Most everyone knows Mexico is a great place to retire — for decades now people from the U.S., Canada and beyond have been moving to the country. It’s hard to go anywhere nowadays, from the tiniest beach towns to the most remote mountain communities, and not find foreign retirees making Mexico their new home.
Since the COVID pandemic, younger digital nomads have also begun to flock to the country in increasingly greater numbers. Several neighborhoods in Mexico City have become ground zero for digital nomads, bringing with them the good and bad that comes with a sudden large influx of newcomers. But it’s not just Mexico City: Digital nomads have also settled in cities large and small throughout the country.
So the country is now full of foreigners over 55 and under 35 … but what about those in between? The perception for most people has historically been that, as a foreigner, you can’t raise your kids in Mexico. I remember once hearing a foreign visitor expressing shock that the expat woman she was talking to had given birth to her children in Mexico. The expat sarcastically replied, “Believe it or not, Mexicans have babies too!”
So what about that perception? Is it “confidently wrong”? Is Mexico actually a viable place for foreigners to consider raising and schooling their kids? And if so, where? And at what ages? How is it similar or different from schooling in other countries? And how are expat kids schooled here different than their family and friends back home — socially, culturally and even emotionally?
It is with that background that we bring you the second season of “Confidently Wrong: Raising Expat Kids in Mexico.” Each episode of this season will dive into “confidently wrong” assumptions about raising and schooling kids in Mexico. We will bring you interviews with parents, teachers, administrators and kids. We will share their stories with you and you will hear, in their own words, what the experience was like.
We’re not doing vague hot takes or “Mexico is perfect” soundbites. We’re sharing what people wish they’d known, what surprised them, what was harder than expected, and what ended up being better than they imagined. You will hear it in their own words — how they chose schools, how kids adapted (or didn’t), what community looked like, and what they’d do differently if they started over.
This season is not meant to tell you that raising kids in Mexico is better or worse than in your home country. It is meant to inform, educate, entertain and help ensure that you are not making decisions based on “confidently wrong” assumptions. We have worked hard to bring you a very wide range of perspectives on the topic, and if you’ve ever even considered Mexico with kids, you’ll want to hear these conversations before you decide anything. Check out the first episode (available on Spotify here or YouTube here) in which we frame up what is coming in Season 2 — it’s going to be very fun!
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.
