Atención: Interactions.You've Been Here Too Long If…

By Lisa Babincsak

There's no exact moment you realize you've become a long-termer in San Miguel. Nobody announces it. There's no ceremony, no membership card. It just… happens. Maybe you came for six months — or a week. That was a while ago now. One day you're marveling at cobblestones, and the next you're arguing about which panadería had the best bolillos before they changed owners.

So, in no particular order:

You've been here too long if…

You can identify locals by how confidently they walk downhill. In heels, sometimes. On wet cobblestones.

You've stopped reacting to fireworks, church bells, barking dogs, or marching bands. Unless they're off schedule—then you need answers.

You've developed strong, possibly irrational, loyalty to one café—and mild resentment toward anyone who calls another place "the best."

You know at least one dog by name, but not its human.

You've stopped checking the weather app. You just carry a shawl and pray. The shawl has never failed you.

You've attended a gallery opening, a jazz concert, a dog rescue fundraiser, and a cacao ceremony—all in the same week. None of them were on your calendar.

You've learned which shops open when they feel like it and planned your life accordingly.

Nothing is ever closed. It's just not open yet.

You're on five WhatsApp groups you never signed up for. You've tried to leave. You can't.

You know when a house is for sale before the agent does. Sometimes before the owner does.

You have a favorite bug guy, tailor, plumber, and shoeshine stand—and you guard those names like state secrets.

Because they are.

Living here too long isn't a problem. It just changes you. Quietly, in increments.

You start with curiosity. Then it becomes comfort. Then, before you know it, you're explaining the difference between tamales Oaxaqueños and tamales verdes to someone who "just got in from Sayulita."

You don't remember deciding to stay. You just stopped leaving.

It's not snobbery.

It's survival.

And if you've read this far, it might already be too late.

See you at the fundraiser. You know the one.