This weekend we went to visit friends who live in a small town near Queretaro. I’ve always wanted to see Queretaro, so they took us downtown for a couple of hours, just to look around. In the small amount of time that we were there, Queretaro impressed me.

In Cuernavaca, Queretaro is famous for being clean and inexpensive, while having lots of employment opportunities that pay as well as in other places. In other words, it is known as a place where your earnings will buy you more. From what I could tell, Queretaro lives up to this fame.

We had to look to find litter in the streets and the intersections were open, with the streets wide enough to travel. Downtown the sidewalks were wide enough to walk comfortably, and there were little pedestrian islands to make crossing wide street safer. The park in the zocalo was perfectly manicured, and even more importantly, it was shady and quiet. The downtown area was inviting to shop because the shops were clean and looked nice, without that crowded feel that makes Cuernavaca such a pain to shop in. I felt like I could comfortably stroll around and go into any shop that interested me.

My husband, who can always remember the prices of things, found a few things that were cheaper than Cuernavcaca. Right off the bat he bought himself a hat for working in the sun.

We went to the market and I was impressed that it was large and “had everything” but was MUCH cleaner and brighter than el Mercado Lopez Mateos in Cuernavaca. The meat and fish section didn’t hardly stink and the floor wasn’t muddy. I gave it the old “bathroom check” and was happy with the cleanliness–the floor was even dry and it didn’t smell, but in the end it failed the test due to a complete absence of soap!

The roads in the whole state were in good repair and easy to travel. My husband commented that he felt like he was back in the states due to the ease with which he was driving.

While a few hours in the downtown area isn’t enough to judge a city by, I think I would live in Quereataro if I had it to do over.

When You Live in Mexico Get Used to the Sounds of Fun.

As I write this post, I am listening to the competing sounds of two different parties! To my left, on the other side of my wall, my neighbors are celebrating one of their family members’ 78th with mole, pop, and a little bit of tequila. They are chatting, one of them is strumming on a guitar, and others are singing. My tummy is full of rice, mole, and tortillas and I think that I hear my husband’s voice chiming in with the old timers from time to time. The only reason I’m not their listening in is because our son needed a nap and is snoozing his way through the evening.

To my right, across the ravine, someone is having a huge party with a D.J. and probably fireworks. The music is blasting and I’m imagining people dancing with friends and family. One thing you can’t be once you retire in Mexico is an old coot who hates music and fun–because you’ll be grumpy all the time! Only Americans could have invented the term “noise pollution.” Mexicans don’t care if others are tired of their music, they have celebrations to celebrate!

Mexicans have these wonderful songs that generations of people know and can sing. Even the young people know these songs and can at least sing parts of them, if they want to. They’ve been hearing them at holidays and parties all their lives. It can make us, as new arrivals in Mexico feel a little left out.

Take heart. You’ll hear those songs so many times, that given a few years, you’ll at least recognize a handful of them. Have I been in Mexico a long time? Yes. I can sing along to two or three of them. My cultural knowledge is expanding nicely, don’t you think?

When you live or retire in Mexico, ask your new friends and neighbors to loan you their old songs so you can listen to them and become familiar with them. They’ll get a real kick out of it.

One of the things about living in Mexico that brings me the most joy are the various smells that greet me when I step out of my door at any time of day or night. Sometimes I can smell the fresh, high mountain air coming from north of Cuernavaca, perfumed with the smell of pine duff. This smell reminds me of home in the Pacific Northwest. Last night it was a humid, mildewy blanket of air from the soil under the trees near our house. Since it’s the rainy season everything is moist and soft. These humid smells are all Mexico for me, since I hadn’t smelled anything like them before moving to Mexico.

Live and Retire in Mexico: Cost of Living

Many people want to retire in Mexico because they have heard that the cost of living here is lower than in the U.S. or Canada. Mexico became famous for being cheap in the 60s and 70s and I have no doubt that it was. My experience from

2001 to 2007 (at the writing of this page) has been that cheapness is relative because buying power is relative. Here’s what I mean.

When you are spending dollars in Mexico your buying power is stronger than when you are spending pesos in Mexico, so in that sense the cost of living in Mexico is lower than up north. At the same time, it might not be as much lower as all the hype would make you expect. There are many factors that make Mexico more expensive than we dream.

If I Retire in Mexico Will it Lower My Cost of Living?

The most obvious factor that makes Mexico less cheap than we dream is that there are many places where prices are quite high. Ajijic, near Guadalajara, Cuernavaca, near Mexico City, and Cancun in the “Riviera Maya” are all examples of places in Mexico that have a high cost of living and they are certainly not the only ones. Obviously, the presence of a high percentage of Americans, Canadians, and other foreigners drives prices up (as well as the presence of lots of Mexico’s richest, too).

For example, renting a tiny house in Cuernavaca costs between $400 and $800 U.S. dollars a month. If $400 sounds cheap to you, then you need to understand what I mean by tiny. Tiny in Cuernavaca can be the size of a camping trailer. Would you pay $400 a month to live in a camping trailer in someone else’s back yard? That’s the way many of the least expensive places to rent are set up. Really the only way to get a good sense for the true cost of living any place in Mexico is to rent there for 6 months or so.

Dear Ms. Taylor;

Thanks for writing such an informative, enjoyable and readable e-book! The information you have provided is helping me with my planning for an extended stay, 2-3 months, in Mexico.

I don’t have a printer at home and I’m requesting permission to store an electronic copy of your book on my iPod until….

–Peter A Cassidy
British Columbia, Canada

A less than obvious factor that makes the cost of living in Mexico higher than we dream is that many things that we take for granted up north are not automatically in place in Mexico. Unsafe drinking water means that we must have a water filtration system or purchase bottled water. The monopolized telephone system charges outrageous prices causing people to avoid using the phone and thus generating the hidden costs of lost potential or to contract a variety of other services to meet their needs and thus costing extra time and money. The relatively poor transportation system makes travel more time consuming and tiring. The unreliable electrical system may create a need for alternatives. The rampant class-ism creates a lack of customer service in industries nationwide. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Mexico is not a sunnier version of the U.S. It’s a developing country. The only way to truly calculate these “costs” in your life is to experience them and see for yourself before you decide to live or retire in Mexico.

Tired of authors talking around cost of living in Mexico but never giving any real information?
Get straight answers.

Another factor that can make the cost of living in Mexico extremely high is to have to earn money in Mexico. High paying jobs in Mexico are rare and hard to find. Most jobs don’t pay enough to live on and often the hours are long and split shifts are common. To top it off, if you retire in Mexico, then you are probably over 50. Mexico is “ageist” and it’s increasingly hard to get a job once you pass about 40 years old. I suggest that you do not live or retire in Mexico unless you have some U.S. or Canadian dollars to spend — or are just on a one or two year lark and have a way to move back north.

See also The Cost of Living in Mexico Depends on Your Lifestyle for a useful way to figure out what your personal buying power will actually be once you live or retire in Mexico.

Cut The Negativity and Give Me the Facts, Please.

To help you figure out the cost of living in Mexico, click here to see a detailed grocery list.

Budgeting in Mexico

Click here to read some tips on budgeting when you retire in Mexico.

Click here to read about how much and how rapidly prices have been increasing (2007).

Click here to read a real-life case study of costs for an expatriate in Ajijic.

Home

There are a number of retired expats from the U.S. and Canada living in and around Cuernavaca. Some of them have an open table at a restaurant near the zocalo where they meet every day at 11:00 a.m. over coffee, beer, fruit juice, or whatever you may desire. The conversation is lively, honest, and all in English (though most of them do speak Spanish).

I finally went down there and said hello to them. They were very warm and enthusiastic. They made me and one of my family members welcome and instantly opened up more space around the table for us to sit with them. Many of them have been in Cuernavaca for 20 years or more and most of them even like Mexico. (hee hee).

Some of them kindly gave me their contact information. I hope to interview them to learn more about what went into their decisions to retire in Mexico and what they like and don’t like about it.

Meanwhile, if you get to Cuernavaca before I can do the interviews, you can find them daily at 11:00 seated in the restaurant on the north side of the zocalo. They always sit at a table near the green iron railing and they’re always interested in meeting new people.

We are back in Mexico again and it feels good to be here. I’m enjoying the peace of my home and it feels great to say hello to my neighbors. It was nice to go to a store today and greet and be greeted by people by name.

My neighbors just came by and called out to my son from the gate. They had been to the store and had sugary treats for him that are dangerous for someone as little as he is. They would have just passed all of them right to him if I hadn’t come out to intercept the chocolate that gives him an upset tummy and the tiny jello with the aluminum top that would make a nice choking hazard. You know what? I loved it. Sugar high here we come. It’s nice to be surrounded by people who want to see us smile.

The social skills that I have fine-tuned while living in Mexico are standing me in good stead during this visit north. In Mexico you learn to stop whatever you are doing or thinking to say hello to people. You learn to look them in the eye, take their hand, and often even give them a friendly air kiss on the cheek.

Even though our visiting marathon is starting to affect my mind, I am still confident in my ability to greet the droves as they arrive at my family’s home. I am still able to smoothly, and warmly say goodbye to people even if I know that I’m about to greet someone else in a couple of minutes. On some days I am hosting groups of people from up to three different areas of my former life. We have school friends, local area friends, mom’s side of the family, dad’s side of the family, as well as family friends all coming to be with us. Phew!

It’s crazy to think that I only get to see these wonderful people for only a few hours a year! I guess that’s just one of challenges involved when you decide to live or retire in Mexico. I’m sure glad for my improved social skills that come with the same package.

Another part of this package is that I expect to see people acting like Mexicans. I keep having these little moments when I’m quietly surprised by people’s actions.

For example, we took a walk along our town’s waterfront and there were two women with their babies in strollers just preparing to leave as we were arriving. They chatted much more loudly than Mexicans do and I could easily overhear them. I could tell by their conversation that they were friends. Suddenly, they said, “Well, bye.” “Bye, see you,” and each went to their cars to load up. They didn’t kiss each other on the cheek! They didn’t even shake hands! I was shocked, until I remembered that we are in the Pacific Northwest and that isn’t done here.

Plan for Visits North When you Retire in Mexico

When you live in Mexico or retire in Mexico you’ll be in heaven, but you’ll have left behind a lifetime’s worth of family and friends. You’ll want to visit with them occasionally, so I suggest that a small part of your plan for moving to Mexico include how you will take vacations. It’s sort of reverse vacationing if you want to think of it that way.

The relatively high level of cost and time involved in traveling from Mexico to the U.S. or Canada (not to mention the number of people you’ll want to see) generally means that you make trips of weeks rather than days. You’ll need to have an idea of where you will stay and plan a budget that will cover airfare, lodging, and foods in a country that is more expensive than the one you are leaving.

Marathon Visiting: The New Sport For Those Who Live and Retire in Mexico

One thing I had never experienced prior to becoming an expatriate is Marathon Visiting. My budget only allows for about one trip a year to the U.S. and I must stay with family (which is what I prefer to do anyway) when I’m here. You’ll discover that not all friends and family will visit you in Mexico for various reasons, which is appropriate. When you head north you’ll have this long list of wonderful folks that you miss. You just want to see them and give them a hug. This is where the marathon starts.

Think of the logistics involved in seeing and hugging 70 people in 2 weeks. 70 sounds like too many? Count your closest friends and family. I’ll bet you easily come up with 70 dear hearts. Last year I traveled to locations that were near groups of people. In a city three hours from my hometown I stayed with my sister, then we hosted a get-together at a cousins house, which allowed me to see lots of extended family. Then I stayed at a college buddy’s house and we hosted a get-together at her house, which allowed me to see lots of extended family. Back in my hometown my parents hosted a few get-togethers and some aunts and a cousin came in from out of town. We hosted a get-together at the house, which allowed me to see more extended family and friends. Do you see a pattern forming here?

Not only was there work involved, there was a financial burden. I have no extra money, so each host and my sister had to pay for the parties. I had a great time and have wonderful memories that will last me a lifetime, but I went home with a roaring cold and so exhausted I had to be coaxed into planning another visit a year later!

This time I decided to stay at my parent’s house and let people come to me. It is a lot easier for me, but it is still a huge burden on my family to do the cleaning, shopping, food preparation, and laundry involved in a two-week Visiting Marathon. One thing I didn’t count on is that now people want to see me twice!

It’s painful to have to tell your loved ones that they can’t come on such and such a day, that they can’t bring their beloved pets, and in some cases that they need to bring their own food, but I’m making a brave effort.

See, once you live or retire in Mexico, chances are you’ll be one of the only expats in your family. No one else will ever have experienced Marathon Visiting (unless they are married to a Mexican and have visited their spouse’s home town!) and they won’t really understand how overwhelming it can be. I’m even having trouble finding the time to call people to make more plans!

This time I also only told three friends that I would be coming. When you live in Mexico or retire in Mexico and are reverse vacationing you have to think about who you really want to see. About a month before coming I was faced with the following questions. How many people can I realistically see? If I tell them that I’m coming how could I tell them I don’t have time for them? If I don’t tell them I’m coming how will they feel if they find out later?

How do you tell friends that you only have an hour for them? Last time I traveled with a handmade calendar full of penciled in plans. This time I decided to spare myself the calendar but I’m constantly reviewing a mental calendar!

The bottom line, despite these challenges, is that it’s a joy to see friends and family. It’s wonderful to hug them or to be able to go on a stroll. It’s a joy to be honored by so many people making the effort to see me. I really am blessed. I wish I could come more often and stay longer.

It’s almost worth deciding to live or retire in Mexico just to get to be king or queen for a week or two while you are reverse vacationing.

As part of my two weeks of vacation from Mexico, I made myself a promise to make note of what I missed about Mexico and how it feels to be back in the U.S. for a while. Here are some more thoughts on the topic.

There are these funny little moments when I’m surprised by the once familiar details of life in the U.S. At the airport where I made my connecting flight I bought lunch. The lady at the cash register handed me my change and I smiled to see the dainty silver colored coins falling into my hands. Then I bent my head to see the back of the new coin for the state of Washington. “Is everything OK?” asked the lady, worried that maybe she’d given me the wrong change. I didn’t have the words to explain that I’d been outside the U.S. for six years and was just surprised by the look of the money.

Since I moved to Mexico, the media has gotten out of denial about global warming. When I left the U.S. no one wanted to put in print that it was happening. They would use hedge words like, “some scientists think.” Just this year I’ve noticed that I’ve read a number of articles that cite different changes around the world as being the effects of global warming. Just like that. Effects of global warming–no hedge words. I guess we have Al Gore to thank for getting us out of denial. Anyway, at the airport I thought I should confirm that the water in the drinking fountain was potable. After all, if the media’s belief in global warming has changed so drastically, maybe the water quality in some cities has too. I asked a teenaged employee of the airport who was standing near a drinking fountain, looking at his cell phone if the water was potable. He didn’t seem to know how to answer, so I refrased the question. “Can I drink the water?” I asked. Happily, he was shocked. “Oh! Oh yeah,” he said. There was obviously no doubt in his mind about the drinkability of the water.

One thing that I love about the U.S. is that I find it easier to get exposed to media that induce deeper thought. Many of my friends and family members can tell me about interesting books that they’ve recently read on a wide range of topics. Here’s a smattering of examples, the true story of an Islamic woman who wants to change the way other Islamic women live (a great aunt read this one), the true story of two people from the 11th century (a friend), the petrolium cost of produce and how to reduce the environemental impact of the foods you are purchasing (a cousin and my mother), and a fictional story set in Afganistan (two different aunts). The movie Sicko is out and public broadcasting stations provide interesting TV shows every day. A couple nights ago I watched a delightful show where a chef went to the farms to purchase the food he was going to cook with. The environment and health were part of the focus and it left me with a positive feeling about trends in food production and consumption patterns. I find that it’s much less common to be exposed to such variety of well thought out media in Mexico.