Can You Afford to Live in Mexico? (Income Data & Residency Requirements)

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In this video I address two topics, how you can determine if your current income is enough to live well in Mexico, and two, if your income is enough to qualify for temporary residency in Mexico.

[qroo]

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[LouQuillio]

Leaving financial-solvency resident requirements aside for a moment, discussions of Mexico cost of living should first begin with housing costs. This is everyone's biggest budget item just about anywhere, and it colors the affordability of everything else. For some reason, this is the focus of very few similar videos.

Our experience, living away from the tourist centers, is that some goods are cheaper and others not, but a home and its carrying costs are considerably cheaper. That's where the real savings are.

[davidmalone]

It seems that in the recent couple of years, high earning couples (e.g., my wife and myself) have only been granted one permanent residency with the other being granted temporary residency (i.e., it seems the consulates have been reluctant to grant permanent residency to couples.) It happened to us, and as we have gotten to know our neighbors and fellow expats, it seems to be a common theme. The reason I was given was that I was not "retired" yet. It turned out that the consulate's definition of not being retired was that I wasn't receiving social security. Well, I was 66 at the time (67 now) and am waiting until I'm 70 to take social security. I was retired and had a signed statement to that effect from my employer. My income prior to retiring was well above the requirement and my savings accounts and retirement accounts each amounted to much more than the minimums from that aspect of their requirements. I continue to be baffled by all of that.

[loumota]

Pail, isn’t the income requirement based on a calculation linked to Mexico’s minimum wage? It is my understanding the current president has prioritized increasing the minimum wage which would also affect the minimum income requirements for foreigners. It is also worth noting that there are multiple ways to get residency which are not tied to income.

[freedakaye]

The issue we are having is that our online investment company won’t give us a letter or some kind of “original” statement. They just keep saying print it out. The consulate won’t accept print outs.

[CapricornSceptic]

How does household size work into an analysis of cost of living per capita? My assumption is that most Mexicans do not live alone and share expenses, unlike many expats.

[JamesBlazen]

Home prices in Ajijic and San Miguel likely to crater. Nobody to buy the homes. Retirees have dropped sharply.

[armandovera]

I like the stats you provided, very informative.

[teresabustos]

Thank you for this information! My husband and I are thinking of retiring to Mexico to live a better quality of life and be debt free. Blessings!

[monicadabney]

You always give great up to date notices. Thank you.

[digitalgypsy]

JUST FYI the regularization program is still open which waves the financial requirements. I would take advantage of this while it is still open if you qualify.

[marcn]

Good perspective, Paul. It does make total sense, from Mexico's perspective, to do this as Mexico transforms into a stronger global economy.

[heltonja]

I met the solvency requirements for permanant residency but was turned away at the mexican consulate in Raleigh because I was not yet 65.

[ricardochavez]

There are a lot of things that are just as expensive as in the US. And many of the nicer things in life are more expensive because import charges etc are added. Audio equipment, computers, watercolors, special foods, clothes in a department store, you get the idea... most people get along on beans and tortillas meat, and shocking amount of cheap junk street food. So yes, you can live on the cheap, but it may not be up to your habitual standards.

[musaquazi]

Thank you for posting super helpful and laser sharp to the point video on this topic.

[MountaintopKitchen]

If you don’t meet the income requirements, you can come in under a work permit with temporary residency. Of course you need an employment sponsor and approval from INM. This has to be applied for outside of Mexico at a Mexican consulate. You can scope out your employment opportunities while in the country under a tourist permit. Many people come in under this mechanism … then convert to permanent residency after a few years of work experience.

[hernandaland]

Is this per household or per individual salary?

[DanielGonzalez-woce]

For the people who are interested in coming to México i highly recommend to learn or at least understand the language, since here people think that every foreigner is rich and they tend to raise the cost of their services/products

[andreafarinacci]

Thank you for sharing that information. I just renewed my residency visa working towards permanent. The income requirements have skyrocketed. We own in PDC and are there a few times a year. If you’re observant- you can see more Mexicans are doing better just in the 11 yrs I’ve been going down there. We spend more of our time on the beach- just seeing the families now with all their beach gear you know some ppl are doing better and that makes me SUPER happy despite the cost of living for expats. I love Mexico!

[charleslawrence]

You’re not saying, “until next time, hasta luego”