If you really want to make it in Mexico, I strongly suggest that you save up more money — and do NOT tell anyone — not even your boyfriend how much you have. Plan ahead.

What job do you plan to have? Do you want to teach English, work in tourism, or something else? If it’s going to be something else, it will be a bit harder to convince Mexican immigration that you should do something that would “take away” from a Mexican with similar qualifications to you. You can start your own business but you’d have to save more money. Businesses take a lot of work and planning and careful management. If you go this route, you can use your time in the US to learn more about running one.

It can be quite hard to get a stable, well-paying job in Mexico. While you are saving and planning, some time will go by and you will see if your boyfriend does succeed in getting a job. Once he gets the job, wait even longer. You’ll see if he keeps the job — not because he’s a deadbeat, but because employers often make false promises — sometimes can’t even pay their employees and people end up having to quit.

You will need your boyfriend’s guidance and suggestions to make it so make sure he knows how to do it for himself before you go down there and he has to assist you as well. Since you have traveled and lived in Mexico for a few months you probably have a good feel for what it’s like, but you don’t want to get yourself into a situation that you can’t make work and can’t get back out of. I also don’t recommend trying to be a stay at home wife. It’s not easy for women who have lived in the US to give up their independence and expression of their attributes that can’t be used in domestic work. If you go to Mexico, there has to be more in it for you than just a good love life otherwise it ends up being not fun at all.

I don’t tout my book to very many people who put comments onto my web site, but you would be someone who would benefit from reading it. My husband and I had to start out in Mexico with no plan and not much money, so the tips and experiences I included in my book would help you to decide how you are going to do this.

I wish you the best of luck. It is so heartbreaking when our loved ones are deported.

Kindest Regards,

Julia C Taylor

Thank YOU. Making ends meet in Mexico is so hard, and one always feels just one step away from complete financial disaster. Oh, to be able to retire in Mexico with a pension….

Kindest Regards,
Julia C Taylor

Martha Williams,

I know this is late but Veracruz is like my heaven! I hope you chose to live there and i hope you are enjoying it fully!

Congratulations on completing your business degree and on your plans to get a TEFL certification. It’s hard for me to say what will be possible for you, since you still don’t know how much you will be earning. At this point my magic vision into the future says, “it’s doubtful.” If you get a room in someone’s house, it may be possible. It also may be possible if you are guaranteed a full time job at the higher end of the pay scale.

If this will be your first experience living in Mexico and since you aren’t going to be an experienced teacher (and teaching in Mexico can sometimes throw in a surprise or two) I would recommend that you start out by playing it safe with a living arrangement that gives you flexibility and support. It won’t be like living on your own in the U.S. (or Canada).

If you’re curious about typical rentals, you could read my book Mexico: The Trick is Living Here and learn all about what rental housing is like in Mexico and get all my hard-earned tips about living in Mexico (on your own) on a budget.

Sincerely, Julia

Well, it can be done. I guess you would have to just try it out for a few months to be sure you like the lifestyle. Part of how we lived on a tight budget in Mexico was by not having some things we might have otherwise liked, such as insurance, trips home to visit family in the states, long distance phone conversations, high speed internet, buying food out instead of having to cook every day all the time, etc.

The two of us were living on less than $2,000 combined so it seems possible to me. Prices are rising rapidly, though and that word “fixed” has me concerned. If you work in Mexico, you don’t earn much so what if you found you had to supplement your income…?

I have found the lifestyle of Mexico on a budget a bit too limiting for me at times. It’s certainly not for everyone.

My heartfelt advice is to see if you can try it out on a short term basis first.

Enjoy your adventures. It’s always worth it to spend time in Mexico. You learn so much.

Julia