Updated August 2020

Why Mexico Might Be For You Too

American cities grow on an average rate of 5-7%. How much they’re growing is difficult to determine. What constitutes a city in one state may differ from how one is defined in another and how much territory is included within a city’s limit, or how suburb populations are counted.

But overall 84% of Americans live in what are considered urban areas according to U.S. Census information. Denver, my anointed home base, is America's fastest growing city, picking up over 6,000 people a month.

Lucky me. My rent for a small one-bedroom in downtown Denver, where I live part of the year, has almost doubled since 2009. All kinds of taxes and fees are way up in the city as well. Big cities have pretty ingenious, annoying ways to generate income, most of which involve higher taxes and vigilant meter maids.

The cost of living is increasing much faster than residents’ income in most cities in the U.S. Rather than the 30% of income going to housing as recommended by financial experts, residents in larger cities are often seeing 50% of their income allocated to rents, mortgages, and associated costs.

A number of my friends who live in San Diego, Denver, and Washington D.C., particularly those who are single, don’t feel they can retire in those cities. Now in their late fifties, their incomes have peaked, or even declined, but the cost of living has continued to increase dramatically. After building lives in those cities, they are left wondering if they will be able to remain in them, with the friends and connections they have built up over decades.

There are the exciting aspects of big city living too, the stimulation of meeting a broader range of people, those with different life experiences, ideas, races, traditions and stories to amaze you.

In a large city, you always know you can find a new band, restaurant, museum exhibit or gallery opening to go to. Knowing that you can, even if you don’t, is an element that keeps even homebodies in cities.

I’m one of those loathe to give up having those choices. The alternative, the prospect of living in a smaller place with few surprises drove me to consider living in Mexico part-time.

The money I save living in Mexico part-time (subletting my apartment while I’m gone) supplements the high cost of living in the months I am in Denver. I’m able to live well, in downtown Denver and on the beach in Mexico, for less than $30,000 a year.

Living in another country part-time keeps a feed of new experiences going year-round. Like in Denver, In Mexico I find adventurous people with a wide range of life experiences. Not all expats are American. Mexico attracts expats from all over the world. They seem to always have led interesting lives before moving to Mexico, not surprising given that being an expat isn’t a lifestyle that attracts the meek.

When you live in another country, just like being in a big American city, you can go out find things you’ve never before seen, heard, or tasted any time you desire. Living in Mexico continues to satisfy that craving for the unexpected I’ve come to depend on to keep things interesting.

Even the most peaceful night in Mexico often attracts a dose of the unfamiliar (such as fireworks on a Monday night or a strange bird I’ve never seen before). Almost every day offers at least one surprise or learning opportunity. Beyond daily discoveries, conversations with Mexican friends often ignites the little spark of excitement that comes from trying to connect in a second language and learning what it was like to grow up in another culture.

The feeling of discovery is mutual. While I doubt that any new acquaintance in the States would appreciate my redneck stories about growing up Altus, Oklahoma, my Mexican friends do.

For those who want to save money, Mexico offers an paradoxical combination of less stress and more adventure, adventure that you don’t need to leave behind just because you need to move to a cheaper place.

Related: 

If you are trying to decide between Mexico and cities in the US, , take a look at these cost comparisons between cities by ADT.

Most recent:  

Mexico's beautiful cathedrals and what you are seeing when you look at one.

About the author:

Kerry Baker is the author of "If I Only Had a Place" on renting well in Mexico, written specifically for the aspiring expat. Includes a listing of local rental concierges who can look at your prospective place before you sign the dotted line. Her second book is “The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico.” She most recently co-authored a cookbook, “The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico.