You don't have to take a transatlantic flight to feel like you're in Europe this holiday season.
My husband and I felt like we didn't save enough money to retire in the US. So we moved to Mexico and built our dream home.
15.11.2024 - 16:59 / insider.com
I used to dread retirement calculators. It was possible to get the numbers to come out OK if my husband and I blurred our vision a little, were optimistic about our return on investments, and figured out how to save at least somewhat more each year.
However, if there was an expensive, unexpected setback — and the older I get, the more I realize that you have to expect unexpected financial blows — the numbers would no longer add up.
But there was a way, potentially, to reset the numbers, and that was to retire abroad.
We started looking at options, investigating residency requirements, the cost of real estate, and the availability and cost of medical care.
We eventually settled on Mexico, a country that's long been a favorite of American retirees where an estimated 1.6 million already live.
Based on our calculations, our money could last longer in Mexico than in some other countries we were considering, such as Spain and Canada.
Plus, it was closer to the US, which was important to both of us, as we have parents in California and Florida who we want to check in on regularly.
After a trip to Mérida in 2018, the capital of the state of Yucatán in southeastern Mexico, we realized the housing expenses there would significantly improve our financial situation.
We had been looking at small apartments in Bushwick, Brooklyn, for about $600,000. But we could easily afford a nice house with a pool and several bedrooms in Mérida, which were going for $250,000 to $300,000 at the time.
It was too good to pass up. We decided then to move from the United States to Mexico.
We moved to Mexico before retiring because we thought the transition to retirement in another country would be easier if we had already lived there.
We figured that if we moved abroad in our 50s, we'd have time to explore our new home and feel settled rather than trying to uproot ourselves in our 60s.
I was also aware of my parents' path. They, too, had considered retiring in Mexico but waited too long until the upheaval of moving abroad late in life became too formidable.
We found a house that had been abandoned, though was still in relatively good condition, in Mérida's historic center and purchased it for one million pesos, roughly $50,000, in 2019.
We then found a contractor who gutted it and built a new addition based on designs my husband, Marc Perrotta, drew up.
Ultimately, the renovations cost $220,000 and took a year to complete.
During the first six months, we stayed in NYC, keeping updated with the contractor over regular Zoom calls. For the last six months, we moved into a rental in Mérida, which allowed us to visit the site regularly.
Our patience was rewarded because, in the end, we now have our dream house.
Our combined income is less
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