# Best place to retire in Mexico without a car



## Traveler123

I'm enjoying all the descriptions of various towns, villages and cities in Mexico and reading about everyone's differing priorities.....some are looking for quiet, some are looking for the excitement of the city, some are looking for cooler (or hotter) weather. What are your opinions of desirable places in Mexico to retire where a car is not needed? One of my top goals in retirement is not to have the hassle and expense of owning a car. Any thoughts?


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## HolyMole

*Freedom from the Car*



Traveler123 said:


> I'm enjoying all the descriptions of various towns, villages and cities in Mexico and reading about everyone's differing priorities.....some are looking for quiet, some are looking for the excitement of the city, some are looking for cooler (or hotter) weather. What are your opinions of desirable places in Mexico to retire where a car is not needed? One of my top goals in retirement is not to have the hassle and expense of owning a car. Any thoughts?


Good topic. I often asked the same question here in Canada through our child-rearing years when money was tight.

If there's anywhere that freedom from the car might work, especially for expats with more disposable income than most of the locals, I would think it's Mexico. Taxis are cheap and plentiful, buses go virtually everywhere and are very inexpensive and it's unlikely there will be any significant price increases for public transportation in the foreseeable future due to the tremendous impact it would have on the average Mexican. Also, in many Mexican towns it is still possible to reside within a fairly short walk from "centro", the markets and shops. In a place like the Lake Chapala area, I would expect there might be car pools available for those wanting regular trips into Guadalajara. 

My favourite area, Zihuatanejo in Guerrero, is so compact that not having a car is definitely feasible.


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## jlms

Big towns of course.

Mexico City and Guadalajara would be my favourites.

Smaller places are fine, but transport is not as good, and you may not find al what you need close by, but if the locals can live without cars it should be doable for anybody else (very good Spanish is certainly a must and lots of flexibility and patience).


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## El Toro Furioso

There probably isn't a "best place to live in Mexico without a car." If you want to live in a big city, then there is the bus, cabs, _peseros_ or equivalents and other car services. There are also delivery services for many more bulky or heavy items.
If you want to live lakeside, there are cheap buses running everywhere until after 9pm at night, usually. There are cabs. There are private car services. And there is delivery of many items, including a service that will go to Costco for you and deliver your order to you for a reasonable fee.
If you live on the beach in a small village there are buses, there are cabs, there is hitchhiking (after a while, you will get to know many of the local drivers with _camionetas_. You may want to consider a small motorbike as well. New ones sell for $12,000 to $25,000 pesos. If the engine is under 150cc you don't have to buy insurance. In small towns without a Pemex station, gasoline is sold by the liter in one or more small _abbarotes_ or _ferreterias_. 
In sum, there are precious few places in Mexico where you couldn't live without a car. And there is no place in Mexico where many Mexicans are not living without a car.


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## Hound Dog

Trying to avoid car ownership? Simple. In or adjacent to the historic colonial center of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas nestled in the high Jovel Valley at 7,000 feet in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and surrounded by beautiful alpine forests and colorful indigenous villages. San Cristóbal is a compact city of about 130,000 people with a large indigenous population and the city is not only designated a "Pueblo Màgico" within the Mexican Federation but is in line to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the near future. While we do own a car which we need at Lake Chapala where we also live, when we drive to San Cristóbal we park that car for the duration in our garage in the city`s historic quarter and walk or take taxis and/or combis everywhere in town. Taxis and combis are ubiquitous and cheap. Taxis are not metered and a taxi ride is $18 Pesos anywhere in the city with a nominal tip of $2 Pesos the local standard. Combis will take you just about any place you wish to go for a pittance. For longer trips to outlying attractions and cities all over Chiapas and Mexico, there are vans for hire and public buses of all classes from the infamous "chicken buses" to luxurious liners to distant destinations throughout the state and country. The nearby Tuxtla Gutierrez airport also offers easy access to the nation and the world and the airport is easily reached by scheduled inexpensive vans for hire of more expensive (about $350 Pesos) private taxis.

While we do take out the car for shopping and other necessary trips to the state capital at Tuxtla Gutierrez about 45 kilometers down the mountain on the new autopista, one can find inexpensive local bus and taxi transportation to Tuxtla as well and throughout Tuxtla once one has arrived there. Tuxtla, by the way, is a large and prosperous city of about 1,000,000 people with excellent local public transportation and all of the urban amenities one could normally desire. 

San Cistóbal is a walker´s dream even though the sidewalks are a bit on the rustic side but one gets used to that very quickly.In centro, there are several pedestrian-only streets to make the strolling even more pleasant and just about any place one wishes to go is within a pleasant and easy walk. On top of that, the city is mostly flat so it is not necessary to negotiate steep hills while walking as is the case in some other ancient colonial cities.

Now, on the challenging side - it is necessary for the committed would be "Coleto" wannabee to at least partially master Spanish as English is not widely spòken but on the positive side of that challenge - it is easier to master Spanish in a place such as Highland Chiapas than it is in a community catering to foreigners such as the Chapala/Jocotepec urban zone on Lake Chapala´s North Shore where English is widely spoken. There is nothing like necessity to spur determination when it comes to learning a new language.

Now, you will hear about other places you can live in Mexico without a car and that is true but San Cristóbal is special in that regard as described above and, I might add, for trips you may wish to take with a private car such as, say, a motor tour through the incredible beauty of the mountainous jungles of southeastern Chiapas from the Lagos de Montebello to Yaxchilan to Bonampak and Palenque, you or you and companions can rent a car for those occasional forays a hell of a lot cheaper than owning an unneeded car all the time.

This area is unique and stunningly beautiful and you do not need a car to enjoy it to its fullest.


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## sparks

Since over 50% of Mexicans don't have cars ... I'd say anywhere. Just decide if you need a Walmart in your town or the neighboring one


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## Rodrigo84

Using just Mexico City as an example (I don't recommend retiring there), many get by with public transportation, but even then I know a lot of people with a small apartment and as mentioned earlier a moped/scooter on the back of which they attached a large basket to carry groceries or other items. Some of these vehicles even have an added or 3rd wheel for better balance of such items and a widened rear with small engine modifications. As such, it can drive every day with no need for emissions testing or insurance as mentioned earlier. That can really come in handy even if you don't have a car.


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## RVGRINGO

We really don't need a car and do walk to our routine shopping needs, restaurants, park and lakefront. However, we do like to go to Guadalajara once in a while and walking is a bit of a problem for any period of time. As such, we do use a car for our major shopping excursions. In fact, we have an SUV that we use for those big raids on Costco and Mega or for trips with friends. For routine travel, we have an economical Smart Car that we use to zip around more economically. Sometimes, the SUV sits in the garage for a month at a time. However, if we have more than two or three visitors at the same time, we all hop on the bus and can go anywhere. Buses leave Chapala for Guadalajara every 30 minutes, for example. There are also special shopping buses from the American Legion or central Ajijic which take folks to the various malls in Guadalajara and there are bus tours to other areas, or beach resorts, organized by clubs as well as travel agents.


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## phil&sue

Merida in the Yucatan.... It has great bus routes and the prices are right..


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## El Toro Furioso

phil&sue said:


> Merida in the Yucatan.... It has great bus routes and the prices are right..


Just what part of Mexico are you thinking of that doesn't have "great bus routes" and low prices? Many would find the heat and humidity much of the year a rather high price to pay for this convenience in the Yucatán. And I live most of the year on the Pacific coast (the really really hot months on Lake Chapala).


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## RVGRINGO

Mexico has excellent bus service everywhere and perhaps the best luxury bus service in the world on long distance routes. Some buses have only three reclining seats across, sandwich bar, bathrooms, movies, pillows & blankets, etc. Kind of like first class air travel.


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## makaloco

Here's a different perspective: My home is within a few blocks of El Centro in a city with safe and reliable public transportation. I moved here expecting not to have a car. That notion didn't last long, so it's a good thing I wasn't wedded to it! It's true, plenty of Mexicans do without cars, but not necessarily by choice. When there's no option, they adjust their activities around their carlessness. Well, I tried for nearly six months, because I hadn't budgeted for one and couldn't afford it earlier, but it was frustrating and stressful.

I dislike shopping and found I preferred once-a-week supermarket runs over frequent excursions to El Centro. My pets needed to visit the vet occasionally, and I worried about what would happen if one needed emergency treatment. Some of my friends lived in outlying areas with sporadic bus service or none, and no taxis. I hated imposing on others for transportation, or turning down invitations if I couldn't get a ride. And I was sick of spending entire exhausting days doing routine errands that would have taken an hour or less with a car.

I bought a old car as soon as I could. I only use it 2-3x /week, but I am much, MUCH happier!


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## RVGRINGO

So, it seems the answer to the original poster's question is, 'Yes, it can be done almost anywhere but it may be a major adjustment for those who have spent their lives in suburbia and dependent upon automobiles. In Mexico, that isn't the case and folks are accustomed to walking a lot and shopping daily. The nice part of that is the sense of a town being alive with friendly folks who smile and greet each other as they go about their daily business. So, for most of us, having a car makes us feel comfortable and 'normal', while still being able to enjoy the ambience of village or neighborhood life.


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## El Toro Furioso

¡Amén! Estoy de acuerdo.


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## makaloco

Suburbia? That's hilarious ... I retired and moved here following 25 years in central Cairo! But you're right, an adjustment is in order for anyone used to having a vehicle. The original poster seems to attach great importance to doing without one, so I was trying to emphasize that it's as much about lifestyle as about location. To some, not needing a car is freedom. To others, having a car is freedom.


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## Traveler123

makaloco said:


> To some, not needing a car is freedom. To others, having a car is freedom.


So true. Not needing a car is the ultimate freedom for me, but obviously not for everyone. I appreciate all the responses. I haven't decided which part of Mexico is for me, but the expense and hassle of a car as a solo retiree is something I'd like to eliminate when I retire to Mexico. I plan to live near centro in whatever city I end up choosing. It will likely be a process of visiting several places over time to make a good decision. Thanks again.


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## quinta

I would also say Merida (yes it's hot but there's a lot more to Yucatan than just heat and i'm sure the thousands of expats living there - year round- will agree with me). Very safe and easy to get around.
Puebla also has great public transport, goes everywhere and no heat. I can also recommend Tlaxcala and many other cities around the Valle de Mexico.
There's also Puerto Vallarta where I had to find a place to park my car since I didn't use it. Great town to get around and very walkable too.
Campeche city and most of the beach towns as well. There is always transportation available and once you adapt to the slower pace, it should'nt be a problem at all.
If you are open minded and have resolved to have a healthier lifestyle, no car, more walking and leaving the US lifestyle behind can work wonders! Plus, you get to see so much more from that vantage point, but then it's all in how you look at things......


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## roni

Last December we were having a delightful cena at La Poderosa in Merida with two local expat couples. One man asked me if I wanted to own a car when we moved to Mexico. I answered "Yes, but I do not want to have to use it all the time."

While there, we walked a couple of kilometers to a big store and took a taxi back to our little apartment. That worked fine.


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## profit

*merida yucatan*



Traveler123 said:


> I'm enjoying all the descriptions of various towns, villages and cities in Mexico and reading about everyone's differing priorities.....some are looking for quiet, some are looking for the excitement of the city, some are looking for cooler (or hotter) weather. What are your opinions of desirable places in Mexico to retire where a car is not needed? One of my top goals in retirement is not to have the hassle and expense of owning a car. Any thoughts?


merida in the yucatan


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## BajaGringo

That one is easy!

Cozumel


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## mexijo

Take a couple of weeks travelling Mexico without a car. You will find your place. 

Maybe the mountain village only accesible walking a donkey trail for five hours from the dirt-road? Maybe Mexico-City?


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## carolina00789

Hound Dog said:


> Trying to avoid car ownership? Simple. In or adjacent to the historic colonial center of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas nestled in the high Jovel Valley at 7,000 feet in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and surrounded by beautiful alpine forests and colorful indigenous villages. San Cristóbal is a compact city of about 130,000 people with a large indigenous population and the city is not only designated a "Pueblo Màgico" within the Mexican Federation but is in line to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the near future. While we do own a car which we need at Lake Chapala where we also live, when we drive to San Cristóbal we park that car for the duration in our garage in the city`s historic quarter and walk or take taxis and/or combis everywhere in town. Taxis and combis are ubiquitous and cheap. Taxis are not metered and a taxi ride is $18 Pesos anywhere in the city with a nominal tip of $2 Pesos the local standard. Combis will take you just about any place you wish to go for a pittance. For longer trips to outlying attractions and cities all over Chiapas and Mexico, there are vans for hire and public buses of all classes from the infamous "chicken buses" to luxurious liners to distant destinations throughout the state and country. The nearby Tuxtla Gutierrez airport also offers easy access to the nation and the world and the airport is easily reached by scheduled inexpensive vans for hire of more expensive (about $350 Pesos) private taxis.
> 
> While we do take out the car for shopping and other necessary trips to the state capital at Tuxtla Gutierrez about 45 kilometers down the mountain on the new autopista, one can find inexpensive local bus and taxi transportation to Tuxtla as well and throughout Tuxtla once one has arrived there. Tuxtla, by the way, is a large and prosperous city of about 1,000,000 people with excellent local public transportation and all of the urban amenities one could normally desire.
> 
> San Cistóbal is a walker´s dream even though the sidewalks are a bit on the rustic side but one gets used to that very quickly.In centro, there are several pedestrian-only streets to make the strolling even more pleasant and just about any place one wishes to go is within a pleasant and easy walk. On top of that, the city is mostly flat so it is not necessary to negotiate steep hills while walking as is the case in some other ancient colonial cities.
> 
> Now, on the challenging side - it is necessary for the committed would be "Coleto" wannabee to at least partially master Spanish as English is not widely spòken but on the positive side of that challenge - it is easier to master Spanish in a place such as Highland Chiapas than it is in a community catering to foreigners such as the Chapala/Jocotepec urban zone on Lake Chapala´s North Shore where English is widely spoken. There is nothing like necessity to spur determination when it comes to learning a new language.
> 
> Now, you will hear about other places you can live in Mexico without a car and that is true but San Cristóbal is special in that regard as described above and, I might add, for trips you may wish to take with a private car such as, say, a motor tour through the incredible beauty of the mountainous jungles of southeastern Chiapas from the Lagos de Montebello to Yaxchilan to Bonampak and Palenque, you or you and companions can rent a car for those occasional forays a hell of a lot cheaper than owning an unneeded car all the time.
> 
> This area is unique and stunningly beautiful and you do not need a car to enjoy it to its fullest.


SO well said! I am so pleased to see an American (?) finally write well and intelligently about Mexico, a place that is very dear to me. 

Here's my question: I am thinking of retiring in Mexico, which I know well. I lived in DF for two years with my family, as a teenager, and have traveled all over Mexico many times. I speak fluent Spanish. But I cannot settle on a place to go. I visited San Cristobal de las Casas maybe ten or twelve years ago and like it very much....what do you think of San Cristobal as a place of permanent residence? Another option would be San Miguel de Allende, where I have been numerous times. And I like Taxco and the area around Cuernavaca. I'd LOVE not to have to take my car into Mexico.....I understand getting it permitted is a nightmare....so your response was especially intriguing. For the original poster, I'd say that one could manage fairly well in San Miguel without a car, as long as one lives near the Plaza (el centro.) Trips to the big supermarket outside of town will require a vehicle.

I'm an old Mexico hand, speak the language and love the country, but I DO want American cable TV, a gym and a good supermarket!


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## carolina00789

Traveler123 said:


> I'm enjoying all the descriptions of various towns, villages and cities in Mexico and reading about everyone's differing priorities.....some are looking for quiet, some are looking for the excitement of the city, some are looking for cooler (or hotter) weather. What are your opinions of desirable places in Mexico to retire where a car is not needed? One of my top goals in retirement is not to have the hassle and expense of owning a car. Any thoughts?


Here's the thing....public transportation in Mexico is always available, incredibly cheap (even taxis) and getting a car into the country is a nightmare and they will charge you huge duties. Someone with more recent knowledge than I should speak to the issue of importing a car....it's not easy. I need to know too! I am currently trying to decide where to go in Mexico, though it is a country that I know well.

But first you should first pick the way you want to live. It's hot as hell on the beach, not to mention the beach resorts being areas of high tourism, low culture and zero colonial charm. But maybe you want to lie on the beach for the next twenty years. The interior heartland cities of colonial Mexico, at anywhere from five to seven thousand feet in altitude, are by far the most beautiful and culturally rich and have a fabulous climate....in the seventies all year. San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Taxco, Zacatecas, Oaxaca and San Cristobal de las Casas are a few. Check out Morelia too and Valle de Bravo is you like water sports. Go to your local bookstore and get a couple of travel books on Mexico so you can inform yourself. Climate and lifestyle should be your first decision.


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## El Toro Furioso

carolina00789 said:


> S I'd LOVE not to have to take my car into Mexico.....I understand getting it permitted is a nightmare.../QUOTE]
> Actually, bringing your car with you to Mexico could not be easier. It takes about 5 to 15 minutes to do the paperwork and get the proper number of copies made. Pay a small fee and you can keep the car in Mexico for as long as you want, as long as you have an FM3. I don't understand what made you think that it "is a nightmare," unless you were thinking of trying to get Mexican-state plates for it. That isn't necessary and, if you could succeed, would end up costing you more money in insurance and registration fees than just keeping your US-state plates. ¡Qué le vaya bien!


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## carolina00789

El Toro Furioso said:


> carolina00789 said:
> 
> 
> 
> S I'd LOVE not to have to take my car into Mexico.....I understand getting it permitted is a nightmare.../QUOTE]
> Actually, bringing your car with you to Mexico could not be easier. It takes about 5 to 15 minutes to do the paperwork and get the proper number of copies made. Pay a small fee and you can keep the car in Mexico for as long as you want, as long as you have an FM3. I don't understand what made you think that it "is a nightmare," unless you were thinking of trying to get Mexican-state plates for it. That isn't necessary and, if you could succeed, would end up costing you more money in insurance and registration fees than just keeping your US-state plates. ¡Qué le vaya bien!
> 
> 
> 
> I suppose I was thinking of what it used to be in the sixties when I lived there with my parents. It cost more to bring in a car (in duties) than the car was worth. Thousands. Maybe those days are gone. Are you saying that one can retire in Mexico, bring in a car and keep it there forever.....years and years...as long as one has the FM3? I will have to ship a truck-full of furniture and household belongings if I come, so I would assume the FM3 is what I need....no?
Click to expand...


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## RVGRINGO

A car, yes, a truck, not unless it is a gasoline powered pickup truck. They won't let you bring in a large truck (commercial?) and I think they forbid diesels for nationalization for some reason.
However, you may bring your US or Canadian plated car on an 'importada temporal' and it can stay as long as you keep your FM3 or FM2 current. That said, you must have 'aduana' remove the sticker and give you a receipt whenever you drive it out of Mexico. That is now being enforced; it wasn't in the past, but is always a wise move in case of loss of your vehicle while outside of Mexico and the impossible situation that would cause.


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## carolina00789

Thanks. When I said ship a truckfull of furniture, I meant send by Mayflower in an 18-wheeler. I have the contents of a two bedroom house and I can get rid of a lot but there is a living room full of 18th century Chippendale furniture that is worth a fortune and I'm not giving it up! 
I haven't had good luck with my car in Mexico though. Or...so-so. I drove it back from Antigua, in Guatemala, where I lived for a year with no trouble at all, but when I stayed in San Miguel, on another trip, someone just scratched it up with a key on purpose, just for the Hell of it, in front of the hotel! And I tore the bumper loose in Valle de Bravo and the so-called Mexican insurance insisted it was a truck and not an SUV and wouldn't pay for it. (It's an SUV)

I guess I'm not up to speed....what is a Smart Car? What do they look like? What do they cost? I am SO not into cars, as you can tell. I guess I can probably Google it, which I will, but tell me what you think of it.

Thanks so much for your kind replies.


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## RVGRINGO

If you plan to ship furniture, I would work through a Mexican shipper who will know the brokers and expediters and also which US company they coordinate with. To do that, you will need a 'Menaje de Casa' available from your nearest consulate. It is a detailed inventory of your goods. You will need an FM3 in hand to do that and, once issued, there is a 'window of time' in which you must ship the goods after you get the FM3. Then, once at your home in Mexico, you must register that FM3 with Immigration within 30 days of crossing the border.


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