Somewhere in Michoacán. A beer, the ocean, and nobody else in sight. ViFoto
I get a fair amount of mail wanting to know about expatriation to Mexico, whether it is a good idea, what it is like, and how to do it. I have consequently flung together the following to satisfy this curiosity. I hope it serves.
The upside:
Mexico is a friendly, courteous, flavorful country. It appeals to the mildly adventurous who are tired of the uniformity, political correctness, conformism, blandness, and growing authoritarianism of America. Many of the political hostilities that tear at the US do not exist here. There is a sense of age, of having a past, in countless towns each with a distinctive church and different architecture. It is not a mass culture. Endless miles of undestroyed beaches line, for example, the Michoacán coast near here. Mexico costs less than the US. And, yes, you can probably afford the services of a maid. If you are a single man, you will find the women more agreeable and much more feminine than American, and frequently beautiful. What CBS thinks.
The downside:
The political situation in Mexico is shaky with an uncertain future. Or maybe it is shaky–we have been hearing this for thirteen years, and so far nothing has shook. Corruption is rife. The narcos are as bad as you have heard and probably worse. This has no direct effect on expats as narcos have no interest in gringos, but it doesn’t add to the stability of the country. There states where it is wisest not to go: probably nothing would happen but “probably” isn’t what most retirees want. The cops are crooks, and you will likely get hit for an occasional bribe. Many Mexicans, especially around concentrations of expats, try to swindle gringos, whom the lower classes believe to be rich. Traffic is bad and getting worse as the local population grows.
Important note: Mexico is not the mass of filthy, illiterate, lice-ridden thieves and child-molesters with bargain-basement IQs as painted by the political Right. Yes, kids go to school. Yes, they can read, and no, they don’t attack their teachers with switchblades. Maybe in LA, but not here. If you are on the cautious side, it might take you half an hour to convince yourself of this. Otherwise, fifteen minutes.
Continue reading “Expat Mexico: Arróz by Any Other Name Would Smell Like Rice”
