r/mexicoexpats

Is everyone tipping the water people that deliver a 20L garrafon? How much?

As title reads. Im Canadian. I’ll be there 6 months and need to find a way to get a CFE. Not sure if asking my Airbnb host for it would be rude or invasive im not familiar with the process

Thanks

Edit: do not have residency just FMM

Hello, I am wondering about the question "why do you want to move to mexico?" at the consulate. what are appropriate answers to this question. the reason that i want to move to mexico is because my husband and i are from 2 different countries and his country is currently banned from coming to the US. So we want to be able to live together nearby. Is this an appropriate answer, or would the consulate not like that? what are reasons why that are accepted? Another reason is because I think my country is dangerous and would prefer to move outside of it. IDK if these are okay answers or what people say

OK...here goes....when you create a handwritten Last Will and Testament in Mexico, blue ink is highly suggested (if not mandatory in some parts), but if the Will is multiple pages, do both sides of the paper need to be written on or is one side of the paper acceptable?

This year, I will go to the process of changing my temporary residency to permanent residency, since my 4-year period is almost over.

To be safe, I will do the process in the same INM where I registered the temporary residency (in Mazatlan).

How does the process look like?

For example, I don't remember what address I used to apply for my temporary residency. Will this be an issue? I think it was the address of my ex's appartment, but it might have been a hotel or AirBnb too.

Anywhere I can find this info online (I did the process in the office, so as far as I know, I don't have any live documentation anymore).

Thanks for any help you can provide for people that have done the same!

Hi ! I have my Mexican passport renewal tomorrow but I was wondering if what I have is enough. I have my Mexican birth certificate, lease contract, corp, unofficial school transcript (no photo) and school ID (only has my name, photo and school name), and my old/expired passport. I’m really nervous since it’s my first time since becoming an adult so no more hand holding 🥲 I’m hoping that this is enough? I don’t have a drivers license and I’m renewing in Sacramento. I couldn’t find an answer anywhere or they would contradict so I’m super lost. Please let me know! Thank you!!

been living in condesa for about two years now and finally had to deal with my passport renewal. mine was expired past the 15 year mark so i couldn't use DS-82, had to go the DS-11 route which meant gathering more docs than i expected. the US embassy here has limited appointment slots and they book out fast, so if you're in a similar situation don't wait until you actually need to travel.

the part that tripped me up most was the certified copy of birth certificate requirement. mine was from a small county in ohio and getting a certified copy sent to mexico added almost two weeks to my timeline. factor that in if you're planning ahead.

i used passportvisarush.com to get my forms pre-filled and double checked before submitting. there's a service cost on top of what you pay the government, so it's not the free route, but i'd already had one application rejected for a form error and wasn't trying to repeat that. worth it for me personally.

one tip with nothing to do with any service: passport photo requirements are enforced strictly at embassies abroad. had mine taken at a local foto shop and they got flagged. go somewhere that explicitly does US passport photos or ask the embassy directly what they recommend nearby.

Hi, my two kiddos and I are headed to El Salitre in Guerrero to stay with my mother in law’s family on their ranch for the summer . It’s a tiny Pueblo and will be the most rural place I’ve ever long stayed. My Spanish is intermediate at best so I look forward to improving it and my babies being immersed in a beautiful culture.

Coming from a city(Atlanta) I’m anticipating the change in pace to be a challenge at first but I really need to unplug. I could use some advice on how “to move” out there. What to watch out for , what I can do to pass the time . I thought of doing a free or low cost little English camp for schoolchildren but don’t want to overwhelm myself . I’ve lived abroad when I was single (Turkey, Vietnam , Thailand) so teaching was always my go to. What do ppl do out there ? How should I pass the time? I want to plan a couple trips to a surrounding bigger city but thinking it might be best to lay low for awhile .🌵

My wife and I are planning to move to Mexico this year, and we need to set up an appointment at a consulate (Indianapolis, in our case). I'm trying to create an account on the gob.mx website. Two of the required drop-down fields are missing the choices I need. Default office has no choices at all. Nationality has plenty of countries but is missing Estados Unidos. The fields don't let you type in anything -- you have to choose from the drop-down. I'm unable to proceed without the required fields being completed.

Texting the consulate on WhatsApp activates an 11-page chatbot, which is all in Spanish. Our Immigration Advisor in Ajijic said to email the Indianapolis consulate directly, but I'll probably need to do it weekly for a while until they respond (they want to know we're serious and not just looking for potential options to leave the US). I'm doing that, but I'm curious as to whether other people have had luck creating an account, and whether I'll need it later.

The single most important thing I would recommend doing before starting your move to Mexico, is doing the work to truly know who you are and want you want out of life. This can sound simple on the surface, but it took me a couple of years of therapy and work on myself to figure this out. 

I want to acknowledge that the privilege of all of this came from going through cancer and the loss of three close family members in a short two year span. I was angry, and scared, and massively depressed, often wrestling with not wanting to live. I had only the faintest glimmer of hope for my life. But I fought back with lots of help from my medical teams, friends, and my own tenacity. This loss also helped me have the funds to follow my dream of moving to Mexico. I am proud of myself for taking some of the worst things that life can give, and moving from survival to building a beautiful life.

I am also choosing to move and am moving towards something, and I acknowledge that some of you reading this are in a situation where you are forced to move, for a variety of reasons.

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Do not be entirely aspirational. Know who you are, your capabilities, your limitations, what you like and don't like, what brings you joy, your goals, your level of patience, etc. Be honest. When you move to Mexico, everything about you will also be moving - your past, your trauma, your ideals, your faults, your awesomeness, your current body, your relationships with friends and family, your current skills - all of it.

I did make a few aspirational decisions, but I did so consciously. I want to be healthier and get in shape. So I chose a walkable location and bought an e-bike. I told myself I could buy a car after a year if I still wanted one. But I know myself, and if I started with a car, I would not later become someone who walked and biked. I also made a promise to myself not to go to the bar that at home would have been my "hang", until I had lived here for three months. I have gone once when my neighbors invited me there for dinner. Flexibility is important too! It's important to be able to acknowledge mistakes, and opportunities, and move keep moving forward.

I also released some aspirational ideas. I thought I wanted a rooftop deck, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would not use it, just like I rarely used my finished basement. I have a lot of outdoor space in my complex and in my larger community, so that works for me. Plus I don't have to personally maintain any of it, which is not an area of interest or expertise. I also thought I wanted to be in the heart of town, but after reflection I realized that part of the goal of this move was increased peace, and downtown is busy and noisy. So I moved close enough to walk or bike, but far enough that it is tranquil and quiet - as tranquil and quiet as it could be living in a condo in Mexico. haha! 

I would have thought you were crazy if you told me I would live in a gated community, but here I am and I love it. Not for the "safety", but for the diverse community of people who live here as snowbirds and also full time (there are some tourists, but they are not the majority), including many Mexican Nationals. My small condo complex - less than 20 units, is occupied by people from Mexico, Germany, Italy, and the United States. And that is only the people I have met so far.

I also love the greenspaces, the walking and biking paths, the ease in terms of maintenance, proximity to the beach, proximity to medical care, proximity to shopping, restaurants, etc.

I ended up buying a less expensive than budgeted, older re-sale fixer-upper, which feels insane to me, as I have never renovated anything in the two homes that I have owned in the past. However, the things that could not be changed - the floor plan, the square footage, the view, the number of windows, the location, the floor level, and the direction the rooms faced were all things that I wanted. So I hired a local interior design team (first time doing this as well) to help me source furniture, materials, and tradespeople. They will manage the entire project. I am having them do a full re-design, and then based on my budget and my priorities after living here for a bit, I will decide what to do now and what can wait. My main priorities are safety, energy conservation, and functionality for eating, sleeping, and working.

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I have been visiting Mexico as a tourist for 20+ years, and have traveled to many different states, cities, and towns. In 2016 I started doing longer trial runs in various places to see what I liked, and how it would feel. I made the decision to move in 2025, and made the move about a month ago. For context I am middle-aged woman. I own my own business and work from home. My Spanish is Level 1 at best, but I always try, and I will be taking an intensive course and continuing with lessons, once I get settled enough to allow that in my schedule. I can read and understand spoken language much better than I can speak.

In the process of deciding on the location of where I would live, as well as the particular home I would buy, the information about who I am was invaluable. I believe it saved me time, money, and loads of stress. I have not doubted my decision to move, the place I have moved, or my choice of home on single time. This is a huge relief. 

Has my move been perfect? No, of course not. Have I been lonely, and frustrated, and scared, and irritated, and all of those things? Yes, many times. This is totally normal, but nothing in life is perfect and those are simply feelings that I can acknowledge and let pass. The foundation of my move is solid. It's not easy to move to another country, but this does make it much easier.

Other things that helped on my move:

1. If relevant to you, start the canje process in your country ASAP,. Get your temporary or permanent residency. This is good peace of mind, and your CURP will unlock access to things for you like a Mexico phone number, among others.

2. Book your flight for your move. Once you do this, it all starts to get real fast. This gives you a deadline, and informs the rest of your decisions. Once you have your flight, also figure out scheduling your INM appointment in Mexico and get it on the calendar as soon as you can.

3. I brought a large amount of pesos that I had ordered from my bank in small bills. Not having to go to the ATM initially or worry if my cards would work or be accepted, has been a big relief. Because of course all of my cards have been jerks at one time or another during my move.

4. I checked 12 bags which was much cheaper than shipping. If you don't have a credit card or status to get two free checked bags, consider flying first class. On most airlines you will get two free checked bags and the weight limit per bag will be 70 pounds. The math for first class might math for you, when you consider the checked bag fees and weight limits 😄

5. Being organized and prioritizing what is important now, and what can wait. I made a packing spreadsheet and each bag had a purpose. One for cats, one for clothes, one for home goods, etc. I also made a giant "to do" list in a spreadsheet and included the last possible completion date. This helped me prioritize what needed to be done sooner, and what could wait. It also allowed me to get the stuff out of my brain. I have it online so if I think of something while I am out, I can add it. Once tasks are completed I hide the row, so it doesn't look overwhelming. And if I get frustrated I can unhide everything and have proof of how far I have come and all I have accomplished 😄

A few things I have learned:

It is impossible to prepare for every scenario or even wrap your heard fully around an international move. These are things that seem a bit "duh" in hindsight, but they didn't occur to me until I got here.

1. I do a ton of laundry. I end every day sweaty, covered in sunscreen, and bug spray. There are no clothes that end up in the pile of things can be worn again. 

2. I shower every night. I am going through shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. like crazy. The same for laundry detergent, oxygen bleach, etc. The other factor contributing to this is that the water here is incredibly hard, so more surfactants are required to get myself and my clothes clean

3. Showering every night means I run out of pajamas quickly, and need to do laundry more often. 

4. I didn't have a bike previously, so I am realizing that I need more shorts and skorts. I usually wear skirts and dresses.

Hope this was helpful! Feel free to ask questions.

**Disclaimer: don’t mean to ruffle feathers or offend anyone

I was born in Mexico and moved to the US when I was 3. I’m planning on moving back to Mexico soon to a small Pueblo in Jalisco where my family is from and the expat community is essentially 0% and would like to find a potential secondary home somewhere coastal. I’ve been all over Mexico but would like more input from others who either have Knowledge or experience in this specific matter and know of coastal cities with relatively small or smaller expat communities. . I know areas around Lago de Chapala, Puerto Vallarta, etc have large swaths of foreign expat/immigrant populations and it’s just not necessarily something I willingly want to relocate to. If I wanted to live around retirees from the US I’d move to Palm Springs or Florida—I want to move back to Mexico to be around Others Mexicans is all.

Hi there,

I have a temporary residency and am trying to open a cetes directo account. The only documentation listed for foreigners is the now defunct FM2, has anyone had any success with opening an account, if so, how? Thanks!

I was just told by a immigration facilitator from CDMX that there's new procedures across all of Mexico (as of last week), where they have to further verify your documents, resulting in a 2-4 week wait from your 1st CANJE visit to when you receive your card. We all know that some locations are quicker than others, and something could always come up (broken printer, etc), that could delay receiving your card, but this was told to me as a new development for all of Mexico. As a result, I canceled my appointment at Polanco next week, because I couldn't stay. Has anyone heard anything about this? Any other facilitators out there care to comment?

My husband and I visited San Miguel de Allende for the first time last fall and completely fell in love with it. We're both retiring next year and the idea of stretching our savings in a beautiful colonial town is really appealing. I know there's a big expat community there already, but I'm not sure where to start with actually purchasing a home. Is the process very different from buying in the US? Any agents or firms you'd recommend that have experience with American buyers in that area?

Some people believe that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day, but it’s actually not, it is the commemoration of a battle won by the Mexicans against the French. The Battle of Puebla, which took place on May 5, 1862, was a military conflict where the Mexican army, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated the forces of Napoleon III, the most powerful army in the world at the time.

However; my question, as a Mexican, is, why do so many people in the U.S. celebrate this day.. who are not even of Mexican descent; And why does every restaurant make a big deal out of it; and not to mention, the absurd amount of drinking that happens?

It is not even a federal holiday in Mexico and it is just a day of observance in the state of Puebla itself. It is not such a big deal in Mexico at all, so why such a big deal in the US?

Hello, all! I'm currently researching a hopefully near-future relocation / retirement to Mexico. I'm 56M, and I was laid off in October from a job I've had for the last 12 years. I have some $ saved for retirement, but not enough at this point to sustain a retirement in the states. I started looking around for where it would possibly be enough, and I'm currently focused on the Oaxaca area as a potential landing spot. While low cost of living is definitely a factor, I'm also very interested in settling in an area that has a lot of indigenous culture. I'm very much into spending time outdoors, so the forested mountains of Oaxaca are also a definite plus. I've never been a city guy - I'd much prefer to land in a small-to-medium town. I'd love to hear from anyone who's in a smaller town, and not necessarily in Oaxaca - where are you located? Why did you pick your destination over others? What's your experience like? As I mentioned above, easy access to forests and mountains is key for me, so I marked more arid locales such as Guanajuato off my list pretty quickly. The only real barrier I see at this point - and it is a barrier - is that I've just begun learning Spanish. I don't want to concentrate on finding a place where more English is spoken that in others, though - I hope to learn through immersion, and make use of translation apps on my smartphone to get me through the early stages of learning. Feel free to DM me if you're open to chatting.

I tried to call 088 from US phone number. I tried +52 088, 011 52 088, just 088, also *088. Nothing is going through.

Does anyone know how to dial these type of emergency phone numbers from a US phone but in Mexico?

Hi everyone:

I am moving from NYC to CDMX 01 Aug.

The debate about whether to take my stuff is outside of the scope of this post. What I would love to see if anyone has advice on is moving companies. Does anyone have experience using NYC companies to move to Mexico?

I will have approximately a studio apartment but will include my library, which is about 1,500 books.

I have a temporary residency visa (have not registered yet with immigration in MX) but plan to live long term. Are there implications having a short term visa on the move?

Once I contact moving companies I can make a more informed decision for myself.

I found old threads but none that can be replied to. Any help would be appreciated!

My father is in mexico and he is about to be homeless. He is in his 60s and since hes returned to mexico all he's ever had is bad things happen to him for years now and hes extremely depressed. I just got off the phone with him and speaking to him and remembering what he was like when he lived here is a night and day difference for the worst. I want my father to have at least a place to live so I debating as to if I should buy a cheap ish house for him to live in. I make 48000 a year after taxes. Im not a mexican citizen but my parents are both from there. I was wondering how this whole process would be, if its a good idea, and what caveats there might be.

Hey guys feel like a total idiot, talked to ai, looked at Mexican websites and was under the impression I needed to pay a yearly fee for my wife to access imss facilities. Was hoping she could use it for prenatal, fertility stuff, potentially pregnancy and delivery and possibly psychiatric and her mental health medication as well. Seemed like the best "insurance" option since labs and appointments were getting expensive. I was hoping all this would be covered but unsure.

So we pay and wait till the end of the month for it to activate and go to the imss hospital and no one asks for a member card and they told us to go to different free locations, like hospital de las mujeres. So what did I pay for? Was this ever 12,000 pesos a year? Is it not anymore? Fan I get all this stuff done through here for real?

We got turned away at la hospital de las mujeres but I think it could be that we didn't explain what we needed properly. They looked at her prescription from a private gyno maybe they didnt have the specific kind. I'm not sure, but either way can't we just start over there and see a new gyno? Can we get the tests done there free, they were expensive? Seems like we wasted a lot of money and so any advice on how to navigate the Public health system, what's free and how to access it would be very appreciated.

Hospital de las mujeres, I think because of miscommunication sent us to our local centro de salud and they gave her some prenatal vitamins but then I think referred her to a private gyno, what we had before paying for the imss. So we basically went to a bunch of places wasted the whole day and seemingly wasted the yearly fee. 😭 I hate these payment forms in mexico. Not the first time we lost money on something similar. Anyways brutal. Any advice appreciated

Tldr:

Spent money for yearly imss, seems to be free? How do we access free services now then, to try to cover as much mediation, psychiatric, fertility/prenatal help for free.

Edit: I went to imss bienestar and they told me about all the free stuff, didn't realize there was only one UMF, paid imss facility in my town, no gyno. Maybe not worth it