Meet Julie Ann | Retreat center owner and founder of the Punta Mita Wellness Village in Nayarit, Mexico

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Ann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am British and was born in the Shires (like the hobbits). Leicestershire is in the middle of England and has an ancient history, with many buildings over 500 years old. My Grammar school was in Market Bosworth where the battle of the roses took place in 1485 and the local pub is so old you have to bow your head to get through the tiny hobbit door. My mum was evacuated from London at the age of 3 during the 2nd world war and she met my dad at 16 and got married. They had a hard life, and my grand parents raised them on war rations and fear. My dad passed this down to my generation and instilled in me the importance of working hard. My dad grew all our food and my mum planted the seeds in the greenhouse for tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and the starter plants for all the other vegetables. I left the UK in 1998 when the shackles of ‘working hard’ and being ‘successful’ dominated life to the point that love or passion was completely void from my life. I left behind all my English ways and travelled around the world on a sailboat for 7 years. I carried with me all the traditions of self sustaining and dived into preserving and canning meat and covering 300 eggs in vaseline. I lived for 6 months at sea in the Indian Ocean on our sailboat, with no refrigeration and on a truly deserted island for 3 months. After travelling for 7 years I settled in Canada and wrote my book about my travels. That led me to help other people with their books and I became a book publisher. Eager to travel again, I started hosting writing retreats in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the lure of the tropics pulled me to move here full time, in 2018. I was always drawn to the energy of the ocean and Vallarta gave me Ocean and jungle, reminding me of my life in the Indian Ocean. I created a retreat center in Vallarta so I could host my own writing retreats, but the joy of self sustaining life with the land kept calling me. With all the knowledge of my background and upbringing I eventually listened to the overwhelming desire to create a self sustaining village in the jungle, close to the ocean, but with nearby land suitable for growing vegetables and fruit. After considerable research searching for the right land, I discovered the beauty of Nayarit, 45 mins north of Puerto Vallarta, but with lush jungle land, close to a beautiful 5 mile white sand beach. Today I have now gathered all that knowledge of running a retreat center with 10 apartments and I am creating a self sustaining village of 14 homes with a retreat center, to realize my life long dream of living with the land and enjoying the beauty of the tropical ocean. I am building a wellness community of sustainable eco homes, completely self sufficient with its own water source, solar energy and food forest. The closing date for the land is September 30th 2024 and we are currently seeking our founding partners and home owners to build our wellness village and offer wellness retreats and vacations starting in February 2025.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The House of Influence Publishing and Media is the culmination of my 14 year old publishing business ‘Influence Publishing Inc’ and my Mexican corporation ‘House of Influence, represented by my retreat center in Puerto Vallarta.
I am most excited about bringing this all together in my new project the ‘Punta Mita Wellness Village’ where our community of therapists, wellness professionals and coaches, come together to offer ‘cutting edge’ wellness solutions. Our founding partners will own 14 eco homes that they will live in either part time or full time, providing accommodations for retreats and wellness vacations. We are still looking for our real estate investors and are currently offering opportunities to own homes in the village from only $195,000 USD, or retirement homes at $295,000 USD for a 2 bed lakeside home and $595,000 USD for a 3 bed glass round house. We are offering full property management services so our home owners can rent their homes to retreat guests and earn rental income when they are not using the homes themselves. We have some owners that are simply investing in the homes for rental income, knowing that they are buying the homes way below market value, and will likely double their return on investment in less than 12 months.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would walk with them on the amazing Carreyeros Beach, a 5 mile white sand beach, and then go for dinner in Sayulita, the nearby surfing town to listen to live music. During their stay I would take them horse riding through the jungle, zip line at Monkey Mountain and go whale watching in the Bay. The crown jewel of the trip would be a private yacht to the nearby offshore Marietas islands, home of the famous ‘hidden beach’ and famous for snorkeling and diving.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
All the 300 plus authors of Influence Publishing Inc. who are my life long friends and mentors. Who trusted me with their life stories and shared their most vulnerable moments and stood by me as I transitioned from a publishing office in Vancouver, B.C. Canada to working remotely from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Website: https://www.houseofinfluencepublishingandmedia.com https://houseofinfluence.uforek.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfluencePublishing/ https://www.facebook.com/CasadeInfluenciaPV/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JulieAnnVortexTV

Image Credits
original photos by Julie Ann Salisbury, conceptual village render photos by FreePix Ai generator