As over 70 million North American Baby Boomers are set to retire in just a few short years, it is becoming increasingly obvious to them that their home countries may not be the best places to spend their golden years, certainly not if they expect to maintain or improve their standard of living. For the past two decades, Mexico has continuously improved their infrastructure, social programs, and health care to the point that Mexico is now a viable option for almost all foreign retirees.
For many years, Mexico was a land of the super-rich and the extremely poor. Such is no longer the case. Mexico actually is within one or two percentage points of having the same numbers in their middle class that are found in middle class in the United States. What this means is that there is a growing tax base that now pays for public utilities and services that are often comparable to those same services north of the border.
One of the best benefits of retiring in Mexico is that the country is developing along with the Green Revolution. Thus, the environment is foremost in the minds of any development project. Mexico has gone so far as to outlaw smoking in restaurants and public buildings, and all plastic shopping bags must be biodegradable. Repairing the environment through reforestation sees millions of trees planted in Mexico each year, providing habitat for endangered species and further improving the environment. Water quality is now a major issue that is being addressed at every level. All of this, taken together, has been good for business and Mexico is reaping the benefits, as are the foreigners who choose to look toward Mexico for an environmentally secure place to live.
The cultural offerings in Mexico are almost dizzying in their quality and number. Mexico has 500 years of history that has produced some of the world’s finest universities, museums and art galleries. The quality of art, music, dance and theater available throughout Mexico includes internationally renowned performers and artists from Mexico and around the world. Yet, Mexico spends just as much time, effort and money on indigenous cultural offerings. Mexico has taken care to ensure that all of these cultural events, the grand and the most humble, are available to all of the Mexican people at admission prices that anyone can afford. This gives those who wish to retire in Mexico the opportunity to experience cultural events they may not have been able to afford at home. This is certainly true in the case of classical symphony, opera, and ballet performances.
These days, health care is on everyone’s mind and more so on the minds of retirees. With Mexico’s universal health care available to foreigners for about $300 USD per year, many retirees are opting out of the U.S. Medicare system in favor of picking up Mexican health insurance supplemented with a major medical policy. The international health care insurance industry is growing rapidly in Mexico and one seldom hears a complaint. With already less expensive prescription medications available in Mexico, those who opt into the universal system receive an even greater discount. Overall, health care has long been one of the major reasons foreigners choose to retire in Mexico.
There is a final and more personal reason for retiring in Mexico that has to do simply with getting older and needing a little help now and again. Its exciting to be able to afford a bigger house, with a nicer garden in Mexico but its being able to hire affordable help when you need it that makes all the difference in the quality of life for many retirees. For example, in the United States, household or gardening help can cost roughly $80 USD a day, or more. In Mexico, that drops to $20 to $25 USD per day. This significant savings has often made the difference in whether an elderly or disabled individual lives in a nursing home north of the border or at home with their family in Mexico. This is no small benefit and is one that cannot be left off the list of reasons to retire in Mexico.
