Mexico relocation guide, continually updated

Mexperience provides in-depth insights and local knowledge with extensive articles, guides, and cross-references and connections to help you discover more of Mexico, consider your lifestyle options, define your intentions, make a plan, and help you to avoid making material mistakes with your Mexico lifestyle plans.

Our guides are written by people who know Mexico intimately, are continually revised and updated—and they’re published free of charge.

Mexperience helps you through every step of the journey

Our detailed guides and insights offer you complete information throughout every step of your journey:

• Discovering the benefits and opportunities Mexico offers to live and work or retire.
• Detailed insights that help you to consider whether Mexico is right for you and your partner—and family if relevant.
• When you’ve determined that Mexico is right for you, we offer lots of practical advice to help you plan your lifestyle in Mexico.
• Mexperience also helps you to plan your move, settle-in to Mexico, cultivate your social and community networks and helps you learn how adapt to the country and its culture.
• When you’re settled here, our up to date articles and monthly newsletter help you to cultivate a fruitful home life in Mexico.
• Our homestead articles offer practical advice to help you manage your home in Mexico and its dwelling spaces.
• Our insights and local knowledge also help if you’re living in Mexico now but want to revisit your intentions and need guidance to help you settle, adapt, and reform your plans.

Take the next step: start here

Mexperience offers extensive insights, local knowledge, and connections, and everything we publish is free and open to all readers.

Begin your journey

Our Mexico Living & Lifestyles guide connects you to in-depth articles and information about living in Mexico. It’s continually updated, helping you to make considered choices and useful connections.

Help with lifestyle planning

Our regularly-updated section about Lifestyle Planning in Mexico shares insights to help you make informed decisions about your lifestyle choices in Mexico.

Calculate your living costs

Our detailed guide to the cost of living in Mexico helps you calculate a personalized budget based on your life stage and lifestyle choices.

Consider places to live in Mexico

We publish guides to help you consider places to live in Mexico, whether you come to live, work or retire.

Obtain your Mexico residency permit

Our detailed guide to applying for residency in Mexico shows you every step needed to qualify and apply for legal residency in Mexico

Real estate and property rental in Mexico

We publish a detailed guide to real estate in Mexico that shares practical insights when you’re buying, owning, renting, and selling property here.  We recommend you rent a house first before you buy, unless you’re familiar with the area you’re moving to.

Learn how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico

Our comprehensive guides describe how you can keep in touch when you’re in Mexico.  Our local insights include learning about Mexico cell phone plans, how to dial phones, connecting to internet services including satellite services, and also learn about post and couriers… and the cost of utilities and communications.

Cultivate your home life

When you’ve made the move and you’re living here, our regularly updated articles about cultivating a fruitful home life in Mexico will give you insights, inspiration, and ideas to make the most of your everyday lifestyle.

Manage your money & finances in Mexico

We publish detailed, updated, information about managing your finances in Mexico, including bank accounts, money exchange, and money transfers.

Homestead care and management

Whether you’re renting a home or have purchased a property here, our regularly updated guides help you manage your home and dwelling spaces in Mexico, with tips and local knowledge to keep them well maintained and secure for you and your family.

Learning and improving your Spanish

We encourage you to learn Spanish to help you make the most of your experiences in Mexico.  We connect you to language courses, and our in-depth PinPoint Spanish series helps you to learn about the nuances of language usage in Mexico.

Driving, road trips and running a car in Mexico

Our guides and articles about driving and taking road trips in Mexico help you to prepare your longer road trips as well as dealing with everyday driving matters.

Free Monthly Mexico Newsletter

Sign-up to our free monthly newsletter about Mexico that is filled with inspiration, meaningful knowledge, helpful connections, and tips for better living, lifestyle, and leisure in Mexico.

Discover even more of Mexico

Our Discover Mexico section provides a constantly updated stream of articles and guides that share knowledge and keep you updated about opportunities in Mexico.

Comprehensive and detailed guide to living and cultivating a lifestyle in Mexico, continually revised and updated. Free—no payment or subscription needed.

Complete and detailed guide to Living & Lifestyles in Mexico that’s continually updated

Our extensive guides and articles offer insights to anyone exploring prospects for living, working, retirement and cultivating your lifestyle in Mexico.

They provide practical insights, incisive local knowledge, and meaningful guidance that helps you to discover opportunities, consider your choices, and make informed decisions.

Discover what lifestyles Mexico offers, identify opportunities of interest to you, weight up the compromises, consider your options, and plot a course based on the things that are important to you.

Guides to lifestyles in Mexico, for all life stages

Our continually-updated guides help you to begin weaving together the key components which create a workable and realistic lifestyle plan in Mexico, whatever planning stage and life stage you are in presently:

• To those considering a move to Mexico, whether you are single, with your partner, or a family with young children, Mexperience helps you to discover the country and evaluate living and lifestyle choices available here.  Our guides also offer thoughtful guidance about setting out your intentions and reshaping your situations.
• To those planning their retirement or seeking a place to retire, Mexperience guides provide specific guidance about matters related to retirement planning and retirement lifestyles, as well as the practicalities of retiring in Mexico.
• When you’re already living in Mexico, our guides and articles provide practical insights that help you to settle-in, adapt, and cultivate your new lifestyle here day-to-day.
• Regardless of your life stage, the information we publish provides meaningful insights about the essential day-to-day practical matters of living in Mexico, adapting to the country, the climates and culture, and more—with extensive cross references and links to further information and helpful contacts who can help you to realize your Mexico plans.

Planning or redefining your lifestyle in Mexico

Obtain practical insights, get incisive local knowledge and meaningful guidance that helps you to consider opportunities, weigh up your choices, and make informed decisions about planning or redefining your lifestyle in Mexico.

Mexico as a place for your retirement

We publish comprehensive information to help you plan a retirement here, whether you’re planning ahead or already retired and considering Mexico as a potential retirement haven.

Exploring locations and finding a place to live in Mexico

Our extensive articles help you to consider key aspects as you explore your options and make choices about your lifestyle and potential location types in Mexico.

Getting your residency permit for Mexico

Mexico’s immigration laws are reasonable and allow non-Mexicans with the financial means or family roots, and/or skills, to live here legally. We publish extensive knowledge to help you, including:

Moving and settling-in to life in Mexico

When you’ve decided to move to Mexico and made key decisions about where and how you’ll live, there’s the move a period of adapting and settling-in.  We publish extensive guides and articles to help you settle.

Learn how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico

Our guides include detailed information about how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico: by phone, by internet, as well as using postal and courier services here.  Our local knowledge helps you to choose a mobile phone plan, explore choices for high speed internet in Mexico (even if you live in a remote area) and our cost of living guide includes a section about the cost of communications services.

Detailed insights into the practicalities of living in Mexico day-to-day

Our articles and guides also include comprehensive insights about day to day living in Mexico that help you to plan your lifestyle, settle-in, and make the most of your life and activities in Mexico.

Mexico’s living costs and managing your finances

Financial considerations are an important aspect of any move.  Mexperience helps you to calculate your cost of living in Mexico and offers practical tips for managing your money and finances here.

Mexico as a place for working-age professionals

Working-age professionals, especially those plying a trade in the knowledge economy, are also considering Mexico as a base to live and work.

And more… resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free
• Regularly-updated articles about lifestyle planning  in Mexico
• Insights about day to day living with Mexico Home Life

When you’re seeking a change of lifestyle in earnest, and you’re prepared to invest in the decision, you’ll find a wealth of knowledge here on Mexperience to help you consider your choices, and provide resources and connections that can help you to turn your plans into reality.

Our guides and articles are written by people who know Mexico intimately, and they are kept continuously updated.  Everything we publish is offered freely, with no payments or subscription required.

Research and plan your move to Mexico

Stories of foreign residents who have moved to Mexico successfully are most often characterized by people who made an effort to research and make considered choices.

For those willing to make a plan and see-through the ‘sales pitch’ promises of pipe-dream lifestyles abroad, the benefits of meaningful residency in Mexico are real and tangible. Mexperience living and lifestyle guides and articles show you how.

Mexico lifestyle planning

Mexperience can help when you’re exploring prospects for living and working or retirement in Mexico.  Our extensive resources help you discover practical insights, incisive local knowledge, and meaningful guidance that helps you to consider opportunities, weigh up your choices, and make informed decisions.  Start by reading these key articles:

• Motivations for moving to and living in Mexico
• Approaches to choosing or changing your lifestyle
• Living costs in Mexico
• The journey to finding your place in Mexico

When you plan to retire in Mexico

Mexico continues to be one of the most popular countries in the world for American and Canadian retirees, and there is an increase in people from other parts of the world considering Mexico fore retirement too.  We publish comprehensive information to help you plan a retirement here, including:

• How to know if Mexico is right for your retirement
• Key benefits Mexico offers retirees
• Approaches for retirement lifestyles in Mexico
• How much money you need to retire in Mexico
• Regularly updated articles about retirement in Mexico

When you plan to work in Mexico

Working-age professionals, especially those plying a trade in the knowledge economy, are also considering Mexico as a base to live and work.

• Read our extensive guide to Working & Self-employment in Mexico
• Browse regularly updated articles about working lifestyles in Mexico

Mexico visas and residency permits

Mexico’s immigration laws are reasonable and allow non-Mexicans with the financial means or family roots, and/or skills, to live here legally. We publish extensive knowledge to help you, including:

• A detailed summary about how to apply for residency in Mexico.
• Learn about routes to obtaining legal residency in Mexico
• Regularly updated articles and insights about obtaining and maintaining your residency status in Mexico.

Finding a place to live in Mexico

When you move here, you’ll need somewhere to live. Whether you plan to rent or buy a home here, Mexperience offers a wealth of helpful insights and practical local knowledge.

Our extensive articles help you to consider key aspects as you explore your options and make choices about your lifestyle and potential location types in Mexico.  Key articles to read about this include:

• Influencing factors as you search for a place to live in Mexico
• Matching your location with your lifestyle needs
• The charms & compromises of living in the Mexican countryside
• Discover places for living, working or retirement in Mexico

The practicalities of living in Mexico

Our articles and guides also include comprehensive insights about day to day living in Mexico, including:

• Renting, buying, owning and selling a home in Mexico
• Driving and bringing foreign plated cars to Mexico
• Moving your personal goods to Mexico
• Living with pets in Mexico
• Learning or improving your Spanish
• Managing your health and well-being
• Getting essential insurance coverages
• Browse updated articles in our Mexico Home Life section for tips and insights about day-to-day living here.

Managing your finances and living costs

Financial considerations are an important aspect of any move.

• We don’t recommend you plan a lifestyle here solely based on living costs, but they are a key factor to consider and our guide to the cost of living in Mexico will help you to map-out a detailed budget based on your individual life situation.
• Learn about Mexico’s currency.
• Browse our regularly-updated articles about money, banking and finances in Mexico to get practical insights into managing your money when you’re here.

Mexico is an ideal place to spend your leisure time

When you’re living here, you’ll enjoy direct access to the enormous choice of leisure opportunities Mexico offers.

• Our guides and articles about travel experiences in Mexico provide inspiration and advice for spending your leisure time.
• Our travel partners can help you arrange custom travel tours, with itineraries created by people who know Mexico intimately.

Mexico Assistance Services bridge the gap

To help you take the next steps and bridge the gap between your planning and making those plans happen, we also offer a selection of Mexico Assistance Services that connect you to service providers and local professionals that can facilitate your endeavors and help you to realize your plans.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Regularly-updated articles about lifestyle planning  in Mexico
• Insights about day to day living with Mexico Home Life
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

The annual survey is a barometer of current perceptions as expressed by Internations’ members who are primarily foreign expats situated across the world, including those in Mexico.

Measure twice, cut once

These surveys help to raise awareness about certain places and offer some helpful snapshots concerning the current mood among those seeking or living lifestyles abroad, and the criteria measured for selecting the best destinations —quality of life, ease of settlement, and cost of living, etc. —are valid and universal attractions of living anywhere.

Moving overseas is a significant commitment of yours and your family’s time, resources, energy, and emotions, and your reasons for moving to any place abroad ought to be considered with careful deliberations founded on your core lifestyle intentions.

Consider what you’re seeking from a lifestyle in Mexico

Mexico offers genuine substance and value to foreign residents, and to figure out what you’re seeking from a new lifestyle here, it’s helpful to define your intentions and consider whether Mexico is right for you—and your partner and family, if relevant.

To achieve this, you need to step back from the idealistic portrayals often espoused by those ‘living the dream’ narratives so often seen published and:

• take a mindful pause and define your lifestyle intentions;
• consider what matters are important to you and those close to you;
• overlay those things with what Mexico offers for living and lifestyle; and
• consider how you’ll navigate the compromises you’ll inevitably have to make when you come and live here.

Lifestyle planning requires focus and support

You can never plan for every potential outcome, but having a clear idea about your core intentions will give you an anchor that you can return to through the inevitable periods of uncertainty and doubt that will arise as you move and settle-in to a new and different life situation in Mexico.

The matter of considering and defining your lifestyle intentions, and how Mexico does or does not fit well with those, is an important and substantial subject that is covered in-depth in our detailed articles about living and retirement in Mexico—see links below to get started.

A wealth of local knowledge, resources, and connections

When you’re exploring the possibilities that Mexico offers, Mexperience provides a comprehensive online resource that enables you to discover opportunities and temper the unbridled enthusiasm that’s sometimes painted by idealistic notions of living abroad.

The information we publish and share helps you to make considered choices, formulate a plan, and shows how you can realize that plan through constructive and sustainable changes in lifestyle.

Begin exploring your choices for a new and different life in Mexico:

• Key factors to consider as you plan your lifestyle in Mexico
• Latest articles and insights about Mexico lifestyle planning
• Key resources for planning a new lifestyle in Mexico
• Exploring potential locations to live in Mexico
• Learn about acquiring legal residency in Mexico
• Our Home Life section shares detailed practical insights about day-to-day living matters in Mexico

Obtaining assistance

Our associates provide helpful assistance services which provide key support for your Mexico lifestyle plans.  These include:

• Immigration assistance when you need help with your with your residency permits.
• Insurance services – mitigate the effects of unforeseen events with coverages for your vehicle, home, health and travel.
• Professional services – when you need counsel or advice about property, commercial or legal matters in Mexico.
• Real estate assistance – when you need help finding a property in Mexico.
• Spanish language study – obtain help when you want to learn or improve your Spanish.
• Leisure time – with Mexico on your doorstep, our travel associates can help you see more of it with carefully crafted custom tours that help you to make the most of your leisure time.

Learn about the prospects and opportunities offered by a new lifestyle lived and enjoyed on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake, situated in the mountains about an hour’s drive from Guadalajara and a six-hour drive northwest of Mexico City.

Invaluable program that shares essential insights into lifestyles around Lake Chapala

The program is organized and run by Focus on Mexico who, for two decades, has offered structured learning programs, seminars, and guidance for people who are seriously considering a move to Lake Chapala in Mexico, and want to get detailed insights about the prospects, opportunities, as well as the realities of living here.

Dates are open for 6-day events at Lake Chapala, as well as Online Programs which feature twice-weekly online meetings over a four week period.

Program dates for 2024

Focus on Mexico runs programs in Ajijic, on the shores of Lake Chapala, as well as online programs.  These are the current program dates:

• NEXT ONLINE PROGRAM: The next online program is taking place between between January 16th and February 13th, 2024 (twice weekly meetings over 5 weeks).
• HOSTED AT LAKE CHAPALA: The spring 2024 program will be held at the Lake Chapala Society in Ajijic between February 25th and March 1, 2024.

The programs, whether you attend in person or online, offer a fully guided, hands-on experience that will give you a detailed insights into “life at Lakeside” to help you determine if this area is right for your life situation, whether you’re single, a couple, or a family thinking about a move here.

Get current information that’s relevant and concise

Whether you attend a program hosted online or hosted at Lake Chapala, each program is carefully designed and customized for people thinking about moving or retiring to the Lake Chapala area, and the program material also provides essential knowledge as you make your transition, regardless of where in Mexico you eventually decide to live.

The program is carefully structured into logical steps, organized into three key stages:

• local knowledge and insights that help you to assess the area and lifestyle and decide whether Lake Chapala and environs is right for you;
• learning about the choices and practicalities of creating a new lifestyle in Mexico; and
• practical advice about the move itself, sharing essential things you need to know as you physically move to Mexico and settle-in here.

What’s included in program hosted at Lake Chapala?

Lake Chapala is one of the easiest places to get to in Mexico, via Guadalajara’s international airport, situated about 40 minutes’ drive from the lakeside towns.  Many participants choose to arrive earlier and/or stay on longer to explore the area on their own.

Your program begins with a Welcome Cocktail evening reception (including snacks and drinks) and registration at the Lake Chapala Society restaurant—a delightful and fresh open-air dining and meeting venue surrounded by lush vegetation. It’s an ideal opportunity to meet your program leaders and fellow participants amidst a relaxed and social atmosphere.

Comprehensive resource materials are provided, including a Workbook, Topic Handouts, and ‘Moving your Stuff’ to Mexico Instruction Book.

First-hand knowledge presentations by local experts: The week will be filled with interesting talks and seminars given by experts in their fields. Contact information for Expert Speakers will be provided, along with a growing list of recommended local providers, whose talks will give you insights into:

• health care, hospitals/doctors/health insurance options in the area;
• living lakeside lifestyles, safety/crime, legal;
• cost of living, U.S. taxes, Canadian non-residency, currency exchange;
• Mexican economy, investing in Mexico, immigration visas, doing business in Mexico;
• moving to Mexico, bringing pets;
• real estate, home financing, title insurance, renting or buying;
• keeping foreign plated vehicles, buying a car locally… and more.

Next steps and FAQs including a special session that helps you to determine “what do I do next?”, the creation of an Action Plan, and “how to” guides for when you are ready to make the move.

An invaluable personal experience

This 6-day program at Lake Chapala is an ideal opportunity to meet and talk to like-minded people, get first-hand insights about living and lifestyles in and around Lake Chapala, and gain valuable insights that can help you to make considered choices about a move to Mexico.

The program hosted at Lake Chapala is carefully structured to help you get the most from this type of gathering, including:

• coffee breaks, and private time for individual viewings and/or appointments;
• two Area and Housing Tour excursions; two lunches and two dinners are included in the program price with these excursions. (Additional optional outings available a-la-carte on advance request);
• activities info sheet including recommended restaurants and entertainment venue options;
• optional Focus ‘a-la-carte’ services for more detailed information on specific areas of interest, for example, getting a Mexican driver’s license, applying for the senior citizen discount card;
• access to a private Facebook Group of ‘Focus Alumni’ and the Focus Team to capture memories, continue the conversation, share photos, experiences, and advice.

Your week’s program at Lake Chapala will be rounded-off with a farewell Mexican Fiesta party at the home of a Focus alumnus, including evening dinner and drinks.

Pricing for Program hosted at Lake Chapala

This carefully designed and comprehensively structured program is offered for US$790 per person, or US$1,380 for a couple.

• A US$100 deposit will be taken in advance to secure your place on the program, with the balance due about a month before the program start date.
• A list of recommended accommodations will be sent to participants that offer comfortable lodgings within walking distance of the Lake Chapala Society.
• Optional “Focus ‘a-la-carte’ services” are quoted and paid for separately, in addition to the program fee.

Reserve your space by completing the form below.

What’s included in the Online Program?

The Online Program all of the same essential move-to-Mexico topics and benefits of the programs hosted at Lake Chapala, (see next section) with the exception of the local social and touring events.

The Online Program is presented over 5 weeks

The live online sessions are recorded and you’ll be given special access to these for post-event review, or in case you miss the live event online.

Join the Online Program for:

• One-on-one pre-program interview
• Live twice-weekly trainings you can attend in the convenience and comfort of your own home
• Live online Q&A sessions so you can get experts to address matters of specific concern to you
• Written guides and Cheat Sheets on key topics to support your learning throughout the online program
• Access to the Members-only Facebook group where you can meet like-minded people and share knowledge and experience
• One-on-one RoadMap implementation session with the leader of the program
• One-on-one post-program Action Plan review
• In addition to having access to the recorded program in 2023, you’ll also get full access to the the online program recorded in 2021 if you want to research further
• Money-back guarantee offered by the program organizer

Online Program pricing

Online program price: US$490, and the organizer offers a 100% no questions asked money-back guarantee if you did not find value in excess of the program cost.

Reserve your space by completing the form below.

Request further information and booking

Complete the request form below and the organizers of this program will contact you with further details, including information about how to reserve your place(s).

Creating a realistic and workable lifestyle plan

This article outlines key factors which, when taken into consideration in turn, will help you to weave together the principal components to create a realistic and workable lifestyle plan in Mexico.

Mexperience offers comprehensive local knowledge to guide you through every one of these areas, as well as helpful contacts who can help to facilitate your plans.

Foundation work for your Mexico lifestyle planning

Some people move to Mexico on a whim (with varying results); however, when you look under the hood of the stories about people who have made a beneficial move to Mexico, they tend to be underpinned by the presence of a lifestyle plan.

When you’re considering a move to Mexico it makes sense to take a step back and:

• consider your approach to a lifestyle in Mexico;
• define your intentions and know what’s motivating you to move here;
• be mindful about where in Mexico to live, taking care to match your true needs with the locations you consider;
• consider the requirements for legal residency;
• plan to deal with essential matters related to settling-in and adapting to a new culture and lifestyle in Mexico: by yourself, or with your partner or family.

Retirement planning in Mexico

If you plan to move to Mexico to retire (or to eventually retire here), you ought to consider matters related specifically to retirement planning and retirement lifestyles in Mexico.

Although retired people don’t carry the challenges and stresses of a working life —holding down a job, raising children, and keeping wolves from the door— retirement does bring other challenges.

Becoming informed by using practical guidance to help you make constructive plans, identifying and mitigating the risks associated with retirement abroad, and learning about key elements which often underpin a fruitful and abundant retirement lifestyle in Mexico can help you to make better choices.

Discovering places to live in Mexico

The place where you decide to live is a personal choice; it’s also subjective, and important.

Where you choose to live in Mexico can make or break your lifestyle plans and aspirations, so taking time to pause and consider your needs in relation to a place is sensible and preferable to making an impulsive decision based on assumptions which are often conceived in haste and based on limited knowledge and experience of a location and its attributes.

Matching your needs with your location is one of the cornerstone choices you will make as you plan a move to Mexico, and Mexperience offers insights and local knowledge to help you make considered choices.

Practical essentials for everyday living in Mexico

When you have committed to the move and find yourself in Mexico, you will face an entire raft of practical matters which are relevant to everyday living here, regardless of your life stage and other circumstances.

These include things like finding a property to rent or buy, adapting to local climates, keeping healthy and well, engaging with the language, keeping in touch, getting around using transport options, caring for your pets, as well as wide assortment of everyday practical matters like tipping and bargaining, and the water supply—to name a few.

Taking this pathway to adaptation is necessary and, although at times it may be challenging and confusing to you, it will form an essential part of your overall experience and provide a foundation from which you will learn to cultivate a fruitful lifestyle here.

When you’re settled, there are always day-to-day matters to contend with, that will form part of your new lifestyles and life experiences.   Mexperience offers ample insights to help you navigate these stages of change and transformation in your lifestyle.

Connect to additional resources

Knowledge, resources, and helpful contacts will play a defining role in your lifestyle planning and move to Mexico.  Mexperience helps you on your journey to discovering opportunities, making informed choices, and turning your lifestyle plans into reality.

• Our Mexico Lifestyle Planning section contains articles and guides to help you plan a new lifestyle, or consider how to reform an existing lifestyle here
• Discover Places to Live in Mexico helps you find and compare key locations across Mexico—from the most popular, to new emerging areas as well as places off the beaten track
• The Mexico Home Life section provides practical insights that help you to cultivate your lifestyle in Mexico every day

Obtaining assistance

Our associates provide helpful assistance services which provide key support for your Mexico lifestyle plans.  These include:

• Immigration assistance when you need help with your with your residency permits.
• Insurance services – mitigate the effects of unforeseen events with coverages for your vehicle, home, health and travel.
• Professional services – when you need counsel or advice about property, commercial or legal matters in Mexico.
• Real estate assistance – when you need help finding a property in Mexico.
• Spanish language study – obtain help when you want to learn or improve your Spanish.
• Leisure time – with Mexico on your doorstep, our travel associates can help you see more of it with carefully crafted custom tours that help you to make the most of your leisure time.

Factors that influence commitment levels

As we describe in our continually updated guides about living and retirement in Mexico, how much time you spend living in Mexico, and how much commitment you make to cultivating a lifestyle here will depend on many things and is ultimately a personal choice that you will probably have determined when you were defining your intentions and identifying the key factors and other matters that will influence your choices about moving to Mexico.

As noted in our guides referenced above, the key factors that influence these choices include:

• social and family ties you have in your home country;
• the attachment (or otherwise) you feel to your home country;
• the physical distance between Mexico and your home country;
• your financial resources and personal energy levels required to move twice a year; and
• your offspring’s perceptions if you have children.

These factors are addressed in detail in our guide to living and retirement in Mexico, and although they are not the only influencers, they are the principal ones which most foreign residents face as they make their choices regarding a move.

Practical matters to consider as you prepare to return to Mexico

If you are one of many foreign residents that shuttles between your home country and Mexico each year —or if you intend to do this as part of your planned lifestyle— there are several practical matters to consider as you prepare for your re-arrival to Mexico.

Your visitor or residency permit

If you use a visitor permit to reside in Mexico part-time, note that border officials appear to no longer be giving 180 days stay by default.  They can still give 180 days maximum (by law) but in many cases people are begin given fewer days—sometimes as few as 10.

If you reside in Mexico even for a few months a year, we recommend you consider applying for a residency permit that will make your border crossing smoother and prevent you from having to leave the country if your visitor permit is not issued for the length of time you intend to overwinter in Mexico.

Renewing your temporary residency

If you hold temporary residency in Mexico and you intend to keep your residency status in Mexico, you will need to renew it before its expiry date.  Residency card renewals must be done in person, in Mexico—they cannot be filed by proxy.

Your arrival in Mexico is an ideal moment to check the expiry date on your residency card(s) and file your renewal (or exchange to permanent residency) as appropriate.  If you need assistance with your renewal process or exchange to permanent, our associate can help.

Vehicles you might bring

If you intend to drive your US or Canadian plated vehicle to Mexico, consider whether you will need a Temporary Import Permit (TIP), and whether you need a TIP or not, you’ll need to purchase a vehicle insurance policy that covers your vehicle while its in Mexico.  Read our guides to driving and road trips in Mexico for insight and advice about driving here.

House and home

If you own a home in Mexico, you’ll need to talk to your local contact or agent about ‘reopening’ the property for your return if it has been left vacant in your absence.

As we remark in our guides to home maintenance and security, it’s not advisable to leave your property unattended for months.  If it has been rented out, you’ll need to liaise with your agent or the tenants to organize the checkout and hand-back, review of the property’s condition, and return of the deposit, etc.

If you rent a home while you’re in Mexico, you’ll need to liaise with the owner or the owner’s agent you are dealing with about arrangements for you to take possession of the property during the lease period.  And it’s also important to know who is renting your home while you’re away.

Health matters

People who live in Mexico part-time might choose to take out defined insurance policies that cover them for the months they are in Mexico; others choose to take a chance and pay any medical expenses out of pocket and buy a medical evacuation policy that would return them to their home country in the event of a major medical incident or accident. Learn more about the options for Mexico health and medical coverages.

Language skills

Being able to speak at least some Spanish will materially improve your lifestyle experiences while you’re in Mexico, even if you’re only living here part of the year.  There are sensible reasons for investing time and effort to learn (or improve) your Spanish, and there are courses online and in classrooms that can help you to do this.

Travel and leisure opportunities

Part-time residents in Mexico may opt to take advantage of their presence in Mexico and consider some travel and leisure opportunities that are close-by.  You can browse custom leisure tours offered by travel experts that know Mexico intimately here on Mexperience.

Miscellaneous practicalities

The guide to living and retirement sets out the plethora of practical matters and details which need to be considered as you move from one place to another. Many of these matters are relevant whether you move to Mexico full-time or part-time—the principal difference is that if you are living here only part time, you’ll effectively be managing lifestyles in at least two different locations simultaneously.

Practical matters as you prepare to leave Mexico

If you intend to leave Mexico for a defined period each year and return months later (or next season/year), the key matters for you to consider prior to your planned departure date from Mexico will likely include:

• ensuring your Mexico visitor permit has not expired if you don’t have a residency card (you’ll need to pay a fine when you leave, if you overstay your visitor permit date);
• if you have a residency permit, you need to ‘check out’ at the airport or other port of exit when you leave Mexico;
• if you own a house here, ensuring that your Mexican home is properly cared for in your absence, or if you plan to rent it out, ensure that you know who’s renting your home;
• if you drove a foreign-plated vehicle to Mexico outside of one of the defined Free Zones (and thus have a Temporary Import Permit—TIP), make sure you stop at the Banjercito border offices and cancel your TIP.
• if your insurance policies are not annual, be mindful of the policy expiry dates and create a reminder for yourself to restart them for your next return to Mexico.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Detailed guides to living and retirement in Mexico that are continually updated
• Insightful articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
• If you’re planning your initial relocation to Mexico, browse article on our Lifestyle Planning section
• Our Mexico Home Life section contains a wealth of local knowledge to help you settle-in and make the most of your lifestyle in Mexico.
• Our section about Home Stewardship is packed with practical advice for managing your home and dwelling spaces in Mexico.
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

The things you need to live well, to live comfortably, and to live simply are here.  They probably aren’t in the shapes and forms that you’re used to seeing; and how they manifest themselves might be different and, at first, alien to your customs.  This journey of discovery is one that you’ll have to undertake consciously if you intend to create a new lifestyle for yourself in Mexico.

Full adoption of any foreign country requires compromise, acceptance, and understanding.  Moving to Mexico will oblige you to change habits, surrender certain whims, and accept life for what it is, not what you wish it or demand it to be.  In return, Mexico could gift new dimensions to your life, for example, by encouraging you to see beyond your current horizon, and connecting you to friends of the kind you never thought possible.

You will witness the kindnesses and wickedness of human nature as the well-documented contrasts present themselves regularly.  Situations here will at times frustrate you or annoy you; sometimes they will appear to tease you for no apparent reason.

Mexico can also fill you with an energy and joy that will remain in you always.  It’s this spontaneous tapestry that creates the almost mystical allure that has brought foreigners to live here, and live out their lives here, for better and for worse, for centuries.  And when —or more precisely, if— you can find peace with all that Mexico is and all that Mexico is not, you will begin to find your place in these lands. If you don’t or discover that you can’t tread that testing path and adapt, Mexico will surely break your endeavors and send you back whence you came.

You might choose a big city, a home in the mountains, or perhaps you’ll find a tranquil place to live beside the ocean, or in the Mexican countryside.  The topographical diversity here offers ample choice of locations.

Whatever location you choose, your true place, when you find it in Mexico, will be anchored in the spaces that you will come to adore but which you cannot easily define, and in the feelings you hold for them which cannot be easily expressed.

It has been said that Mexico deposits a certain dust on visitors’ shoes that will cause them to return for good, or never again.  The allegory fits well with the contrasts so often cited in lore, but it would be foolhardy to encapsulate that thing, that indefinable attendance which attracts and repels so many to these complex and absorbing lands, in such black-and-white terms.  To adapt, you’ll need to turn up with an open mind, with courage and tenacity, and be prepared to craft your own story here—on Mexico’s terms.

If what you’re seeing on the news keeps you away from Mexico, your perceptions have been hijacked before you allowed yourself an opportunity to better understand these lands, and see what others here see: a country in transition, a country which is, by and large, less violent than those places where stones are so readily thrown from glass houses.

Finding your place in Mexico requires due course.  There are no shortcuts, no tricks or cheats to download, no instant answers.  And as you embark on this journey you’ll never quite understand how irrelevant all your preconceptions are to become as Mexico simultaneously encourages and obliges you to find your peace amidst its contrasts and eccentricities.

If you come to truly embrace Mexico, as its closest friends who are foreign-born to these lands do, it will most likely be through a baptism of fire that will test your character, your mettle, and your heart; through a journey of discovery that brings you to being each day and a knowing within that here is where your life belongs.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Helpful articles to help you plan your Mexico lifestyle
• Insights and tips for settling-in and cultivating a life here
• Detailed information about seeking residency in Mexico
• Detailed guides to cultivating your life and lifestyle in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

The Mexico Lifestyle Consulting & Relocation Planning service helps you explore options and make informed choices to form a coherent plan for your intended lifestyle in Mexico.

Save time, gain valuable lifestyle insights

This lifestyle consultancy service is carefully structured to assist in your lifestyle deliberations and planning:

• Helps you to consider choices and the groundwork needed to plan for living, working, or retirement in Mexico.
• The consultation saves you valuable time by focusing on matters related to your specific circumstances.
• You’ll get unique insights into the options and choices available for different lifestyles in Mexico based on your aims and intentions.
• Learn about the practicalities of moving and adapting to a new lifestyle and culture.
• The consultation may also help you to avoid making material mistakes commonly encountered by those seeking a lifestyle abroad.

Free 15-minute discovery consultation

The consultant offers a free 15-minute consultation with you so that you can meet and get to know each other, briefly discuss your situation, and determine if the service and her experience is right for your needs.

During your free 15-minute discovery consultation you can:

• Meet your consultant and learn about their experience.
• Share a brief summary about your situation.
• Determine if this consulting service is right for your needs.
• Optionally schedule a date for a full consultation.

Full consultation and written brief

Detailed questions you want to ask and concerns you want to address will be discussed during the full consultation.  The lifestyle consultation package is offered for a fixed fee of US$249 and you can book and pay for a full consultation directly with the consultant.

The full consultation will identify important aspects about your situation, address potential issues, and answer specific questions or concerns you have regarding a move to Mexico.

During the full consultation, our associate will:

• Help you to identity your priorities and define your aims and intentions.
• Consider realistic and viable options, based on your life stage, lifestyle choices, and intentions.
• Help you to consider whether Mexico is a good fit for you alone, or with your partner and family as relevant.
• Address any specific questions or concerns you have in regard to moving to Mexico to live, work, or retire.
• Help you to compile a shortlist of potential locations that may suit your lifestyle needs if you’re not yet sure about where in Mexico you want to live.
• Help you to consider the groundwork needed to plan the move, and adapt to a new lifestyle abroad.
• Share helpful local knowledge and valuable advice based on practical real-life experience of having moved to, settled, and adapted to Mexico.

After the consultation, our associate will compose a written summary briefing and send this to you by email. The brief will summarize your consultation, and contain curated references based on your individual situation for further research and planning.

Fixed fee lifestyle consultation

The lifestyle consultation package is offered for a fixed fee of US$249.

The full consultation call typically lasts for about an hour, and the package includes a post-consultation written summary brief for your review and further reference.

• The consultation begins with an in-depth conversation by telephone or video conference that typically lasts about an hour.
• After the consultation, Lucie will compose a written summary briefing and send this to you by email.
• The brief will summarize your consultation, and contain curated references based on your individual situation for further research and planning.
• Optional follow-up consultations may be booked directly with Lucie, billed on an hourly basis.

The consultant offers a free 15-minute discovery consultation with you by telephone or video conference so that you can meet and get to know each other, briefly discuss your situation, and determine if the service and her experience is right for your needs.

If you decide to proceed with a full consultation, the consultant will send you a payment request for a fixed-fee lifestyle consultation package.

Additional consultation time

If you would like a follow-up consultation after purchasing the fixed fee package, Lucie also offers consultancy on an hourly basis at US$99 per hour (one hour minimum).  Any time over one hour is billed precisely as used.

Meet our Mexico Lifestyle Consulting Associates

Our associate offers flexible assistance options with no hidden charges. Communicate by email, telephone/videophone, or text chat and get detailed advice and practical assistance with your Mexico residency application and other immigration procedures.

How the Tele-Assistance support service works

The tele-assistance support service saves you time and helps avoid common mistakes made by applicants.  This section describes the application stages and support offered at each stage.

Tele-Assistance Service Plans and Fees

Our associate’s service fee options are designed to flex with your individual situation. Consulting and assistance fees exclude the government fees applicants must pay to apply for residency in Mexico.

All service plans include an initial consultation by phone/videocall/email/chat, confirmation of the required procedures, completion of the forms and letters, custom checklist of documents you’ll need to carry, and written instructions about where to go and what to do when you arrive at the immigration office.

Make a service request for Tele-Assistance

To hire our associate to assist you, please complete the request form below.

What happens next?

• After you complete the form, our immigration assistance associate will contact you to request payment for the Tele-Assistance service.
• When you’ve paid, they’ll get in touch to schedule your initial consultation and begin the Tele-Assistance service.
• Mexperience will send you an email to confirm these details.

We regularly talk with foreign residents who have made their home here and, while all gardens can never be rosy all of the time, we’ve gathered together the key reasons cited by people who have settled here and say they are staying for the long-term.

“We’re enjoying a better quality of life.”

It’s no secret that the cost of living is rising across most of the world—that is, homestead, food and utilities are costing more, taxes are rising, and incomes are falling when compared to real inflation.

Retirees on fixed incomes are particularly affected by this.  People are moving to places like Mexico where their fixed incomes stretch further because they’re not paying as much for the basic necessities and their incomes are not being hit by rising costs that they cannot avoid, especially property taxes.

“We’re eating better food and paying less for it.”

There is an abundance of fresh, wholesome, food available in Mexico at affordable prices.  Fresh foods are available in many countries that don’t have the climates to grow them all year long, but at a premium price in comparison to highly processed and non-fresh foods.  In Mexico, you don’t have to spend the whole paycheck eating wholesomely.  Learn more about enjoying food in Mexico, as well as markets and shopping.

“Our home living costs are lower in Mexico.”

The fees and taxes home-owners have to pay in places like the US, Canada, and Western Europe have climbed steadily over the last decade—to the point where these are now a significant line-item on personal budgets.

Rises in house and community taxes have out-stripped inflation, and maintenance costs are steep: in summary, home ownership is becoming an expensive pastime and putting a lot of pressure on people with fixed incomes, or with wages that are failing to keep up with price rises.

In Mexico, home owners enjoy low property taxes as well as lower maintenance costs due to lower material prices and labor fees for house maintenance services.

“We enjoy an extraordinary climate.”

In terms of climate, Mexico is a land of three lands.

If you enjoy a year-round temperate climate, the central highland areas are ideal; if you need to be where it’s warmer/hot beside the ocean, there’s plenty of choice and, unlike the US, coastal property is still affordable in many places across Mexico.  If you prefer cooler temperatures year-round, Mexico’s highland mountain towns could suit you.

Some foreign residents come for the winter, some stay longer or stay all year. Our guide to finding a climate to suit your lifestyle will help you to consider the choices.  As a bonus, the light here is extraordinary all year.

“We can afford healthcare in Mexico.”

Routine medical care, specialist services, and medications cost less in Mexico, and you don’t have to compromise on the quality of healthcare you receive.

As the costs and limitations of the US and other medical care systems reveal themselves, people are looking abroad for the treatments and care they need—and Mexico’s geographical closeness is as attractive as the affordability.

You can learn about options for medical health care insurance in Mexico and find lots of additional insights about healthcare and well-being here on Mexperience.

“We feel safe in Mexico.”

In a related article about finding your niche in Mexico, we wrote: “If what you’re seeing about Mexico on your TV screen scares and keeps you away now, your perceptions have been hijacked before you allowed yourself an opportunity to better understand these lands, and see what others here see: a country in transition, a country which is, by and large, less violent than those places where stones are so readily thrown from glass houses.”

Despite the anti-Mexico news flow, foreign residents living here report that they feel safe and settled in Mexico. The drug cartels are not targeting foreign residents or tourists. People who are not involved in the drug trade or other criminal activities have a very small chance of being affected by violent crime.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Insightful articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
• An extensive selection of free guides to living and lifestyles in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

Mexico lifestyle consultant, Lucie Canuel, helps you to make informed choices and form a coherent plan for your intended lifestyle in Mexico.

Save time and gain valuable lifestyle insights

This lifestyle consultancy service is carefully structured to assist in your lifestyle deliberations and planning. The full consultation will:

• help you to consider choices and the groundwork needed to plan for living, working, or retirement in Mexico;
• save you valuable time by focusing on matters related to your specific circumstances;
• give you unique insights into the options and choices available for different lifestyles in Mexico based on your aims and intentions;
• help you to learn about the practicalities of moving and adapting to a new lifestyle and culture; and
• the consultation may also help you to avoid making material mistakes commonly made by those seeking a lifestyle abroad.

Free 15-minute discovery consultation

Lucie offers a free 15-minute consultation with you so that you can meet and get to know each other, briefly discuss your situation, and determine if the service and her experience is right for your needs.

During your free 15-minute discovery consultation you can:

• Meet Lucie and learn about her background and experience.
• Share a brief summary about your situation.
• Determine if this consulting service is right for your needs.
• Optionally schedule a date for a full consultation.

Full consultation and written brief

Detailed questions you want to ask and concerns you want to address will be discussed during the full consultation.  The lifestyle consultation package is offered for a fixed fee of US$249 and you can book and pay for a full consultation directly with the consultant.

Benefits of a full consultation

The full consultation will identify important aspects about your situation, address potential issues, and answer specific questions or concerns you have regarding a move to Mexico.

During the full consultation, our associate will:

• Help you to identity your priorities and define your aims and intentions.
• Consider realistic and viable options, based on your life stage, lifestyle choices, and intentions.
• Help you to consider whether Mexico is a good fit for you alone, or with your partner and family as relevant.
• Address any specific questions or concerns you have about moving to Mexico to live, work, or retire.
• Help you to compile a shortlist of potential locations that may suit your lifestyle needs if you’re not yet sure about where in Mexico you want to live.
• Help you to consider the groundwork needed to plan the move and adapt to a new lifestyle abroad.
• Share helpful local knowledge and valuable advice based on practical real-life experience of having moved to, settled, and adapted to Mexico.

After the consultation, our associate will compose a written summary briefing and send this to you by email. The brief will summarize your consultation, and contain curated references based on your individual situation for further research and planning.

About your consultant, Lucie Canuel

Originally from Montreal in Canada, Lucie moved to Mexico when she was 18, earned a degree in Sociology from the University of Guadalajara, became fluent in Spanish, settled down to make Mexico her permanent home, and later became a naturalized Mexican.

Lucie lives and works in the small and magical town of Comala at the foot of a beautiful volcano in the state of Colima.  Her key experience includes:

• Over 20 years living and working in Mexico, making the transition from student, temporary to permanent residency, and is now a naturalized Mexican citizen.
• Lucie has traveled and lived in many places in Mexico, and is familiar with many of the key expat communities across western, central, and southeast Mexico—as well as with places off-the-beaten-path
• For many years, Lucie has also been sharing her expertise with new foreign residents to help them adapt and understand their new surroundings and culture.

Lucie is also founder of Meshico Magical, a tour service to help share the beauty and culture of the states of Colima, Jalisco, and other magical parts of Mexico. Lucie applies her passion for, and deep knowledge about, Mexico to help potential foreign residents as well those living here to discover Mexico and consider their choices and opportunities for living, lifestyle, and leisure.

Fixed fee lifestyle consultation

The lifestyle consultation package is offered for a fixed fee of US$249.

The full consultation call typically lasts for about an hour, and the package includes a post-consultation written summary brief for your review and further reference.

• The consultation begins with an in-depth conversation by telephone or video conference that typically lasts about an hour.
• After the consultation, Lucie will compose a written summary briefing and send this to you by email.
• The brief will summarize your consultation, and contain curated references based on your individual situation for further research and planning.
• Optional follow-up consultations may be booked directly with Lucie, billed on an hourly basis.

Lucie Canuel offers a free 15-minute discovery consultation with you by telephone or video conference so that you can meet and get to know each other, briefly discuss your situation, and determine if the service and her experience is right for your needs.

If you decide to hire Lucie and proceed with a full consultation, Lucie will send you a payment request for a fixed-fee lifestyle consultation package.

Additional consultation time

If you would like a follow-up consultation after purchasing the fixed fee package, Lucie also offers consultancy on an hourly basis at US$99 per hour (one hour minimum).  Any time over one hour is billed precisely as used.

Make a service request

To make a service request, please complete the request form below.
Our lifestyle consulting associate will contact you personally to organize your consultation.