How's the economy in San Miguel de Allende?

The economy of San Miguel de Allende depends a lot on tourism. The previous administration of this town did a wonderful job as far as promoting San Miguel outside of Mexico. One of the biggest achievements that San Miguel received a couple of years ago was being named the number one destination for Conde Naste Traveler Magazine. If you talk to people who are in the vacation rental business, they’re going to tell you that they are renting very well and that they are renting...

The economy of San Miguel de Allende depends a lot on tourism. The previous administration of this town did a wonderful job as far as promoting San Miguel outside of Mexico. One of the biggest achievements that San Miguel received a couple of years ago was being named the number one destination for Conde Naste Traveler Magazine. If you talk to people who are in the vacation rental business, they’re going to tell you that they are renting very well and that they are renting throughout the year, especially during the winter season when all the snowbirds decide to escape the cold up north. The city becomes packed and all the rentals and hotels are doing great.  

 

A few years ago, San Miguel became one of the top national destination for weddings. It is also popular in some parts of the US as a wedding destination. Weddings in San Miguel have a very interesting format because they include a processional where people walk around town with huge paper mache mascots. You walk around town with them and with a group of musicians that is traditional to Spain and in Mexico. Then there is a donkey that has bottles of tequila on each side. So weddings here are like a small carnival.

 

Aside from that, we have beautiful churches, beautiful views, and great accommodations. All that has made San Miguel one of the top national wedding destinations. The wedding industry has brought San Miguel another type of tourism. We would have 2-day or 3-day visitors who would stay at a hotel or a home, goes to restaurants, and buys from the local stores here. This happens throughout the year. When you talk to people who are in the wedding industry, they will tell you that they are doing GREAT! If you talk to restaurateurs, they’ll tell you that they are doing well, too, but there are some restaurants that are doing better than others and that probably is more about their food than it is about the San Miguel as a destination. 

 

As far as real estate is concerned, we have seen an increase for demand and the inventory has been reduced from last year to this year at all price points. The most expensive price point for a home in San Miguel is in between $2 and $3 million. You can find homes that are more expensive than that but you can still find a handful of $2 million properties. After 2008 and crash of the economy and the housing problem in the US, San Miguel was very linked to what happened but at that time, real estate prices in San Miguel came down a little bit and the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Mexican peso was low. As a result, the Mexican market started buying in San Miguel more than ever. At that point, when the Americans were not buying at all in San Miguel, the Mexican market was what kept San Miguel afloat. Now that Mexican market is still here because San Miguel became a hot destination throughout Mexico. San Miguel became hot for a specific type of profile; people who are more into culture than getting drunk in the beach. San Miguel has a very good filter because not everyone would find San Miguel as a hot destination.

 

Generally, the real estate market in San Miguel is doing very well and it has been constantly improving since 2008. We haven’t had a year worse than a year before so that has been good for us. As far as tourism is concerned, it is also doing well. Most of the other aspects of the economy of San Miguel is mirroring what happens with tourism.

 

(Fiesta time in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The economy here is San Miguel de Allende is based primarily on tourism, which refers to the things that Mexicans do to tap into that economy, for example, selling artwork. The rest of the economy would be based on services that are provided to the foreign community. 

 

We live in a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant economy. It’s a safe community where there is a high level of employment. The fact that we have so many foreign residents living here...

The economy here is San Miguel de Allende is based primarily on tourism, which refers to the things that Mexicans do to tap into that economy, for example, selling artwork. The rest of the economy would be based on services that are provided to the foreign community. 

 

We live in a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant economy. It’s a safe community where there is a high level of employment. The fact that we have so many foreign residents living here has raised the level of income and the economy here in San Miguel de Allende. 

 

The Mexicans here are very eager to educate the foreign community about Mexican traditions, culture, and food, which are enjoyed by most of the foreign residents who live here in San Miguel de Allende. There are foreigners here who get to know Mexicans, and the Mexican families embrace them and teach them about the Mexican tradition. 

 

Because of the high number of foreign residents here in San Miguel de Allende, more jobs are made available to the Mexicans, including, but not limited to, gardening work, housekeeping, property rental management, and home care. There are a lot of different service opportunities available to the Mexicans, especially to those who speak some English. The American families who come to live here are usually very grateful for the help that they receive from their gardeners and housekeepers, and the Americans often also provide work opportunities or employment to other members of the families of the Mexicans who work for them. 

 

However, the foreign residents who live here have also caused some harm in the sense that all of the rents and a lot of the services are quoted in US dollars, which negatively affects the Mexicans who do not earn in US dollars. 

 

If you were to take out all of the expats, the foreign residents, and the snowbirds here, San Miguel de Allende would still have a tourism-based economy. We still have a lot of Mexicans who come to San Miguel de Allende, and San Miguel de Allende is known for its sale of art, culture, and cuisine.

 

(Courtyard of Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The economy in San Miguel de Allende is really booming, and it’s changing. Because San Miguel de Allende has been very, very popular with weekend Mexican visitors, the weekends are jammed with people. San Miguel de Allende is also getting a lot of attention from the press internationally, so we’ve got a lot of foreigners coming in to vacation and to spend time. 

 

The mainstay of the economy of San Miguel de Allende that used to be very...

The economy in San Miguel de Allende is really booming, and it’s changing. Because San Miguel de Allende has been very, very popular with weekend Mexican visitors, the weekends are jammed with people. San Miguel de Allende is also getting a lot of attention from the press internationally, so we’ve got a lot of foreigners coming in to vacation and to spend time. 

 

The mainstay of the economy of San Miguel de Allende that used to be very American or tourist-driven is still there and increasing, and the weekends are very busy, so businesses are doing really well. The businesses that are here are mainly service businesses- hotels, restaurants, real estate, etc. 

 

Mexicans have been coming to San Miguel de Allende to vacation forever. San Miguel de Allende is a beautiful town, and it has become very trendy. There’s a big wedding business. There are a lot of weddings with a lot of people every weekend. The weddings tend to be quite grand- wealthy folks have big, high-end weddings and the hotels are full, there’s music all night, there are lots of fancy cars, and there are bodyguards coming in for the weekend. There are also small weddings. People come in large groups, so it’s a big influx. It’s very cool.   

 

(Painting of a Mexican couple, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The economy in San Miguel de Allende is definitely growing because more and more houses are being built here and more and more people are moving to San Miguel and opening up businesses. There are now more restaurants and more shopping options.

 

As an example, in the past, if you needed to buy a mattress, there was only one store that you could go to but now you have several options.

 

San Miguel is definitely growing and growth...

The economy in San Miguel de Allende is definitely growing because more and more houses are being built here and more and more people are moving to San Miguel and opening up businesses. There are now more restaurants and more shopping options.

 

As an example, in the past, if you needed to buy a mattress, there was only one store that you could go to but now you have several options.

 

San Miguel is definitely growing and growth means that the economy is doing well. People are buying things here and people are buying homes and that shows that the economy is doing well.

 

Tourism is the main component of industry here in San Miguel and it is growing towards Queretaro and Dolores Hidalgo along Highway 51, etc. Some companies from the US are building plants and facilities for fresh produce industries and they are building very close to San Miguel. We also have the Poligono Industrial, which is an industrial area between Queretaro and San Miguel. More and more companies from Germany, Korea, and Japan are moving into this industrial area. But a lot of people prefer to live in San Miguel than in Queretaro and they are buying here.  

 

(In Centro by the cathedral, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

Readers, you might have already guessed that tourism is a big chunk of the GDP of San Miguel de Allende; about 85% of it in fact.  And while we have been a tourist destination for Americans since the 1940’s, the Mexican nationals living within a three hour drive have in the last four years really “rediscovered” this magical little village where many of them come to escape their 30 million neighbors in Mexico City.

 

Tourism and the...

Readers, you might have already guessed that tourism is a big chunk of the GDP of San Miguel de Allende; about 85% of it in fact.  And while we have been a tourist destination for Americans since the 1940’s, the Mexican nationals living within a three hour drive have in the last four years really “rediscovered” this magical little village where many of them come to escape their 30 million neighbors in Mexico City.

 

Tourism and the resulting economic impact has boosted the city’s coffers substantially, as has the presence of dollar-rich Americans and the city has now instigated an acquisition tax for all home purchases, which also helps the local economy substantially.  And although many of the Mexican nationals have suffered from the loss in strength of the Mexican peso (as I write this we are at about 18.5 pesos to the dollar, up from the decades-long exchange rate of about 11 pesos to the dollar when I moved here eight years ago), the influx of international tourism dollars and spending by resident expats keeps this city far healthier than many of the less famous pueblos.