Why There Will Never Be a Better Time to Start a New Life in Mexico
My New Friend in Mexico
By Glynna Prentice
Retire Overseas to Mexico
I recently met another expat who lives in my neighborhood in Campeche, in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. There aren’t many English-language expats yet in Campeche, so it’s a big day when I meet a new one. But meeting Daphne also reminds me how easy it is to move to Mexico—or anyplace else abroad—if you put your mind to it. It’s just a question of packing your bags and going; that’s what Daphne did.
–Recommended By IL–
Why There Will Never Be a Better Time to Start a New Life in Mexico
In Mexico, all the comforts and luxuries you’re used to (cable TV, high-speed Internet, restaurants, opera), plus full-time household help, full-coverage health insurance, full-time fun—set you back $2,000/month or even less.
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I met Daphne at a dinner given by a Mexican friend of mine. This friend had called me, very excited, to say that there was a new American in town. “Come to dinner tonight and meet her,” she said.
Thursday is Ladies’ Night in Campeche, when women eat for half price at many local restaurants. It makes a good night for a hen party if you plan to invite a large group. My Mexican friend Emelia had invited a round dozen—a thank-you to women friends who served as models at a fashion show she held last month at her new boutique in Campeche’s historic centro. We met at Solé, a popular outdoor restaurant on Campeche’s malecón (seaside boardwalk), looking out at the Gulf of Mexico.
The group was a cross-section of the kinds of women, of all ages and sizes, whom you’ll find in a mid-sized Mexican city: shop owners, civil servants, lawyers and notaries, housewives, and the occasional pouty debutante. The women laughed and shrieked, passing around a cell phone taping that showed each of them prancing down the catwalk to a throbbing music beat.
In the midst of this group sat Daphne. In only two months in Campeche, she’s managed to strike up friendships with several locals, including my friend Emelia. Daphne’s Spanish is pretty basic—but she’s not afraid to use it, and locals give her full points for that.
Daphne has been determined for years to live in Mexico. She wanted to retire early, but a financial setback made that impossible. She didn’t give up the dream, though. Instead, Daphne did a little math…and realized that if she waited until she qualified for Social Security she’d have the money she needed.
Last year she turned 65. So this year she closed up her house in the U.S., packed two suitcases…and came to Mexico. She’s made her way gradually to Campeche, stopping for months at a time at different cities along the way to check them out. She thinks Campeche is “the one”: She plans to make it her home for the next few years. She’s done her homework: She rattles off some statistics about Campeche that even I didn’t know. For instance, she says that it’s the safest state in Mexico and has the lowest unemployment rate. I can’t swear that she’s correct, but based on my three years’ experience living here, I’d say that sounds about right.
She’s rented a studio a few blocks from my house, in one of Campeche’s colorful colonial neighborhoods. Most of the other people in her building are single professionals. They’re all Mexican, which gives her plenty of opportunities to practice her Spanish.
Daphne loves the fact that, being a renter, she can pick up and move when she wants. She loves her studio…but she’s already mentioned that there are some out-of-the-way seaside villages down the coast where she might want to stay for a bit. A little palapa and a hammock on the beach…it’s an enticing dream—and one that’s within her reach, now that she’s only a hop and a skip away.
Both Daphne and I, of course, have signed up to model for our friend Emelia’s next fashion show in November. It’s becoming the hottest ticket in town, and everyone who’s anyone wants to model for it. I was interviewed by the local television station at the last one, so it’s only fair I get to stride the catwalk this next time around.
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Speaking of Mexico…we’re working on a new project—maybe you can help. If you’ve spent time in Mexico (specifically Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Manzanillo, Huatulco, or Puerto Escondido) and would be willing to have one of our editors interview you, or if you would like to be a guest blogger, please get in touch: support@retireoverseasnow.com
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Reprinted with permission from http://International Living.com