With the recent economic crisis, many of us are looking for more affordable lifestyles. In Mexico, if you are on a budget you can easily live on $700 to $1000 a month and even less if you are really on a tight budget.
Housing: Rents vary from town to town, but in many places like San Blas, Nayarit, you can rent a small but attractive unfurnished apartment for $100 a month. Of course there are more expensive places such as San Miguel de Allende or Ajijic where you would expect to pay at least $500 a month - but still this is not nearly what your would be paying up North. There are also opportunities for house sitting where you can stay in a beautiful hacienda or an oceanfront mansion and get paid for it - about $20 a day! If you decide to buy a house you will find that the taxes are very cheap - usually under $100 a year. However, if you buy within 30 miles of the coast you will have to pay a special bank fee of about $500 a year. Most people do not buy home insurance because the houses are made out of brick with very little chance of fire, and there is no insurance in Mexico for floods or hurricanes.
Utilities: Water is cheap in Mexico, about $50 US a year. There are few places that would require a heater and most people get by with a little fireplace. The electric goes on a sliding scale. If you don't use air conditioning the bill will run about $20 a month. If you do, it could go up to $150 a month or more.
Transportation: There are excellent buses in Mexico so you really don't need a car. The days of chickens in the buses are long gone. The last bus I took even had WiFi. Taxis are cheap. Local taxi fees would be $1.50 to $2 and if you are with 3 or 4 people hiring a taxi for a long distance trip is also an option.
Housing: Rents vary from town to town, but in many places like San Blas, Nayarit, you can rent a small but attractive unfurnished apartment for $100 a month. Of course there are more expensive places such as San Miguel de Allende or Ajijic where you would expect to pay at least $500 a month - but still this is not nearly what your would be paying up North. There are also opportunities for house sitting where you can stay in a beautiful hacienda or an oceanfront mansion and get paid for it - about $20 a day! If you decide to buy a house you will find that the taxes are very cheap - usually under $100 a year. However, if you buy within 30 miles of the coast you will have to pay a special bank fee of about $500 a year. Most people do not buy home insurance because the houses are made out of brick with very little chance of fire, and there is no insurance in Mexico for floods or hurricanes.
Utilities: Water is cheap in Mexico, about $50 US a year. There are few places that would require a heater and most people get by with a little fireplace. The electric goes on a sliding scale. If you don't use air conditioning the bill will run about $20 a month. If you do, it could go up to $150 a month or more.
Transportation: There are excellent buses in Mexico so you really don't need a car. The days of chickens in the buses are long gone. The last bus I took even had WiFi. Taxis are cheap. Local taxi fees would be $1.50 to $2 and if you are with 3 or 4 people hiring a taxi for a long distance trip is also an option.
Pat Cordes is retired and lives in San Blas, Mexico. She is the webmaster for
Mexico Guru She loves to travel and has visited over 40
countries.
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