Sean (Yolisto: Ontheloose) and Susan (Yolisto: susan) Randall wanted to enjoy life while young instead of waiting for a more traditional retirement age.

In April, they left their jobs in Victoria, B.C, for a 14-day trek to Chelem, complete with car trouble and border delays.

"We started thinking we were getting to the age where we had the energy and spirit to do it and spend the best years we can here," said Susan, 49.

The couple had visited the Yucatan when a relative owned a house here and decided to purchase a place of their own on the beach..

"I quit a government job it took me nine years to get," said Sean, who turns 43 next month.

He served as a solid waste supervisor for the city. Sean says he is willing to use his expertise to address local trash problems if Mexican authorities are amenable.

"While working for the city, I also did sewage treatment. Before that I was a chef. Incoming and outgoing, I've got it all covered," he joked.

Susan had a good job as an account manager for a food manufacturing company. Her territory covered the entire 700 miles of Vancouver Island.

A less adventurous couple may have been discouraged before they even arrived. Their vehicle lost a tire in Corpus Christi, Texas, before they arrived at the Brownsville border crossing.

The Randalls hauled a trailer full of possessions, which created their next challenge. Getting into Mexico took nine hours. Susan said Mexican border patrol agents kept sending them back to the U.S.

"The U.S. customs people kept laughing at us," Sean said. "We finally bribed a guy there 1,000 pesos and had to pay a customs agent 6,000 pesos."

When an axle on the truck snapped in Veracruz, a trip scheduled for a few days got longer. Sean had stopped to help a man from Arizona who was traveling with his father because they also had car trouble. The strangers were able to direct the Randalls to a mechanic who could fix their axle.

They spent four days in Tihautlan, a village similar in size to Ticul.

"Their claim to fame is the largest statute of Jesus in the world," Sean said. "Actually, it was a little bit eerie. It is so big it looks like it can look all over the world."

The couple managed with only a few words of Spanish in this remote village.

"I could say 'cervesa' and 'por favor,'" Susan said. "The people were so amazing. The hotel was next door to a school and the kids were really curious about us. The kids wanted us to come downstairs and actually interviewed us."

Susan enjoys drawing and painting in acrylics but hasn't pursued her art much here. She volunteers for the Catholic church in Progreso by helping the soup kitchen and dropping off clothing for the needy. She hopes to get a charity drive started in Chelem.

"We're such over-consumers. I'd like to get rid of household stuff and clothes. I would drive around and pick things up to help," she said.

Sean stays busy helping other expats with plumbing and other fix-it jobs. He also helps friends find local workers who are honest and fair. The couple has purchased another house as an investment, and have become savvy about renovations.

"There's been some ups and downs in life, it's just in a different place," Susan said about living in Mexico. "It's all good, though. It takes about a year to settle down and get your legs. Your attitude changes down here. There's no competition."

Both Randalls have seen their Spanish improve in the past year. Sean said he does better if he has time to formulate words in his mind before speaking. 

"Oh, man, it's way improved," Susan said about her language skills. "What's amazing is how willing the Mexicans are to help us. You wake up one day and realize you can speak some Spanish."

They enjoy both expat and Mexican friends, and their dog "Lucky Lou."

"We're loving it here. Absolutely love it," Susan said. "We really enjoy the community and country. I love that Mexico doesn't regulate it to death. It's very personally liberating here. We have freedom of choice." 

Tags: Expat Profiles

Bookmark: