Retirement in Mexico

by Marion Bayer

Can you retire to Mexico on $600 a month? “Yes, if you don’t mind washing your clothes in a stream,” says John Bryant, president of Mexico Retirement and Travel Assistance (MRTA), www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/info/book/retire/mx-liv-tra.html. “Retirement books will tell you that you can live in Mexico on $300 to $600 a month; however, they don’t tell you how you will live.”

Bryant and his wife Jean retired to Guadalajara 12 years ago and are the authors of several books on retirement in Mexico. For the past eight years they have also published a quarterly periodical, Mexico Living and Travel Newsletter. They have drawn on their own experiences, as well as those of their friends and neighbors, to put together a three-day workshop that provides current information on retirement in Mexico from Americans who live there.

Bryant estimates the North American retirement population currently living in central Mexico to be over 100,000. The expatriates say the temperate climate was the number one reason for moving to Mexico, followed closely by the lower cost of living.

Bryant recommends spending some time in Mexico before making a decision to relocate. “You need the opportunity to visit other cities in Mexico and discover for yourselves the Spanish-colonial heritage, the traditions, the warmth and friendliness of the Mexican people, the delightful climate, and the relaxed lifestyle that make Mexico such a hospitable place to live.”

Siesta Tours, based in Gainesville, FL, features a nine-day escorted tour of Guadalajara, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato that follows the monthly workshops.

Workshop participants arrive in Guadalajara on Wednesday and finish on Friday evening. The cost is $300 per person, double occupancy, and includes a half-day seminar on the legal, financial, medical, and cultural aspects of retirement in Mexico, and two one-day tours of Guadalajara and Lake Chapala. Airfare and meals other than breakfast are not included.

The escorted tour, which begins the next day, costs $1,595 per person and includes airfare from Houston or Dallas/Ft. Worth. The tour begins on Saturday in Guadalajara and ends the following Sunday in Guanajuato.

The retirement workshops and the tour are each offered separately. For information on MRTA’s Retirement Workshop and/or Siesta Tours, contact Marion Bayer at (800) 679-2746, fax (352) 371-8368.

For more information on retirement in Mexico see www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/info/book/1reviews/3ret.html#retire.