Is there a good safe place for an American to live in Mexico?

Show all answers

Danny42378

There is this "New" Mexico you should look into.

Charlie

There are many safe places in Mexico. If you like to be around many other gringos, you can choose a place in Baja, or close to California, or near Lake Chapala, or San Miquel de Allende. These places have tons of gringos and tend to be expensive. If you want to live in the "real" Mexico and have lower expenses, there are many great places too. I live in the state of Veracruz in a tiny town, 10 min. from a large town, and less then half an hr from the state capitol with nearly a million people. It is safe , gorgeous, less exp. then other parts of Mexico. If you have more questions, please just email me. There is crime in big cities and bad areas in the states too...that is the same the world over, but the great majority of Mexican people are kind, couteous, delighful people.

flintguy49

Hey I am from Flint Michigan, EVERYWHERE in Mexico looks safe to me.

Roger C

I have lived in Mexico for 20 years and the two bigest mis-conceptions about Mexico are: The water is dirty, and It's dangerous.
Yes, there are places in Mexico where the water is not 'clean', but most places (Especially if they cater to tourists) have 'clean' water. The problem is bacterias. There is bacteria in the water where ever you are. The problem is, it is different everywhere. I have to drink purified water when I visit the US now or I will have a problem.
Yes, there are places in Mexico that would not be safe for a Gringo. There are places that are not safe for a Mexicano too. BUT! Most areas have very safe neighborhoods where people live very safe and secure. No, you do not need to be in a gated community. There are large ex-patriot community's in almost every large Mexican town. The largest is in Lake Chapala outside Guadalajara. It has (For me) too many. Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Guymas/Rocky Point, etc. all have quite large ex-pat community's. Mazatlan, where I live, has about 8,000 now. But the differance is Mazatlan (Unlike the others) is a large city where we still do not have a huge impact on the culture. We get to have all the ammenaties of a tourist destination AND the real, old Mexico that most of us come for.
That plus, because it is a big city with all income levels, there is still affordable housing here. Yes, we have the new highrise condo's that cost $300,000 up to a million dollars. But we also have MANY homes for $200,000, $150,000, $100,000, and clear down to one I just sold 3 weeks ago for $70,000. And there are areas where there are homes (You may be the only Gringo there, but it is still decent) for $50,000 and I just saw one for $30,000.

I hope this helps just a bit.

cosmic_dreamr

Yes, Mexico is not only how its depicted in the media. It is a beautiful country

Alicia in Cancun

My husband and I retired to Cancun and love it! It is a resort town so things a more expensive. If you own you own place you can live very well on $1,500.00 US dollars a month.

An example of costs: last week I had to have a root canal (Yuck) and it cost $300.00, tooth cleaning $50.00 (including xrays). My dentist attended school in London, England.

I have always felt safe in Mexico...perhaps safer than in most US cities...

ConcernedCitizen

A lot of retired Americans have moved to San Carlos, a coastal town on the Sea of Cortez. It's pretty safe there. The town has been built mostly on tourism, so even the water is processed more carefully. When I stayed at the Plaza las Glorias (now renamed the Marinaterra) a few years ago, it was safe to drink the tap water. San Carlos is a popular location for retired Americans because the cost of living is somewhat lower there.

bassmeister-D

There is really no place good and safe in Mexico.

rhino72032

There are many good safe places in Mexico. But the ones with the most gringos are the highest priced (and the towns with beaches are the highest of them). The places with fewer gringos will have lower prices, but the better your Spanish has to be.
Check out this site:

http://sparks-mexico.com/

for blogs about many towns in Mexico.
Check out these 2 sites for some real estate prices:

http://www.emls.info/
http://www.livtopia.com/mexico/listings/sale?gclid=CJmupN6WgI0CFRIXZAodEzAoVQ

Check out these 3 sites for info on the Lake Chapala area:

http://www.lakechapalainformation.com/
http://www.chapala.com/
http://www.mlsmexico.com/chapala/

After you've digested all that info, go to your local library, book store or online book seller and look for some of these books:

The People's Guide to Mexico (Franz)
Choose Mexico for Retirement (Howells & Merwin)
Living Abroad in Mexico (Luboff)
Plain Truth About Living in Mexico (Bower)

These will give you more information than we can give you in a couple paragraph here.

I'm planning to retire there in a year or two; I'm doing my homework now.

sdmiasd

Move to Rosarito. Oceanfront properties, inexpensive living, tons of American retirees, and it is only 30 minutes from San Diego!

Vaggaloor

There are many safe places to live in Mexico for an american.
Of course there are places not safe that even we (mexicans) avoid to visit. The first place where no decent people wants to live (no matter if you are mexican or american) is Mexico city; neither border towns (none of them) or bigger cities like Guadalajara, Monterrey, Toluca o Puebla.
I have seen many retired americans living in San Miguel de Allende (very nice colonial small city, safe good weather) and Chapala. And I have had american neighbors in Aguascalientes city, but no retired, working in companies like Texas Instruments, Xerox and others. Also in Aguascalientes there are many japanese people

Cabochick23

Nope. Stay in the USA.

kb3hmj

We call it TEXAS. Sorry just could not pass it up.

Help me

Michael P

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has
announced that Mexico will not participate
in the next Summer Olympics. He said that,
"Anyone who can run, jump, or swim
has already left the country."

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: