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Welcome to Expats in Vallarta.
Expats In Vallarta.
They initially thought Panama was going to work for them and they nearly bought a home in Panama City. In the process they found and joined the expat group in Panama and discovered it offered the same idea of camaraderie and assistance on land that they had been enjoying in the cruising community on the oceans. However, for other reasons, Panama did not work out but they never forgot the special feelings they had for the expat group there.
Sara and Mike were cruising from Panama back to Alaska to spend the summer of 2008 when they stopped in Vallarta for what they thought would be a short provisioning stop. They quickly realized Vallarta was something special. After looking into Vallarta (they were pretty good at it by this time because of all the previous countries), it had everything they were looking for including a large expat community, but was lacking an organized expat group. Several months later, after they bought a home and got settled, Sara started ExPats in Vallarta modeled after the expat group in Panama. A local expat group would have made the process of getting settled easier for them, and they knew the new ExPats in Vallarta could make things easier for people who came later.
Expats in Vallarta was started by Sara and her new expat friend Tish Holloway on the Malecon in July of 2009. About 65 people attended that first event despite it being the quiet summer season and extremely difficult parking and construction due to a Gloria Estefan concert.
Perhaps something magical happened that first night. Up until then, an expat moving to Vallarta had to go through the orientation process alone unless they had family or friends in the area. Regular people had a hard time finding answers to basic questions like “How much does it cost to live here?” and “Where can I find a good doctor?” That night a small group of people from around the world with the same interests and language was formed and bonds were created.
Over the years, the group has grown dramatically and regularly meets for Happy Hours at local restaurants and for Wine & Appetizer evenings at members’ homes. Many times close to 100 people have attended the Happy Hours and 40 – 50 have attended the Wine & Appetizer evenings.
Besides the very successful social events (maybe because of them) Expats in Vallarta has received more and more questions from people wanting to tap into the group as a resource as they research moving to Vallarta. Mike & Sara have done that by creating the Puerto Vallarta Relocation Guide which has helped lots of people with all sorts of questions as they consider moving to Vallarta full or part time. To get more information about the Relocation Guide, click here.
January 2022 Tanner Thompson took over for Sara Wise and now runs Expats in Vallarta.
He took over Expats in Vallarta in January 2022, and absolutely loves it. He is also a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker La Costa in the Marina, where he loves helping clients find their dream property in paradise. “
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EXPATS IN VALLARTA
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