We’ve all heard the expression, “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”, but for us at Contigo Cerritos, this is literally true. Obviously, for a project the size and complexity, it takes a team of specialists across a wide range of disciplines to design every detail, plan every step of the project for execution, and navigate all the government regulation and bureaucracy. From the beginning, we have worked hard to assemble the most talented and devoted team of professionals I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and the team just keeps getting better!

Karina and I recently attended a presentation by the consultant responsible for updating the Urban Development Plan for the Todos Santos area, which includes Cerritos. He opened his presentation by stating that he had seen development in the area that concerned him due to its unsustainability. I expected to see a picture of the half-built seven-story condo project on Cerritos Beach, but instead, it was a long dirt road with a few single-family homes scattered on either side. He explained that from an Urban Planner's perspective, this is highly unsustainable and impossible for the municipality to support. While this is a typical urban planning point of view in the US, particularly in cities, I was surprised to hear it espoused in semi-rural Baja Mexico.

When people in the US talk about Mexico, you can usually hear some common themes such as how you should not drink the water, how dangerous it is, and how things tend to take longer. And, of course, all or some of that is true, depending on what you have experienced, where you have visited, and who you listen to.

We were at a conference in Hollywood a few weeks ago, and as we talked with our friends and colleagues, the same question came up a few times – the Baja sounds lovely, but is it safe in Mexico?

Have you heard of the Blue Zones? It's an idea that Dan Buettner put forth in his book "The Blue Zones" that there are certain areas in the world where people live longer, healthier lives.

Like most ex-pats, Karina and I had been visiting Mexico for many years, lately spending as much time as possible before having to return to the US to attend to various aspects of our lives there. Finally, the need to be near the site where we will build and get the process moving overwhelmed anything we had going on in the US. Hence, we pulled the trigger and moved there full-time on October 25th, 2022.

When Karina and I started planning our boutique community on the ocean near Cerritos beach, we wanted a name that reflected how we look at the world and what we value. We quickly settled on Contigo Cerritos, and that name shapes what we do. You see, Contigo means "with you,” which shapes every decision we make. We mean it when we say we want to be with you. Our founders, who initially invested with us, are all friends who will live with us and be a part of this community.

I love nothing more than when I get to be out of my head and immersed in my senses. I am one of those people who make sense of the world and find my way through my senses. While I love to think and talk about ideas and far-off concepts, and I appreciate and need people around me who conceptualize the world into abstract ideas, I find myself constantly seeking to return to the grounding physical world of my senses.

We all have an idea of what makes a community. Many of us can remember in vivid detail our childhood neighborhood, including who lived in each house, where our friends lived, which places had friendly, helpful people, and which had mean barking dogs.