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

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

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.

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.

Get help to plan your approach when you apply for residency in Mexico and practical facilitation assistance as you make your way through procedures related to applying for and managing your residency status in Mexico.

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

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 as Mexican consulates have not adopted the ‘UMA’ measure (that replaces Minimum Wage) as a means of calculating qualification criteria. Learn more about UMA as part of residency qualification.

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

The things you need to live well, to live comfortably, and to live simply are here.  They probably aren’t in the shapes and forms that you’re used to seeing; and how they manifest themselves might be different and, at first, alien to your customs.  This journey of discovery is one that you’ll have to undertake consciously if you intend to create a new lifestyle for yourself in Mexico.

Full adoption of any foreign country requires compromise, acceptance, and understanding.  Moving to Mexico will oblige you to change habits, surrender certain whims, and accept life for what it is, not what you wish it or demand it to be.  In return, Mexico could gift new dimensions to your life, for example, by encouraging you to see beyond your current horizon, and connecting you to friends of the kind you never thought possible.

You will witness the kindnesses and wickedness of human nature as the well-documented contrasts present themselves regularly.  Situations here will at times frustrate you or annoy you; sometimes they will appear to tease you for no apparent reason.

Mexico can also fill you with an energy and joy that will remain in you always.  It’s this spontaneous tapestry that creates the almost mystical allure that has brought foreigners to live here, and live out their lives here, for better and for worse, for centuries.  And when —or more precisely, if— you can find peace with all that Mexico is and all that Mexico is not, you will begin to find your place in these lands. If you don’t or discover that you can’t tread that testing path and adapt, Mexico will surely break your endeavors and send you back whence you came.

You might choose a big city, a home in the mountains, or perhaps you’ll find a tranquil place to live beside the ocean, or in the Mexican countryside.  The topographical diversity here offers ample choice of locations.

Whatever location you choose, your true place, when you find it in Mexico, will be anchored in the spaces that you will come to adore but which you cannot easily define, and in the feelings you hold for them which cannot be easily expressed.

It has been said that Mexico deposits a certain dust on visitors’ shoes that will cause them to return for good, or never again.  The allegory fits well with the contrasts so often cited in lore, but it would be foolhardy to encapsulate that thing, that indefinable attendance which attracts and repels so many to these complex and absorbing lands, in such black-and-white terms.  To adapt, you’ll need to turn up with an open mind, with courage and tenacity, and be prepared to craft your own story here—on Mexico’s terms.

If what you’re seeing on the news keeps you away from Mexico, your perceptions have been hijacked before you allowed yourself an opportunity to better understand these lands, and see what others here see: a country in transition, a country which is, by and large, less violent than those places where stones are so readily thrown from glass houses.

Finding your place in Mexico requires due course.  There are no shortcuts, no tricks or cheats to download, no instant answers.  And as you embark on this journey you’ll never quite understand how irrelevant all your preconceptions are to become as Mexico simultaneously encourages and obliges you to find your peace amidst its contrasts and eccentricities.

If you come to truly embrace Mexico, as its closest friends who are foreign-born to these lands do, it will most likely be through a baptism of fire that will test your character, your mettle, and your heart; through a journey of discovery that brings you to being each day and a knowing within that here is where your life belongs.

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:

• Helpful articles to help you plan your Mexico lifestyle
• Insights and tips for settling-in and cultivating a life here
• Detailed information about seeking residency in Mexico
• Detailed guides to cultivating your life and lifestyle in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

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

Key reasons why Mexico is attractive to retirees

The country’s popularity as a retirement destination is underpinned by a variety of key elements and characteristics that are especially attractive to retirees, which include:

• agreeable year-round climates;
• a variety of location types to choose from;
• a warm and welcoming culture that also offers the enjoyment of experiencing unusual traditions and celebrations that are nevertheless quite familiar;
• ready access to transport infrastructure, including modern roads and international airports;
• well-established communities of existing foreign resident retirees;
• a wide range of local services and amenities to support day-to-day retirement lifestyles;
• affordable access to world-class health and well-being facilities;
• access to local markets bursting with color and selling delicious fresh produce; and, amidst all this—
• affordability—a retirement pension can stretch further in Mexico.

Retirement lifestyles underpinned by key benefits

People who arrive in Mexico to live and retire here can lead active, healthy, lifestyles underpinned by Mexico’s agreeable climates, first-class amenities, and affordable living costs.  Some who have come to retire in Mexico and consider the country their natural home comment on how they value and appreciate their enjoyable lifestyles and activities, and how they feel settled, safe, and content in Mexico.

When you’re considering a move to Mexico it makes sense to take a step back and:

• consider your approach to a lifestyle in Mexico;
• define your intentions and know what’s motivating you to move here;
• be mindful about where in Mexico to live, taking care to match your true needs with the locations you consider;
• consider the requirements for legal residency;
• plan to deal with essential matters related to settling-in and adapting to a new culture and lifestyle in Mexico: by yourself, or with your partner or family.

Learn more about retirement lifestyles in Mexico

Begin exploring your choices for a new and different life in Mexico:

• Key factors to consider as you plan your lifestyle in Mexico
• Latest articles about retirement in Mexico
• Latest articles and insights about Mexico lifestyle planning
• Key resources for planning a new lifestyle in Mexico
• Exploring potential locations to live in Mexico
• Learn about acquiring legal residency in Mexico
• Our Home Life section shares detailed practical insights about day-to-day living matters in Mexico

How you approach a potential move to Mexico, or approach changes to your lifestyle if you’re already here, will usually depend on your personality and the evolving priorities of your life situation.

Approaches to living in Mexico

Some people may throw caution to the wind and make an impulsive move to Mexico; others might pass through the logistical mechanics of a move here without carefully considering what propelled them to do so in the first place—perhaps due to extenuating or serendipitous circumstances.  Some people make a detailed plan, perhaps years in advance.

Taking a step back to reflect on what is motivating you to consider moving abroad, and Mexico in particular —and through that, defining your lifestyle intentions— will help to underpin some of the most important choices you make in relation to your move.

If you’re already living here, this exercise can serve a means to reflect upon and redefine your priorities and reorganize your situations in Mexico, if necessary.

Whether Mexico will suit you depends on a range of factors; some you might be able to foresee, and others you will not be able to grasp until you come here and begin to settle in and cultivate your new life amidst the charms and challenges that Mexico will present to you.

Familiarity helps

To have some idea about how you might cope with living in Mexico, you ought to have visited the country, probably more than once. Although there are success stories involving ‘love at first sight’ situations and impulsive decisions that led to a successful long-term residency and settlement here, don’t underestimate the effort it takes to adopt Mexico as your home country and settle-in here.

For some, the move is propelled by work situations: perhaps your company is relocating you to Mexico. If this is the case, the resources here on Mexperience will help you to get a thorough grounding in Mexican culture and prepare you for your move to Mexico.

Choosing a place to live in Mexico

If you know Mexico already, then you are likely to have a clearer impression about what location or region you might prefer to live in.

Some people are clear about the location where they want to live in Mexico through previous knowledge of being there, local connections they have, or simply a ‘gut feel.’

If Mexico is new to you, and you don’t have any friends or family here, then your approach will require more research, or your ability and willingness to experiment and adapt to new environments.

Another approach is to spend a few months or perhaps a couple of years traveling to various places in Mexico, renting homes along the way, to find a place that feels right.  This approach consumes more time and resources, but can be part of an adventure, or a sabbatical period of reflection to help you consider your life situation, needs and priorities.

The ‘structured approach’ is to research potential places to live, including recommendations from friends or family if you have those connections here, make a short-list, visit the places on your short-list for a time, and afterwards decide which one to move to for the longer term.

Mexperience publishes articles that help you to consider your location in regard to your lifestyle needs, as well as a series that helps you to discover and explore specific places in Mexico for living and working or retirement.

Financial considerations

Some foreigners approach a move to Mexico as a way of simplifying their lifestyle and reducing their living expenses.

While you can live simply and affordably in Mexico, financial reasons ought not to be the primary concern propelling your decision. Mexico can be affordable and offers good value but it’s not the ‘cheap’ destination paraded by some magazines and websites.

Our detailed guides to the cost of living in Mexico help you to get in-depth insights and plan a sensible and realistic budget based on your life stage, lifestyle choices, and your own unique life situation.

Learning Spanish is important

Spanish is Mexico’s official language, and although English is widely spoken in certain places, to get the most from your lifestyle experiences in Mexico —to get full access to the culture, and to ultimately settle-in properly— you will need to learn Spanish.

If you plan to live in Mexico, regardless of your approach to the change, you ought have or develop at least a basic conversational level of Spanish, and there is no better place to learn or improve your Spanish than by being present here in Mexico.

Mexperience connects you to helpful resources for learning Spanish including our detailed PinPoint Spanish series and connections to Spanish language courses.

Further research and resources

Whether Mexico is right for you and your lifestyle, only you and your partner/family can know—and you’ll probably need to come here and live for a while to learn the answer to that question.

Through research you can begin to make informed choices and commit to or abandon certain approaches with more confidence—and Mexperience offers you wealth of local insights and knowledge as well connections to people who can help you.

• Matching your lifestyle needs with your location
• Your motivations for moving to Mexico
• Influencing factors as you choose a place to live
• Finding your place in Mexico
• Discover places to live in Mexico
• Resources for planning a lifestyle in Mexico
• Principal routes to legal residency in Mexico
• Simple living in Mexico
• Learning Spanish
• Latest articles about lifestyles in Mexico