So, if you eventually decide to retire in Mexico, and you decide to live inside one of the expatriate communities such as Ajijic, Lake Chapala, you will most likely be sharing the company of Americans and Canadians who will all speak English with you. You will not want to miss out, however, on the warmth of the Mexican people who you will also share your life with.

People who retire to Mexico come from all walks of life. Many have had jobs either in large companies, small enterprises, or have had had their own business and sold it and moved to Mexico. The reasons for moving to Mexico are as many and varied as the people who make them. In many cases people tend to amplify their previous experiences to a more impressive level. For example if you were a private in the army by the time you reach Mexico you were a decorated four star general.

It is a personal choice, and usually research trips or having spent annual holidays in Mexico over several years during their working lives. This is important: if you are going to spend important years of your life in a county other than your own, it is imperative that you get to know Mexico and experience it first hand. My husband had traveled to Mexico for holidays together and separately over 9 times before we made the move to Ajijic, Lake Chapala in 1994.

As a country Mexico has an enormous amount of offer retirees. You have a choice of climates, ranging from spring-like weather all year-round to warm humid sea front location and the dry heat of the desert. In Ajijic, Lake Chapala the weather is 75 degrees and sunny 90% of the year which suits us perfectly. We love traveling to the beautiful beaches for vacations but prefer our more temperate climate to live in year round.

The infrastructure is excellent in developed areas, and the areas you are likely to choose from are as safe as any modern town or city in your home country and in many cases are far safe. (In fact, Mexico has extremely tight firearms and lethal knife laws making it statistically safer than many cities in the US. Outside of Mexico City and away from the drug rings, violent crime is extremely rare in Mexico.

Mexico’s pace of life is ideal for retirement – you can relax, and still lead an active retirement. Here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala you can be busy every night if you so choose or happily do nothing at all. Stress levels are insignificant here.

The food is wonderful. Fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and fish are available at the local markets and you’ll get great value for your money. There is an enormous variety of tropical fruit which is sweeter and juicier than the kind that is shipped to colder climates. Food is also less expensive in Mexico.

Healthcare is widely available. Mexico has good doctors, dentists, hospitals and other medical specialists. There are a range of insurance services available for you to buy to safeguard you and your dependents from the cost of private medical bills.

Your retirement income can go further in Mexico. Exactly how far with depend on your lifestyle expectations. The essential point to remember is that the basic foods and drink are considerable less expensive in Mexico than they are in Europe and most places in the US and Canada. Eating out can be less expensive too and extremely good value for your money.

Utility bills can be lower (with the exception of electricity which has risen significantly recently) property taxes and maintenance coasts are very low, and you may be able to structure your finances so that your retirement income is very tax efficient for you.

If your retirement income is generated in hard currency, you will find your earnings stretch further on the basics needed for everyday living that it would in Europe, the US or Canada.

You will have a lot of questions about retiring or moving to Mexico and specifically, Ajijic, Lake Chapala so feel free to contact this site to get answers to all of those questions. We did it 17 years ago and are happy to share our knowledge with you.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1074406–peaceful-canadian-port-thrives-amid-a-mexican-drug-war

First: A reality check on Mexico

Mexico is in a unique position to reap many of the benefits of the decline of the US economy. In order to not violate NAFTA and other agreements the U.S.A. cannot use direct protectionism, so it is content to allow the media to play this protectionist role. The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.

Let’s look at the reality of the massive drug and corruption problem, kidnappings, murders and money. The U.S. Secretary of State Clinton was clear in her honest assessment of the problem. “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent the weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” Clinton said. The other large illegal business that is smuggled into the U.S.A. that no one likes to talk about is Human Traffic for prostitution. This “business” is globally now competing with drugs in terms of profits.

It is critical to understand, however that the horrific violence in Mexico is over 95% confined to the three transshipping cities for these two businesses, Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales. The Mexican government is so serious about fighting this, that they have committed over 30,000 soldiers to these borders towns. There was a thoughtful article written by a professor at the University of Juarez. He was reminded of the Prohibition years in the U.S.A. and compared Juarez to Chicago when Al Capone was conducting his reign of terror capped off with The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. During these years, just like Juarez today, 99% of the citizens went about their daily lives and attended classes, went to the movies, restaurants, and parks.

Is there corruption in Mexico? YES !!! Is there an equal amount of corruption related to this business in the U.S.A.? YES !!!. When you have a pair of illegal businesses that generate over $300,000,000,000 in sales you will find massive corruption. Make no mistake about the Mexican Drug Cartel; these “businessmen” are 100 times more sophisticated than the bumbling bootleggers during Prohibition. They form profitable alliances all over the U.S.A. They do cost benefit analysis of their business much better than the US automobile industry. They have found over the years that the cost of bribing U.S. and Mexican Border Guards and the transportation costs of moving marijuana from Sinaloa to California have cut significantly into profits. That is why over the past 5-7 years they have been growing marijuana in State and Federal Parks and BLM land all across America. From a business standpoint, this is a tremendous cost savings on several levels. Let’s look at California as an example as one of the largest consumers. When you have $14.2 billion of Marijuana grown and consumed in one state, there is savings on transportation, less loss of product due to confiscation and an overall reduction cost of bribery with law enforcement and parks service people. Another great savings is the benefit to their employees. The penalties in Mexico for growing range from 5-15 years. The penalties in California, on average are 18 months, and out in 8 months. The same economic principles are now being applied to the methamphetamine factories.

FOX News continues to scare people with its focus on kidnapping. There are kidnappings in Mexico. The concentration of kidnappings has been in Mexico City, among the very rich and the three aforementioned border Cities. With the exception of Mexico City, the number one city for kidnappings among NAFTA countries is Phoenix, Arizona with over 359 in 2008. The Phoenix Police estimate that twice that number of kidnappings goes unreported, because like Mexico 99% of these crimes were directly related to drug and human traffic. Phoenix, unfortunately, is geographically profitable transshipping location. Mexicans, just like 99% of U.S. Citizens during prohibition, go about their daily lives all over the country. They get up, go to school or work and live their lives untouched by the border town violence.

These same protectionist news sources have misled the public as to the real danger from the swine flu in Mexico and temporary devastated the tourism business. As of May 27 2009 there have been 87 deaths in Mexico from the swine flu. During those same five months there have been 36 murdered school children in Chicago. By their logic, if 87 deaths from the swine flu in Mexico warrants canceling flights and cruise ships to Mexico, then close all roads and highways in the USA because of record 43,359 automobile related deaths in the USA in 2008.

What is just getting underway is what many are calling the “Largest southern migration to Mexico of people and real estate assets since the Civil War” A significant percentage of the Baby Boomers have been doing the research and are making the life changing decision to move out of the U.S.A. The number one retirement destination in the world is Mexico. There are already over 2,000,000 US and Canadian property owners in Mexico. The most conservative number of American and Canadian Baby Boomers who are on their way to owning property in Mexico for full or part time living in the next 15 years is over 6,000,000. Do the math on 6,000,000 people buying a $300,000 house or condo and you will understand why the U.S. Government is trying to tax this massive shift of money to Mexico through H.R. 3056. The U.S. government calls this “The Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007″. Those who will have to pay it are calling this the EXIT TAX.

Mexico: A better economic choice than China

Another large exodus from the U.S.A is high paying skilled jobs. The job shift in automobile sector, both car and parts manufacturing, is already known by most investors. In the last few months as John Deere and Caterpillar have been laying off thousands of workers in the U.S.A., and hiring equal numbers in Mexico. The most recent industry that is making the shift is the aerospace manufacturers. In the city of Zacatecas there is currently a $210 million aerospace facility being built. With the 11 U.S. companies moving there, it is estimated to provide over 200,000 new high paying jobs in the coming years. One of the main factors for the shift in job south to Mexico instead of China is realistic analysis of total production, labor and delivery costs. While the labor costs in China are 40% less on average, the overall transportation costs and inherent risks of a long distance supply chain, and quality control issues, gives Mexico a distinct financial advantage.

Mexico’s real economic future

Mexico has avoided completely the subprime problem that has devastated the U.S. banking industry. The Mexican banks are healthy and profitable. Mexico has a growing and very healthy middle and upper middle class. The very recent introduction of residential financing has Mexico in a unique position of having over 90% of current homeowners owning their house outright. U.S. banks are competing for the Mexican, Canadian and American cross border loan business. It is and will continue to be a very safe and very profitable business. These same banks that were loaning in a reckless manner have learned their lesson and are loaning here the old fashioned way. They require a minimum of a 680 credit score, 30% down payment, and verifiable income that can support the loan. In most areas of Mexico where Baby Boomers are moving to, with the exception of Puerto Penasco (which did not have a national and international base of buyers), there is no real estate bubble.. The higher end markets ($2-20 million) in many of these destinations are going through a modest correction. The Baby Boomers market here is between $200,000 and $600,000. With the continuing demand inside the Bay of Banderas, that price point, in the coming years, will disappear. This is the reason the Mexican government is spending billions of dollars on more infrastructure north along the coast all the way up to Mazatlan.

The other major area where America has become overpriced is in the field of health care. This massive shift of revenues is estimated to add 5-7% to Mexico’s GDP. The name for this “business” is Medical Tourism. The two biggest competitors for Mexico were Thailand and India. Thailand and India’s biggest drawback is geography. Also recent events, Thailand’s inability to keep a government in place and the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, have helped Mexico capture close to half of this growth industry. In Mexico today there are over 56 world class hospitals being built to keep up with this business.

Mexico is currently sitting on a cash surplus and an almost balanced budget. Most Americans have never heard of Carlos Slim until he loaned the New York Times $250 million. After that it became clear to many investors around the world what Mexicans already knew: that Mexico had been able to avoid the worst of the U.S. economic devastation. Mexico’s resilience is to be admired. When the U.S. Federal Reserve granted a $30 billion loan to each of Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and Brazil, Mexico reinvested the money in Treasury bonds in an account in New York City.

According to oil traders, Mexico’s Pemex wisely as the price of oil shot to $147 a barrel put in place an investment strategy that hinged on oil trading in the range of $38-$60 a barrel. Since the beginning of 2009 Mexico has been collecting revenues on hedged positions that give them $90-$110 per barrel today. Mexico’s recent and under reported oil discovery in the Palaeo Channels of Chicontepec has placed it third in the world for oil reserves, right behind Canada and Saudi Arabia.

The following is a quote from Rosalind Wilson, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce on March 19, 2009. “The strength of the Mexican economic system makes the country a favorite destination for Canadian investment”.

OPPORTUNITIES: WHY PUERTO VALLARTA & THE RIVIERA NAYARIT

The answer is simple and old fashioned: SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

The area of Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit inside the Bay of Banderas is an investor’s dream. This area has the comprehensive infrastructure in place, world class hospitals and dental care, natural investment protection from the Sierra Madre Mountains, endless future water supply, low to nonexistent crime, international airport, and limited supply inside the Bay, first class private bilingual schools and higher than average appreciation potential. Like many areas in Mexico there is large demand for full and part time retirement living and a lot of construction underway to meet this demand. Pre construction of course is where the best bargains are available.

I would offer a word of caution for investors in Mexico. Do not be seduced by the endless natural beauty that is everywhere, both inland in colonial towns and along thousands of miles of beach. Apply conservative medium and long term investment strategies without emotion. The demand for full and part time living by American and Canadian Baby Boomers is evident throughout the country. The top two choice locations are ocean front, and ocean view. The third overall choice, which is less expensive, is inland in one of the many beautiful colonial towns or small cities.

Mexico, with the world’s 13th largest GDP, is no longer a “Third World Country”, but rather a fast growing, economically secure state, as the most recent five-year history of its financial markets when compared to the U.S.A.’s financial markets suggests.

DOW JONES AVERAGES MAY 2004 10,200 – MAY 2009 8,200 20% LOSS IN 5 YEARS

MEXICAN BOLSA MAY 2004 10,000 – MAY 2009 23,000 130% GAIN IN 5 YEARS

Surprisingly enough as we watched the Dow Jones Index plummet 512 points yesterday we still find the economies in both Canada and Mexico are growing and even flourishing in many parts.

Real Estate is booming in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada and we are lucky enough to be busy here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala even though it not the “busy season”.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. It would seem then that perhaps looking south of the border during these times of financial unrest could make a lot of sense for a better life and easier retirement.

I would suggest going north of the border but I am partial to our almost perfect weather in Ajijic, Lake Chalapa which is 75 degrees and sunny 99 percent of the year. Having lived in Toronto, Canada for many years I cannot say the same thing about the Canadian weather.

For those on fixed incomes it would make sense to have your limited income go as far as possible and the cost of living here is much less than it is in the US or Canada.

One of the many reasons Mexico’s economy is thriving is because many now skilled workers are returning home from the US as the jobs are scarcer or non- existent. This influx is stimulating the economy as the infrastructure continues to improve.

We see it ourselves. Things are very different here than when we moved to Ajijic, Lake Chapala over 17 years ago. We now have world class technology available at competitive prices which makes doing business anywhere in the world possible.

Products and services are now available to us that in the past were unheard of and things continue to get better every year.

Some people like to view Mexico as a third world country but we have always seen it as a developing nation and I think if you do your due diligence online you will find out that Mexico could be the place of the future for growth and stability.

Retirement can be stepping into the great unknown but now with everything Mexico has to offer in terms of economic growth, excellent affordable healthcare and realistic real estate opportunities this might be the place for you. It is certainly has been for us and for that we are very grateful for every wonderful day we spend in our paradise in the sun.

Ask questions and find it if Mexico has everything you need and want in a retirement opportunity.

Our favorite expression is “Most people come for the weather but stay for the people”.

Of course we have the best climate in the world. Our cost of living is substantially better than up north. We enjoy kinder gentler times, a full infrastructure and a schedule as jam packed with an extensive choice of activities or as free as one might like.

Properties are as varied as one could possibly imagine with something for everyone at very affordable prices and if you do ever want to sell your house this is much easier than up north too.

We also enjoy visits from family and friends especially when it is cold up north.

At the moment we are lucky enough to have our first grandson, Ethan Alexander, visiting with us for what we hope is at least a few months.

Our daughter gave birth in the US so he would have dual citizenship which used to be automatic for an American giving birth here but that has now changed.

She and Ethan returned to us June 19th and are now living with us with her husband and we are delighted to have them.

Now I know I sound like a first time grandmother but he truly is a wonderful boy. Ethan has the calm temperament of his mother (and her incredible deep blue eyes) and seldom cries. He is very alert and advanced for a two month old as he is holding his head up and loves to keep moving. This will be fun when he starts crawling.

Our two dogs, a golden lab and a bichon frise/poodle mix, are both very gentle with the baby for which we are very thankful.

Ethan is indeed a very lucky boy to have his mother and father now reunited and having a wonderful time as a young family. Ethan’s father is very gentle with him and Ethan looks forward to his coming through the door every evening.

Today they were going off to visit family in Chapala and I had to laugh at the preparations just to get Ethan out the door. As our daughter said “it is a process”.

We will enjoy every minute we are lucky enough to have this new family with us which is another wonderful thing about retirement in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Everyone always comes home to our beautiful village in the sun.

Here we go again…..it’s like a daily ritual with the USA mainstream media. Today’s fake reality show episode comes to us from MSNBC with the omnious title “Time to say adios to Mexico travel?”.

In this paranoid fearmongering post, they take a poll asking “Would you visit Mexico given the worsening violence in some areas?”. The results are ugly and telling.

Eighty-Four percent (84%) of their readers chimed in shaking and quivering pushing that keyboard with an empahtic NO! I am sure if the button read NO F&#$ING WAY, that would be even more popular cause we’re dealing hysteria here folks.

How do I know? LOL! Because I have been living and travling all over Mexico for the past 12 years and that’s how I know and my wife of 26 years is Mexican.

For those of you 84 percenters, it’s called first hand knowledge and experience. Is that more credible than idiot pawn reporters working and getting paid by mainstream media living in the USA? What do you think? Yes, think!

Even more funny is that there are over 1,000,000 Americans living in Mexico who are laughing with me at this bullshit. Because Mexico is such a wonderful place to live, work, and travel, most of us get pissed off when hear this complete and utter bullshit over and over from US main stream media. That’s the first reaction. But since this war on Mexico has been going on for years now, after a while, we just start to realize that the USA is just neurotic, period! No hope!

After we get passed this accpetance, then we start to think…..geez us, maybe they should build that wall so we can keep this 84% out of Mexico. They have no clue on how stupid they sound when they try to talk about something they know nothing about. Worse, they are convinced that they live in the best most free country in the world even though there is NO evidence in 2011 that supports this bullshit.

USA # 1 right? Yeah, keep yelling it until you believe it with all your heart and then get your ass handed to you by the facists in Washington DC who control every aspect of your life. This is not 1950s America folks, this is Gattaca 2011.

I mean, we are talking about Mexico here; great weather, beautiful beaches, gorgeous señoritas, awesome and rich culture, friendly people with 1950′s American family values, and a heart that beats happy all day and night. No wars except the fake Drug War that the USA just loves to keep alive.

On the ground here, there is NO WAR. Read that again so you know its’ not a typo! NO WAR! Okay!

For 111,000,000 Mexicans, the war is virtually a non-issue. It’s just not in their face. Now, if you happen to be in the “selling drugs to sick Americans biz”, then, yes, you’d see it….everyday! No doubt about it. But in reality for most everyday Mexicans, this place is safer than most places on the planet.

Do you remember when kids used to walk down main street without fear? Yeah, I bet you do…..well in Mexico, they don’t wish this….this is how it is. The only place that have a high level of paranoia are in Juarez, a small city bordering Texas, and Mexico City with its over 25 million people.

In Juarez, the gangs are fighting to see who can sell drugs to those who demand them in the USA. The profits are so big that’s it’s out of control there. No question about it.

And in Mexico City, hey, there over 25 million people living there. What do you think it’s going to be? Do you walk around New York City with your head in the clouds? Come on! You need to be vigilant in any major metropolitian area. That’s normal. So save the stupid comments okay! I am talking about all of Mexico and not just Juarez or Mexico City. Heck, do you idiots travel to downtown Detroit for your vacation? Get real! Geez us people! Come on!

Anyway, yeah Mexico’s has more poverty than the USA….Opps! Scratch that! I was looking at 1998 stats! Opps! Mexico “used” to have more poverty than the USA. I mean given the complete USA meltdown over the last 10 years, believe me Mexicans are way more wealthy then the indebted enslaved brow beaten servants that the USA tries to call it’s middle class.

Heck my neighbor who lives in a colorful blue 500 sq. ft shack making $ 50 a week at the local fish plant is more wealthy than most Americans. At least she owns her own house! That’s right! Free and clear and her property tax is just $ 150 a year. Yep! That’s it. She don’t need no nuerotic BS about retiring when she’s 65 and some financial planning from a bankster who’s just going to rip her off.

And don’t get me started on healthcare in Mexico…..lets’ just say my daughter who is stuck in Dallas waiting in line at a doctors office with 50 others is begging to come to Mexico and get health care where doctors are trained to treat patients not insurance companies. Yeah! No waiting…..just go in and you can get 1 hour of face time with a GP, easy. And for $ 25. Not $ 500 for 10 minutes!

Anyway, the point is…..that all this bullshit about Mexico is fake made up BS from a determined US media who is aiming straight at the resort industry in Mexico.

And the truth is that this strategy is working. Just like when they scared the crap out of Joe American with their WMD bullshit and their Osama Bin Laden terror alerts waving all those dangerous yellows, oranges, and reds at us. All non-sense, yes! But effective like no other! Powerful stuff!

I mean, yeah, check it, I have a cousin Jethro who lives in Alabama. He has the stupid gall and arrogance to tell me how dangerous it is here in Mexico. Yeah, go figure! What a jerk! I told him to take his stupid right wing sorry dumb ass and plant it back on his Fox Idiot News Channel and stay the heck over there with his face planted on the “news”. This Joe-the Plumber moron deserves his ignorance for never questioning the sources of his “news” and “information”.

Of course, guaranteed, there will be 84% of you Jethro’s reading this who’ll side with my cousin and will have the stupidity to write lame ass comments here telling me how wrong I am and how right you are! You betcha! Heck you can put money on it right now! But to these fools I say “We got Osama Bin Laden, Yippee!”

But really, it’s not their brainwashed fault but the fault of their leadership who plays this game on them. And that’s the truly sad and tragic part of this story. Americans are the real losers here, not Mexico. Very seriously, I can’t tell you how sad it makes us expats who know the truth because we actually live and see both sides. It’s heartbreaking really.

Mexico has virtually accepted the fact that their fellow North American neighbor is just so over the top gone that it’s useless to even try.

Mexico has a growing middle class and their education system is providing their huge and large young population with better access to the future. The government and corporate PR advertising is getting stronger and promoting good responsible stuff to the youth. Its’ really good here. Impressive!

Can you ID the drug dealers on this dangerous beach in Playa del Carmen?

Now Mexico is reaching out to the rest of the global world to attract business and relying less and less on the USA for it’s travel industry.

I think that’s a great strategy that will bring dividends because, sadly, the USA is hopeless market! We’re dealing with a country that has 84% of it’s population believing that Mexico is dangerous when it’s the exact opposite. The USA is far more dangerous than Mexico!

Strange huh! Hearing that truth has gotta go against the mainstream but it is exactly true! Sorry to hurt your feelings!

In the end, the determination to assassinate the character of Mexico is too strong and deliberate by US main stream media.

There are many suspects for this delibrate attack but like all things in the USA, war is convoluted, ugly, messy and profitbale; so you know someone is making money off this deal. But who? It certainly ain’t cousin Jethro! And you? Are you making money off this deal? No? And now you’re mentally not able to come to a Mexican resort and enjoy hot warm oceans on sandy white beaches….really! Sucks to be you!

Now for those Americans living in Mexico reading this, I know I have been very direct with my fellow Americans here but the time to be subtle is over.

We tried being polite. Being polite and accomodating the neuroris is not working.

It’s time to hit back hard now and tell them the truth. Yes, the truth! Even if it hurts or they push back with made up FOX “facts”, sadly, it’s time to hit them back harder and maybe, just maybe, we can save a few from the grips of the brainwashing facsists posing as freedom sellers in blue and brown suits!

God Bless America …….and Mexico too!

Mexico is in a unique position to reap many of the benefits of the decline of the US economy. In order to not violate NAFTA and other agreements the U.S.A. cannot use direct protectionism, so it is content to allow the media to play this protectionist role. The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.

Let’s look at the reality of the massive drug and corruption problem, kidnappings, murders and money. The U.S. Secretary of State Clinton was clear in her honest assessment of the problem. “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent the weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” Clinton said. The other large illegal business that is smuggled into the U.S.A. that no one likes to talk about is Human Traffic for prostitution. This “business” is globally now competing with drugs in terms of profits.

It is critical to understand, however that the horrific violence in Mexico is over 95% confined to the three transshipping cities for these two businesses, Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales. The Mexican government is so serious about fighting this, that they have committed over 30,000 soldiers to these borders towns. There was a thoughtful article written by a professor at the University of Juarez. He was reminded of the Prohibition years in the U.S.A. and compared Juarez to Chicago when Al Capone was conducting his reign of terror capped off with The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. During these years, just like Juarez today, 99% of the citizens went about their daily lives and attended classes, went to the movies, restaurants, and parks.

Is there corruption in Mexico? YES !!! Is there an equal amount of corruption related to this business in the U.S.A.? YES !!!. When you have a pair of illegal businesses that generate over $300,000,000,000 in sales you will find massive corruption. Make no mistake about the Mexican Drug Cartel; these “businessmen” are 100 times more sophisticated than the bumbling bootleggers during Prohibition. They form profitable alliances all over the U.S.A. They do cost benefit analysis of their business much better than the US automobile industry. They have found over the years that the cost of bribing U.S. and Mexican Border Guards and the transportation costs of moving marijuana from Sinaloa to California have cut significantly into profits. That is why over the past 5-7 years they have been growing marijuana in State and Federal Parks and BLM land all across America. From a business standpoint, this is a tremendous cost savings on several levels. Let’s look at California as an example as one of the largest consumers. When you have $14.2 billion of Marijuana grown and consumed in one state, there is savings on transportation, less loss of product due to confiscation and an overall reduction cost of bribery with law enforcement and parks service people. Another great savings is the benefit to their employees. The penalties in Mexico for growing range from 5-15 years. The penalties in California, on average are 18 months, and out in 8 months. The same economic principles are now being applied to the methamphetamine factories.

FOX News continues to scare people with its focus on kidnapping. There are kidnappings in Mexico. The concentration of kidnappings has been in Mexico City, among the very rich and the three aforementioned border Cities. With the exception of Mexico City, the number one city for kidnappings among NAFTA countries is Phoenix, Arizona with over 359 in 2008. The Phoenix Police estimate that twice that number of kidnappings goes unreported, because like Mexico 99% of these crimes were directly related to drug and human traffic. Phoenix, unfortunately, is geographically profitable transshipping location. Mexicans, just like 99% of U.S. Citizens during prohibition, go about their daily lives all over the country. They get up, go to school or work and live their lives untouched by the border town violence.

These same protectionist news sources have misled the public as to the real danger from the swine flu in Mexico and temporary devastated the tourism business. As of May 27 2009 there have been 87 deaths in Mexico from the swine flu. During those same five months there have been 36 murdered school children in Chicago. By their logic, if 87 deaths from the swine flu in Mexico warrants canceling flights and cruise ships to Mexico, then close all roads and highways in the USA because of record 43,359 automobile related deaths in the USA in 2008.

What is just getting underway is what many are calling the “Largest southern migration to Mexico of people and real estate assets since the Civil War” A significant percentage of the Baby Boomers have been doing the research and are making the life changing decision to move out of the U.S.A. The number one retirement destination in the world is Mexico. There are already over 2,000,000 US and Canadian property owners in Mexico. The most conservative number of American and Canadian Baby Boomers who are on their way to owning property in Mexico for full or part time living in the next 15 years is over 6,000,000. Do the math on 6,000,000 people buying a $300,000 house or condo and you will understand why the U.S. Government is trying to tax this massive shift of money to Mexico through H.R. 3056. The U.S. government calls this “The Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007″. Those who will have to pay it are calling this the EXIT TAX.

Mexico: A better economic choice than China

Another large exodus from the U.S.A is high paying skilled jobs. The job shift in automobile sector, both car and parts manufacturing, is already known by most investors. In the last few months as John Deere and Caterpillar have been laying off thousands of workers in the U.S.A., and hiring equal numbers in Mexico. The most recent industry that is making the shift is the aerospace manufacturers. In the city of Zacatecas there is currently a $210 million aerospace facility being built. With the 11 U.S. companies moving there, it is estimated to provide over 200,000 new high paying jobs in the coming years. One of the main factors for the shift in job south to Mexico instead of China is realistic analysis of total production, labor and delivery costs. While the labor costs in China are 40% less on average, the overall transportation costs and inherent risks of a long distance supply chain, and quality control issues, gives Mexico a distinct financial advantage.

Mexico’s real economic future

Mexico has avoided completely the subprime problem that has devastated the U.S. banking industry. The Mexican banks are healthy and profitable. Mexico has a growing and very healthy middle and upper middle class. The very recent introduction of residential financing has Mexico in a unique position of having over 90% of current homeowners owning their house outright. U.S. banks are competing for the Mexican, Canadian and American cross border loan business. It is and will continue to be a very safe and very profitable business. These same banks that were loaning in a reckless manner have learned their lesson and are loaning here the old fashioned way. They require a minimum of a 680 credit score, 30% down payment, and verifiable income that can support the loan. In most areas of Mexico where Baby Boomers are moving to, with the exception of Puerto Penasco (which did not have a national and international base of buyers), there is no real estate bubble.. The higher end markets ($2-20 million) in many of these destinations are going through a modest correction. The Baby Boomers market here is between $200,000 and $600,000. With the continuing demand inside the Bay of Banderas, that price point, in the coming years, will disappear. This is the reason the Mexican government is spending billions of dollars on more infrastructure north along the coast all the way up to Mazatlan.

The other major area where America has become overpriced is in the field of health care. This massive shift of revenues is estimated to add 5-7% to Mexico’s GDP. The name for this “business” is Medical Tourism. The two biggest competitors for Mexico were Thailand and India. Thailand and India’s biggest drawback is geography. Also recent events, Thailand’s inability to keep a government in place and the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, have helped Mexico capture close to half of this growth industry. In Mexico today there are over 56 world class hospitals being built to keep up with this business.

Mexico is currently sitting on a cash surplus and an almost balanced budget. Most Americans have never heard of Carlos Slim until he loaned the New York Times $250 million. After that it became clear to many investors around the world what Mexicans already knew: that Mexico had been able to avoid the worst of the U.S. economic devastation. Mexico’s resilience is to be admired. When the U.S. Federal Reserve granted a $30 billion loan to each of Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and Brazil, Mexico reinvested the money in Treasury bonds in an account in New York City.

According to oil traders, Mexico’s Pemex wisely as the price of oil shot to $147 a barrel put in place an investment strategy that hinged on oil trading in the range of $38-$60 a barrel. Since the beginning of 2009 Mexico has been collecting revenues on hedged positions that give them $90-$110 per barrel today. Mexico’s recent and under reported oil discovery in the Palaeo Channels of Chicontepec has placed it third in the world for oil reserves, right behind Canada and Saudi Arabia.

The following is a quote from Rosalind Wilson, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce on March 19, 2009. “The strength of the Mexican economic system makes the country a favorite destination for Canadian investment”.

OPPORTUNITIES: WHY PUERTO VALLARTA & THE RIVIERA NAYARIT

The answer is simple and old fashioned: SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

The area of Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit inside the Bay of Banderas is an investor’s dream. This area has the comprehensive infrastructure in place, world class hospitals and dental care, natural investment protection from the Sierra Madre Mountains, endless future water supply, low to nonexistent crime, international airport, and limited supply inside the Bay, first class private bilingual schools and higher than average appreciation potential. Like many areas in Mexico there is large demand for full and part time retirement living and a lot of construction underway to meet this demand. Pre construction of course is where the best bargains are available.

I would offer a word of caution for investors in Mexico. Do not be seduced by the endless natural beauty that is everywhere, both inland in colonial towns and along thousands of miles of beach. Apply conservative medium and long term investment strategies without emotion. The demand for full and part time living by American and Canadian Baby Boomers is evident throughout the country. The top two choice locations are ocean front, and ocean view. The third overall choice, which is less expensive, is inland in one of the many beautiful colonial towns or small cities.

Mexico, with the world’s 13th largest GDP, is no longer a “Third World Country”, but rather a fast growing, economically secure state, as the most recent five-year history of its financial markets when compared to the U.S.A.’s financial markets suggests.

DOW JONES AVERAGES MAY 2004 10,200 – MAY 2009 8,200 20% LOSS IN 5 YEARS

MEXICAN BOLSA MAY 2004 10,000 – MAY 2009 23,000 130% GAIN IN 5 YEARS

–I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions and a few wires and pins.

–Yo mismo estoy hecho completamente de defectos, cosidos entre sí con buenas intenciones y unos alambres y clavijas.

–
Bob Miller

Robert P. Miller, PhD
535 Westfield Rd, Suite 100
Charlottesville, VA 22901

“Why are you moving to Mexico? It is very dangerous there!” We constantly hear uninformed rhetoric gleaned from cable news and talk radio about the murder rate, the kidnapping rate and the “disappearance” rate, etcetera, etcetera. We hear about the dangers of SCUBA diving, shark attacks and even heat exhaustion. American’s need to wake up to the realization that FEAR is an industry in the United States and we are rabid consumers of it. We are not saying you shouldn’t be cautious but some perspective needs to be applied.

In 2002 tens of thousands of people in the United States swore off airplanes and began driving cars on vacation because they were afraid of being killed by terrorists. This despite the fact that in a typical year there are more than 40,000 people killed in vehicular accidents in the US. In other words, assuming the trend continued (which it didn’t) the odds of being killed by a terrorist in 2002 would have been one in 9 million. In that same year the odds of dying in a traffic accident were about one in 7,000.

To put it a different way, probably more people were killed in 2002 not by terrorism but by fear of terrorism. Given that, how many people do your hear about that are afraid of car travel? How many people do you hear clamoring for the government to mandate safer cars? – How many people fear terrorism? How many people do you hear clamoring for the government to do something about “those people”?

With this in mind, let’s look at some numbers and how they apply to Mexico. Between 2004 and 2009 approximately 40 American’s per year died in Mexico of “unnatural causes”. That out of an average of 17.6 million American visits a year. Most of these deaths took place along the border and many were people that, let’s just say, were doing something they shouldn’t have been and many of the deaths were not even crime related. It is however pretty scary if you make an active effort not to think about it too hard. But let’s do something many think crazy and actually critically examine the numbers. (the following are approximate)

450,000 American’s die each year of heart disease but given those numbers how many people fear that enough to cut back on fast food and start exercising?
14,900 American’s die each year from falls.
8,600 American’s each year are poisoned.
3,300 American’s die each year from choking but how many American’s reduce the amount of things they put in their mouths from fear of that?
1,500 American’s die each year from firearms.
14,406 die each year of alcoholic liver disease
45,000 American’s die in each year in the United States — one every 12 minutes — in large part because they lack health insurance and cannot get good care.

From accidents with machinery the number is 350, medical complications 500, poisoning by gas 700, drowning 4,000 it goes on and on. Where are the headlines? Where is the outrage? Where is the finger pointing and the blame? It isn’t always easy to find or stand up to the boogey man in these cases so it just goes unreported, ignored or denied.

Given these numbers, the way we figure it, it would be in much more dangerous for us if we were to sit around growing fat butts in an easy chair, drinking beer, watching cable news and cleaning guns than it is getting up and moving to Mexico.

When you live in Mexico you can truly enjoy the good life.

Just across the border from the U.S. , Mexico is now “closer than ever” – that’s a motto used by the Mexican Tourism Association – and as many expats are choosing to live in Mexico, we couldn’t agree more.

What does that mean exactly? Well, in terms of physical proximity, Mexico is the closes southern neighbor to the U.S. and a NAFTA partner, with all the good roads, high-speed communications, and top notch health care that you’d expect up north. Those who move to Mexico find living and doing business there to be very easy.

Mexico is served by a large number of international airports with regularly scheduled flights from all over the world. But imagine having the option of driving from the U.S. or Canada to explore this magnificent country in your own car, at your own pace. Imagine returning to the U.S. and not having to worry about skyrocketing airfare or – perish the thought – disrupted air service caused by strikes, weather or other delays.

By living in Mexico you will be ble to enjoy its rich culture and customs.

Previous administrations did little in the way of infrastructure improvements, but President Filipe Calderon seems committed to allocating funds for new and expanded road, ports and telecommunications infrastructure. This goes hand in hand with increased privatization, which will allow concessions in the national airport network and the telecommunications sector. The idea is that all of those improvements will further encourage and facilitate commerce.

A low cost of living in Mexico means a high quality of life.

Everyone seems to agree: the quality of your life improves when you live in Mexico. Things take longer so you’ll need to learn to slow down. Goods and services cost less so you can afford the kinds of luxuries only the very wealthy enjoy up north like a maid, a cook and gardener. When you can afford to hire help, all of a sudden you have time to read, time to volunteer at the local school or orphanage, time to golf, relax on the beach and most importantly – time to savor life

The key to smart shopping in Mexico is local shopping. You’ll pay about 50 cent a kilo (2.2 lbs.) for fresh fruit like mangos, oranges or pears. A kilo of avocados sells for about $1.55 which is what you will pay for one avocado in the U.S. While it is true that you can find just about any product you’re used to having up north from Campbell’s Soup to Tide it’s also true that you’ll probably pay more for the convenience of a brand name. It you shop at the local produce markets and the store where the locals buy you are sure to pay less for your goods.

Live a long life in Mexico with its first rare health care.

You will find that, in general, health care in Mexico is very good and in many places it is excellent. Most doctors and dentists in Mexico received at least part of their training in the U.S. (and many U.S, doctors have trained in Mexico, notably in Guadalajara). Many continue to go to the the U.S. or Europe for ongoing training.

Every medium to large city in Mexico has at least one first-rate hospital. A big plus is the cost of health care in Mexico is generally one half or less than what you might pay in the U.S. The same foes for prescription drugs. Those manufactured in Mexico cost, on average, about 50% less than the same drugs in the U.S.

Visits to dentists are an attractive draw for travelers to Mexico, since quality dental work costs a fraction what it does in the U.S. or Canada. Many dentists and other medical doctors in Mexico speak English.

The paradox for Mexico’s increasing modernity and its attractiveness is that things still move a bit slower. You can enjoy a relaxed and refreshing lifestyle, like some out of a 19th century travelogue and yet it isn’t half a world away.
That is a plus that other destinations with this kind of weather, culture and lifestyle just cannot match.

Living in Mexico is truly a return to kinder, gentler times.

If you are considering retirement it is a very important to know that Mexico was given the #1 rating in International Living’s Global Retirement Index for the years 2007-2008. Here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala things have only improved in the last two years. This means that it’s not only as good as retiring in the U.S. or other countries; it is, in fact, better. Besides being right next door to the U.S., with quick, an inexpensive and easy flights home (albeit a tad intrusive if you opt for the pat down), the cost of living in Mexico is very low, as are taxes –property taxes, sales taxes etc.

Modern state of the art health care is available for a fraction of the price in the U.S. and health insurance (full coverage) is available very inexpensively.

These advantages are great for retirement but they are also real bonuses for anyone considering living in Mexico.

Here are the top 3 reasons to live in Mexico, whether for retirement of other reasons:

The first reason to come to Mexico is affordability. High quality properties are available for around $250,000.00 US. Those looking for something to suit a smaller budget, or an excellent investment opportunity, can find land with all the necessary services for as low as $55,000. US where you can design and have your own dream home built.

If you want to live in complete comfort, you can do well with $2,000.00 US per month, and if a simpler lifestyle is appealing to you, your budget can be even less than this. The value of the peso is low right now – it’s been hovering around 12.25 to the US dollar. This means that your money will last you a lot longer here – longer than it used to in Mexico, and much longer than it would back home.

The second reason is the “buyer’s market” which was created during the recession. While some people feel that we are now coming out of the recession, many American buyers have not yet regained full confidence in taking the step to purchase another home. But this situation means that the properties geared towards foreign buyers are available in large numbers. Considerable price reductions are still being offered on original asking prices. But this situation won’t last forever; once buyers from the U.S. regain their real estate confidence, these opportunities will quickly disappear. The advantages of buying a home in Mexico are becoming known to more people, in any parts of the world. With the exception of these recent reductions, property values have been very stable in Mexico, with healthy increase. Mexico homes also show every sign of being one of the first markets to recover from the price slumps from the recession. A few buyers who know how to identify super opportunities are the ones who have been buying in Mexico over the past years and a half.

Living in Mexico is safe, comfortable and neighborly. Main stream media likes to cash in on big news stories and blow them out of proportion (this is true of anywhere) and has consequently painted a very negative image of Mexico which even people who should know better have bought into. While drug related violence is a real problem along the US border, which the Mexican government is fighting hard to end, most of Mexico is further away and less affected by this than many parts of the U.S.

Day to day life in Mexico is very secure. While many homes are available in private gated communities, some Americans choose to live in other types of communities and feel safer than in many U.S. cities. There are always American neighbors around, as well as many from Canada, Europe and many other places especially here in our wonderful ex-pat community of Ajijic, Lake Chapala. The Mexicans are a very warm and friendly people who also make wonderful neighbors.

If you’ve ever thought about buying a home in Mexico, whether for retirement or just to enjoy life, stop thinking about. Find a good real estate broker and start looking for your new home today.