Moving To San Miguel to retire & enjoy life & all Mexico has to offer.

I won't be able to offer much on your questions, having just moved to Guanajuato less than 2 weeks ago. 

Cartel crime: my opinion is that if one lives like a local and goes to bed at a reasonable hour, doesn't buy illegal drugs, doesn't over imbibe in alcohol, etc., avoiding the known, more dangerous neighborhoods, then the risks are not that dissimilar to going into those certain parts of Atlanta or DC I refused to enter except Sunday mornings - lol

Insurance - I haven't solved that one yet. Still investigating. The costs are low enough going directly to medical professionals to pay out of pocket--self insure.  The worry is how to deal with the major-medical, catastrophic occurrences.

Here in GTO it is definitely easy to live without a car. Walking, Uber, buses are working for me.  My several visits to SMA in the last year would suggest (and my reading has confirmed) living in SMA is doable without a car.

Welcome to the adventure!
Steve

Thanks...really appreciate those subjects & especially the crime.

Dear Steve & MSoutherland,

I have lived & worked in San Miguel since 2010. I also worked  previously in Oaxaca & Monterrey for 6.5 years.

Yes, cartel-related insecurity has increased. Everyone in town seems to have a different opinion on how it affects them & what the future may hold.

The cost of health care is on the rise all over Mexico. It is important to have private health insurance to protect you retirement income & dream of living in Mexico. Hospitalization costs in particular are expensive, especially for those that don’t have private health insurance.

Two years ago I would have agreed with #divingsteve regarding crime. Not now. I think he's dead wrong.

I lived there 2012 until 2015.. With visits as recent as 2 months ago. All of México is no where near as safe as is was in 2012. Especially the state of Guanajuato.

You describe San Miguel de Allende as a "city". No... It's a small town.. And with about 86 killings so far in 2019. It's a high murder rate.

When I heard automatic weapon fire a few months ago in sma... While enjoying a coffee at a freinds home... My mind raced... "where and how close?" I later was to learn that that was the sound of 2 police officers being gunned down right in the center of San Miguel. A month or so earlier.. 2 young people.. A teen girl included were collateral casualties in a drive by assination.

Sure.. I might never be involved with such atrocities... But I asked myself "do I really want to see and hear all this negative energy all around me"? No.

Crime in Mexico is now way out of control. Gringos were once excluded from the mayem. Now that code of conduct is gone.

Everyone has their own limits to what's right or wrong. Your mileage may vary. Best wishes for a beautiful and peaceful retirement.

Very informative & this is what I am seeing in the print news as well as the YouTube videos.  I definitely have a concern and you are the 1st to actually address personal experience.  Thank you

Can you correspond with me on my email?  msoutherland62@gmail.com

Msoutherland62

You can message others if they allow it, but we discourage public information because we have found it causes problems. So please do not provide personal information.

Thanks

1happkamper,

I have seen things that indicate what you say is true, yet in small areas in the south, there is still deference or tolerance of tourists that has not changed. in the southern states, I have not heard gunfire and except for money areas have not heard about killings.

There have been changes since the last election that has shifted the level of safety for all, and those changes are worldwide and involve many countries, not just Mexico.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you as we are going to be in SMA During the last half of October for 4 or 5 days.

I go to SMA on occasion (I live in Queretaro), so I can't speak to crime and violence there.  I live in a quieter part of the city (Corregidora, to be precise, which is a separate municipality but 5 minutes from Queretaro proper).

I lived here 10 years ago before returning 8 months ago to live here again.  My day to day routine and lifestyle is unaffected by any concern about violence or crime (cartel-related or otherwise).  But I also play it smart, as I would anywhere in the world.  I don't withdraw money from ATMs at night.  I don't wander the streets at 2am.  I avoid road rage (as much as possible .

I have read and heard about a few murders (apparently cartel-related) in the area within the past couple of months.  One happened in the parking lot of a local supermarket where we shop, so that certainly made me uneasy.

Queretaro has always been considered a safe haven of Mexico, which has attracted people from all over the country as a fine place to live and made it, in turn, in to less of a safe place.  Population has grown exponentially in the past 10-15 years.  It has gone from a town to a small city and now to a larger city.  And it will continue to grow at a rapid rate.

SMA (and Queretaro) have been in a bubble for some time, SMA especially so since it is such an expat destination.  That is changing, but I still would not consider it an unsafe place to live.  Even though not a city, I'd liken life there to becoming more like life in any metropolitan area in the world in that life can be dangerous but it doesn't mean that you are in danger.

I'd also add that wherever one lives, one normalizes life.  If anyone asked me if I felt safe living here, I'd say "yes" without hesitation, but I can still reflect on the bigger picture here.

Thank you as having your response, after all that time and back again...appreciated.

I have to agree with you.  Violence is on the rise, not just in Mexico but all around the world.  it's a sad and difficult reality of life nowadays.  Still some areas still relatively untouched, though.

It saddens me to hear of the crime and violence in SMA these days. In the late 90's when I lived there it was a truly wonderful town. I had made many friends there and my day to day life was enjoyable and stress free. There wasn't much crime; sure there was the odd break-in, theft, scam, but overall if you were smart and didn't look for trouble then trouble didn't look for you. Certainly I never heard of anyone ever getting murdered in SMA. It was a peaceful town.

I've considered returning to Mexico but SMA is off my list.