What are the worst reasons to retire to Mexico?
Gary Coles - Paradise For Gringos
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I love Mexico and am loving my life in this vibrant and beautiful country. There is so much to see and do. It is difficult to think of any reasons you would not want to retire here. But here are my top 10 of the Worst reasons to retire to Mexico
1. --- In my opinion there is no worst reason, so I am deliberately leaving number one blank.
2. Mexico...
I love Mexico and am loving my life in this vibrant and beautiful country. There is so much to see and do. It is difficult to think of any reasons you would not want to retire here. But here are my top 10 of the Worst reasons to retire to Mexico
1. --- In my opinion there is no worst reason, so I am deliberately leaving number one blank.
2. Mexico is too close to friends and family. --- Most people see it as an advantage to be so close to the United States and Canada, but there are a few who wish they could be much further away.
3. Mexico is too far from friends and family. --- When you move to a foreign country, you are no longer right across the street or town, so naturally some people will not like it here. Of course, this is true even if you move to the other side of your home country.
4. There are other great countries for retirement --- Some people move here and then realize there are other great countries. For example, many retirees love Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador or Portugal.
5. Some people are not happy anywhere. --- If you are unhappy in your home country and/or you are trying to get away from problems, moving to a foreign country is probably not the solution. 6. Spanish language. --- It is the dominant language and maybe you feel uncomfortable because you do not speak it. You really don’t need to speak Spanish. If you move to San Miguel de Allende, Rosarito, Chapala, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Tijuana or many other cities, you will find neighborhoods where you will hear more English than Spanish. I also know one person who has lived here for almost 30 years and I think he knows five words in Spanish: hola (hello), por favor (please), gracias (thank you), baño (bathroom) and cerveza (beer). He does just fine and loves Mexico. It is nice to speak the language and you can learn a lot in a short time, especially if you love the country and its people.
7. Not the same as back home. -- Some people move here and expect everything to be the same. They expect the homes to look the same, the foods to be the same and the culture to be the same. Fortunately, it is different 
and most of us love the new exciting life we find in foreign countries.
and most of us love the new exciting life we find in foreign countries. 8. You may miss your old hobbies and interests and your old friends.
9. You may not like the climate. -- But Mexico has almost any climate somewhere in the country, unless you really enjoy city streets covered with tons of ice and snow.
10. Maybe you hate Mariachi music and bullfights and iguanas.
Certainly, Mexico is not for everyone. But most of us, who have moved here, love the country.
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The photos are of a bull in Tijuana, me with an iguana in Puerto Vallarta, and a cafe in Alvarado, Veracruz.
Posted February 2, 2016
Joan Silver
One of the worst reasons to retire in Mexico for a husband and wife, is retiring for different reasons. If they don’t agree with each other’s reason to retire in Mexico, what happens is either the couple separates or they decide to return back to Canada or the United States. For example, the wife wants to come here and says, “I raised my family and now it’s my turn to do what I want such as painting, traveling and writing.”...
One of the worst reasons to retire in Mexico for a husband and wife, is retiring for different reasons. If they don’t agree with each other’s reason to retire in Mexico, what happens is either the couple separates or they decide to return back to Canada or the United States. For example, the wife wants to come here and says, “I raised my family and now it’s my turn to do what I want such as painting, traveling and writing.” The husband comes along but finds it very difficult to stay in Mexico and ends up losing his title or identity of who he was before he retired. It happens in retirement in general, when they don’t have the same status back home with their friends and colleagues as when they were working.
(Craftroom in Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 3, 2017
Nancy Howze - CDR Bienes Raices San Miguel, SC
The first thing that comes to my mind about the worst reason to retire in Mexico would be the worst reason to retire anywhere, and that’s because you’re trying to be away from yourself, because you always take yourself with you. If you think it’s going to be perfect here in Mexico, it’s not. If you are a total perfectionist and you move to Mexico, you would not be happy because this isn’t a country of perfection. If you...
The first thing that comes to my mind about the worst reason to retire in Mexico would be the worst reason to retire anywhere, and that’s because you’re trying to be away from yourself, because you always take yourself with you. If you think it’s going to be perfect here in Mexico, it’s not. If you are a total perfectionist and you move to Mexico, you would not be happy because this isn’t a country of perfection. If you want everything to be very precise, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want it to be very precise, then you need to be in a place where precision is a aboundingly important and available. Everything in Mexico is hand made. The iron doors in my office are handmade, so they’re not air tight.
(Home with a view of the canyon and riverbed outside San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted February 7, 2017
Iona Chamberlin - Hacienda San Pedro Nohpat
It would be one of the worst reasons to retire in Mexico if you’re too set in your ways and you are used to a certain type of system, in which case you should just stay in your system. If you’re on a journey in life and you want to have new experiences and live a little bit out of the box, then Mexico is a great experience. I know lots of people who came to Yucatan, where I live, and left. Maybe because it was too hot, or they missed...
It would be one of the worst reasons to retire in Mexico if you’re too set in your ways and you are used to a certain type of system, in which case you should just stay in your system. If you’re on a journey in life and you want to have new experiences and live a little bit out of the box, then Mexico is a great experience. I know lots of people who came to Yucatan, where I live, and left. Maybe because it was too hot, or they missed their family, or they just couldn’t understand why the plumber didn’t show up on Tuesday at 10 o’clock, or the garbage wasn’t picked up Thursday at 6. Certain people have too high expectations, but those same problems happen in Canada.
There are times that things just happen for whatever reason, or don’t happen for whatever reason. Mexicans actually have a very good social medical system that local people complain about. Canada has a very good medical system that Canadians complain about. That’s all the same rationale- that the system is really slow, that they wait too long to see a doctor, but at least in Mexico, you can go to private clinics and get treatment right away and it’s cheap.
We have a one type of medical system in Canada that’s comprehensive. In Mexico, it’s like a 2-type system: you can be in the system, or you can pay and have what you want when you want it, and when you’re in the second type, it’s relatively inexpensive. A lot of people from Canada come here to have certain surgeries done or for certain kinds of procedures.
(A little boy and his horse in front of Iona Chamberlain's Hacienda San Pedro Nohpat, outside of Merida, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted March 17, 2017
Yvon Marier - Travel Info Mexico
One of the worst reasons to retire to Mexico is expecting Mexico to be exactly like Canada or the US. That’s one of the reasons why sometimes things may not work out for some people when they move to Mexico. We have to understand that Mexico is a different country, that Mexicans have a different culture- a beautiful culture-- and that we need to learn to adapt. A lot of people come to Mexico and want to change everything, but that’s not going to happen. One of the worst reasons to retire to Mexico is expecting Mexico to be exactly like Canada or the US. That’s one of the reasons why sometimes things may not work out for some people when they move to Mexico. We have to understand that Mexico is a different country, that Mexicans have a different culture- a beautiful culture-- and that we need to learn to adapt. A lot of people come to Mexico and want to change everything, but that’s not going to happen. There are people who are forced to retire to Mexico because they don’t have enough money for a retirement in Canada or in the US. Sometimes, the pension that the residents of Canada and the United States receive is so small that they can barely survive in Canada or in the US. The solution that some people find is coming to Mexico. They come to Mexico to find a better lifestyle but don’t want to adjust to the Mexican culture. That has a big impact on some people.
In addition, retiring to Mexico without the willingness to adapt to its beautiful culture and people is also one of the worst reasons to retire to Mexico. Here in Mexico, everything is lovely, but if you don’t want that, then you’re not going to be happy.
(Outside of a typical small store in Mexico, pictured.)
Posted July 28, 2017
Michael Eager - La Nueva Posada Hotel & Restaurant
One of the worst reasons to retire to Mexico is to come here when you are on the run from the law, debts, or something else. Over the years, I've run into a lot of unsavory characters. A lot of people get this idea in their minds that they're going to live on next to nothing when they move to Mexico. If you're willing to live on the other side of Lake Chapala in a little hidden away village in the middle of nowhere, you can find a place to rent for 750 pesos...
One of the worst reasons to retire to Mexico is to come here when you are on the run from the law, debts, or something else. Over the years, I've run into a lot of unsavory characters. A lot of people get this idea in their minds that they're going to live on next to nothing when they move to Mexico. If you're willing to live on the other side of Lake Chapala in a little hidden away village in the middle of nowhere, you can find a place to rent for 750 pesos (US $42) a month. However, I don't think most people would last very long living in that type of atmosphere. People looking for a super bargain and extremely cheap cost of living would be one of the worst reasons to retire to Mexico.
A lot of expats want their creature comforts. Right now, the number one creature comfort is the Internet. If people don't have access to the Internet, it affects their lifestyle. Another one is television. Expats are affected if they don't have access to American or Canadian programs. At first, it may be fun even without these creature comforts. However, as time goes by, you would have all this free time on your hands so you would want to have these creature comforts.
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It's a mistake that a lot of people make when they have this idea, "I'm only getting $600 a month on Social Security and I'm going to be able to live on this for the rest of my life." It is less expensive in Mexico, but not absurdly less expensive.
When you go into the grocery store, things cost the same in Mexico as they would in the United States. The difference would be getting better quality products at a much better price in Mexico when buying locally grown, harvested, and sun-ripened products such as fruits and vegetables. Across the board, canned goods, meat products, and fish costs more in Mexico than in the United States.
However, the cost of healthcare in Mexico is a fraction of the cost of healthcare in America. For example, the cost to see my local doctor here in Mexico is 250 pesos ($15). The cost of a doctor's visit in the US is $100, if not more, and this is after you pay $1,000 per month on insurance.
The other day I took my daughter to a high-end restaurant in Guadalajara. I know the wholesale costs because I’m in the restaurant business. Traditionally what we do in the restaurant business is that the base cost is multiplied by three plus the value added tax. In the restaurant in Guadalajara, I was just floored because they used the equation base cost times seven and still added on the tax. It was like going to a restaurant in the States or Canada. I was blown away at how expensive it was. Eating out in restaurants in Mexico can be very expensive.
I know so many people who say, "I'm going to go to Mexico because it's cheap." It's not as cheap in Mexico as they think, but costs are fair. In the final analysis when you calculate your utilities, groceries, eating out in restaurants twice a week, Mexican Seguro Popular or Seguro Voluntario health insurance, and car insurance, you could live a lot less in Mexico than what you would be spending in the United States or Canada. However, this should not be a valid reason to move to Mexico. Your money will go a lot further, but there's been overhype as to how cheap it is to live in Mexico.
I remember this fellow years ago who produced a book and published restaurant prices. This was when Mexico was bouncing through hyperinflation and hyper devaluation consistently. Two years after the book was published, people would come to Mexican restaurants published in this book looking for that 13-peso ($0.75) Margarita and it didn't exist anymore. During the time the author published that book, you could live on $250 a month in Mexico.
Your cost of living in Mexico depends on where you want to live. If you're willing to live like the local Mexicans, you can live on next to nothing. You can live like a local king on $500 a month. However, most expats wouldn't want to live like the locals.
(The restaurant at La Posada Nueva, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted December 10, 2017