From a foreigner’s perspective, Mexico used to be pretty straightforward when it came to looking for a place to live.
Most expats generally came to live in Mexico at or near retirement age, and tended to cluster in beach locations like Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen and Los Cabos or inland locations like Ajijic or San Miguel de Allende.
But things are changing — and quickly. Digital nomads are moving to cities, beach locations, and colonial towns. Younger families are making the move to locations throughout the country. More and more people are retiring early and many others are looking for a second home. The number of retired baby boomers increases every day, and it seems like an increasing number of people from all over the world are more adventurous, curious, and willing to try something new at an earlier age than previous generations.
Mexico draws in more Canadian and U.S. residents to live than any other country. It is estimated that over 400,000 Canadian citizens and over 1.6 million U.S. citizens now live in Mexico — and that number only keeps increasing daily.
Places once relatively unheard of for many foreigners are now becoming hotspots for them to live. Querétaro, San Pancho, Mazunte, Oaxaca City, Mérida, Bacalar, Holbox, Guanajuato, Mexico City, Todos Santos, La Paz, Tulum — the list of places being discovered by foreigners just keeps growing.
Which begs the question, with so many options now increasingly accessible and available, how does one even begin to figure out which location makes sense for you? How do you even begin to narrow the list down?
You might not be like your friend that chose Veracruz. You might have loved that beach location that your cruise ship stopped at for 12 hours, but is that really where you want to live? You might have loved that inland city you visited on a work trip, but is that really where you want to live? You might have read a lot about Mexico’s magical colonial towns, but can you really live without a Costco nearby? This whole process is made even more difficult when most people say that they love the location that they have chosen.
Mexico News Daily is very excited to be bringing you a series that will help you more effectively evaluate and rate Mexico’s top places for expat living.
Starting tomorrow, we will have the first in a series of 15+ articles to help you make sense of the many options available. Every Sunday for four months we will do a deep dive, exploring 32 expat-friendly cities across 13 Mexican states. We will rate the cities across key variables such as climate, connectivity, culture, availability of a Costco and more.
No doubt we will rankle many of you with this series. You may disagree with our criteria, you may disagree with our ratings, you may disagree with the cities we selected or didn’t select.
And that’s good! The objective is to get a healthy discussion and debate going.
So take it with a grain of salt, have some fun with it, tell us what we got right and help us understand why you think we got certain things wrong. The idea is to help you better understand and evaluate the different options. And if you already moved to Mexico and didn’t get it right the first time, that’s OK too. We increasingly come across expats who have moved or are thinking of moving from one location to another within Mexico. This guide will help you with that as well.
Perhaps most importantly, have some fun with this and let’s all use it as a chance to help educate, inform and learn from each other.
So buckle up, and get ready for the first article of the series tomorrow and follow the series each Sunday as we explore this diverse country.
Please send us your comments and feedback — while keeping the debate civil and respectful, of course!
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for over 27 years.
You forgot Guadalajara! San Miguel de Allende I have lived there for 7 years and I am leaving the American enclave, in 2 weeks…
We will absolutely be covering Guadalajara. Stay tuned!
9% expats in San Miguel.
It takes effort and determination to live in American ‘enclave’ in SMA. If you didn’t manage to escape it there, don’t expect GDL to be different. In the immortal words of the late Michael Greer, wherever you go, there you are.
Sounds great! I moved to San Pancho and love it November through May but i haven’t decided where to move in Mexico from June through October.
For the last 10 years we have lived in Mazatlán 6 months, have our permanentes and were it not for a business in the states, we think Mexico City would be where we would live the other 6 months!
And if the election in November goes as it looks like it just might, Mexico City may just become a reality!
Can’t wait to get your take on it! We are currently in Playa part of the year but are drawn to Merida these days. And I don’t know about some of your interesting choices.
I’ve been in Mexico City for 6.5 years and love it. Always something to do. Of the more than 150 museums, I’ve visited over 50. I chose Coyoacán for its history, arts and museums, and village like ambiance. Born in Quebec, most of my life in the US, but Mexico is my choice for the future.
Coyoacan! Love this area. My wife and I always stay there when visiting Mexico City. Now retired, we have a home on the Pacific coast of Mexico away from better known cities frequented by expats and tourists. I’ll be curious to see if it gets a mention.
Álamos Sonora Mx a Pueblo Magico, known for its architecture and famous music festival for almost 20 years and still love it. We have owned and operated three colonial hotels and at one time two restaurants and a Gelato store. Never a dull moment.
I hope you’ll include adjacent neighborhoods. We lived 8 great years in Amapas..but traffic, tourists, and issues with sewerage brought us to El Tigre in Nuevo Nayarit. It’s not for everyone, but we don’t miss the cobblestones, and enjoy riding our bikes and the amenities the “burbs” have given us. I’ll bet people in Boca, La Cruz and Bucerias appreciate the the convenience of being close to PV without the stress of living in town.
I’m keeping quiet about where we live……but must say the last thing I’d want is a Costco!
We have two Costcos in Guadalajara. Usually when we go we are among but a handful of expats, the rest are Mexicans. Go see for yourself, Mexicans love Costco. So de we, it is a little taste of home.
Guadalajara has 2 Costcos for 5 million people. The line to pay wraps around the store within 15 minutes of opening. So for you types into that sort of thing part of this article could be how Mexico is underserved.
I hope you plan to cover Cuernavaca and the neighboring area of Tepoztlán in Morelos! Such a great idea to investigate these areas where various groups of expats live (including Brits, French, German, and many other countries). Looking forward to your reporting.
For me, the key issue is language. Do you want to learn Spanish? I live at Lago Chapala. I’ve learned Spanish just as I learned French when I lived in Montreal. Some people have lived at Lakeside for over 40 years and don’t speak a word of Spanish nor do they feel the need. In fact, it is sometimes difficult to speak Spanish because the moment you are perceived as not being totally bilingual, the Mexicans, being the wonderful people they are, switch to English. But, if you are considering Zacatecas or San Luis Potosi and you wish to be immersed in the community, Spanish is an important consideration. For younger people who are able to work remotely, having their children attend bilingual schools is fantastic. My children still maintain their French. When I watch what is happening in my native country., I appreciate the freedom I have enjoyed during my 15 years in Mexico. The Mexican flag flies proudly in front of my house. Ajijic Dave
Montreal is one of the world’s great cities. I go there from Guadalajara. Guadalajara-Los Angeles-Montreal
43 years and counting…. Los Cabos since 1989 and before that Puerto Vallarta for 8 years and then before that Mazatlan for 2 years
Life is really good in Mexico… the sunshine, the people, the food, the culture…. I love it all!
I learned Spanish many decades ago and I am so grateful to have so many Mexican friends that we all laugh when we speak Spanglish together… we have out own language of Spanglish…. it is really a blast.
Please do not mention Ixtapa or Zihuatanejo. Life down here is too good. No more expats required. Stay north where it close to the border.
I hope you include Puerto Penasco/Rocky Point, Sonora. If you want a Costco, it’s in Phoenix or Tucson 200 miles away. We’re 60 miles from the Arizona border, use the healthcare here or in Arizona. We are the best kept secret. House Hunters International filmed here 7 times. Resorts along “Sandy Beach” and a few miles away. We have beach homes, new affordable housing developments springing up all over, and selling. Lots of rentals, many restaurants, Auto Zone, Sam’s Club, snorkel, scuba, water sports, pirate ship, cruises, fresh shrimp and fish! New Walmart being built right now. The growth is stable. Real estate prices are still good. I moved here 18 years ago to sell real estate, love my little casa 6 blocks from the beach. Too many cool things here to name here. I’m open to an interview! I look forward to your new Sunday articles!
Don’t think Costco is an element of a quality home in Mexico.
Should be a riveting series !
I have been in Mazatlan near Centro for better part of 2 years (on and off, I have to attend to business in the UN-united states). I love many parts of Mazatlan, but the layout of the city and infrastructure problems are a bit much and I don’t know the city can continue to grow. if you know it, you know what I mean. The sewage into the ocean (happens elsewhere too) is concerning, the inability to sustain growth and lack of roads and the city flooding with the “agua negra” are pushing me towards a pueblo. I considered the mountains east of here, but without fluent spanish? forget it. I would be a basket case, however I would step up my speed in learning spanish. Many won’t consider the mountains becaue of “the boys” of Sinaloa which are absolutely present. This does not trouble me coming from the USA which has turned into a violence shit-show that tolerates constant shootings and children dying in school yards. However, i would think unless you have a Mexicana spouse or strong ties, one could be easily taken advantage of. Espanol es primero!!! Mazatlan is absolutely (for me) better than PV or the typical gringo holes – if you want to better learn more Mexico culture. This is where Mexicanos come to vacation and I love that.
We live in Chapala (Ajijic adjacent). Didn’t want coast locations because of the heat and humidity in the summer. Surrounded by 25k US/Canadian/others, we are fortunate, since neither of us speak fluent Spanish (and I know we should) and the Mexicanos want to learn English. 45-60 minutes to Guadalajara and Costco, and just the right altitude (Pueblo and CDMX caused me problems). We are very happy here and with the many friends we have made, most likely it would take al ot to get us to move. But I am looking forward to the series.
God made a beautiful world. Mexico might be a part of our life’s journey but certainly not something to be taken overly serious as to which place here is better than others.
I am looking forward to this series of articles. I have been living in MX 6 months of the year, primarily in touristy coastal areas, 80% of the time on the Pacific coast. Our family farming enterprise is in the Midwest and the Pacific coast seems to be the area where I can get the most direct flights. However, the more time spent in MX, the less I want to be surrounded by US tourists. I love exploring and learning the history and culture of MX, and enjoy volunteering with marine animal welfare organizations. I plan to live full time in MX after I fully retire and exactly where has just now started to be a top of mind. I wish I were more of a free spirit and able to wander the Country every 6 or 12 months, but for me, a permanent address is important. I have a 8-10 locations that I have been investigating and I can’t wait to see how your assessment of different locations aligns with my own.
Excellent coverage .