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Life in Mexico | The Everyday Edition
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items The small, ordinary moments that quietly shape daily life in Mexico. This list focuses on errands, routines, human interactions, and the subtle differences that make everyday life feel lighter, simpler, and more connected.
Sections
15
Everyday Errands & Local Wins
Culture, Identity & Everyday Reflections
Family, School & Growing Up Abroad
Daily Life, Logistics & Getting Set Up
Playgrounds & Kid Play Spaces in Puerto Vallarta
Community, Resilience & Real Life
Everyday Errands & Local Wins
The practical, unglamorous tasks that reveal just how differently daily life works here. Repairs, quick stops, and local businesses that consistently remind us why we chose this life.
One of my favorite things about living in Mexico is how unexpectedly easy everyday errands can be. A productive adulting day here often feels almost satisfying in a way I never experienced before. We started by dropping off a window screen at a small...
Productive Adulting Days | When Everyday Life Feels Easier in Mexico
One of the nicest parts of coming home after a long trip is slipping back into the little routines that make everyday life feel familiar again. This week it was school uniform shopping, frappes, and stopping by one of our favorite coffee spots in Pue...
Back-to-School Shopping & Coffee Rituals in Puerto Vallarta
What a day 😅 My iPhone suddenly decided to hit me with the dreaded white screen of death. Completely frozen. Wouldn’t respond. Couldn’t even power it off. Cue immediate panic… and then immediately heading to Apple Fix PV, because this isn’t the firs...
Apple Fix PV | The Lifesaver of My Day
Culture, Identity & Everyday Reflections
Thoughts and moments that go beyond logistics, capturing what it actually feels like to build a life in Mexico and how it changes you over time.
I cannot believe it is already June, and before we know it, we will be packing for summer and heading north. After nearly two years of raising our kids in Mexico, I am genuinely curious to see how returning to the US and Canada will feel for them. Li... https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs9mSWbuMGg/
Third Culture Kids & Little Things Miss Mexico
This morning started with birria because honestly… there may not be a more appropriate way to begin September 15th in Mexico. But today is never just an ordinary day on the calendar here. Because tonight is El Grito. The entire country shifts. You ca...
September 15th in Mexico | The Night of El Grito
Four years ago, we arrived in Mexico with a few suitcases, a lot of uncertainty, and absolutely no idea how deeply this place would shape our family. And now somehow… it simply feels like home. The biggest reminder of that is the boys. This is the lo...
Four Years Living in Mexico | How This Country Changed Our Family
One thing nobody tells you about raising bilingual kids is that they do not learn the language you think they're learning. You imagine grammar. Vocabulary. Polite conversations. Maybe ordering tacos. What you actually get is slang. So much slang. Whe...
From Hola to Órale | Raising Bilingual Kids in Mexico
I came across a story recently that stopped me in my tracks. Someone was on vacation in a tropical destination when they overheard a man talking about his dream trip. His bucket list destination? New York City. More specifically, Rockefeller Center. ... View the full Puerto Vallarta collage print: https://www.zazzle.com/puerto_vallarta_mexico_travel_collage_art_print-256770553262360180
Puerto Vallarta Through Different Eyes | A Travel Collage Inspired by Home
Family, School & Growing Up Abroad
Reflections on raising kids in Mexico, navigating school systems, language immersion, and the emotional side of parenting abroad.
Moving to another country with children is never a decision you make lightly, especially when none of you speak the language. We worried, of course. We worried about school, about adjustment, about whether full immersion would be too much. But someti...
A Year Later | Watching Your Child Thrive in a New Language & Culture
Daily Life, Logistics & Getting Set Up
The practical tools, systems, and habits that make day-to-day life in Mexico easier, more efficient, and far less stressful.
One of the most convenient and genuinely essential things about life in Mexico is WhatsApp. It’s not optional here. It’s how everything functions. Unlike standard text messaging, there are no hidden fees or extra costs, which already makes it more ac...
Why WhatsApp Is Essential in Mexico
One of the biggest misconceptions about moving abroad is that eventually you "figure it all out." I'm not sure that day ever actually comes. Today was a perfect reminder of that. After nearly five years living in Puerto Vallarta, we suddenly found ou...
Five Years In… and We're Still Learning
This wasn't exactly how we pictured spending the evening watching Mexico play Korea in the World Cup. Instead of snacks and cheering from the couch, we had an IV pole in the living room. After several days of headaches, fever, shaking chills, body ac...
An IV in the Living Room | Healthcare in Mexico
Playgrounds & Kid Play Spaces in Puerto Vallarta
An up-to-date list of playgrounds, parks, and kid-friendly places with play areas in Puerto Vallarta. This list focuses on everyday options for families living here, including swings, slides, climbing structures, and places kids can play while parent...
This is a curated, regularly updated list of playgrounds and kid-friendly play spaces in Puerto Vallarta. It focuses on everyday options for families who live here, including public playgrounds with swings and slides, newer Tukilandia parks, indoor p...
Puerto Vallarta Families with Kids | 🛝 **Looking for Playgrounds in...
Community, Resilience & Real Life
Lived experiences that show how communities in Mexico come together during hardship, recovery, and moments that reframe gratitude and perspective.
A few days after the October hurricane, I finally had a full day of work again. I was grateful for something as simple as our internet being back, especially since my work depends on it. At the same time, that relief came with a heavy awareness that ...https://www.instagram.com/p/CyhxXJ8OK0m/
After the Storm: What We Learned Power Outage
We spent the day at Aquaventuras Park, and honestly, the rides were only part of it. The kids would probably tell you the snacks were the highlight anyway. What stood out most for me was the time spent with friends. It’s something we’ve been reflecti... https://www.instagram.com/p/C6nDG8rNyyR/?img_index=1
Aquaventuras Park Puerto Vallarta | A Fun Day with Friends & Community
One thing living in Mexico has taught us is that gratitude and honesty can exist together. It is possible to deeply love this country while also acknowledging that not everyone experiences the same version of it. This morning I grabbed a taxi from th...
Life in Mexico | Gratitude, Inequality & Everyday Conversations
Kids Life & Family Routines
Helpful resources for raising kids in Mexico, including activities, play spaces, enrichment programs, and everyday family logistics that support real life here.
One of the questions that comes up again and again when living in Puerto Vallarta with kids is what they can do beyond playgrounds. Not every day is a beach day, and not every child thrives with only free play. When you live here full time, having a ...
Kids Activities, Camps & Enrichment Programs in Puerto Vallarta
There’s something incredibly special about raising children in Mexico. Not because life here is perfect, it isn’t, but because community still feels deeply alive in a way that honestly caught us off guard when we first moved here. It’s the señora at ...
Raising Kids in Mexico | The Beauty of Community & Everyday Kindness
There’s something about Saturday mornings at the soccer field that never gets old. And surprisingly, my favorite part usually isn’t the game itself. It’s everything that happens in between. Watching the boys wander the sidelines together, teasing eac...
Saturday Futbol Mornings & the Boys Who Look Out for Each Other
Paperwork, Visas & Living Abroad Logistics
Real experiences navigating official paperwork, appointments, and systems while living in Mexico, with honest details on what to expect.
Renewing passports abroad for the first time felt a little intimidating, but this turned out to be one of the smoothest administrative experiences we’ve had since moving to Mexico. From dropping off our applications to having new passports in hand to...
Renewing Passports Abroad | A Surprisingly Easy Process
Holidays, Traditions & Local Celebrations
Experiencing holidays in Mexico with kids, where local traditions, community energy, and cultural celebrations blend into something completely unique.
Halloween on the Malecón is not for the faint of heart, especially when you’re walking around with a giant Fortnite banana. We barely made it two feet before someone stopped to ask for a photo with “Banana de Fortnite” (my husband), and the kids thou...
Halloween on the Malecón | Dulce o Truco, Puerto Vallarta Style
November 2 marks Día de Fieles Difuntos, the Day of the Faithful Departed. This is the day when adult souls are believed to return to visit their loved ones. In many ways, this is the heart of Día de Muertos. Families honor those who have passed by p...
Día de Fieles Difuntos | To Remember Is to Live
An afternoon and evening spent with friends, wandering through the Día de Muertos festivities with our little wildlings. Free in the way only kids can be. No schedules, no homework, no worries. Just curiosity, movement, and wonder. This is what learn...
Learning Beyond the Classroom | Día de Muertos with Kids
The 12-day celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe came to an end tonight, and it was incredible to witness in person. This tradition is deeply woven into Mexican culture, and each year hundreds of registered pilgrimage groups take part in the Peregri...
Virgen de Guadalupe | Faith, Community & December in PV
We ended up celebrating Easter a little early this year because we’re traveling, and it turned into one of those quiet reminders of why we hold onto certain traditions. The boys had asked if the Easter Bunny was even a thing here, which made me reali...
Celebrating Easter Abroad | Keeping Traditions Alive While Traveling
Halloween in Puerto Vallarta honestly feels like stepping back into another era in the best possible way. Every year the Malecón transforms into absolute chaos, but the kind of chaos that somehow feels wholesome at the same time. Homemade costumes ev...
Halloween on the Malecón | Puerto Vallarta After Dark
There is something incredibly moving about experiencing Día de Muertos in Mexico firsthand. Not as a tourist attraction. Not as a movie aesthetic. But as something deeply woven into everyday life, memory, family, and community. This year we decided t... https://www.instagram.com/p/DQlH0-VjWaP/?img_index=1
Día de Muertos in Puerto Vallarta | A Celebration of Life
Every December, Puerto Vallarta begins to transform. The streets become busier. Music echoes through the city long after sunset. Food stalls appear on corners. Dancers, musicians, students, businesses, families, and entire neighborhoods begin making ...
The Guadalupan Pilgrimages | One of Mexico’s Most Beautiful Traditions
One of the unexpected parts of raising kids abroad is realizing that their childhood traditions won't look exactly like yours. Tonight Hendrix wanted to join the Peregrinación with his Piratas fútbol team, and of course I took him. The music. The lig...
Peregrinaciones, Christmas & Learning to Hold Both
One of the things I've learned about living abroad is that traditions don't disappear. They evolve. As Christmas gets closer, all the little rituals that have followed our family through every chapter of life are quietly falling into place again. The... https://www.instagram.com/p/DSWmOD9jW0J/?img_index=11
Keeping Traditions Alive | Christmas in Mexico Four Years Later
If I had to choose one smell that defines Christmas, it would still be my mom's shortbread cookies. Some things change over time. Somehow that one never has. Today Hendrix and I finished the last cookies on our Christmas baking list. The kitchen was ...
Christmas Traditions | The Ones We Keep & The Ones We Create
Why We Chose Mexico
The deeper reasons behind our move to Mexico. Reflections on lifestyle, parenting, and what we were really searching for when we chose to leave and start over somewhere new.
We knew it was time to leave when things no longer felt aligned with the life we wanted for our kids. Moving to Mexico came with a lot of opinions from others. Concerns about safety, about taking our kids away from what was familiar, about choosing s...
Why We Moved to Mexico | Choosing a Different Life for Our Kids
People sometimes ask why we live in Mexico. The funny thing is, there was never a single moment when we decided. There wasn't some dramatic revelation. No lightning bolt. No exact day we suddenly knew we were staying. Because falling in love with a p...
How Mexico Became Home
The Reality of Daily Life in Mexico
The not-so-polished side of living in Mexico. The systems, quirks, frustrations, and everyday experiences that don’t show up in travel guides but are very much part of life here.
Getting mail in Mexico is… an experience. Before we moved, we had heard that postal service here could be unreliable, but living it is something else entirely. Packages might arrive quickly, sit in customs for weeks, or never show up at all. It’s a b...
Mexico Post Explained | What It’s Really Like Receiving Packages
Everyday Life, Food & Local Living
The small shifts, routines, and mindset changes that happen when everyday life abroad slowly starts to feel normal.
When we first moved to Mexico, Costco felt like safety. Familiar brands. Giant carts. Bulk snacks. Labels we recognized without translating anything. It was comforting in a season where almost everything else felt new. And honestly, I think a lot of ...
Why We Shop Local More Than Costco in Mexico
Language, Culture & Bilingual Kids
The funny, surprising, and sometimes confusing realities of learning Spanish, navigating cultural differences, and raising bilingual kids in Mexico.
One of the funniest parts of learning another language is realizing that a lot of phrases make perfect sense... until you translate them word for word. Then suddenly everything sounds slightly unhinged. After living in Mexico for a few years, we've b...
When Spanish Gets Translated Literally Into English
Festivals, Events & Seasonal Experiences
The annual events, festivals, and unforgettable experiences that make living in Puerto Vallarta so special.
Some of the best experiences are the ones that almost don't happen. We weren't even sure we'd make it to the Puerto Vallarta Downhill this year. Between soccer schedules, tournament chaos, and trying to fit everything into one weekend, it felt like o...
PV Downhill | The Wildest Night on the Streets of Puerto Vallarta
About The Wandering Wongs
Who we are, why we travel, why we chose Mexico, and the philosophy behind documenting both the extraordinary adventures and the beautifully ordinary moments in between.
If you've recently discovered The Wandering Wongs, welcome! I'm so glad you're here. I'm Lise, and together with my husband and our two boys, we've spent the last several years building a life that's equal parts adventure and ordinary everyday moment...
Welcome to The Wandering Wongs