Thinking of relocating to Mexico, anyone here that lives or lived there?

[converted_democrat]

Any info, good or bad would be helpful.. Thanks in advance.

[sarahinmexico]

1. I would highly recommend it

I'm not sure what your motivation is, however I lived there for about 3 years and plan on returning as soon as I have finished school. I found it very safe, culturally diverse, economical, in short I loved it. I lived in Guanajuato, Guanajuato and would love to answer any questions.

[converted_democrat]

2. I'm looking at the Western Coast of Mexico..

I like the east side, but I don't hurricanes.. Couple of simple questions.. How much does it take to survive in a "comfortable" lifestyle?? Can an American own a business?? Do they like Americans? And lastly, what do you have to do to become a permanent resident, or stay long term?

[sarahinmexico]

3. I haven't lived on the coast so...

I am unsure how different it is from central mexico. As far as owning a business I'll get a hold of a friend and ask her how she did it. My understanding is that 51% must be owned by a mexican national. Everywhere I have traveled I have gotten very good feedback from the mexican population. At the best you are a good friend with answers to questions about the US and someone with which to have great debates, and at worst your an oddity (in the indigenous areas) but not disliked. A comfortable lifestyle, depending on what your accustomed to and where you live can be had for about $700(US) a month. Most of the singles that I met lived on around 500(US) and were able to travel and have fun. My visa had to be renewed annually. The main sticking point was that you have to prove that you are doing a job that a typical mexican would not be qualified for, hence the numbers of foreigners teaching English. Some companies will sponsor your visa and streamline the process others don't care if you have one or not. I don't know how helpful I have been, however I would like to share how much living in Mexico impacted my life. I met some of the best friends I will ever have and found a culturally vibrant country. If you have any more questions feel free to ask, I know I can be a bit long winded.
:shrug:

[dfwguy]

4. San Miguel Allende keeps showing up on "best " lists

We are thinking of doing the same - San Miguel de Allende keeps showing up on various "best places" in live Mexico- same with Guadalajuara..I love Mexico City- but it's changed (for the worse) over the last 20 years or so - and now sadly can't recommend it :(

[RadiDem]

6. Yech

Both San Miguel and GDL are full of older wealthy and semi-wealthy Americans - many of whom don't even interact with the native Mexicans unless they have to. They have their 'own' restaurants, clubs etc. I met an American couple in San Miguel who were proud of having lived there for 10+ years and never needing (or wanting) to learn Spanish.

As far as non-beach cities go, I second the recommendation on Guanajato. It is a cultural center with lots of students. I stayed up till 3AM one night talking politics with some students in a cafe there. it's one of the most beautiful cities in the WORLD too.

[demobabe]

5. People's Guide to Mexico

Great book - probably has everything you want to know, and they have a big website with lots of info and fun stories:

http://www.peoplesguide.com/

[RadiDem]

7. I spent a year traveling there - staying in most places for 10+ days

What are important considerations for you?

Climate?

Size?

Politics of the locals?

Cultural richness?

Lots of other Americans, or would you rather be in the company of Euros and Canadians?

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[newfie11]

10. You can look on line for local newspapers.

It will give you some idea what's happening in the local area. I totally agree with the poster about San Miguel de Allende. Why people move to another country and shut themselves off from the locals is perplexing to me. They are missing so much!!!!! Living with a lot of Anglo's would not be my idea of moving to Mexico.

[expatriate2mex]

11. We live here, my wife is from here, my family is

originally from north of where we live and I have lived in the us as well as here. We live in mexico state, one of the many pueblos in the toluca area, I don't recommend it in this area as it's pretty rough. No narcos though.:) We are thinking of moving to san cristobal de las casas, chiapas as we would go further south. Pretty much all of my inlaws live here though so that's why we have stayed this long, plus we have a house.

San Miguel de allende is beautiful but expensive, which is not a worry if you can afford it. It has been mentioned the foreigners there don't mix much in the local language, etc. and is true. The chapala area also has many like that. Where we live there is no english, I like that but again it's not a safer area. For the most part high foreigner areas are the safest, the police "take care" of those areas more than those of poor locals.

Guadalajara extortion and that type of stuff is on the rise. It's still not where more northern cities are, but is picking up and there were recently a couple of narco shoot outs in chapala.

I'm not trying to scare you to death, just make you aware that things are not like they once were. Just be prepared to hear of such stuff.

You might research into san cristobal de las casas, chiapas or merida, yucatan. Both places are south, beautiful and safe. I have had several people from guad tell me they are looking at san cristobal, merida is very hot.

Good luck, I know you will enjoy it.

Also, this forum has people from the guagalajara area. Mostly chapala and there are some from sam miguel. You could probably read some there and/or ask some questions:

http://www.chapala.com/wwwboard/webboard.html

[expatriate2mex]

12. Some of the things to take in consideration.

Technology is more expensive here than the us and in many cases behind. MANY things are more expensive here. Local stuff cheaper of course.

Rent is cheaper, as to how much cheaper it depends on where you are coming from. Compared to ca it's alot cheaper, compared to the midwest not near as much.

Local veggies and fruit is better and cheaper, most food items are cheaper. If you go to the us stores, like sams, costco, walmart, etc. the prices are pretty much us prices and sme things more expensive.

I could not imagine surviving on 500-700 us as stated by another poster, the cheapest places 3-4000 pesos a month. San miguel allemde you will not get close to that figure.

Internet, we live in the municipio of the state capital and get 2 mbps dsl for 600. pesos a month. Service is another topic if you have problems.

I'm not trying to change your mind, just being honest. The benefits though outweigh the problems and it's rewarding. Just that most paint a rosy picture and avoid the negatives, I think it's better to be prepared. You can't beat the street tamales, tortas de milenesa, tostadas de nopales and a local small place makes excellent chamorro (for tacos). MMMM