# Moving to Mexico? Are you crazy?!?!



## wkelley (Mar 13, 2016)

We’ve been doing a lot of research into retiring in Mexico. My wife and I are in our early 50s and our daughter will be 11 years old next year when we are considering retiring in Mexico. I’ll be drawing a pension and I plan to work part-time( up to 90 days) in the states. 

We’ve done a fact finding trip, read multiple books, engaged in this forum, and spent about 2 weeks in Mexico every year for the past 17 years. To date…we’ve really not discovered anything that would dissuade us from retiring in Mexico. 

However my family(brother, mom, dad) are just aghast! 

“What will you do with your time? What about the crime & security?” In a nutshell…I think my family thinks I’m crazy for even considering it. 

I’m comfortable enough with the security situation where we are looking to retire. 
What I’d be interested in hearing from forum members is, “How do you spend your time? "


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Much time is spent in exactly the same ways that it was spent in any other place or time. However, Mexico adds so many more opportunities for social interaction, fiestas, ferias, bodas, quinceañeras, desfiles, playas, etc., as well as the more frequent sampling of various affordable restaurants & street food. Just taking a road trip leads to so much more beauty and adventure than in the USA.
Obviously, your naysayers did not ever experience Mexico and have no basis for their comments.
Go for it!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

wkelley said:


> However my family(brother, mom, dad) are just aghast!
> 
> “What will you do with your time? What about the crime & security?” In a nutshell…I think my family thinks I’m crazy for even considering it.


Has your family ever lived or traveled anywhere outside the US? What do they do with their spare time? Just wondering . . .


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Many folks vacation in an area for two weeks and think they could retire there, I would hope you spend at least 6 months renting in an area before you make your final decision to buy a permanent home.

What area are you considering? 
Does you pension give you enough to qualify for a retirement visa with two dependents? 
Good luck..........


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Isla Verde said:


> Has your family ever lived or traveled anywhere outside the US? What do they do with their spare time? Just wondering . . .


"Are you crazy, out of your mind" etc. is a faily typical response, so you're not alone.
Propaganda in the U.S. media is part of the cause.
Also, they probably would miss you and don't want you leave them.

When I announced the Mexico plan to my adult son over a dozen years ago, he told me that bandidos regularly raided gringos' homes and killed them with machetes. "Everybody knows that". Right. So, the first time he came down to visit, the Mexican woman in the next seat had a little fun with him, verifying all his fears. Basket case upon arrival.

Several days later, there was a neighborhood celebration with mucho cohetes and I couldn't resist pounding on his door and yelling that he'd better get dressed since the revolution had started. I'm a mean mom. The devil made me do it. 

Anyone with an interest in life can be busier here than ever before. Lazy folks like it, too. Lots of places to sit around watching the passing scene with Margaritas for company.


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## Puertodise (Jul 9, 2013)

wkelley said:


> We’ve been doing a lot of research into retiring in Mexico. My wife and I are in our early 50s and our daughter will be 11 years old next year when we are considering retiring in Mexico. I’ll be drawing a pension and I plan to work part-time( up to 90 days) in the states.
> 
> We’ve done a fact finding trip, read multiple books, engaged in this forum, and spent about 2 weeks in Mexico every year for the past 17 years. To date…we’ve really not discovered anything that would dissuade us from retiring in Mexico.
> 
> ...



Here's a link to how I have responded when people asked me how I spent my time in Miexico: PuertoDISE: What do I do all day?

In terms of family and friends attempting to discourage us from moving to Mexico, let's just say it was a done deal when we shared the information. 

We just quietly did all our research without telling anyone what our plans were. It didn't make sense to us to get everyone all worked up if we were not going to move. We even lived in Mexico for a year, just to be sure it was a good match for us. 

By the time we shared the information with family and friends, we had already purchased our home and moved in. After we sent out our announcements, all we heard was "can I come visit you"?

So go for it! It's your life.


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## Puertodise (Jul 9, 2013)

wkelley said:


> We’ve been doing a lot of research into retiring in Mexico. My wife and I are in our early 50s and our daughter will be 11 years old next year when we are considering retiring in Mexico. I’ll be drawing a pension and I plan to work part-time( up to 90 days) in the states.
> 
> We’ve done a fact finding trip, read multiple books, engaged in this forum, and spent about 2 weeks in Mexico every year for the past 17 years. To date…we’ve really not discovered anything that would dissuade us from retiring in Mexico.
> 
> ...



OK. I forgot to add this video to my previous post. I just could not resist this cute and funny video about safety in Mexico!


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## wkelley (Mar 13, 2016)

chicois8 said:


> Many folks vacation in an area for two weeks and think they could retire there, I would hope you spend at least 6 months renting in an area before you make your final decision to buy a permanent home.
> 
> What area are you considering?
> Does you pension give you enough to qualify for a retirement visa with two dependents?
> Good luck..........


We plan to rent a house for the first year just to try things out. A retirement visa...I'll have to check that out.


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## wkelley (Mar 13, 2016)

Isla Verde said:


> Has your family ever lived or traveled anywhere outside the US? What do they do with their spare time? Just wondering . . .


My family has traveled outside the US, but only once to Mexico.


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## wkelley (Mar 13, 2016)

Hiya Playa said:


> Here's a link to how I have responded when people asked me how I spent my time in Miexico: PuertoDISE: What do I do all day?
> 
> In terms of family and friends attempting to discourage us from moving to Mexico, let's just say it was a done deal when we shared the information.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link...I like your blog!


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

Retired life in Mexico is not all margaritas and guacamole.

One of the greatest characteristics one should have in adapting to life in Mexico is patience. Learn to deal with a sometimes slow moving, round about way of getting things done. Suppress your frustration, stay cool. "Blowing up" is very inappropriate. Courtesy rules; manners are important, whether sincere or not. These traits may take time to cultivate.

IMPORTANT: Speaking even basic Spanish is a big plus in adapting to life in Mexico.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Anonimo said:


> Retired life in Mexico is not all margaritas and guacamole.
> 
> One of the greatest characteristics one should have in adapting to life in Mexico is patience. Learn to deal with a sometimes slow moving, round about way of getting things done. Suppress your frustration, stay cool. "Blowing up" is very inappropriate. Courtesy rules; manners are important, whether sincere or not. These traits may take time to cultivate.
> 
> IMPORTANT: Speaking even basic Spanish is a big plus in adapting to life in Mexico.


A well honed sense of humor is a great aid to patience. When the maid shakes out the throw rug in the middle of the living room, remember that she's planning to mop the floor. There is NOB logic and there's Mexican logic.


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## Bodega (Apr 20, 2016)

*Bourdain said it best*

Maybe if I give Anthony Bourdain full credit for this, I'll not run afoul of any rules. 

https://medium.com/parts-unknown/under-the-volcano-6d56a26f76d7#.3h9y6iilt

This article, in my humble opinion, is top shelf in describing the essence of Mexico. It's a few years old now, but, each time I pull it up and read it, it's like the first time I've had the pleasure. Granted, he doesn't really delve into safety/security, but my take there is that there are concerns wherever you are, and you have to be smarter than the situation. He does touch on the Mexican death toll in recent years, but very few, if any, of those were expats who were dragged out of their homes or cars. I'm not minimizing the tragedy, but simply applying it to this thread.

If you don't have time to scan the entire article, just scroll down to the next to last paragraph, beginning with "In years of making television in Mexico." Show it to your doubters, and assure them that it really is this way. Then, if they are fortunate enough to make the trip, let them live it themselves.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

wkelley said:


> We plan to rent a house for the first year just to try things out. A retirement visa...I'll have to check that out.





chicois8 said:


> Many folks vacation in an area for two weeks and think they could retire there, I would hope you spend at least 6 months renting in an area before you make your final decision to buy a permanent home.
> 
> What area are you considering?
> Does you pension give you enough to qualify for a retirement visa with two dependents?
> Good luck..........


They are not actually called "retirement visas", but some people use retirement income to meet the income requirements to obtain them. Both the Residencial Permanente and Residencial Temporal visas have minimum income levels that must be met. The income needed for the RP is higher than for the RT.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

Anonimo said:


> Retired life in Mexico is not all margaritas and guacamole.
> 
> One of the greatest characteristics one should have in adapting to life in Mexico is patience. Learn to deal with a sometimes slow moving, round about way of getting things done. Suppress your frustration, stay cool. "Blowing up" is very inappropriate. Courtesy rules; manners are important, whether sincere or not. These traits may take time to cultivate.
> 
> IMPORTANT: Speaking even basic Spanish is a big plus in adapting to life in Mexico.


Excellent advice all around. The biggest benefit to retirement in Mexico is some of the difficulties in adjusting to a different culture, customs, language etc. It's exercise for the brain, and keeping one's mind flexible is perhaps the biggest factor in lowering the risk of early senility. Now as for the idea that courtesy, manners and patience are the cultural norm: usually they are, but there are emphatic exceptions, like traffic in Guadalajara. As for the rest of this thread, being crazy for living/visiting Mexico, been hearing that trite paranoia ever since I started coming here, usually from people whose Great Mexican Adventure was a couple of margaritas and a photo of them wearing a sombrero and riding a "zebra" in TJ.


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## Puertodise (Jul 9, 2013)

wkelley said:


> Thanks for the link...I like your blog!


Thank you.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

I've been living in Mexico full time for almost four years now. So, from my perspective, it would be more like, "Retiring in the US?!? Are you crazy!?!"


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## wkelley (Mar 13, 2016)

Bodega said:


> Maybe if I give Anthony Bourdain full credit for this, I'll not run afoul of any rules.
> 
> https://medium.com/parts-unknown/under-the-volcano-6d56a26f76d7#.3h9y6iilt
> 
> ...


Thanks for the post and the great article!


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