Living healthy is a choice in Mazatlan just as it is up north. Luckily, it is easier and less expensive to live healthy in Mazatlan.
Exercise is easily available to us. There is the Malecon, which is a wonderful ocean side walk that goes uninrupted for around five miles. The Malecon is right in front our house. We walk out our front gate and it is there. All hours of day and night there are people walking, running,, skating along the Malecon. It is about 1/2 mile to the smaller market, so most of our food needs are within walking distance. We are also on the bus route that takes you into downtown Mazatlan and in the opposite direction to the Gold Zone, so auto travel in not needed to many destinations.
Our condo has a pool and a gym, so it is easy to be active. We’ve both use the pool to be refreshed. Janice meets with some ladies 3 times a week for water aerobics; she has used the gym for lifting some weights, and on occasion has use the Malecon in the mornings for her walking. Joel uses the pool for his daily therapy for strengthening his ankle.
Eating healthy is also inexpensive and delicious. Most fruit and vegetables are picked ripe and low priced. A bath of disinfectant is necessary. A couple drops in a water bath makes fruits and vegetables safe to eat. Being most are grown locally and are picked ripe they are very favorable. Chickens can be bought inexpensively from circular roasters that drains the fat while cooking. Fish and shrimp are caught daily and can be bought fresh and inexpensively. Restaurants can either be healthy or unhealthy depending for you to order. Many dishes come with white rice and refried beans, neither the best for you, but most will substitute salad or cooked vegetable at no extra charge. Just like up north, avoiding sugar laden deserts and eating whole grain bread and pasta products is recommended. Being this is Mexico, tortillas are offered. Also we ask for corn rather than flour tortillas.
Another secret to better health is the lower stress lifestyle. I don't wear a watch and am never in a hurry, so the low pressure of schedules is good on the body. There are plenty independent minded people who make great friends. Most of relationships are on an equal basis and social distinctions are blurred. Each have a lifestyle that agrees with out temperments. Janice is busy and seems to be doing things with friends everyday where Joel prefers a slower life. Each is able to lead their chosen life while enjoying time together. Retirement is now a lessening of “got” to do and more time for “get” to do. That last sentence sums up how a good retirement works for both physical and emotional health. We each do volunteer work, but even that was in small increments and doing what interests us.
Last, but not least is the quality medical and dental care available in Mazatlan. There are many, reasonably priced dentists, so keeping our teeth cleaned and maintained is easy. Both of us have nothing but high praises for the Medical Care here. We know many who self-insure here as the cost of medical care is less than insurance premiums in the U.S. We maintain Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan, but for most day to day things we use local services. Janice spent a short stay in the hospital a few years ago and Joel is just recovering from an ankle operation. In both cases we were treated with professionalism and a lot more personal attention than in the U.S.
Life in Mazatlan is a healthy life. A life balanced with exercise, healthy eating, varied friends and activities along with quality medical care add up to a life that is agreeable for not only us, but the other expatriates that chose to live in sunny Mazatlan.
