So I am curious, how did so many of you expats (I assume from America) get to live in Cancun? What is the process of doing it legally? I have always wanted to live abroad and am curious how to go about doing it. We would never renounce our American citizenship though, as we both have worked long and hard and my husband is soon to retire from the military. Would hate to have him give up his retirement...... So is it possible to move to say, Cancun and still be entitled to your American pensions (military retirement, social security, etc)?
Retirement, Mexico Absolutely no need to give up anything, except your busy life! Moving to Mexico in no way affects your pensions, military or social security, or your citizenship. Instead, you can ask for Mexico's permission to live in residence, here, relying on your pensions if you wish. This permission is not at all hard to get, and the annual costs are not extremely high, running from between about $250-350/year, with the first year being a little more expensive because of some documents you will need to collect, in proper form, to accompany your application. You can find more details about visas on both of these threads, among others; BUT, you can come here, hang out, explore, and enjoy life here simply by using the 180 immigration gives you when you enter the country, until you find you'd like a more "permanent" status. http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/13653-navigating-immigration-cancun.html http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/9686-what-do-i-need-fmt-fm-2-fm-3-a.html
Thank you V for the information. Doesn't look as easy as I had hoped. Now I thought of another question. What about healthcare? As retired military we'll always have health insurance, but probably not in Mexico. So how is the Mexican health care system in comparison to America's? And to add to my confusion even more, I suppose finding work is difficult too? What are your experiences in finding work as a foreigner in Mexico? I can assume that both my husband and mine's college degrees wouldn't be of much use down there. He has a degree and experience in the nuclear field, doubt there's much work there for him. As for me, I was a teacher/social worker. Probably won't do me any good not being fluent in Spanish either. Outside of that, we both don't have skills that are easily marketable in Mexico.
Tricare covers you abroad, but has a $3,000 annual deductible, last time I checked. Local care through private hospitals and clinics can be extremely good, here, in my experience. But, if you're looking at having something major done, it could be cheaper to fly back to the states, if your medical/hospital expenses would be fully covered, there, and not here. Airfares are low between Cancun, and many places in the U.S., making this a reasonable alternative. Health insurance is available here, but I doubt you'd think it was a good deal, if you have free care available to you back in the states. About earning money here, and the different ways that can be done, plus some people's experiences with finding work, these threads have possibilities, if you're not tired of reading- http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/15191-pay-cancun.html http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/liv...01-another-question-about-working-cancun.html Spanish Language skills will improve anyone's chances of earning money here, and developing some could be a good first year's project for both of you, putting off the job questions till you were ready to speak Spanish. There are some jobs which do not require Spanish, but even these are easier to get for those who speak Spanish, in many cases.
Wow, after reading all of this info, I see now that you expats must have really wanted to move really bad. It appears that you have to jump through hoops or that you need to be very well off so not to worry about finding jobs, etc. Conversely, I imagine that foreigners moving to the US have to endure the same pains.
Some people find Cancun attractive enough to settle for a more modest lifestyle. Others find ways to earn more, over time. Those with successful businesses here can make a lot, just as they could anywhere. If you didn't insist on earning a lot, and you both could speak Spanish, there could be opportunities to teach, but it's hard, generally speaking, if you require significant earnings from the word go....
Personally I didn't find it that difficult, from a legal standpoint. I originally came on a student FM3 to study in Cancun. once I graduated, I found a job and easily switched over to a work FM3. Like V said, it's only about 200 - 300 USD a year to renew this. After the first time you do it, paperwork is pretty simple to renew. It sounds like a lot, but it's really not. With 2 - 3 quick visits to the immigration office every summer, that's the only time I even think about the legal part. Getting a job can be a bit of a challenge, but I think many expats here are successful with their own online business and such. I understand you can get permission to live here if you can prove some sort of outside income (not sure if that's the case with you), but I'm not the expert on that, so don't quote me. The slow-paced, relaxed lifestyle makes any paperwork well worth it. You'll stress yourself out more on a daily basis in the US than you will with Mexico's immigration paperwork, in my opinion. There are challenges, and you have to be flexible, but once you get into the swing of things there's nothing like it. It's not for everyone, but if you're passionate about it, you have to go for it.
Beachgurl, I suppose your talk of retirement/pensions made me think you would be coming as a financially self-sufficient couple. If that's not completely the case, but you won't need to earn a lot of money, here, you could still make a contribution to the society and enjoy life here: it would just involve working for much more modest wages than you're accustomed to.... You can meet plenty of expats who have stayed awhile, found ways to make it work for them, and gone on to live here for decades. With patience, something to offer, and a little good luck, it can be done!
There is a VA-approved rep based in Mexico (although over the other coast in PV). If you email him, he'll probably be able to tell you everything you need to know. Puerto Vallarta Veteran's Information - David Lord Tell him Drew from GDL sent you.
I suppose we could live off his retirement alone, but I'm thinking it would be tight. It would be about half of what he makes now and I have no idea what the cost of living down there is like. And we definitely would have to get rid of our assets ( houses, cars, etc). What started out as wanderlust and a dream of moving to another country, may be reduced to maybe "temporarily" moving. Who knows. But we have 5 more years before my husband retires, so obviously nothing will happen before then.
