Rain, Wondering and Finding Your People

It’s officially rainy season in San Miguel. Depending on your mood, the rain can feel romantic or lonely. It usually arrives in the late afternoon, cools everything down, waters the gardens, and disappears an hour or two later. I love it because my best thinking happens when I walk through town after the rain.

Usually I’m wondering, “Did I do the right thing moving here?”

Lately I’ve been thinking more about other people’s stories than my own.

Last week I had dinner with Annie, one of my Casa Avra guests. She’s finishing up a month in my downstairs casita. She’s in her late 50s, works remotely, loves wildlife photography, and came to San Miguel to answer a question many people quietly ask themselves as they wander the cobblestone streets.

Could I really build a life here?

She did everything right. She signed up for Spanish classes at AHA. She played pickleball almost every day. She explored neighborhoods, met people, and completely fell in love with San Miguel. She’s already booked another month at Casa Avra.

We had dinner the night before she left.

I felt guilty.

I thought I had set her up for the perfect visit. I gave her my incredible guide.

Yet Annie said she spent many evenings alone. She wanted to hear live music, go to the theater, take a cooking class, or simply wander through town after dark. She wasn’t afraid. She just didn’t want to do those things by herself.

The next morning I had a Discovery Call with a woman from Canada who’s never been to San Miguel. She asked thoughtful questions about healthcare, grocery shopping, transportation, affordability, safety, work, and what daily life is really like here. We talked about the arts, the culture, the Jewish community, and how I made the decision to move.

Then I realized something. Beneath every practical question, she was asking something much deeper.

Could I belong there?

It struck me that both women were asking exactly the same question.

Not...

Can I afford it?

Or...

Do I need to become fluent in Spanish?

The real question was:

Will I find my people?

People spend months researching neighborhoods, visas, healthcare, and real estate. But those are not the questions that determine whether you’ll be happy.

The bigger questions are:

Who will you have coffee with?

Who will invite you to dinner?

Who will text you and say, "We're going to hear music tonight. Want to come?"

The question Annie asked me and my boyfriend Jorge at dinner that hit me the hardest was:

"I hear you two go out most nights. Where do you go?" 

"Usually dinner at people's houses. Over the last eight months we’ve been dating we’ve hosted a lot of dinner parties and people love to return the favor. It wasn’t like that in the states but people here love to entertain. Whether it's couples' dinners or singles potlucks, we’re often at friends' houses.

That's when it hit me.

Building a life somewhere new has much more to do with people than places.

But you have to put in the time.

You have to give before you receive.

Over the past few weeks I've intentionally explored communities built around generosity instead of transactions. Wise Women Gather. The SMA Kindness Collective. Tai Chi under the trees in Parque Juárez. Zumba on the basketball courts. An exhibition of young Mexican artists called No Soy Frida at the French Doors - Art Speakeasy

Everywhere I watched strangers welcome newcomers into the conversation.

Community doesn't just happen here. People create it.

I'll admit, though… You have to be a little bold. A little brave.

Everyone is just as nervous to start a conversation.

Yet they simply crave it as much as you do.

My new friend Lisa, (whose photo opens this month's newsletter), told me something at our lunch that resonated. Before she moved to San Miguel full time, she came for a visit, started going to a local yoga studio, and met people she still spends time with today.

"I found my people because I did something I already loved," she told me. "Then I just kept saying yes."

She accepted invitations. She went to birthday parties. She met friends of friends. Little by little, San Miguel stopped feeling like a place she was visiting and started feeling like home.

Then she said something else. She's single. Like many people here, she'd love to find a life partner.

But first she wanted to build a life.

Most people who tell me they're looking for love aren't just looking for romance.

They're also looking for connection.

A few weeks ago I wrote a simple Facebook post in a San Miguel Newcomers group asking:

Looking for Love?

I thought I was talking about romance.

I was wrong.

Hundreds of people wrote me.

What surprised me wasn't how many people hoped to meet someone special.

It was how many were simply looking to find their people.

They wanted hiking partners. Travel companions. People to volunteer with. People to explore with.

Friends who shared their interests and values.

Even married couples wrote to say,  "Please do this for us."

Of course, many are also hoping to fall in love.

So, without any intention, and definitely not a business plan, I started “Love in San Miguel”.

It's becoming a bilingual, bicultural community and matchmaking organization.

If you choose to move to another country, I think you should genuinely become part of it. Today, more than half of our Love in San Miguel members are native Spanish speakers, and most are bilingual.

I don't want people to move here and only know other immigrants.

I want them to experience Mexico.

I want them to belong.

After more than thirty years as an experience designer and a professional matchmaker, I've learned that people rarely connect by accident. The right gathering, the right conversation, and the right introduction changes everything. You find: Business partners. Your ride-or-die friend. Your life partner.

For those looking for something more personal, I'll also offer private matchmaking and carefully curated introductions.

After matching fourteen marriages and countless couples over the years, I've learned the best love matches happen in person - not online. They happen because someone took the time to really understand who they are. 

I'm the algorithm for finding your people in San Miguel.

Stay at Casa Avra

If you'd like to explore whether San Miguel might become part of your next chapter, I'd love to host you.

Whether you come for a week, a month, or simply to explore what's possible, my hope is you leave with a clearer picture of whether San Miguel belongs in your future.

Casa Avra is a charming Colonial duplex in the walkable San Antonio neighborhood, about a fourteen-minute flat walk to the Jardín with cafés, restaurants, galleries, and shops along the way.

The downstairs art-filled casita is completely private with its own gated entrance, a full kitchen, one bedroom plus a loft for guests, and housekeeping three times a week.

I live upstairs in a separate apartment, so you have your own space while still having someone nearby who knows this town well.

The only shared space is the incredible rooftop terrace overlooking the mountains and San Miguel's beautiful churches. This is where many of the conversations in these newsletters begin.

Casa Avra currently has availability in late July, early September, October, and December. If you're thinking about coming, send me your dates and I'll let you know what's available.

Curious About San Miguel?

If you're still in the dreaming stage, that's totally fine.

I now offer complimentary 20-minute Discovery Calls for people exploring whether San Miguel might become part of their next chapter.

Maybe you're considering staying at Casa Avra. Maybe you've already have a place to stay.

Maybe you're simply curious about what daily life is really like here.

Let's start with a conversation.

If you decide you'd like more personalized guidance before, during, or after your visit, I also offer private consulting tailored to your goals.

I'd love to meet you. 

Warmly, Audrey Jacobs

Audrey@CasaAvra.com - CasaAvra.com