# Thinking of moving to Mexico



## Lyras (Mar 1, 2016)

Hi, 
I am seriously considering moving to Mexico. This is a new idea for me so I am now starting to seriously research it and would appreciate any information offered. 

I currently live in Ohio, I am on Social Security disability and will turn 65 in 2017. I need to know everything about possibly making this move. I just found out that I could still get my Social Security even if I live outside of the US, and since it is becoming harder and harder to live here as well as extremely unpleasant, I don't know where to begin with the questions. I have no actual assets since Bank of America took my home even though I was not behind on payments, how much money would I need to be able to live in Mexico?

I did live in San Diego for a few years and used to go down into Baja all the time. I loved it there.

Thank you.


----------



## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

To get a resident Visa you would need to show the past six months income of around $13-1400 US.

I'm getting SS but it goes to a Bank in the US. I'd suggest keeping your bank up north at least for awhile


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

sparks said:


> To get a resident Visa you would need to show the past six months income of around $13-1400 US.
> 
> I'm getting SS but it goes to a Bank in the US. I'd suggest keeping your bank up north at least for awhile


I have my US Social Security checks sent to my Mexican bank, so far without any hitches.


----------



## Lyras (Mar 1, 2016)

Thank you very much; that is very useful information. I had thought to keep my bank account where it is since my Social Security is deposited directly into it, and then moving it to Account I would create in Mexico. Is that feasible?


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

There really is no need to do that. Simply use your debit card, raising the daily limit, to get cash from the ATM machines. They are at all banks, large groceries, big box stores, etc.
You will need to prove your financial assets and have a passport to apply for approval of a residence visa at the Mexican consulate nearest you, in your home country. You will finish the process with INM in Mexico.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Lyras said:


> Hi,
> …
> how much money would I need to be able to live in Mexico?
> …


That question has two answers. 

The first is the money required by Mexican immigration to qualify for a temporary or permanent visa. For that you need 400 or 500 times the minimum daily wage in Mexico City, currently 73.04 pesos. That works out to about $1600 usd or $2000 usd/month. Without that, your options are to visit on a tourist permit, and perhaps renew it every 180 days.

The second answer to the money question is how much you will need to live in Mexico. That depends entirely on life style. I live quite comfortably on about $500 usd/month, not counting travel expenses. Lots of people can barely get by on 10 times that. It all depends on your life style, the size of your household, and what you consider essentials.

I used 18 mxn/1 usd, the current exchange rate.


----------



## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

The INM changed the financial solvency requirement for a Residente Temporal to 300 times the MC daily wage from 400 times about 1 year or so ago.


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> The second answer to the money question is how much you will need to live in Mexico. That depends entirely on life style. I live quite comfortably on about $500 usd/month, not counting travel expenses. Lots of people can barely get by on 10 times that. It all depends on your life style, the size of your household, and what you consider essentials.


Does that $500 usd/month include rent?


----------



## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

We spend between 2000-4000 USD/month - depending. This month (our worst) in addition to our usual living expenses we have : homeowners fees, insurance on 2 cars, home owner's insurance, IMSS. Lot's of insurance ! We want to put a new gas tank on the roof (the current one is 16 years old). Still - our expenses are much less than they were in the US.


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Lyras said:


> Thank you very much; that is very useful information. I had thought to keep my bank account where it is since my Social Security is deposited directly into it, and then moving it to Account I would create in Mexico. Is that feasible?


That's what I did. Actually, when I moved here about 8 years ago, my checks were already being deposited to my Bank of America account, and I found I was able to make withdrawals from that account at Santander ATMs in Mexico. When BofA decided to start charging a 3% fee to make withdrawals from Santander (there are no BofA branches in Mexico), it was easy to change the bank to which the deposits would be made. There is an office at the US Embassy in Mexico City that can help you deal with the necessary paperwork, which can be done over the internet.


----------



## Lyras (Mar 1, 2016)

Do you or anyone know of a kind of step-by-step guide as to how to make this happen ? speaking of actually making the move out of the US and into Mexico. Part of me just wants to pack up my car and go, but I know that's not really feasible. I know I need to do much more research and know what I'm doing at each stage.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Does that $500 usd/month include rent?


I own the house, so I don't pay rent. But for the past year, and probably for the next year, I have been fixing the place up. I pay a helper to come in three days a week, at a cost to me of about $5000 mxn or $280 usd/month. And that cost is included in the $500 usd/month. I just checked my books, and this year so far I have spent $18,000 mxn = $1000 usd. It has been two months, so my guestimate was pretty good, maybe a little low, because I was gone for a week or so. 

It helps if you almost never eat out, nor drink much and don't smoke nor own a car. I can afford those things, just don't have any interest in them except for a glass of cheap wine with dinner most days. Not eating animals probably cuts expenses also. And I am only one person. Also, as I said, it does not include trips. It also doesn't include occasional expenses like a new computer or some other toy. It is just regular monthly expenses: food, gas, lights, water, phone and internet cable plus the house labor.


----------



## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

chuck846 said:


> We spend between 2000-4000 USD/month - depending. This month (our worst) in addition to our usual living expenses we have : homeowners fees, insurance on 2 cars, home owner's insurance, IMSS. Lot's of insurance ! We want to put a new gas tank on the roof (the current one is 16 years old). Still - our expenses are much less than they were in the US.


You are a homeowner and spend that much? Why do you need home owner's insurance?


----------



## mattoleriver (Oct 21, 2011)

Lyras said:


> ...I am on Social Security disability and will turn 65 in 2017.


Sixty five is the golden age if one is waiting for Medicare to kick in, however, Medicare does not exist in Mexico. Are you prepared to start buying your own health insurance? Will it even be available to someone with your disability? Things to consider.


----------



## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

mattoleriver said:


> Sixty five is the golden age if one is waiting for Medicare to kick in, however, Medicare does not exist in Mexico. Are you prepared to start buying your own health insurance? Will it even be available to someone with your disability? Things to consider.


Mexico is a poor choice for anyone with a physical disability.


----------



## Lyras (Mar 1, 2016)

In what way? my disability is depression and panic disorder. Currently I am on almost no drugs and doing very much better. I have found that supplements and vitamins are much more effective for me. I don't believe it would be a problem, especially since when I was living in San Diego I would would go down into Baja frequently. I really enjoyed being there. I did not apply for disability, or rather I guess I did but only because I was forced to. I never thought I would get accepted and don't really know why I was. But there is no physical problem that would hold me back.


----------



## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

coondawg said:


> You are a homeowner and spend that much? Why do you need home owner's insurance?


The homeowner's insurance was dirt cheap. Our HSBC premier account got us a discount with AXA. We have a nice house. Our neighbor's put on pyro-technical displays that would rival Disney. I always worry about a gardener falling off the tall wall. We have had a few tremors. Peace of mind.

Regarding expenses : My wife tracks those. For years we have had notebooks where we keep track of every penny spent - even the 5 peso tip we give the guy in the parking lot. The amount I quoted is an average (at 13:1 because that is around where we moved our dollars South). That amount includes gas, trips to Costco, new sheets, trips into Mexico City, hotels, the monthly visit from the exterminator, the roofer, the solar panels we had installed (now our electric is 26 pesos per month), the silver Libertads we are stacking, our nat gas, our water, the gardeners (who come every other week - I mow), restaurants, groceries, internet, satellite, a new laptop, car maintenance, cat visits to the vet, cat food... It adds up - and we live rather frugally.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chuck846 said:


> The homeowner's insurance was dirt cheap. Our HSBC premier account got us a discount with AXA. We have a nice house. Our neighbor's put on pyro-technical displays that would rival Disney. I always worry about a gardener falling off the tall wall. We have had a few tremors. Peace of mind.
> 
> Regarding expenses : My wife tracks those. For years we have had notebooks where we keep track of every penny spent - even the 5 peso tip we give the guy in the parking lot. The amount I quoted is an average (at 13:1 because that is around where we moved our dollars South). That amount includes gas, trips to Costco, new sheets, trips into Mexico City, hotels, the monthly visit from the exterminator, the roofer, the solar panels we had installed (now our electric is 26 pesos per month), the silver Libertads we are stacking, our nat gas, our water, the gardeners (who come every other week - I mow), restaurants, groceries, internet, satellite, a new laptop, car maintenance, cat visits to the vet, cat food... It adds up - and we live rather frugally.


Regarding expenses: The figure I quoted earlier ($500 usd/month) was solely for living expenses in Mexico in pesos. If I included my dollar expenses, travel, grandson's college, gifts, donations, etc. I would probably be closer to $5000 usd/mo. I also track all my expenses, even the 0.5 peso surcharge I have to pay on buses now because they raised the fare after I bought my senior discount tickets (transvales).


----------



## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

WE,. living in Leon and missing out on nothing that interests us, are hard pressed to spend $700 USD a month and we party with the family regularly. (own our home and 2 cats).But, if you count the help we give my children and grandchildren NOB with college, etc. our total would come closer to $4,ooo USD a month. I never would have thought it wise to change my USD into pesos until they were needed here, as the Mexican Peso is too volatile. That's my take.


----------



## WintheWin (Jul 15, 2015)

If the OP liked baja, he doesn't need a visa, he's within the tourist limits. Just rent a place casually in Rosario/Ensenada. Travel to SD for doctor visits. Easy as pie.


----------



## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

Lyras said:


> Do you or anyone know of a kind of step-by-step guide as to how to make this happen ? speaking of actually making the move out of the US and into Mexico. Part of me just wants to pack up my car and go, but I know that's not really feasible. I know I need to do much more research and know what I'm doing at each stage.


I am not sure it really is any more difficult than just "pack up my car and go." Come on a 180 day tourist visa and investigate. Find a place you like. Rent at first so you're not tied down. Be willing and able to move around, explore different parts of the country and different parts of the cities you choose. 

You do not, at least immediately, have to make any choices that you would be stuck with for the foreseeable future. Take the time to look around. Once you decide where, specifically, you would like to be, then you can start the process of making a more permanent move.


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Lyras,
If you visit Mexico on a 180 day tourist permit, you must leave Mexico before it expires in 180 days. Are you prepared to do that?
If you wish to reside in Mexico, free to come and go at will, you may prove your financial qualifications at a Mexican consulate in the USA and finish the process in Mexico with proof of address in Mexico. Do you think you will qualify? If you do, you can pack up the car and move, but the car can only stay for up to 4 years, when you will convert to a permanent residence visa and no longer be entitled to a foreign vehicle; so, you will have to take it back north of the border and replace it with one purchased in Mexico, if you wish to continue having a car.
That is the basic ‘step by step‘ situation.


----------



## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

RVGRINGO said:


> Lyras,
> If you visit Mexico on a 180 day tourist permit, you must leave Mexico before it expires in 180 days. Are you prepared to do that?
> If you wish to reside in Mexico, free to come and go at will, you may prove your financial qualifications at a Mexican consulate in the USA and finish the process in Mexico with proof of address in Mexico. Do you think you will qualify? If you do, you can pack up the car and move, but the car can only stay for up to 4 years, when you will convert to a permanent residence visa and no longer be entitled to a foreign vehicle; so, you will have to take it back north of the border and replace it with one purchased in Mexico, if you wish to continue having a car.
> That is the basic ‘step by step‘ situation.


Basically, RV is correct, but he forgot to add that no one has to become permanent; you may choose to remain on an RT with your car, by just doing the whole process again that you did with the original RT.

DW gave an excellent suggest of coming on a Visitor Permit for 180 days and check things out. Mexico is not for everyone, and if you find that you fit that category, better the least investment you make. Suerte.


----------

