Retiring in/emigrating to Mexico

[roughneckin]

Dang. My wife must look like a real outlaw cause she didn’t run into any issues while aimlessly wandering through central Mexico for almost 2 months. No one bothered her at all except the one old lady selling tacos on the street that gave her the trots. That dang woman!!! Don’t look for issues and a majority of the time it won’t find you.

That being said we’re looking at Provonce, France for partial retirement, so yeah.

[Hooter]

Retiring in a 3rd world country has its benefits (warm weather, cheap food and drink, etc), but it all comes at a cost (crime, crooked police, expensive health care). My aunt and uncle own a home in Costa Rica and got in to a car accident last year (the other person rear ended them at a red light). A year later and they’re no closer to getting their money from insurance, and they’ve resorted to the fact that they probably won’t see it either.

On top of the “sketchy” stuff, they don’t speak Spanish so trying to get things done (tv, phone, repairs, etc) is a real PITA and many times the repair man never comes...

My aunt and uncle have travelled all over the world and looked at many option before deciding to purchase a place in Costa Rica because they loved the weather and figured the banks and finances of the country were stable, but they’ve had a number of issues as well.

Personally, you’ll never see me live in a 3rd world country when I retire; it just doesn’t seem worth the risk or the pain in the @ss factor. When I retire I want to feel safe going to the grocery store or to the local pub and not have to worry about getting mugged or trying to get someone to fix my car or tv.

[omega50]

My buddy has now retired in Mismaloya.Lives in a condo complex owned by mostly Canadians that were working together in the patch. Bought their condos many years ago as a group at a discount way back when the peso was being devalued and most Mexican owners were dumping their properties. Safety and comfort in numbers.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by ORV

we watched a w5 one on the mayan riveria. changed our mind about going
back there.
we have been to p.v & bucerias 5 times in the last few years
feel very comfortable there. mind you we don't hit night clubs in the city at 1.00 a.m either lol
I believe there is a board member whose mother winters in bucerias & loves it
that would be the only place we would consider in mexico.
i.m.o.

Orv.

My next door neighbors have been vacationing in Mexico for a number of years now, in fact we are watching their place for them as I write this because they there now, or more likely, on their way home.

At any rate, they love the place and have no concerns returning. But they are not spend much time there when they go, and they are staying in tourist destinations.

A person moving there to retire is not likely to be living at one of those tourist destinations.

For my part, I have no interest in ever going to Mexico or any other tourist destination. My idea of a great place to retire would be more like Prince Rupert or maybe Vancouver Island.
So I might be more critical of the place then others would be.

[Unregistered user]

WCVI has always been my first choice and probably will be where I end up but we were in San Felipe with friends who own there and have had property for 3 decades and love it. The major income for the area is snowbirds and full time expats from USA and Canada. Very friendly people there, lots to do, my pension income will not get raped the way it does here by the taxman. Summer will be too hot for this gringo so I'd still need to go elsewhere to cool off for a few months. We're still in the mulling it over stage but one thing that impresses me is the lack of bull**** rules and regulations, we are over-governed, over-regulated and over-taxed here. There you can drive your uninsured unregistered off-roader into town, grab supplies and then burn off into the Baja desert and be free. Try that in AB , especially on any long weekend.

[Weedy1]

Here's a tool for those contemplating retirement in other areas of the world. Not sure how accurate it is but interesting nevertheless.

https://www.numbeo.com/crime/comparison.jsp

[igorot]

Been living half my life in a third world country and half of it here in Canada. Try to live in the place where you want to retire to get the feel of it and decide from there.

When ever I go back I have to do some adjustment on the way I do things. I can still blend in locally. How much more to a person who is a minority no pun intended.

Arrogance is the most common thing I have seen expat do that get them into trouble in a foreign country.

Remember that local crime cannot even be solve by the authorities