Unpacking Expat Homes: A Cozy Home in Guadalajara with Island Memories

Without a doubt, the first thing people ask about when I tell them we’ve moved from New Jersey to the Dominican Republic and now to Mexico is our home. Where do you live? How do you find a place? Do you rent or buy? What do you do about furniture? They are fascinated to know what living abroad “looks” like and I can’t say, as a self-proclaimed snooper, that I blame them.

I snoop around everyone’s place (I do ask but a good thing to know in case I ever come over.) I love to see how people decorate, their design ideas, and even more so when I know the home is a temporary one. So I decided to ask others if they’d let me snoop around their place and bring it to you. This series will take a peek into expat homes: their style, their thought process, and their foreign sanctuary. And I figured, I should do the honors and let you snoop mine first. So today, we’re starting with our cozy home in Guadalajara, Mexico.

If you’re an expat who’d like to share your digs or know of someone who’s place would be a fab fit, please connect us or share our post.

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(This is the part where I’d normally introduce our expats so bear with me as it’s a little weird talking about myself in the third person.)

Ten months ago, after six years in the Dominican Republic, writer Jen Legra (aka me) moved from her island apartment to Guadalajara, Mexico with her teaching husband, Husband, and their two kids. Excited about their new adventure but still fresh from the wound of leaving the place their kids were born, the couple was looking for one key factor: a place that straight away felt like home.  Let’s take a peek…

L I V I N G   R O O M

On finding the right place: In the Dominican Republic we lived in 3 apartments before finding the right one and we didn’t want to do that here; we really wanted to move into a place that immediately gave us that feeling of home. The realtor showed us a few places – a high rise with cool amenities and a couple other houses but this one felt right instantly.

On that “home” feel: We’ve tried to make our space cozy, colorful, and practical. But mostly we wanted things around that felt familiar. The fish are handmade by a Dominican artist and we knew when we bought the first that one wasn’t enough. We had 4 when we left DR and when Husband attended a conference in Costa Rica, we had a friend bring us a fifth. It’s safe to say we’re obsessed. We also brought some beautiful books of the Dominican Republic so the kids have reminders of where they were born. And, for me, NYC will always be the city love of my life.

On Facebook furniture: We knew we wanted a cozy home but we had to be budget conscious so I took to Facebook. People sell so much stuff there! I found our couch and kitchen table and saved a fortune. We had the couch steam cleaned for $35 USD and it looked good as new. Some of our other furniture, like the coffee table, was made by a coworker’s husband whose work I saw on Facebook. It was made-to-order, totally affordable, and a favorite piece.

What is your favorite thing about this space? In general I love the openness. We’ve tried to leave it that way for the kids to play and have friends over and spread their stuff around. I also love the living room for Friday Pizza Movie Night. Husband and I had it penciled into our schedule for years and once the kids were old enough we started it with them.

Did you want to live in a coto (gated community): We were open to anything that felt right. I grew up in a housing development in the suburbs and  Husband grew up in a small town. We were kids of the 80’s who rode our bikes to friends’ houses and played on those quiet streets til dinner. When we found this little community we were thrilled that our kids would get to do that also.

On neighborhood: Husband wanted walking distance to school. The kids are still small and can’t ride bikes down busy streets so proximity was important. I wanted a place that was central to things: restaurants, parks, coffee shops, etc. This neighborhood was a solid balance. And the bonus are the little markets across the street. One has e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g you would need for a quick market run (eggs, milk, beer, batteries, Vick’s Vapor Rub?! – you name it.) and the other has fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and fresh juice every day.

Tell us about “the” chair I fell in love with that funky colored chair at first sight. I didn’t buy it right away but I left the store and kept thinking about it. Eventually I went back for it and bought it. I took a picture sitting on it with the receipt and posted it to Facebook. Friends and family went wild for it! Now when people come over they ask, “Is that the chair?”

K I T C H E N 

On budget: A perk of some international schools is a housing stipend. We wanted to stay within budget but quickly saw that for what we needed we were either going to have to pay more or settle. Because my virtual home skincare business was growing, we decided to pay more for the perfect place.

On kids’ artwork: I brought some of the kids’ art work with us from their schools in Santo Domingo. It was easy to pack and it’s a quick way to make them feel like part of the home. And I have to admit I’m a bigger fan of kid artwork then real artwork.

Did you have to furnish the house? Some international schools provide furnished housing but this provided just a couple things. I’m torn between how I feel about that. It saves money which is great, especially your first year with settling costs, but it also means your home feels less yours.

Any family rituals around the kitchen table? We play the “Gratitude Game” and “What did you do that was kind today” and also “Who Loves Who.” We go around and pick one family member at the table every night and say why we love them. The only rule is that everyone gets picked.

K I D S ‘   R O O M S

On the kids sharing a room: We assume that eventually the kids will want their own room. At least we think so. Once I threatened to sleep them in different rooms because they were fooling around and they freaked out. But for now, they have their sleep room and their toy room. The toy room also doubles as the guest room which works out well since we have a bunch of guests who stay with us.

On DIY: When we were moving to Mexico, I knew I wanted to bring things that my kids would take with them on this move and any other move —  something that would always be the same, that would be constant, that would remind them of home and friends and people that loved them. I had seen these “Prayer Flags” hung up in a friend’s daughter’s room so I asked her to help me make them. I was over the moon with how they turned out. The blankets were similar. I saved their baby stuff and my Cuban aunt, who is a sewing whiz, handmade both blankets. It was a serious overtaking but I love that these will create an instant feeling of home anywhere in the world.

What’s an art station? Husband had mentioned wanting an art space for the kids – a place to draw, paint, and hang up their work. After a few scrolls of Pinterest we had a few ideas of where to start so we had two little desks and stools made and hung up cork boards for them to display their work. It’s hard to keep clean — says the mom — but that was the point, I guess. LOL

On pretty home details: Our cool friend Linda, who we met our first year in DR, made these colorful, cool peace paintings when both kids were born.

M A S T E R   B E D R O O M

What’s one word you’d use to describe your room? Sanctuary. For as long as I could remember my bedroom has always been a space where I retreat. It’s pretty minimalistic right now: decorated with light colors and not cluttered but tranquil. The kids may come in at night and sleep on top of me but it still feels like my hideaway.

On being last: Typical mom stuff. Our room was/is the last room I was worried about setting up. As long as I have a comfy bed and pretty duvet, a calm atmosphere and nice lighting I’m fine. The kids’ room and our living space was most important.

b a c k y a r d   p a t i o: 

On entertaining: One of our favorite things to do is have people over. We loved happy hours, theme parties, dinner parties, and BBQs before we had kids and once we had kids we just made it more kid-friendly. We still get plenty of fun adult time and most of the time no one has to worry about finding a babysitter.

On drinking coffee: Our little backyard patio is a work in progress but it’s s nice to have a little outdoor space to call our own. I work out here sometimes. Many weekends we have breakfast or drink our coffee out here. And having a papaya tree is pretty cool!

On vases: For some reason, I always forget to buy a vase so whenever we have fresh cut flowers I have no place to put them. Recently, I noticed how pretty empty booze bottles are so I’ve been using those and, I’ll be honest, I’ll now probably never buy a real vase.

What’s the silliest thing you brought with you? Wine glasses! In fairness, I did think it was a terrible idea and that they’d break but I love these glasses so I had to try. Now that we’ve upgraded our glass collection with pretty hand-painted tequila glasses, I have a feeling we’ll be traveling with a bigger collection of breakable drinking ware.

W O R K S P A C E

On working from home: Husband tells me he’d never be able to work from home. Others have told me they’d go stir crazy. Personally, I LOVE IT. I work from the kitchen, or from my fancy, funky chair, or the living room. Recently we started turning the service room (storage space or maid’s quarters as it’s sometimes known) into an office. It needs some work but it’s a great space.

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E X P A T   Q U I C K   Q U E S T I O N S :
(they’re alright)

Home is … (fill in the blank): where you put your Christmas tree.

What advice would you give someone settling into this kind of home? Set it up. Buy the things. Frame the pictures. Make it your space. It doesn’t matter if you live there for two years or ten, if it feels like home it’ll be worth it. We made the mistake in DR to wait and I wouldn’t do that again.

Setting up a new house: fun or overwhelming? Definitely fun with a side of WTF did we just do?

If you were given the keys to your next home anywhere in the world, where would next be? Ohhhhh the possibilities. I might go back to the beach or somewhere in Europe. Maybe somewhere on the coast of Europe. I know that’s pretty vague but I’d be open to any of that.