This article highlights significant practical aspects to consider when you’re preparing your short-list of potential places to live in Mexico.

Accessibility, transport, and telecom links

Mexico has excellent transport links including roads, tolled highways, bus stations and airports; most Mexican towns and cities where foreign residents invest are well served by these.

If you’re dependent on internet services for work, then you should check the availability of internet services if you’re scouting for a home situated in (semi)rural or remote areas; reliable high speed internet via satellite is available, but it costs more.

Small towns and villages in rural areas may appear like idyllic lifestyle choices, but local roads may be challenging to navigate; street lighting may be limited or non-existent, and a remote rural home requires you to consider your security arrangements as these houses can make easy pickings for burglars—especially when you’re away.

Consider also how often you intend to travel, as well as how your location is served by transportation in respect to friends and family (possibly living outside of Mexico) who want to visit you. Rural and semi-rural areas in Mexico may be served by local roads which take longer to travel across and the nearest airport or bus station might be a significant distance away—requiring more time and effort for you to get around and for others to visit you.

The effects of local topography

Mexico is a mountainous country, and some excellent places to live in are built —quite literally— into the side of a mountain.  The colonial cities of Taxco and Guanajuato are good examples of this.

Consider how you will negotiate walking up and down steep, possibly cobbled, streets—sometimes wet from the rains.  Some beautiful colonial homes may be built on several levels due to the local mountain topography they are situated on.

If your current health requires you to live in a relatively flat area, or you sense that steep hills and cobblestones may pose physical challenges as you age, consider the location’s topography in your deliberations.

Coping with the year-round climate

There’s a significant difference between going somewhere for a short vacation and living in that location’s climate throughout the year.  Some places that are warm in the summer can get quite cool or cold in the winter; and others which offer perfect weather in the winter can become oppressively hot and humid in the summer.

Consider the differences between the sea-level coastal and high-altitude mountain climates Mexico offers—and consider the year-round climate cycles, not just those experienced in any given month or season.

Climate influences us every day: it would be a pity to invest in a property purchase and discover afterwards that you’re just not suited to its location’s climate.

Assess the local services and amenities

Consider what local amenities exist (or may exist soon) including shops, markets, restaurants, cafés, cultural centers, as well as social and leisure facilities.

Availability of, and ease of access to, helpful local services and amenities has a significant impact on the attractiveness of a location. Ready access to local amenities provides practical support every day, and meeting local people to develop new friendships requires spaces and venues to facilitate those opportunities.

Small rural towns with few amenities nearby are not likely to attract many future buyers (foreign residents or Mexicans) as most people want to be within easy reach of services, shops, and social amenities they like to use regularly.

Unless you purposely seek a reclusive lifestyle, paying attention to local amenities —not just in quantity but in quality— will share clues as to the attractiveness to others of a place; this will become especially relevant when you eventually decide to sell your house and move.

Consider your life stage and everyday needs

Our needs evolve as we grow older and our life situations change.  It’s a good idea to pause and take stock of your present lifestyle needs as well as likely needs in the years ahead.

It’s easy to mistakenly assume that what you needed yesterday you will need tomorrow, and it’s also easy to overlook emerging new needs when you are in the throes of choosing a different place to live.

Beware of the trap of placing false importance on features, amenities and services which you are not likely to make proper use of —or use only very occasionally— while simultaneously ignoring the absence of things in the locality that are genuinely important to your needs and wellbeing.

Your location ought to provide the things that are most important to you and your life situations every day; as the saying goes, “the most important thing is to know what is most important.”

Consider social, cultural, and community aspects

Local amenities and civic organizations are among the fundamental building blocks which define any thriving local community, and while practical aspects of a location including transport accessibility and the availability of local services and amenities are important, it’s also wise to consider the social, cultural, and community aspects of the location(s) you are considering as part of a lifestyle move.

Assessing whether a location will serve your social and cultural needs and the potential impact that a move there will have on you requires knowing yourself—and yourselves if you are thinking about moving with a partner or family.

Knowing yourself, considering your life stage and intentions, and comprehending your present and foreseeable needs will enable you to consider potential places in balance and help you to make a location choice based on things that matter instead of potentially misplaced notions about a location’s attractiveness.

When you’re short-listing places for potential settlement in Mexico, take some time to explore and discover the local social, cultural and community scenes and then step back to pause and ask yourself whether the location’s character and composition in regard to these facets are likely to align with your character traits and evolving lifestyle needs.

If socializing is an important aspect of your lifestyle, consider how the composition of the location’s community groups will influence this in your daily life.  For example, most rural villages and hamlets in Mexico don’t have foreign residents living in clusters that form local ‘expat’ communities of they type which can provide an immediate ‘community of interest’ and by extension social support in the locality.  By contrast, some other places (for example, Lake Chapala and San Miguel de Allende) have large and long-established communities of foreign residents—but for some, this level of concentration is overwhelming.

If you need ample cultural amenities to support your wellbeing, for example, ready access to art galleries, music halls, theater and dance, spirituality and well-being centers, as well as other cultural events, consider how the locations you’re short-listing provide for those—or how far you’ll need to travel (round trip) to access them.

For some people considering a move to Mexico, the notion of being ensconced in a rural setting far away from the crowds is attractive and perhaps even desirable. However, even the most hermit-like people discover that they need to make an effort to integrate their lifestyles amidst rural locations where local customs and traditions are keenly observed, and local residents are expected to participate and contribute when important local events, festivals, and activities take place.

Property prices and rents in Mexican towns and cities with well-established communities of foreign residents and/or with a higher concentration cultural amenities tend to be higher than places where foreign residents are less concentrated, or where the social community is less-well developed.

If you seek an established community with plenty of cultural amenities on tap but you don’t want (or can’t afford) to pay a premium for it, consider locations where the community is still fledgling, or view the location in terms of the potential it may have for growing a community—and consider also how you could be part of the catalyst that helps to develop it.

Our extensive guides to living and retirement in Mexico, contain detailed information about considering your lifestyle intentions and tips for choosing places to live in Mexico, including locations to consider.

Our series, Essential Skills for Expats in Mexico, provides some helpful insights to help you consider the practical aspects of settling-down in Mexico.

Consider your health and medical care needs

Very small rural towns and villages and hamlets won’t have medical facilities immediately on-hand.  Small towns may have a local clinic offering basic services; some mid-size towns may have a choice of local doctors and dentists; but if you choose to live in a rural or semi-rural setting, then a trip to the nearest large town or city will be required when you have significant medical or health care needs.

Some gated communities that are specially tailored and marketed to foreign retirees offer professionally managed medical facilities on-site, but you’ll pay a premium for this, and they might not be situated in a region or location in Mexico where you want to live. In acute situations you might still need to travel to a larger medical facility.

If you have a known medical condition that may require immediate medical assistance at any time, you ought to choose your location accordingly and avoid any places that will require a long road trip to the nearest suitable facility.

See our guide to healthcare in Mexico for general information and read this article on medical insurance options when you’re planning to be in Mexico longer-term.

Undertake your own local house price research

A common mistake made by foreign renters and buyers is comparing the price of a house they see in Mexico with the price of an equivalent-sized property in their home country.

Without comparison to the local market, a monthly rental or purchase price you think is reasonable or inexpensive may actually be an inflated price aimed at buyers who have not undertaken sufficient market research.

When considering price value, be mindful that your property will be situated in Mexico, it will be surrounded by amenities and services commensurate with the locale, and the investment will be subject to local or regional market trends.

You can use local property portals like MetrosCubicos, VivaAnuncios and InMuebles24 to gauge current market prices for purchase and rental; it’s common to negotiate the price and most property sales close between 10%-15% lower than the market list price; rentals are also subject to negotiation.

Our extensive guides to buying and selling real estate in Mexico provide further insights and the regularly-updated guide to the cost of living in Mexico incudes chapters with a wider perspective on housing costs.

Rent first if you don’t know the area

Unless you’re familiar with the area and know that you’ll feel comfortable there, we recommend you rent first. Renting a home will enable you to enjoy a settled presence locally so that you can get a feel for the location, discover the local amenities, neighborhoods, and community aspects, as well as get a handle on the local property market and its price nuances.

Renting also enables you to search for your new home purchase without the pressures of a time-pressured ‘scouting visit.’  Locations that have few property rentals offered, or where rentals are limited may be a disincentive to potential foreign buyers who want to rent before they buy. Read our guides to renting property in Mexico for details and useful insights.

Schooling for your children

For families with school-age children, the choice of location might be determined by the type of schooling parents seek for their offspring, and places off the beaten path in rural locations, while idyllic, might not be practical.

If you have children of school age, consider what schooling is available in the localities you research. Smaller towns might have adequate kindergartens and primary schools situated in the locale, but if you live in a (semi)rural area schooling arrangements can become more complex especially when your children move up to higher levels of education.

If your children are still young, take into consideration how the locations you short-list will serve your family’s changing schooling requirements as the children grow-up. (Some families choose to home school, but this poses its own set of challenges.)  Read more about schooling your children in Mexico.

Discover places to live in Mexico

Discover interesting and charming locations to live, work or retire in Mexico, and articles with helpful insights about choosing a place to settle here on Mexperience.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Detailed guides about relocating to Mexico
• Insightful articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
• Detailed insights for lifestyle planning and your home life in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

Medical insurance for short visits to Mexico

If you’re visiting Mexico for a short period —on a vacation or short business trip, for example— travel insurance policies which cover you for a limited time while you’re away from home should suffice.  These might be provided by your current healthcare provider—but double-check as many policies exclude or significantly limit out of country coverage.  Learn more about getting short-term emergency and medical expenses insurance coverage for your visit to Mexico.

Medical insurance for Extended Stays in Mexico

If you plan to be in Mexico for an extended stay —for longer than 90 days and less than 180 days— for example, you might take a sabbatical, a volunteer job, or plan to stay in Mexico part-time, then a short-term travel insurance policy won’t cover you as they are limited to 90-day stays in Mexico.  You can however obtain emergency & medical insurance for extended Stays in Mexico on a policy that will last for visits up to 180 calendar days, about six months.

Health insurance for foreign residents in Mexico

If you intend to apply for, or have, legal residency in Mexico, a travel insurance policy won’t be valid as these are designed for people who come to Mexico for a defined period and return to their country of residence, or travel back and forth between Mexico and another country.

Therefore, if you plan to reside in Mexico, you should consider health insurance coverages that will be valid and provide adequate care for your needs.  Here are the options:

Mexico’s IMSS medical coverage

Foreign residents (temporary or permanent) can apply for the Mexican public healthcare insurance system known an IMSS on a voluntary basis which provides access to certain doctors, clinics and hospitals in Mexico.  Some medications are also covered under this plan.

Coverage costs depend on your age; restrictions and limitations apply and, like all publicly-funded healthcare systems, patient demand is usually higher than the supply of services, so you may have to wait for care. (Note also that people who are enrolled in IMSS through an employer get priority over those who enroll voluntarily.)  This article explains the IMSS medical insurance system in Mexico.

Private medical insurance in Mexico

Most foreign residents who can afford to do so will take out a private medical insurance plan that covers their personal needs and gives them direct access to private doctors, clinics and hospitals in Mexico.

Policies are crafted to the individual situation of the person, couple, or family, and premiums depend on things like your age, term of coverage, coverages included, and the deductible you are willing to pay in the event of a claim.  Learn more about private health insurance providers in Mexico.

Medical evacuation from Mexico

If you are resident in Mexico and continue to have health coverage in your home country then you might consider a medical evacuation plan to enable you to get home for treatment and to convalesce close to your own doctors and family in the event that you experience a serious accident or health event (e.g. heart attack) while you are here.  Note that medical evacuation insurance coverages only cover evacuation costs in serious cases and so you’ll need to get routine or non-critical health matters attended to in Mexico.  Learn more about medical evacuation plans.

Comprehensive and detailed guide to living and cultivating a lifestyle in Mexico, continually revised and updated. Free—no payment or subscription needed.

Complete and detailed guide to Living & Lifestyles in Mexico that’s continually updated

Our extensive guides and articles offer insights to anyone exploring prospects for living, working, retirement and cultivating your lifestyle in Mexico.

They provide practical insights, incisive local knowledge, and meaningful guidance that helps you to discover opportunities, consider your choices, and make informed decisions.

Discover what lifestyles Mexico offers, identify opportunities of interest to you, weight up the compromises, consider your options, and plot a course based on the things that are important to you.

Guides to lifestyles in Mexico, for all life stages

Our continually-updated guides help you to begin weaving together the key components which create a workable and realistic lifestyle plan in Mexico, whatever planning stage and life stage you are in presently:

• To those considering a move to Mexico, whether you are single, with your partner, or a family with young children, Mexperience helps you to discover the country and evaluate living and lifestyle choices available here.  Our guides also offer thoughtful guidance about setting out your intentions and reshaping your situations.
• To those planning their retirement or seeking a place to retire, Mexperience guides provide specific guidance about matters related to retirement planning and retirement lifestyles, as well as the practicalities of retiring in Mexico.
• When you’re already living in Mexico, our guides and articles provide practical insights that help you to settle-in, adapt, and cultivate your new lifestyle here day-to-day.
• Regardless of your life stage, the information we publish provides meaningful insights about the essential day-to-day practical matters of living in Mexico, adapting to the country, the climates and culture, and more—with extensive cross references and links to further information and helpful contacts who can help you to realize your Mexico plans.

Planning or redefining your lifestyle in Mexico

Obtain practical insights, get incisive local knowledge and meaningful guidance that helps you to consider opportunities, weigh up your choices, and make informed decisions about planning or redefining your lifestyle in Mexico.

Mexico as a place for your retirement

We publish comprehensive information to help you plan a retirement here, whether you’re planning ahead or already retired and considering Mexico as a potential retirement haven.

Exploring locations and finding a place to live in Mexico

Our extensive articles help you to consider key aspects as you explore your options and make choices about your lifestyle and potential location types in Mexico.

Getting your residency permit for Mexico

Mexico’s immigration laws are reasonable and allow non-Mexicans with the financial means or family roots, and/or skills, to live here legally. We publish extensive knowledge to help you, including:

Moving and settling-in to life in Mexico

When you’ve decided to move to Mexico and made key decisions about where and how you’ll live, there’s the move a period of adapting and settling-in.  We publish extensive guides and articles to help you settle.

Learn how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico

Our guides include detailed information about how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico: by phone, by internet, as well as using postal and courier services here.  Our local knowledge helps you to choose a mobile phone plan, explore choices for high speed internet in Mexico (even if you live in a remote area) and our cost of living guide includes a section about the cost of communications services.

Detailed insights into the practicalities of living in Mexico day-to-day

Our articles and guides also include comprehensive insights about day to day living in Mexico that help you to plan your lifestyle, settle-in, and make the most of your life and activities in Mexico.

Mexico’s living costs and managing your finances

Financial considerations are an important aspect of any move.  Mexperience helps you to calculate your cost of living in Mexico and offers practical tips for managing your money and finances here.

Mexico as a place for working-age professionals

Working-age professionals, especially those plying a trade in the knowledge economy, are also considering Mexico as a base to live and work.

And more… resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free
• Regularly-updated articles about lifestyle planning  in Mexico
• Insights about day to day living with Mexico Home Life

Place is personal, subjective, and important—and as you consider places to live in Mexico, Mexperience helps you to consider your choices and shortlist locations that may suit your lifestyle needs.

Discover locations to live, work or retire in Mexico

To help you discover and explore potential places to live here, Mexperience publishes a curated list of locations to consider for living, working or retirement in Mexico—organized by popularity and notoriety and classified by the location type.

Our articles introduce you to key places where many foreign residents live now, emerging locations that are becoming increasingly popular with foreign residents, as well as those places that are less well known, or situated off-the-beaten path. We also publish a selection of detailed guides of places to live in Mexico:

Detailed living guides

For detailed guides to selected places to live and work or retire, connect to our section with Guides to Living Places in Mexico

Two calculations are required

There are two calculations you will need to make to determine the financial means you will need to have at your disposal to retire in Mexico:

• the first calculation is related to the financial requirements to qualify for a residency permit in Mexico, and
• the second calculation is related to your real living costs in Mexico that will be determined according to your individual circumstances, personal choices, and lifestyle plans.

Income or savings/investments required to obtain a residency permit

The financial requirements to qualify for a residency permit have risen in recent years.

Monthly income —v— savings/investments to qualify

Unless you intend to lead a ‘high octane’ lifestyle, the monthly income required to qualify for residency in Mexico is considerably higher than the typical costs of living in Mexico.

A corollary of this is that some people who want to retire in Mexico don’t have sufficient monthly income to qualify but do have sufficient income to live here.

If your pension income doesn’t meet the current income requirements, you can instead qualify based your savings/investments—and many people who have been saving throughout their lives will have sufficient savings and investments to qualify, even if their monthly income does not meet the minimum threshold.

The links in the box below contain detailed information to guide you about this. The include information about the current amounts of income or savings/investments you need to demonstrate to qualify for residency under the auspice of ‘economic solvency’ as well as other routes to residency besides ‘economic solvency.’

Income required to sustain your retirement in Mexico

The second calculation you’ll need to make concerns working out your real living costs in Mexico, and these will be determined by your individual circumstances, your intentions, and your lifestyle choices.

The question: “How much does it cost to live in Mexico?” has no specific answer because the amount of money you need to live and sustain yourself here will depend on an assortment of factors, the most common of which include:

• where in Mexico you choose to live: the most popular places also tend to be the most expensive to live in—from rents and house prices to everyday living expenses;
• whether you will rent or buy a home in Mexico;
• whether you have homeowner association fees to pay in addition to other expenses;
• the state of your general health and well-being: healthcare insurance premiums are higher for those with previous ailments, and while medications are less expensive in Mexico, they are still a cost and might have to be paid out of pocket;
• whether you’ll have a car or other vehicle(s) in Mexico to run and service;
• how often you travel, including trips back to your home country;
• what lifestyle choices you make including things like how and where you shop, how often you eat out, how much alcohol you consume (alcohol prices have been rising steadily in recent years), how much you spend on non-essentials, how much you spend on healthcare matters and medications, etc.;
• how much home help and other domestic assistance services you want or need: for example, whether you hire a housekeeper (and how often), a gardener, someone to maintain your swimming pool, if you have one, and other home services, e.g., nurses, or in-home care givers;
• how often you intend to travel within Mexico as well as how often you travel back-and-forth between Mexico and your home country.

Our guide to the cost of living in Mexico is a comprehensive resource that explores real living costs in Mexico and helps you to step back, make an assessment of your situation, and formulate a budget based on your individual circumstances.

Further research and resources

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.

• Comprehensive guide to living and lifestyles in Mexico
• Articles about lifestyle planning in Mexico
• Articles about living costs in Mexico
• Learn about obtaining residency in Mexico
• Latest articles about retirement in Mexico
• Is Mexico right for your retirement?
• Benefits Mexico offers to retirees
• Discovering potential places to live in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

This article explores motivations as well as the fundamental choices you’ll need to make as you begin to paint (or repaint) your lifestyle canvass in Mexico.

Key themes and motivators for moving to Mexico

Common themes that motivate people to move abroad, and to Mexico in particular, include:

Reorganizing life situations: part of a long-term strategy of reorganizing a life situation for an eventual retirement, or semi-retirement, abroad—often when children are grown-up, debts paid, and spare time is available.

Culture and living environment: a desire to experience a different culture: for themselves, or as part of giving their children a wider perspective of living, lifestyles, and culture as they grow up.

Quality of life: the pursuit of a better quality of life, influenced by factors including the cost of living, the climate and natural environment, cultural nuances, and reasons related to health and well-being.

Working and professional reasons: a work placement or secondment that brought them to Mexico by way of their employer’s request for them to move here; or a desire to relocate an independent/freelance workstyle to Mexico.

Confidence of familiarity: the desire to move to a place that is familiar and geographically close to their home country—many Americans and Canadians know Mexico through vacations or family trips they have experienced here throughout their lives.

Pursuit of a new calling: a need to create a change in their life circumstances; perhaps as a response to some major life event, e.g., divorce, illness, or some sudden or unexpected loss or shift that caused the person to reexamine their lifestyle needs and choices.

Simplification and down-sizing: some people come to a point where they realize that their life situations have become enormously complex and challenging; and moving to Mexico becomes part of an effort simplify, down-size, and focus on a carefully considered set of redefined priorities—see the next heading in this chapter for more details about this;

Reflection through recuperation or sabbatical: to convalesce after an illness, or to take time away on sabbatical to reflect on how to make significant lifestyle changes and experiment with what these changes might look and feel like.

Simplifying your lifestyle situations

Simple living is concerned with recognizing your priorities, defining what is most important to you, and reorganizing your life to focus on those things and, in tandem, release the excess and superfluous elements and situations which are crowding or impairing your life.

A surprising number of people cite ‘creating a simpler lifestyle’ as one of the key intentions that propelled them to move abroad to start over with a fresh perspective on life.

Mexico offers choices for people who want to live more simply, and we have published articles that address matters related to creating simpler lifestyles for themselves and their partners/family here, and if that’s what you’re seeking, you don’t necessarily have to wait for retirement to consider pursuing a simpler lifestyle in Mexico.

The fundamental choices of your decision making

Most of the detailed choices that you’ll make as you consider a move to Mexico tend to be ‘peripheral’ matters; that is, they are everyday minutiae that are most often defined by specific circumstances and in most cases will not influence or impact the overall strategy and rationale for moving here.

Periphery matters might include things like whether to bring certain domestic appliances, accessories, or furniture with you or whether you’ll buy new when you get here.

However, some choices are fundamental, and, like the foundation stones of a building, these choices will determine what you can subsequently build within your framework from here on; and if you discover after the fact that you made a sub-optimal choice concerning something fundamental, it could cost you a lot more time, effort, and money to reorganize.

It’s therefore prudent to consider the fundamental choices you need to make as you consider a move to Mexico. While everyone’s situations and lifestyle priorities have distinct characteristics, there are a handful of matters which tend to be universally fundamental early in the decision-making cycle, and these are summarized below:

Timescales and your level of commitment

If your move to Mexico is intended to be tentative or experimental, or only part time —perhaps to get away from the cold during the winter months, or as part of a period of reflection in your life— you are likely to maintain ‘structures’ in two countries: for example, you may own a home and rent in Mexico, returning to your home country for certain seasons; or you might avoid making certain types of commitments in Mexico, e.g. buying a house here. Beware that this type of to-and-fro lifestyle takes good planning, as well as considerable effort and resources; moreover, it can become tiring over time.

Some people decide to make a ‘clean break’ with their life situation in their home country, sell their home if they have one, and their personal goods, and move to Mexico in earnest as means to motivate themselves to make things work: problems and challenges will inevitably arise, and being committed is a constructive way to find pathways through the difficulties.

Being clear about your commitment level and timescales will help you to focus on what is important and will also influence some of the other fundamental decisions you have to make.

Choice of location to live in Mexico

Where in Mexico do you want to live? Mexico offers a wide variety of locations, which in turn offer distinct types of topography, climate, and amenities.

Pausing to carefully consider the location you will go to is time well spent and patience well applied—especially if you intend to buy a home.  Part Three of this guide summarizes a list of key locations to discover and consider.  Also review the links in the Further Insight section, below, about matching your location with your lifestyle needs, and connect to Mexperience guides and articles about choosing a place to live.

Seeking legal residency

Some people have been staying longer term in Mexico as ‘perpetual visitors,’ using a visitor permit to live here indefinitely.  However, recent changes to the way visitors are admitted is making this more difficult, and perhaps impossible in some cases.

Exploring your routes to legal residency is therefore a fundamental aspect of your decision-making, and you ought to be clear about what type of residency permit you would like to apply for, (considering also what type you may qualify for), before committing to move here.

Accommodations

When you’ve chosen a location to live, you’ll need to arrange suitable accommodations locally.  Options include:

• Choose to rent for a year or two before you commit to buying a home in Mexico. This is a sensible choice especially if Mexico is new to you, or you intend to live in an area of Mexico you don’t yet know very well.
• Take a temporary rental for a brief period (usually a few months) while you scout for a home to buy locally.  People who are familiar with Mexico and the area where they intend to purchase will often take a short-term rental while they scout for a property purchase.
• Choose to make an investment in a home purchase right away.  Some people just don’t like renting and prefer to buy right away. Keep in mind that Mexico’s real estate markets are highly localized and might not be as liquid (it might take longer to sell up) as you are accustomed to, or expect.
• Move to Mexico and rent a home long-term, instead of buying a property. The property rental market in Mexico is extensive and varied and if you don’t want (or cannot afford) to buy, a long term rental house is a viable option.

Renting gives you additional flexibility but carries drawbacks in terms of choice of property types available and protocols —many rentals don’t allow pets, for example.

Buying enables you to find a place that is more precisely suited to your lifestyle needs and encourages you to settle in the location you have chosen.  If you need to move and cannot sell immediately, you might rent out the house, although this too requires thought and consideration to ensure your property remains well-kept and properly managed while you’re away.

Local services, amenities, and connections

Depending on your life stage and lifestyle choices, the services, amenities, and connections you want, or must have, can vary tremendously—but it’s essential that you identify them.

Read our article about matching your lifestyle needs to your location for details about this; key matters to consider are:

• the location you choose to live and rent or buy a home in (and the locale within that location) should have the key services you identified you need close-at-hand, for example, medical care if you have a pre-existing condition that may require immediate assistance;
• amenities you want or need regularly should be nearby too: this could include stores, restaurants, social centers, or other places of interest that form key parts of your life’s activities and priorities;
• if you have children, you should consider what they need in terms of schooling, sports activities, and community events—and ensure these are available and not too far away from where you live;
• the location should suit your need for community connections: local interest groups—whether those are with other foreign residents, Mexican neighbors, or both;
• if transport links are important to your lifestyle, you should consider these too: some places to live in Mexico are idyllic but remote, especially more rural places—so plan accordingly.

Whether you will work in Mexico

If you’re not planning to move to Mexico to retire, you’ll need to consider whether you intend to work here, in what capacity, and how.

Getting a work permit without a formal job offer from an established company is not easy. Self-employment options are available.  Our articles about working and self-employment in Mexico provide detailed insights and guidance.

Cross-checking your choices

When you have taken time to consider what is motivating you (or what events or situations are driving you) to move to Mexico, and you have made decisions concerning the fundamental choices, you should consider your intentions and priorities.

Key matters to cross-check in your deliberations include:

Having realistic motivations

Are your motivations realistic and driven by a desire to create a new lifestyle based on the things that are important to you and those closest to you?  Making choices based on fear or misunderstanding, on a desire to run away from something, or through refusing to face matters and issues that will inevitably follow you to Mexico (or some other location in Mexico if you’re already here), does not create a good foundation for cultivating a new lifestyle abroad, in any foreign country.

Considering your partner and family

If you’re in a relationship, or have a family that will move with you, it’s important to take their needs and emotions into consideration as these issues can fracture your lifestyle intentions and even break relationships without consideration at the planning stage.

Two helpful questions to ask:

Is your partner feeling comfortable about the idea of moving to Mexico and the choices you are making? Some couples might assume that the other person’s desire to move to Mexico is as strong as the one leading the intention; and couples might also find that one partner adapts much more easily to Mexico than the other, even when both partners have genuine intentions about moving here.

How will you support your children through the changes?  If you have minor children, the decision is ultimately yours, but you will need to be mindful of their needs and prepared to support your offspring through the changes and the inevitable challenges they will face as they join new schools, make new friends, and grapple with Spanish perhaps as a secondary or foreign language.

See also: Adapting and settling-in | Purpose and routines | Cultivating community

Will your location choice be a suitable place for you?

Will the location you have settled on suit your lifestyle needs and intentions?  Places that are great to visit on vacation might not be the place you want to live. Locations that appear ideal in the rain season might be quite uncomfortable in the dry season.

If you chose a place that doesn’t have any secondary schools suitable for your (now) young children, that can cause logistical challenges when they grow a bit older.  Our articles about matching your location to your needs and discovering places to live in Mexico address these types of issues and help you to consider your choices.

Suitable accommodations for your needs

What type of accommodations are you considering?  Whether you rent or buy, finding the right house in the right location and moreover in the right neighborhood can strongly influence how your experience unfolds in Mexico—especially in the early years.

Choosing your accommodations is a fundamental choice.  You home will ideally be a place you can feel comfortable in, situated in the right location for your lifestyle needs and surrounded by the services and amenities you need and want, as well as having easy access to things you have identified as being most important for your lifestyle—for example, social connections, community, schools for your children, transport links, etc.

Your readiness to adapt to Mexico

It’s helpful to ask yourself how adaptable you (and your partner and children if relevant) are.  Moving to a foreign country will place unique demands on your patience and your social skills, as well as test your ability to compromise and adapt amidst changing situations.

As part of your adaption process, you’ll need to make an effort to settle-in to your new life here, cultivate social networks locally, and find purpose and balance in your everyday life situations.

Our series about essential skills for expats addresses the key matters foreign residents should consider as they move and settle into a new life in Mexico.

Further research and resources

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Resources include:

• Articles about lifestyle planning in Mexico
• Discover places to live in Mexico
• Principal routes to legal residency in Mexico
• Latest articles about lifestyles in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

This article explores typical profile patterns of foreign residents who come to Mexico to live and work or retire, and also describes the key considerations which influence people’s level of commitment when they come to live here.

Foreign residents’ commitment levels vary

While everyone’s situation has unique aspects, people who come to Mexico to live and work or retire tend to fall into one of these profile patterns—and reviewing these can help you to consider what level of commitment you might have.

Full-time residents, fully committed to Mexico

Foreign residents who are fully committed arrive to live and work or and/or retire full-time and settle permanently in Mexico.  They usually sell their home abroad and move all their personal goods to Mexico.

They might already own a home in Mexico, or will purchase a home, perhaps renting somewhere for a time while they scout for and find the property they want to buy.

Some people might commit to Mexico this way and rent a home instead of buying; for example, if they have sufficient income to rent, but insufficient capital to buy—or if they prefer the flexibility that renting a house offers.

These types of retirees tend to visit family and friends in their home country at least once a year; and family and friends may also come to Mexico to visit them.

Our article about considering choices for accommodations in Mexico shares further insight about whether to buy or rent in Mexico.

Full-time residents, partly committed to Mexico

Foreign residents who are partly committed arrive to live and work and/or retire full-time in Mexico, but tend to keep their home and other significant assets abroad.  They either rent long term or buy a home here if they don’t own a home in Mexico already.

They will likely make regular annual trips back to their home country, perhaps at certain times or seasons of the year, to be with family and friends they have outside of Mexico.

Part-time residents, living in Mexico for defined periods

Foreign residents who arrive to live and work and/or retire in Mexico part-time, for defined periods are not fully committed to Mexico and tend to hold considerable assets and perhaps work and family commitments abroad.

When and how long these types of foreign residents stay in Mexico varies, and dates and seasons might depend on individuals’ own circumstances and commitments they have ongoing here, and elsewhere.

Foreign residents who overwinter in Mexico are commonly termed as “snowbirds”—who typically arrive in November and leave in April or May of the following year.  They might own or buy a home in Mexico, or they might rent a house here—and they’ll probably keep a home abroad.

Frequent shuttling or short stints in Mexico

Some foreign residents, especially (but not exclusively) those who live near the southern US border, might shuttle frequently between a home in the US and their home in Mexico.

Others might live most of their time in their home country (or another country) and live in Mexico for a short stint or stints: either for a single, defined period during the year, or through several shorter periods in weeks or months peppered throughout the year.

These types of residents will almost certainly own a home in Mexico, although some might have long term rental arrangements in place.

In years past, foreigners who arrived in Mexico to live this way would not bother getting a residency permit and stay in Mexico using a visitor permit instead.  However, with changes to the way foreign visitors are admitted, it’s prudent to apply for a residency permit in Mexico.

Considerations that tend to influence commitment levels

How long you spend living in Mexico, and how much commitment you make to cultivating a life and lifestyle here, will depend on many things and is ultimately  determined when you define your intentions for moving to Mexico to live and work or retire.

This section describes key considerations that tend to influence people’s decision-making.  Contemplating these these as you make your own deliberations can be helpful as you think about your move to Mexico, or making changes to your current arrangements if you already live here.

Your social and family ties

The choice about whether to live in Mexico full-time or part-time is oftentimes influenced primarily by people’s social and family ties back home.

If you have strong friendships, children and grandchildren that you are close to and want to see them more often than through occasional visits, then you might choose to make Mexico a part-time living place.

Most people who live in Mexico part-time choose to live here during the months of the year when the climate is least agreeable in their home country—and for most that’s the late fall and winter months in the northern hemisphere, when foreign residents arrive to overwinter in Mexico.

Attachment to your home country

Another key influencing factor is how attached you (and your partner and family as relevant) feel to your home country.

For example, some people find the notion of selling the family home —where children were raised, and lifetime memories were engrained— difficult. It’s easier for some people to let go, and more difficult for others.

As you contemplate this, consider your partner’s feelings about the matter; as we noted in a related article about setting out your intentions for moving to Mexico, moving abroad when a one partner is enthusiastic and committed and the other is lukewarm or unpersuaded can break relationships—even long-standing ones.

The distance between Mexico and your home country

Consider how long it takes you to travel between Mexico and you home country.

If your home in Mexico is close to the US-Mexico border and your other home is in the southern US, this might be relatively inconsequential.

Conversely, if your home country is Europe or Japan, your travel time between the two countries will be substantial.

Most Americans and Canadians that fly home will have to travel for between 6-12 hours to get to/from Mexico, door-to-door.  Most Europeans will need to travel for between 24-30 hours to shuttle between Mexico and their home country, door-to-door.

Aside from the time, effort and financial resources you’ll need to expend to travel between Mexico and your home country (especially if you continue to have significant ties to your homeland), there is also a psychological aspect to take into consideration that’s also related to your commitment level (see first section, above).

If you’re only living in Mexico part time and your home country is far away and you have significant commitments and attachments there, this is likely to eventually take a toll on you even if you are able to fund the continual traveling.

Logistics, financial resources, and personal energy

Persistent traveling may become more burdensome for some as they grow older.

Living part-time in Mexico and part-time elsewhere every year requires you to manage at least two sets of homes, two lifestyles, and two ‘lifestyle structures.’

The logistics become more complex if you must rent out one house or the other as part of your income needs.

Shuttling between two countries requires considerably more financial resource and moreover it demands time and energy from you personally every time you shuttle.

Consider the impact this will have on your budget longer term and, more importantly, on your body and overall wellbeing: as we grow older, constant moving may become less attractive, and for some also less viable.

Offspring’s perceptions and concerns

People who come to to live, and especially those who come to retire, often have grown children (and grandchildren) living in their country of origin, or in a country other than Mexico.

Most adult children concern for their parents as they age, and if you choose to live in Mexico, it’s sensible to share those intentions with any children you have and express to them how long and what level of commitment you might make to Mexico in the longer term.

Some children might be quite comfortable with the notion of their parents living or retiring abroad in Mexico; others might see it as fancy experiment that will be short-lived, while others might express worry or fears—especially if the parents are ‘selling-up’ and moving to Mexico full time.  These personal family connections can become significant influencers in the decision-making.

If you intend to commit to Mexico long-term and make Mexico your ‘primary home’ then be sure to communicate this intention with your close family; and consider the longer-term impact, including estate planning and, related to that, senior care services and end-of-life planning.

Some people retire with the intention of living out the remainder of their lives in Mexico and if you become unable to make decisions it’s helpful to have a (legally-binding) plan in place that may prevent others from acting against your wishes and moreover facilitate the implementation of yours and your partner’s wishes.  Hire a Notary Public in Mexico to talk about living wills, and/or consult with a professional financial advisor or attorney.

Further research and resources

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.

• Articles about lifestyle planning in Mexico
• Defining your intentions for moving to Mexico
• Matching your location with your lifestyle needs
• Discovering potential places to live in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

Before you can assess whether Mexico is right for you and your situation, the matters concerning:

• your approach to retirement in Mexico;
• defining your intentions to move here; as well as
• factors that may influence your choice of location; then
• taking the time to settle-in properly to Mexico; and
• finding balance in your day-to-day lifestyle in Mexico…

…are entirely relevant to potential retirees as well as anyone else considering a move to Mexico—see the links in the box titled Further Insights below for more details and articles on these topics.

In essence: If Mexico as a country to live in is right for you (and your partner, and family where relevant), then it’s highly likely that Mexico will suit you for retirement, and that you will be able to cultivate a healthy, wholesome, and fruitful retirement lifestyle here.

Conversely: However attractive or suitable Mexico might appear to you in terms of its climate and environment, amenities, services, and cost of living, if you (and/or those close to you) cannot adapt to Mexico —and create a retirement lifestyle here on Mexico’s terms— then you are unlikely to find contentment in retirement by being here.

Mexico offers an ample variety of places and benefits that can be especially attractive to retirees the resources for retirement in Mexico here on Mexperience help you to consider practical matters and compromises that future or budding retirees may have to consider as part of their deliberations and planning for a retirement lifestyle in Mexico.

Further research and resources

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.

• Articles about lifestyle planning in Mexico
• Latest articles about retirement in Mexico
• Discovering potential places to live in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

This article explores the typical situations people tend to approach retirement planning in Mexico, as well the typical lifestyles they tend to pursue when they arrive here.

Common approaches to retirement in Mexico

Everyone’s situation is unique, although generally, those considering Mexico for retirement tend to be typically fall into one of these situations:

People who know Mexico well and are planning ahead

People currently in their middle age who know Mexico quite well, have visited frequently —possibly since their childhood on family vacations— and are considering Mexico as a place to retire to when their children grow-up and leave home, and they retire from work. They might already own a home here or they might be thinking about buying one in preparation for their retirement.

Those who discover Mexico by serendipity and add it to their shortlist

People in their adult or middle ages who visit Mexico for the first time, very much enjoy the country, get a good feel for it, and start to think about Mexico as a potential place for retirement.  They might return several times, and they might buy a home here that they intend to use for an eventual retirement to the country.

Older people approaching retirement age and considering options for places to retire to

Another group of people who explore Mexico for retirement are those approaching retirement age (typically, within five years) and who then start to actively consider what to do, and where to go, when they retire.

They may be undecided about whether to stay in their home country, or move abroad, and if they move abroad, Mexico may be one of several destinations they are considering for retirement.  They are probably familiar with Mexico through having visited here before.

About to retire, making choices

Some people leave retirement plans to the last minute, perhaps because they have been engulfed in busy working situations and raising families, and who have not had time to step back and consider their choices in much detail.

When people find themselves rapidly approaching retirement age (usually within the next year), or those who have decided to retire earlier than anticipated, discover that they need to start narrowing-down some potential choices about how they might organize their retirement years—and those plans may include Mexico as possible retirement haven.

Already in retirement, considering changes

People already in retirement and, for a multitude of reasons, considering a move to Mexico as part of a change of retirement lifestyle.

Key reasons may include things like seeking a better climate (possibly overwintering in Mexico), seeking a better quality of life, getting access to affordable healthcare and/or senior care services, and for those concerned about finances—seeking a place where the cost of living is lower than in their home country so that their pension income can stretch further.

Some people might retire to Mexico because family have moved here, or close friends have made the move and they want to avail themselves of a similar retirement lifestyle others have created here.

Typical retirement lifestyles in Mexico

Regardless of your approach or planning stage, your retirement in Mexico will ultimately be formed around your own interests, priories, and lifestyle choices.

Retirees in Mexico enjoy agreeable climates, delicious food, a warm and welcoming culture with friendly people amidst an environment that offers unusual and interesting traditions that are nonetheless familiar.

Here is summary of typical lifestyles and pastimes retirees in Mexico come to enjoy, to give you some insights and inspiration about the ways in which others have come to Mexico and cultivated wholesome lifestyles here as part of their retirement.

Wide choice of location types

Some retirees move to popular locations where there are existing and thriving communities of foreign residents present.  Others choose to move into live in emerging locations that are less populated by foreign residents, whereas some  choose places off the beaten path and make efforts to integrate themselves there.

In addition to choosing a location by its notoriety, retirees can choose places by climate and by topography: Mexico offers hot coasts and cool colonial cities to live in.  Learn about Mexico’s climate zones and its seasons throughout the year.

Engage in your personal interests

For those with hobbies and pastimes, the hobby or interest can almost always be pursued in Mexico. In the unlikely event that a local group or society related to those interests doesn’t already exist, consider starting a new group of your own.

Many people continue their existing passions for arts and crafts or take up new pastimes including photography, painting, writing, and theatre—using Mexico as their landscape and inspiration. Some find that their work can be sold inside or outside Mexico, supplementing their income.

If you view your retirement as an opportunity to improve your golf, Mexico has no less than three of the world’s top ten golf courses for you to try—and dozens more situated all over the country.

Read more about your motivations for moving, settling-in to Mexico, and finding your own pace and rhythm here.

Excellent transport and communications

Mexico’s transport infrastructure is excellent, so it’s easy to travel and visit different regions in Mexico, as well to get to-and-from your home country.  It’s also easy for family and friends to visit you here too. Learn more about transportation choices in Mexico.

Keeping in touch with family and friends is easy, and affordable. High speed internet services are ubiquitous in Mexico and will enable you keep in touch with family, friends, and other associations you have with ease and at minimal cost.  You can learn about communications services in Mexico here on Mexperience.

Volunteering and social work

Some people get involved in social and volunteer work: helping local communities to build new infrastructure, getting involved in charity work, sharing their expertise, knowledge, and experience of life with others, and making a significant and positive contribution to the communities where they choose to live in a wide variety of ways.

Some people work part time in their retirement, either on a self-employment basis, or working at an established firm to share their life experience and expertise. Learn more about working in Mexico here on Mexperience.

An opportunity to learn or improve your Spanish

There’s no better time to learn or improve your Spanish. Surrounded by the language, engulfed in a country passionate about its history and culture, Mexico is ideal place to improve your Spanish language skills.

Learn why Spanish is a good investment in your retirement lifestyle, study the nuances of Mexican Spanish in everyday usage, and find Spanish language courses.

Alternative lifestyles in retirement

If you prefer alternative lifestyles, you can, for example, come to retire in Mexico in in a more secluded setting if you want to by buying a rural property surrounded by picturesque landscape.

Alternative lifestyles can also be formed in one Mexico’s colonial mountain towns which have immediate (or close-by) access to local services and amenities, surrounded by the local communities, sharing their culture and their way of life.

Some retirees come to Mexico to simplify their lifestyle, and Mexico can facilitate this if you make choices accordingly, regardless of where in Mexico you live.

Further research and resources

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.

• Articles about lifestyle planning in Mexico
• Latest articles about retirement in Mexico
• Is Mexico right for your retirement?
• Benefits Mexico offers to retirees
• Discovering potential places to live in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

A consultancy with Samantha will provide you with guidance and concise recommendations about what to expect from senior care support services on offer in Puerto Vallarta—whether you’re planning ahead and considering choices for yourself (or you and your partner) or want to learn more about senior care provision services for someone else close to you.

Consult with an experienced senior care professional

Samantha is fully bilingual and has over 25 years of professional experience on matters related to social care across a wide spectrum of client groups in both public and private organizations.  She has lived in Puerto Vallarta for over 10 years and specializes in attending to the needs of people seeking senior care services there.

Her consultancy offers in-depth knowledge about senior care services on offer in Puerto Vallarta, including recommendations about in-home care services vs local residential homes, through direct experience of working with elder care centers in the Vallarta area.

Working with individuals and families of those preparing for their retirement or changes in their lifestyle or health situations, her areas of expertise include:

• senior care planning and management in private residences;
• bilingual advocate services for those navigating doctors, finances, and end-of-life planning in Puerto Vallarta; and
• providing personalized consultancy to individuals, families, hospitals, and assisted living centers.

Get experienced advice, local insight, and concise recommendations

Samantha’s consultancy service offers local knowledge and clear, concise recommendations about how to plan ahead, prepare for, and explore the availability of senior care services available in Puerto Vallarta.

When you’re seeking choices for senior care provision in the Puerto Vallarta area, Samantha can help you to discover and explore the options available:

When you’re planning for retirement or changes in your lifestyle in Mexico:

• Undertaking an Initial Assessment to determine your current situation.
• Advice about key matters you need to take into careful consideration.
• Guidance about realistic choices on offer in Puerto Vallarta and available service options.

When you need to talk about plans for someone close to you

• Personal consultation to discuss your situation and how you may source the help you need.
• Practical matters you need to consider as someone ages and external assistance is required.
• How to meet needs and provide support whilst respecting autonomy.
• Potential service options and practical tips on exploring potential care homes in Puerto Vallarta.

Consultancy that flexes with your needs

Samantha offers a FREE initial 15-minute conversation to talk about your situation and to determine if the consultation service is right for your needs.

Personalized consultancy is offered at US$85 per hour, with a 1-hour minimum, and time billed precisely as used after the first hour.  Samantha keeps a detailed log of the support time provided to you.

How the consulting service supports you

The service is designed to provide you with a personalized consultation that focuses on your specific circumstances and needs and provides you with a post-consultation written brief. Typically, the consultation follows this path:

Free 15-minute conversation

Samantha offers a FREE 15-minute conversation to discuss your situation and to determine if the consultancy service is right for your needs.

Your personalized consultation

If you decide to proceed with a formal consultation, Samantha will send you a payment link for the first hour of consultancy and schedule your first formal consultation call (by telephone, Zoom, or Skype, as you prefer) at a mutually convenient date and time. If your situation is urgent, a priority consultation may be accommodated, but please only request this if the need is genuinely urgent.

Gathering key information

The personal consultation will be carefully structured to talk about your current situation and future plans, answer any specific questions you have, and identify the key matters and issues related to senior care within your individual circumstances.

Guidance to help you make informed choices

The initial assessment enables Samantha to offer concise recommendations about senior care service provision in Puerto Vallarta, including how the services work, what to expect, with insights to help you interact positively and creatively with the services available.

Post-consultation

After the call, Samantha will compose a written brief of the initial assessment and her comments and recommendations. She’ll send these to you by email so that you (and your family) can use this to plan and make some informed choices; the brief also serves as a helpful reference if you need to share key information with other professionals and caregivers.

Follow-up call

After you’ve had an opportunity to read the post-consultation brief, you can optionally schedule a follow-up call with Samantha to talk through the details and answer any further questions you may have.

Make a service request now

To proceed with a service request, please complete the request form below.

Samantha will contact you personally to organize your FREE 15 minute call, with the option to proceed with a formal consultation afterward.

However, Mexico is especially attractive to retirees because some of these features and benefits can be especially helpful to people in retirement.

This article summarizes the key benefits Mexico offers to retirees and connects you to detailed information and local knowledge published here on Mexperience for further reading and research.

Agreeable climates

Climate affects us every day, and Mexico offers agreeable climates, often temperate or warm, and cold only at higher elevations in certain regions—and then only for limited times during the year.  Connect to a wide range of articles and guides on Mexperience for more details about climate, seasons and weather in Mexico.

Plenty of choices for location types

Mexico offers retirees choices in the types of places they can live in; from coastal locations that offer winter warmth, to mountain towns at elevation that offer year-round temperate climates.

Some places are more urbanized, others offer a countryside idyll surrounded by nature.  ‘Remote’ places popular with foreign residents tend to be within an hour’s drive of a large town or city that offer services and amenities retirees often seek, including healthcare services and major stores.

Our articles about discovering places to live in Mexico offer practical insights that can help you to consider the various locations on offer and discover potential places to live in Mexico so you can narrow your short-list according to your situation and considered lifestyle needs.

Fresh, locally produced food and drinks

Mexico’s shops and markets provide you with an abundant assortment of fresh food, especially visible at the vibrant, fragrant, local open-air markets here.

The year-round availability of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, accompanied by a parade of colorful drinks and beverages made using them, makes Mexico one of the most attractive countries to be in if you enjoy good wholesome food that is also affordable.

Mexperience helps you to discover food and drink in Mexico as part of of your retirement research and planning.

Ample range of local products and amenities

Retirees coming to Mexico, especially those from the US and Canada, are likely to feel at home when it comes to obtaining many of the products, services, and amenities they have become accustomed to in their home country.

Mexico’s retail markets are extensive and well-developed; and there’s a large and growing selection of online shopping choices too.

Many products and brands foreign retirees are accustomed to seeing back home will be available in Mexico, either at one of the many supermarkets, through specialist retailers, or through online shopping options.

There are still some exceptions, for example, black tea, and alternatives for smokers are conspicuously absent; but Mexico today offers more choice and variety than it ever has before, and the range and selection of products and amenities continues to improve each year.

Local leisure amenities, including cafés, bistros, restaurants, gymnasiums, event centers, cinemas, theme parks, national parks and reserves, campsites, etc. are plentiful and readily accessible.

Affordable living costs

Retirees have different cost structures compared to people moving to Mexico who are of working age and perhaps with children to raise; for examples:

• they have no school fees to pay or children to ferry around and take on school trips;
• most have no mortgages and may also have no other substantial debts to service; and
• they might also be able to live in Mexico without a car, which can save costs.

However, retirees have costs to consider and budget for in other areas that younger people might not have, perhaps healthcare costs being the major expense, and other assistance services, including home help and specialist care services that might have to be considered and duly funded.

Accessible transportation and communications

Most retirees travel within in Mexico to explore the country, as well as take trips to travel back to their home country to see family and friends (or they might receive visits in Mexico).

Some people retiring to Mexico might do so part time, spending only part of the year in Mexico, perhaps to overwinter here.

It’s for these reasons that good transport links, including decent roads and access to international airports, becomes important.

Mexico offers a well-developed and reliable transportation infrastructure that enable you to travel and be near other people who are close in your life, as well as excellent communications networks that enable you to keep touch at a distance, affordably.

Ample choices in accommodations

Retirees coming to Mexico who want to rent will find an ample choice of property types to choose from; our article about the practicalities of renting a home is worth reading to get local insights about that. (See link below.)

A wider selection of property types is available to retirees seeking a home to buy; and engaging the services of local real estate agent is an effective way search and buy a home here.

The links to the articles below help you to consider your accommodation choices when you’re thinking about retirement in Mexico.

World-class health and wellbeing services

Healthcare services and the availability of medicines is often near the top of retirees’ needs and concerns when they plan a move to Mexico.

All of Mexico’s popular retirement destinations are well served by doctors, dentists, opticians as well as a range of clinical and hospital services, including emergency care and specialized medical professionals and services.

Thriving retirement communities

In addition to the ample variety of types of locations on offer, the more popular locations to live in Mexico offer thriving and well-established retirement communities that help newcomers and long-time residents to get involved in local groups, societies, and events.  This is especially helpful when you are endeavoring to settle properly into Mexico, long term.

Safety, and economic stability

Although media reports about security matters have put-off some people from visiting or retiring to Mexico, foreign residents of all life stages report that they feel safe in Mexico, and that the reality they live here every day is characterized by regular routines and being part of strong local communities where people look out for each other and work together to resolve issues if problems arise.

Retirees also enjoy stable lifestyles here, too—as the macroeconomics of the country are well-managed, markets work well, and there is a wide and regular availability of goods and services available, including increasing ranges of goods available through online companies that specialize in offering less common and imported products.

Warm, welcoming culture and language

Although English is widely spoken across Mexico, especially in the most popular retiree enclaves and tourist towns, learning or improving your Spanish language skills will help you enormously as you settle into your retirement in Mexico because it will give you deeper access to the local culture and enable you to integrate in ways that those who don’t speak Spanish cannot.

Mexico’s rich culture and its canny ability to assimilate foreign things without losing its own identity, offers retirees the opportunity of experiencing unusual celebrations and traditions which are nonetheless familiar.

Retirees get a front-row seat to all this culture and the events that surround it, and while others may dream of visiting Mexico in-season to experience these events, they are part of everyday life here for retirees in Mexico.  It’s an enormous, and often overlooked, benefit of living here.

Further research and resources

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.

• Articles about lifestyle planning in Mexico
• Latest articles about retirement in Mexico
• Discovering potential places to live in Mexico
• Cultivating your home life in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

Benefits of a simple lifestyle in Mexico

Simple living is concerned with identifying your priorities, and defining what is most important in your life.  Common priorities which tend to emerge through this lifestyle choice tend to be matters related to:

• feeling better and focusing on well-being
• reviewing work routines;
• letting-go of unimportant pursuits to create more space for sharing with family and close friends;
• reducing stress; and
• reducing ‘clutter’—material and situational.

A key principle of simple living is to improve your quality of life through practices which bring about material simplicity: considering your true needs and being aware of how much is “enough.”

A by-product of simplicity is the reduction of financial costs, although the benefits of living simply extend beyond finances.  (You may of course, move to Mexico, live a lavish lifestyle, and spend more than you do in your home country.)  Many people who come here in search of a new life situation also come to learn about  the attractions and benefits simpler lifestyles provide.

You don’t have to wait for retirement

In addition to people approaching, or planning for, retirement, we’re receiving an increasing number of inquiries from working-age people, particularly those working independently, who are considering relocating to Mexico as part of a life and work-style change.  Modern communications, and particularly the internet, makes teleworking from Mexico a viable possibility for working-age professionals with portable skills.

Simpler living for retirees in Mexico

If you are thinking about or actively planning for your retirement, Mexico continues to be one of the world’s most popular places for foreign retirees and you can learn more by reading our extensive articles and guides to retirement in Mexico. Provided you meet the financial criteria required to obtain a residency permit, retirement is one of the most straightforward ways to attain legal residency in Mexico.

Simplifying your home life

Land and property prices continue to be affordable in Mexico and the affordability continues even after your purchase, because ownership costs are lower in Mexico than in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Read more about the advantages of lower property ownership costs in Mexico and if you plan to rent a home, you’ll find that Mexico can offer good value to renters, too.  Read our free and regularly-updated guide to real estate in Mexico to learn more about property rental and purchase.

An affordable lifestyle in Mexico

While financial considerations are only part of the criteria people consider as they explore relocation, finances remain a cornerstone of the decision-making process.  For working-age people, lower costs can translate into additional income available for retirement or other savings; and for retirees on fixed incomes, Mexico’s lower basic living costs can make your retirement income stretch further.

Actual living costs will depend on your lifestyle choices and expectations: our Guide to the Cost of Living in Mexico will help you to create a detailed budget based on your individual circumstances.

Resources for living & lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• A section with articles about living simply in Mexico
• Insights for lifestyle planning as you research Mexico
• Extensive articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
• Helpful tips and inspiration for cultivating a home life in Mexico
• A library of free guides about Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free