I always thought we'd retire in Europe. We spend our time in Mexico and California instead.

• In 1999, my husband took a sabbatical, and we traveled to Guanajuato in Mexico.
• We both daydreamed about living in Europe and even house-sat for our friends in Amsterdam.
• In 2004 we realized it was Guanajuato that made more sense for us to live in.

In 1999, my husband and I left our consulting gigs in Palo Alto, CA, rented our home, and took off on an international self-designed sabbatical.

We traveled to various parts of the world, but we started and ended our sabbatical in the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage city of Guanajuato, Mexico.

I thought we would retire and spend time in Europe, but fast-forward to now: At 73 years old, I spend part of my time in Mexico instead.

Our dream was a home in Europe

Both of us had always daydreamed about a base in Europe. Barry, raised in England, has a great fondness for the continent. I, because my family lived in Europe during some of my childhood, had always wanted to live there as an adult.

Not long after we sold our home in Palo Alto, Dutch friends whom we'd met on our sabbatical invited us to house-sit while they went on vacation during the month of May. We were elated — this would give us the opportunity to check out Amsterdam as an international base. And springtime is the perfect season, right? But that May turned out to be piercingly cold and wet — much less forgiving than January in California. The first several days we huddled together on our friends' sofa, wrapped in blankets and drinking tea.

A confident lifelong cyclist, I had pictured myself serenely biking along the city's storied canals. It didn't turn out how I had envisioned. I was intimidated by the way the Dutch rode alarmingly fast and stopped for no one. One day, I watched a woman in a business suit speeding down the bike lane, balancing two small kids and a grocery bag, while chatting away blithely on her cell.

It also wasn't easy to make connections. We found the Dutch not that different from Americans in some ways — busy, goal-oriented, direct, and focused. And they didn't seem very easy to get to know. I thought it might be because we were American until I met a Danish woman who'd had the same experience. Pieter, our Dutch friend, explained that most people in the Netherlands stay within the same circle of friends from childhood.

House-sitting in Guanajuato changed everything

Of course, we already knew about Guanajuato but had never considered it an international base because we were in thrall to the fantasy of a home in Europe. But in 2004, we were invited to house-sit, our first visit in three years, and we were newly entranced by the city's beauty and charm.

During our stay, we met several resident foreigners who greeted us with their stories of buying and remodeling homes.

Suddenly, it made sense. Guanajuato was not only nearer to California, it was also closer to many of our family members — and considerably less expensive than a home in much of Europe. We both spoke manageable Spanish. As for the weather, it was exactly what we wanted.

In 2005, we bought an old adobe house on a pedestrianized street, and we've lived there part of the year ever since.

We split our time between Mexico and California

While less vibrant than colorful Guanajuato, Eureka in California also has unique charms, and we appreciate the contrast between the two towns — Spanish vs. English; 7,000' high mesa vs. green, moist sea level; owning vs. renting.

In Eureka, we live 10 minutes from the ocean and a block from Humboldt Bay, where we each paddle, Barry in his kayak and I on my paddleboard. In our upgraded EuroVan — which Barry dubs our third home — we explore the natural beauty of Northern California and southern Oregon, where we still discover new areas to visit.

In Eureka, I ride my bike on various dedicated trails around town; in Guanajuato, we shut our front door and, within 10 minutes, are hiking in the hills above town.

We're glad now that Amsterdam was not a fit for us. Though we never dreamt we'd own a home in Mexico, it's been the best surprise of our retirement years.