Greater San Miguel de Allende has about 170,000 people and in Centro (the central part of town), there are only about 75,000 people.  I have lived in around eight different places and compared to those places, the standard of living in San Miguel de Allende is incredible.  Most things that we need here are close by. Most things are accessible and the roads are easy. Shipping is not always easy and it has always been an issue but it has changed now because of Amazon. Accessibility of things has probably been the biggest challenge but relevant to the quality of life here, it is great. It is expensive to get into San Miguel because it is a cash market but once you have a house, the cost of living and the availability of things are good. There is less stress when you live here. You will not be stuck in traffic for an hour in the day and an hour at night trying to get home. 

 

Some of the things that attract Americans and Canadians to come here to San Miguel de Allende for a vacation or even to live full time is that the community is smaller and the types of people who can afford and want to be here are a particular type of person who will leave their home and live in a small mountain village in central Mexico so if you live here, you communicate with people who are like-minded.  When I walk from my house to the other street, I might see three people who I know and say, “Hey! How’s it going?” I might also stop into a shop where I know the owner and say, “Hey, how’s your day? Did you do well?” That level of support and interaction and personal connection is huge here in San Miguel de Allende and there is no place that I ever had that. This is unique about San Miguel de Allende. Living here is less stressful, it’s great, and I love it!

 

(Home in centro next to a church, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The standard of living in San Miguel de Allende is like everywhere else- it depends on how much money you have. I have lived very economically where I was paying US $200 a month for rent for a clean, decent apartment that was nice and wasn’t a dump. I had nice neighbors and it was quiet and clean. It was small, but for $200, what would you expect? 

 

I have also paid about $300 a month for an exceptionally nice apartment. It was quite lovely, and that was a good deal. As long as you don’t try to find a place through the Internet, you can get a good deal. If you use the Internet, you’re going to pay twice as much. If you wait until you arrive here, during the high season, you might have trouble trying to find a place, but during any other time of the year, you’re going to have choices for maybe 30% off; it’s going to be a lot cheaper. I highly recommend not finding a place to rent on the Internet, unless you don’t want to save money. If you want to save money, wait until you get here and ask around. Maybe even the realtors will give you good deals, too.  

 

You get more quality for less money in San Miguel de Allende.  An apartment in Davis, in northern California, is going to cost you over a thousand dollars, but you can get a rough equivalent here for maybe $500. In San Miguel de Allende, I’d say that you’re paying less than half for the same quality for an apartment, and maybe with a lot more charm and a lot more interest.

 

As to other components to the standard of living in San Miguel de Allende, we have the Fabrica La Aurora, which has over 50 art galleries with high quality and high end art from really accomplished artists. I’m an artist, so I suppose I’m a little biased. You can go in there any time for free and spend the day walking around. They also have café’s where you could sit and enjoy your coffee, and talk to people.

 

You can also go into the Jardin, where you could sit for free. There are always people to talk to, and they’re friendly. The Jardin is a social place, but if you don’t want to socialize, you can tell people to go away. Most people are approachable and will talk to you if you’re new in town. People are very friendly and you can learn a lot. You can spend the day looking at the beautiful cathedral, sitting under the sun or a shade as you please, and it doesn’t cost a nickel.  

 

(Art Gallery and former factory, Fabrica La Aurora with Best Places in the World to Retire, Jet Metier, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

San Miguel de Allende is a little paradise in itself. The magic of San Miguel is that you never know what’s behind a particular door. The structure may be colonial style from the outside but once you open the door, it can be amazing what you would find.

 

For example, you could find an ordinary wooden door and you don’t really think anything of it. The walls will all be colonial but when you open the door, there could be a big garden inside with very spectacular arches and columns.

 

In San Miguel, there are no stoplights, no billboards, and no stop signs. Everybody does one on one in traffic, which means one car passes and then the other car passes. Each takes turns. That is how they have kept it all these years. It’s very different. 

 

I’ve been in San Miguel for 3 years now and I found it very relaxed and very friendly. Compared to where I came from in South Montreal, the lifestyle here in San Miguel is completely different. Everybody in the First World Countries are running but here in San Miguel, you relax. I have a friend from New Jersey who came here for a few days. He said, “What should we do? There is nothing to do here” And I said, “That’s it. Hang in there.” After 4 or 5 days, he started saying, “Wow, I really like it. I got it!”  

 

(Walled patio, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)