Image of Zihuatanejo by Author

I’m here right now, I know the cost of living firsthand.
But is moving here permanently the right choice for me? How about you?

Dream: I wake up whenever I feel like it and walk to the beach for a swim in the silken waters of the bay. They say it’s the best exercise but I just like how it feels. Afterward, I stroll into town for a cappuccino and brunch. The service is gloriously slow and I laugh while sharing stories with my friends. Since the afternoon is hot, I sit on my red-tile patio beneath a cool fan and read. I might take a nap. Dinner is the catch of the day, hooked by one of the fishermen who boated past me during my morning swim. A glass of wine on the patio with a neighbor concludes my day and I go to bed whenever I feel like it.

I could do this easily and so could you

The Pacific coast of Mexico is a gorgeous place with clean, inviting waters and affordable living. The food is nutritious and delicious, the people are friendly, and the lifestyle is slow and simple. I could rent a small home or condo close to the beach for $1,000 to $1,500 US dollars a month and live like a king on another $1,500.

Breakfast, coffee and juice in a waterfront cafe costs $8 US, and dinner with drinks will set you back $15.

I know because as I write this I’m sitting on my red-tile patio under a cool fan overlooking the bay of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I just got back from a tasty brunch of shrimp, eggs, potatoes, and fruit. The fresh-squeezed orange juice was delicious too. The bill was $8 US ($160 pesos). There are less expensive cafes but I like this one (because it also offers chocolate-banana crepes which are my nemesis).

Time is money

Deciding when to retire is a devilish puzzle. Retire early for more time, or retire later for more money? Throw in the fact that you don’t know how long you’ll live, and you have an intractable paradox.

I took a wild guess and retired a few months ago. I hope I chose the optimal balance of time and money, but I won’t know until I run out of one or the other. I suppose running out of time would be best, but I certainly don’t want to hurry that along. If I run out of money, there’s little I can do other than yank the belt a little tighter before impact. Regardless, dwelling on it is just a waste of whatever time I have left.

While I can’t think of a way to cheat the grim reaper, I do know a way to stretch my savings: Move to Mexico.

The Pacific side of Mexico

I’m a big fan of all the beaches in Mexico but I keep returning to the Pacific side for some inexplicable reason. Perhaps it’s because I live on the Pacific in the United States and I’m used to it or perhaps it’s the relaxed nature of the towns along the coast. Regardless, I’m here right now, enjoying the experience of an extended stay.

It’s hard to generalize about the coast. There are traditional tourist destinations like Cabo and Puerto Vallarta, and less-developed towns like San Blas and Sayulita. Even here in Zihuatanejo, I find dramatic contrast from its sister city Ixtapa, just a few miles away. Each town has its own unique charm, but one thing they have in common is the ocean. No matter where you go up or down the coast you’ll have warm water, cascading surf, and delightful seafood.

They also offer a surprisingly affordable cost of living, between 35% and 60% less than the cost of living in the United States.

The cost of living

I asked a woman, “How much does it cost to live here?”

She replied, “As much as you want.”

You can build a palace on the hills overlooking a secluded bay for millions of dollars or you can rent an apartment for hundreds. You can dine on fresh buttered lobster tail in exclusive restaurants or chat with a street vendor while she cooks your tacos for a dollar.

My dream falls somewhere in the middle.

Living in Mexico full-time would cost less than half of what I live on right now.

Housing: A multi-million-dollar home with a view of the ocean in Seattle would cost about $400,000 US dollars in or around a resort town in Mexico. A condo with a spectacular view would cost about $250,000. If you’d prefer to rent you can find rooms with views from $1,000 to $2,000 US dollars a month. If you skip the view, you can still walk to the beach from your $500 apartment.

Restaurants: Expect to pay $30 to $40 US per couple in a nice restaurant, and that includes a glass of wine. Less expensive cafes are available and plentiful. Breakfasts and lunches are less than $10 per person, often as low as $5. A mocha coffee that you’d pay $5 for in the US will cost you just $1.50 here.

Groceries: Bananas are $.10 each, a tub of butter was $1.40, a quart of milk is $1.25, three breakfast breads cost a total of $.70, and a box of cereal was $4.75. For drinks, a bottle of gatorade was $.75, and a dozen beers cost just $.83 each (half of what it costs in the USA). My wife and I could cook all our own meals for twenty-five dollars a day, and if we lived here that’s what we’d do often. But the cost of restaurants is so low, and exploration so entertaining, that we don’t expect to do a lot of cooking on this trip.

Clothing: The airline lost one of our bags (another story) so we bought a very nice sundress for $50 and fashion sandals for $30 (we saw other sundresses and sandals for less than half of that, but we wanted top quality). T-shirts were $9 and a pair of shorts cost $18.

Transportation: Walking is the primary mode of transportation and all it costs is a bottle of water to stay hydrated ($.75). When you’re tired of walking, taxis are everywhere, and cheap. Trips within a town will cost $3 to $5 US. We rented a cab for several hours and paid $20 US dollars per hour. He took us all over the region, visiting several points of interest and a remote beach that was all but deserted. The driver spoke English, and he told us stories about the area that we’d never have known otherwise.

Utilities: Power, sewer, and water for a condo are less than $100 US dollars but keep in mind you’ll need to buy filtered water for a few extra dollars a week. Broadband internet bundled with television will run you $30 to $80 a month depending on your preferences. Internet is essential of course, but with such a stunning view, who needs a TV?

Entertainment: In the larger towns you’ll find community theaters, museums, gyms, and live bands. You can surf, paddleboard, kayak, fish, swim, and tan (tanning is a sport, isn’t it?). The larger (and more touristy) the town, the more entertainment options you’ll find. Every town has at least one central square where you’ll find weekly entertainment, usually free. It could involve anything like mariachi bands, singers, dances, ballet, plays. Holidays are especially entertaining.

What to do when one has nothing to do?

Regardless of how many entertainment opportunities surround you, there will always be a surplus of down time. In this area it gets quite hot in the middle of the day, and the best solution to that is to relax in the shade of a palm tree, cafe, or in an air-conditioned room in your home.

Free time can be filled with writing, reading, meditating, napping, and the like, but I worry that it’ll get old. I’m not a naturally quiet person and I enjoy hobbies and outdoor activities. Too much time without a purpose may be boring. (Or could it be a gift I’ve yet to discover?)

I’ve already started practicing my daily mid-day relaxations, and for now I’m enjoying it. Perhaps in time I’ll get better at it. If not, I may have to look for a town with a cooler weather where I can be outside more.

We can, but should we?

I don’t live in Mexico right now but I could. It’s easy to move here and become a resident. Health care is very good in the major cities, and the US is right next door.

We could live here full-time for less than half of what it costs in the United States. Our money could stretch to the moon and back while we live large in this tropical paradise. But alas, it’s not the perfect solution.

Cutting the cord completely is a terrifying thought. Selling our home and belongings is an extreme commitment that I find difficult to fathom. Leaving family and friends behind is even worse. Sure, we can return for visits but we’ll often miss holidays, birthdays, and spontaneous gatherings. It would never be the same.

What about part-time instead?

A nice compromise might be the path that many other seniors take — the snowbird approach. We could buy or rent a place in a town we love and return to it each winter for months at a time. We’d still have our main home in the United States to maintain, which means we won’t save as much.

But with a part-time life in Mexico my dream may be even better. Three to six months of the year I’ll wake up and take a swim in the silken waters of the Pacific Ocean, and other months I’ll wake up to a day filled with family and friends. Both are precious, and a life like that would be the best I could imagine.