The thought of moving to Mexico to have a better life than a world-class country like Canada might seem absurd to some, but it’s a trend growing in popularity for many Canadians.
More and more Canadians are grappling with the idea of leaving the country. The cost of living is at an all-time high. The concept of owning a home is nonsensical for everyone except the most privileged or wealthy.
You can’t even buy a cucumber without breaking the bank.
As Sheryl Novak told Daily Hive, it’s not just about the cost of living; it’s about how people live.
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We’ve published several stories about Canadians flocking to Mexico for cheaper housing with a better cost of living. Some are also heading that way for the warmer weather, which definitely was part of the appeal for Novak, originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba — or what some people jokingly called winter-peg, manisnowba.
“I’ve never enjoyed it.”
Novak said she always wanted to live near the water. She didn’t know how she would achieve that dream; she just wanted it. She and her husband would occasionally vacation in Mexico.
They wanted to find a place to retire.
“There was only one place that we felt had ticked all the boxes. And that was Puerto Vallarta.”
We asked Novak about some of the hurdles regarding relocating to Mexico, including starting a business, which she has called Solutions Mexico.
“The biggest barrier to moving to Mexico and living here full-time is really what’s between your two ears.”
Of course, there are actual barriers, too.
The language, for one.
“I don’t speak Spanish, how would I survive?” Novak said rhetorically.
To answer that rhetorical question, it’s not as difficult as you might think. For starters, English is prevalent in most of the more touristy spots in Mexico, and you’re usually catered to, Novak noted.
She also brought up the idea of health care, something many Canadians hold on to, including in the reaction to this story about a Torotonian wanting to move to the USA.
Novak suggested that the healthcare situation in Mexico was a bit more constructive than Canada’s.
“The Canadian model is a consecutive system. The Mexican model is a concurrent.”
She suggested that you get all your results when you visit a healthcare professional, as opposed to the way it is in much of Canada, where you go in and then wait for your results to come in days, if not weeks or months, later.
The situation for healthcare hasn’t been great in Canada in recent years.
Affordability in Canada vs. Mexico
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“If you were to have an oceanfront condo anywhere in North America, you would never be able to afford it. The average person couldn’t. Whereas in Mexico, you still can. How much longer that’s going to be? Who knows,” Novak said.
Novak said that in the time since two years before COVID-19, the valuation of her property has tripled.
Farhomes, a Mexican-focused real estate platform, has plenty of homes listed for sale at prices you could never find in major Canadian cities.
For example, this condo in Cancun, with gorgeous amenities and a swimming pool, is just US$290,512.
What about the general cost of living? We spoke to Novak about groceries, something that many are concerned with in Canada due to high prices.
“It’s a global hit. Everybody is seeing cost increases, and Mexico was not exempt from that,” Novak said.
The difference is the cost of labour.
“The labour rates and wages here in Mexico are significantly lower than in the United States and Canada, and, as a result, we see manufacturing companies coming here.”
What about starting a business in Mexico?
“It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Novak said starting a business in your own country is daunting enough, but add a different legal framework, processes, and a different language, and it’s a whole new ball game.
When Novak moved to Mexico, her Spanish was “very rudimentary.”
Novak and her husband had no car, and their home was a pre-construction condo. The rules of the road are also different.
So she went around and spoke to people and learned about niches that needed to be filled, and she found the need for quality furniture.
“We don’t get wound up…”
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In Novak’s experience, people don’t act the same way in Mexico as they do in the Western world.
“We don’t get wound up about things.”
She used traffic lights as an example.
“In Canada, when you get to a traffic light, red means stop. In Mexico, we joke, and we say red is only a recommendation.”
She told us a story about when her brother-in-law came to visit, and they were stopped at a red light, and Novak had her turn signal on.
“A car came in front of me, pulled alongside, and came up and went right in front of me. It didn’t even occur to me that anything was wrong with that.
Her brother-in-law wasn’t as chill about the whole ordeal.
“It doesn’t really matter. Who gives a s**t.”
So many Canadians are going to Mexico
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Novak is just one story of thousands that are flocking to Mexico. They might not start businesses, but many are moving to Mexico for cheaper living.
Visitors from many countries are travelling to Mexico in significant numbers. Still, Canadians specifically seem to be making up the bulk of the travel as “the second largest tourist group in Mexico last year.”
“Domestic flight activity was up 11.5% year over year, which is an impressive 65% increase vs 2019, while international flights were up 10% vs 2022, and 13.1% vs pre-pandemic. Canadian tourism, in particular, surged to over 4 million visitors per year to Mexico.”
FarHomes adds, “Flights between the US and Mexico grew at 4.4% [year-over-year]. But one major highlight was a 59.5% surge in Canadian passengers flying to Mexico in 2023 vs 2022.”
According to Zisla, a Mexican housing platform, the average home cost is depressingly cheap compared to Canadian prices, depending on what part of Canada you’re from.
A two-bedroom house in Mexico City can range anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000, while a similar property in Tulum may cost upwards of $1 million. In Cancun, a two-bedroom home can range from $200,000 to $1,100,000, depending on the location and amenities. In the quiet, beachside town of Chelem, prices for a two-bedroom house can range from $50,000 to $300,000.”
Not everyone is happy about the influx of Canadians, and we spoke to Novak about gentrification.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” she said.
“On one hand, you’ve got an influx of money when you’ve got tourists coming in with their dollars. But on the other side of the coin, it is also driving up the cost. There are also Mexicans who have owned property here. And they’re selling their property now to these developers and making millions of dollars off the property that they’ve had in their family for years.”
Does this make you want to join all the Canadians who are moving to Mexico? Let us know in the comments.
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