COMMENTS

17 responses to “Aging Out of Place in San Miguel, Mexico”

1. Two dear friends, a couple in their early 80s who retired to San Miguel years ago, loved it until recently. Hospitals are very affordable, but the one who wasn’t hospitalized had to empty the bed pan for the one who was. Lately they were taken advantage by a local younger friend who had been their helper/advocate since they arrived. He paid their utilities through his bank and stole $7,000 from them. Any suggestions of where they can go for help regarding this?

   Reply to Carmen

2. Is there any possibility of meeting you in person when I, my husband and adult son are in San Miguel May 5th through May 14th? It’s a lot to ask but I’m 99.9% on board to relocate from Washington DC this year.
   I have contacted a real estate agent but if you have a favorite I would love a name. I have had no luck getting any word back from Agave agents. Maybe ‘ancients’ aren’t their thing. I would also so appreciate a referral to someone who could guide us through all the red tape that is required.
   Your name was given to me by Patricia Ullman ( I think you might have known her by another name when she was married) . She was a member of Buddhist community that your husband participated in.
   Any help would be so appreciated. Thank you – Susan Richardson

   Reply to Susan Richardson

3. Please offer advice re: a 75 year old but youthful , fit single woman moving to SMA. Good idea or bad?

   Reply to Sandra Kay

4. I’m kinda new to this, trying to understand. If you’re an American living in MX full time…you can keep your USA citizenship, and get SS benefits (are these deposited to US banks and you have to file USA taxes right). Then, you move money from USA to MX when u need it?

   Also, stuff like Medicare. how does that work? you pay into a MX insurance system and get MX healthcare, but if you retain USA citizenship you can fly back to USA and use medicare?

   Is getting a visa to live in MX full time difficult? (for me, I’d work remote). The ?s on medicare/SS are “future” questions :)

   Thanks :)

   Reply to Steve Burkett

   1. Considering retiring to SMA. I am a single, very young, vibrant 66 y/o female. Looking for a Mother in law like dwelling. any suggestions?

      Reply to Alice

5. This is an interesting article and tempting for me to begin to consider moving there until I read online about their water quality. Water is Life as they say and, after reading about water there, that ended it for me. (Too bad!) I also read an article from a man, a gringo who speaks Spanish and has lived for some years in a nearby city, who has observed directly on multiple occasions Americans having an arrogant and prejudicial attitude towards the local people. This was very sad to hear. He also mentioned that this is not talked about or, when he brings it up to other Americans, there is much denial and anger and statements confirming to him the objectification of the peoples there. So, to all who venture forth watch attitudes of entitlement and superiority please.

   Reply to Jo Ann Herbert

6. So useful… look onward to coming back

   Reply to NBA

   1. We went to San Miguel De Allende in October of 2016. We loved it. I especially thought the people were so kind to me. I loved not having to drive, just take a taxi everywhere or walk which we did a lot of.
      I live in Houston and hate the traffic and the road rage incidents. People drive like jerks, and nearly everyone carries a gun like their Marshall Matt Dillion and shootings nearly everyday.

      I would like to know the procedures to move to SMA, involving visa’s, etc.
      My only drawback was I don’t speak Spanish, so I am studying to learn so when we go back this coming May, I will be able to talk to the community.

      Please give me some advice and tips.

      Reply to Mark Nichols

      1. There are a lot of jerky drivers in Mexico too. You just have to be quite vigilant.

         I live in San Diego but it is a dead town. Except for surfing and skateboarding there is not much for adults. So i too am thinking of returning to SMA. San Miguel de Allende. I lived there for several years in the ’90s and enjoyed it a great deal. But I have to wonder that the houses for rent for $500. I don’t think so. When I read these promises from websites about SMA I am amazed that they lie so much. You should arrange to take a trip. YOU are not so far away from there in Houston. And take the time to look at rentals. The agents generally want to rent very expensive apartments or homes that rent for thousands of dollar. I see that SMA now has many houses for sale in the millions. It was not like that in the late 1990s

         Good luck. it is not as easy as they make it sound. but very doable.. Things move more slowly in Mexico to so take your time and do your research.

      2. Dear Mark,
         My name is Olivia and I work for the Houston Chronicle. I am writing a story about U.S. expats in Mexico and would love to talk with you. Please, can you call me or send me a message with your number for me to call you? I will appreciate it very much. My office phone is 713-362-4259 and my email: olivia.tallet@chron.com
         Thank you,
         Olivia

   2. Well that is just awful.

      Reply to John Dozier

7. Hey, nice blog guys. Btw, I am curious. A tennis buddy and I (we’re both married guys) are bringing two senior single guys (60 and 70) down there for a guys-just-hanging-out kind of week later in the month. What watering holes or coffee shops or forums or whatnot can I point them to where they might find some female companionship during the evening hours. U.S., British, Canadian, professional (not in that sense. please), They should be 55-plus. Interesting dinner party people, in other words. We’re an academic, a writer/investor, an engineer, with a place in Centro, and a 6’4 Norwegian former male model. Seriously. All of us are Seattle-based. Drop us a line at nickravo@mac.com if you have any advice.

   Reply to Nick

8. I don’t know who told you that the temperature lows rarely fall below 60 – at night from November – February, it will certainly be low 40s and sometimes below freezing. Please do your research.

   Reply to Beverley Wood

   1. Once they talked about the weather not going below 60- and not talking about the hilly, difficult to walk cobblestone streets, they lost some creds, A bit too rosy.

      Reply to Dan

9. Living in Southern Yucatan is a bit more remote but the laid back life is amazingly beautiful and simple. Check us out at theadventuresofdostortas.com

   Reply to Alex

10. Our winter temperatures commonly fall into the 30’s in the winter time. December til mid-February. I’ve lived here 14 years and often leave for that length of time, Without central heat and living in stone houses, it can often be 50 INSIDE your house!

    The INAPAM card is basically for meds, and travel. I’ve never found a restaurant or retail store that will discount with the card.

    Thanks for the article. I write a blog at babsofsanmiguel.blogspot.com about life and life in Mexico with about 30,000 readers a month. Check it out!

    Reply to Babs

11. My wife and I chose San Miguel de Allende seven years ago for its combination of climate, culture and the basic warmth of its people. I became interested in the process of becoming an expat and wrote a book based on conversations with 32 Americans and Canadians who had also made the move. It’s mainly a way of getting inside their heads. Whether you’re thinking of settling on the beach, or in one of the colonial cities of the interior, you need to listen to this conversation. It’s called San Miguel de Allende: A Place in the Heart, and there is no other book like it. Here’s a link to an excerpt on my website:
    
www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com/aplaceintheheart.html

    Reply to John Scherber