Sonia Diaz - The Move to Mexico Bible

The Move to Mexico Bible

Sonia Diaz and Beverley Wood

Copyright 201822 Sonia Diaz and Beverley Wood

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN 978-1-77-757511-3

First edition 2018

Eighth revision 2022

Published by White Dog Publishing

www.whitedogcreative.com

Design/layout: George Vasilopoulos

Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa photo: Meyrick Jones

Table of contents

Introduction

So, youre thinking about trying out Mexico? Good for you. I made the move in 2012from the west coast of Canada with a husband and two dogs (and Sonia is from Mexico). Theres a lot to discover about the process and a lot to remember as you go through it. Its exciting to plan your adventure and even more exciting to live it.

Youve picked a great country. InterNations, a Munich-based network of 3.2 million expats, compiled survey statistics in 2018 after interviewing almost 20,000 expats worldwidethe average expat in Mexico is 55 years old and a third are single. Expats in Mexico come from everywhere44% are from USA, 11% are from Canada and 5% from Britain. Of 68 countries, Mexico ranked first in happiness for expats. No wonder more than half of them say they will stay in Mexico forever.

And maybe you will too. But what you need is knowledge of local customs, laws and procedures to make your transition a smooth one. We hope we can help with that.

You will need to decide on a lot of things before you make the move. Like where you are going. Mexico is a big country and living in Tulum is nothing like living in Mexico Cityand neither is anything like living in Puerto Vallarta. The food is different, the culture is different, the weather is different. Its an incredible country with many unique living experiences to choose from.

And there are other questions. What will you do for medical insurance? Will you be bringing your vehicle and pets? Are you allowed to own property in Mexico? How do you handle paying utilities? Can you transfer money online easily? How long can you stay? Will you have to pay taxes? Do you have enough money to live there?

The Move to Mexico Bible takes a look at 33 cities and townsfrom expat populations to climate and conveniences. This book will also walk you through the visa process and give you invaluable advice about healthcare, household help, communications, real estate and other variables. Dont leave home without it!

While there will always many more questions to be answeredfear not. Its a painless process if you are prepared and understand what you need to do. It really is. And theres no time like now to start reading up.

As a note of cautionMexico uses the metric system of weights and measures with temperatures in degrees Celsius (C) and distances in kilometers (km), measurements in meters (m), weights in kilograms (kg) and so on. Canada also uses the metric systemso does everyone in the world except the USA, Liberia and Myanmar (and the UK for long distances). Out of courtesy to our readers from the US, we have included approximateand I mean approximateequivalents for you using the Imperial system.

We have also converted Mexican pesos to US dollars for the purposes of this book at MX$20 per US$1. Please be sure to check current exchange rates.

Beverley Wood

Chapter 1:

The big move

The first question is, of course: Where in Mexico do you want to live? Its a big country.

There are three points to consider when choosing a region in Mexicocrime, climate and geography.

Crime in Mexico

Lets just get right to the elephant in the room. Should you be afraid to move to Mexico? More than a million expats here say no. That said, you need to be aware.

Because of the movement of drugs north from Latin American countries (and some domestically grown) to USA, there is crime in Mexico that can be quite hideous and violent. But almost without exception, it is related to cartels and/or drugs.

You need to prepare yourself. Especially if you are reading English-language newspapers based in Mexico, you are going to wake up some mornings to images of bodies swinging from bridges as the sun comes up and the commuter traffic begins. Or a dozen bodies lined up at the side of the highway, all bound and blindfolded, all dead. It happens and, believe me, this is cartel-relatedand often not anywhere near where you are planning to settle.

Although there have been pretty grisly discoveries almost everywhere, it is most common in the border towns and the states with warring criminal elements. When cartels start to fight over territories, all hell breaks loose.

If this talk makes you nervous, you can follow the (very conservative and cautious) advice of the governments of Canada, USA and many other countries. They issue warnings regularly about which states are hot-spots for violence from cartels competing for territory. Then you can take these places off your potential list from the start. As you live in Mexico, you will gain more confidence. The cartel wars really will not affect the average person. Ive been here seven years, incident-free.

In 2020, Mexico had an overall murder rate of 29 per 100,000. As a national average thats high, but its pulled up by cities like Acapulco at 110.5, Tijuana, the border city across from San Diego, at 105, and Ciudad Jurez, on the Texas border with El Paso, at 103. Still, many tourist areas are not affected much at all. Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific Coast, comes in at 15 homicides per 100,000on par with Dallas TX or West Palm Beach FL.

All this said, as long as you arent traveling at night, you stay on the toll roads and busy highways, you are safe to drive through most states. I wouldnt meander muchbut dont worry about driving through on your way to somewhere else during the daylight hours. And if you need to stop overnight, there are plenty of hotels surrounded by large walls.

Travelers in any country are targets for thieves. Dont wear fancy jewelry, dont get drunk and fall down on the sidewalk at 2am, and dont flash a lot of cash around. Be aware. As aware as you would be in any place that is foreign to you.

Climate and geography

Climate and geography go hand-in-hand in one senseyour elevation, proximity to the coast and latitudinal location will all affect the climate. But another consideration of geography is proximity to the northern border for drivingor proximity to an international airport for easy plane rides to visit friends and family. Its possible you plan to move to Mexico and rarely leave, in which case those two considerations will be of limited value to you.

Youll make choices according to your personal situations. Being close to an airport may be of great importance or none at all. If you have respiratory problems, you may need to look at sea level locations only.

Mexicos topography runs from sea level to 5,636 m above sea level (18,491 ft). For comparison, Denver CO is 1,609 m (5,280 ft) above sea level. The highest point in Mexico is Pico de Orizaba near Puebla in the Trans-Mexican volcanic mountain belt. The airs pretty thin up there.