Come Retire With Us In Beautiful Baja California

Who? What? Where? Why?

Have you ever thought about retirement in Mexico?  ...it's a very real and wonderful possibility. According to the U.S. government, more than 600,000 Americans reside in Mexico year round. The population in Rosarito is estimated at 85,000 with perhaps 25,000 North Americans.

Many of the residential areas are gated communities much like the communities north of the border. Most of the American residential areas are beachfront properties at prices much lower than state side. The beach here is one of the finest in Mexico.In Baja California, an estimated 100,000 Americans have created the first North American land rush of the 21st century.

In the last decade, an estimated half million Americans moved permanently to Mexico, making the United States' southern neighbor the country with the most U.S. expatriates in the world. Not since the conclusion of the American Civil War -- when thousands of Southerners emigrated to Mexico -- have so many Americans moved to Mexico. Officials at the American embassy estimate that there are "officially" more than 600,000 American citizens living permanently in Mexico, but concede the actual number is closer to 800,000. Treasury Department officials in Washington estimate that the number of Treasury checks -- Social Security, Veteran Administrations, tax refunds -- sent to Mexico is "in the ballpark of 750,000."

But why Mexico, you might ask?  The reason so many Americans and Canadians choose Mexico is because they can drive to Mexico in a car. A bigger reason is that Mexico is a bargain compared to the USA and Canada. There are also a large number of Europeans retiring in Mexico.  Mexico is rich with history, steeped in culture, having perhaps a more pronounced culture than any other nation in Latin America with the exception of Brazil and Argentina. Mexico has great food, great architecture and many areas with an excellent climate.  Mexico is modern, with better highways than many parts of Latin America and an infrastructure that allows foreigners to connect via telephone and internet to the rest of the world.  This level of infrastructure isn't available in Nicaragua, or in Guatemala, and this is a very important determining factor for the retiree who doesn't want to be inconvenienced by inconveniences. 

Mexico is also a healthier place to live because of the food.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are always in season and taste so much better in Mexico that you eat more of them.  In fact, unlike North American produce that is picked green and allowed to ripen in transit, Mexican produce is picked at its peak and sold in the market the very next day.   And little or no preservatives are used in processed food which means you're ingesting fewer chemicals. 

You will find that life is so much more enjoyable because you finally have time to pursue your hobbies and develop your talents.   Moving to Mexico, people finally have time to prepare the recipes they've been saving from gourmet magazines, put the box of photographs into albums, or garden to their hearts' content in this land where flowers grow all year long.  Others develop new interests and discover latent talents when they take a ceramics or watercolor class.  There are also innumerable opportunities for volunteer work. 

There's less stress here, too.  If you can adjust to the "manana" attitude and remember that "manana" doesn't necessarily mean tomorrow, it just means not today, you will realize that everything will eventually get done that needs doing and with far less frustration.  Rather than worrying, go to the plaza, sit on a bench, and watch village life pass before your eyes.  You will see a family out for a stroll, a little boy riding on his father's shoulders while Mom buys her daughter a balloon, you'll notice the teenage girls going one direction in the plaza while the boys pass the other way, all of them casting furtive glances at the ones they like, and you'll see old friends who will sit down with you for a chat because they're in the plaza doing the same thing you're doing?enjoying life!

I'm not implying that Mexico is Shangri-La, but I think it's closer to paradise than any place you can find in the United States or Canada.  Here in this land of majestic mountains and rolling countryside, you will find a gentle people willing to welcome you into their hearts. You will have more time to explore other interests and develop your talents because you have more freedom, better health, less stress, and someone else to take care of mundane chores.   The low cost of living allows you to splurge on luxuries that would be prohibitive anywhere else and to take advantage of world-class resorts that are only a few hours' drive away. 

Many gringos that chose retirement in Mexico settle in the Baja, but North Americans can be found nearly anywhere in Mexico. Where you decide to live depends on a number of factors, including how immersed in the Mexican culture you want to be and how inexpensive you want your lifestyle to be. Areas with a higher concentration of gringos tend to be more expensive than more remote areas.

Mexico has a multi-layered immigration system. Tourists with an FM-T visa (commonly known as the tourist visa) are allowed to stay in Mexico for 6 months without crossing a border to renew the visa. For those who want to stay longer than 6 months at a time without having to make a semi-annual trip to the border, the next step in the immigration process is the FM-3. The Americas Group will help clients obtain an FM-3.

With the passage of NAFTA several years ago, Mexico has stabilized economically and socially. Investment rates on bank accounts are currently paying 15% and higher. English is spoken in many areas. Access to the United States is quick, and in most cases, fairly easy. Gringos can buy and sell property. The weather is warm, and in some areas, the climate is tropical. There are places where the weather stays mild even during the summer. It is possible to stay in the country for longer than six months at a time without having to make a trip to the border. And maybe most importantly, older citizens who retire in Mexico are respected. Moving to Mexico and maybe retirement in Mexico beckons for all of these reasons and more!