Why Not Work Remotely from Mexico?
Updated June, 2024
Working remote in general
One snowy day in Colorado a few years before moving to Mexico, I rode up to Winter Park to ski with a woman from Boulder who worked as a director for IBM. She had not seen her boss, whose office was in New Jersey, in person for six years.
Another friend of mine is a healthcare consultant with clients all over the country who continues to make money in semi-retirement by consulting part-time from her home in Denver. The pandemic fast-forwarded the remote work trend into the stratosphere. It’s estimated that 26% of the workforce will be working remotely by 2026.
As I sit in my own office (a term I use loosely), I wonder what would be the difference if either of these woman decided to do these jobs from Mexico? The Covid pandemic has forever changed the way we view offices and how much time to spend in them. Technology has made working from an entirely different country more feasible every year.
If you work for a company outside of Mexico or your income comes from sources outside of Mexico, you don’t have to report to income to Mexico and you do not need any special permit or visa. For contract employees or the self-employed, business expenses are as tax deductible as they've always been for you at home.
Who’s doing it?
I have talked to finance and financial planning professionals, artists, and various web designers who live in popular expat cities like San Miguel de Allende or here in Mazatlán. Often it’s hard to figure out whether they were physically. They guard their circumstances on almost on need-to-know-terms.
Be warned: Living in a Mexican coastal town off-season may require working in a bathing suit.
In one case, the website showed U.S. headquarters photos in the masthead and had U.S. contact information. On the phone, it sounded like I was speaking with him from across town.
Only in the course of direct questioning did I learn the person I was speaking with was sitting in an office in San Miguel Mexico. His business partner remained stateside. Today, your financial, I.T. or marketing and SEO consultant could be living anywhere in the world.
Today over 4.8 Americans identify themselves as digital nomads. But long before these lifestyles became a thing, people were figuring out how to have the best of both worlds: U.S. income and a expat lifestyle that makes every day a journey of discovery.
I hire a company in India to format my books. They do a great job for me at a phenomenal price. We Skyped regularly during the process, even though our meetings had to be at 10:00 at night because of the 12-hour time difference. Another of my book designers is in Portugal. If they can do business with me from India and the Iberian Peninsula, what jobs could you do from another, less expensive country like Mexico?
Internet service has improved a great deal in the last few years in Mexico. Hundreds of tools that help people work remotely today. Others such as Keepgo or Skyroam, which provide mobile WiFi hotspots, and Everytimezone which helps you figure out where your zone overlaps with those of colleagues and clients, would particularly beneficial working from another country. And don’t forget Krisp, which prevents background noise (like the sound of the margarita glasses clinking, maybe?) from being heard by others on your call.
Working remotely from Mexico: What types of jobs could you do?
Are you good at bookkeeping or accounting? Accounting is profession that translates well to making money from abroad as well.
For many years, my C.P.A. was in Colorado while I lived in Richmond, Virginia - an arrangement that often happens when you have a business relationship with a person you trust and one or another of the party moves to another city. Online security has advanced so much, a person no longer has to worry as long as they take the same vigorous precautions they do in the U.S.
What about medical transcription? How about contract virtual assistants, a job that seems all the rage right now among former secretaries who have whiz bang technical skills but don't want to be chained to an office.
Here in Mazatlán, I know a few I.T professionals quietly programming by day and taking in the culture by night. I saw one recently with his Apple laptop in a open air beachfront restaurant doing a fine job conversing with a Mexican couple across the table from him with an occasional sip of a margarita. Another neighbor of mine is a geologist and brought his son with him to give him some Spanish practice and foreign exposure.
Digital nomads can be seen in rooftop bars and coffee shops all over Mexico. Subscription services have even cropped up that are cover housing, co-working spaces and an trip itinerary.
If you're a technically-savvy retiring graphic artist nearing retirement, you might maintain a few clients even as you work from an office in another country. Regardless of your age, living in a cheaper country and making U.S. dollars will likely make it easier to put some money away for retirement or live on less, especially if you are moving from a larger city with a high cost of living (as I did moving from Denver.)
Can you turn a hobby into extra income in retirement? A favorite hobby for expats is photography. Mexico offers a rich catalog of sights and colors for the photography enthusiast or artist seeking side income online.
Incubate your dream in Mexico
If you haven't moved yet or need to meditate on what you want your next career step to be, don't forget the possibility of Mexico as a place to incubate a new business plan. Getting away can be a great place to get away and research your next big project or business.
For me, working from Mexico was an adventure I could never dream of at home even as I planned and wrote my first book. I took take a water taxi to my gym for five pesos every day and tried my first ripe mango. I learned Spanish. On the weekend, I took the time to do all the things that tourists do.
Long stays that incorporates work and adventure become mini-lives - and so much richer than simple travel. It’s never been more possible to live a mini-life in another country than it is today.
Related links
Get started yourself with this Ultimate Guide to Landing a Remote Job.
Flexjobs and Indeed now have a remote job listing specific to Mexico.
About the author:
Kerry Baker a partner with Ventanas Mexico, which helps people explore the idea of full or part-time living in Mexico, "If Only I Had a Place" - a guide to renting luxuriously in Mexico for less.
He second book is “The Mexico Solution: How to save your money, sanity and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico, which gives you time lines, a game plan and cultural insights for creating the ideal expat life.
Most recently she released The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico, a cookbook for travelers seeking to maintain a healthy diet in Mexico.