I Want To Be In Baja

If you really want to get a feel of just what life would be like if you were to retire down to San Felipe - maybe you like the idea but are still a bit on the fence  - you may want to read about Kathy’s experience at http://sanfelipetalk.com. She has lived  at El Dorado Ranch for just over six years now and has just started to write about that experience in her own blog, which started in May. It covers a mix of local news and happenings and her own personal insights, and will certainly give you a good flavor of what life is like there. I very much look forward to seeing how her blog progresses - for my part, I would like to see a few more pictures on the site but, in the meantime , here is one of mine - a picture of one of the houses located near the golf course that I took on my first trip down there. Not bad eh?

If you are interested in moving permanently to Mexico, whether to retire there or just relocate, whether that be to El Dorado Ranch in Baja or to any other part of Mexico, you may want to find out whether or not is worth actually becoming a Mexican citizen. Is it a good idea? What are the differences in living in Mexico as citizen of the country or on an immigrant visa? For those that would like to find an answer to these questions you can do no better than to download the latest newsletter from buildinginbaja.com - http://www.buildinginbaja.com/BuildingInBaja-Issue03.pdf

On page 18 you will find an article called “Is that legal? - Mexican Naturalization” by Lic. Jaques-Edouard Beaulne, attorney at Law, which will give you all the ‘ins and outs’ of becoming a Mexican citizen and what the requirements are. The two main criteria you will need to meet are, firstly, you must have accumulated a minimum of 5 years legal residence there and, secondly, you need to be able to speak enough Spanish to hold a conversation and to have learned the basic history of the country to a grade 4 or 5 level.

There are many reasons why one would want to become a naturalized citizen of the country, especially if you plan to conduct business there or want to ensure real property ownership rights in areas not covered by a Fideicomiso (as El Dorado Ranch is). Anyway, if you ever wanted to find out whether to become a full citizen when you move to Mexico, this article is a great place to start.

It turns out that in 2007 Mexico was the top retirement destination for retiring U.S. and Canadian citizens, up four places on the previous year, apparently. This is based on what is termed the ‘Global Retirement Index’ which takes into account a whole variety of factors that any prospective retiree would be looking for in an ideal place to retire, worldwide - how far your pension will stretch; lack of crime; the state of the health care in a country; and whether there are particular programs or other benefits for residents of retirement age.

Now much will depend on your own particular priorities of course. You may, for instance, require a lot of medical services in which case the level of health services in a particular country will be far more important. But this Index will at least give you an overall guide for people looking to retire outside their own countries. There is no doubt that there are many advantages to be had in retiring abroad. One of the attractions of Mexico as a retirement destination is that the cost of living is much less there. We have already talked about the low price of gas in Mexico but most goods and services cost a lot less too. Mexico also has a first class health care system and both medical expenses and prescription drug costs are far less than in the U.S.

There is also great geographical diversity, so whether you like the beach or the mountains, the desert or the jungle, you will find it in Mexico. El Dorado Ranch has all the best parts of living in a warm desert climate while being right by the sea, but also being in close proximity to the mountains as well. Personally I am not into humidity at all! I could never understand why Florida was such a popular destination for retirement - I guess it is proximity to New York and Washington. But give me a dry desert environment every time!

Real estate prices, again, are far less than in the States - you get a lot more house for your money, and there are still beach properties to be had. One of the great things about El Dorado Ranch property is that you don’t have to worry about negotiating your way through Mexican real estate law - it is all done for you and you don’t have to worry about any untoward title issues or anything. One other attraction is that any foreign retirees over the age of 60, and who hold a residence visa, can participate in a program that offers seniors discounts on a wide range of services, including medical services, cultural activities such as museum tickets, entry to archaeological sites etc, as well as things like hotel stays and car rental - sometimes up to 50% discounts - how’s that for a deal?

As for myself, I was already convinced, even before the survey. I’m just glad that we got in there before the big rush starts!

If you are looking for the ultimate retirement location there are few better places than El Dorado Ranch on the northern Baja peninsula. It has all the benefits of popular destinations like Cabo San Lucas but at a much more affordable cost. With lower real estate prices, lower cost of living expenses than the U.S. (although only a couple of hours drive from the border), with beautiful surroundings and a wonderful climate, building costs at under $120 per square foot, many Americans are looking seriously at El Dorado Ranch as the ultimate retirement destination. However, they may not want to think about for too long - there are a lot of American ‘Baby Boomers’ set retire over the next ten years and there are only so many plots to go round.

Although San Felipe, a few miles to the south of El Dorado Ranch, is not yet the popular destination Cabo is, there are many indications that the town will become the next big tourism destination in Mexico. All the amenities are there including a marina and an airport, and the Mexican government have already begun the improvements needed to bring these up to international standards, including the installation of fiber optic cable. They are also beginning on a plan to upgrade the highway that runs to the U.S. border. All this activity is at the behest of the Mexican governments Escalara Nautical Program which has millions of dollars to invest in the development of San Felipe. All Mexico’s popular tourism spots like Cancun, Mazatlan, Acapulco and Cabo have all benefited from similar government investment. As with everything its all in the timing, and now would seem a very good time to look at real estate at somewhere like El Dorado Ranch. As El Dorado and San Felipe become more well known and more popular home and land prices are inevitably going to rise.

I don’t know about you but, lately, the more I watch the election coverage and the more I hear about the ‘fundamental strength’s of the American economy’, the more I begin to wonder what the price of straw bales is down in Mexico. ‘But who wants to live in a country where the government is corrupt, politicians are on the take, there’s crime and drugs everywhere and everyone’s poor?’, I hear you ask. Not me - I’m packing my bags and heading for Mexico!