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Are you retired or still working? Would you work IN Mexico?
MX does not tax passive income of expats (pensions, interest, dividends, IRA/401K withdrawals). However it will tax interest or dividends from MXN banks/stocks.
MX world wide income approach is the same as the US....on its own respective citizens, not on expats (again, unless they have MXN sourced income).
Just found this topic and since much about retiring abroad I will too in my experience.
We retired to Thailand 2.5 years ago. My wife is Thai even though she has lived in the US for over 20 years. We have been visiting Thailand for the last 14 years. My wife, being Thai (she also has US citizenship) can own land here but expats can not. We bought a 1/2 acre on the ocean about 5 hours south of Bangkok in a small tourist/fishing/farming community. There are about 70 full time expats, mainly European and another 70+ who stay 6 months, escaping winter in their country.
It's been easy making friends here, you see the same people all the time in the usual places.
We are 2 hours from a major city that has a few markets that sell quality western foods like steak and cheeses that we can not get locally.
We do have plentiful seafood, shellfish, pork and chicken at very low prices (ie a kilo of fresh, large shrimp for $7.50 usd).
The problem is there is not much to do. I am 60 my wife 45 and she wants to move back to the states.
Likes
Cost of living (I'm a retired CPA so this is important to me)
Living on a beautiful ocean
Little government interference (there is good, and bad, about this)
Dislikes
Not much to do here, the main hobby is drinking. I drink but lightly and once a week is max for me to go out to our bars
Lack of quality items. Thailand can be cheap but in most instances you get what you pay for. Quality items are available but not in our town
We are healthy but the hospital in town here is not very good, a good one is 2 hours away. As we get older a big consideration.
My wife wants to go back to work but the wages here are around $8usd/day and this doesn't excite her.
We don't dislike it here, I could happily stay, but she who shall be obeyed wants to go back. It's heaven for some perhaps and the things we like we really really like.
Anyone want to buy a beachfront lot in a growing area?.........
Just found this topic and since much about retiring abroad I will too in my experience.
We retired to Thailand 2.5 years ago. My wife is Thai even though she has lived in the US for over 20 years. We have been visiting Thailand for the last 14 years. My wife, being Thai (she also has US citizenship) can own land here but expats can not. We bought a 1/2 acre on the ocean about 5 hours south of Bangkok in a small tourist/fishing/farming community. There are about 70 full time expats, mainly European and another 70+ who stay 6 months, escaping winter in their country.
It's been easy making friends here, you see the same people all the time in the usual places.
We are 2 hours from a major city that has a few markets that sell quality western foods like steak and cheeses that we can not get locally.
We do have plentiful seafood, shellfish, pork and chicken at very low prices (ie a kilo of fresh, large shrimp for $7.50 usd).
The problem is there is not much to do. I am 60 my wife 45 and she wants to move back to the states.
Likes
Cost of living (I'm a retired CPA so this is important to me)
Living on a beautiful ocean
Little government interference (there is good, and bad, about this)
Dislikes
Not much to do here, the main hobby is drinking. I drink but lightly and once a week is max for me to go out to our bars
Lack of quality items. Thailand can be cheap but in most instances you get what you pay for. Quality items are available but not in our town
We are healthy but the hospital in town here is not very good, a good one is 2 hours away. As we get older a big consideration.
My wife wants to go back to work but the wages here are around $8usd/day and this doesn't excite her.
We don't dislike it here, I could happily stay, but she who shall be obeyed wants to go back. It's heaven for some perhaps and the things we like we really really like.
Anyone want to buy a beachfront lot in a growing area?.........
jinho, I don't quite understand your post. Presumably (correct me if I'm wrong) you bought oceanfront property so you could enjoy the ocean: not just the view, but the swimming, snorkeling, boating. Yet you say there's not much to do. OK, I guess swimming and snorkeling or diving can get boring after awhile. I guess that's what you mean?
You also list other shortcomings about the place. Did you not have the option to buy elsewhere, closer to good healthcare, or food, or whatever?
Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter, since your wife isn't happy there, and wants to go home (Stateside). But at least you have this place to escape to....?
Lots of the married expats tend to settle out in Isan, and there are several bigger cities (Korat, Ubon, Udon) that are suitable for those who aren't happy living out in the sticks. Modern shopping malls, good hospitals, lots of options for housing, etc. Every one of them has an "expat row" with lots of bars where bored white guys hang out drinking at the bars, often by 10:00 am.
I'm guessing jinho is somewhere south of Hua Hin, maybe around Ao Manao?
jinho, I don't quite understand your post. Presumably (correct me if I'm wrong) you bought oceanfront property so you could enjoy the ocean: not just the view, but the swimming, snorkeling, boating. Yet you say there's not much to do. OK, I guess swimming and snorkeling or diving can get boring after awhile. I guess that's what you mean?
You also list other shortcomings about the place. Did you not have the option to buy elsewhere, closer to good healthcare, or food, or whatever?
Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter, since your wife isn't happy there, and wants to go home (Stateside). But at least you have this place to escape to....?
The ocean here is beautiful, and swimming 9 months a year is great (3 months of jellyfish). The shore is too shallow, and barren, for diving. The islands near have beautiful clear water, but no real coral, or reefs so diving is easy, but not much life. Boating is tough, no marinas except for the Thai fishing ones that are exclusive. If we did stay I was going to try to figure something out but, again, it's so shallow that even 100 yards out it would be hard to start up a motor.
But you hit it on the head, I am an ocean sports person, my wife is not. She likes the beauty of it, but is scared to go in.
There are other parts of Thailand that would be better for us, but if we go by the ocean it's either very expensive, or back to a slow, out of the way town. If we moved to a bigger town like Bangkok, Hua Hin, or Chiang Mai then we figure we might as well move back to the states, the only thing we would really gain is some decent price housing and food (Thai not Western). Luckily we did OK financially and have the option.
Basically my Wife thought she was ready to retire, but she is not. I'm happy to while away my years at this slower pace, but she isn't.
Lots of the married expats tend to settle out in Isan, and there are several bigger cities (Korat, Ubon, Udon) that are suitable for those who aren't happy living out in the sticks. Modern shopping malls, good hospitals, lots of options for housing, etc. Every one of them has an "expat row" with lots of bars where bored white guys hang out drinking at the bars, often by 10:00 am.
I'm guessing jinho is somewhere south of Hua Hin, maybe around Ao Manao?
A little farther south, in Bang Saphan Yai.
Like I mentioned above there are many places we could find more of what we (she) want.
We will always visit Thailand, and for extended periods, but living there full time is not for us.
I guess that's the point I wanted to make here. We have been traveling here for many years, and for months at a time. My wife is Thai and speaks the language.
But, living here, and vacationing here, are different so if you are looking to retire to that vacation spot in Mexico, Central America, etc, give it a trial period before you commit yourself too far would be my suggestion.
Like I mentioned above there are many places we could find more of what we (she) want.
We will always visit Thailand, and for extended periods, but living there full time is not for us.
I guess that's the point I wanted to make here. We have been traveling here for many years, and for months at a time. My wife is Thai and speaks the language.
But, living here, and vacationing here, are different so if you are looking to retire to that vacation spot in Mexico, Central America, etc, give it a trial period before you commit yourself too far would be my suggestion.
That's exactly my thinking about moving to the States. We will try it for five years so my wife can collect my SS survivor benefits, but after that I am sure we will be back in Peru.
When you are the socially the odd man, in USA society it can be lonely. As a handicapped person i have been multiple times treated with the female attitude of "Handicapped men are free".
I married a Tica and gained about 50 new family members Most everyone in family likes me and they love a guy that can speak english. We did have that period where her friends told her that she had won the lottery, all Americans are rich and have swimming pools!
Out in publlc the politeness and respect is fantastic.
I love Costa Rica.
I went to Managua and it was so depressing in the areas of the city i went.We we left out of the airport and then up in the hills a bitto a old mansion Airbnb. Everyone looks so sad.
To each his/her own. My neighbor across the rd is about 78 yrs old and grew up on the south end of a large cit. He told me that he had never been any farther away from the city than 22 miles.He told me that he felt that why should ge go anywhere else because everything you need is right here.
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