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Al | The Mirror & The Flame.'s avatar

Your description of the house had me both laughing and intrigued! It’s amazing how travel can lead to such unexpected and delightful surprises. Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures in this spacious abode!

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

hehe thank you!

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Steve Letro's avatar

Hi Brent and Michael, Enjoy the experience. We now have two owners in Waikoloa beach Hawaii for rental of 2BR/2Bath condos without vrbo & airbnb. We secured a six moth agreement for 2026 owner happy for same tenant during their absence. Requested annual pass from dive shop. Ten years retired we keep learning and enjoying travel. Keep SMiling

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Wonderful! Living the life..🙂😍

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Terrie's avatar

Fabulous! You guys deserve pampering every now and then.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Haha, you're right!

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Michael Young's avatar

Very cool digs! At least you have lots of space to store all the unopened/uneaten flans?

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Yes and the maid can dispose of it during her next visit. 🤔😳. See how insidious it is!!

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Michael Young's avatar

It's a slippery slope!

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Michael Jensen's avatar

🤣🤣🤣

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Ramona Grigg's avatar

It's gorgeous! And what lovely friends you have! (Or former friends if they didn't get a kick out of this, like I did.) You bring to life your experiences in Mexico in such a unique way. Keep it coming, please. And enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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DR Darke's avatar

I'm sure you're hardly the first friends they've heard jokes about the size of the space from, Brett.

It reminds me of what happened when my former wife's first (and best) assistant was recovering from bone cancer surgery, and her relatives let her stay in their *pied-à-terre* in on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was in a pre-war doorman building, and the four-bedroom, two-story house my parents bought when Dad retired from the Army had less space than it did!

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Whoa. Bet that's expensive now!

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DR Darke's avatar

It was expensive then, too! That's when we found out my wife's assistant came from money—ironically, she was living with her boyfriend and two other people in a two-bedroom apartment in the far reaches of Brooklyn....

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Marta Cancela's avatar

I know I am going to sound harsh, but I read all 51 comments below and there isn't a single one that mentions the economic disparity Brent wrote about. I know that it is not an easy subject, I know that (some) people try to help the best they know, but surely it is not "throwing" money at the locals. Buying the chicken and the pudding - and other things - is the best way (whether you eat it or not).

Please, don't overtip, don't pay more money than you are asked (which often comes already with the "tourist tax", but here in Portugal, final prices must be posted - be suspicious when they aren't).

These options just make it harder for the locals.

If money helps (it sure does) make wise donations, finance some projects, be discrete and secretive about it.

[Here in Portugal, with the American tipping culture, locals are getting bad service, when - before the US silly tippers came - service was equal. And, unfortunately, since foreigners can pay much more than the locals for housing - and find it cheap -, we can't afford it anymore.]

Thank you Brent and Michael for mentioning this, and being wise and considerate about this subject.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thank you! And you're right, we'll keep banging the drum. In fairness, this is a humor piece. Usually, there are more relevant discussions. We have thoughtful readers! But you can never remind people too much to be conscientious travelers!

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ReAnn Scott's avatar

Unfortunately, I think you will have moved on when I arrive in October for a long, big house sit on Allende. I am beginning to wonder if we will ever cross paths in person? I'm off to Bath, then the South of France before heading to SMA. It will be fun to return to where I called home for 5 years and see the changes I know have taken place. If your friends need a housesitter over the holidays, tell them I'm available! I have a Mexican residency, so I can stay as long as I choose, which will be nice after doing the Schengen Shuffle for almost a year.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Haha it is ironic, isn't it? I wonder what you'll think... We're really loving it -- the people are soooo nice.

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ReAnn Scott's avatar

The expat community is wonderful. They make everyone feel welcome. Sunsets from a rooftop are always amazing. Enjoy! I'm in the land of pubs, fish 'n chips, and Guinness for a few more weeks.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

We saw one of those great rooftop sunsets last night. And the night before!

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Kate's avatar

Love it. We are moving back in September and will be renting/buying:) Houses can be huge inside and never look it from outside. Wondering if you are in San Antonio area.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

We are in Guadalupe. And yes, it's INCREDIBLE how big some of these houses are, but totally non-descript on the outside. LOL

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Colin Brownlee's avatar

I have 2 gay friends (married couple). Really nice guys. One own a gallery and other is a realtor in San Miguel. You should connect with them. They are very social.

https://www.facebook.com/share/16Deg5rNpM/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

They sound lovely!

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Jim's avatar

Dear home owners/blog subscribers: I just retired and I am a WONDERFUL house sitter. I can provide more references than you could EVER need and I promise not to venture into the west wing or disturb the furniture, err...staff! Brent has my email. Hopefully waiting in Washington DC. BTW, if I pleed political asylum would that help???

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

😂😂😂 nice try!

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Ellen's avatar

Enjoy!

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thank you 😍

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Holly Starley's avatar

What a gorgeous spot!

As someone who travels and thinks about the complexities of iniquity and tourism and ex-pat-ness a lot, I appreciate your reflections. 😊

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thank you. 🙂😍

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Michael Jensen's avatar

Just wait!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Wow, the house! Totally amazing! Have you stumbled onto a cool store called "Abrazos" yet? It's primarily fabrics but it's owned by a neat woman from Bay Area named Patrice who owned a bookstore in Berkeley before the Amazon - Barnes & Noble purges. The shop looks amazing.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

I think we have walked by! It does look amazing. 🙂

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

I’ve never seen it in person but looks really neat. Great materials and neat handmade stuff.

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HNB's avatar

I advise that you thoroughly enjoy your stay in that beautiful, spacious house! (We are in a charming beach small town in the Côte d’Azur so can’t really complain—but, we are in a tiny place with a frustrating kitchen and no bathroom door😳!) Just be careful on those stairs!

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Haha, those stairs will be the death of me, I am sure.

WHAT IS WITH NO BATHROOM DOORS? I don't ever want that kind of non-privacy. But enjoy the beach!

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HNB's avatar

I second that! But this is truly a gorgeous area!

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Rich Shipley's avatar

It’s cooked. Eat the flan!

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

Haha okay!

(Part of the problem in the water here is chemical, not biological. They've drilled so deep, there's arsenic and other scary stuff.)

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Rich Shipley's avatar

Does the reverse osmosis bottled water still have that?

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

No, that's the only water we drink. The house has a reverse osmosis machine thing-y.

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

(That's the scientific term!)

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Rich Shipley's avatar

Right 🤪

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Gabrielle Kinney's avatar

I loved Death Becomes Her and for some strange reason it has popped up in my world at least three times in just as many months. I feel like I need to revisit this movie since the universe is practically imploring me to. 😂

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Brent Hartinger's avatar

😂😂😂

I'm glad I could help the universe!

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