Published: " GRINGOS IN PARADISE" Book about building a home in Sayulita

Hola Gringos!
... And Seekers of Truth, Sunshine & the Mexican Way

Gringos in Paradise is the story of the year my wife and I spent building a retirement home in a small, charming village on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. (Scribner /Simon & Schuster, out November 18.)

This is a book for anyone who's considered chucking the rat race—getting away from it all, retiring to the place of their dreams and carving out a new life. It's a book for the adventurers among us who "will not go gentle into that good night," for empty-nesters who are thinking about the second, or third, or fourth acts in our lives.

Gringos in Paradise is the story of how we picked ourselves up after the kind of late-career bump that we all go through, and did the kind of thing that we all dream about. It’s a fresh look at how gringos and Mexicans really get along, about an altered pace of life and time, and about the pitfalls, joys and personal satisfactions we got from pointing our car south and starting over. And the laughs we had, most at our own expense.

Use it as a guidebook, a reality check, or a source of inspiration. Gringos in Paradise may be the answer you're looking for.

Click here to read the first chapter...

A Year in Provence meets Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House in this lively and entertaining account of a couple’s year building their dream house in Mexico.

In 2004, Barry Golson wrote an award-winning article for AARP magazine about Mexican hot spots for retirees longing for a lifestyle they couldn’t afford in the U.S. A year later, he and his wife Thia were taking part in the growing trend of retiring abroad—they sold their Manhattan apartment, packed up their SUV, and moved to one of those idyllic hot spots, the surfing and fishing village of Sayulita on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

With humor and charm, Golson details the year he and his wife spent settling into their new life and planning and building their dream home. Sayulita–population 1500, not including stray dogs or pelicans—is a never-dull mixture of traditional Mexican customs and new, gringo-influenced change. Before long, the Golsons had been absorbed into the rhythms and routines of village life: they adopted a pair of iguanas named Iggy Pop and Iggy Mom, got sick and got cured by a doctor who charged them $16 a visit, made lasting friends with Mexicans and fellow expatriates, and discovered the skill and artistry of local craftsmen.

But their daily lives were mostly dedicated to the difficult yet satisfying process of building their house. It took them almost six months to begin building–nothing is simple (or speedy) in Mexico–and, incredibly, they completed construction in another six. They engaged a Mexican architect, builder, and landscape artist who not only built their home but also changed their lives; encountered uproariously odd bureaucracy; and ultimately experienced a lifetime’s worth of education about the challenges and advantages of living in Mexico.

The Golsons lived (and are still living) the dream of many–not only of going off to a tropical paradise, but of building something beautiful, becoming a part of a new world, making lasting friends, and transforming their lives. As much about family and friendship as about house-building, Gringos in Paradise is an immensely readable and illuminating book about finding a personal paradise, and making it a home.