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"This little gem of a book offers sage advice..."
Fred Brock
The New York Times
Too Young to Retire,
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Silicon Valley Escapee Finds
New Life/Career in Mexico
 Karen
Blue’s careers were all in high tech-systems and database marketing
management and consulting. Then, in the middle of an executive marketing
meeting at a high-tech company in Silicon Valley, “I suddenly realized I had
burned out. At age 51, I had this urge to flee. I'd been pulling 100-hour
weeks and living in an airplane one-third of the time. Something in my life
was missing, but I didn't know what. I spent stolen hours during the next
week reevaluating my life and trying to understand how to scramble my
priorities. But I was exhausted. There wasn't enough time left for me. It
all belonged to the ‘company store.’" That
was about seven years ago.
Soon thereafter, Blue received a complimentary issue of "International
Living." The headline read: "Lake Chapala: An Enclave of American Retirees"
and the article featured a "Retire in Mexico" conference in Guadalajara. She
picked up the phone and made reservations. “Three weeks later, IL introduced
me to the Lake Chapala and Ajijic area. The lakeside is beautiful, nestled
on Mexico's largest lake, and surrounded by stunning mountains. Year-round,
the climate is nearly perfect. The narrow cobblestone streets, replete with
donkeys and horses and lined with brightly colored homes and lavender
jacaranda trees lured me, much like the seafaring sirens, into a life of
discovery and purpose.
”I made myself two goals. The first was never to have another goal. The
second was to never have pantyhose touch my legs. I failed at the former and
succeeded with the latter. I also vowed to live one day at a time, greeting
each one as though it was a special gift and following the wandering paths
life opened to me. After a six-month project gutting and rebuilding the
small house I purchased, I became restless. Boredom's tentacles reached out
for me.
”A few weeks later, I attended a writing class and became hooked. We have a
great writers' group here and at that time, some incredible writing classes
were available free over the Internet. Learning is my life-long passion and
I swallowed information on writing, editing, finding an agent and publisher,
in one large gulp. I began writing a monthly column on
www.mexconnct.com called "Living in
Mexico: From a Woman's Perspective." Two years later I had published my
first book,
Midlife Mavericks: Women Reinventing Their Lives in Mexico.
I interviewed scores of women who, like me, had chosen to come to Mexico for
the second or third parts of their lives. Their stories have resulted in
hundreds of emails from women who have been motivated to make changes in
their own unsatisfactory lives.
”After a few months of taking watercolor and drawing lessons and learning
how to make soft-sculptured dolls, I again became restless. This time, a
friend and I decided to start an on-line magazine about the joys and
pitfalls of living here. “Living at Lake Chapala” (www.mexico-insights.com)
is starting into its fifth year and includes 12-16 full-length articles each
month. I've learned digital photography in the process and during
interviews, have discovered a deeper layer of this wonderful community,
which isn't apparent to the casual onlooker."
Again, Blue became
restless and left the magazine after three years to figure out what she
wanted to do with the rest of her life. Last
year she and three friends organized the First Annual Lake Chapala
Writers' Conference, attracting top selling authors and 74 attendees.
After the conference, she met an RVer in Mexico who was returning
from Panama. He asked her to join him RVing in Europe for four months
and then through the national parks in the northwest for another three
months: "I had never RVed before and Joe's rig is only 20 feet
long, but we had a wonderful time. I wrote travelogues and kept track of
expenses with a view to writing future articles. And, after all that,
we're still friends and planning another trip to Europe next year.
I now have more time,
less money, more joy, less stress, more meaningful relationships with
family and friends and fewer possessions. Most importantly, I have good
health. Viva la Vida! (Live Life!)"
Karen
Blue is working on the Second Annual Lake Chapala Writers' conference.
She speaks at writers’ conferences and one of her stories was selected
for Life Lessons for Women: 7 Essential Ingredients for a Balanced
Life, published by the creators of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
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