Retirement plan to support my "habit"

[Azur Salino]

Try and check out Loreto while in Baja, Bob. It is a gorgeous spot and there is some great diving from there.

I can not agree more!

Loreto has a healthy commnity of expats. Me myself I decided to move there almost the minute I set foot in the place. The area is utterly gorgeous and diving is superb (you also get whales during the season). It's not as cheap as other places in Mexico, but i do prefer it to busier places like Riviera Maya....also marine life is crazy here.
Hope you find your place! If you want more info about Baja, give me a shout!

 

[JamesBon92007]

I can not agree more!

Loreto has a healthy commnity of expats. Me myself I decided to move there almost the minute I set foot in the place. The area is utterly gorgeous and diving is superb (you also get whales during the season). It's not as cheap as other places in Mexico, but i do prefer it to busier places like Riviera Maya....also marine life is crazy here.
Hope you find your place! If you want more info about Baja, give me a shout!

Is there an airport nearer to California (USA) than La Paz? What's the usual way to get there from here?

 

[Azur Salino]

Is there an airport nearer to California (USA) than La Paz? What's the usual way to get there from here?

Loreto has a direct flight from Los Angeles, operated by Alaska Airlines. You can also get here flying from Tijuana (you can catch a shuttle from San Diego). Last month we started receiving flights from Los Cabos too, which is very well connected.
Check this page for links and detailed info Travel Information - Blue Nation Baja

 

[JamesBon92007]

So, that's two islands for $125 US? Sounds good to me!

LAX is one of my usual airports

 

[Azur Salino]

So, that's two islands for $125 US? Sounds good to me!

LAX is one of my usual airports

Well lucky you
Oh, there are 5 islands within the Loreto Marine Reserve (3 of them closeby) , not counting seamounts and islets = infinite dive sites ! Right now is mobula ray schooling season, and water is warm and viz gettin pristine
If you happen to come over give me a shout!

 

[JamesBon92007]

I've been meaning to dive the Sea of Cortez and Loreto sounds like the place to do it. The mobulas sound fascinating and I've heard the mantas get up to 8 meters there! Do you see schools of hammerheads around there? You mentioned prices--can you get a nice dinner for 200 pesos?

 

[Azur Salino]

I've been meaning to dive the Sea of Cortez and Loreto sounds like the place to do it. The mobulas sound fascinating and I've heard the mantas get up to 8 meters there! Do you see schools of hammerheads around there? You mentioned prices--can you get a nice dinner for 200 pesos?

Sure you can. An average main dish ranges between 100 to 160 pesos, that gives you some room for a couple of drinks too.
Theres is a pletora of wildlife in the marine park. Mantas do pass by but there are not frequent sightings. Only far off seamounts and islands can guarantee them (like socorro). There is hammerhead activity here, and some schools can be found in deeper seamounts, although there are not commonly dived. This is something we are looking into and hope to have some results soon. So much to explore!

 

[JamesBon92007]

Thanks. The price of dinner gives me an idea of the overall prices. So far it sounds cheaper than Puerto Vallarta, which also has abundant marine life, but I doubt if it compares to Loreto. I just watched an old movie about the Sea of Cortez so I'm ready to start looking for flights and places to stay

 

[Azur Salino]

The nature here is waaay more unspoilt than Vallarte, thats for sure!
We normally upload videos about the dives here in Loreto in our facebook page, check it out https://www.facebook.com/bluenationbaja/ Justo go to the video section, I just uploaded a short clip about the mobulas

 

[Scratch_Monkey]

At some point see if you can get a reservation agent job at an airline that has a good network. Airline employees can fly for free or cheap on standby which can be a great perk, especially if you live in one of their hubs. For example, retire in Houston, work for United and getting to the Caribbean (or Hawaii and from there Guam, Palau, etc...) is easy. You can even fly standby on other airlines but at a lower priority level.

Standby travel is not always great as there needs to be free seats in the plane but if you are retired you have flexibility.

Now being a res agent is probably not the best job as they are introducing more and more automation and you have to deal with angry customers who don't understand that the airline can't control the weather or ATC but... Free travel.

So maybe worth looking into as a potential option?

Another option may be to get an airline credit card and just start accumulating miles. That combine with living in a city with direct flights to the Caribbean can make it easier