By Fabio Rodriguez
San Miguel de Allende is a charming town northwest of Mexico City. It seduces visitors with its Spanish Colonial city center, cafes and restaurants. It helps that it is driving distance from Texas, but one of the major allures is that the cost of living is much lower. For example, a gardener charges around $2 an hour, a house cleaner that cooks and cleans is around $80 a week (in the states, this would cost a minimum of $80 a day). More than 10% of the town’s residents hail from the United States or Canada. As millions Americans face retirement in an economy that has ravaged their savings, places like San Miguel de Allende have an extra appeal. Another area where savings are to be had is in the real estate market. In Florida, property tax on a $500,000 home is around $10,000 a year and you’d have to add another $10,000 or more for hurricane insurance. The property taxes on a nice house in Mexico range from just a couple hundred dollars a year to a thousand. Most of the homes in San Miguel don’t require home owners insurance because houses are stone and stucco so they don’t run a high fire risk.
Despite the recession or maybe because of it, many Americans are still coming to San Miguel. On the edge of town you can find condos for around $250,000, you’ll find starter homes on a golf course for $200,000. It also may surprise you to find Starbucks, Home Depot, Office Depot, Costco, Blockbuster and of course a McDonald’s, however if you are in Mexico, I would suggest the Posole instead of burgers!
Jack Watson, President Carter’s former Chief of Staff, is now a San Miguel resident. He was recently asked, “As this town grows and becomes more American, is there a danger that is it going to lose its flavor?”
He responds, “Absolutely, I’m concerned about the influx of lots of people because one of the really special things about this place is the nature of the place, so if it is overwhelmed by people coming from the United States or from where ever, you’ve got lots of problems.”
Hurricane insurance! San Miguel is in the center of Mexico. Many of the big stores you mention are not in SMA but in Quretero.
Hi Georgene,
Thanks for stopping by. I am familiar with the location of San Miguel, the reference to hurricane insurance is meant to compare the additional costs associated with owning a home in another retirement destination, Florida. You obviously don’t need hurricane insurance if you buy a home in the center of Mexico. Thank you for the corrections about the location of the big stores. How far are they from downtown SMA?
Costco, Sam’s, Walmart and Home Depot are in Celaya (about 45 minutes from San Miguel) and Queretero (about an hour from San Miguel.) San Miguel does have an Office Depot, Starbucks, Blockbuster and, sigh, MacDonalds.
Thanks for the info Hope. It would be nice if the golden arches would try to assimilate their menu a bit more to the location the store is in…at least something besides the monotonous quarter pounders. At least you arent from Kentucky like I am. Everywhere i go i get “¡ahhh, como Kentucky Fried Chicken!” Yes, just like KFC.
San Miguel de Allende, know for its culture and diversity is a nourishing city with an exotic population and although small the town is very know world wide. The city located central Mexico which makes it a major tourist attractor is also a great retire location for all ages. I strongly recommend that families with children below the age of 20 do not come to this city due to increased drug abuse within the town. Although the cons may be strong the city is great for elder people, and as a resident with the time of ten years i still love the city and its people.