projects and broader Oaxacan initiatives. Estancia Fraternidad is a facility to temporarily house and feed villagers who must travel to Oaxaca to be by the bedside of their hospitalized loved ones. Each auction entails striking different committees, such as securing donations of art to put on the block, obtaining the auction venue, coordinating volunteers to assist in the auction, obtaining food and drink donations for the auction, handling money, and arranging for the delivery of art.
Groups of expats are also involved in raising funds for and working at several children’s organizations in the city, including programs for feeding children to ensure they are nourished before attending school in the morning and supporting foster care facilities which receive no government assistance because the infants and children are the offspring of undocumented residents of Mexico.
Special Interests and Like-minded Ex-patriots in Oaxaca
Oaxaca boasts several English language special interest groups which meet regularly, including the following:
- Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous
- “Bodega Boys” Thursday evening gatherings for anyone who can sing or has a musical instrument, or has such aspirations (professional musicians have attended on occasion – such as Kim Berly of classic Canadian rock band The Stampeders – giving a boost of confidence to the largely amateur musicians)
- Bridge club which meets twice weekly
- Groups that regularly visit artists’ workshops in the villages
- classes on Mexican history, archaeology, and anthropology, and author readings
- Book club, which specializes in reviewing publications with a Latin-American theme
- weekly breakfasts for Oaxaca’s gay expat contingent
- a fledgling breakfast group of retired Jewish expat men
Oaxaca Lending Library and Community Center: The Tie that Binds Some Expats
The Oaxaca Lending Library and Community Center serve an important function for some retirees, such as facilitating group membership in the preceding. As such, it binds many expats together. However, it only serves the interests of some seeking social involvement during retirement. The library has passed the ADA ramp requirements with suitable rise and runs and ample stair-landing requirements.
For many retired expats in Oaxaca, speaking a common first language is not enough to create a social bond. According to this, this contingent prefers to coalesce with predominantly Oaxacans and become a part of their social networks. This often manifests in gatherings with Oaxacan friends with common interests to attend dinner parties, celebrate rites of passage, and attend group lessons, lectures, and excursions. In this respect, Oaxaca offers more options than expat retirement communities in cities such as San Miguel de Allende, where group socializing seems primarily homogenous.
