Live In Mexico: Everything You Need To Know 2025

Panama has been called a halfway house for American expats… but I disagree.

Mexico is a far easier transition for gringos headed south of the border.

For those who aren’t ready to launch themselves into a truly foreign culture, who want some familiar comforts, reliable services, and to be able to get by in English… Mexico is the ticket.

It’s estimated that more than 1 million Americans and 500,000 Canadians live in Mexico, part- or full-time… and with good reason.

The highly Americanized culture is only one of the attractions.

Mexico’s proximity to the United States and Canada is another big plus for the many retirees living there who want to make trips back home to see grandkids every now and then. Plus, the excellent infrastructure makes living easy, residency is straightforward, the county’s got many great lifestyle and climate choices, and property is affordable, as is the cost of living.

I lived full-time in Panama seven years, and I have been traveling throughout Latin America since I was toddling. It’s been a long time since I’d spent time in Mexico, though, and, until my most recent visit, I had forgotten just how well appointed it is.

The roads are wide, well paved and maintained, properly painted, lit, and signed. What’s more, drivers are polite and respectful. If you haven’t spent a lot of time driving in Latin America, these things may not seem notable, but in many countries outside North America and Europe roads can be dangerously poorly maintained and drivers can have little understanding and less interest in following the rules of the road.

Even Panama City—an otherwise modern city in many ways—has deplorable inner-city roads. Outside the city, the Pan-American Highway is decent—though poorly painted and unlit—but any offshoot is as likely to be dirt as it is to be paved.

I had never noticed before living in Panama how valuable road reflectors are… especially in the absence of road lights. (FYI, Mexico has both.)

If you have car trouble while on the road, you’ll be glad to know that Mexico has a helpful government program called Ángeles Verdes, trucks that police the highways looking for drivers in trouble.

Such government initiatives illustrate how well organized the country is; most countries south of the border could never wrangle the oversight to implement a highway safety patrol program.