Mexico Attracts Baby Boomers with Affordable Retirement Living

Mexico attracts Baby Boomers seeking affordable retirement living. According to the Congressional Budget Office, only about half of Boomer households will be able to accumulate sufficient savings and investments to allow them maintain their present standard of living in their current location throughout their retirement years. The rest will either have to continue working or will have to find new ways to stretch their retirement incomes. Many have discovered that living in Mexico, at least for part of the year, eases the strain on their budgets as well as gives them a whole new outlook on life.

While the trend of retirees moving South of the Border is not new, experts predict the exodus of retirees from the USA, Canada, and other countries will not only continue well into the future but also increasing numbers will make the move each year. Rising costs for food, gasoline, and utilities coupled with declining housing values are forcing many to look outside their hometowns, even outside their countries, for a place that offers an affordable cost of living.

Although affordable locations exist in every country, many retirees are hesitant to stray too far from friends and family. They want to find an area that will allow them to maintain, or even improve, their present standard of living. However, they still want to be close enough to "home" so that trips back and forth are manageable both as far as time as well as cost are concerned. Many also want a place that is warm and sunny most of the year. Mexico fits the bill for a great number of expatriates.

Mexico offers what many retirees consider affordable real estate, either to rent or to buy, compared with the USA and Canada. Property taxes are very low (a friend in Guanajuato pays $200 a year on a house worth close to $400,000). The temperate year-round weather in many locations eliminates the need for costly heating and air conditioning. Mexico has an extensive public transportation system, which virtually eliminates the need to own and maintain a car. Food is generally cheaper in Mexico than in the USA or Canada, especially if one shops mainly in the open-air markets. Medical care and medications are also much less expensive in Mexico. Though many American health insurance policies generally do not cover expenses incurred in Mexico, foreigners can buy into Mexico's health care system for around $300 per year.

To find information about affordable retirement living in Mexico, many people log on to the Internet. There are hundreds of web sites (like Boomers Abroad, Escape Artist, MexConnect) where one can find out about life in Mexico. Also, there are various forums where one can ask questions of others who have already made the move. Other good sites to check are ones where people who live in Mexico post articles on various subjects or where people write blogs.